Easter Eggs

Easter Eggs..... I love them and hate them.... I used to color eggs every year when my sonshine's were young. It was a great activity when they were really young. A fun activity for a mother hen and her sonny chicks (see what I did there?  eggs/hen/chicks... that's called being witty...hahaha ) But as those teenage years hit it wasn't an activity they enjoyed,  can I blame them, I mean they're  100% nitty gritty cowboys .....I think they liked the eggs and egg salad sandwiches after Easter day but not the actually coloring of eggs.  But I love the way they look so I colored them anyway. I tried all sorts of creative dips and dyes and papers. My favorite was the all natural dyes.. alot of work but natural and a fun experiment with those scallywags... I mean look at these colors....

My favorite was the red cabbage... it turned blue!! And the yellow onion ... you layered all the onion skins and wrapped the eggs then set them in the liquid...pretty cool end result!

Then I tried to get creative with the white crayon.... alas, mine did not look so fancy but I tried nonetheless!!

It's been quite a few years since I've dyed eggs. The fun just isn't there anymore to do it by myself and since my nest is empty there are no chicks left to enjoy them.  That makes me a little sad.  Maybe I will dye some this year just for old times sake!! .....maybe......

Here's the "take-away" from that.. Easter eggs are pretty and colorful and creative.   Some are fancy, others are natural, some are even glittery or embellished with jewels. I like the more natural and free-hand simplistic ones, what about you?  But here's the kicker.... they are all eggs inside. they all have a yolk and a white, encased in a protective shell. It's just like we are. God has created us "Eggs" with white, brown, green/blue or speckled shells, naturally, that's how he designed us. How we decorate or dye ourselves is what makes us look different.  might have a certain style that we gravitate to or choose to hang out with but in the end we are all plain ol eggs.... look how nice we look in a wire basket collected fresh from the hen house!  The decorations and dyes are what we put on ourselves... the things we dip into, write on and stick on us. Are we trying to become pretty or are we covering up the fact that we are just plain and simple and fresh eggs?

So this Easter look at your Easter eggs in a new light.... Jesus made us plain, nutritious eggs with huge possibilities... a clean slate.... How will you decorate or hide yourself?

Palm Sunday musings

I'm feeling a bit melancholy today.... I mentioned to my hubby that Easter season feels so different since we moved to Mayberry... He hasn't had a weekend off since we moved here almost 8 years ago. I decided to work Sundays too to make it more bearable. That means Easter has been and still is a work day.... It feels weird not to be sitting in Church and singing the songs (I probably don't even know the new songs since it has been so long since I have gone to church regularly) it makes me sad that I don't have any reason to buy a fancy Easter dress or prepare easter baskets. BUT it has made me reflect deeper on the why.... the why of Easter and not getting caught up in the pomp and circumstance and theatrical portrayals of Easter. It's just me and Jesus and my rawness.

So today....Palm Sunday starts my reflection... Jesus , because he is the Son of God and was an obedient son at that, knew what was about to transpire in the next week. He knew it was the beginning of the end of his earthly life.... Knowing that, He chose His vehicle of transportation. Now mind you he could've picked a very impressive entrance ...after all it was His last chance for recognition. The horse stands for war; that's what the people wanted. They wanted a leader who would set them free from the crazy gov't of Rome. Besides a big tall horse would be impressive. But, Jesus chose to ride a donkey, a symbol of meekness, cuteness but mostly of peace. He could've come in like Royalty with all of the normal ceremonial stuff. How different are the swishing of palm branches from the click of crossed swords or the deafening blast of a twenty-one gun salute. He chose peace, lowliness and very "it's not about me" attitude. How can you not love that?
He comes in as a king... the people wanted that, they accepted him as a King who would deliver them, but He was a king who enters Jerusalem on a cute donkey... I bet some of them were thinking.."Whaaaaat?!" He then gets off and goes for a walk to a hillside. From that perspective, overlooking the city He loves, he cries....weeps for the people. I also think that since he is truly man as well as God that perhaps being in tune to his human side, He cried for himself... I want to think that He truly was able to experience his human emotions and was scared and raw but knew his Father (my Father God) would work it out for Good..(I want to believe that because I want to know that He experienced some of the emotions I experience as a silly girl) He goes on to talk to the people who had just hailed him as their King but He refuses to give a campaign speech as any earthly leader would do. Instead, He tells it like it is, predicting domestic breakdown, economic catastrophe, wars, rumors of war, earthquake, famine, and all of the horrible desolation which you and I bring upon each other. We are still bringing it on ourselves. We are so dumb. That's the kind of King He is. He tells you and me what we need to hear, not just what we want to hear. He talks about more than positive thinking. He talks about more than picking yourself up by your own bootstraps. He tells you that you can't succeed ultimately in your own strength. He warns you to face up to it now and to come to Him while you can.

So today, Palm Sunday, as I sit in my old jammies not even realizing it is a Sunday, I am super thankful ..no, more than thankful......I'm grateful.. for Peace and truth and honesty and cute donkeys.