Sounds of Hope

My Easter worship came last night.  This seems to be a year of liturgical firsts.  Last night my Easter worship came at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church.  It was a long Mass.  It was an interesting Mass.  I had a personal reason to be there.  My oldest daughter has decided to become part of the Roman Catholic church.  I watched her be baptized for the fourth time in her life.  I thought of her first baptism. My husband was the first to spot her.  She stood by the side door of the church.  I looked.  I looked again, and again… I thought is that Bethany?  Her hair is now a subdued brown much like my natural hair color.  I looked several times.  Once again, it was looking in the mirror.  I thought that can’t be Bethany.  She’s a woman.  I’ve known in my head that she’s a woman for a long time.  Yet, looking at her last night I saw myself.  I saw myself when I was that age.  I saw myself and...

It’s been a long time since I was excited about Easter.  From a spiritual perspective, I always am thankfully excited about Resurrection Sunday.  But Easter as a holiday has been very flat for a long, long time.  I reminisced about my childhood Easters on Kingdom Bloggers this week.  You can read it here . Earlier this week I told you about sewing at midnight for my children.  I’ve told you about the Easter that my oldest son Nathan was dedicated to the Lord .  Easter does hold many precious memories.  However, I honestly can’t remember when was the last time we really celebrated the holiday of Easter.  I am preparing to grill out tomorrow.  I always have to remember that here in the south if you say you are going to Barbeque it means something entirely different.  My daughter and her children are coming.  Our other two children that live in the area will be here.  I’m excited.  I bought some treats for the kids. Shh, d...

It was spring of America’s Bicentennial year.   It was the year my step sister married her husband.   Like this year, Easter must have been late.   The wedding came before Easter as their anniversary celebration did this year.   My sister’s wedding was a big deal.   She did it up right!   Everyone was beautiful.   The bride was radiant as all brides should be.   Dressed in a powder blue tux, her husband was the dashing prince.   Her huge wedding party did not include me.   I was asked to be the guest book attendant.   That meant I got to choose my own dress, as long as it was blue. Granny dresses with pinafore ruffled sleeves were popular.   I knew how to sew.   I liked to sew.   In my little trailer home I made a floral blue pinafore granny dress.   I had little room for a sewing machine. Nevertheless I would sit for hours constructing garments for myself and my children.   Then it was economical to sew. ...