My Birthday

So these might be weird pictures to describe a birthday, but it's what I got. 

Elizabeth bought an ice cream cake (my request), and Harrison picked out flowers for me.

My older brother says turning 39 is easier the second or third time you do it. I really don't mind. I'd rather be mature than a bumbling 20-year-old idiot. Not that you have to be an idiot at 20. Seems to me like the chances are just higher.

But would I rather be a mature, non-bumbling 20 year-old? Now there's a question to ponder. I've been reading a book about philosophy by Josef Pieper. Maybe he can help me in my pondering.

Phillip took me to visit a little antique/book store near Cibolo and then we went out for BBQ at Harmon's: Pulled pork, cream corn and coleslaw. I get a piece of bread, put onion and pickles and pork on it, slather it with bbq sauce and fold it over for a half sandwich.  Harmon's is good food in a neat little downtown area of an old town that's growing. They haven't modernized the downtown area ~ new stores are moving in, but they're keeping the old buildings. We love the ambience. 

And I had to get pictures of my boys reading on my birthday. Jonathan is reading for school. Harrison actually read through his Pathways First Reader that he just finished. He took a year to finish reading it for school (we did short sections at a time and started it last year in 1st grade). But once he was done, he wanted to read through the thing on his own. He did it in an evening and the next day. He was very proud of himself for reading it on my birthday. 

Phoebe is 12!

Phoebe wanted to go to a spa with her mom for her birthday. I was down with that! We got our nails done and got a facial at Terra Spa. The ladies there did a great job. We had good conversation and great service. 

Liz made her pound cake. Phoebe's really into plain pound cake right now. She likes to toast it. 

Speaking of birthdays ~  Elizabeth has had Cream and Sugar Bakery for two years now! Congratulations, Liz! 

Easter Egg Hunt in the Neighborhood

Harrison asked me last week, "Mom, am I going to get to do an Easter egg hunt?" 

I admit to having shrunk my "holiday kid celebration" activities since the older kids have gotten older and I've relaxed my own expectations. So I hadn't planned anything for Easter. But since Harrison brought it up, I bought some eggs and prizes when I went grocery shopping. Phoebe filled up the eggs. Jonathan was our egg-hider.

Since there are almost always a few neighborhood kids out on Saturday, they participated in the egg hunt too. And since we had to do something while we waited for the eggs to be hidden, I told the kids the Easter story.

We looked at the pictures in the illustrated Bibles that we own, and I told the story from the pictures.  I don't know that these kids have had much exposure to Bible stories. But their reaction was stunning. Not because they had an emotional reaction to the story that Jesus loves them and would suffer for them. More because their reaction was very human. Very I Corinthians 1:23 "We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." 

We went through the story and I answered lots of questions as we went. It wasn't familiar to them. When we got toward the end, one five year old quipped as he looked at pictures, "Why is this book so violent?" A seven year old said, "I don't think I believe this."

A stumbling block to Jews 

And foolishness to Gentiles.

They are young, so I'm not thinking that these questions and statements mean they reject Christ. It's just so human to have those first reactions, especially if you haven't grown up used to Bible stories. It was eye-opening to me to hear new, innocent reactions to the Easter story.  

The Bible is violent! Christ's death was violent. We should think of our sins every time we encounter that violence. Our sins are that ugly and dehumanizing and gory. 

"I don't think I believe this." That came after telling about the Resurrection. How true! How unbelievable! That someone would come back to life after being dead for three days?! That's what makes it so powerful. God can do that. God raised Him from the dead. And we have to take a step of faith to believe it. 

I told her that I hope she will believe it one day and trust in Jesus to save her from her sins. It was maybe a little deep for a 12 minute moment while we're waiting to search for eggs, but I do pray for these little neighbor friends that they will put faith in Jesus. 

I recommend all of these illustrated children's Bibles. 

I love the soft illustrations of the red one. The Bible stories are short and perfect for a younger child. 

Egermeier's Bible Story Book (1969 edition) was a great step up from the red one. It was each kid's Bible reading for school in 1st grade and up (seems like it took a year or two to get through it). 

And The Action Bible is Jonathan's. Harrison has been using it lately while we read the Bible during school morning time. That is the Bible that the five year old was looking at when he said, "Why is this book so violent?" So maybe it was a bit graphic for an introduction to the crucifixion. I didn't think of that because everyone in this family has grown up hearing graphic descriptions of the crucifixion. It's interesting that the Bible story itself isn't graphic. 

"They beat him. They put a crown of thorns on his brow. They crucified him." 

But it doesn't linger on the violence. It's more matter of fact. Perhaps I should take that into account next time.

The Bibles are on the table in our garage for now. I just stepped out to check an edition date and had a good lengthy conversation with the seven year old. She's very smart. She wanted to go back and look at the pictures, and she gave a few declarative statements, telling back the story, "That's where he rose from the tomb!" 

There's always hope in the Easter story.