Partying like it's Easter and waiting for my surprise!

Yes, I know that it’s technically the day after Easter. But I wanted to share you with a picture of my three awesome creations on their way to church yesterday. Just can’t help myself. With Graham being 10, the cute matchy outfits and suits and ties from the Gap are a thing of the past, sad to say. This year I somehow managed to convince him that real men wear pink and at least pulled off a coordination of colors! :) It’s always a good day with Micah (7) when I can get him to wear dress pants of any kind and when he hasn’t ruined a shirt by wiping his nose with it. And sweet Shae? Well, her original wardrobe plan included a white straw hat and gloves. Apparently, her fashion mood shifted at some point in the middle of the night and she decided that white straw hats and gloves were not cute anymore. She has decided to save them for Christmas, I am told. Clearly, we haven’t had the no white after Labor Day talk yet. Call me crazy, but I think her fashion mood will shift between now and then. I’m holding my breath that it will.

So…ok…I love Easter. And it has nothing whatsoever to do with dressing my kids for church in cute non-matching, yet coordinating outfits (Sans the white hat and gloves).

I love Easter because it is a day to party over my good fortune that Jesus defied death and broke out of the grave and in so doing, gave me a hope like I would not have otherwise had. It’s a day for me to party about the fact that He has done something no one else has ever done or ever will do, separating Him from everyone else in the history of forever. Really, there is nothing in this world I can think of that is better to party about!!

(Insert the sound of those annoying party blow horn things here.) :)

So for the Easter service at church, the pastor brought a beautiful message from Mark about the resurrection. I love to hear this guy preach, and though I have heard 10 gazillion messages on the resurrection, the one he preached today left me with two main thoughts, one I came to myself and the other he presented and I grabbed onto. Since they are so fresh on my mind, I wanted to share them with you…

First…the one I came to myself…

I need to party like it’s Easter everyday from here on out.

It occurred to me while sitting in the service that although it was Easter Sunday, everyday is Easter for the believer. He’s alive, friends, and not just on Easter Sunday! EVERYDAY! Everyday is a day to celebrate the risen Lord. Looking through this lens, it seemed almost odd to me to see the energy and excitement all of us were feeling through the music and message on this Easter anniversary. It was almost as if it was a belated party that we were just now getting around to attending. Jesus is always here…always alive…always present…and always wants you and me to get excited about His story! We don’t have to wait for an Easter service to get our party on, ya’ll.

(Annoying horn sound, again.)

Then…the other that the pastor presented and I grabbed onto…

I need to continue to be surprised by God.

The pastor made this statement, and I really didn’t get it at first. I mean, my first instinct when he said it was to get all spiritual and convince myself that nothing God does surprises me. I can pretend that it’s true, but it’s just not. The truth is, everything God does surprises me. And according to my pastor, that is exactly the way it needs to be.

He said (and I agree – and paraphrase) that when God stops surprising me, I need to check the pulse of my relationship with Him. This thought is so in line with my current favorite quote by author/speaker, Erwin McManus, “You are most fully alive when you are on an adventure with God.” I think sometimes I believe that the scariest life is the one lived in sheer surrender to the will of God, yet in reality, it would be much more scary to never hear a word from Him. In some way I need to always live in a holy terrified state, because that means that the adventure continues and He is still surprising me. The thought made me ask myself, “Well, Lisa…are you? Still being surprised by God?”

As a matter of fact, yes.

He surprised me last week when He prompted me to throw out my “go-to” message about the hard things in life. Wasn’t liking it at the time. Wondered why I felt the pull to move in another direction with less than a month to go when I needed to speak on something that felt familiar and comfortable to me. Now I see it as a divine surprise, and I wonder what He has in store for all of us.

He surprised me a month or so ago when He took me to a church in town to speak to a group of moms. Felt I didn’t have time to go. Thought I was too busy preparing for the other conferences to speak on this day. Now I see it as a divine surprise, as He rocked my socks off in ways I never expected through 25 awesome women.

He surprised me when He led me to write five years ago. Didn’t see the point at the time. Thought it was merely an outlet for a mom of three busy preschoolers to express herself. Now I see it as a divine surprise, as He has taken me to places in my heart I longed to go.

Yep, He is still surprising me. Though I have a feeling He has wanted to surprise me a lot more along the way, if only I had not been too busy trying to convince myself that I didn’t like surprises.

What about you? Still being surprised by God?

If so, good. Then it means your relationship has a pulse and your adventure continues.

I am going on a prayer retreat this coming weekend to the mountains with about 15 of my girlfriends. If I’m honest, I will admit that there is a big part of me that has not wanted to go. Logistically, I have too much to do and too little time to do it in to take off for the weekend. My schedule is complicated, and life is oh-so-busy. But after yesterday’s sermon, I am smelling surprise. It is undoubtedly the scent of my risen God.

Partying like it’s Easter!
Lisa :)