Then he handed Him over to them to be crucified.
John 19:16 AMP
When Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, "It is finished!" And He bowed His head and [voluntarily] gave up His spirit.
John 19:30 AMP
Welcome to Friday!
Wow, between two thieves the King of Kings and Lord of Lords took to the cross to take our place! Welcome to Good Friday! How are you doing? How have you been and what have you been up to this week? What kind of week have you had this week, exciting, anxious, fulfilling, fun, busy, purposeful, or other? Did you have time, energy and opportunity to take part in any of the Holy Week celebrations, meditations, and scripture readings this week? How is your Friday going so far? I hope that things are going very well for you today.
I am doing well. I have to admit I am still recovering from our weekend trip down to Alabama to visit my granddaddy. It was our first ever trip to Alabama with the entire crew. All eight (8) of us packed up and made the trip down for a surprise and short visit to check on granddaddy and to also spend some time with other family. As I told daddy, we went to "see whoever was willing to be seen." The travel was supposed to be about 6.5 hours, and we weren't too far off that time going down. The ride was mostly good. We learned that Ava and Emma aren't the best long distance riders, and definitely not in a car beside each other. I got tickled that Ava woke Emma up b/c Emma's head was on her seat. Flash back! The tickled laughter didn't last long as they both seemed to kick it up a gear over headphones, broken headphones, and what movie to watch in the car. All that aside it was still okay until our last stop at a McDonald's. Not sure what happened, but Emma was over the top for the remainder of the ride. She only stopped her antics when Momma called and was on speaker phone. Then she pretended to be a quiet saint.
We had a good time dropping in to see family once we arrived. We had a great time talking with my cousins, laughing with my Uncle's grandson, seeing that granddaddy was doing okay and hearing some funny wisdom from my Uncle. One piece of wisdom was, "You can't please everyone, so stop trying." Then pointing to a painting on the wall he says, "What did that man do to anyone? Nothing! And they hung him on a cross. (He was pointing to a picture of the crucifixion). Your not gonna make everybody like you!"
We also had a pretty good time at dinner, despite whatever hiccups took place in timing and location. We intended to have a nice dinner with granddaddy and a few cousins, but it didn't quite come together like I imagined in my head. Nevertheless, I know Sydney and Paige enjoyed themselves. Ava and Emma did well, all things considered. My funniest moment at dinner was the fact that Emma stopped eating her food, 3/4 of the way through, and started playing around. She didn't notice that the check and boxes came, and the final bathroom run had taken place. She continued to play up until Trish said let's go. The look on her face, and the fast break to her spoon were comical. "Wait," she said, "I eat my dinner." She took a few chunks of cold macaroni and decided not to bother and just followed along out the door.
Our ride back included a seat adjustment, but not a lot of Emma and Ava improvement. Plus, to me, we must have traveled through a time warp. It took 6.5 to get to Alabama, but over 7.5 to get back home (according to my math). We made a few missteps on the return trip like picking the wrong gas exit and forgetting to make sure everyone hit the bathroom. Still, it was a fun trip and we made some memories, had some laughs, and enjoyed some time together. I really enjoyed being able to chat with Trish during the time driving. The girls were either sleep or occupied enough that we could actually hear each other for large portions of the trip. I finally got the tutorial needed to understand the Lego movie as well.
Even with the slow recovery, the week has been blessed. We had a great dinner on Monday and Thursday nights. I made pizza on Thursday, and by made I mean ordered and picked up and made it appear in the house. Emma didn't really like the pizza, but she loved the Italian sausage. Cassarra had her first days on the new job (first job). She was excited. Gabbi starred in a major production on Thursday featuring surprises, posters, laughter and prom. You'll have to ask her about her role and the pictures. Paige and Sydney were up early all week enjoying the benefits of a new morning deal and various surprises. Ava and Emma are also still in trip recovery mode.
We didn't get to attend Maundy Thursday service, but we have been able to share some family time with devotionals for Holy Week and Easter. We are doing Resurrection Eggs as a crew, and we also took part in a fast. We are looking forward to Easter, the remembering, recalling and excitement of knowing that we have been saved - "while we were sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8)."
The kids are on break and I'm looking forward to a few days off to enjoy some downtime with the girls before the last stretch run of the year. Cassarra is counting down the days and the hours. I think we are too, but in a very different way.
Well, I hope you are doing well and that you will have an absolutely powerful and passion filled Easter weekend. May the God of grace, forgiveness, and resurrection glory be with you and bless you abundantly. May the truth of "He is risen" bring you comfort, joy, encouragement, and the strength to face every today and be filled with hope for tomorrow. Take care, be blessed and as always...
Welcome to Friday!
I am thankful for... His great sacrifice!
