Friday morning I spent about an hour talking to my mom on the phone. She was on her front porch, reading in Philippians, and reflecting on 3:8- "I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing value of knowing Jesus Christ my Lord..." Often as mom talks, she can sound like she's preaching, and speaking almost poetically as she relates something close to her heart. Over the years, its been easy for me and my brothers to simply smile and respond with, "Yeah, there goes Mom- getting all spiritual again!" But this time, I felt compelled to really listen to her. She spoke of her experiences in life, all that God has brought her through over the miles & years, and the things He has taught her and blessed her with. And yet, like the verse stated, she said she considered it all worthless in view of just knowing Christ as her Savior, Lord, and Friend.

Later in the morning, as I reflected on all she had shared, a couple of things began to occur to me. I suddenly realized, my mother is a sage- a woman of God with great wisdom and insight. The older I get, the more I want to learn from her, hear her life insights. I also began to understand how much like her I really am. Lisa pointed that out to me later in the day that, "You are so much like your mom- such a spiritual heart, seeing God in nature, loving beauty...You are definitely your momma's son!" I never thought of myself like that, but I'm actually honored by the comparison. She has such a heart for God and a deep fellowship with Him, I certainly hope to have a walk like that as I reach her years. She inspires me.

Rob

I'm sitting here reflecting on the weekend- Good Friday to Easter Sunday. I've been reading about the events of that weekend over 2000 years ago- the greatest weekend in the history of the universe. I was reading the 4 Bible accounts of that weekend, and how each writer highlighted and focused on different aspects of the events from Jesus' crucifixion to His resurrection. Taking all 4 together, one gets an incredible look at that weekend- that wild, crazy, amazing weekend. From the brutality of Jesus' final torture and execution on the hill outside the city; His final words to those around Him (including the criminals He was executed with); His final pronouncement, "It is finished"; then the sky going dark; the earthquake that shook the region; the huge, thick Temple veil ripping in half from top to bottom; graves opening up and dead guys walking around the city declaring Jesus is Lord; and a pagan Roman soldier at the foot of the cross, exclaiming, "Surely this man was the Son of God!"; the silent Saturday, followed by the most spectacular Sunday in history- a massive stone rolled aside, angels coming down, Jesus stepping out alive again, and the eye witnesses who saw Him, touched Him, talked to Him, and worshipped Him, then began to tell the world about Him. An amazing weekend, indeed!

I often wonder what it would have been like to have witnessed it all first-hand. And yet, I have been touched by it all- 2000+ years later, the events of that weekend have brought me forgiveness, hope for life beyond this one, help for living in this life, and best of all, a personal relationship & fellowship with the One it was all about anyway. So Easter is the greatest event in the history of the universe, and the certainly the greatest event in the history of my life.

Happy Easter!

Rob

Our family spent spring break in Perdido Key, Fl. The weather was amazing, especially at night- the moon was full while we were there. I went for a 10pm jog down the beach one night, as the moon was rising over the ocean. The higher it got in the night sky, the brighter it seemed to become. It was truly a moment in time, of incredible serenity. I stood on the shore at the end of my run, just worshiping God in all His silent, breathtakingly beautiful creation. I think I stood out there for about an hour, just praying and listening. I didn't want to go in. I didn't hear any profound words from God, just enjoyed fellowshiping with Him out on the shore.

He wants to touch our hearts even in the most simple pleasures and places, if we'll just seek Him & listen...

Rob