It's not open for interpretation.

I was browsing in Barne's and Noble the other day and came upon this Easter display... it was interesting to see B & N's interpretation of this holiday. To be honest, I was offended because I'm somewhat protective of Easter. Christmas I feel is a lost cause... so much has been transformed to be about everything except Christ's birth, but Easter is so dear to me. It is the celebration of Christ's death and resurrection and while these things couldn't have happened without his birth, his death on the cross and rising from the grave are the very foundation of my salvation. And my salvation is at the core and essence of who I am. And it irritates me when Barnes and Noble attempts to use it as propoganda. The picture doesn't display it, but around the table includes these authors, some Biblical writers, others... not so much:
Tim LaHaye
St. Augustine
C.S. Lewis
Lee Strobel
N.T. Wright
Brian McLaren
Anne LaMott
Dallas Willard
Richard Foster
Brennan Manning
Chicken Soup
Mother Theresa
(not one single Bible)

They are all over the board from conservative to liberal, from ancient to current. They wanted to make sure to appease each person's spiritual appetite, and most of the books had nothing to do with Easter, they were simply just Christian books. And what's missing is the MOST important book... God's Word. My favorite is that when you buy two items, you can receive a special Easter tote for only $4.95! An Easter tote, so that on Easter day you can carry your special spiritual Easter books in your Easter tote. Really?? Jesus dies on the cross for our sins and we make totes and try and sell irrelevant and not even Biblical books?? Really? My heart aches that people have lost or have never found what Easter means. It does not mean Easter bunnies, or eggs hunts, or pretty white hats and pastel dresses. It is the blood of Christ shed for you and me. This is not open for interpretation. This is not to be dressed up or exchanged for materialism and trends. This cross, this life, this death, this resurrection is the living example of God's deep, real love and grace. Can we put that on a poster on Barnes and Noble? Or maybe on a pink tote?

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Laughter.

I have been attending a church called Denver United now for about 5 months, and I love it. It's challenging and real and Biblical, and... it's funny. I know that sounds like a strange thing to say about a church and at first I didn't know how I felt about it. They value laughter, although I'm sure that laughter is not in their top ten list of values like worship and prayer. However, Rob Brendle, our senior pastor cracks me up! Repeatedly he will say a bit facetiously, "Come on now, we're in church! Stop smiling and laughing. We're supposed to be serious." Most of the time this comment follows a random tangent about Star Wars or an embarrassing experience of his childhood, or last week. The other thing that makes me laugh hysterically is Andrew "the Schmidt" who does our weekly video announcements. He goes all over Denver, taping some awkward, informative and funny announcements of what is coming up at DU. I always say it's my favorite part of church, which is probably not really true, but it is sometimes. Laughter has a way of making people feel comfortable, if you're ever at some kind of show and the performer makes you laugh, you immedietly kind of settle in. You now have something in common with the rest of the crowd and it creates a unique experience. At Denver United, it has the same effect, it unifies us as a body, as a family, as friends, as people who may have never met but now we have two things in common, we love the Lord, and we are all laughing at some inside joke that Pastor Rob shared. It binds us together and makes us feel comfortable and it's a very spiritual experience. Laughter is so spiritual I am convinced and I think to be honest it's such an important part of my Sundays now: laughing, worshipping, singing, praying, receiving the Word in my heart and being challenged in my walk.

If you would like a good laugh, here is the link to all the previous video announcements from the famous Andrew "the Schmidt"... enjoy the laughter!

(just click on video ---> video announcments)

www.denverunited.com/multimedia I recommend the most recent one 2/28!

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My Life Today in a Blog Post.

Today I am...

- incredibly sad that tomorrow will be Nico's last day in my class. I get the daily privilege of hearing every word that comes out of his mouth for 8 hours, he is intelligent and hilarious for a 2 year old and I will miss him dearly.

- tired and exhausted from my weekly 5k run, but excited about meeting new people and great conversation over beer at the Snug.

- obsessed with Alex Lambert, he's the boy with the mullet on Idol and I just finished listening to his Tuesday night performace, which I DVRed, 4 times. I'm pretty sure that means I'm obsessed.

- planning on baking scotcheroos this weekend

- irritated that my house is a mess and so wish I could snap my fingers like Mary Poppins and have it be clean!

heading to bed...

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