HE IS RISEN INDEED!

"He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem."
          -Isaiah 53:3

"Having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross."
          -Colossians 2:14


""He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.""
          -1 Peter 2:24


"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."
          -John 3:16

"Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life.  He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die."

          -John 11:25-26

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

          -Phillippians 3:10-12

"Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.  For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him.  The death he died, he died to sin once and for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."

          -Romans 6:8-11

My Savior Lives

Our God wil reign forever

And all the world will know His name

Everyone together sing the song of the redeemed

I know that my redeemer lives

And now I stand on what He did

My Savior, my Savior lives

Every day a brand new chance to say

"Jesus, You are the only way"

My Savior, my Savior lives

The King has come from Heaven

And darkness trembles at His name

Victory forever is the song of the redeemed

I know that my redeemer lives

And now I stand on what He did

My Savior, my Savior lives

Every day a brand new chance to say

"Jesus, You are the only way"

My Savior, my Savior lives

My Savior lives, My Savior lives, 

My Savior lives, 

My Savior lives, 

My Savior lives, My Savior lives!

festivities:

my Easter basket made by my wonderful husband:

the random pinata tradition (which we all love) created by my dad's parents: 

spectators

 the younger kid's pinata

grandpa doing what he loves...adjusting the pinata so we miss when we swing!

me taking a swing at the big kid's pinata

a friendly game of whiffle ball!

march

march was a very busy month for us!  we traveled to phoenix, austin and chicago!  phoenix and austin were both HFMA meetings for my husband and we traveled to chicago for America's Beauty Show!  in phoenix, while chris was not attending meetings, we got the chance to have dinner with cousin Megan and her husband craig, cousin ben and his girlfriend tiffany, my high school friends katrina and carissa and carissa's husband jason and chris' college friends, chris and courtney.....not all at once, of course.  we also briefly visited the chicago cub's spring training stadium and attending an arizona diamondbacks game!  in austin, i had the chance to meet up with my friend shawna for lunch and a little tour of the city.  we happened to be in chicago the weekend before st. patty's day which is when they dye the Chicago River green...something i've always wanted to see and finally got the chance!  we spent an afternoon with several college friends and also a childhood friend, tony and his fiance, heidi who will be married this september!  although it may seem as though not much work was done, that is not the case!  :) enjoy these photos which briefly document our crazy month!

cousin Megan, her husband Craig and their 3 beautiful boys

 the cub's spring training field

 at the arizona diamondbacks spring training game

 my friends katrina and carissa from high school.  we used to cheer together! :)

 chris' cousin ben and his girlfriend tiffany

 having lunch on lake travis in austin, tx

 sandra bullock's restaurant in austin

 the chicago river being dyed green!!!

 chris will be tony's best man in september when he marries heidi!

i'mgivingmyblogsomelove

i've been blog surfing and cultivating new and fresh ideas for my blog.  this what happens when i travel with my husband for work.  i spend a bit too much time 'surfing' and get crazy ideas!  stay tuned for a blog makeover with the help of Masto Mama Designs!  i could never figure this out on my own so i'm seeking some professional guidance and i'm pretty excited about it.  and after this wonderful makeover, i'll be sure to post more often.  i've been so bad lately!

on another note: Chris and i are currently in Austin, catching a flight later this afternoon.  i'm about to head to Walton's Fancy and Staple, Sandra Bullock's restaurant!  sidebar: if i ever open a salon, the name will be a spin-off from this name because i've always loved it!

why go to church when hypocrites are there?

Excuse: People who go to church are a bunch of hypocrites!


Answer: Churchgoers pretend to be good for a few hours on Sunday morning but they are like everyone else the rest of the week. A common misunderstanding about church is that it should somehow make us better people. It is not the action of going to church, but the encounter with God and others that changes our lives for the better. Most people who go to church do not understand this and thus do not seek to have life changing experiences through worship and church activities.

Christians are humans who believe that Jesus is God and that He has made us acceptable to Himself by paying the penalty for our sins on the cross (Romans 6:23). Therefore, what makes Christians unique is not the outward appearance but what God has done on the inside by changing the soul and mind (2 Corinthians 5:17). Those who sincerely call upon Jesus to save them from their sins experience a spiritual birth that gradually transforms the mind and behavior conforming us to His will (John 1:12;Romans 12:1-2).

Christians can be seen to be hypocrites more easily than someone who does not profess any beliefs because Christian standards are defined in the Bible, whereas personal standards can be changed to fit circumstances or are unknown to others. The bottom line is that all humans are hypocrites because we all fail to consistently live up to any standards of behavior that are defined. The difference is that Jesus forgives the hypocrisy of believers and has sent His Holy Spirit to guide and transform those who know Him as Savior and confess Him as Lord (Romans 10:9-10).


*disclaimer:  these brilliant words are not my own.  i read them from a blog titled' "Created For His Glory" at createdforhisglory5.blogspot.com!  i wish i had come up with this but thought it was so great i had to share!  

be.

more of san antonio.

a few pictures from our trip to san antonio....in addition to where's waldo!

mom and dad standing on the bridge over the river

 having lunch on the riverwalk

dad, chris and i

mom and dad in front of the alamo

our turn for a pic!

while chris was in meetings, mom, dad and i went on a riverboat ride

dad went to take a picture with the elvis statue and afterwards he moved and scared us to death!  we thought he was fake but dad realized he was real as soon as he posed for the pic! :)

waiting for the longhorn to come down the street to begin the parade that kicks off the rodeo!  kinda scary that the only thing between us and them is that wimpy orange fencing.....

that white one stopped right in front of us and stared!  i grabbed my stuff and was ready to run!!

waiting for the bus that took us to the Spurs game!

on the way to the airport chris made us stop at the TPC san antonio golf course so he could check it out