It’s hard to believe we are in the month of April already. The temperature is gradually warming; the snow is melting, and my children are finally able to go outside without heavy snow-gear on (usually). This month is by far my favourite for three reasons: Spring, Easter and my birthday. Ever since I could remember, I have had this random tradition of walking by the woods near my house, and breathing in deeply on the first day of Spring.
“Christian, Spring was March 20th…not April, you noob.”
Yes, indeed, you are correct. For some reason though, I have always associated Spring with April. Maybe it’s because our snow rarely melts in March or the fact that Easter Break is in April. We actually had an Easter egg hunt outdoors on Sunday- in snow gear because it was only 1 degree celsius, yet there were patches of grass around which made it feel a little warmer.
It’s time for us to get started. I hope you had a wonderful Easter, and remember – He IS Risen!
Total Surprise
I love surprises.
Once I walked into my parents spare room and opened a Walmart bag just before Christmas. Inside was a golden nutcracker.
From my earliest memories, I have always loved being surprised and surprising others with gifts. I was not the child who went searching for his Christmas gifts – quite the opposite actually. I would find out where they were to ensure that I avoided that area. I did not want anything ruined for either my birthday or Christmas.
I was mortified.
I immediately went to my mother and told her I found a nutcracker and I thought it was mine. She was quite unhappy that I found one of my gifts and promptly returned it to the store. So let’s just say I didn’t make it a habit to find my gifts.
Fast forward to this past Good Friday – the day of my birthday.
While driving to church, my wife informed me that she was taking me for coffee after the service. I thought that was pretty neat – a nice coffee date just the two of us. She had arranged with my parents to watch the children, so after church we hopped in the car and left ( I had mentioned we should take the van, considering it’s a more comfortable drive. Yet Melissa was adamant on taking the car).
So off we went, driving through Conception Bay South and stopping into Starbucks for my free birthday latte. After that we drove in the direction of Topsail Beach, when oddly enough, my wife took the exit for the highway – going completely away from any relaxing coffee locations.
“Where are we going?” I asked.
“You’ll see,” Melissa answered.
Twenty-five minutes later we ended up in downtown St. John’s.
Now I was completely confused.
Where on earth is she taking me? For those of you who don’t know, we don’t go downtown St. John’s very often. So two thoughts crossed my mind.
1)We were heading to Signal Hills to possibly see icebergs.
2)She was going to make away with me and dump my body in the St. John’s harbour.
Legit thoughts going through my head. Don’t get me wrong, we have a great marriage and we love eachother, but my mind tends to exaggerate sometimes. So I decided to ask a very honest question.
“Are you planning on making away with me? If so, you won’t get my life insurance,” I said jokingly.
“Nah, I want you around a bit longer yet.”
What a relief.
We finally pulled into a random parking lot downtown, directly across the street was the Courtyard Marriott hotel.
“We’re here.” My wife popped the trunk, took out an overnight bag and smiled,
“Come on, let’s get going.”
Little did I know that she had booked an overnight stay at the hotel, arranged for my parents to stay with our children; for my brother-in-law to bring down Marvel Champions (a card game we play) and booked one of our favourite restaurants, The Fish Exchange– six weeks in advance.
What a woman!
Turning 33
“Christian, how old will you be this year?” my friend asked me two weeks ago.
“The same age that Jesus was – thirty-three.”
Yes sir, that has been my answer to every question this year regarding my age. Turning the big thirty-three has been quite a milestone for me. I started thinking about it last year, when I turned thirty-two (great math skills, hey?) I began reflecting on my life situation, and where I am going (figuratively speaking). Some people look at the decade ages – 20, 30, 40, 50, as milestones – yet I regard Jesus’ age as my milestone.
Hard questions like: What have I accomplished? Am I living my life for Jesus, or am I professing Jesus but living a double life? Am I doing what I should be for the Kingdom?
You know, Jesus accomplished a lot in a very short period of time. Most Biblical scholars agree that Jesus’ ministry lasted between 3 – 3.5 years – with his ministry starting in 27 A.D. and ending 30 A.D. He literally turned the world upside down in three years.
Whether or not you believe in Jesus, it is widely accepted now that Jesus did indeed exist and that he was a Jew who lived in Roman occupied present-day Israel. It is also widely confirmed through archeology and historical records from Christian and Secular sources that Jesus died through crucifixion by the hand of the Romans.
So with all this said (a simple Google search will confirm the paragraph above), what do we take from the story of Easter? A man who claimed to be the one-true-God, was crucified during this time of the year. This wasn’t enough however, because if the story ended with that – with the death of Jesus- wouldn’t he have been just like any other prophet or revolutionary who died with his beliefs and self-claims?
Yet the story doesn’t end there.
The most remarkable, fascinating, and truly miraculous thing happened…Jesus rose from the dead!
**** I PAUSE THIS BLOG TO BRING YOUR CURRENT TWIN DRAMA HAPPENING IN THE NEXT ROOM******
“NO THANK YOU!”
“STOP SAYING NO THANK YOU!”
“NO THANK YOU, ISAAC!”
“YOU CAN’T GET OUT, YOU CAN’T GET OUT. NAH NAH NAH NAH.”
The most annoying whine accompanied by the most authoritative voice – my Twins are currently fighting in the next room. Lord, give me patience.
*******************************
Back to my blog.
Jesus fulfilled everything he said that he would do. He has risen and for that reason we have hope.
Jesus said to Mary after he appeared to her outside the tomb, “I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.”
It was finished. The link that was broken between man and God had been repaired, through the shedding of blood and the sacrifice of Jesus’ life. Now we all can follow Jesus as Lord, because Jesus prepared the way for us; through him taking our place and dying for our sins – the very sin that had originally separated us from God.
I am thirty-three. I don’t know how much longer I have on this earth, but by the grace of God, I want to live my life for God, my family and to enjoy this life to the fullest – in Him. I am going to use the benchmark of thirty-three to inspire me with this thought: look at how much Jesus accomplished in three years. He changed the world. Yes, he was God, but he was also fully man.
It was just yesterday that I was driving out the CBS highway heading towards St. John’s when a young man passed me and struck black ice in his truck. I watched as the black truck swerved and “fish tailed”, before it went into the median at high speed and flipped multiple times in the air before landing on the opposite side of the highway, showering the road with vehicle parts and debris. I immediately pulled over and went to the assistance of the driver with some other people, and thankfully after emergency services came, the young man was taken to hospital.
I reflected on that incident a lot yesterday- it happened only 100 ft in front of my small car. I could have been the driver passing in that same spot. I thank God that I wasn’t, but man oh man, things can happen so suddenly. Thankfully my children were safe. They witnessed the truck flipping and debris going everywhere, and asked afterwards if the man had died – as he was ejected from the vehicle (as stated in the local news as well). I assured them that he wasn’t and that everything was okay.
My friend, don’t put off important decisions. By far, the most important decision is your salvation. That one governs your life now and also for eternity. We can not predict incidents so why take the chance?
Jesus told them, “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
Tracking Amazon Packages
***Click, Click, CLICK***
Oh, that is exactly what I want to buy out of my birthday money.
It doesn’t take me long to find something from Amazon – especially when I have birthday money or gift cards. Away I went searching for things that I wanted, finally settling on Sinister Motives, a Marvel Champions card game expansion.
So it begins.
A few hours later, an email arrives in my Inbox – “Your Amazon package has shipped.”
LET”S GO!!!!
*Click*
Delivery est. Sunday.
“Package arrived at an Amazon facility.
I checked about five times that day for an update.
Next day.
*Click*
“Package left an Amazon facility.
LONGUEUIL, Quebec CA”
COME ON BABY!
Checking Amazon another five times…no change.
One hour later.
*Click*
Dang, I got issues…
Anyone relate? 🙂
Christian
The Eason Clan 