Easter Dress

Easter isn't here yet, but Lent is and that means Easter is coming.  So I have to rant some more.  First off we don't call it Easter at our house, but most people do.  Now we refer to it as Passover or Resurrection Sunday, Easter is a pagan holiday, and we are not pagans.  For several years now I have been trying to do holidays different.  We don't to Santa, we don't give our children tons of presents.  Christmas at our home looks a little different then it used to.  We have been doing Resurrection Sunday different too.  One thing I stopped doing years ago is buying new clothes for Resurrection Sunday.  Now, I know Spring is about dead thing coming alive, flowers blooming, birds singing and all that great stuff you look forward to after a long winter of shoveling snow.

One thing I noticed was how much emphassis was put on resurrection Sunday dress.  Have you gone shopping yet? Did you get a hat? What are the children wearing? Do you all match? Let's plan a shopping trip! I found the perfect shoes!  Not to mention the money that goes into it. Let my just say that I think you should dress nice for church. However that might mean you nicest jeans, cleanest sneakers.  Every Resurrection Sunday every church we have gone to has always been packed!  Packed with lots of people wearing lots of new stuff.  Jesus didn't die so you could buy those new shoes you have been watching at the mall.  No matter where we have lived or what church we went to there is something that I noticed.  Not everyone can afford to buy the whole family new clothes for church.  You can totally tell who is wearing new and who isn't, not to mention all the fuss.  On Resurrection Sunday I humble go to the cross, not vain and all dressed up!

Not to mention the people that can't afford new stuff.  You don't think the other children notice that some kids don't have new shoes, dress, and a hat to match.  I don't want to go to church and make other feel uncomfortable.  I know of people that haven't gone to church because of not having brand new stuff to wear that Sunday.  Maybe it wouldn't be so bad but it is made into such a big thing. There are Easter sales, groups  of ladies to shopping trips, kids (mostly girls) talk about what they are getting.  When they should be talking about how Christ died for our sins, not if you got gloves or a hat!

There are women's organizations that help find batter women jobs, or shelters.  These women and children NEED clothes.  Women that have lost everything NEED clothes for job interviews.  These places take donations.  Last year I bought a dress and donated it.  Why? Because I had something to wear, because I never want to make other feel out of place being the only ones that can't afford something, because I am not worthy to go to the cross regardless of what I am wearing.  This year we may go to church in sweats, I go humble, not proud!

I know this isn't for everyone, I have been convicted you may not feel convicted that is fine.  My family is blessed, I am sure yours is too.  I don't want to collect riches in this world, I want to help and give to those that don't have.  I will set next to the homeless man at our church and not worry that my Easter whites will get dirty if he touches me.  And I hope he won't feel out of place watching everyone with all their new stuff shuffle in then out of the church, while he walks back down the alley to where he stay.  I know some people will say they buy new stuff, but it is not that big of a deal. Or we buy new stuff but we still talk about Jesus and our children know Easter is not about new clothes.  To that I would say good then the new stuff you buy they would happily donate, and you will buy the $100 pair of shoes and give them to away...right?

'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!' Matthew 25:40 Because I am doing this with my family doesn't mean I think I am better than people that don't agree with me. Obviously God convicted me for a reason! Because I put emphasis on what we would wear, and that I should buy Easter clothes for my family. Maybe you don't.

Fasting

Let me just give a brief history of my fasting.  I have fasted a meal to read God's word or pray for a person or situation. We have fish during Lent, most of the time, having a diabetic husband can make daily meals odd no matter what the season.  If he is low and needs to eat quick well, then that is what has to happen. Sure we could get the fish sandwich while in the drive thru, um, no thanks, I don't think that is actually fish. If you asked me I would have said "yes, I have fasted" if you ask God he might just roll his eyes and shake his head!

So I will be fasting on Fridays, till well, I don't know.  I drink only water. Yup, that is right no 3 cups of coffee in the am, no diet coke. P.S. I love my keurig, and diet coke! I need to go to diet coke rehab!

Yesterday, I started off and I thought it would be fairly easy to go the whole day 24hrs. with only water.  I usual don't eat till about 2:30pm anyway, that is almost half the day.  Well, when you don't have all that coffee and caffeine running through your body, the hunger kicks in WAY sooner! Let me just tell you by 10am, I cried! I did, I was so hungry and there were so many hours left, how could I do this.  I also have the will power of a two year old in a candy shop, and it is 2hours past nap time. I also need to mention that Friday is grocery day.  So I packed the kids up and went to the grocery, and I could smell the already cooked items just pulling up. So made it through, and nobody saw me licking the glass doors in the freezer section, at least I hope not.  I also do a lot of cooking at home. The menu for the evening was homemade-ish chicken pot pie. Not licking the spoon was so very hard!! Do you know how many spoon you lick a day? or knifes? or crumbs that you just pop-in your mouth? Half my calories any given day are completely mindless, licking while I make for others. Oh! back to dinner. Homemade fresh bread. Hot with dinner and pumpkin butter on top! I did not eat any crumbs as I cut the warm fresh, steamy bread, and as I spread the pumpkin butter I could smell it's butter goodness! But I also made desert, gingerbread cookies.  I also let the children decorate them.  Decorating is very messy, I did a lot of wiping my hands off. *shakes fist in air*. But I lived to write this today so it can be done!
Sorry there is no picture I could not punish my self further by having my yummy meal pose for pictures, besides my iPhone doesn't have an app for tasting.