Tim and I shared Easter morning with Ben and Rachel at their church in Cleveland called, Reaping The Harvest. It is at W. 103rd and Lorain. It is a store front church that is growing. They have chairs for 40 people and now are thinking ahead to working hard to get the new church so they can expand. They have regulars each Sunday and some are in and out.
There is a tenant above the church who doesn't like the music and pounds on his floor to get them to stop. Well wouldn't you know it during the service he began pounding on the floor. Tim and I were looking up wondering what it was but everyone else ignored it. It continued for a bit then all was silent. Okay, I think, all is good. Next think you know the electricity went out during the sermon.
So the pastor is loud enough he can preach without a microphone.
Now I'm distracted because people are checking the electrical box which is in our sight. People from the church are going back and forth, in and out of the church with phones.
I'm also wondering how they will pull off the breakfast after the service. God was obviously working through all of this. He provided a restaurant nearby who provided pancakes. A local coffee place provided coffee and cream. AND...God had prompted one of the women from the church to make the scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes and sausage ahead of time. They were all being kept warm in warming trays.
So as we ate, we thanked God for providing our food. The people there were a mix of many different cultures. Some of the people came for breakfast but stayed to talk. No matter the reason people were there we all enjoyed each other's company.
As we were eathing the lights came back on. That prompted a Jamaican man and the keyboardist to start a little something on the stage. The man sang and the keyboard played. Others joined in to sing along. It was a delightful spur of the moment show.
Home
We came home to rest before going back out to family gatherings. I bought a bit of candy and made a gift card holder and candy holder for Tim and the kids. I added them and some candy to a basket. They were happy with even a small amount of candy and a Starbucks gift card.
Tim and the kids headed off to his brother's house for Easter in Stow. It's a good 45 minutes from us. I stayed here and worked on cards.
Mom's
I wanted to go early to my mom's house to talk to her before all the family arrived. These types of days are anxiety-filled for her.
Part of the anxiety comes from not being able to help Joe with getting things ready. Part of it is the chaos of moving furniture and lots of people coming in. She was just putting on her shoes from coming down from her bedroom, when I got there. She was so full of anxiety she had to lay down upstairs so she wasn't in the middle of the moving of things.
We talked about how she was feeling. The anxiety isn't overwhelming when she can talk to someone like me. I can talk to her to try to lower it by talking about it,then we go on to other things. She enjoys stories about the kids, and pictures I bring to share.
When the rest of the family came, she was teasing people by saying something about how quiet it was, then all these people show up. She loved seeing the next generation of little ones. Her 3 great-grandchildren were there. Jake is 3. Aubrey is 4 maybe and Mia is 3 months old.
I wish I could have gotten the beautiful picture of Mia staring at Mom as she talked to her so quietly. It was so precious!
I think there were 14 people there. My sister Molly, made the best cheesecake I've tasted in a long, long time. She said it was our Aunt Junie's recipe. I'm going to have to get my hands on that recipe.
Although, I have to say that Mom's recipe is my favorite!
My brother invited Sammy to join us. Sammy is 44 years old now. I can't believe he's that old. Sammy was a foster child in Joe's ex-wife's family. Sammy lived with his adopted mom until she died. Sammy was then placed in an apartment complex where individuals with disabilities live with help. Sammy says they cook his food so they must go to a common area for meals.
If Joe wouldn't have had Chad pick him up, Sammy would have been alone for Easter. It seems his siblings don't contact him much.
Sammy had a great time watching all that went on. Then my sister, Laura asked the little kids if they wanted to take a ride in her VW bug convertible. I asked Sammy if he wanted to go to. He was up and out the door!
Laura took them just up and down the street. Mom lives on a dead end street so there is a turn around at the end. So we could see the car going around and around the circle at the end of the street. Then she'd go to the other end with a business and parking lot. We could see her doing the same thing up there. I'm sure there were laughs and squeals of excitement there too.
Simple things like this can mean so much. Do you think Sammy and those kids will ever forget that ride? Sammy will probably talk all week about it with his friends. This is one of the first family events that all was calm. There were no feelings of resentment. Thank you God. It was so encouraging!
Home Again
I worked on a few cards from a kit I ordered from Stampin' Up.
Then I rested with a book I've just started called, The Praying Wife by Stormie Omartain. I've been lax in praying for Tim. I think if I can read through this book each day it will help me gather thoughts and pray more regularly for him. I also hope that through reading the book, I will be changed. I'm not trying to change Tim, but me. We'll see how it goes.
I saw this late last night I I just chuckled.....
This is the verse of the day on my blog. It was so comforting to read.
Matt Kearney flies Southwest Airlines a lot and this time he gave a mini concert. He is a Christian artist doing his thing spreading the good news through his music.
Thanks for enduring the length of this post.
Blessings,
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