Holidays and Politics...An Odd Combination!

Easter...Or Do You Prefer Resurrection Sunday?

Hello!  I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter/Resurrection Sunday last weekend.  Ours was quite nice and relaxing, despite more rain.  We attended our normal Sunday church services, then went home and had a nice dinner comprised of roast turkey breast, stuffing, boiled buttered potatoes, and asparagus.  For dessert, a chocolate pudding pie in a graham cracker crust.  Yum!  Hubby and I did some housework while waiting for the turkey to roast.  I'm still behind from when I was gone for a week.  It was funny, because it was cool and rainy out, and the house smelled like Thanksgiving, and I think it confused my senses a bit!  But overall, a nice day.  A great day, as is any day, to remember the hope that God gave us when He sent His Son to die so that we could live in Him!  May every day be Easter to you who are saved!

Below are photos of the Easter sand sculpture that a local ministry creates every year.  It's an enormous display carved completely from sand and housed under the shelter of the farmer's market area of the fairgrounds.  It takes many people many hours to create it, and it usually remains up for quite a while after Easter.  Click on the pictures to enlarge them!

Politics...No, I Won't Bore You
We were invited to a neighbor's house earlier this week to listen to a mayoral primary candidate speak.  Our town is going to elect a new mayor in the fall, and there are four Republican candidates running in the primary (and oddly enough, no Democratic candidates), so the race is becoming interesting.  We will vote in the primary next week.  I am not extremely political, although I do have strong opinions when it comes to the rules and laws of this city, state, and country.  I do not proclaim to be either Republican or Democrat, nor am I interested in debating the pros and cons of each side.  I simply know what is right or wrong, and most of those views come from Biblical teaching.  Anyway, I have to say that the candidate we heard last night seems like he would be a good leader for the town.  He has quite an impressive private resume, and does not seek higher political office (according to him).  He claims to want to do the job because he is capable, not because he wants to be mayor.  I won't bore you with details, but I thought it was fun and interesting to listen to someone who seems to genuinely care about the future of the community, and I will probably vote for him.  Perhaps someone I vote for will actually make it to office!

Vacation

I am very ready for our vacation.  That's all I have to say about that.

Flooding

I am so tired of rain and flooding.  That's all I have to say about that.

I took this picture earlier this week as the sun was coming up.  This is a church behind our house, and the sun was at a perfect angle to shine through the stained glass window.  It was so beautiful and vibrant that I had to take a picture...it made me think of just how beautiful everything is that God has created, especially right now as the flowers are blooming and everything is becoming green and lush again.  Everything seems so alive!  God created that, and God loves everything He created, especially us.  Lamentations 3:22-23 says, "Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,  for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness."  We do not deserve the love and compassion that God has for us, but He gives it anyway, and He gives it freely, if we want to take it.  I would suggest accepting anything that God gives us--it's always going to be awesome!

Singin' In The Rain

Our Yearly Flood

What a dramatic last few days it has been!  We made the national news again for our flooding problems here.  Hard to believe that we've flooded again, and yet, I'm getting used to it.  It seems like there has been some sort of major flooding in this area at least once each year since we've moved here.  I found myself backtracking twice on the way to work this morning, both times due to flooded major roads.  I wish I had taken my camera around to take pictures, but I really don't want to face a possible third-degree misdemeanor, whatever that may be.  It doesn't sound pleasant, I know that!  If you would like to see pictures of what the northwest Ohio area looks like that other people were brave enough to take, here are a few links from an area television station for you to view: Riverbend Recreation Area (you can see the main entrance to the reservoir, and the newly-built covered bridge that spans the river), Lighthouse Park (you can see the tops of the pine trees, and the tops of the pavillions, this photo was taken before the river crested), Riley Creek, near Pandora (notice the half-submerged mailbox on the far right half of the photo), and the Bluffton area (the community was reportedly evacuated, but this cute doggy seems to be patiently waiting for his owner to heed the warning).  The downtown is again under water, parts of I-75 were closed due to flooding, and surrounding areas and communities have been evacuated once again.  I don't know how these businesses keep rebuilding and reopening like this...unfortunately, it has taken a toll on our downtown area.  I know that this area is not the only area that has flooded; there has been flooding across Indiana, and other parts of the country too.  Please pray for all of the people that have again been affected/displaced by another flood.

The flooding seems to have stopped, and things are now slowing returning to normal.  Flooding is no stranger to our earth, it has happened to varying degrees for thousands of years.  God promised that he would never send another catastrophic flood again after THE flood He sent back in Genesis: "Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth." (Genesis 9:16)  Even when catastrophes do occur, God does not forget us, or turn His back on us.  Look for the rainbow in every bad thing that happens, both literally and figuratively!