He is Risen Indeed!
Christos Voskress! Voistinu Voskress!
Христос Воскрес!
Воистину воскрес!
Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!
Category Archives: Easter
Good Friday ~ How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
How Deep the Father’s Love For Us
How deep the Father’s love for us,
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure
How great the pain of searing loss,
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the chosen One,
Bring many sons to glory
Behold the Man upon a cross,
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed I hear my mocking voice,
Call out among the scoffers
It was my sin that left Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished
I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection
Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom
~Stuart Townend
Luke 23:44 ~ It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.
Luke 23:49 ~ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
All these images are from Monumentale Cemetery in Milan, Italy taken 10 days ago.
Maundy Thursday
I took this photo just 9 days ago at the Monumentale Cemetery in Milan. Today and this whole week Christians around the world remember the events that led up to the crucifixion and Christ’s resurrection over 2000 years ago. I always look forward to celebrating our risen Lord who is alive today. The Last Supper and the Washing of the Disciples Feet are both remarkable events. While in Milan I was also able to see Leonardo da Vinci’s mural of the Last Supper. The original mural is on a wall of the refectory (dining hall) in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, Italy. No photos allowed. This next sculpture of Jesus washing Peter’s feet is at the Gardens of the World in Thousand Oaks, California.
Excerpts from John chapter 13…
It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Fairest Lord Jesus ~ Hymn
Fairest Lord Jesus
Fairest Lord Jesus, Ruler of all nature,
O Thou of God and man the Son,
Thee will I cherish, Thee will I honor,
Thou, my soul’s glory, joy and crown.
Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring;
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer,
Who makes the woeful heart to sing.
Fair is the sunshine,
Fairer still the moonlight,
And all the twinkling starry host;
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heaven can boast.
All fairest beauty, heavenly and earthly,
Wondrously, Jesus, is found in Thee;
None can be nearer, fairer or dearer,
Than Thou, my Savior, art to me.
Beautiful Savior! Lord of all the nations!
Son of God and Son of Man!
Glory and honor, praise, adoration,
Now and forever more be Thine.
Have a wonderful Palm Sunday and beginning of Holy Week everyone…
FFF ~ All About Easter…
What a great week starting off with a glorious Easter celebration. My 5 favorites are all about Easter.
1. Easter services at church. I love to see the little ones come all dolled up in their spring finery. I love to sing the wonderful Easter songs.
2. Flowers that bloom at Easter time are another favorite.
3. Russian Easter Bread with Sweet Cheese spread are two traditional things we always have at Easter.
4. Easter meals that we enjoy with loved ones.
5. That Jesus paid the penalty for me and opened up the door for me to have a relationship and new life in Him.
Anneliese, Judy, Lovella and I are all in one of our hotel rooms typing away on our computers. So classic. I’ll share more about Fresno next week. We hit the ground running tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Easter Day 2012
Dear and I were out the door early Easter morning and attended the 7:00 a.m. service. It was a great way to start this glorious Easter day. The Easter cross was on center stage!
After church I set the places for our Easter meal.
We had Shashlik (marinated lamb barbecued on skewers), glazed ham, roasted vegetables and salad. I sent ham home with our guests, too.
Our centerpiece was our Russian Easter Bread. Some people call it Paska. We call it Kulich.
The signs written in Russian say, Christ is Risen, Truly He is Risen or He is Risen Indeed.
This is Searnaya Paska which is served with our Easter Bread. Searnaya Paska is a sweetened cheese spread that is made with a type of dry cheese, egg yolks, butter, cream, and sugar. Don’t even bother trying to figure out the calories or how it will raise your cholesterol levels. The mixture is pressed overnight in a mold to get the excess liquid out. Besides the sweet cheese we serve this with strawberries. A most wonderful combination. Think strawberry shortcake.
To document the fact that we got amazing sunshine on Easter 2012 I had Lana and Laura pose with some Easter symbols outside.
Look at them! They are squinting. That made us happy today!
We all spent some time out in the Easter sunshine soaking up some vitamin D.
We are full and satisfied with all the glory of the day we enjoyed. Hope you had a wonderful Easter Day!
He is Risen!
Christos Voskress! Voistina Voskress!
Христос Воскрес!
Воистину воскрес!
Christ is Risen!
Truly He is Risen!
At the Feet of Jesus
At the feet of Jesus,
Listening to His word;
Learning wisdom’s lesson
From her loving Lord;
Mary, led by heav’nly grace,
Chose the meek disciple’s place.
At the feet of Jesus
Is the place for me,
There a humble learner
Would I choose to be.
At the feet of Jesus,
Pouring perfume rare,
Mary did her Savior
For the grave prepare;
And, from love the good work
done,
She her Lord’s approval won.
At the feet of Jesus
Is the place for me,
There, in sweetest service
Would I ever be.
At the feet of Jesus,
In that morning hour,
Loving hearts, receiving
Resurrection power,
Haste with joy to preach the word;
Christ is risen, praise the Lord!
At the feet of Jesus,
Risen now for me,
I shall sing His praises
Through eternity.
Words: Philip P. Bliss, 1876.
Getting Ready…
…for my favorite day of the year! Celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus tops my list.
The house is getting ready with a little bit of Easter decor.
The yard is coming back to life after being dead all winter.
Churches all over the world are getting ready for Easter services.
Pansies that are yellow and purple are such a sign of Easter to me and they are ready for Easter.
Looking way back at Easter’s past in Southern California. Part of getting ready for Easter were new outfits every year.
One of our favorite little bunnies doing her favorite thing way back in 1987 or 1988…
This year 2 of our 3 kids will be celebrating in different parts of the country. Katie colored eggs in her own home this year.
Lana, Laura and I finished our Paska/Kulich on Good Friday to enjoy on Easter.
Easter tables from previous years. I’ll be getting our Easter table 2012 ready tomorrow for our celebration on Sunday.
My sweet cheese spread (Seernaya Paska) is in it’s cheese mold getting ready to spread on our Kulich/Paska on Easter.
Are you ready?
…”So people get ready, there’s a train a comin’
You don’t need no baggage, you just get on board
All you need is faith to hear the diesels hummin’
Don’t need no ticket, you just thank the Lord”
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. ~ John 14:6
Good Friday 2012
John 17: 1-5
After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.
John 19: 16-18
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). Here they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
This week in history is so important to our world. It’s no wonder that we still take notice 2000+ years later. The events leading up to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ are powerful. His Resurrection will never be trumped by any other event in history. The name of Jesus has more power then any other. Today my DIL Laura and I will be baking and keeping with our Russian traditions of making Easter Bread (Kulich) and a sweet cheese spread for the bread called Seernaya Paska in anticipation of our Resurrection Sunday celebration. Lana G! usually participates but she had a softball injury and crushed some bone in her left wrist/forearm. She had surgery on Wednesday and is in a temporary cast so she’ll be supervising and giving us tips. Growing up Good Friday was a day of fasting until our church gathering Friday evening. After the service the congregation would break bread together and have a meal to break the fast. Good Friday was a very sorrowful day for the followers of Jesus 2000 years ago because they could not understand yet the miracle of His resurrection that brought them out of their despair. I’m glad we know the end of the story. Our Savior conquered death and He lives and still saves today. “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”
Have a wonderful Easter Everyone!
Let’s Dish ~ Palm Sunday
We had a relaxed lunch on Palm Sunday with Josh and Laura. It was nice to catch up over some good food.
This is my pre-Easter table. On Easter I’ll have my Russian Easter Bread (Kulich/Paska) as my centerpiece.
I didn’t arrange my plate for a photo op so it’s hard to tell what we served. We had rack of lamb, roasted vegetables, and a loaded salad. Our dessert was simple with just sugared strawberries and angel food cake.
We’re looking forward to our Easter celebration coming up this Sunday. We’ll be having a small group for Easter this year. All is good because God is good.
Click over to Cuisine Kathleen to Dish!
The Happy Wonderer ~ ellen b. 