Preparation is Key

A week from today is Easter Sunday.  When I think about Easter from when I was a child, I remember Easter egg hunts, candy, money, and family.  I remember once when we went out to Grandma and Grandpa's and they hid, not your traditional Easter eggs, but plastic eggs filled with candy and coins.  And then if you were really good at spotting them, you might find a Reese's egg that had cash strapped to the back of it!  The reason this sticks out so much to me is because it was one of the first and only times I ever beat my brother.  HAHAHAHAHA!  I know he wasn't letting me when either because he was legitimately upset when I found anything else.  Oh brother sister rivalry!  However, as I have gotten older (yes I realize that I sound super old when I say that), I have come to realize the greater meaning behind this holiday.  I was preparing my lesson for Sunday School and was reminded of the greatness of the sacrifice that was made, the weight of the debt that was paid, and the spectacular events that occurred.  If it is unclear what I am writing about, then let me clear it up a bit.  I am talking about the death of Jesus Christ, God in the form of a Man.  The fact that He lived a perfect, sinless, Holy life and yet died a brutal, painful, humiliating death that He did not deserve.  And, He did it willingly to accomplish the will of God, to be the perfect, sinless sacrifice for sinners.  I remember when I first came to the realization of this magnificent truth.  I was lying in bed and looking at who I was.  The person that I was.  How ridiculous I could be (and still can be).  The anger I had towards others, the sinful person that I was.  And then I remembered what the Bible said Christ's life was.  How not one evil thought crossed His mind.  How he never responded in anger.  How even when people were beating Him, spitting on Him, mocking Him, and torturing Him, He did not sin once.  And that is when I realized my debt.  The debt of sin. Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."  How that sin has to be paid for. Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."  And the weight that that carries!!!  But that is when my eyes were opened to the truth written in that same Bible. Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in Salvation."  It was that night that the Lord opened my eyes to see my sinfulness, but He also opened my eyes to see the magnificent Savior that paid my penalty of sin so that I may have eternal life.  

As I mentioned earlier, Easter as a child meant egg hunts, candy, and family.  What it also meant was we would be going to church.  Not because we wanted to, but because it is "what you do on Easter Sunday."  It was one of those "church holidays."  But now it is entirely different! I now understand what this holiday really means.  I understand that we are celebrating Christ. We are celebrating the AMAZING work that He accomplished on the cross, in His death, and in His resurrection.  So as Easter Sunday approaches I want to take this week to prepare my heart and my mind for next Sunday when I get to gather with my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and celebrate Christ.  I hope that if you understand what this holiday means, you will join your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and celebrate as well.  If you don't understand the "big deal" with Easter, please feel free to message me and we can talk further.  Have a great week!

PS- I have included my weekly weight/inch results at the bottom.

	Initial Weight	Bust (inches)	Waist (inches)	Hips (inches)	Right Thigh (inches)	Right Arm (inches)
Starting	244	45	40	51	32	15
Week 1	243.8	45	38.5	50	31	14.5
Week 2	243.3	44	38	50	31	14.5
Week 3	245.1	44	38	50	30.5	15
Week 8	246.2	44.5	39	51	30.5	16
Week 9	247.2	45.0	38.5	50.5	30.5	15
Difference from Starting	+3.2	0	-1.5	-0.5	-1.5	0