2013 ... how did it get here so quickly..???

... in a little less than 2 days...
 I will be the parent of a high school graduate .....
 the saying  "time flies" is an understatement if you ask me ....
 I am NOT ready for this .... but he is ... (the graduating senior)

It seems like only yesterday I was sleeping with my arm draped over the edge of the bassinet to make sure he was breathing .... or snuggling him on the couch while we watched Toy Story for the millionth time ...... catching him "stamping" with my address stamp in my bible ... (oh boy you shoulda seen the face) .... watching him walk up that ramp to preschool .... then climbing on that big yellow bus for the first time ....... then moving and changing schools, he didn't (and still doesn't) like changes unless they are on his terms ... he was so scared he ran out of the classroom when I left, and followed me down the hall ... the school counselor and the nurse became his buddies for at least 1/2 that year ..... but when he settled in and made friends, he made several for life ..... some he had know since birth, others became the friends he has LOTS in common with .... then there was the brief experience with Boys Scouts, the years of soccer, Little League, Junior football for a couple, then he found Lacrosse and it was settled. There have been a couple girls that have had his heart ... although he won't admit that there were also a couple that crushed it .... he found himself (sort of) in middle school... he stepped out and became a leader ... a voice to be heard, and a force to be reckoned with ... ( no one ever tried though) ... he found a couple more friends ... these are the "crew" as it were, that still hang around ....

 Then it happened ... he started high school ... and it was the beginning of the end .... the grades have stayed steady, and the behavior (in public) is exemplary (for the most part) .... and he made a choice I couldn't in 10th grade ... to go to the School of Tech .... in my mind one of the single most important choices he could make ... and he did well ... spectacular in fact ... he has received awards, was inducted into the "Technical Honor Society", and placed 3rd in the state at the Skills Competition. VERY PROUD MAMA right here... :)  Which trade did he choose?? .... HVAC/plumbing ... emphasis on plumbing ... he found a full time summer job last year and that is where his future is after graduation ... he has a small scholarship for education.. his plans are to take the "welding" course through the college.

 He is truly a young man I have grown extremely proud of.... but more so of the Christ-likeness I see in him... see ... that is more important to me than any earthly goal .... to be a "Man after God's own heart" ... that is what I pray for him... I can only hope that his father and I have given him a firm foundation for his own faith .... we are certainly NOT perfect in our own ... and we try to make sure ALL of our kids know that .... trust me they see more cracks than any other people on earth ... but I also hope they see the reality in our faith ... the truth .... we too are still growing in it .... 

So in just a few short hours ..... the world will gain another working man, another taxpayer (oh joy) ... another young mind, eager to make his mark on the world ...

 .... so have at it Jacob Kenneth Clausius .... may you make Godly choices, be it in work, in love, and in life ..... Only those are the ones that will matter in the end ....

We love you more than you could ever imagine .... and our prayers are for you to grow in Him .... and we are SO VERY PROUD of your accomplishments thus far .....

Congratulations !!!!!    to you and the entire graduating Class of 2013 !!!!!

May God bless you all ... today and also in the future ..... !!!!  

He is RISEN ....... INDEED !!!!!!!

   The following is my personal thought path that became my lesson for the Junior high girls this evening..... I will let you know however ... it was preceded by a viewing of the "Passion" .... since it is in fact the Holy week. My mind was flooded with a thousand thoughts all at once but what you are about to read is what I caught on paper........

   I would encourage you to read the story yourself first ... I read it from Matthew .. starting in chapter 21 and then through.. (minus the parables) to the crucifixion and lastly the BEST part the resurrection!!!

   It was a lot of scripture to read through and while Matthew wasn't my first choice ... he does cover most of the bases. So read the story..... be taken back ....refresh your mind .. or maybe discover it for the first time ... you won't be disappointed....


   ......This past Sunday Jesus would have ridden into Jerusalem .. on a donkey... with GREAT excitement . The Jews believed him to be the long awaited "King" ...... come to save them from their "captors" as it were. But all too soon their joy and excitement turned to anger and resentment.
They were looking for Him to save them from their earthly "captivity".... He came to free them from their "spiritual" captivity......

    He was betrayed by a friend, one who valued the small sack of coins more than the life a friend...even if only for a moment....

   While He prayed in the Garden..... His other friends fell asleep... when all He had asked of them was to stay awake......

   Then while on trial....for false charges nonetheless.... one of these same friends denied knowing Him.... not once.... not twice... but 3 times...

   His own people were rejecting the truth that stood before them,
                                                                  that lived and breathed...
                                                                     One that many had listened to,
                                                                        and said they believed in.
                                                                          They had eaten with Him....followed Him ....
                                                                    but now were scorning Him,  .....and ready to kill Him

   ..... WHY????? ..... why had they changed their minds so quickly...... how had they gone from love to hate in less than a week ...?????

   In part ... because He was not what they "wanted"....
                     He didn't follow the rules they thought He should ....
                                    He didn't do the things they thought He would....
                                                 
  In fact ..... He was what they "needed" ...........................

   He brought them the truth, because He was the truth............

      He brought them life, because He was the life .........

        ...and He brought the Way ... because without His death on the cross ... there wouldn't be a way!


The truth is this .... the details ... as painful as they are ... and ultimately Christ's crucifixion on that cross .... that is the truth that sets us free.


Each of us have been one of those friends ... we have played at least one of those roles in our lives...

   .... the betrayer ... by denial, or gossip, maybe revenge, or maybe even for the "money"...

      ...we have  let someone we love down ... we fell asleep when they needed us

         ..we have believed lies for the truth ....

          ... and ALL of us at one time or another have expected Jesus to be something we "wanted"         rather than what He is ......


               .... and yet now ....... just like then ......

   ... He has already forgiven us .... we just need to ask .......

             .... "For by His stripes, we are healed" .....


Just like many of the prophecies in the Old Testament .... these things were meant to happen just as they did.

While the one who betrayed Him did in fact take His own life .... there are happier endings too ....
    ... Those who fell asleep ...became the one's who spread the gospel...
      ....The one who denied Him .... became the "rock" the church was built on ...
          ... and those who scorned Him .....even some who had cried out .... "CRUCIFY HIM!!!"
                   they became followers and members of the first churches ......


I certainly hope that you can enjoy and celebrate this Easter Sunday with the joy that comes from knowing that ...... HE is Risen INDEED ...... HALLELUJAH .....!!!!!!