He is Risen! Were there ever words that proclaimed so much hope to humanity?

"...if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep!" (1 Cor. 15:17-20)

I love winter and I'm sorry to see it go, but I must admit that it's sweet to taste the strawberries and asparagus and see the tiny, spring green leaves on the trees outside my window. Sad that we've already had to close the house and turn the air on...early April seems just too...well, early.

My talented son-in-law Dave has spent the past week enclosing our deck with rails and balusters and solar lighting. For several years it's been just a flat 1400 sq. ft. expanse of deck with no adornments. No longer...it's becoming the Cinderella I always wanted. Next phase, later this month: a lovely pergola in one corner, ten feet on each side. It will be a great place to sit and eat and enjoy our few nice days in the summer...or to highlight special occasions ;-) [If you live in San Antonio or the Hill Country and need a great remodeler/renovator/carpenter, you need to get in touch with Dave!]

Despite the MSM's attempts to marginalize and demonize the Tea Party movement, they are going to have trouble explaining the increasing number of independents and Dems who are, shall we say, dipping their bread in the tea.... Disgruntled Dems Join Tea Party

I think it's about time they rename it and make it official: FOX News is now CNN. Cleavage News Network. I simply cannot take the news seriously when it's delivered by a girl in a prom dress or a negligee. There are just some things I don't need to see. I'm wondering if when FOX says they're "fair and balanced" they mean they're balancing their conservative viewpoint with a licentious and many times silly atmosphere. And please...don't even get me started on Shepard Smith.

PLEASE read Son of Hamas. I finished it this week and highly recommend it, even for your kids, say, 12 and up. Especially boys. It's a quick read, a very inspirational true story about the son of the co-founder of Hamas who is convinced to work for Shin Bet (Israeli intelligence) and then becomes a Christian. His account of all sides is very balanced and compassionate, but he doesn't hesitate to show the darker side of all sides in the Middle East.

Well, it's totally appropriate in my mind that my next surgery, the one that I'm praying will give me a new life, will fall on Easter week. I will go in early Wednesday morning for what's expected to be nearly an all-day surgery, followed by a week in the hospital and perhaps a couple of weeks of inpatient rehab after that. It will be a difficult road, perhaps more so than any of my other hip replacements and revisions, but I am looking forward to this one like no other. By Wednesday I will have been sitting/reclining for three full months, and I haven't walked since December 22. So this is really going to be a new beginning, very fitting for the week of Easter! Praise God for His faithfulness!

"Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all..."

Labels: Books, Health, Holidays, Political Observation, TV