Easter...


Eternity is waiting for you
After you're finished on this Earth. Through the gift of
Salvation, God gives this priceless gift
To each of us no matter our race, creed, color, age, gender, past or present.
Even when you think He won't accept you because of things you've done, He promises to
Reach out His hand and takes you just the way you are.




One of my fondest memories of Easter was the year my family spent it at my grandparents home in Central Florida. 
I was 10 years old.
I woke up Easter morning and like most 10 year olds, I ran into the kitchen to find the goodies waiting.
I stopped dead in my tracks as I stared at the table in the center of the room.
That was it????
...jelly beans???
There were a million.
All over the kitchen table.
Wow---I thought..."I guess the Easter Bunny was busy this year."
And then, my beloved grand-dad came to the rescue.
I can hear that shaky little voice, "Well, what's that? It looks like something out there under the palm tree in the front yard." (I know, weired to say Easter Bunny and palm tree in the same breath...)
I darted around to find him peering out through the front screen door.
Me and my brother dashed outside to hopefully find the rest of our treasure.
ANd there it was!
Sand buckets cascading over with candy...
And then we saw them!
Easter eggs!
Hidden!
All over the yard...
well,...slightly hidden.
I knew it!!!
Dew still on the ground, didn't phase us at all.
After we found all we could, we gathered our goods and went inside to the smell of fresh eggs and bacon coming from the kitchen.
The million jelly beans were still on the table...this time it didn't look so bad.
We scooped them into our buckets and laughed at the sight of all our treasures.
How perfect we thought...Easter in Florida, sand buckets, grandparents, the smell of breakfast and yummy candy!
What more could a kid want?!


I really do think of that as a fond memory.
Most of us have experienced this at some point, on some level.
Most ALL of us.
But I am sad to think that most ALL of us haven't experienced Easter as it was truly meant to be.


I think---35 years later---of what Easter really is.
Now I know the truth...the only truth.


It's a celebration. 
the memory of a miracle.
The brutal memory of a beating,
of mockery,
of hate.
The memory of a man accused wrongly...an innocent man condemned.
A man hated so deeply that He was wanted beaten within an inch of death.
The flesh was ripped from his back...
a crown of thorns put on his head...
a purple robe slapped on his back...
he was spit on, slapped and cursed.
He carried a massive cross on his bleeding back.
He was unrecognizeable.
His mother watched it all.
She cried as she saw her baby boy tortured.
It was a pain unimaginable.
And yet, they laughed.
He was stripped of his clothes to hang on the cross in total humility.
He hung on the cross.
Took his last breathe on the cross.
As they laughed, he asked forgiveness for all of man...he said, "Forgive them father, for they know NOT what they do."
They laughed again.
THey didn't know.
But He knew.
He was a man...he was God.
The blood stained cross was for our sins.
He took it all...without hesitation...without arguement.
For us.
Me.
You.
The old, young, rich, poor, black, white.
He did it for us ALL---no exceptions.
He laid in the grave for 3 days.
He rose from the grave.
He conquered death.
He promised he would.
And He did.
He ascended into the clouds...to prepare for us a place we can't imagine.
He's waiting for us...right now.
He's coming back.
He promises.
I believe Him with my whole heart.
All he asks in return is for us to love Him back.
He wants us as a child...to give our heart to Him.
He gave His to us.
His name is Jesus.


These are my thoughts,
Dara

All I have left to say...

Tonight I sit here in tears.
Sometimes life is just full of emotion.

As I sit and think about all that I've gone through in my life...
deaths
sickness
divorce
tragedies
children
success
hard work
perseverance
lonliness
failure
happiness
sadness
depression
joy,
I can only think of ONE thing in my life that changes all of these things...

My salvation.
The day I totally surrendered my life to Jesus...

It wasn't that I was instantly rescued from a lifetime of wrong choices...
or
instantly healed from all the wrongs in my life...

It's just that I found a new,
fail-proof way of dealing with life's question, trials, and problems.

I gave my life to Jesus.
I finally realized that I couldn't do this without His guidance.
I couldn't do it my way---it just wasn't working.
I needed Him.
I needed Jesus Christ.

There are still mountains to climb,
obstacles to face,
trials slamming me in the face,
times that seem to hard to bare...

but now?
I have the ONLY thing that can truly guide me,
                                                                 speak to me,
                                                                           love me,
                                                                               hold me,
                                                                                    teach me,
                                                                                          lead me...
                                                                                              the RIGHT way.
WIth Jesus came:
understanding, peace, joy, compassion, forgiveness, patience, and true love.
I'm not kdding.
All of these things are abundant in my life.
These things do not come from Earthly things...nor do they come from me...
they come only from Him.

I am truly humbled at this very moment.
I have never had people in my life who love me the way that they do now.
I have never had so many blessings poured out on me.
I have never felt such complete safety in knowing that there is someone who loves me no matter
how I act,
what I do,
what I say,
what mistakes I make,
just,   
no matter.

As I felt hands lay on my back tonight in a special time that only comes from the one true God,
I realized that I am living a life I never knew imaginable.
I can't imagine ever turning away from this unexplainable, unspeakable joy.
I can't imagine why everyone on this planet wouldn't want a part of it.
Why wouldn't you, me, everyone, want this?
It's free to us.
The reward is eternity in heaven.
The blessings on this Earth are countless.
The pathway is golden.

I was not perfect when I gave my life to Jesus.
I was a wreck.
I was at the end of my rope as I knew it.
I didn't know what else "I" could do.
SO I just gave it all...
I gave my life...to Jesus.
And He took me...
         he didn't wait for a second...
                     he didn't hesitate...
                               he didn't say "wait a minute"...
                                            he didn't say "change first",
He just took me.
Held me.
Shed tears for me.
Bled for me.
All for me.

It was truly...
the CHOICE of a LIFETIME.
My CHOICE.
I made that CHOICE.

A choice that gave me more than I could have ever imagined.
The only thing left to say,
is,
Thank you.

These are my thoughts,
Dara