Happy Easter

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter this weekend.  Mine was both powerful and emotional, tasty and relaxed.  It started last night with Easter Vigil at my home church.  It started at 8:30 with the first two thirds of the service being candle lit.  I got a few drops of wax on me during the whole thing, which was a bit hot and uncomfortable but really there is nothing quite like the the whole church lit by tiny little fires.

After the candlemas we all went downstairs for a reception for the newly baptized.  The Catechumenates hosted the party and brought some of the food.  I brought frosted brownies and there were two other people who brought brownies (one batch of which was gluten-free!) and others brought several kinds of cupcakes.  There were also several different kinds of crackers and cheese, my favorite of which was the double cream brie.  A lamb cake was the centerpiece, how cute and appropriate.

I had a plate full of a bit of everything and I snacked on the table decorations because they were Peeps after all and malted chocolate eggs.  I couldn’t resist!

One of the highlights of the night though: root beet floats!  I couldn’t tell you the last time I had one of these.  It was so good, so creamy and delicious.

By the time everyone cleared out it was well into the evening, we’re talking midnight.  I slept soon after getting home and woke up at 8am to head to meet up with my second year Bekah and her husband for Easter service at their church.  I walked in and it had stadium seating, no joke.

Needless to say, it’s HUGE!  I was a bit intimidated.  Also, the composition of the whole service was really different than my cathedral.  We spent the first half or more singing praise and listening to the choir (and semi-full orchestra) perform as well as some dancing performances by the young girls of the congregation.  Then, the second half was the message.  They went all over the bible and pulled passages and I was honestly kind of lost through the whole thing.  I was struggling to find a common vein.  Anyways, it was long enough that I sort of wandered in my mind.  Ooops.

Once we left service we headed to Bekah’s parents house for lunch.  I don’t have a lot of pictures because I didn’t feel comfortable whipping out my camera.  I wanted to fit in, not have to explain a whole bunch to people I had literally known thirty minutes.  Here’s what was on the menu though:

• Honey baked ham
• Tenderloin steaks (cooked to a stellar medium)
• Mashed potatoes or baked potatoes, individual preference
• Steamed asparagus with roasted grape tomatoes and feta
• Roasted green beans in olive oil, garlic salt, and basil (HOLY COW GOOD)
• Hawaiian rolls
• Two salads: one with Caesar dressing and the other with cranberries, feta, and nuts

All this was had after a round of appetizers including salted cashews, bean and cheese dip, queso, tortilla chips, and roasted sweet peppers stuffed with sharp cheddar, bacon bits, and bread crumbs.  Dessert came later in the form of ice cream rhubarb pie and cupcakes along with the Berger cookies that I brought.  I had some of every single thing and wow, it was so nice.  Everything was delicious.

We spent the afternoon watching The Masters Tournament on TV (nothing like Sunday golf), helping Bekah’s sophomore sister with her practice SAT questions, chit chatting, and we even had an Easter egg hunt.  The “grown-ups” all were competing for the same egg colors [blue, green, and white] and I ended up with eight out of sixteen.  Not too shabby.  They were filled with things like Sprees, Twizzler nibs, and some milk chocolate eggs.  I promptly ate all of the candy…  Yea, it’s Easter, no calories right?  I also had this lovely bunny…  We all got one for our participation.

The day stretched out and there was Scrabble and such and more golf.  Around 8p we all snacked on leftovers.  I had more mashed potatoes and green beans.  I ended up taking home the leftover asparagus/tomatoes/feta dish.  Bekah’s family was incredible wonderful and honestly made me feel like part of the family.  I had such a relaxing afternoon with everyone.  It was nice to spent the day with people instead of with my computer and TV like I always do.  Basically, it was a rejuvenating day. 

Before I go I wanted to share the most powerful part of last night’s Easter Vigil.  One of my friends has been going through a rough time because he found out one of his really good friends needed a kidney transplant.  Everyone wasn’t sure when she was going to find a compatible kidney so when she did a few days ago, everyone was thrilled.  However, she spiked an infection late Friday and her status was uncertain.  I was keeping her in my heart and in church we were reading from Exodus (the following script is 14:14) and I was struck by this line:

“The LORD will fight for you;

you need only to be still.”

Wow.  All I could think of was that poor girl, stuck in a sterile room, wondering if she was going to make it, if her fever would come down, if she was going to be able to keep her transplanted kidney, if she was going to live to see 19-years-old.  The Lord was is fighting for her.  Of that I’m sure, especially after I heard tonight that she has been released from the hospital.  What a great Easter present, right?

Questions: Does your family do ham for Easter?
Do you prefer a smaller or larger church?