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What is it about jigsaw puzzles? I find myself pulling out puzzles during the most stressful and chaotic times in our lives. Maybe it’s because it gives me a quiet mental space to think as it quiets my body and focuses my eyes and hands. Maybe it’s the peace of putting in ear buds with my audio Bible and listening while I simply sit (something I’m often not good at doing). Maybe it’s soothing to bring order to chaos when nothing else in my life seems to fit together. Maybe it’s just comforting to know that even when I can’t figure out where something fits, it DOES fit, somehow, in this larger picture. I just can’t see it yet. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that if the piece doesn’t fit, but really looks like it should fit, it still won’t fit there no matter how many times I try. But I often keep trying. I want to force it in there somehow. Trusting God is a little like putting together a puzzle. Often we sit among heaps of broken pieces. We know He has a plan. We know somehow...

Let's have an honest conversation about virtual church, shall we? Because I'm sure I'm not alone in the feeling of let-down and frustration each week.  We started so well today with such good intentions.  8:45am- I pull warmed homemade cinnamon rolls out of the oven that I had stuck in the freezer two weeks ago. I spread them with icing (on-plan for THM and everything!) and pour a cup of coffee, enjoying watching the big kids delight in a special breakfast.  Our 2 year old is still sleeping- perfect.  We go into the family room and settle in to participate in the service together.  9:03am- We are late. Even when church is in our own family room. What in the world is wrong with us? 9:05am- Internet connectivity issues. Our pastors' faces are frozen in strange expressions. I back the feed up and we try again. We will just be a little behind everyone else.  9:10am- We have more internet issues. Still frozen.  9:12am- ...

So here we are, quarantined during this week leading up to Easter. I hate missing observing Good Friday and celebrating Resurrection Morning with our church family.  Church services (at least in-person!), egg hunts, and family gatherings may be cancelled, but that doesn't mean this week needs to pass by without significant times of remembrance.  A number of years ago, we held a "Seder" (Passover meal) with family, and it has become one of our most treasured traditions around the Easter season. A time to simply pause and remember - remember the vast span of God's plan of salvation, the weight of our sin, our deep need for redemption, the hope we have in Jesus, and our calling to share the good news with others. Along the way, it has built in our kids a deeper perspective on what Easter is actually all about, how the Old and New Testaments speak to one another, the Jewish roots of our Christian faith, and even the significance of observing communion.  D...