April is almost gone!
What an amazing month this has been in more ways than we can count.
ALL THE SACREDNESS OF APRIL GENTLY SAYS GOODBYE
The month of April was a very sacred time for most all of The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community.
After a few family birthdays (Mom’s and granddaughter’s) we came to the Passover, The Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, Early First Fruits/Celebration of The Resurrection and then we closed the month by continuing to count the Omer while awaiting the miracle of Pentecost to come.
Leading up to the Passover Seder for our family; we saw my Mother turn 84 and my grand-daughter turn 5. Such a contrast in both parties’ ages, yet; both ages have their special moments of joy and celebration and it was fun watching both people enjoy the celebration of each other’s time on earth so far.
My granddaughter starts planning next year’s party a year in advance. We’ve done it up big for her all five years so far. In spite of that; I was so proud of how unspoiled and loving and kind she is growing to be.
She wouldn’t eat her cake until she had served everyone of her (probably over fifty) guests. She made sure everyone got to participate in all the fun activities; and she thanked every single person for their gifts and gratitude in remembering her day.
In a moment when she thought no one else was listening I heard her say softly to her mother; “I love you Mama!” The gratitude toward her Mama’s generosity on her special day shinning from her face.
We took my Mom to a family gathering at one of our favorite local Greek restaurants. She loved the atmosphere there as well as the food.
For her it was all about being close to those that she holds most dear and simply enjoying a night out of the house. She laughed at the “84 and Fabulous” T-shirt that appeared in her gift basket and we filled her basket with other little trinkets that we knew she could appreciate; one being a Kindle full of novels that can be read in large print. It was a lovely evening and we all enjoyed the celebration.
I have to say though that the birthdays pale in comparison to the sacred celebrations we always enjoy in the Spring.
Hopefully; you caught all of our articles on the days of this special season to celebrate God’s deliverance of His people; both physically from the bondage of Egypt and spiritually from the bondage of sin. If you missed them; just go back and click under the SEASONS tab and those articles are right there all in order for you. They are also linked right here:
CELEBRATING EARLY FIRST FRUITS AND RESURRECTION DURING PASSOVER WEEK IN GOD’S SPRING HOLY DAYS
SEASONS – COMING INTO THE SPRING HOLY DAYS – COUNTING THE OMER – (PART THREE)
Everything about our Passover celebration painted a picture of Jesus Christ Our Savior, every story and every part of the Seder meal we so carefully prepared. Once again we told the story by watching The Prince of Egypt on our television instead of reciting hours of scriptures. Our little one grasps more and more of the stories every year.
The IN SEASON Lifestyle Family Tree was a “learning tree” this time. As my granddaughter helped me to arrange it in our kitchen; we talked about the special days in the spring that tell of Jesus; his death, burial and resurrection. On the day of Early First Fruits; we celebrated Resurrection and we put the wooden ornament that portrayed this on the very top of the tree.
It was a little strange for me on Early First Fruits this year to be celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus in the hospital; but Mom was having knee-replacement surgery.
As I watched the sun rising over the city and saw our blessings and community displayed in it’s beautiful rays I thought of the old Sandi Patti song that says; “Was it a morning like this?”
The day was full of little reminders of the fact that Jesus truly rose from the dead and provided eternal life for all of us.
New births were happening at the hospital – and I could see the joy of a new phase of life on the faces of the families in the waiting rooms. I knew healing would be coming to my Mom; and I appreciated the time her surgeon took to pray with us; mentioning the season and all of the glory of God that we have been blessed with from the Resurrection of Jesus.
Seeing the love on the faces of my Mom’s visitors and knowing that God had provided lots of friends and family to help love her as she ages; was such a blessing from heaven. So I celebrated quietly this time; non-the-less joyful though!
The rest of the week was full of interesting discussions and situations regarding the leaving out of leaven. So many still do not practice this physical representation of obedience that helps us to see spiritual healing.
In our modern day world there can be so much confusion. We are here to bring God’s peace and joy into each situation. Yet; there were mishaps and mistakes and times when I just plain forgot and had to ask forgiveness.
I’m so happy to have a loving and merciful Father who hears my prayers and forgives me when I forget to find the places He has been leading me to. He helps me to know He will strengthen my spirit and turn me into one who overcomes.
I confess and move right back into rejoicing in the miracle of His love and care. As I watch the turning of the ages of the lives of those I love; I also feel the turning He is bringing about in my daily life; one that will bring me closer and closer to Him. The lessons of Passover linger, the carefulness of Unleavened Bread brings balance and the joy of Resurrection is so apparent and amazing in each moment.
In spite of the business of the season, and all of the various family events; our COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY kept moving forward in April.
We have reached a place where we understand all of the tribes, where they are positioned, what their jobs are and how they were chosen for God to fulfill the destiny of a new nation called Israel.
So many times we have admired the leadership of Moses and we have noticed how Christ-like it is. He was the shadow of the One to come later.
Now we are about to move into one of the most unique passages of the scriptures I have ever taught. The possibilities of the discussions from the next lessons are endless. I can’t wait to reveal the next lessons; so stay tuned in to The IN SEASON Lifestyle for more understandings of The Book of Numbers. If you wish to go back and review past lessons; just click on the topics tab; then the COME AS A CHILD tab. Each lesson is numbered.
As for THE HOUSE DOCTOR in April; we mostly decorated with the same white that we used in December and January but we added splashes of purple here and there. It felt like the perfect color for the holy season; since we know purple represents royalty.
Just as this very full month was ending; I was surprised to discover a lovely purple and yellow iris blooming beside our split rail fence in the front yard. I had planted those iris bulbs when my daughter was expecting our granddaughter but they had never bloomed out. This year a lovely purple and yellow iris presented itself to the world. Just in time to say happy birthday to my granddaughter for which I planted them! A nice ending to a great month.
There wasn’t much room for any other events, articles and activities in April; though we had several other ideas on the drawing board. Keep looking for those in May. Time slipped away before we could get there!
ALL THE ACTIVITIES OF MAY ARRIVE LIKE A LOVELY BUNCH OF HAND-PICKED FLOWERS
They say that April showers bring May flowers; and that is what is happening to the IN SEASON Family Tree for May. No teaching this time; except for the little quote above. We are simply going to enjoy the lovely flowers of the season and move on to a very happy time of celebrating Derby Day, then Mother’s Day, then Memorial Day.
All there of these events are merely man-made traditions; but there is nothing wrong with them. Horse racing doesn’t necessarily require gambling; just a strong love for horses. God created them; how can we not love these lovely creatures? The money they raise for charity is amazing as we look into the annual happening of The Kentucky Derby. It is traditional here; and I hope to have a little party this year – time will tell. You know we will post photos if we do!
Mother’s Day is a man-made tradition; but it goes right along with that commandment that says to honor your father and mother. I’m all in on this day. I get to celebrate my amazing Mom, the fact that God blesses me with four children I didn’t give birth to but was allowed to raise in my own home, and then I also get to celebrate the fact that two of these daughters have given me the best grandchildren one old lady could ever hope for. If that isn’t counting your blessings – I’m not sure what is. Come and see how we celebrate Mother’s Day this year.
Memorial Day comes at the end of the month; and we don’t want to get so caught up in everything else that we forget those who have gone before us and left us a free country where we can worship in freedom and proclaim Christ to the world around us. No country has ever been as blessed as America in this respect. We will have a lot to say about this later this month.
As we celebrate all of these man-made traditions that we think God isn’t opposed to; we will also continue our count of the Omer. Pentecost is coming! We must get ready! Are you letting God transform you as you count? Are you making your days count and not just counting the days? It all maters in The IN SEASON Lifestyle and we want to give you more articles on this subject.
With summer on the way; we need to be focused on eating healthy and exercising. The AN APPLE A DAY COLUMN will bring some articles on these subjects. Deep thought has been put into how we should go about achieving our health goals so that we can keep the temple of our bodies healthy and happy as the house of God’s Spirit living in us. Look for more on these subjects in May.
PEN ART has not been very busy because of all the other areas of celebration we have found in life this spring; but we do not want to let it slip into the background because art is simply an important way to live! It makes us happy; it helps us to communicate our feelings and shows our love in ways that words cannot utter aloud. One area of art comes to us in the form of music. We have been working up to an article about an amazing musician for a while now; and I THINK it will be finished and published in May. Be watching for a peek into the life of Stephen Hanner; the most amazing harmonica player in the state of Tennessee. You don’t want to miss his story.
There will also be a sprinkling of some new recipes here and there; as we hit subjects that call for them in our month; especially in relation to Derby Day; so don’t miss a bit of them in May.
As I close this newsletter; I wish each of you a very happy rest of Spring and an awesome introduction to the coming summer season.
Could life get any better than this?
Keep living upside down and inside out!
LOVE
Sheila Gail Landgraf/Editor, Writer, Owner/The IN SEASON Lifestyle/Via Wordcasatle Publications LLC
