April is almost gone! Time for our April 2019 Newsletter.
What an amazing month this has been. God has blessed us in more ways than we can count.
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. This included Passover, The Seven Days of Unleavened Bread, Early First Fruits/Celebration of The Resurrection. Then, we closed the month by continuing to count the Omer. The counting was teaching us while we awaited the miracle of Pentecost.
CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS GENERATIONS APART
Leading up to the days of our family’s Passover Seder for 2019, we saw my Mother turn 84. A few days before that date we say my grand-daughter turn 5. Such a contrast in both parties’ ages, yet, both ages have their special moments of joy and celebration. It was fun watching both of these family members enjoy the celebration of each other’s gift of time on earth.
THE JOY OF BEING FIVE YEAR’S OLD
My granddaughter starts planning next year’s party a year in advance. We’ve done it up big for her all five years. In spite of that, I was so proud of how unspoiled, loving, and kind she is growing to be. She behaved like a royal princess at her party, paying attention to the happiness and comfort of all attendees.
She wouldn’t eat her cake until she had served everyone of her (probably over fifty) guests. Also, she made sure everyone got to participate in all the fun activities. At the end of the day, she thanked every single person for their gifts and the fact that they helped remember and celebrate her special 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.
THE JOY OF BEING OLDER IN A LIFE WELL-LIVED
To celebrate my Mom’s birthday, we arranged a 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. She simply enjoyed sharing a night out of the house. Gracefully, she laughed at the “84 and Fabulous” T-shirt that appeared in her gift basket. We filled her basket with other little trinkets we knew she would appreciate, one being a Kindle full of novels that can be read in large print. It was a lovely evening. We all enjoyed the celebration.
SACRED CELEBRATIONS OF SPRING
The fun springtime birthdays pale in comparison to the sacred celebrations enjoy in the Spring.
Hopefully, you caught all of our articles on the days of this special season. They are days set aside 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 the articles we posted, just go back and click under the SEASONS section of our TOPICS heading. Those articles are all waiting for you. The quick and easy links 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)
CELEBRATING PASSOVER
Everything about our Passover celebration painted a picture of Jesus Christ Our Savior. Every story and every part of the Seder meal was carefully prepared. Once again, we told the story by watching The Prince of Egypt on our television instead of reciting hours of scriptures. This was to help the younger to learn from a user-friendly style that was still accurate and appropriate. Our little ones are slowly grasping more and more of the Passover stories every year.
THE FAMILY TREE TEACHING PASSOVER
The IN SEASON Lifestyle Family Tree was a “learning tree” this time. My granddaughter helped me to arrange it in our kitchen. We talked about the special days in the spring which tell of Jesus. These include his death, burial and resurrection. On the day of Early First Fruits, we celebrated Resurrection. We put the wooden ornament that portrayed this story at the very top of the tree.
KNEE REPLACEMENT ON RESURRECTION DAY
It was a little strange for me on Early First Fruits this year. We found we would be celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus in the hospital. Mom was having knee-replacement surgery.
From the hospital waiting room, I watched the sun rising over the city. As we witnessed our blessings of community displayed in it’s beautiful rays, I thought of the old Sandi Patti song. The lyrics say: “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.
HOPE IN THE WAITING ROOM
New births were happening at the hospital. I could see the joy of a new phase of life on the faces of the families in the waiting rooms. In their smiles, I knew healing would be coming to my Mom. I appreciated the time her surgeon took to pray with us. He did not forget to mention the season and all of the glory of God 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 year, non-the-less joyful though!
7 DAYS OF UNLEAVENED BREAD
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 which 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 know. 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. This turning is one which will bring me closer and closer to Him.
The lessons of Passover linger, the carefulness of Unleavened Bread brings balance. At the end of this seven days, the joy of Resurrection is so apparent and amazing. I can see them reflected in each passing moment.
COME AS A CHILD BIBLE STUDY
In spite of the busy season, and all of the 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 by God to fulfill the destiny of a new nation called Israel.
So many times we have admired the leadership of Moses. 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 scripture 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, please stay tuned in to The IN SEASON Lifestyle blog for more understandings of The Book of Numbers. If you wish to go back and review past lessons, just click on the topics tab in our headings. Then the COME AS A CHILD tab under “topics.” Each lesson is numbered.
THE HOUSE DOCTOR ARTICLES
As for THE HOUSE DOCTOR topics and articles in April, we decorated with the same white themes we used in December and January. However, we added splashes of purple here and there. Purple 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 planted those iris bulbs when my daughter was expecting our granddaughter. I was disappointed when they 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 whom I planted them. What a nice ending to a great month.
There wasn’t much room for any other events, articles and activities in April. I will say though, we had several other ideas on the drawing board. Keep looking for those in May. Time slipped away before we could get there.
MAY ARRIVES LIKE HAND-PICKED FLOWERS
They say that “April showers bring May flowers.” 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. Then we will move on to a very happy time of celebrating Derby Day. Next comes Mother’s Day, then Memorial Day. Another full month of celebrations.
All of these events we have mentioned for May are man-made traditions. However, in these cases we feel 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 a fun tradition here. Of course the race is on a Saturday, and we do not condone racing on a Sabbath. Of course not! However, it happens after the sunsets, putting us into the day after the Sabbath on God’s clock. That makes it okay for us. I hope to have a little party this year – time will tell. You know we will post photos if we do.
MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATIONS
Mother’s Day is a man-made tradition. However, honoring our parents goes right along with that commandment which says to honor your father and mother. So, I’m all in on this day. I get to celebrate my amazing Mom. Also, I get to celebrate the fact that God has blessed me with four children I didn’t give birth to, but was allowed to raise in my own home, Also, I 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 CELEBRATIONS
Memorial Day comes at the end of the month of May. We don’t want to get so caught up in everything else that we forget those who have gone before us and left us happily living in a free country. Because of their dedication to freedom we can worship and proclaim Christ to the world. No country has ever been as blessed as America. We will have a lot to say about this blessing later in the month of May.
STILL COUNTING THE OMER
As we celebrate all of these man-made traditions, which 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 to The IN SEASON Lifestyle Community. We want to give you more articles on this subject in May of 2019.
AN APPLE A DAY ARTICLES
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. This focus is so we can keep the temple of our bodies healthy and happy as it is the house of God’s Spirit living in us. Look for more such subjects in May.
PEN ART ARTICLES
Our PEN ART TOPIC has not been very busy because of all the other areas of celebration we have found in life this spring. However, we do not want to let it this fun topic slip into the background. We feel that all types of art are important. We love incorporating new art into our ways to live.
Art 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. I THINK it will be finished and published in May. We will see if this young musician can slow down enough to help us finish the article. If he allows, be watching for a peek into the life of Stephen Hanner. He is the most amazing harmonica player in the state of Tennessee. You don’t want to miss his story.
MONDAY NIGHT MENUS
There will also be a sprinkling of some new recipes here and there, as we hit subjects that call for them in the month of May. We especially want to concentrate on Derby Day. So, don’t miss a bit of new food facts 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
