Easter

He has risen, but I want to sleep

in , ,
1am Easter morning and I cannot sleep. Estee and I were outside all afternoon working in the yard. You know pulling weeds and laying mulch. What I failed to realize was how much crap was in the air that I breathed in! It is late, I am so tired as a result of the work and a very poor sleep last night and the only reason I cannot relax is because with each attempt to breath in my nose there is a no air that gets in and I think I am dying from lack of oxygen. I have covered the internet only to become more freaked out of my current condition. Turns out that benadryl has a side effect of paranoia!

This is the only thing I could think of to do that could distract me but it actually has me thinking of the whole "not getting air" is a bigger issue than when I began to type.

This might be the most congested I have ever been. I tried all sorts of stuff from drinking apple cider vinegar (ACV as it is known on the home remedy sites) with garlic, salt and lemon juice, to taking an asperator and shooting water and acv in my nose (both did not help at all except make me feel I was being what I think it feels like to water boarded) to accupressure and even to deeply considering if I should go right now and get some other stuff from the store. One site suggested that I use certain oils to rub on my chest or infuse with a steam. The closest thing I had was a bit of Bert's Beeswax pepermint lip balm. I put that where I would sport a moustache and all it did was burn and make it feel like I was on fire on only 3 inches of my body.

Standing is better than sitting or laying down but I cannot sleep standing up like the Coneheads. I have gone through a half of a box of tissues and my nose hurts. I have been able to "clear" one nostril but then I am fearful to lay down because it might close again.

This is the closest thing that I have to discomfort and I know that it is not that bad. I consider what Christ did and died for in the way in which he died and I feel a bit shamed that I write about my discomfort in the midst of Easter.

I am sorry you read all this junk and I am more sorry that while on Easter morning all I want to do is sleep.

Ressurection is hard...

in , ,


During the Sunrise worship on Easter Sunday, the youth had developed a theme of "Resurrection, Renewal, and Response". Each of these words had an experiential prayer station which everyone was invited to participate in. The resurrection station had plexi-glass which was painted black and people were invited to scratch off the paint (think like an etch-a-sketch) in order to allow the light to shine through. This was to "resurrect" these sheets of plastic which were cast away, dark, and considered dead.

Here is a couple of the squares which was completed.





At the conclusion of the "station time" we invited people to share their reflections and experiences. There were many things shared that were rich in meaning and built on the metaphors we were working with, but one person shared with us something that I found very true.

When speaking of the resurrection station someone stated, "The paint was thicker than I thought it would be and I found it hard to etch anything into the glass. I really had to work at it. It was difficult to do. So too is resurrection, it is hard to do."

Often times I think we tend to look at a person and think, "This person is too thick. I really will have to work to help this person. It will be difficult. I think I would just rather leave them alone." And maybe that is something that makes God a bit different than humanity, God is willing to resurrect and we are willing to let things die.