Thinking about Easter

I'm usually not big on doing public musings on religion these days. I much prefer the words of St. Francis of Assisi "Preach the gospel at all times - if necessary, use words" and Jesus' counsel of not praying on the street corners for all to see, but rather in the privacy of one's own room. Maybe that's just what you get from being raised Lutheran among Swedes and Norwegians. :)

But all that aside, I really do love Easter. It has long been my favorite holiday (yes, even more than Christmas). I love the complete 180 in mood and atmosphere from the darkness of Good Friday (and the generally more somber mood of Lent). There are some things I miss from my old church - namely the light streaming in with all the windows in the sanctuary (my church here has beautiful stain glass windows, but they're only on two sides, so not as much natural light) and the instruments - the brass, the kettle drum, and the choir. But regardless of what church I'm at, the joy and happiness is always the same. There's just something about "He is risen!" I love it. And of course, the fact that Easter occurs during spring adds to that sense of new life and rebirth. The grass here is getting very green and flowers are growing in our yard - no blooms yet, but you know they're coming. The robins have been back for awhile now and the geese and ducks have returned to the lake.

I'm excited to bring Ronan to church tomorrow - I know he's still too young to really get anything that's going on, but this will be the first major holiday we get to spend with him. Two weeks later, we're going to have him baptized, something else that is very special to me. I'm looking forward to having my family all together for that.

Well, I should sign off and try to get some work done around the house while Ronan's napping. He's gotten back into a sleeping phase - lots of naps during the day (although usually he's only been napping on my lap or in my arms - I just managed to get him to fall asleep in his swing so I could take a shower and get things done around here) and he's mostly been sleeping at night (from about midnight to 5 or 6 a.m., wakes up to nurse, then goes back to sleep until around 9 a.m.) This time I understand that this is normal and I'm doing my best to enjoy the quiet and the uninterrupted sleep I can get, since I know it probably won't last for long.

Happy Easter!