I am back!  I have been on vacation these past few days — hence the low activity on my blog.  Thursday and Friday were lazy days for me.  The weather is finally becoming bearable for shorts so my wife and I went for our first bike ride of the year.  It was nice when we left, but half way through our ride the sun went behind the clouds and it turned cold in a hurry (I guess we jumped the gun a little bit).  It still was nice to get out for some exercise, though.  Today I am looking forward to running during my noon hour.  It is suppose to hit 70 degrees today and you just have to take advantage of that when you can.

I am also hoping with spring finally here I will get more motivated to do some more running and exercise.  I still want to lose about 20 more pounds.  So far I am doing O.K.  Pants that were once too tight for me to wear are comfortable for me now.  That is indeed a good sign, but with diabetes in my family I want to make sure I keep my weight down and maintain a healthy lifestyle.  So far everything is fine, but we are still keeping an eye on things.

Text study

Last week I did not post any thoughts on the up coming texts like I have been lately.  Since I was not preaching I did not go through my normal sermon prep routine — I missed that.  This weekend I am off to synod assembly and therefore not preaching again, but I am still going to study the texts for Sunday.  Whether I am preaching or not, I need to continue my routine of text study — we all need to do that.  So later today or tomorrow I will post some text study thoughts on the scripture for Sunday.

Post vacation (Easter) reality

I was cleaning out my landscaping around my house yesterday.  As I was raking out the leaves I saw tiny, green shoots coming out of the ground.  My plants are rising from the depths of the dark cold ground.  And it was not a far stretch for me to immediately go back a week and think about our Easter celebration.  I was instantly reminded that the reality of the resurrection is always with me.  God’s love for us through Jesus Christ is always present with us.  The reality of the resurrection is not just a once a year thing.  It is a daily promise we have through our baptism.  So take joy in the fact that you are a beloved child of God. 

So rejoice and be glad:  Christ has risen!  He has risen indeed! Alleluia and Amen! -edh-

P.S. Now it’s time for some coffee.