And now a  tidbit from the sermon: We do not need to prove the resurrection; the resurrection is the proof itself. The resurrection proves that Jesus is the Son of God, and that He will come to judge the world. Luke refers to the many infallible proofs of Christ’s resurrection in Acts 1:1-3.

The Kingdom of God refers to the realm and reign of King Jesus, and His crown rights were established by His resurrection from the dead. It is not an ethereal kingdom, but a very real and earthy one.  We live like His loyal subjects by loving one another, which is proof to the world that love has been raised from the dead in us. And just like the resurrection was real and physical, our love to one another is real and physical. We touch one another, we feed one another, we give gifts to one another. That is resurrection living.

Hope you all had a blessed day!

I thought I should give everyone a quick late-night glimpse into Mom’s living room . . . temporarily transformed into a second dining room. This is the adult table.

Here is the bevy of name tags designated for the two kid tables:

And finally, here is my hysterically ugly “gurgle jug” which for some reason I am insanely fond of. I am the proud possessor of not one, but two of them. (Possibly three, I can’t remember.) Anyway, the two that I can find are holding tulips on the kids’ tables. I do feel that I should explain, in my defense, that I only bought them because I was collecting green Dartmouth pottery while I was in England, and I gathered up loads of other fun green thingies at antique stores and charity sales etc. But it turns out that  the most radically popular of all the Dartmouth pottery (judging from the wide assortment on ebay) seemed to be these gurgle jugs. I held off for a while – but finally I caved and decided that it would be ridiculous to have a collection of Dartmouth pottery that didn’t contain a few ugly fish. So I bought them. Now you know. I also have a snail. But aside from those weird items, the rest of the collection is actually quite beautiful!

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Valerie asked what I was going to do with all the nekkid lemons . . . and here’s the answer. Little lemon meringue tarts.

Here are all the little meringues, baking in the oven . . .

. . . here are the little shells, cooling in tiny champagne flutes to give them their shape.

And I completely neglected to take a picture of the lemon curd, but you get the idea anyway.

These are great, because you can store all the components separately for up to three days, and then assemble before serving.

Here’s the recipe (from Martha Stewart):

INGREDIENTS

Makes about 20.

• FOR THE SHELLS
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2/3 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sifted all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• FOR THE MERINGUE CAPS
• 3 large egg whites, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar
• FOR THE LEMON CURD
• 6 large egg yolks
• 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest, plus 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice (about 3 lemons total)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Make the shells: Put butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy. Mix in egg whites, one at a time. Mix in flour and vanilla.
2. Spoon 1 scant teaspoon batter onto a rimmed baking sheet lined with a nonstick baking mat. Using the back of a teaspoon, spread into a 3-inch circle. Repeat 4 times. Bake until golden, 10 to 12 minutes. Immediately transfer cookies, one at a time, to inverted small tartlet shells or brioche molds; gently press to shape. Let set, about 30 seconds. Repeat with remaining batter. If cookies become too cool to shape, return them to oven for 20 seconds. Shells can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees. Make the meringue caps: Put egg whites and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer set over a pan of simmering water; whisk until sugar has dissolved. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until stiff peaks form and meringue is cool, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a 7/16-inch star tip (such as Ateco No. 825). Pipe 20 spirals, 1 1/4 inches round and 2 inches high, onto baking sheets lined with parchment, spacing about 1 inch apart. Bake 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 150 degrees. Bake until dry but not brown, about 2 hours more. Transfer meringues to a wire rack; let cool completely. Meringues can be stored in an airtight container up to 3 days.
4. Make the curd: Whisk egg yolks, lemon zest and juice, and sugar in a heavy, medium saucepan. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium-low heat until mixture registers 160 degrees on a candy thermometer, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in salt. Add butter, 1 piece at a time, stirring after each addition until smooth. Pour curd through a fine sieve into a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface. Refrigerate until cold and set, at least 1 hour (up to 2 days).
5. To serve, spoon 2 teaspoons curd into each shell. Top each with a meringue cap.

O my chief good,
How shall I measure out thy blood?
How shall I count what thee befell,
And each grief tell?

Shall I thy woes
Number according to thy foes?
Or, since one star show’d thy first breath,
Shall all thy death ?

Or shall each leaf,
Which falls in Autumn, score a grief?
Or cannot leaves, but fruit, be sign,
Of the true vine?

Then let each hour
Of my whole life one grief devour;
That thy distress through all may run,
And be my sun.

Or rather let
My several sins their sorrows get;
That, as each beast his cure doth know,
Each sin may so.

Since blood is fittest, Lord, to write
Thy sorrows in, and bloody fight;
My heart hath store; write there, where in
One box doth lie both ink and sin:

That when sin spies so many foes,
Thy whips, thy nails, thy wounds, thy woes,
All come to lodge there, sin may say,
No room for me , and fly away.

Sin being gone, O fill the place,
And keep possession with thy grace;
Lest sin take courage and return,
And all the writings blot or burn.

Yes. I have peeled off some lemon peels and they are steeping in a mason jar full of vodka. Things, to date, have not been all that labor intensive. However, I’m expecting them to hot up shortly . . . because a package of fabric is scheduled to arrive any moment . . . and the second it shows up I have to crank out three Easter dresses. Then this Thursday is Jemima’s 10th birthday – and as you may or may not have noticed, that puts her birthday as being on April Fools Day. (Not my fault – I did my best. I was in labor all day on March 31, but she refused to be born until 7 minutes after midnight. Oh well. April is a nicer month than March anyway.) What this means however, is that I’m taking a consignment of cupcakes into her 4th grade class, and she would like them to be April Fools cupcakes. Hhhmmm. Luckily, Lizzie just happens to have, amongst her 9,312 cookbooks, a cookbook that has a special section devoted to April Fools cupcakes. So I’m going to have to borrow that sometime in the next short bit here. And then of course there’s the birthday party, and then Easter dinner preparation.

About the only thing that I could do this far in advance was the limoncello. I’ve made it for Easter a few times, and it’s a great aperitif option if you’re doing hors d’oeuvres. You know, while the kids are having the egg hunt and chowing through the jelly beans it’s nice to have something for the adults. So anyway, the limoncello is fun. In case anyone cares, here’s the recipe:

10 lemons

1 (750-ml) bottle vodka

3 1/2 cups water

2 1/2 cups sugar

Using a vegetable peeler, remove the peel from the lemons in long strips (reserve the lemons for another use). Using a small sharp knife, trim away the white pith from the lemon peels; discard the pith. Place the lemon peels in a 2-quart pitcher. Pour the vodka over the peels and cover with plastic wrap. Steep the lemon peels in the vodka for 4 days at room temperature.

Stir the water and sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes. Cool completely. Pour the sugar syrup over the vodka mixture. Cover and let stand at room temperature overnight. Strain the limoncello through a mesh strainer. Discard the peels. Transfer the limoncello to bottles. Seal the bottles and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours and up to 1 month.

To serve:

1 (750-ml) bottle limoncello liqueur, chilled

1 cup sparkling water, chilled

1 cup fresh blueberries

5 fresh mint sprigs, lightly crushed, plus extra for garnish

Crushed ice

In a pitcher, combine the limoncello, sparkling water, blueberries, and mint sprigs. Fill glasses halfway with crushed ice. Pour about 1/2 cup of the limoncello mixture over the ice in each glass.

Garnish with mint sprigs and serve.

Here’s my contribution to your rainy day activities: Bust out a little project for your Easter table! Here are some splashy little name tags that are super easy . . . and due to the fact that I can not for the life of me figure out how to embed the PDF here on Femina, I have had to post the download and instructions for this little project over at Amoretti. So trot along over there if you’re needing a project for the afternoon that involves a very low level of commitment!

Easter and Advent are the two pivotal Christian celebrations in the church year, so we obviously want our families to honor and commemorate these days in a manner worthy of the great events they mark. Though our secular society also marks these days, we want the tone of our own celebration of these holidays (holy days) to be established by our worship services,  the centerpieces of the festival. In other words, our family celebrations are secondary; the worship is central. So this means we have the pleasure of creating traditions, carrying on old traditions, and enjoying the way we each celebrate with our families in our homes. The church does not mandate how we do this. So since someone asked, let’s start talking about a few Easter traditions.

As I’ve already said, Easter celebration begins with worship. For all my life, Easter Sunday meant new clothes for church, and I still like the symbolism of newness and resurrection in wearing new clothes. It’s not just about the “Easter parade.” New garments  or special clothing has long been a way of signifying the importance and solemnity of the day. So our kids always had new Easter clothes each year. When I was a kid, the “Easter outfit”   included a hat, gloves, and a corsage from Dad! But for our own kids it was simplified. So for me (thanks to my sweet parents), the thought of not having an Easter outfit is sort of like not having a Christmas tree. Simply isn’t done.

The Easter eggs and the candy are plain old fun,  and I’ve heard many attempts to justify or condemn them over the years. I don’t know how these things got started, but I think the Easter egg is brilliant. I can’t think of anything more fun for the kids than coloring the eggs and then hunting for them! Children make all our celebrations more delightful. And having an Easter egg hunt keeps us from becoming too self-serious. At the same time, we never invited the Easter Bunny to our hunts. We never could figure out how he got involved in the first place. So the kids never thought a large rabbit came in our home to hide the eggs. Doug and I had such fun hiding them, and such good laughs watching the kids search around for them, I just don’t see how to improve on this great cultural tradition. I love it just as it is.

Our feasting around our own tables in our own homes is the logical extension of the Lord’s Supper, which we celebrate together in the worship service.  Easter Dinner is the overflow. And no religious celebration would be complete without a feast. This year Bekah is in charge of the menu, and she will be filling you in with some of the details in future posts. But I will tell you that today we bought two boneless legs of lamb (and a ham), and her recipe for the lamb involves the grill, rain or shine.  My Easter tables involves white tablecloths, and I break out as much of the china, crystal, and silver as is wise and reasonable, or as much as will go around.

Besides the eggs and the clothes and the feast and the jelly beans, the last couple years we  have begun the GREAT WIND-UP TOY RACE. Each child brings a wind-up toy and the dads supervise the competition. It is the grand finale. Quite providentially today, I just happened to come across the box of wind-up toys from last year’s competition, so we are set to go again.

Whatever you do this Easter to celebrate the Great Day, may the Lord pour out blessings and joy in great measure on your house and on your heads!

1. Pick up the house.  A tidy house is lots more fun to be in than a big mess. Plump up the pillows and shine up the coffee table. Put fresh sheets on the beds. And don’t forget to make sure you are looking cheery. Fix your hair and put on some earrings and a cute bright sweater. Now we’re talking.

2. Bring in some flowers. The grocery stores have plenty of selections. Get a bright colored flowering plant or a bunch of tulips (or daffodils) and put them on the table. Of course an Easter lily is the perfect choice right now.

3. And speaking of the table, put on a cheery runner or tablecloth. Look around in your linen closet and pull out something fresh, preferably bright yellow!

4. Fill the house with some cheery music.

5. Turn on the lights! No reason to fumble around in the dark. Change all the burnt-out light bulbs and surprise yourself with how bright your house can be!

6. Fill the house with some yummy smells. Make some bread or cinnamon rolls.

7. Put some bright throw pillows on the sofa and ditch those dingy tan colored things.

8. Make some play dough with the kids and get them busy with their hands. Easter is coming, so color some eggs!

9. Write some thank-you notes, call your mom to say hi, wrap a birthday gift.

10. Invite some friends over for soup. Shine the silver for the big Easter dinner.

Okay, so that’s probably more than ten. But you get the idea. Most importantly, in all these things, overflow in gratitude to God. Count your blessings. Rejoice!

But, in the meantime, if you want to crank out some Easter eggs with some scraps of yarn that you had around, these take hardly any time, and they are pretty cheerful if I do say so myself!

The Bible gives us much consolation and comfort from Genesis to Revelation, but somehow or other, we can still manage to get distracted by many burdens and cares. Our flesh tends toward anxiety, worry, discontent, ingratitude, and envy. These are all worldly things, things on the earth, things below. And Paul tells the Colossians to put to death, put off, and put away the old earthly stuff (3:5-9) and put on the new man, which is being renewed and sanctified after the image of our Creator (3:10).

But we want to fuss a little bit about this. “It is so hard.” Of course it is hard. No one said it would be easy. The Christian life is compared to a race not a stroll in the park. Paul tells the Philippians (4:8) to think about certain things: things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or worthy of praise. Why did he need to tell them that? Because he knew that the Philippians were just normal saints, given to worry (2:26-28), anxiety (4:6), conceit and rivalry (2:3), fear (1:28), grumbling and complaining (2:14), and squabbles (4:2).

Many of these troubles we have are fueled by the constant attention we give them in our minds. We are not thinking about the true, honorable, pure, and lovely. We are thinking instead about how wrong our husband was, how difficult our situation is, how sad and lonely we are, how mean our parents are, how spiteful our friend has been, how under-appreciated we are. This is how we continue to set our minds on things below, things on the earth.

Setting your mind somewhere else requires decisive action on your part. Your mind will not just drift to the lovely things, especially if there is any provocation to attract your attention elsewhere. And, the bad news is, we like to think about earthly things; we like to indulge ourselves in this way.

Resurrection living is putting off the dead, earthly stuff and putting on Christ. And with Him comes all that is true and pure and honorable. If you are down and disappointed and discouraged, identify how much you are “minding” these things below. How much time are you giving to turning these things over and over and over in your mind? Then banish these thoughts. Kick them out and tell them they are no longer welcome. That’s what it means to put them off. And then put on something else; set your thoughts on things that are above, things that are lovely and pure. This may take a whole lot of trouble and time at first, just like cleaning out your flower beds in the spring. But the result is actually spectacular. Whenever we obey God, we glorify Him. And when He is pleased, we are blessed.