Go Big or Go Home This Easter

Going big to celebrate holidays and special occasions brings me joy. Whether reindeer, flags, turkeys, balloons, party hats, fireworks, paper hearts, pumpkins, or costumes; I say go big.

So why not for Easter? Bunnies, bright-colored eggs, baskets, and assorted candies make me smile.

Every year, we go big in my family. Here’s how.

Go Big with Lunch

Two entrées highlight the meal; roast beef and chicken casserole. Also, the Friday’s Easter menu lists these side-items at no additional charge: gravy, mashed potatoes, rolls, macaroni and cheese, peas, and the cream corn my daughter makes along with our featured dessert of the day.

We take our seats at the table. And a feast fit for a king lays before us. But we never disappoint. Second helpings become the sport of the day.

Go Big With Baskets

I keep one tradition in place. Kids, little or grown, human or pet, receive an Easter basket. Our adult son and daughter, son-in-law, two-year-old grandson, and our four-legged fury kids.

Baskets spill over with sweet delights and fun toys or gadgets. A competition of paddle ball, parachute men, or magnetic yo-yo emerges with the grown kids.

You see, each “kid” gets a basket. There’s no boundaries or limitations; not age or gender or bloodline. Both my son and son-in-law meet the same eligibility requirements.

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I Wrote the Blog Post About Us Forgetting God

Oh, I forgot. 

Please tell me I’m not the only person struck with the disease of forgetting.

Do you ever forget…

…to call a friend?

…an important meeting?

…to pay a bill?

…where you put the car keys?

…details that happened yesterday, last week, or last year?

I hope you answered yes to at least one.

People Forgetting Us

Or, like me, have you ever wondered if a friend forgot about you? She seems to talk with other friends and they go to dinner together. But she hasn’t called you in ages. You never talk unless you reach out to her.

And here’s a big one. Have you ever felt like God has forgotten you? If you’re nodding, me too. Thoughts such as…

God has forgotten me. He seems to work on behalf of others. Me? I continue waiting for Him to move in my life. 

No matter how we feel, thinking God forgets us is a lie from the enemy. A false belief a few people in the Bible also succumbed to (see Psalm 42:9; 77:9).

God Forgetting One Thing 

God never forgets us. When it comes to His children, God only forgets one thing. We find it in Isaiah 43:25:

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3 Ways to Never Miss Out on Ta-Da Moments

Ta-Da! 

It rolled off my tongue like a magician who just performed a feat.

And it amused the only audience member, my husband. But this fanfare moment out-shined the last attempt at Ta-Da when everything went amiss.

The epic fail occurred after I pulled the hot iron skillet out of the oven. To display the southern goodness, I proceeded to execute the flip, turning the skillet upside down onto a plate. Good ole’ buttermilk cornbread ready for slicing and eating.

Yet, instead of letting go, the cornbread stuck. I loosened the edges with a knife and tried again. No, stubbornness made up its mind and never budged.

So, I sliced and dug, leaving most of the outer crust behind. I made a pact that day. The next execution would be a Ta-Da one.

Spraying non-stick cooking oil until I coughed from the fumes. Then I slathered shortening on as insurance. Allowing the oil to reach a high temp in the oven before pouring the batter in to bake.

Flip and presto. A glorious Ta-Da moment. Cornbread released and onto the serving plate. Sweet victory! I wanted to take a bow.

But Ta-Da announcements are not just for magicians or cornbread makers.

Here’s 3 ways to never miss out on Ta-Da moments:

1) Look for Whoa! moments in the daily grind.

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Make a Wish: Revealing My Top 7 Wishes in Life

Go ahead…make a wish. Because we all love wishes.

Whether for a birthday or the gift of a wish-making moment, there’s a glorious thing about wishes.

You can wish for anything. 

Wishes I Dared to Dream

And anything means anything, you know.

So, it’s exactly the kind of stuff I dared to dream on the hunch that maybe a few of my “anythings” might make it to reality.

Some came true.

But others fizzled as quick as I blew out the candles.

I made wishes running the spectrum of valiant and noble to downright self-centered and princess-ish. Wishes I patiently waited on. And the ones I threw a childish tantrum over.

Yet, deep in the depths of my soul, this girl’s always been a dreamer—wishing for the subtle pleasures of life and big ole’ ginormous things only God can pull off.

Looking back, I see the Lord’s tender mercies in my top wishes. In case you didn’t know, God’s the biggest dreamer of all. He dreams for each of us.

So, me and God, we dream together.

 Countdown of My Top 7 Wishes

7.  The love of my father.

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5 Ways to Keep Integrity on Social Media

Is integrity possible on social media?

I absolutely get the whole First Amendment right to express our thoughts and opinion. And everyone seems to voice opinions these days.

Whether we’re putting our best foot forward for a career or looking to engage with friends. Or maybe we value true integrity and character in the midst of a culture that’s gone half mad.

Social media stands as one of the best platforms to showcase who we are.

Integrity and Jesus

But for Christ-followers, shouldn’t we make every effort to conduct our lives based on the example of Jesus?

Everything? Every heart motive—the deepest nook and cranny. And every jot and tittle of our written words.

“A jot is the name of the least letter of an alphabet or the smallest part of a piece of writing. A tittle, rather appropriately for a word which sounds like a combination of tiny and little, is smaller still. It refers to a small stroke or point in writing or printing.” (More origin at the Phrase Finder.)

And the Bible mentions the phrase.

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