Easter-Christ is Risen, but where's the bunny

I have never understood how the Easter bunny became the symbol of Easter. On Easter, Christians acknowledge the fact the Jesus rose from the dead. This day, Easter Sunday, is a time of joy, celebrating the newness of life that followed the death and crucifixion of Jesus.

But the bunny? History.com has some information on ancient tales of rabbits and eggs symbolizing new life. So maybe that is the connection. It's easier for me with Santa Claus, who brings gifts. I associate this with the great gift God gave in Jesus' birth.

I dug a little deeper, and found that Easter is defined as a wind from the east. As I searched the Bible, I found that the star the lead the Magi to Jesus was in the east.

Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. (Gen 2:8)

Who has stirred up one from the east, calling him in righteousness to his service (Isaiah 41:2)?

And I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of rushing waters, and the land was radiant with his glory. (Ezekiel 43.2)

For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man (Matthew 24:27)

I found 112 references to "the east" in the New Revised Standard. But I couldn't find the bunny.

Considering God is Tough Times

Consider Him who is faithful.


I turn dreams to heavy things,
Demanding, like a child.
I lose sight of vision
Staring at the present reality
As if it were the only one.

I seek the Lord for answers
Already given in the vision world
Of faith and certainty.

Oh faithless heart, distraction of my sight!
My soul grows faint in battle
With my soddened self.
I cry for mercy, relief from such a foe.

Mercy always comes. And such a sweet face.
The Lord smiles.
My soul finds rest in the gleam of His eye.
I stand again to move through one more day,
Just present reality,
And reach the vision set in trust for me.

Then there will be one more.

copyright Penstruck

God gives us hope in dark times.

Even after being a christian for many years, there are revelation moments, where I realize why or when or how I came to sadness, and sometimes hopelessness. I pray, examining the events, the words, the impressions, and how these chiseled me, bent me, and formed who I am today. I pray for healing and direction. I mourn. In such a dark time, God gave me hope.

"Forget the former things. Do not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new work.
Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the desert
And streams in the wasteland." (Isa 43:18-19)

Desert soul, barren rock of dust despair,
Take heart. Begin again.
Fountains of the Lord spring forth,
Watering the land; pure pour of life.
The sand surrenders, and through the furrows,
Deep and etched with grief and battered dreams,
The Lord restores the stream.

Unconditionally, I recede,
Receiving God's love and so I am a field:
As yet, just plowed and planted,
Anticipating the days of thunder,
Sweet rainfalls of the Lord.

Look back no more to Egypt,
Little child upon the path,
The sorrow lies behind you,
Draw a wall now at your back.

Renew your mind and empty all the buckets
Filled with fear.
Throw them now behind you,
Draw the wall and hear:
The future, like white paper,
Smooth and shining, fresh and clean,
Stands before you now, draw the dream.

Trust in Me, child,
Spread your wings,
Glide upon the currents of My love.
Soar high like an eagle, proud against the sky,
Trust in Me, child, spread your wings,
In my freedom, spread your wings.

Best Ways to Show Others You are a Christian

Smile. Did you know that when someone smiles as you, it instantly lifts your spirit and makes you think there is hope.

Be patient. A crowded checkout line is difficult on the checker, too. While you are waiting in line at the drive-thru ATM, get your card out, sign your checks and prepare your deposit. It will keep you busy, and help those behind you others get through the line faster.

Be a good listener. Let people tell their stories, their troubles, and share their joys without interruption. Ask God to help you hear, and respond with a word in due season.

Be patient. You did not get to where you are overnight, and no one else does either.
Don't think you have solved the puzzles of life and have the "right" answers. If you did, you would be with Jesus.

Love always. Love is not the kissy, feeling stuff. It is the sustaining attitude that you will be the pillar in the lives of those you know. You will accept their shortcomings, and treat them like Jesus treats you.

Pray and talk to God. When your boss yells at you, when you are facing a challenge at work or school, when you are stumped on a problem, talk to God. He does care about you.

Life is Hard but God is Good

Sometimes I'm just world‑weary,
Daily living brings me down.
To pay the bills and just survive.......
There seems no easy ground.

I take a quiet pause in life,
Reflect upon the stars.
Those tiny lamps glow joyously
And somehow give me cause
To contemplate God's promises,
His words of love and hope,
That overshine the weary days
And gently help me cope.

...And flowers, blooming artfully,
Reveal the wealth of God.
They do not work or gather goods,
Yet so arrayed are they,
That all the money in the world
Could scarce clothe me that way.

And these, a season's beauty, pass.
How much more God will do
For me to bloom as beautifully,
If I will trust Him to.

Post Traumatic Sixites-Reality TV Begins

In 2010, reality tv has taken over the networks. But in the sixties, reality tv begins--and it was reality. Watching the news made you duck. It started with the replays of President Kennedy's assassination, then we watched Lee Harvey Oswald get shot. Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King were gunned down, and we watched.

There were riots, church bombings, and civil rights workers killed. The Vietnam war was broadcast regularly, until they had to stop because someone saw their son dead on a stretcher before they were even notified. And into the seventies, there were students killed at Kent State, and the clocktower massacre.

Before this, television was non-threatening entertainment. Women and children never got killed. Actually, I saw the first lady die in an episode of Bonanza. Anyway.

So trying to sell reality television to me is a hard-sell. I have seen the real stuff. And it left the youth of the sixties with a plateful of hard truth.

New Year

Wedge the wind beneath me
Challenge my heart with hope
Within my walls of walking
Life lifts,
Tracking trials
Molding memories
Choosing
Past or present
Which
Can break barriers
Or construct concrete.
Smiles surpass
Clearly commence
The present prevails
I begin again.

Surely Joy Comes In The Morning

HIDE AND SEEK

Quiet morning rising,
Still darkness in my heart.
I reach out for a light
To cross the room.
Sleepy eyes, blurred in shadows.
Dull thoughts, searching through the gloom
For what has come before.

I draw back the curtains
To let the soft light
Filter through the room,
Seeking out reminders
Of what the Lord has done.

The shadows fail.
The soft, pale light of promise
Fills the room.
I turn to face this dawn:
Fresh hope and joy.

Christian Living

You are my life and breath,
My fiber, and the basis of my being.
You are the strength in my soul,
The keeper of the courage in my heart.

In the devastation of broken dreams,
Among the ruins of unrecognized hope,
You are the foundation for rebuilding
and rebirth,
The keeper of the courage in my heart.

Your Word is like a strong arm,
Your will a wall of safety.
You are faith itself, and never ending hope.
Though earthquakes rock my life
And split my dreams like paper
I cling to You, my constant source of strength,
Oh Lord, my hope and my eternal love.

You own my heart, and all that I have
Belongs to You.
What can I do that does not come from You?
What thought, or dream conceived,
Does not spring from Your creation?
I am, I am because You are,
Oh Lord.I am because You are.

Post Traumatic Stress in the Sixties

We know today that posttraumatic stress disorder is plaguing veterans. It took a long time for to admit that those who live with the constant threat of death are never the same. I remember when my husband returned from Vietnam. He was confused, angry, and finally, dangerous for me and my child to be around. I tried to get help from the Army and from the Veterans hospital, but no one knew then what we do now.
And I think also about growing up during the sixties, with the Cold war, the "duck and tuck" drills, the bomb shelters, and TV tests. I wonder sometimes if we all don't have just a shred of PTSD. That sense of fight or flight that leaves us jumpy, that lead us on the rebellious path that is the legacy of the sixties.
If we can dive into ourselves, and remember, we can help with the universal acceptance that man, in terms of both male and female, have difficulty taking lives in the exploding environment that is war, and then not expect these veterans to return to normality with the descent from the plane.
Acclamation into normality needs some time.
And, in the US today, what is normal? Don't we all share in the towers, in the fear? Of course, we live each day, we laugh, we go on, because that is the nature of man, to survive. But we can acknowledge, and have mercy.
I have lived with this sense of an impending threat since I was small, since I watched the TV, listened to adults talk about the bomb, about nuclear threats, and did the drills in school.
When I was 10, I wrote this poem:

I'd hate to be in a war
Even if I didn't get hurt.
To have some strange man come and say " I won you,"
I didn't know I was a prize.
Surprise!

Discovered

I saw my dreams today in your eyes.
That glance surprised me.
The dreams danced lightly,
Snapshots from the future
I keep, and no one knows.
But your eyes knew.

Jewels, my feelings,
Displayed within my heart,
Diamond fire on dark velvet:
Merchant's wares.
And I, so startled, thought,
"I have a fortress so secure",
Bright chambers for my dreams
And stalwart sentries
Guarding all my treasure.

Miser, I am,
Holding all of this, but safe.
Until I saw what frightened me:
That someone knew my soft and secret child.

And yet, I would not trade
Or lay these jewels aside.
The feelings they reflect
Glide across my heart, so silken,
And, within their folds,
I clamor through this fortress,
Opening my dreams to see
How you have come by them,
And how they nested in your eyes.

copyright penstruck

Faith

A door beyond vision
or
A place beyond touch.
What cannot be known, is.
Transparent substance
That sustains through trials
And leads, like a light,
Down the shadowed corridors
Of an unknown day.

Things beyond knowledge
Are known through the heart:
Planted by a word from God
That grows, perceptive in the Spirit,
Discerning what is
And has not been,
Yet.

copyright penstruck

Sacred Things

Sacred things.
Keeping secrets,
Listening when you’re busy
Holding memories tight
And opening your heart.

Loving the unlovely
Smiling when you’re worn
Patiently tying a child’s shoe
And opening your heart.

For all the sacred thoughts and dreams
For holy smiles and words
For sunshine on a winter’s day
We hold our sacred things
Gently, like young children,
And sacredly open our hearts.

Copyright penstruck