Why? and Why I Love Good Friday!

I love Good Friday... Good Friday is almost as exciting to me as Easter is.

A few years ago, I attended a Good Friday service and I had a new revelation -- that the curtain at the table was split on Good Friday.

Our price was paid, our sin was paid on GOOD FRIDAY.

Easter is a wonderful Holiday because it shows that Jesus overcome the grave and we can have eternal life through Him -- but our sin was gone on Good Friday.

When my Savior cried "It is finished", he was also saying "Paid in full!"  I heard a sermon recently and followed up with my own research that said that the Greek word, Tetelestai, means "It is finished", "It is accomplished", but it was also used in ancient Isreal as a business term.  In accounting Tetelestai meant "Paid", "Nothing is owed", "Paid in full".

My sin was paid through Jesus' death -- on Good Friday.  Easter is basically icing on the cake!

NOT ONLY did He pay for my sin... death couldn't keep Him down.  He overcame the grave!

He is not here!  HE IS RISEN!

But, I'm getting ahead of myself.

I love Good Friday and one of my favorite songs to use as reflection on Good Friday and the day before Easter (the day the disciples were coping with Jesus' death) is "WHY" by Nicole Nordeman.  This brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it.

Dream Wedding: Ceremony Special Music

Our wedding, both the ceremony and the reception, were filled with unique, personal touches.  I don't think I was a "Bridezilla" -- but I had a very meticulous attention to detail.

Of all of the very special details I arranged for our wedding, there was one part of our wedding for which I was SOOOO excited.  If everything else had fallen apart, the one thing I was over the moon excited about was the Special Music in our wedding ceremony.

I was a music major in college, so music is very important to me.  Add to that, I was a music major in college, so I have some VERY talented friends.

When I was planning our wedding, I knew exactly what songs I wanted sung, and I knew exactly who I wanted to sing them.  I was very fortunate that when I played the songs for Chris, he thought they'd be beautiful, and he had no objections to my friends (people he hadn't met yet) singing them.

The songs I wanted were a duet and a solo -- "The Prayer", and "How Beautiful"
The people I wanted to perform them was my best friend from childhood, Abigail Rockwood on piano, my roommate from college, Lisa Zevorich as soprano, and my friend from college, Julian Ledford as tenor.

I grew up with Abigail (Abbie, back then), and she is the most naturally talented musician I have ever met.  Not only is she naturally brilliant but she has a Bachelors and Masters degree in Organ and she is currently working at the Organist and Music Director at the largest Episcopalian church in Buffalo, New York.  I am still, to this day, so humbled that she was able to get a break from work and come to Michigan, not only for my wedding, but to perform in my wedding.

I met Lisa my Junior year of college, and we instantly knew we would become good friends when we bonded by our love of singing Broadway songs.  The night we met, we stayed up most of the night playing songs for each other and looking up lyrics so we could sing duets together.  The first time I heard the song, "How Beautiful", was when I heard Lisa sing it the summer before my Senior year.  Her amazing voice and the poignant song brought me to tears.  To ask Lisa to sing at my wedding was a complete circle of hearing that song for the first time, when she took my breath away.

I have known Julian since our Freshman year of college.  We sung together in University Chorus that Freshman year and even toured Cuba together with our choir that Spring.  Julian has the most amazing tenor voice, and he's from Jamaica, and he speaks French, Spanish and Italian.  He has such an amazing accent, and trust me, to hear him sing "Under the Sea" is identical to Sebastian in the movie!  :-D

I have sung with both Lisa and Julian and grew up performing with Abbie.  I knew these amazing musicians and I KNEW when the three of them came together to perform the result would be breath-taking, tear-jerking, goose-bump-creating, show-stopping.

The actual performance was everything I had imagined and so much more!

Please enjoy the following clips from our wedding.

"The Prayer" performed while we combined Unity Sand



"How Beautiful" performed right after we were pronounced Husband and Wife while we took communion



These performances made me cry during the wedding, and they make me cry every time I watch the video.

Abbie, Lisa, and Julian, I cannot express to you how much I means to me that you traveled so far, worked so hard, and came together in song to contribute to our wedding.  The giving of your time and talents are the most beautiful wedding present we could have ever asked for.

A few behind the scenes tid-bits:
* During "How Beautiful", when, on the video, I whispered something to Chris, he had been whispering to me several times... so I finally leaned over and said, "This is my favorite verse, so will you please stop talking to me."  :-D
* At the end of "How Beautiful", as I was beginning to openly cry and look for a Kleenex, I looked out at our friends and family in the congregation, and tissue after tissue was being raised to women's eyes throughout the church.  It was a really cool sight to see.

One of the things I love about music is that sometimes the words tell the story, and sometimes the music tells the story.  During the climatic bridge of "The Prayer" the words are in Italian and the music is so strong and powerful that one cannot understand the words -- one doesn't need to words at this point.  The music is expressing the meaning of the song.

That being said, I think the lyrics to both of these songs are beautiful and worth sharing in case you want to read the amazing message behind the music.  I especially think the words to "How Beautiful" are worth reading today, Good Friday.  "How Beautiful is the Body of Christ."  What a perfect day to reflect on this message, His sacrifice, and the many levels of meaning behind this song.

Have a very Blessed Good Friday.

"The Prayer"
by David Foster & Carol Bayer Sager

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your Grace
To a place where we'll be safe
La luce che tu dai

I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore restera
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarci che
When stars go out each night
L'eterna stella sei
Nella mia preghiera
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'e
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace

Give us faith so we'll be safe.
Sogniamo un mondo senza piu violenza

Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino
Simbolo di pace e di fraternita

La forza che ci dai
We ask that life be kind
E'il desiderio che
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amore
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a se
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
E la fede che
Hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salvera 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"How Beautiful"
by Twila Paris

How beautiful the hands that served
The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth
How beautiful the feet that walked
The long dusty roads and the hill to the cross

How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the heart that bled
That took all my sin and bore it instead
How beautiful the tender eyes
That chose to forgive and never despise

How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ

And as He laid down His life
We offer this sacrifice
That we will live just as he died
Willing to pay the price
Willing to pay the price

How beautiful the radiant bride
Who waits for her groom with His light in her eyes
How beautiful when humble hearts give
The fruit of pure lives so that others may live

How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ

How beautiful the feet that bring
The sound of good news and the love of the King
How beautiful the hands that serve
The wine and the bread and the sons of the earth

How beautiful, how beautiful
How beautiful is the body of Christ

Midweek Randoms

I enjoy following Kelly's Blog, Joyful Adorations... and she often posts "Midweek Randoms".

There is no other description for today's post besides MIDWEEK RANDOMS.

I have been SO tired this week.  Spring Break was amazing and SO restful... I was hoping that rest would carry over through this week... it hasn't.

I have driven over 400 miles already this week, and I am exhausted!  Probably at least 300 miles more before my week ends...

Baseball season started yesterday -- goodbye, Hubby.  I'll see you again in November.
(Not really, he's a wonderful husband... but there's a tiny molecule of truth to it.)

I haven't baked in over 6 weeks and I've missed it.  I haven't baked because I've gave up desserts for Lent, and its amazing how any incentive to bake ceases when you know you cannot eat them (or even taste them) yourself.

I am planning to BAKE FOR EASTER!  I am really excited because I've never baked for Easter specifically.  Growing up, the cookies of the world revolved around Christmas.  I'm really excited to experiment with Easter cookies this year, and maybe someday provide a Christmas cookie and Easter cookie tradition to my children.  I may be a little over ambitious with the cookies, to be honest... but luckily, I don't have children this year, and if I don't finish the cookies, or I'm still working on some next week, or if I give up on some, it will be okay.  This is a no-pressure Easter cookie year.  :-D

I am so tired...
What do you do when you're tired and you have things you have to do?

Word-Filled Wednesday: Luke 22:31-34

Luke 22:31-34
The Message Bible

"Simon, stay on your toes.  Satan has tried his best to separate all of you from me, like chaff from weat.  Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out.  When you have come through the time of testing, turn to your companions and give them a fresh start."

Peter said, "Master, I'm ready for anything with you.  I'd go to jail for you.  I'd die for you!"

Jesus said, "I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Peter, but before the rooster crows you will have three times denied that you know me."

via

What do you read and ponder during Holy Week leading up to Easter Sunday?

Treasuring the Present: IEP Season

 
With the arrival of mid-March and April comes IEP Season in my world.

IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan which is a plan for an individual student in public school who has specialized education needs.  In short, an IEP is the legal document of how a school is teaching a student who is in Special Education.

In my case, every student I serve throughout the five school districts I cover have their own IEP.  A student has to qualify for vision services according to the state qualifications, and then I write an IEP to explain how I am going to meet their visual needs in and out of the classroom.

All IEPs are updated annually... and, for some reason, most annual IEP meetings occur in the Spring.  I, for example have two IEPs this week, one next week, two the week after... three in the past two weeks, and probably more that have slipped my mind off the top of my head.

IEPs mean a meeting with a student's parents, teachers, administrators, and other special education teachers and my reporting what kind of visual progress the student has made this year, and the goals I hope they will meet in the next year.

I really like IEP meetings a student's ENTIRE team comes together (which happens so rarely) and works together and brainstorms ideas for the next year.

That being said, IEPs are a lot of work because they require a LOT of paperwork, a lot of really specific progress data and information regarding that students and the meetings can be tiring.

However, I am treasuring this present IEP season, because they are meetings that happen once a year, and each one I complete is one I can check off my list for this year!  It is a great feeling to come out of a meeting of the minds with parents and to feel like we've really worked together and created a positive plan for the coming year.

IEP season forces me to be very organized because I still have my usual caseload of students I see every week, PLUS I have the meetings, PLUS I have to make time to write the reports for the meetings.

By the end of this week, I will have two IEPs completed -- that is going to be a great feeling.  By the end of this month, I will have almost all my IEPs for the year completed.

I am thankful for IEP season, and I am thankful it only happens once a year.  :-D

My Handy Hubby!

I have such a handy hubby!

When we got home from Vail on Saturday, I unpacked and vacuumed... while he built us a shelf for our recycle bins.

This may sound like an odd project for him to build, but we have this puppy who seems to think everything within his reach is his toy... including our recyclables.  In the past few months we have found chewed aluminum cans, cardboard, newspaper, aluminum foil and glass all around our yard.  On many-a-day, I have felt like a garbage man walking around my yard picking up pieces of trash.

We either needed to find a new place for the recyclables or put them on a shelf out of the dog's reach.

MY HUBBY BUILT THE PERFECT SHELF FOR THEM!  They are out of the dog's reach and they look really nice and organized!

I have heard from both Chris and his family that he has built things and that he's a good carpenter, but I had never actually seen his work.  HE IS SUCH A HANDY HUBBY!!!

That leaves our puppy free to play with actual dog toys instead of dangerous and messy recyclables.

Jumping at water...

Wouldn't he just love a sprinkler?

Happy Monday, and Happy April!

The End of Vacation

Our time in Vail is over, but we're not back to work until Monday, so the vacation hasn't quite ended yet.

We had SUCH a wonderful time in Vail.  We are so rested and we enjoyed our time there immensely.

That being said, we are happy to be home and to have a few days here before we're back to the grindstone.

Here are some pictures we snapped during our last days in Vail:

Lexie's finally out of the plant basket

I was icing my knee and eating lunch (four days of hard skiing, running and regular workouts left it a little sore), and Lloyd was told to lay down.  He wanted to beg... but he lay down as commanded... he just kept his chin up on the bed at an awkward angle.  It was really cute.

We worked pretty hard with Lloyd on elevator etiquette

Beautiful Vail Village

Lodge Tower

Isn't he handsome?

He almost always comes when we call him... it is a huge strength!

Can you seen our rosy noses from skiing?

I love these guys!

Here we tried to get an automatic picture of the three of us... easier said than done.

What a beauty!

We brought some boxes up before we started packing, and Lexie LOVED the empty boxes!

An overhead shot.

Peek-a-boo

Then the pictures got a little silly...

"What are you doing out there?"

We love this kitty cat!

What a wonderful vacation!