In my last post I mentioned two reasons I like Spring: March Madness and the signs of new life. That was several days ago. Championship games have been played, victories have been celebrated, players have announced decisions to stay in school or declare for "the draft." Yes, I cheered for the champs in both the men's and the women's finals--both were SEC teams. I'll almost always choose an SEC team over another conference, but that's not why I cheered for the Tennessee Lady Vols. I cheer for them because of their coach, Pat Summitt.

In 2004 Coach Summitt appeared as a speaker for the annual Willow Creek Leadership Conference that is simulcast all over the country and in some areas abroad. She impressed me with, among other things, her honesty, her ability to get her message across and the sincere interest she expressed in the young women who go through her program. I was even more impressed and inspired when I read her book, Reach for the Summit, the Definite Dozen System for Succeeding at Whatever You Do. Her system works for basketball and it works in life. Take a look and see if you don't agree.

My other favorite thing about Spring, "signs of new life," has been struggling a bit the last couple of days. Just when we had begun to think that not another thing could bloom any more and any prettier, a cold front came and folks have had to cover tender plants and blooming shrubs at night. Last night our yard looked like squatty Halloween ghosts had arrived at the back porch. One azalea we covered doesn't look so good today and I'm afraid the wind stripped it of its costume.

Nonetheless, it has been a beautiful Spring! For us it has been especially fun to see what would bloom in our yard since we had no idea what had been planted. The dogwood in the front was a sight to see--in fact I couldn't begin to count all the dogwoods in the neighborhood. One afternoon our oldest grandson brought in a blossom for me to see. He was interested in the scars on the petals and I told him my version of the legend of the dogwood.

Of course the most wonderful "sign of new life" of all is Easter itself! We are happy this year to be able to spend Easter with part of our family. Yesterday three of the grandchildren came to dye eggs, something I hadn't done in several years. It was fun to watch their creative juices flow. We have also heard from many friends during the past week and we are reminded of how much friends mean to us. Easter is a time for family and friends. Easter is a time to celebrate! It's always been a mystery to me why we put so much emphasis on the birth of Christ and not so much on the resurrection of Christ. Without it there would be no life; there would be no hope.

May your Easter be filled with the hope that only Jesus brings and the joy of knowing that you have new life in him!

Pastor Margaret