Easter Poem

Loving Me to The End
Betrayed...
                 ...for 30 pieces of Silver
Denied...
                ...three times by His own disciple
Innocent...
                ...but they traded His life for that of a murderer
Scorned...
               ...by those He came to save
Beaten,Bruised, and Broken...
                                             ...yet the crowd still cried for more
Crucify Him, Crucify Him
So he went
                 He hung on that cross
                 He took my pain
                 He loved me
And when he uttered His last words
        He loved me still
But death could not hold Him
       Just as He promised He would rise
He conquered death for me
                none of us deserved it
                few of us ask for it
               some of us deny it
Yet He did it
Died and rose again
Loving me to the end

--by Nicole Perrizo

Homemade Chocolate Cake

I have an awesome recipe for homemade chocolate cake.  I find it's better on the next day.  It seems to get more moist on the second day.  Now to serve it up, forget the frosting, instead coolwhip, raspberries and chocolate sauce.  I will post the recipe for the cake later.  I can't wait for dessert tomorrow.

Construction

Well, we are heading into some construction projects.  I haven't had to do to much major construction in my own house so we'll see.  We are repairing the water damage in three rooms, plus putting in a water drainage system in the basement.  Top that off with a new roof this summer and hopefully the Perrizo waterpark will be officially out of business. 
I'm a little nervous about what will happen.  Living in an old house tends to make projects that should be simple take twice as long.  I'm hoping not because I have to replace a couple windows and I don't want to get stalled with them out.  Well I guess all my worrying will not change anything, so I need to put some prayers in for quick work with no extra surprises. 

Winter

Why is it so hard to get motivated in winter?  I should have all my indoor projects done since it's too cold to go outside, right?  Yet I just want to cuddle under a blanket and watch a movie.  Soon it will be warm, well maybe not soon, but eventually anyway.  When that one day comes, I am going to want to be outside in the warmth and I won't get any of my projects done then either.  I guess I am going to have to come up with some other to get motivated then. 

From Today's devotion time

For my Bible study, we are working throught the book of Ephesians.  This week's chapter was chapter 4.  There were lots of familiar verses of course, but then what's fun is how something new stands out to you every time you read it.   Verse 32 is one we all teach our kids "Be ye kind, tenderhearted to one another..." .  I love this verse and use it with my little ones all the time.  Today I was reading in the NIV and it says "Be Kind and compassionate..."  Think about that, it's not enough to just be kind but you also need to be compassionate.  I know for myself that I can be kind to people, but that is where I leave it, just enough to get by.  Compassionate, that's a big word, I mean big in it's meaning.  When I think of compassion, I think of a deep love for someone else, wanting to protect them, take care of them.  That's a lot more then not yelling at someone that does something annoying, or sharing some food with someone.  Compassion is a deep care and concern for a person's well being.  I think I am going to need a little more time with this thought.  My corrections with my children need to be changed a little to, because it's not enough to tell them just to be kind.

Memorization

I was originally thinking how can I help myself lose weight and I thought when I am busy or distracted I do pretty good.  I had to come up with a way to distract myself so I thought maybe I could work on memorizing my verses for my bible study.  I put up the verses in my kitchen over my stove, over the microwave, by the fridge water dispenser, on the snack pantry, etc.  The idea was that when I was going to eat I would instead take time to memorize a verse.  It works quite well.  I didn't realize how much wasted time you have while you are doing things like waiting for toast, or standing over the stove.  I am feeling pretty good about putting my wasted time to use.  I think I will add in some places like the mirror over the sink,for while you are brushing your teeth or washing your hands.  Don't laugh, but across from your toilet, you can't tell me that time doesn't add up in a day.  How about above your computer, on your steering wheel (of course that is just for red lights). 
Try it and see how many verses you can learn in a week or two.

Water, water everywhere.

I realize that we all have issues in our life that God allows us to deal with.  I'm not complaining because mine are very trivial in comparison to others.  I do wonder why all mine have to do with water. (waterleaking in my walls, roof, basement, hot water pipes, windows, etc.) I've been thinking about it, it seems a bit of an odd dilemna.  I'm not sure what I am supposed to learn.  I suppose patience and trust because what can you do about some of these.  Perserverance, maybe, I mean it is the same issue over and over.  I am trying to learn, Lord, so please take note. 
I am however glad I don't live on a houseboat because I think my house would have sunk by now with all the leaks we've sprung in our house.
 I will say to any problem we have in life God is still very good.   Thank you Lord for the trials that remind me that you are there to help us.  Thank you that we can call on you when we face hard times and that you listen.