Easter Sunday ~ Chumbawamba and Alanis Morissette

Christ is Risen!

This is the joy of Easter - it turns out that there is a better tomorrow! And interestingly, the men who were following Jesus were not the first to find out. They had scattered, gone into hiding, lest they be next on the cross. But the women who had been with Jesus, they headed to the tomb to be sure Jesus was properly taken care of. Of course, we have the luxury of recognizing that Lazarus' sister, Mary, had already prepared Jesus for burial when she poured perfume over him a few days ago; but Jesus' followers did not yet know that.

While getting my haircut last week, I heard "Head Over Feet" playing on the radio. As I listened to it, I began to think about the reaction of the Mary's, particularly Mary Magdalene, as they visited the tomb before dawn that Sunday morning long ago. How do you react to the one who was dead, the one you have followed for years, the one whose teachings have totally changed your outlook on life? How do you come to terms with something as irrational as Jesus again standing before you? They clung to him and wanted to stay with him. Instead, Jesus wasn't quite done with the lessons; he sent them with a message and the women became the first evangelists (in the true sense of the word), the first to spread the good news of the Resurrection, the first preachers, if you will.

I will admit that "Tubthumping" was a late entry to this list - and a bit of an irreverent take on the Resurrection. But you have to admit the catchy refrain does speak to this rather well. Can't you just imagine Jesus walking through the garden that Sunday morning singing, "I get knocked down, but I get up again, you're never gonna keep me down." Well, I bet you can now! Enjoy having that song stuck in your head the rest of the day.

Christ is risen indeed!

Songs for the Journey: Easter

A little over two years, ago, I began a musical journey through Lent. You can see the original post here, which will give you a little idea as to why I started that journey.

Much as I guessed at the end of that post, it has taken me two years to put together another list.

Sometimes the hardest part of these lists is figuring out the themes for each post. While there are always overarching themes for the year, the reliance on four gospels and a handful of other writings through the lectionary means that there are at least three different sets of readings for most Sundays. This year, I was fortunate enough to find themes that would work in Stages on the Way: Worship Resources for Lent, Holy Week & Easter from the Wild Goose Worship Group of the Iona Community.

So, here we are at the end of Lent. We again stand in the Saturday between times. Yesterday, Jesus completed his journey to the cross. Today, he is in the tomb and the disciples feel that all is done; their hope for a better world, for a different tomorrow has come crashing down around them.

But the good news for us is that we know how it really ends, we know that there is a better tomorrow. The journey has not ended, but is about to burst forth into a new beginning. We are a Sunday people.

Easter Vigil
K-Os - Sunday Morning

Easter Morning ~ Resurrection
Chumbawamba - Tubthumping

Easter Morning ~ The Role of Women
Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet

Easter Week 2 ~ Thomas and Doubting
Paolo Nutini - Rewind

Easter Week 3 ~ Jesus Appears to His Disciples
Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians - Love Like We Do

Easter Week 4 ~ Jesus Foretells His Departure
The Cure - Lovesong

Easter Week 5 ~ Promise of the Holy Spirit
Indigo Girls - Love Will Come to You

Easter Week 6 ~ Gift of Peace
Carl Thomas Gladstone - Mother Jesus

Ascension ~ Jesus Returns to Heaven
Ben Harper - Amen, Omen

Easter Week 7 ~ Jesus' Prayer to God for His Disciples
Collective Soul - Shine

8th Sunday of Easter ~ Pentecost
The Doors - Light My Fire

As it is now getting dark here on Saturday evening, I feel that I should say a word about the Easter Vigil song. This is the one carryover from my previous posts for Lent. Just as I could not end the Lenten list with Jesus in the tomb and the disciples experiencing that loss, I can't just jump into Easter without the hint of what came before. So here are the words I posted 2 years ago.

I must say that it was this song (Sunday Morning) by K-Os that pushed me to finally put together this playlist. The refrain repeats over and over "Everyday is Saturday night, but I can't wait for Sunday morning." It is such a happy and upbeat song, and I realized it fits perfectly into that transition between the emptiness of Saturday and the joy of Sunday. I heard or read part of an interview with K-Os, who spoke of the night life of Toronto and how everyone is so focused on the Saturday nights - the parties, the clubs, the hook-ups, etc. But there is just something different about Sunday morning that calls to us. Sunday hearkens back to memories of our grandparents' church and family meals. For us as Christians, there is also the sense that too often we get caught in the pain of Friday or the emptiness of Saturday. Every day of the week becomes a Saturday night - a time of excessive living in this world. But week after week, I find I can't wait 'til Sunday morning - Sunday when everything is made new, Sunday when we become aware of the risen Christ all around us, Sunday when we celebrate the joy of God's promises fulfilled.

Welcome to the family!

On March 21st, Julian was baptized into the family of God. Of course, he was already a part of that family, but we just thought we'd do that outward and visible sign of that inward, spiritual reality. (All the Methodist are with me on this one!)



It was a great day! Friends came from near and far. Tia Courtney came the farthest...all the way from Oregon! She got to hang with JB all week.



Jeff and Bridget (JB's godparents) and Casey and Sam came from Detroit. Jeff even did his baptism poem that he wrote on the day before Casey was baptized. (We still want a copy, J.)



Our friend Barbara made his baptismal outfit out of the skirt of my wedding dress. (I'd post a picture of the dress so you could see the transformation, but our other computer crashed, and we haven't gotten the data off it if yet!) But it was super special for us!





Julian had a good time and was completely calm for the entire baptism...that was until the ice cold water hit is naked head! No pictures of that unfortunately.



Pastor Catiana walked him around the church and showed him to everyone.



It was a great day. But he didn't take it all that seriously!



The Holy Spirit will make the hair on your hair stand straight up!

Raspberries

Luckily, I had the camera right on hand for Julian's first raspberries.

We probably need to do laundry...

Bar of the Month: Fudgy Malted Milk Brownies

So, here they are and they look wonderful and taste delicious (according to Vince)! And thanks to Courtney who was visiting and helped. Never have you seen such Whopper cutting in your life!

Bars:
4 oz 70% to 72% bittersweet chocolate, chopped
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, cut up
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup malted milk powder (I used chocolate ovaltine.)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, room temperature
1 yolk, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract



Frosting:
8 oz. white chocolate, chopped or 1 cup white baking chips
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut up
1/2 cup malted milk balls, halved



1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Line 9-inch square baking pan with foil; spray bottom of foil with cooking spray.

2. Microwave bittersweet chocolate and 10 tablespoons butter in medium bowl on medium for 1 minutes and 30 seconds; stir. Continue microwaving in 15-second increments until completely melted and smooth. Cool to room temperature.

3. Whisk flour, malted milk powder and salt in small bowl.

4. Beat eggs and egg yolk in medium bowl at low speed 15 seconds or until blended and slightly frothy. Beat in sugar in steady stream 15 seconds or until combined. Beat in chocolate mixture and vanilla 15 seconds or until just combined. Stir in flour mixture until just blended. Spread in pan.

5. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch from side of pan comes out clean and when inserted in center comes out with a trace of chocolate. Cool completely on wire rack.

6. Meanwhile, combine white chocolate, cream, and 1 tablespoon butter in medium heatproof bowl. Bring small saucepan of water to a simmer; remove from heat. Place bowl with chocolate mixture over water (bowl should not touch water). Let stand until ingredients are almost melted; stir until melted and smooth. Refrigerate 10-15 minutes or until spreadable consistency, stirring occasionally.

7. Spread frosting over brownies; top with malted milk balls, cut-side down. Remove from pan using foil; cut into bars.



*Notes: I made a double batch, so I used a 9x13 pan. Also, I find that if you are going to use foil, you have to spray the heck out of it with cooking spray. But when you do, the bars come off very easily.

Stormpooper Julian

It's that time again, folks! Can you believe it?! We hardly can't. Today Julian is four months old.



For Vince's first Father's Day, when JB was still just our little unknown Jellybean, I bought Vince a Stormpooper onesie for JB. I'm sure you all know about Vince's love of Star Wars, and he is so excited that JB can finally fit into the Stormpooper onesie!



Julian was really tired when we were taking these pictures, but you can sure tell that he's getting more interactive with his surroundings.



And of course, sometimes he just needs a good sleep.



Julian found his tongue this month too!



Needless to say, we are loving being parents! And we're one big happy family. This is probably only the first time that we will scare our kid!