MULA a Blessing in Disguise

What exactly is a MULA you ask - according to uncle EATON it is a: Mandatory Unpaid Leave of Absence - kind of ironic that they use a term often used to describe money as the acronym for a week of not getting any! Yes in an effort to try and prevent further lay-offs my company decided to require all employees to take a week off and this week was mine. Thankfully I will get Easter Sunday off without the worry of getting called in which is a blessing.
I have spent much time pondering the events that took place throughout this week approximately 2009 years ago. There were several defining moments that took place:

Jesus entering Jerusalem while riding a donkey and the town folks covering his path with their garments and palm leaves while shouting 'Hosanna'
The Priests plotting against Jesus and for 30 pieces of silver Judas Iscariot joined in on the betrayal.
The Last Supper and the explanation of "Communion"
The Garden of Gethsemane
The betrayal of Jesus by Judas
Peter's denial of Jesus
Jesus' trial by the Jewish leaders
Jesus' questioning by Pontius Pilate
The releasing of Barabbas in exchange for Jesus
The beating and mocking of Jesus
The trip to Golgotha with the cross
The Crucifixion
The burial
THE RESURRECTION!

As a Christian one of the things during the "Holy Week" that always struck me was Peter's denial of Jesus. Here is a man who walked Hand-in-Hand with Jesus and in a moment of fear he not only denied Him once he did it 3 times in a matter of moments!
I know why Peter scoffed at the idea that he would fulfill this prophecy in the time frame given him. As the owner of a crowing rooster I realize that the window of time from his conversation with Jesus to the final denial was a short amount of time - at least it was if the rooster that Jesus spoke of was anything like our rooster Bobby!
It just goes to solidify the fact that we need to keep our focus on God and the fact that He is with us (Really With US - Not just a state of mind) and we need to acknowledge Him and spend every moment possible communing with Him - after all that is our Purpose!

The Easter Egg has been labeled with all sorts of meanings, some religious and other pagan. I like to think of the Easter Egg as a reminder of the Resurrection of Jesus -and the Real Easter Egg resulting in a new born chick reminds us of New Birth and the resulting empty shell reminds us of the empty Tomb!

While I didn't hatch them myself the kids and I picked up 6 new spring chicks today. I hope to use them as an object lesson so they will be reminders to the children about the importance of Easter not only during this week but throughout the entire year.

Happy Easter

Mark 16:1-6
1 Saturday evening, when the Sabbath ended, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went out and purchased burial spices so they could anoint Jesus’ body. 2 Very early on Sunday morning, just at sunrise, they went to the tomb. 3 On the way they were asking each other, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance to the tomb?” 4 But as they arrived, they looked up and saw that the stone, which was very large, had already been rolled aside. 5 When they entered the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a white robe sitting on the right side. The women were shocked, 6 but the angel said, “Don’t be alarmed. You are looking for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead! Look, this is where they laid his body.