Beautifully handmade for service

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.” William Morris 

I am a self-confessed Pinterest photo-junkie/stalker. I couldn’t care less about making most of the things I find there (unless it is the food!), I just love looking at all of the beautiful photos. As a result of spending time there, I got one of those emails from Pinterest this morning suggesting that I check out some additional pics for one of my boards. Since that particular board is a collection of things that appeals to me “just because”…well, let’s just say that their selections were far-ranging. (ha!)

One of their suggestions actually led to a selection that made my board, but it took some time to find the article it was attached to and, though the photos were very nice, the premise of the article made me laugh a little. It was on how to make a shiny new kitchen look old–and that brought all KINDS of things to my imagination. (grin)

As I looked around my house, I saw some things that reminded me of my favorite William Morris quote and made me smile because they actually ARE old–not just made to look that way–and I am fast joining them as we gracefully age together! (insert chuckle here) In particular, there were two items that caught my eye: a small wooden stool and the wooden tray on my coffee table. (Nevermind that I needed help removing the dust DINOSAURS from around the stool before I could take that photo!–I can’t for the life of me figure out how they escaped the vacuum yesterday!?)

These two items are the first things I ever purchased just for me and “just because.” I bought them–and a handmade ornament that still hangs on my tree every year–at a Christmas craft fair while I was in college when money was beyond tight. (And I think that may be why I like taking my creations to Christmas arts and crafts fairs even now!) I can’t tell you how grown up I felt. I’m sure the vendor thought I would never make up my mind as I checked each item thoroughly and finally made my choices. It was important for me to get it right. Those few dollars had come to me dearly and I chose the spending of them to actually make them last.

It worked. I still love—and use–these pieces regularly. The stool is held together with wooden pegs and made without any glue or even a single nail. It remains tight and sturdy after all this time and got dragged into service as a low coffee table the last time my sister-in-law needed a place to put her coffee cup. The tray has held everything from breakfast in bed to rocks shaped like hearts, drinks on the porch, and giant white seashells…and, obviously, my favorite red hymnal. Like the stool, it remains sturdy and ready for use at a moment’s notice.

I’ve often thought about painting these pieces and giving them a new look, but I always decide to leave them in the state that appealed to me originally: plain, servicable, and obviously handmade. They have a few dings here and there, but they still make me smile. They were a good investment for me then and I love them still.

They remind me that I, too, am handmade, bought with a price, and still able to serve in variety of ways. My Maker carefully crafted me–and you!–on purpose and carefully placed us for service and ministry to Him and those around us. He has a long-term plan for us that is for our good and, if we’ll cooperate, we get to bless others in the process.

“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

It’s time to quit talking and get busy walking now. There’s work to be done. Let’s make God smile today!!

Grace and peace!

(P.S. A quick shout-out to my Mississippi friends Craig and Tracy Wilson at Poplar Ridge Pottery for making the gorgeous–and very functional!–coffee mugs that I love so much! William Morris would be SO proud!)

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Softened ground

We got a lot of rain today. It seemed to come in “spurts” as though a bucket was being upturned right over my house. Although the weather forecasters had it wrong today, since they assured me in their “hour by hour” app that it would be quite clear during most of the day, I’m quite sure God knew exactly what He was doing. As for me, I did errands and a little bit of weed-pulling in between the showers.

I’ve been working on clearing out the flower beds in the back. Kind of like me, it’s a work in process. I stop and pull a few weeds as I go back and forth to do other tasks. Some days the clean-out seems to go rather quickly and other days, it seems the weeds will win.

Today was a quick day for weed removal. Although the rain kept me off the lawn mower and out of the deepest parts of the yard, it softened up the ground in the flower beds and made pulling up the small trees (thank you very much, squirrels!–not!) and errant grasses with a mostly easy pull and just a little mud on the hands. Occasionally messy, but effective.

I laughed as I thought about how that can also be used to describe my own spiritual journey at times: occasionally messy, but effective. The messy part happens mainly when I forget that the dark and stormy days also serve their purpose and I rail at God for pulling at me where I’m already comfortable and settled. While I’ve yet to meet anyone who gets excited about those days of difficulty and frustration, they can serve to soften the ground and allow God to pull out some of those more deeply rooted things that would take over if allowed to grow unchecked and unremoved.

Things like pride, self-sufficiency, and a desire to be in control all sound like good things in our culture…right up until they get in the way of God growing some of His fruits of the Spirit. In His great mercy, I’ve seen God send some hard things my way to soften the ground so He can root out those uglier/harder things to make way for attributes that are more pleasing in His sight. To be sure, some of those good things often still appear to be in their seed form while others are beginning to show a little more promise.

Waiting on some of those good/God-things to grow is a lifelong process. The trick is to make use of the softened ground and make the most of the rainy days. They’re sent for more than just making things grow; they’re also good for rooting things out.

Here’s to knowing the difference and being willing to do the work. God always knows what we need.

“If you have a willing attitude and obey, then you will again eat the good crops of the land.” Isaiah 1:19

Grace and Peace!

Mastered by the masses?

A friend and I were messaging back and forth awhile back when she asked how I was doing.

“Good. Peaceful, I think…a byproduct of being more creative these days and feeling like that’s what God is not just allowing, but asking of me right now.”

That was several weeks ago and the “feeling” is still holding. I’ve been on a search for more margin in my life for the past several years, but over the past 6 months or so I have intensified the pursuit as a result of specific Bible study and a significant amount of prayer. Conversations with various friends in search of the same goals have also helped and provided plenty of encouragement.

I’m under no illusions that this will be a one-and-done thing. I suspect it will continue to be a lifelong pursuit. Having had a taste of margin, I find myself craving more, but not at the expense of what I’m called to do. Instead, I am finding that adding more margin to my life is actually energizing me to do a few things that haven’t really made my list before now…and they’re things that I should have been doing for quite some time.

As a part of my search for increased margin, I decided to practice the spiritual discipline of observing Lent again this year. This is only my third time to do this, since my denominational affiliation doesn’t typically do this, but I found myself wanting to make sure that I was particularly and personally focused on the sacrifice that Jesus made for me. Put that way, it would seem to require something deep and mysterious, doesn’t it? The truth is that even seemingly insignificant self-sacrifice, when done for the right reason, can have a profound impact. Such was the case for me again this year.

I chose to abstain from Facebook.

Don’t laugh. Oh, well. Go ahead and laugh; it is actually kind of funny.

A few weeks before the Lenten season began, I saw a post by a friend that announced her intention to give up Facebook for Lent. I laughed. She’s one of the most social media-intense people I’ve ever seen in my life. Even her DOG has an Instagram account! She posts for the dog, herself, and her town. My first thought was, “she’ll never make it.”

My next thought was, “hmmmmm…I wonder if I could do that.” Oddly enough, even that small thought made me uncomfortable. I’m not as active as she is, but I still post personally and for the Women’s Ministry of our church on a regular basis. I think it was the “uncomfortable” part that got my attention. Why in the world would that make me uncomfortable? I knew I had been spending a lot more time on social media, but why should stopping that one thing for 40 days be an issue? It was enough to sell me on the idea. Almost immediately, the following verse came to mind:

“I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but I will not be mastered by anything.” I Corinthians 12:2 (NIV)

With that verse as my “confirmation” I made it official and told my husband, alerted the other Women’s Ministry FB page administrator that I would only be posting on Sundays  until Easter Sunday, and so it began. My blog posts are automatically posted there, so I didn’t have to take that into consideration, but I also decided to deliberately limit my blog posts as well during that time.

It was a lot harder than I had expected. I had no idea that reaching for my phone had become such an ingrained behavior, but I realized very quickly that this was, indeed, exactly what I was supposed to learn. I had been “mastered” by something larger than just being on Facebook: I was no longer “in the know” about what was going on in people’s lives, their opinions about everything from supper to super powers, and missing out on pictures of their grandbabies, life events, and vacation photos. AGAIN, it sounds really laughable, but I was amazed at the number of times I reached out for that information only to remember my Lenten vow and stop.

Unfortunately, knowing all of that information gave me little benefit in return for what came at a significant price of a most precious commodity: time! When viewed in that light and initially difficult to break in habit, the trade-off was substantially easier than the thought of continuing to trade large chunks of my LIFE for the “privilege” of “being in the know.” I decided that each time I was tempted to look, I would pray. I would tell God “Thank you!” for His massively larger sacrifice for me and I would ask Him to bless those who came to mind. It took a few days, but then I began to feel the liberation set in and with that, a great deal of peace.

All of the sudden, I had time for other projects that had been neglected or put on hold. The house got cleaner as I cleared out closets and made more donations. I made plans and took steps to bless the ladies in our Tuesday Morning Bible study with a time of fun and fellowship. I actually picked up the phone to hear VOICES of people I loved instead of just texting them–and I’m absolutely sure that deepened our relationships. I had more time for deeper–and sillier!–conversations with my husband. I laughed more. I had time and energy to get more work done for my business and I actually felt SO much more creative that I was astonished. Could it be that something this simple was making all this difference? Yes. I wasn’t just reducing the time spent online, but now I was also increasing the time I spent talking with the Creator of the Universe! OF course it made a difference! I was being inspired even as I spoke to the One who created me!

As my first Sunday approached, I couldn’t wait to get back online to check in on everything. It took me exactly 30 seconds to realize I hadn’t missed that much. In fact, I questioned if I had “missed” anything at all. I spent less than 5 minutes–just to make sure I had exhausted every avenue–but it seemed “my people” had also chosen to take a break that week. The next week, I was even more productive and my Sunday check-in was even shorter. That trend continued over the remaining Lenten season…and I was enormously surprised.

I found that I missed posting on the Women’s page most of all because although I wasn’t posting, I was still reading through content every day that was inspirational and I would would think, “Oh! that’s good! They will like/love/need to know THAT!” They didn’t…for the most part, anyway. In fact, I doubt they missed much at all. I was reminded that most of us post for ourselves. If someone actually responds to our birthday greetings, humor,  weather-related, or political commentary, it’s a bonus, but not really that necessary–we’ve had our “say” about whatever subject we’re considering…and honestly, how many of us have had our lives and minds truly changed about one of those topics as a result of Facebook interactions? I’m not saying they aren’t FUN, I’m just saying we won’t typically change with whole world with our Facebook posts. (even though we’re always right, well-informed, and we present cogent, thoroughly researched opinions to begin with, right?! Sure.)

While Lent has passed and I have returned to my “allowed” perusal of Facebook, it is not with the same intensity or time-involvement as before.  Facebook is a wonderful and entertaining tool to help keep me in touch with people and reach and teach them about God. I don’t take that lightly and I am determined to use it more wisely. My Facebook fast helped to realize some very important things about time management and what God is calling me to do with the time He’s giving me. I became more addicted to the peace, to the additional creativity, to the added depth of prayer time, and to the increased margin that came as a result of my practice of the Lenten fast this year. I found I would rather be more deeply “mastered” by the Master Creator than simply following along with the masses and seeing what “they” are up to these days.

“I have the right to do anything,” you say–but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”–but I will not be mastered by anything.” I Corinthians 12:2 (NIV)

May all of our choices be beneficial today!

Grace and Peace!

 

Quotidian praises

I love finding new words. Of course, they may not actually BE NEW words, but when they’re new to me, I take great delight in them, just the same. It’s kind of like an odd little  present from God. It doesn’t cost anything and most people would probably skip over them and move on, but I feel compelled to look them up and find a use for them so I won’t forget them.

I’ll bet you can see where this is going, can’t you? ( Want to take a wild guess at what my latest one was? grin)

I’ve always loved words. I think they might just be one of God’s best gifts to us–and I love to see Him at the heart of making sure we have even more new words as evidenced by the Scriptural account of the tower of Babel. One of the side benefits of having more languages in the world is, of course, finding new ways to integrate them into our own–and mangle them in the process! Yes, I’m sure that God knew that would delight me and annoy others in equal measure, so I’m particularly grateful to be on the delighted side of that one!

For years, I’ve made a habit of looking up words as I came across them in my reading. My old red hard-backed Random House College Dictionary was one of my favorite gifts as I graduated from high school, even though I now have no idea who gave it to me. (If it was you, then THANK YOU very much!–I hope you liked the card I sent shortly thereafter as a way to express my gratitude! I’m absolutely certain that happened because my mother and Miss Manners insisted that I use some of those words for every single gift I received during those summer months between high school and college!) My shiny new red dictionary joined the Roget’s College Thesaurus from Mrs. Coffey’s Senior English class, and the small black paper-backed New Handy Webster Dictionary (illustrated) that I had scarfed from my father’s possession long ago as one of my most treasured possessions as I moved out into my own future…into a land that had no idea about personal computers, much less accessing websites to find out information within moments on any given topic.

Along with holding a faded flower, a letter from a former classmate, my certificate of admission to and a note card with the combination for my new mail box at Mississippi University for Women, and a few other mementos, my big old red dictionary has been held and searched by many of the children–and more than a few adults!–left in my care for almost any period of time over an hour or so. I used it the way I was taught:  “When someone uses a word you don’t know, LOOK IT UP!” Countless games of Scrabble and even general conversations required little (and not so little) hands to search the pages and then use of that new found word in as many sentences as possible so that the knowledge would stick. (Y’all are getting a whole new level of how much of a word-nerd I am, aren’t you?! HA!!)

In any case, imagine my delight when I found a new word earlier this evening! I didn’t even stop to finish the sentence before I grabbed my phone and looked up the meaning. Times and energy levels being what they are, I didn’t get out of my chair and take steps to reach for that big red book until it was time to take a picture! In any case, I rolled that new word across my tongue and around in my head as I read the definition. From an online dictionary compliments of Google, I read the following:

quo·tid·i·an

kwōˈtidēən/

adjective

1. of or occurring every day; daily.

   “the car sped noisily off through the quotidian traffic”

   • ordinary or everyday, especially when mundane.

     “his story is an achingly human one, mired in quotidian details”

     synonyms:

     daily, everyday, day-to-day, diurnal “the quotidian routine” ordinary, average, run-of-the-mill, everyday, standard, typical, middle-of-the-road, common, conventional, mainstream, unremarkable, unexceptional, workaday,commonplace, mundane, uninteresting; informalnothing to write home about, a dime a dozen “her horribly quotidian furniture”

 

In my delight, I immediately informed some close friends about “my new discovery” and found it was a new word to several of them, as well. That these are particularly well-educated women made my delight even greater!

Eventually, I got back to reading the sentence where I first found the word in print–and had the audacious thought that, perhaps, the quoted person should have chosen another word…just to make things clearer, you know…even though it would have made me miss out on a new word. I had to share my merriment at being particular about the use of a word with which I had been unfamiliar just 30 minutes prior. As I laughingly shared with one of my friends, “These are the things that I think must make God put His head in His hand and just sigh deeply about me.”

It’s true…or perhaps it would be, if God weren’t a spirit. Either way, as I thought more about the meaning of my new word, I decided that it actually fits the intent of this blog. In a strange way it is one of my deepest desires that I would offer praise that is so regular and so common as I go about my daily life that it becomes quotidian in the way I live my life. I certainly have the means, the opportunity, the desire, and the option of making it so.

Perhaps you’ll join me? Let’s be quotidian–in the best sense of the word!–in our praise of a God who is anything but, and yet relishes it all. I don’t think God will find that mundane, unremarkable or uninteresting at all, and I’m certain that He would enjoy the change of pace from some of us…including myself.

Grace and Peace!

Out of joint

Sometimes following Jesus is easy and sometimes, to be completely honest, it can be a real pain. That’s not the “churchy” thing to say, but it is the truth–especially if you’re really serious about desiring to do it well.

There is an Old Testament account of a man facing the possibility of trouble who wrestled with God. All through the night he grappled and held tight. He refused to let go until God gave him a blessing. He got what he asked for, alright; he got his blessing and a little something extra. He walked away a new name…and a limp.

That happens sometimes when you’re determined not to let go of God and you’re desiring His blessing. I use the present tense here on purpose because I know it to be true. I’ve been wrestling with God this morning about something and, as a result, it’s not my hip, but probably more accurate to say that my nose is out of joint about it.

God has a funny way of working on me. He’s so good to allow me to teach His Word and be in a position to give counsel at times. He gives me space to recover from doing those things and retreat from the energy expenditure, as well. As a deep introvert, that’s a critical blessing for me and I value it highly. As my Creator, He knows that AND (not BUT–AND!) this morning He put a thought into my head about considering the possibility of that going away for a bit.

Let me be clear: He hasn’t asked me to go DO a hard thing yet, He’s just asking me to consider the possibility of doing a hard thing…and I balked. Big. Time. I get why He’s pushing me to even consider this. I deeply appreciate that He’s still speaking to me and stretching my faith. I want to be able to run joyfully toward every single thing that He calls me to do, but this morning…well, I just felt a big old “No” rise up at the very thought of this thing He brought up to me.

How do I know it was from Him? Well, let’s just say that it isn’t anything I would ever choose to do on my own. I’ve got multiple “reasons” why I wouldn’t want to do it and only one really concrete reason to consider it: because I made a decision to and have the privilege of belonging to God. (that sounds like two, but it is actually just one thing, I promise.)

If/when the rubber meets the road, I will respond with a “yes.” I know that. That decision was made a long time ago. My problem is that I would wish to say that I can’t wait to do whatever He might ask of me–as SOON as He mentions it…and, as evidenced by my response this morning, that’s not where I am just yet. I hate that. I really, really hate that. I thought I was better than my response today, but apparently, I am not. It is humbling. Perhaps that was the point.

My husband says that determined obedience is enough for now and that if–or when–God actually asks me to do this thing, that will be the time to get to doing with a right attitude, but I’m still wrestling with this idea. I am making progress already, though, and I’m grateful for that. I am deeply aware that becoming a person of influence doesn’t automatically come on the “easy pay” program. It means things might–will!–often become uncomfortable because the people who are watching need to see God at work in every area of our lives…and they need to see Him win. Although I first balked at the very idea, now I am wrestling with the possibility of doing it the with the right attitude. My nose is still out of joint a bit about it, but at least I should be able to walk without a limp today…

maybe.

I guess we’ll see.

Praying all your joints remain in place today and that mine gets back in line as quickly as possible.

Grace and Peace!

My own New Year

I had another birthday recently and, as usual, began the process of evaluation for what I want to get accomplished the year to come. I’ve always ignored the traditional New Year’s resolutions in favor of starting my own New Year on my birthday. I’m weird like that. (grin)

What I found this year was a bit surprising: I don’t have as many new goals as I used to. I’m not saying that I’ve finally lived up to that “Most Likely to Succeed” superlative from high school, but I would say that I’m making progress–and most of it is in the direction that brings me joy. Hopefully, my progress is also making God smile a bit more than He used to, as well.

Sometimes we get all caught up in what other people expect from us or, perhaps more accurately, what we think they expect from us. I know I used to, anyway, but the older I get the more excited I am about my life. I’ve been blessed with a good one–despite the challenges, which we all face in one form or another. I’ve found that the best way to face them is to remember that those challenges are temporary and I am eternal, not because of anything that I have done, but by virtue of the very One who made me in His own image. By the way, the same can be said of you since the same God made us all.

This past year, I’ve already seen progress in some specific areas that I’ve been focused on for the last several years. I’ve exercised my “no” a little more and created some necessary margin in my life. I’ve cleared out a bunch of “stuff,” opened up my home a lot more, and made some more room for the people in my life to kick back and relax here with me. As a bonus result, I’ve been able to breathe a little better, as well. I’ve chosen to be more deliberately creative–and yes, you can do that! I’ve dug deeper into my study of what God wants for me and loved it as He has continued to turn some of that innate stubbornness into a more tenacious faith-life. I’ve prayed more with and for others and celebrated more of the small things in the everyday schedules I make for myself. I’ve laughed more this past year and enjoyed my husband and our marriage more. I’ve made deliberate choices to look past the faults of others without unsolicited commenting, but more importantly, I’ve managed to give some more of that grace to myself. To be honest, I’m having a lot more fun being me than I used to…and I’ve always liked being me. (HA!)

As I look back at that last paragraph, I see that this past year could most accurately be labeled as “a year of more.” I want to keep going in that direction in the year to come. I like what God is showing me about what He can do when I’m more focused on enjoying Him and the life He’s provided than when I’m just trying to “do the right thing,” check all the right boxes, and being too concerned about pleasing others.

As in years past, because I’m an optimist serving an Almighty God, I expect this new one to be a good one, but I am determined that it will be a more-God one. I look forward to what my new year will bring. I’m fiercely resolved to be a better steward of the life God has given to me. The following verse just feels like what I’m hoping for out of this new year:

“Not that I have already reached the goal or am already perfect, but I make every effort to take hold of it because I also have been taken hold of by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:12 (CSB)

Perhaps I should have just started–and stopped–with that. Oh, well. I didn’t say anything about this year being less “wordy.” Looks like I’m off to a great start there, too. (grin)

Grace and Peace!

Best New EVER!

 “After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.’ Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  Matthew 28:1-10 (NIV)

 

 ^“Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen. And they said among themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large. And entering the tomb, they saw a young man clothed in a long white robe sitting on the right side; and they were alarmed.” But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”  Mark 16: 2-7 (NKJV) 

 

 Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb. Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments. Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’”

And they remembered His words. Then they returned from the tomb and told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest.  It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them, who told these things to the apostles.  Luke 24:1-10 (NKJV)

It is finally here! Easter! The Celebration Day of the very best news ever! In spite of every human plan to the contrary, God made a way to save us from ourselves and give us the opportunity to spend eternity with Him by sending His only Son to save us. If that’s not news, then I’m not sure what would be!

Like most news, this news comes with a choice: Believe or not.

THIS news, however, isn’t something that will change. It isn’t something that will go away. It isn’t something that will become old and outdated or no longer relevant. What you choose about THIS news will change your life–either way. There is no delay and there is no denial. This matters more than anything else you will ever decide. 

 ^“But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach):  that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.  For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”  For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.  For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:8-13 (NKJV)

It isn’t complicated, but you do have to choose, and once you choose, your life and your heart will be changed…for better…and for good.

If you’re still unsure about this news and want to know more, I would love an opportunity follow the directions given to each of us who believe: Go and tell. Message me, reply in the comments, text or call.

I would SO love to help you know my Jesus!

Grace and Peace…and Happy Easter!