1. Sometimes we skip spring. There was a winter storm on April 18 followed by several days of unseasonably cool temps. Then there was maybe a week of legitimate spring weather followed by a stretch of 90 degree days. Winter moved right into summer, it seems.

2. The Lenten journey was especially meaningful for me this year. Ash Wednesday collided with Valentine’s Day. Holy Week collided with Spring Break. Easter Sunday collided with April Fool’s Day. All that colliding made me feel the force of impact. I wrote in my journal, “This is Holy Week and I must stay with You, Jesus. Watch with You. See what my sin has done to You. Weep. I feel sorry for those who skip Lent and drop in on Easter Sunday. I want to come to Resurrection Day exhausted, and beside myself with relief. I want to see You through tears of woeful grief that turn into tears of wild joy. I want to stand in the shadow of Your death until there is no more death, but only life coming from the tomb.”

3. Every season needs its own soundtrack. This spring I stumbled onto Andrew Peterson’s CD “Resurrection Letters, Vol. 1”. The song “Is He Worthy?” gives me goosebumps. Every. Single. Time. Why have I never heard of this guy before? Not only is he a prolific and creative musician, he has also written a series of fantasy/adventure books and runs an online community fostering “spiritual formation through music, story and art”. Be still my beating heart.

4. Back when the temps were still in the 30’s and the ground was still too hard to dig in and baseball games hadn’t started yet, I did the most spring-y thing I could think of: I cleaned a closet. That undeniable desire to spring-clean starts rising up in me as winter winds down. It all began with a drawer in the kitchen, continued with the bathroom cupboard and then I tackled the messiest closet in the house.

5. If Andrew Peterson provided the soundtrack to my spring, then John Eldredge supplied the words in his book, “Beautiful Outlaw: A Dangerous Book About a Scandalous Savior”. The way he wrapped up his book, wrapped right back around to our “Abide With Me” theme for Lent. “Jesus has no intention of letting you become whole apart from his moment-to-moment presence and life within you. You are still a branch in desperate need of a Vine.”

6. Noah was on the Ark for 370 days. So many new things came to light in our Women’s Bible study on Noah. The Sunday school version leaves out a whole bunch. One of the people I am most looking forward to talking to in heaven is Mrs. Noah. The Biblical account focuses on Mr. Noah, but you and I both know who was doing most of the work on that boat.

7. Opening Day of baseball season should be a national holiday. PB and I went to the Brewer’s home opener in April and loved everything about it — except the final score. One of the reasons I love baseball season is because I get texts like this from my son at 1:29 a.m.: “Please tell me you saw that 9th inning go down.”

8. Working with a team is way better than working solo on something as big as VBS. My heart was singing praises as twenty people gathered around the table and divvied up all the responsibilities involved in pulling off Vacation Bible School. It’s so much more fun this way. And PB doesn’t have to make all my visions become reality single-handedly. He also doesn’t have to deal with a cranky, stressed-out wife. Blessings all around!

9. My enchantment with the Enneagram personality profile was heightened when I discovered Ryan O’Neal’s songs for each of the nine Enneagram types. His work is depth and artistry at its best. If this doesn’t make you tear up, then you’re not a type 1:
“Now I have learned my lesson;
The price of this so-called perfection is everything.
I’ve spent my whole life searching desperately
To find out grace requires nothing of me.”

10. The biggest and best news of the spring was the unexpected arrival of our 9th grandchild. She was twelve weeks early and just over 2 pounds. As May comes to a close, she has joined the 4 pound club! Once she gets the breathing-sucking-swallowing thing down, she will get to move out of NICU. For now, we are so thankful for nurses and doctors who know just what to do to keep a miniature human’s heart beating and lungs breathing. Ember Blake, welcome to the world. You have already changed it for the better.