“Praise the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ.
According to His great mercy,
He has given us a new birth
into a living hope
through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead.”
1 Peter 1:3
Our lives can feel so empty when loved ones leave us, whether through death, family or friends leaving home or moving, or troubles that take their minds or hearts away from us. Empty chairs. Empty places. Empty hearts.
But not every empty is sad.
I remember a story of a 9-year-old boy with Down’s Syndrome whose Sunday school teacher made certain Philip was treated like everyone else. But some children left him out, because he was different.
A week before Easter, the teacher said, “I have a plastic egg for each of you. Find something that reminds you of life. Put it inside your egg, and bring it back next week.”
The next week the teacher gathered together all the eggs. One by one, he opened the eggs and found a flower, a blade of grass, a butterfly, and even a stone. Then he opened one that was empty.
“Someone did it wrong,” said some children.
As the teacher stared at the empty egg, a hand tugged his shirt.
“I didn’t do it wrong,” said Philip. “The tomb is empty!”
The teacher used this empty egg as an illustration of the glorious Easter message.
(This story I wrote about in a 2016 Post still comes to my remembrance and warms my heart!)
And again I will share a song/dance celebrating the resurrection of Jesus. Ever since I found it many years ago, I love to revisit it, and it still brings hope and joy to my heart. I hope it does to yours, too!
“We claim the victory
He won on Calvary
Celebrate the King of Glory
So rise up
People of the Lord, rise up.”
Who We are In Christ Jesus
“See what great love
the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God!
And that is what we are!“
1 John 3:1
We are wonderfully made. (Psalm 139:14)
We are His masterpiece, created anew in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:10)
We are redeemed with the blood of Jesus. (Isaiah 43:1)
There is no condemnation for us when we belong to Jesus. (Romans 8:1)
We are precious and honored in His sight. (Isaiah 43:4)
We are His royalty, a crown of splendor in His hand. (Isaiah 62:3)
We are His own special treasure. (Malachi 3:17)
Nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God. (Romans 8:37-39)
Because of His faithful love and mercy, we will never perish. (Lamentations 3:22)
He will restore our ruins. He will rebuild what is broken. (Isaiah 44:26)
He fills our emptiness with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
We can do all things through Jesus who gives us strength. (Philippians 4:13)
Nature Retreat
“By all means, never fail to get
all the sunshine and fresh air you can.”
Joseph Pilates
🙂 Thanks to my brother John for these stunning photos! 🙂
I love watching this Decorah, IA, live eagle cam – https://explore.org/livecams/bald-eagles/decorah-eagles-north-nest. The first of two eggs hatched on Sunday of this week! The second hatched on Monday!
Freed to Fly 
Oh Trudy, your beautiful words brought tears to my eyes today! And that song had me crying even more! Praise God we are alive in Him, created to praise Him!! Have a Blessed Easter dear sister!
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I’m so grateful your heart was encouraged, Bettie. Yes, praise God we are alive in Him! There’s such hope in that, isn’t there? Thank you for the Easter blessing! I pray you have a Blessed Easter as well! May our hearts focus on our victory in Jesus!
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Yes, let’s celebrate who we are in Christ, who God’s Word says we are because of our faith in Him. Thank you for this moving March Hope Whispers, dear friend. May your Easter celebration be calm and beautiful.
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I’m so grateful your heart was moved, Linda. Yes, let’s celebrate who we are in Christ! Without His faithful love, we have no hope. Thank you for the Easter blessing! May your Easter also be calm and beautiful! May all the stress and anxieties in this world fall away!
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Such wonderful, encouraging Scriptures! Happy Resurrection Day! May His presence continually bless and guide you.
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I’m so grateful these Scriptures encouraged you, Cheryl. Happy Resurrection Day to you, too! May His presence continually bless and guide you as well! We need Him so!
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I’m thankful we are each so deeply loved and treasured. Thank you for your encouragement here, Trudy. It’s always a breath of fresh air to visit your place! Blessings to you, friend!
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Me, too, Lisa! His unconditional love is such a precious gift! Thank you for your kind words. May the Holy Spirit breathe peace into our hearts this Easter and always!
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I’m so glad you shared the “Dancing for Shoes” video! Incredible. I noticed it was done in 2011. I wonder if a church would be bold to do it in today’s time? Many whispers of hope here Trudy! Thanks for blessing us with God’s word and sharing the beauty He created.
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I hadn’t thought about that, Lynn. You’ve got me wondering, too. Times have changed so drastically, haven’t they? I hope there are still churches bold enough to witness like this. I’m so glad you found hope here in God’s Word and the beauty He created. May our hearts fill with the glorious beauty of Jesus’ resurrection this Easter and always!
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Trudy, everything about this post is beautiful! Hallelujah! We have a risen Savior! May we praise Him all our days! Blessings to you! Have a wonderful, glorious Resurrection Day celebration! Our Lord reigns forever and ever. Amen.
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Thank you for sharing your praises to our risen Savior, Gayl! I pray you have a wonderful, glorious Resurrection Day celebration, too! In the midst of all the struggles in this temporary world, may it fill our hearts with hope and praise on Easter and always!
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Amen!
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The video is amazing – it’s lovely to see so many different people joining together to celebrate Jesus like this!
I also appreciate the reminders of who we are in Christ, and, as always, I love the wildlife photos.
I hope you have a lovely, peaceful, joyful Easter!
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Thank you, Lesley. May your Easter be lovely, peaceful, and joyful, too! And may we rise up and celebrate the King of glory!
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Thanks so much for sharing that sweet story about the emptyEaster egg—how precious! Stopping by from #letshavecoffee 🙂
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You’re welcome, Laura. I love that story, too! Thank you for stopping by! May we keep our hearts focused on the hope and victory our resurrected Savior so graciously gives us!
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Trudy, I love the photos and the reminders of who we are in Christ. And also, the observation that “not every empty is sad.” So true! I hope you and Len had a wonderful Easter! Love and hugs to you!
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Thank you, Lois. I hope you and Randy and your girls had a wonderful Easter, too! Love and hugs back to you! No matter what happens in this life, may we rest in our resurrected Christ and who we are in Him!
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