Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Easter Sunday









 It was a joy to come share a Brunch before morning worship with the congregation of the Langdon,ND United Methodist Church on Sunday, April 16,2017.













We were welcomed into the house of fellowship and worship with the encouraging,uplifting words ,of confirmation that we were celebrating the Resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.














As with all things we can share in moments of fun...God does have a sense of humor!

I 💞💞 my photobombers, husband Corey and daughter Kyli who made me smile as I went about collecting pictures to document our day.







We had plenty of time before church started to get acquainted with both the parishioners and where we would like to sit for the upcoming service.

I, of course, found the nearest stained glass window to add to my digital collection. 

Each congregation has found a scripture verse to make a statement. I didn't examine the window close-up but the scripture I see is Luke 15: 1-7. Where Jesus leaves the flock off 99 to find the lost 100th to bring it back into the fold.

Time to listen to the voice of the Shepherd,Jesus...







Pastor Schnackenberg prepared for a baptism to be celebrated by the congregation.

Each of us have a different interpretation of how the sacrament of Baptism is to be expressed and here they believe in the sprinkling of the individual presented to the Lord.









Pastor Schnackenberg brought a message relating to us what the follower of  Jesus Christ, Mary Magdalene must have felt when she went to his burial tomb provided by Joseph of Arimethea.

How lost Mary Magdalene must  have felt until she realized that the Savior had Risen from the dead.




                                                                   

                                                        John 20:11-18 (KJV)

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre,
12 And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
13 And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.
14 And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus.
15 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
16 Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.
18 Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.


I ask the Blessing of the Lord upon these words that they might touch your heart and soul... The Lord has Risen Indeed!

Monday, April 24, 2017

Memorable Twist to Good Friday

Yesterday was a one week celebration of sorts. I will share the experience with you from my point of view.

Our Easter Road Trip was moving along smoothly on Good Friday afternoon,or so we thought...That is until we reached a bridge with a big bump north of Fargo. The edge of the bridge can be seen at the far right of the picture. Time wouldn't allow for a second chance to get another shot.  Unexplainable things began to happen after we hit the bump, the car pulled hard to the right. Well, it didn't take long to decipher that we had just lost a very important part to keep everything working to power the Voisinmobile. The Serpentine Belt had successfully decided to make a split....one of those eternal vacations.

Today's Smartphones sure are a Blessing when you need to go looking for help. We called here and there in Grand Forks to try to locate the right belt. Tried the little town of Hillsboro not far to our south, but they had nothing that would match. Kyli checked in Langdon before coming to help.

We spent four and a half hours keeping this bridge company until our daughter Kyli arrived to chariot us away, back to Fargo, to pick-up a Serpentine Belt.

On our return from Fargo we attempted to fix the difficulty with the tools Kyli had gathered from the home arsenal.The method we chose brought close results,almost fixed in other words, so many times ,but after fighting a long day, getting hungry and temperatures dropping after sunset in a wind cooled location we gave into the "We'll finish it tomorrow" mode. The next morning we gathered more tools and used another method thanks to Youtube to get the job done.


If you happened to see this guy running around in the Fargo, Grand Forks...etc...areas , I wasn't far away.

I have to smile really big. The Mazda came around Christmastime. So, I thought some vanity plates to complement the little Voisinmobile were in order.                                This is the view that kept us entertained while we waited. I spent time musing about what people were thinking as they passed by. It gave me a laugh to keep my anxiety at bay.

It was time to draw on our resources in God. This event was not one you wish on anyone...especially on a holiday weekend.

The State Trooper that stopped to see what he could do to lend aid, offered information that we might find it difficult to find stores open to get a replacement part.We had anticipated some issues with holiday and time of day. However, we were pleasantly surprised to discover the process wasn't as hard as we originally thought.

We had already started the rescue process with confidence that one way or another EVERYTHING was going to workout. 

Thanks be to God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ for everything we experienced...