Good Friday :)

Hello beautiful people! And Happy Good Friday to you! Now, I know some of you are probably sitting there and thinking, "Stephanie, 'happy' isn't typically a word associated with 'Good Friday,'" given what this day in history represents. But if you bear with me through this post, I will be getting back to that!

Okay, so after sleeping in and enjoying a delicious home-cooked lunch-time breakfast with the fam, I got together with my little love, Kaitlyn :) We enjoyed some Starbucks, and we eventually ended up playing on the church playground (despite the million-and-one signs that say "for elementary aged children only"). We're so rebellious ;)

Kaitlyn: "I'm telling you, inch-worms are taking over the world!!!"

(There was an inch worm in this picture, but he before I could get a picture of him... So I amy or may not have drawn one in here. Haha!)

 She's cute, and she knows it :)

I just love seeing her smile :)

In two weeks, Kaitlyn will be leaving for Denver, so I am so thankful that I was able to spend time with her before she departed :)

Before worship night, I brought Jennifer some Stizz and made sure she was registered for CHOICES. Hey, someone's gotta keep her straight! Haha.

Tonight's worship night was truly wonderful, and it was exactly what I needed to prepare my heart for Easter. During the service, Shane shared these verses:

"³⁴ Jesus replied, 'I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. ³⁵ Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. ³⁶ So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.'"
{John 8:34-35}

And it is here, dear friends, that I will elaborate on why we have cause to celebrate on Good Friday! Through the crucifixion of Jesus, we have been set free! No longer are we enslaved to the sins we bare as human beings, because Jesus was sold at the price of a slave and sent to die so that we wouldn't have to endure that agony. Through His death we have been set free, and forever been accepted into God's family as His sons and daughters. Forever. God's promise is not feeble or temporary; it is strong and sustaining! This day stands as a testament of the Father's love for us, and how gracious He is. We are not deserving of the grace, mercy, or compassion that He pours out on us, but Jesus was still sentenced to crucifixion so that we, God's children, may live with Him eternally. Jesus was sacrificed to save us all; let us not undermine the weight and severity of that. We are truly and undeniably blessed.

{Ezekiel 37:1-14}

Goodnight, loves.