Love Has Won the Day!

Oh man…what an awesome week!  We often hear the words, “He is risen,” and reply with, “He is risen indeed!” during the Easter season and Holy Week.  Instead, my husband Taylor always says in response, “He is risen; so act like it!”  Our church gathered a few times this week as we approached and celebrated the greatest day in history, and what a holy week we experienced as a Church here in OC.  How can we not act like our lives have been transformed by the resurrection of Jesus Christ? How can we not respond? 

Good Friday

On Good Friday, we gathered to remember the love and sacrifice that brought Jesus to the cross.  He fulfilled a prophecy long talked about: that the Son of God would suffer and die for the sins of the world…

"Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.  Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.  The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.  All we like sheep have gone astray.  We have turned, every one, to his own way.  And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all...Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him.  He has put Him to grief.  When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.  He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.  By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:4-6, 10-11)

"For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die.  But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:6-8)

There is so much power in that event in history when Jesus died on the cross and bore the sins of all mankind. We no longer have to be separated from our Creator.  His dying on the cross bridged the way for us to have a forever relationship with our Creator. He made all things new! 

The Stirring

Then, on the Saturday before Easter, over 3,000 people from all around the OC gathered as one Church at the OC Pacific Amphitheatre for The Stirring.  We worshipped the Lord together—led by many worship leaders around the county.  Our hearts gathered to pray for our county, pray for our schools, pray for our leaders, pray for those that we invited to Easter Sunday to hear the message of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection.  With reckless abandonment, we worshiped and prayed with complete expectancy and eagerness for the gospel message to be shared and received by those that we love. 

Francis Chan, the author of The Forgotten God and Crazy Love, lead The Stirring.  Francis’s passion was contagious as we yearned for God to heal, save and renew our cities, county, country, and world in a profound and significant way.  We wrestled with our feelings as we experienced the overjoyed feeling that Jesus Conquered death and how we can now live in freedom, while also experiencing the burdening feeling that we felt for those that don’t know Jesus.

We were convicted as a Church and spurred on to respond to the fact that Jesus Christ has overcome the world!   “In this world you may have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world!” Jesus said (John 16:33).  There is no fear in this world…if Jesus has conquered death, He can conquer our issues. 

Easter Sunday

Then arrived Easter Sunday.  Francis Chan taught again as we heard the story that continued after the cross...that Jesus is ALIVE! Freedom is here and is ours!  "We learned that mundane, without joy, and hopeless living is not what God has intended for us.  He is the giver of Freedom and life in ways that make us new and bring ultimate purpose and joy." (I quoted this from the RH recap of the evening because I loved it so much!)

Through his teaching, many people encountered God—even for the first time. We witnessed hundreds come to be baptized and experience newness in life that morning--even one of our dear friends, Maria :) 

“Ultimately, through each baptism, each shout of victory, each prayer, each heart turning, each splash of color, each life set free, and each day that lead us to this one, God showed us…

Love has won the day!” (from the RH Blog).

Click here to watch the celebration!

Death once reigned...but, with Christ we can Reign in Life! Thank you for the cross!

"For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!" Romans 5:17

Happy 27th Tay!

Taylor turned 27 yesterday!  To celebrate, we invited some friends and family over to enjoy a dessert bar at our apartment.  Having no work this week, since we are on spring break at my school, I spent the day preparing and baking while Taylor was at work.  I realized that I wouldn't mind doing this as a full time job everyday...baking, doing crafty things, cleaning, planning birthday parties...so fun! 

I decided to make it Easter/spring-themed to try out some new dessert recipes appropriate for the season.  At the bar, we had: robins egg nest chocolate espresso brownie cupcakes, banana chip cupcakes, carrot cake cookies with cream cheese icing, Starburst jellybeans, Easter m&m's, fruit, chocolate croissants, Red Vine ropes, bunny peeps, and for Taylor's birthday cake, I made his favorite dessert: cheesecake with strawberries.  It was a good time with friends and family...chatting, eating, laughing, watching the Angels/Red Sox game, singing "happy birthday" and Taylor blowing out his 9 candles.

Taylor's feeling a little insecure about his age...realizing he's getting closer to being in his "thirties."  So, make sure you to tell him how young he looks next time you see him :)  He is looking pretty good for being so old :) His mom actually brought over a blown up picture of Taylor in his prime--when he was 4 years old and rockin' little boy beauty pageants in his day :)  Taylor wore a crown on his head and that picture taped to him all night to remind him that he was once a young beauty king.  We had a good night :) Happy birthday, my wonderful husband!  I love you so very much!

 

 

 

An Everlasting Love

On March 19th, Taylor and I were given the honor of standing beside Taylor's sister Kendall and her now-husband Tommy, as they became one in marriage. Tommy and Kendall had been patiently waiting for this day to arrive as they had been dating for over 4 years. The wedding took place at a beautiful ranch here in Southern California.  The day was covered in prayer and overflowing with the Lord's grace and love. To all who prayed for the weather to hold up, it was a gorgeous day for an outdoor ceremony and reception! Kendall has been in the wedding planning business for many years and added so many creative, do-it-yourself touches that made the day even more personal to them. She did such a remarkable job!  I have never been to a more beautiful wedding!  We were honored to celebrate that day with them and witness their forever union begin on that day :)  We are excited to grow even closer with them as we are now both engaged in newly-wedded life together.  We are already learning so much from each other--about living our lives for Christ as newly married couples as well as what it means to live in Christ-centered community with others.  Can't wait to continue to grow closer together in the years to come. 

Click below to see the videographer's recap of the night (look out for Taylor's entrance dance):

 

Also, check out my Flip video showing the pre-wedding footage of the beautiful day and beautiful bride:

Prayer for Jim on Wednesday...

Please lift up Amanda's dad (Jim Stookey) this week in prayer, especially Wednesday.  He is having surgery on Wednesday morning for his inner-ear disease (Meniere's Disease).  The purpose of the surgery is to help minimize the frequency of his vertigo attacks caused by the disease or potentially take them away completely.

A little apprehension comes with this surgery as they do have to drill into his skull, and it could also have a tremendous impact on his hearing (risk of hearing loss).  Because it also affects his balance, he will have a significant amount of vertigo attacks for 2 weeks as an immediate side effect of the surgery.

We believe in the power of prayer, and I love that we have so many prayer warriors we can call upon around the country. 

"And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." James 5:15-16

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

"And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people." Ephesians 6:18