The Empty Egg

Easter has come and gone. Lancaster Baptist Church had an Easter musical that was very well done and had many saved. But I believe that sometimes, we let 'holidays' like Easter past by us and we don't give it the recognition that it deserves. The Holy God of Heaven sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, that we, sinful, dirty, prideful human beings, could have the opportunity to go to Heaven for eternity. The following story was sent to me in a forward and I think that it can impact you if you allow it.

Jeremy was born with a twisted body and a slow mind. At the age of 12 he was still in second grade, seemingly unable to learn. His teacher, Doris Miller, often became exasperated with him. He would squirm in his seat, drool, and make grunting noises. At other times, he spoke clearly and distinctly, as if a spot of light had penetrated the darkness of his brain. Most of the time, however, Jeremy just irritated his teacher.

One day she called his parents and asked them to come in for a consultation. As the Forresters entered the empty classroom, Doris said to them, "Jeremy really belongs in a special school. It isn't fair to him to be with younger children who don't have learning problems. Why, there is a five year gap between his age and that of the other students."

Mrs. Forrester cried softly into a tissue, while her husband spoke. "Miss Miller," he said, "there is no school of that kind nearby. It would be a terrible shock for Jeremy if we had to take him out of this school. We know he really likes it here." Doris sat for a long time after they had left, staring at the snow outside the window. Its coldness seemed to seep into her soul. She wanted to sympathize with the Forresters. After all, their only child had a terminal illness. But it
wasn't fair to keep him in her class. She had 18 other youngsters to teach, and Jeremy was a distraction. Furthermore, he would never learn to read and write. Why waste any more time trying?

As she pondered the situation, guilt washed over her. Here I am complaining when my problems are nothing compared to that poor family, she thought. Lord, please help me to be more patient with Jeremy. From that day on, she tried hard to ignore Jeremy's noises and his blank stares. Then one day, he limped to her desk, dragging his bad leg behind him.

"I love you, Miss Miller," he exclaimed, loud enough for the whole class to hear. The other students snickered, and Doris ' face turned red. She stammered, "Wh-why that's very nice, Jeremy. N-now please take your seat."

Spring came, and the children talked excitedly about the coming of Easter. Doris told them the story of Jesus, and then to emphasize the idea of new life springing forth, she gave each of the children a large plastic egg. "Now," she said to them, "I want you to take this home and bring it back tomorrow with something inside that shows new life. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Miss Miller," the children responded enthusiastically-all except for Jeremy. He listened intently; his eyes never left her face. He did not even make his usual noises. Had he understood what she had said about Jesus' death and resurrection? Did he understand the assignment? Perhaps she should call his parents and explain the project to them.

That evening, Doris ' kitchen sink stopped up. She called the landlord and waited an hour for him to come by and unclog it. After that, she still had to shop for groceries, iron a blouse, and prepare a vocabulary test for the next day. She completely forgot about phoning Jeremy's parents.

The next morning, 19 children came to school, laughing and talking as they placed their eggs in the large wicker basket on Miss Miller's desk. After they completed their math lesson, it was time to open the eggs. In the first egg, Doris found a flower. "Oh yes, a flower is certainly a sign of new life," she said. "When plants peek through the ground, we know that spring is here." A small girl in the first row waved her arm. "That's my egg, Miss Miller," she called out. The next egg contained a plastic butterfly, which looked very real. Doris held it up. "We all know that a caterpillar changes and grows into a beautiful butterfly. Yes, that's new life, too." Little Judy smiled proudly and said, "Miss Miller, that one is mine." Next, Doris found a rock with moss on it. She explained that moss, too, showed life. Billy spoke up from the back of the classroom, "My daddy helped me," he beamed.

Then Doris opened the fourth egg. She gasped. The egg was empty. Surely it must be Jeremy's she thought, and of course, he did not understand her instructions. If only she had not forgotten to phone his parents. Because she did not want to embarrass him, she quietly set the egg aside and reached for another. Suddenly, Jeremy spoke up. "Miss Miller, aren't you going to talk about my egg?" Flustered, Doris replied, "But Jeremy, your egg is empty." He looked into her eyes and said softly, "Yes, but Jesus' tomb was empty, too."

Time stopped. When she could speak again, Doris asked him, "Do you know why the tomb was empty?" "Oh, yes," Jeremy said, "Jesus was killed and put in there. Then His Father raised Him up."

The recess bell rang. While the children excitedly ran out to the school yard, Doris cried. The cold inside her melted completely away.

Three months later, Jeremy died. Those who paid their respects at the mortuary were surprised to see 19 eggs on top of his casket, all of them empty.

-- Author Unknown

The whole purpose of Resurrection Sunday or Easter is to celebrate the empty tomb. It was said this weekend from the pulpit that there are many tombs and grave sites that are well known and popular tourist sites because of who's body is resting there. Sites including the Pyramids with the Egyptian Pharaohs, the Westminister Abby with William Carey inside and Sir Winston Churchill outside, the Taj Mahal built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his favorite wife, Mumtaz Mahal, are all special because of the people they hold within their walls. The tomb of Jesus Christ is the greatest burial place of all because it is EMPTY! Praise the LORD!

The empty tomb is the proof that we serve a risen Saviour, whom death could not hold. His power is greater than that of any other man because He is God. Just like little Jeremy said - the empty tomb represents new life. Has that made an impact on your life this past weekend? Something to think about.....

A Thought

Not sure how well you can read the font so I will re-hash....

A man and his every-nagging wife went on vacation to Jerusalem. While they were there, the wife passed away. The undertaker told the husband, "You can have her shipped home for $5,000, or you can bury her here, in the Holy Land, for $150."

The man thought about it and told him he would just have her shipped home. The undertaker asked, "Why would you spend $5,000 to ship your wife home when it would be wonderful to be buried here and you would spend only $150?"

The man replied,"Long ago, a man died here, was buried here, and three days later, he rose from the dead. I just can't take that chance."

Now, Praise the Lord that He rose from the dead! If He had stayed dead, there would be no hope for salvation!

Though some people may speak about the Resurrection of Christ as not too big of a deal, always be excited about it!!!!! Christ arose!

WC Spring Banquet

Picture of me and my best friend Rebekah at the Spring Banquet last Thursday night... we look like trouble huh? lol

Have a great day!

Blessings

God is so good! He has been blessing me all week and all I can do is shake my head and love the fact that He cares enough about me to do so! Between providing school bill money to having a friend fill my gas tank unexpectedly to timely sermons, God has proven Himself to me over and over again this week. Thought you all would enjoy hearing that this week. Allow God to use you and work in your life and He will.

Classes!

Classes started today!!! It was very nice to get back into the flow of things again =) I have a lot of projects this semester, but I'm getting started on them now so that I don't stress myself out later in the semester (a very common habit of mine...). Anyway, things are going good out in southern Cali (the rain stopped too). Hope all are well!

It's Raining....

It's raining, it's pouring, the creatures are falling.... lol



It is raining out here in Lancaster and I am loving it! It doesn't happen very often so I am enduring the wet look while it lasts! (Don't worry - I've only tried slipping 2 or 3 times =) The shoes I'm wearing are pretty slick on the bottom!)

Have a great day everyone!

Funnies

Okay, so I'm going through my H drive on the school computers and coming up with a ton of stuff that I had saved and never posted, although I intended to. Hope you enjoy. Mostly they are funnies that I got as forwards and such.....

Marijuana-filled Firewood

'Hello, is this the Sheriff's Office?'

'Yes. What can I do for you?'

'I'm calling to report 'bout my neighbor Virgil Smith... He's hidin' marijuana inside his firewood! Don't quite know how he gets it inside them logs, but he's hidin' it there.'

'Thank you very much for the call sir.'

The next day, twelve Deputy Sheriffs descend on Virgil's house. They search the shed where the firewood is kept. Using azes, they burst open every piece of wood, but find no marijuana. They sneer at Virgil and leave.

Shortly, the phone rings at Virgil's house.

'Hey, Virgil! This here's Floyd... Did the Sheriff come?'

'Yeah!'

'Did they chop your firewood?'

'Yep!'

Happy Birthday, buddy!'

(Rednecks know how to get'r done!!!)

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A Godless Week

Without God our week would be:

Sinday, Mournday, Tearsday, Wasteday, Thirstday, Fightday, & Shatterday!

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Hymns for Speeders

Now, for those who speed on the highway - a few hymns for you:

45 mph..........God Will Take Care of You

55 mph..........Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah

65 mph..........Nearer My God to Thee

75 mph..........Nearer Still Nearer

85 mph..........This World is Not My Home

95 mph..........Lord, I'm Coming Home

and over 100 mph..........Precious Memories

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Star Wars Dining

Luke and Obi-Wan went out to eat in a Chinese restaurant one day. Obi-Wan is deftly manipulating his chopsticks with the ease you would expect from a Jedi Master.

Poor Luke, however, is having a hard time using his chop-sticks. He is trying to use the sticks with both hands, dropping his food all over the table and eventually, himself. Obi-Wan looked at Luke disapprovingly and says, "Use the forks, Luke."

Hope you all enjoyed!