he is not here.

I have had the best morning, maybe all month. I'm tempted to say year, but that might be drastic, considering on a beautiful morning in October I woke up beside Olivier... But that's how great his morning has been to give you some perspective.

Brad and I were up til after midnight working on the dining room table and chairs. A way longer project than we had anticipated! After showering and going to bed, we were exhausted. Not thrilled, then, when Lily woke up screaming at 6:18am. A full hour earlier than usual. And she was noisy too. Afraid she'd wake Oli, we brought her into our bed, where we all gradually woke up. We're not big on our kids sleeping with us, but morning cuddles are always OK :) 

After an hour of cuddling with Lily, we brought Olivier in and fed him in bed. All four of us, on Easter morning. It was lovely. But it gets better. Wayyyy better. Since the kids were up so early, then also went to bed for their morning nap at 8:20am. Glorious. So Brad and I grabbed some hot drinks and got right back into bed, except this time it was just us. At first all we could think about was sleep. We only has 6 hours the night before and both kids were in bed!
But, being Easter morning, we felt like we should get into the word together while we had the opportunity. We try to be in God's Word every day, but we're not usually adamant about it being in the morning. But my heart was yearning for it and we both, though tired, knew it was best for us. Sometimes you can't wait to feel like it, ya know?

We decided to read aloud all four resurrection accounts in all four Gospels.
Funny, the birth of Jesus (what a lot of people read at Christmas) is only in two of the Gospels, but the resurrection is accounted in every.single.one.
Remind me how Christmas became a bigger deal?
So there we were, nestled together, cozy and warm, and the house was totally silent.
And we read aloud...

Matthew 28:1-10
Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. ² And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. ³  His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. ⁴ And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. ⁵ But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. ⁶ He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. ⁷ Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” ⁸ So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. ⁹ And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. ¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”


Mark 16:1-8
When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. ² And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb. ³ And they were saying to one another, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” ⁴ And looking up, they saw that the stone had been rolled back— it was very large. ⁵ And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. ⁶ And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. ⁷ But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going before you to Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.” ⁸ And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. 


Luke 24:1-12
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared. ² And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they went in they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel. ⁵ And as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷  that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified and on the third day rise.”⁸ And they remembered his words, ⁹ and returning from the tomb they told all these things to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene and Joanna and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles, ¹¹ but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹² But Peter rose and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; and he went home marveling at what had happened.



John 20: 1-10 
Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ² So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.” ³  So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. ⁴ Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus' head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself.⁸ Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed;⁹ for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.

I think it was in Luke's account that my eyes started to fill with tears.
God is living. He conquered sin and death, and in him I do too. My sins which are many aren't counted against me, not because he died, not because he died and rose. The resurrection is everything. It shows Jesus to be God and sin to be beaten and a wretch like me to be holy. 

In a quiet house, beside my husband, under the covers, we marveled at the scandalous grace of God. Specifically found today in the resurrection of Christ. They're all still asleep, but my coffee kicked in, so here I am. I hear church bells in the distance (we have a few cathedrals nearby) as I type. My heart is full.

he is not here. he has risen.