easter re-cap

this weekend was CRAMMED FULL.
so here is a recap in numbers

1 blister from removing stones & underlying mesh from the garden on Saturday

2 hours of a BEAUTIFUL Easter Church Service on Sunday

3 grotesquely filled stomachs (one from a dinner out with the in-laws, the other from Easter dinner, and profession of faith luncheon)

4 is for my 4th sibling. Austin. He did his profession of faith on Sunday. It was a wonderful reminder of my own profession of faith and what it means, and a challenge to live it out daily. It's also an immense blessing to see your younger brother consistently growing up (in inches) and also growing in his faith

5 is for the number of instances that Austin smirked at something Ryan did

6 is for the number of times my dad held up his new cellphone to snap the SAME picture
of Austin at the front of the church

7 different instances in which my grandpa Sjaarda, grandpa Richmond, and my cousin's grandpa on the other side embarassed Laura with their flirting (7 might be downplaying it a bit)

10 Hollister shirts for the grandkids

16 youth who did profession of faith at our church

40 minutes early for a service that we still had to park down the street for

75(ish) hugs....we had A LOT of family time yesterday

120 minutes of Celebrity Apprentice (yep.... had to get that in there)

and 100,000,000 + sins that have been redeemed, again and again and again.
which all comes back to one simple number

1 saviour
1 redeemer
1 king of kings
1 name above all names

1 man. all God. 1 cross.

i am saved.


and in typical Sjaarda fashion we ended the evening with these beautiful words

Up from the grave he arose
with a mighty triumph o'er His foes
He arose a victor from the dark domain
and He lives forever with his saints to reign

He arose
He arose
Hallelujiah, Christ arose.

oh, and in case you are thinking that this doesn't sound quite "Sjaarda" enough - replay the song with 2 sisters who can't sing trying to harmonize, a dad who rolls his eyes, a mom who randomly joins in (without the right words) and a brother who shifts between echoing and singing in a staccato.

it's a good thing the words reign through regardless.

Happy Easter!