March is almost over. Winter just won't give up easily.

The forecasters missed what happened here today. They said we were supposed to have rain.
Well we did have rain, in the morning. This afternoon the temperature dropped and the rain turned to sleet then snow.

The roads and sidewalks were quite slippery. They are promising a warm up to the 50's tomorrow and 70's for Easter weekend. M'm, we'll see.

Thursday is Holy Thursday. The day Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. He was crucified the next day on what we know as Good Friday.

But his Crucifixion wasn't just another execution. He died on the cross for you and me.

He rose from the dead three days later on Easter Sunday, or as some refer to it as Resurrection Sunday.

If each one of us would believe, repent and accept Him, we too can have eternal life.

Today we celebrated Palm Sunday which begins Passion Week that ends on Easter Sunday.

Christians remember Christ's triumphant arrival in Jersusalem riding a donkey as his followers waved palms and cheered.

Only He knew that his death would occur later in the week at the hands of the Romans.

Tuesday begins the seven days of Passover for the Jewish people. They remember when God passed over their houses as he slew the first born of Eygpt.

Moses led the exodus from four hundred years of Eygptian capitivity via the parted Red Sea.

If you have the opportunity, watch "The Ten Commandments" with Charlton Heston as Moses. It usually is on TV around this time of the year.

Then watch Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" and see what Christ did for you.

It is a good time to stop and spend some time reflecting and praying for the world surely is on a downward slide.

The word accomplishment means different things to different people.

I was shopping for clothes the other day (I didn't buy any). In the dressing room next to mine I heard an older woman say to her daughter, "I can't believe a fourteen fits. I used to wear a twenty-two. You don't know how good that makes me feel."

If any of you have struggled with a weight problem you can relate to this woman. What a euphoric feeling you get with a sense of accomplishment.

Whatever obstacle you are up against, when you find the path to the finish line, you're elated and victory is sweet.

So keep on plodding. That light you see at the end of the tunnel is not a locomotive headed in your direction but the sunshine of a bright new day of accomplishment.

Congratulations.

I'm confused.

A week before I received the census form there was a reminder post card in the mail that I would be receiving the census.

The next week as promised the census form arrived. It said all persons living at this household should be counted on April 1, 2010.

So far so good.

Yesterday I received another postcard reminding me to fill out the census and send it in if I didn't already, and if I did thank you.

Here's the confusing part. Yesterday was March 22, 2010. They want me to count people and fill it out on April 1, 2010.

I'm sure April is after March. They didn't change the order of months on the calendar when I wasn't looking, did they?

What if everyone filled it out before April 1, and someone died. Or perhaps say, a teenage child eloped and stayed in the city they eloped to. Or what if a person in the military was suddenly deployed to a foreign country. What if a person ended up in jail or perhaps a nursing home.
Better yet what if a child is born, or maybe twins.

Do you see how the count could be skewed?

This is the same bureaucracy that is now going to run our health care and student loans.

YIKES!!!

Maybe the Rapture will take place on April 1, and there will be a whole lot of people missing and the numbers will really be messed up. AMEN.

In two weeks it will be Easter.

What were your Easter traditions?

Our family had several.

First thing on Easter morning my sister, brother and I would race downstairs to see what the Easter Bunny brought.

Funny, how every year the baskets always looked the same with chocolate bunnies, crosses, and eggs. They had yellow marshmallow peeps, and jelly beans.
Nevertheless we loved them just the same.

Breakfast was an "egg smashing contest". That's when two people smash their dyed hard-boiled eggs together, end to end, to see which one cracks. It usually was mine.
We would feast on the peeled, dyed Easter eggs with vinegar. Yes, you put a slit in the top of the egg, pour some vinegar from a cruet in the slit and then salt the top. It's yummy try it.
We also had Mom's homemade, iced hot cross buns which just contained raisins, because no one liked candied fruit in them.

Then it was off to church services, dressed in our new outfits from hat to shoes. If the daffodils were blooming my sister and I had homemade corsages.

We went to church as a family every Sunday but Easter was special. The altar was adorned with white Easter lilies and the scent from them was heavenly.
The hymns we sang were special too, especially "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", which says it all.

Then it was home for Easter dinner of baked ham and fixings.
We didn't have and egg hunt. My Dad started that when my sibs and I had our own kids. He loved to watch the tots search for the eggs.

Whatever your traditions enjoy them as a family while you still have each other.

We no longer have Mom and Dad and we surely miss them, especially on holidays.