Things I Love: Finding Favourites

As many of you know...I love music. I'm always on the hunt for new songs and artists and I have an eclectic taste when it comes to the type of music I enjoy. I love everything from Jazz to Folk to Techno. As long as I can connect in some way to the song, even if it is instrumental, I don't care if it's popular or not...I will listen to it. I am definitely NOT a music snob.

I've never been able to pick a favourite song though. I've always just loved so many songs for so many different reasons and depending on my mood.. So I guess you could say I had a favourite song for every mood. But I recently discovered my all-time favourite song. It is called, You're Beautiful by Phil Wickham.



The combination of the lyrics with the images in this video just captures so much. What ultimately brought me to the realization that this is definitely my favourite song is the fact that if I could only sing one song, it would be this one. I hope you enjoy it too.

What's your favourite song? I'd love to give it a listen!

Switzerland Tulip Festival

Last weekend I stumbled upon one of Switzerland's most beautiful traditions. After reading about the Switzerland Tulip Festival online I talked Jared into making a day trip out of it with me! :) The Tulip Festival in Morges is only about a 10 minute train ride from our apartment and well worth the trip! I have never seen so many rows of tulips in all of my life! Every color and shape you could imagine and everywhere you looked were flowers. The park where the Festival is held was pristine. It had pathways that went beneath canopies of trees, you could walk right by the lake and enjoy a grand view of the Alps as well as countless flower beds all of which were made up of different combinations of tulips and other flowers. It was so colorful and enchanting. There were also lots of families and couples enjoying picnics on the grass amongst the flowers. It was like walking through a painting! A definite must-see for anyone visiting Switzerland in the spring!

Here are a few of the photos I captured from the day. Hope you enjoy! :)

 

 

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Book Review: The Case For Easter

I recently read The Case For Easter by Lee Strobel and was excited about reading it because I have read his other popular books in the series, as well as watched the corresponding videos. I did a short review on those in a previous blog post if you want to check that out.

First thing you should be aware of when reading this book is that the medical description of the crucifixion is graphic and very difficult to read. But as tough as it was to think about, it was necessary for me to fully understand what actually happened to Jesus on the cross. I'm sure most of us have heard the story told "He was beaten and killed for our sins" but have we really heard the full story about what Jesus endured?

Did you know that the pain was so intense and so brutal that they had to invent a new word just to describe it. Excruciating. Excruciating literally means 'out of the cross'. Think about that: they had to create a new word because there was nothing in the language to describe the intense anguish caused during the crucifixion.

As the medical expert describes each excruciating moment that Jesus went through - reality hit me hard. I literally fell to the floor and began to sob. I did those things to Him. My sin put Him on that cross. I am responsible for His torture and death. It was me who caused such unthinkable pain. The soldiers may have physically carried out the execution that day, but I am the reason He died. It was me, my sin, that killed Him.

He loved my imperfect, sinful, wretched self so much that He went through incomparable torment and suffering and ultimately His death so that I could escape the fate of eternal suffering in Hell. That is instant humility. Knowing the true cost of my freedom is sobering. And I will spend the rest of my life in loving fellowship with the only One who despite what I have done, is not only capable of forgiving me, but wants to forgive me and to lovingly embrace me. How could I possibly reject Him after all He has done? That would be ungratefulness in its highest form. My primary goal and passion is to live my life as a reflection of my gratitude towards Him.

My responsibility for His death does not prompt a life of sorrow and guilt. I live with joy because I have been forgiven. Christ conquered death. He rescued me. And I can live with the promise of eternal life and His endless love because of His saving grace! All of us who accept His gift of salvation can experience this joy and freedom. What a reason to celebrate!

As far as my opinion about the book, I thought it was very thought provoking and insightful. It's not a long book but it hits the key points that support the historic events surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Perhaps I'll do more blog posts with personal reflections about this book in the future. This really is the perfect time to read it as we approach the anniversary of His resurrection! I encourage others to read it as well.

True Love Celebration

As we enter Holy Week I start to reflect more on the significance of why we as Christians observe Easter as such an honorable day. And that is because it is the most monumental moment in all of the world's history! I grew up attending church and learning from the Bible beginning at a very young age. But it wasn't until after I abandoned my faith as an adult, then later restored my relationship with Jesus Christ and began pursuing greater knowledge about the evidence that confirms that He not only lived, but He died and then conquered death so that we too could overcome death, that I truly understood and appreciated the importance of why we celebrate.

For me, and I know many others, this is the crux of our faith. To us, it is not an elaborate story that is told once a year then put back on a shelf only to be pulled back out again next year like a child's fairytale or bedtime story. It is how we live each day. It is the crowning moment in our history. Because without Christ's death and resurrection, we are hopelessly destined for death without the promise of life. His ultimate sacrifice made it possible for us to be free. Truly free. He died in my place - in OUR place - so that we may live forever with Him one day.....and that is True Love. That is why we celebrate. Easter is the anniversary of the first day of real hope and true love defined.

HE IS RISEN! He lives. And with Him we can also live! What greater blessing is there to celebrate? We should celebrate this victory daily...not just once a year. Giving thanks to our Saviour for His love and mercy and living a life that glorifies Him everyday is the perfect way to celebrate all year round!

Optimistic

Staying optimistic is not an easy thing to do. It is a conscience decision we have to make and one that we must make almost moment to moment sometimes. Remaining hopeful requires strength and isn't always something that comes naturally. But to quote Superman.... "Once we choose hope....anything is possible." Hope is a choice and is a choice that gives us courage and strength to overcome our doubts, our fears and our weaknesses.

I hope and pray each day that we would abandon our self-entitled attitudes as a society and embrace the philosophy of our founding fathers which is that "we are all created equal." Not born equal...but created equal. So that even the pre-born would be acknowledged and extended the same respect and protection as every human being on earth. I remain optimistic that one day more and more people will realize that nothing is worth killing an innocent child. And that abortion should be unthinkable simply because we know that their life and our life are of equal value. I hope to see the day where the pre-born are priceless in the eyes of everyone and not viewed as an inconvenience, a mistake or a dollar sign.


We don't think of ourselves as an inconvenience, a mistake or something that should have a price tag so why then should others be less deserving of the same value, respect and protection that we expect of ourselves? If we do not see all humans, regardless of their circumstance or stage of development, as having equal value as ourselves and therefor deserving of the same respect and protection as us then we are declaring that we are not equal...but that we are better. And that, my friends, is called pride.


I am disheartened that we continue to fund and support any organization that promotes violence against children cloaked by words like "freedom" and "women's rights". If we drop the pride that has blindfolded our hearts we will see the true injustice of abortion and join together to make it unthinkable.

I remain hopeful that we will see this change of hearts and in turn, an end to abortion.