Are you a creature of habit like I am? Our brains actually love completing patterns, so when we create a pattern and complete it, we are rewarded with dopamine. It is for this reason that I love the idea of having predictable patterns. I say the "idea" because we all know that the work of creating patterns is hard. I love the idea of getting out of bed and working out at 5:30am. I hate actually getting out of bed. I'm sure you understand. But, once I've completed my desired pattern, I feel great.

So here I am. Sitting in front of a blank computer screen wondering why I didn’t have the foresight to realize that writing this week’s ReConnect would be so challenging, especially knowing the current demands on my life. I also did not anticipate that lags in Wi-Fi would prevent me from hearing the sermon Sunday morning, a traffic back up would delay my trip back home and my watching of the recording would also be fraught with digitized frozen images and the constant squeaking of my Yorkie’s squeaky toy that challenged my patience and my focus. I knew it would be a real stretch to meet the deadline, but believed that if I managed my time well, I could do it.

We have expectations of what a mother should be even when we have a really great one. We have those moments where we say: “

Jeez, mom, why can’t you …” or “mom, why don’t you do this ...?” Sometimes, we forget how great our moms can be or we get stuck waiting for what our moms could be. Whether we’re aware or not, we have some expectations for our moms.

This week’s sermon revealed the strongholds that hold us back from living fully into the community that God has promised us. We have inherited the bondage of materialism, individualism, and/or tribalism. Yet, God mercifully offers us a simple way to live against the grain of those strongholds into the fullness and beauty of the community that He created us for. That simple thing is...hospitality.

The sermon Sunday was powerful – all about gospel encounters. I listened. I took notes. I thought about

what I would write about my personal gospel encounters (as Kyle asked us to do).

Then he said four little words that jolted me. They were probably overlooked by most. They were said

rather off-handedly. Yet, they packed a punch with me.

“GOD HAS NO GRANDCHILDREN.”

As I was reading Psalm 84 Monday morning, verses 3 and 4 grabbed hold of my attention. They say, “Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, my King and my God. Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah”Immediately, I was reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

This Sunday, we started a new series entitled, “This is Good News!” As Christians we often assume that everyone is familiar with the Gospel message. Probably like many of you, the first scripture I memorized in Sunday School as a very small child, was John 3:16. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (I didn't even have to look that up!) This scripture, I was taught, is the essential message of the Gospel. Everybody knows that. After all, we see that message everywhere. Who doesn’t know John 3:16?

“BUT EASTER’S OVER!” obnoxious Mike Teavee shouts.

Wonka clamps a hand over the boy’s mouth and hushedly lets them in on the strategy, “they don’t know that yet, I’m trying to get ahead for next year...”

As I sat down to pray & reflect on Resurrection Sunday in order to write something encouraging, I could hear little Mike Teavee, ever stating the obvious, “BUT EASTER’S OVER!”

And it is. The restrictions of Lent have loosened, our plastic eggs are packed away for another year, thankfully most of the candy is even gone.

“Feast or famine” is a popular phrase to describe the highs and lows of our lives. It implies we are either on top or struggling at the bottom. One is good, the other not so much. That is the world’s view.

The last few weeks we have learned a lot about fasting – it is doing without food (or something the Lord has put on your heart to give up). It is a way of praying with our bodies. It is not a period of famine. It is not a period of deprivation or deficiency. It is, in fact, a time for feasting.

When I was thinking about fasting this week, my mind couldn't help but recall a TED Talk I listened to a while ago (for those who are interested, it was "Your body language may shape who you are" by Amy Cuddy). Amy is a social psychologist who centered her talk around the ways in which our body language not only speaks to others, but also speaks to ourselves.