Many years ago (about 14 to be exact)I read a book called No Ordinary Home:The Uncommon Art of Christ-Centered Homemaking by Carol Brazo. I had actually borrowed it from my friend Sherri, and loved it so much that she tried to order me a copy, only to find it was out of print. Being the thoughtful (and passionately determined) friend that she is, she decided to just give the author a call and see if she knew where we could get one more copy! How hard could it be? She knew the author’s name, her husband’s name was also mentioned in the book as well as the town and state where they lived. So, hey…why not just call information and get her number? Isn’t this what anyone would do? I don’t think so…..but, Sherri made the call, Carol answered the phone, and Sherri explained our dire situation. Carol said that she just happened to have a couple of hundred books left in her attic and would love to send us one! And THAT is how I received my very own copy or this wonderfully creative and refreshing book on parenting/homemaking! (And then I loaned it out a few years back, and have not gotten it back. I wonder if Carol has any more hiding in her attic?)

Even though I haven’t seen it in a few years, it continues to inspire me. One of the ideas I gleaned from it was an Easter tree on which different symbols for stories leading up to and through the Cross and the Resurrection were hung on the days leading up to Easter. In the book Carol describes the hunt she had to go on to find small items to represent Old and New Testament stories. I thought this was a great idea and set off on my own hunt. Being very literal and linear in personality though, what resulted was not a tree, but rather a visual hanging timeline of events leading up to Jesus and His crucifixion and resurrection. We love reading a story every morning of the Lenten season and realizing the story of redemption that God was telling in a purposeful way beginning in Genesis and continuing throughout every book of the Bible! For example:

And these are only a few examples! We try to add a couple each year and are amazed all over again at the beauty and meaning of the story of salvation.

For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
Romans 15:4

But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging, we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5