Uhhh... "Do as I say, not as I do."

Well, after that whole big long hullaballou about remembering Mr. Rogers by wearing a sweater on "Sweater Day", I completely forgot to do so. I was so caught up in the fact that the first day of Spring fell on the same day, forgot all about wearing a sweater in Mr. Rogers' honor. Whoops. I remembered earlier this week that I needed to check which day to wear it on, and then forgot to follow up. I'll chalk it up as a pregnancy related lapse in memory. What's your excuse?? :) My bad, should have reminded ya.

Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. On Maundy Thursday, we had planned on going to church for the communion service, but ended up staying home since I wasn't feeling so well that afternoon. Really screwed up our night, too, because I had changed up Jeremiah's nap schedule so he'd be okay staying up an extra hour or so. Usually he's in bed between 7 and 7:30, but the service didn't start until 7:30. I tried putting him down around 6 as if it were bedtime.... He didn't fall for it. He just played in his crib the whole time, and waited for us to come get him, which we finally did about 30 min later. By then, he was wide awake. When Jeremy tried to put him back down for bed, he wouldn't sleep, and didn't do so until almost 9. So much for that.

We did get to watch the service online, though, which was really nice. I'd rather have been there in person, but I guess there's always next year.

Tonight, we went to the "Easter Saturday" service, instead of showing up on Sunday when there's like a MILLION people. Sunday mornings at Mclean are pretty crazy already--10:45 service nursery always fills up before the service starts, so we definitely were wanting to avoid that. Plus, we like going to church on Saturday nights, as it's not quite as crazy, and it's a good time for Jeremiah, even though he ends up staying up a little later.

This service, though, was PACKED. We've never seen so many people there on Saturday night. I guess a lot of folks listened when Lon (lead minister) asked everyone who normally comes Sunday mornings to come Saturday night, as many folks who are just visiting are more likely to show up Sunday morning, especially to the 10:45 service. But it wasn't just other Mclean-ers. There were lots of visitors, too, from what I could tell. Luckily for us, Jeremiah's age group doesn't close out as quickly as the younger ones, and he was able to spend the service playing in the "ball pit". Usually he'll pull the balls out, drop 'em on the floor and kick him around--it's always the first place he goes to when we drop him off. What a cutie pie!

The service was excellant, of course. I've come to realize why people like listening to Lon so much. I always thought he was good, but compared to the other preachers they have on staff, he's definitely the "meat and potatoes" kind of preacher. Other preachers have good sermons, and get their point across just fine, but it's kind of like eating soup--it's just the first course, and there's always room for more. Some preachers out there, not at Mclean, but in other mega churches, aren't even soup, but more of an "amuse bouche" (it's basically what comes before the meal, before the hors d'ouvres, and is at most, two bites of food... Yeah, if you weren't hungry before, you definitely are now.) These preachers preach to their churches, and people leave may leave "satisfied" with themselves, but spiritually starved. Yet at the same time, much like those starving children in the commercials, they will become so used to being hungry, they no longer feel hunger pains. They just... exist. Ya definitely won't leave Mclean that way, at least not for a while. By then the hunger is usually not for more preaching, but more intimacy with God--that can only be filled by your own time with Him in the Bible and in prayer. This is the point that I'm at now, where I know I need to spend more time with God, and learning more about Him, where I leave Mclean hungry for more because one sermon once a week no longer satiates. I just haven't sat down to make the time yet. Maybe I should make a "God Blog" and do it that way. :) I make time for blogging, that's for sure!

As I said before, the service was excellant, and I encourage everyone to listen to it, if you can. Best line from the whole thing was when Lon was explaining a conversation he was having with a Jewish woman who was trying to encourage him to return to Judaism (he's Jewish.) When she asked how he could say with complete certainty that he would be spending his eternity in Heaven with God (just as Jeremy & I know we will,) one of his last lines was, "Follow a dead savior and you'll end up just like him." If you can, listen to it, it's at the bottom of the page on the right under "recen sermons". Just find today's date (or it may be tomorrow's... 3/2-something!)

Happy Easter, everyone! Hope you have a wonderful time celebrating the resurrection of Jesus on this day! We're doing an Easter Egg hunt for Jeremiah despite the fact, but we don't forget the true meaning of this day: He is Risen! He is Risen, Indeed! :) Have a blessed day!

Where have I been???

Apparently, I've been living under a rock because I just found out that Mister Rogers is dead. I guess he died of cancer 5 years ago... I think I may have heard about it then, but I was still shocked to find this out today. Now I'm all sad.... I used to LOVE Mr. Rogers Neighborhood--it used to come on right after Sesame Street (which I also loved) and my favorite part was when he'd go to different factories to show how things were made, like guitars or trumpets. I thought that was so cool. Land of Makebelieve was neat, but not at cool as Mr. Rogers himself.

Anyways, in honor of Mr. Rogers, Mr. McFeeley is trying to get March 20th to be "Sweater Day". It's a day for each and every person to wear their favorite sweater, in honor of Mr. Rogers memory. I hope March 20th is a cool day, so I can put all of us in our sweaters! At least Jeremiah and me--I don't know if Jeremy even owns a sweater.

And did you know that Mr. Rogers was from Latrobe, PA?? I didn't. You may have heard that he was an ordained minister, but he never preached. And at one point, he moved to Toronto, where he had an understudy who would later become "Mr. Dressup" (for our Canadian readers out there.) It's amazing what you learn about a person from Wikipedia. :)

Well, he's got 33 years of Mr. Rogers episodes out there, so hopefully they still air on PBS (I haven't seen it yet, but I haven't been looking either.) I remember thinking as a child that Mr. Rogers was so great, I hoped he would still be making shows when I had kids. He's done working, but his work will definitely live on.

Anywhoo, here's Mr. McFeely and the Sweater Day challenge! I hope everyone out there who loved Mr. Rogers will mark March 20th on their calendar and wear a sweater in honor of him.

I am thoroughly weepy-eyed right now... I can chalk it up as pregnancy hormones, but for those of us who grew up with him, Mr. Rogers was like an Uncle/Grandfather type figure. When you read about the kind of life he led, it's hard to not become emotional and mourn his passing [our loss, for sure!]

Well, I need to put Jeremiah down for his nap. Thank you, Mr. Rogers, for giving us so much, and always taking the opportunity not to bask in your glory, but to remind us to be thankful for others who have made us all who we are today.

I really hope I'm not the only one who didn't know this... I was in college when he died, so maybe I just wasn't paying attention. Okay, enough of that, naptime for Jeremiah!