Hi, everybody!  It’s Easter Friday…has everybody recovered from Holy Week?

As with most things, we’re a lot better at doing the “bad stuff” rather than the good stuff.  Not that the mysteries of our salvation carried out in Holy Week are bad…but the events were hard, and hard work.  Easter Week is supposed to be the mirror image of Holy Week, a week full of celebration, rest, enjoyment, gratitude, joy, feasting and fun.  In the same way, the whole Easter season is supposed to be the mirror image of Lent, a continuation of all the things we celebrated on Easter.

Don’t forget to celebrate and enjoy as intenionally and with as much commitment as you fasted and repented during Lent.  It wouldn’t hurt to make some Easter disciplines for the season, because Christian joy is a choice that we must make day by day.  Off the top of my head, here are a few ideas for observing the Easter season:

• eat more ice cream
• enjoy the things you gave up for Lent
• have a party
• go on picnics
• sing…out loud
• offer praise to someone every day
• buy something you don’t need, but you really want
• put flowers on the kitchen table
• dress up for school or work
• go on a date with a special person (this can be but doesn’t have to be romantic– in our family we have Daddy/Daughter dates pretty frequently)
• write letters…by hand–real mail makes people happy
• say “I love you” to someone who already knows; it’s still nice to hear

If you have some suggestions for how to observe our 50-day celebration, post them in the comments, or post them in the Yahoo group.

Here’s the collect for Easter Friday:

Almighty Father, who gave your only Son to die for our sins and to rise for our justification: Give us grace so to put away the leaven of malice and wickedness, that we may always serve you in pureness of living and truth; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.  Amen.