Of easter and camps

*ahem*

SEX

Now that I have your attention: I'd like to talk about easter. I'm sitting here, drinking coffee and chowing down on a slightly burnt hot cross bun. Mmmm...hot cross buns. And it strikes me that easter is incredibly soon and this is only the third hot cross bun I've eaten this year. (Or is it the fourth??? It's a remarkably low number anyway...)

How is it that easter has snuck up on me this year?? There appears to have be a relatively low level of commercialism surrounding easter this year. Or maybe it's just that I now tape
everything I watch on tv and so I fast forward my way through all those darn easter egg advertisements....

Admittedly if you walk through the warehouse right now you will find that they do have a gianormous easter egg selection. And not the nice handpainted pretty eggs - I'm talking easter eggs of the garish foil coloured variation.

I have a "thing" against easter eggs. Comes from working in a factory that churns them out and makes you hand-foil them...

The point is: easter appears to have missed me this year. Oh, I know it's here. How can I not when we're heading away on camp - as per tradition - in (as the girls put it) "three sleeps" !!!!

And believe me I am totally pumped, amped, excited and ready to go for camp. I love easter camp, it's one of the highlights of my year. I mean, where else can you get over 3,000 young people from over 30 different churches from all over the south island.

Oh, and did I mention Satellite will be there? Because they will be - and they will rock. I know, they played for our young people last tuesday and damn they were good. And oh, the drummer's hot too. With the cutest kids!!! Lol. A certain youth leader I work with might not be too pleased to hear me promote her husband in this way... But really, the drummer rocks. He's the best damned drummer I know and I know a lot of damn good drummers.

And, because I know the drummer and wish to promote the band in a huge way, I bring you downloads from the latest album. I know they won't mind. Plus, if you're living outside of NZ it's impossible to get their music and I say that all press is good press.

Here: Not of This World Who Are You? (if you can't tell, I highly recommend them)

There was a point to my post besides blatant Satellite and Easter Camp promotion. And that was, while Easter may not be as commercialised as Christmas, it's still incredibly easy to forget what it's actually about.

I try to keep it in mind, but when it sneaks up on me like this - and it has. It's hard not to ignore it or think that it's just about chocolate bunnies and eggs. (Which I don't really like anyway)

Incidentally, I'd like to know where the bunnies came into the whole equation, eggs being the symbol of new life makes sense, but rabbits???

Easter is about the cross. It's about the son of God who lived, took upon all my sin (and all your sin too) and died for me. Died for you. For all my crap, my issues, my stupid mistakes and regrets. Same goes for you: he died for your crap, your stupidity (and don't say that you haven't done anything stupid in this life) and your mistakes.

And you know what?

He'd willingly do it again if he had too.

Willingly.

He wants to be with you that much, so much so that he'll face the humilation, the shame, the horror of the cross all over again.

I'm taking a walk through Journey Towards Easter on wednesday night. Church has been pretty crazy with all the prep for it: I believe this year I feature as a little demon voice in the Judas room. We're taking the youth through on tuesday, but wednesday is just for me. And I hope that as I walk through all the stations - make my way through the garden of gethsemane, see the tomb, walk in Judas's shoes - that I'll just be reminded about what Jesus did for me.

Y'know, it's such a huge thing and yet I forget it so easily.

Why is that?