On our trip this fall, we were able to visit our friend, Margaret, a resident at Inglis House, a wheelchair community in Philadelphia. We had been part of the team that taught (& still teaches) a Bible study in that facility. We found out this week that Margaret recently died peacefully in her sleep.
As we celebrate Easter, I can't help but think of the many special people I know who have gone to heaven this year, my Daddy, a dear lady, Mrs. Virginia at our church (and many more, I'm sure, come to your mind as you read this). We look at Easter as a time to remember and say thank you to Jesus who willingly died on a cruel cross to bear the weight of our choices to go against God's law. I lose sight, sometime, of what an indescribable gift this is to me. If not for Jesus' death, I would stand guilty before God, unable to be near Him, now or in eternity. I think of these dear ones . . . they are able, now, to say thank you, in person!!!
Margaret grew up attending a Catholic church and had always addressed Jeff as "Father Jeffrey". When we last visited her, she kept calling him "Daddy". God's love for her, and all of us, is so dear, like a loving Daddy (far beyond even the incredible love my Daddy had for me or Jeff has for our kids). He longs for each of us to say, "Yes, I want to be near you. Thank You for sending Jesus to take the punishment for my wrong choices so that I can know Your all-encompassing love for me!" I feel certain that tonight, Margaret, along with Dad & Mrs Virginia & so many others I have loved here, are enjoying a rich joy in expressing their gratitude to Jesus, their Savior and mine! Their faith in His sacrifice on the cross has made a way for them to call God, "Daddy", forever, reveling in His loving presence!! I miss my earthly Daddy's hugs, so much, but if it means he's enjoying this up-close relationship with God all the time, I will keep trying to let him go. I look forward to the day we can sit in God's lap together!

After a yummy ham dinner at lunchtime (thanks, Hazel, for waking me up at 4am, so I could put the ham in to cook while we slept & not have to come home from church to stick it in), we headed to camp where we had a big egg hunt! The Landis' girls, our director's kids, and the Williams' 3, our maintenance director's kiddos, joined forces with the Ortlings to find 150 eggs. (well, almost that many - a few were lost amongst the weeds or eaten by the camp staff dogs who joined us) Most kids didn't want to pause the hunt long enough for a photograph, but I ran ahead to catch a few ;). Simon, is about the same height as the brush, so he required a little help on reaching a couple. He was very much a part of the fun, however! After all the hunting was done, the little ones enjoyed some great swinging time on the tire swing my dad had put up when Keith and Jacob were little fellows. I was just remembering this morning with my kids how I spent lots of moments on a tire swing at my grandparents' house in Mississippi. Tire swinging is definitely a classic pastime! Spending time with these families makes us even more eager to be down at camp! Summer is on its way!

Ortlings all "beautified" for their Easter morning! This picture is especially for all those grandmothers :)! Kara got MANY compliments on her pretty dress which the Bailey ladies (Sheila and her daughter, Janel), friends from church, made for her. If you must know, she certainly stood out like a flower amongst the the rest of us, Orts, who all wore light blue attire :)!