cake made by the vd Heide family

Today felt like it was my birthday, but better, when I woke up with childly excitement. 40 Days I have waited for this day to come again. Just beautiful to realise that Jesus can do for me what I can never do for myself. Give me new life!

Happy Easter everybody! The Lord is truly risen!

Here’s a short animated video of the Easter story for kids or grown-ups

He is risen- youtube video.

Thank you for following the 40 Day Devotional series, it was a pleasure to write them, stay tuned for other content on how to live a simple, inspired, spiritual, organized and creative life.

Wishing you peace on your day!

Ester

By Ester Fleurke

Today was a cold but springtimey day! I enjoyed the sounds of the birds and the budding trees and flowers.

With Jesus’ upcoming resurrection on Easter Sunday, nature: creation is also showing itself again after the dark and barren period of Winter. It’s a promise of new life!

I am grateful!

Peace!

The final week of Lent started yesterday on Palm Sunday.
This week I look forward to ‘reliving’ the events leading up to Jesus’ resurrection on Easter.
Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the waiting on Saturday and the glory of Easter Sunday!

I started a real cool Holy week video devotional yesterday, called The Artists Bible
Click the following link to join:
YouVersion Bible app for Android

Or find it on YouTube:
Watch “”Matthew 21:12-15″ – Keith Ellingson – The Artist Bible” on YouTube -

This was yesterday’s video (Palm Sunday themed)
Watch “”Matthew 21:1-11″ – Rockwagon – The Artists Bible

Today I feel especially creative and colorful and I googled ‘praying and drawing’.

Then I found this AWESOME website I want to share with you today!

God made us in all colors and shapes and therefore we can pray in all colors and shapes and forms and manners too. God has a sense of humour too!

Here goes:

Praying in Color = prayer + d o o d l i n g

When multiple friends and family members received ugly and scary diagnoses, Sybil MacBeth found herself exhausted by the words of her prayers and stymied by a lack of focus. One summer day, she retreated to her back porch for a session of mindless doodling with a basket of her favorite colored markers. She drew a shape, put the name of a friend inside, and added lines and color. She drew another shape with another name and added detail and color. When the page was covered with designs and names, Sybil realized she had prayed. The action of drawing was a wordless offering of friends and family into the care of God. The page of drawings became a visual reminder to pray. This was the beginning of Praying in Color.

Here are some reasons to Pray in Color:

Here’s what you need to get started:
1) Paper
2)  Pen
3) Colored markers or colored pencils or colored gel pens
4) A table or clipboard or book to put your paper on.

If you want to read more on how to get started:

go to the website:

prayingincolor.com

“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelations 4:11)

 And if you become hooked: you can buy your copy of their book “Praying in color: Drawing a new path to God” on Amazon

From maisonboheme.blogspot.com

At the end of a working week, before the weekend starts and the hustle and bustle of life winds down a little bit, but social commitments are awaiting us, it’s nice to stand still and soak up some sound and simple advice like the above.

To consider: What do I really NEED to do this weekend? It might be less than I think. PAUSE and BREATHE for a moment, then let go of some of the things you planned.

To try: Pick one or two of the suggestions in the above image you haven’t tried before and give it a go this weekend.

Let me know what you found out!

Peace

I got an instant Spring foreboding, inspite of the cold. I felt grateful and free!

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? …

 (Matthew 6:25-34 NIV)

p.s.:

I highly recommend Simon Armitage and Tim Dee’s – ‘The poetry of Birds’!

p.s.2:

For all you poetry lovers a lovely poem about a magpie’s nest:

The Magpie’s Nest, Or A Lesson Of Docility

A FABLE

When the arts in their infancy were,
In a fable of old ’tis exprest,
A wise magpie constructed that rare
Little house for young birds, called a nest.

(read the rest by clicking on the link)

Filed under: Creative Living, Inspired Living, Spiritual Living Tagged: 40 day devotional, encouragement, Lent, poetry, springtime ]]> http://simple-inspired.com/2013/03/21/40-day-devotional-day-10-free-as-a-bird/feed/ 1 Ester Image http://simple-inspired.com/2013/03/20/40-day-devotional-day-11-humility/ http://simple-inspired.com/2013/03/20/40-day-devotional-day-11-humility/#comments Wed, 20 Mar 2013 19:44:35 +0000 Ester https://e5ter.wordpress.com/?p=1090 ]]>

Colossians 3:12 NLT

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Food for thought for me!

Peace.

at Pinterest via cubiclerefugee.tumblr.com

God loves you, even if you fall down. Just pray and get up again, even if it’s the umptieth time!

Superchick: Get up

Romans 15:13 NIV

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is one of my favorite Bible verses. Very positive, loving and encouraging.

Wishing you joy, hope, peace and faith today.
SMILE!

http://instagram.com/p/VYTjdWMXI4/

Grace

Every year I watch an animated video about Jesus’ death and resurrection when Easter is approaching. It always painfully touches me with the raw truth of Jesus BIG love and sacrifice for us on the cross.
I have a life because of this undeserved grace.
Even though the song is in Dutch, the animation is very clear.
Hoping you will be touched by it as well.
You can watch it by clicking this link:
Your grace is enough for me.

Peace.

If you want to read the complete story of Easter, you can do so here.