Have you ever done something which brought back memories of an earlier era of your life?
That was me yesterday. I was earlier era-ing.
For sixteen years, a couple of times a week, in 35 states, I helped load and unload 3,000 pounds of musical gear.
Whenever it came time to move my keyboard, he’d always get on one end and I’d get on the other. And then he’d always say, “Let me back down the stairs so it’s easier for you.”
Gallantry in motion. Memories in motion.
The reason for all the keyboard/equipment moving is that yesterday, our church did a Drive-In Easter Service. Here’s my graphic.
The weather was gorgeous and the day was made even more wonderful by the joy of seeing our church folks (and some visitors) all gathered in one place, smiling through their windshields at us and at everyone around them.
Instead of amens, they honked their horns. Instead of clapping their hands in praise, they honked their horns.
It was a joyful, honk-filled morning.
Here are a few photos.
Before the service started, a couple of our folks brought Easter beauty to our church sign.
I never cease to be amazed by people who are gifted in this area. So beautiful!
A certain person caught me in the act of taking pictures.
So I “snapped” back at her.
I was going to choose just one of these photos to post but then ended up loving them all.
As our service ended and we headed home for lunch and naps, I got to thinking about all the other millions of Christian churches around the world who celebrate the resurrection.
Yesterday, each one of those churches celebrated Easter in a different way than they ever had before.
But regardless of the newness of the methods, the truth of the message has not changed.
He is risen.
He is risen, indeed.
Yesterday afternoon, Sarah decided she would like to enjoy the spring day by sitting out on our front lawn.
Midway through her sitting, she was startled by an unusual sight and sound; she grabbed her phone and got a video.
We don’t know who these people were but they cared enough about kids on Easter to drive through the neighborhoods and bring a smile.
One of the things our church did for Easter was to make a compilation video of different families/individuals saying, “He is Risen!”
Of course, our family wanted to be involved so we gathered ourselves in the living room to do what I thought would be a simple, 30-second video.
Not so much.
Turns out Sarah and Steve had all manner of plots and plans for the video of which I was unaware.
The first part of the video is the Smith Family as you’ve never seen us before as Steve took drama to a whole new level and flipped himself over the couch. (Yes, you read that right.)
You will hear a long silence following the flip which is a result of all of us laughing too hard to breathe.
The second part of the video is what we finally ended up with to be included in the official video.
I hope the video brings you a smile as you start your week.
What about you?
What did your Easter look like this year?
What’s going on in your coming week?
Becky, Thanks for the reminder that I could listen to your Easter service on your Facebook site! (I don’t know why I didn’t think to try that). I loved listing to it, and the horns made it unique! Loved listening to y’all!!
Sue Ellen,
So glad you enjoyed listening. And yes, those horns were pretty fun! 🙂
Several churches in our area had a drive-in Easter service. What a great idea! Our service was on FB Live and our priest, Katie, had put everyone’s picture on the pews where they usually sit. It was so awesome!
We spent most of Easter Sunday at my mother-in-law’s house. She is at home on hospice and we had the weekend shift of caring for her. She will be home with Jesus very soon. We are extremely grateful and honored to be able to do this for her.
When we finally got home, we showered, got comfy clothes on and sat down and had a drink. We ate leftovers for supper and went to bed semi-early. This was, by far, the strangest, most low-key Easter we have ever had.
I enjoyed the ‘couch flipping’. It made me laugh and I needed a good laugh! 🙂
LeeAnne,
I had heard of other churches putting pictures of people in the pews. What a fabulous idea!
Those low key days are some of the best kinds of days; simple pleasures and simple activities.
What a privilege for you to be with your mother-in-law during this last season of her life. The memories made around her bed will be precious for many years to come.
Oh my, you guys sure know how to shoot an Easter video =)
Our Easter was quiet. We watched our church service online. Just like we have been for the past month or so. We had ham, potatoes, corn casserole, carrots and rolls. It was yummy!
The only bad part was that it flurried all day. Nothing stuck, but still…come on SPRING!!
Bless your week,
Krista
Krista,
Yeah, flurries on Easter is just a tad bit sad. I would hope that spring would be arriving any day now!
And your Easter lunch sounds delicious!
Becky, that started out to be a beautiful walk in the snow – the flakes were huge, but then they went to their usual size. The snow was all gone yesterday, but today it has snowed off and on, right now it is off, but more to come. We are definitely ready for no snow. We cannot walk in large stores, and malls are closed and so when it is cold out (and I am not a cold weather person), it makes it difficult to do the walking that needs to be done.. It is so interesting to see and hear how folks are trying to make the best of this situation in keeping themselves busy. Wish I knitted or crochet. The birds around here are very confused.
Sharyn,
Confused birds is right. Confused flowers and trees, too!
Here’s hoping that snow melts for good and your world starts blossoming again.
The pastor that has had the biggest impact on my faith, Paul Heins, now of First Presby Church Port Townsend, WA, did a virtual service for Easter. Being that I’m not a member of a church where I am, I watched Paul’s. It was nice to hear his voice and his message, especially at a time like this. And this week? It’s the same as last week. *sigh* I’m pretty done with this crap.
Brooke,
I’m glad you got to virtually reconnect with someone who has been so influential in your life. It must have brought a sense of comfort.
And yes, the weeks definitely do start to look the same, don’t they? It is very difficult to remember what day is what. I even have to stop and think occasionally about what month it is. I will never complain about being overly busy again.
Grace to you during this time.
Thank you! Your video definitely made me laugh (and that felt VERY good!). Our church had an Easter egg hunt which involved “hiding” I think 65 “eggs” in various places that could be viewed from a car driving through our parking lot and invited families to sign up for times over a 3-day period to drive through and enter their guess as to how many eggs they spotted. All of our Holy Week services were on Facebook Live this year. I would love to hear some audio of your service with the horn honking. That surely will be memorable. I recently saw a video of a church in Braselton, GA that held an evening service in the parking lot of their local hospital. They had a drive-through drop off of care packages for the medical personnel, then parked and the preacher led a prayer and singing of How Great is Our God while the congregation flashed their headlights in support. It was a very moving video. The videos of different ways people are supporting each other is so heartening during this time. Prayers that you and your family have a wonderful week!
Sue Ellen,
So glad our Silly Smith-ness brought you a smile!
I think I saw that video at the hospital in Georgia. It was wonderful.
And I love your church’s idea of “hiding” the eggs and letting families guess the number. So much creativity to be found in times like these.
By the way, the service is on Facebook. Just go to your home page then at the top, search for Manteo First AG. It’s a little blurry but at least you can hear the horns!
You three are incurable lol
Tim,
Hmmm. We’ve never been called incurable before. I think the word you were looking for in “incredible!” 🙂
Hahaha, you guys are crazy, thanks for the laugh 🙂
Lesley,
You are more than welcome! Glad we were able to send a smile to D.C.
Yes, your video made me smile! You guys are a buncha nuts. ?
We really enjoyed watching your online service yesterday–wonderful, wonderful job! I loved hearing the horns honking–what a cheery way to say amen! I thought it was special to have the Dare Challenge guys there too.
You and Steve were kind of far away on the online service , and I could only see Sarah flitting about in the distance taking pictures, so seeing your pictures here brought it all up close! So fun to see.
We had an Easter like everyone else: quiet, by ourselves, very strange feeling. But grateful that the tomb is empty and the One who left that tomb lives in our hearts!
Today I stayed in my PJs till 4 pm and took a few naps. Not feelin’ it. But I suppose I will need to be more productive at some point since we are moving in less than a month. But this new reality that has been dumped in our laps just makes me want to stay in those PJs and hide under a rock. But I don’t spose I should.
Alrighty then, love you guys, take care of yourselves and thanks for being such a blessing and encouragement to so many, my dismal self included!
Love, Deb
Debbie,
Nothin’ at all wrong with a PJ day. I have taken a few of those myself!
I know (from long experience) that moving really is a large job. And when you combine that pending challenge with the quarantining and the aloneness at Easter, well, a PJ day or two is definitely called for.
Thanks for your encouragement about our service; honored that you would take the time to watch. It reminded me of all those outdoor events we used to do back in the day. Fun times.
I listened and watched several Easter services on Facebook. Did not venture out to drive in service. Cooked dinner and shared with my cousin as she has her kitchen floor torn up and could not cook. Just took it easy as I have been doing. Time to put on the mask and gloves and go to Food Lion. Cooking chicken to make chicken salad. Have a good week. Stay well and healthy. God bless. Love and hugs. Enjoyed the video of Steve rising!!
Ann,
Chicken salad sounds good! Glad you can mostly stay home.
It’s sure nice having so many services to choose from to watch on Easter and other Sundays, as well.
Hugs!
My Easter was Sunday School via Zoom then watched our services via Facebook Live. My church has two campuses but is just doing the one live stream. The music minister at our second campus worked 60+ hours to video the choir singing a special number. It was so good to see all their faces on my TV and hear them sing Because He Lives I Can Face Tomorrow.. You can see it here. https://www
For lunch I had picked up ribs from a local barbecue restaurant. The weather here started out good but started deteriorating around noon when it started raining. Then the cold front came through around 3 or 4. This morning the windchill was in the teens!
Week ahead – I need to get to grocery store, work on my parents taxes and just normal weekly stuff. Won’t be walking a lot as the weather is going to be cold most of the week.
Phyllis,
Loved hearing the video your music minister put together. I’ve heard of churches doing that but wouldn’t even know where to begin putting it together. Your people did an amazing job!
Yes, Easter really was beautiful for the first part of it but then the storm rolled in. So thankful we weren’t hit with tornadoes like some of the other southern states. Blessings!
What a great way to celebrate Easter – so glad many came out to honk their horns in Praise! I have noticed that in many ways folks have been thinking of new ways to do old stuff – not that praising the Lord sitting or standing is old stuff. So glad you had beautiful weather. My husband and I watched Franklin Graham on Fox News, along with Michael W. Smith having a service in Central Park. Wonderful message, and then we watched our church service. then we went for a walk – in a heavy snowstorm. Not sure when the last time was that it snowed on Easter, but we got at least 6 inches of snow. Am assuming it will be around for a couple days because the temps will be such, it can’t last. That video was great. Love them!!!
Sharyn,
It actually sounds pretty fun to this southern gal to take a walk in a snow storm. Although I know you all must be VERY ready or snow to be replaced with spring.
Getting to watch Franklin Graham, MWS, and your own church service was certainly a great way to spend Easter morning.
Even though I couldn’t hear you, I loved laughing at the risen steve even though he didn’t rise for too long.
Goddaughter Katie has a new puppy, and for some unknown reason she hasn’t told what his name is.
Yesterday Katie’s sister Goddaughter Betsy sent an e-mail titled ARCHIE with a video.
I was so excited to download little Archie’s video.
Well, little Archie turned out to be
Big Archie..St. Michael’s rector and his Easter service!
good grief! and I still don’t know the puppy’s name.
Mrs. Pam,
Yes, I’m afraid Steve’s rising was a non-starter. 🙂
I’m sure you will be interested to hear what the name of the Mystery Puppy turns out to be. Children and puppies together are a beautiful thing.
And that was a funny story about little Archie and BIG Archie! You should write children’s stories. You certainly have a whimsical way with words. 🙂
Aw, what fun you guys are! Sarah, you are beautiful and the joy of the Lord radiates from you!
My church did a drive-in service, but I opted to stay home and Livestream it for one reason…I cannot sit during worship! I need to stand! So I stayed home and did so to my heart’s content. If I had a car with a sunroof, it might have gone differently!
This week (as in today) I need to let my boss know I need to work from home prayers appreciated). He’s has been quite resistant and I recognize the stress load on him being a small business, but me working from home does not equal closing the business. However, it’s become evident that my grandson needs me there (a bored 10 year old is not a good thing). His Dad works 3rd shift, I work 8:30-5. Too much free time leads to irresponsible choices ( i.e….”let’s trim an eyebrow with scissors”, “let’s make slime on the living room carpet”, etc.). I know he doesn’t have a legal leg to stand on, but that is NOT a good way to approach the boss.
Guerrina,
There were actually a couple of families with sunroofs and convertibles who stood up during the service. Obviously you have some kindred spirits here in Manteo.
I hope it went well telling your boss about your need to change your work situation. Taking scissors to the eyebrows and making slime are probably NOT the best 10-year old choices. I know it will be good for him to have you in the house more, even though you may be curtailing a few more of his “fun plans.” 🙂
May God give you grace and enough energy to keep up with him!