hear the bells ringing...

have you ever wondered what it would be like to spend easter sunday in a church service with over 10,000 other people? probably not. i admit that i had never wondered what it would be like, and now i’ll never have to, because i’ve experienced it. the girls and i chose to attend living hope community church on easter sunday. we thought it would be an experience…and we weren’t disappointed. living hope is what i call a “mega” church here in the couv. they run about 3,000 or more each week and have something like seven services. so, you can imagine what easter and christmas would be like for them. this year they decided to do something big, something different, and rent out the rose garden arena. while the actual number of attendees is still up for discussion, there’s some disagreement over how many the arena holds, etc, let me just say that from the 300 level of that place, there were a LOT of people there. can we say “sensory overload.” it was a quality service, done well, and over 700 people were baptized in four large pools, Praise God! but, there was so much going on, it was hard to focus, hard to remember why we were all there. so, i would have to say that for me, the highlight of the day was getting ready at home with my roommates, eating breakfast, spending an hour in a traffic jam trying to get to the rose garden (some might dispute that last one). this was the time where i was truly enjoying myself, worshipping God, discussing what the day meant, and listening to every version under the sun of the following song, sometimes twice, on the same radio station. it’s an oldie, but a goody. (thanks Ang for giving us the history of Keith Green, i now know that he was “touted” as being the beginning of Christian Rock. what would we do without you?)

"Easter Song" - Keith Green
hear the bells ringing

they’re singing that you can be born again

hear the bells ringing

they’re singing Christ is risen from the dead

the angel up on the tombstone

said he has risen, just as he said

quickly now, go tell his disciples

that Jesus Christ is no longer dead

joy to the word, he has risen, hallelujah

he’s risen, hallelujah

he’s risen, hallelujah

we also had a great lunch with good friends after church...ham, banana pudding, mac & cheese, mmm! good food, good friends, singing....good times!