Thank You

It's Easter weekend, so that means...
Easter bunnies. 
Easter egg hunts.
Easter candy.  (I'm especially fond of Cadbury minieggs that sadly only come out around this time of year.  I'm so obsessed, that I stock up enough to last me through the rest of the year!)
Little girls going to church in pretty, frilly dresses and little boys with ties and fancy shoes.
Yellow sugar covered Peeps.
Pastels.
Easter baskets with the crazy fake grass that gets everywhere.
Spring flowers.
Hollow chocolate rabbits with creepy candy eyes.
Family ham dinner.
This is how we "celebrate" the Easter holiday.

Remember this commercial? 

"Thank you, Easter Bunny!!  Bawk  Bawk!"  Haha.  Kids in the 80's were too stinkin' cute and so politely grateful?!  Hmmm...maybe that's how I turned out so well.  Yes, you may insert your sarcastic comments now.  :-)

But seriously, how often do we say thank you?  All these kids are thanking the "Easter bunny" for their M&M's.  But how often do we really say thank you for the real reason behind the Easter holiday?? 

Today is Good Friday.  It's a day to remember the ultimate sacrifice that Christ made when He died for us on the cross to pay the price for our sins.  An insurmountable debt that we would never be able to ever pay on our own. 

Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals–one on his right, the other on his left.  Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.”  The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”  There was a written notice above him, which read: This is the King of the Jews.  One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!”  But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don't you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence?  We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”  Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”  Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.” It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last. The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.”

Thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice.  Thank you for rescuing this lost, wandering, and hopeless life of mine.  I am so unworthy.  Thank you for forgiving my sins, and for loving me enough to suffer so much and endure death.  Thank you for providing a way for me to spend an eternity with You...just to be with You!  Thank you for changing my heart and for giving me purpose and a reason to live.  I cannot say it enough...thank you, Jesus!!