Faith Imagined

FORSAKEN: "I've seen movies and heard descriptions of Jesus' crucifixion. The physical torture that Jesus experienced is explained in detail, and we see each lash ripping His flesh, the excruciating walk to Golgotha, and the nails hammered into His hands and feet. Many times the pain is our sole focus, and we assume that the fear of this pain explains why Jesus petitioned God at Gethsemane to 'take this cup from me.' However, the physical sacrifice is only one aspect of Jesus' death on the cross. There is so much more that we many times forget to focus and meditate on.

The crucifix is made up of three components, and physical pain is only one of them. Yes, Jesus is human, so the pain was a big part of why He said, 'My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death' (Mark 14.34 NIV). But I do not believe that it was fear of pain that made Jesus sweat drops of blood (Luke 22.44 NIV). I know that Jesus loves me more than I can comprehend, and He would boldly confront physical persecution for my sake. I think He had a greater reason to feel anguish -- a reason that our culture has trouble even understanding.

The second aspect of the crucifixion that would cause Jesus to be overwhelmed with sorrow is that He became sin for us: 'God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God' (2 Corinthians 5.21 NIV). Please note that Jesus became sin. He was sin for us. What is sin? Sin is the absence of God. Sin is the absence of light, love, beauty, glory, etc. The best way I can illustrate this concept is to take the innocence of a newborn baby and force that innocence to experience every disgusting, revolting, hideous sin you can think of. Try to imagine the innocence of those you love (especially your own children) and your mind will shut down. Your heart can not process the anguish.

The third aspect of the crucifixion ties directly into the second. This was the 'more' that I was looking for. It took a while for me to comprehend, which demonstrates just how much I do not know about love. Several months ago, I was reading through the New Testament, and I was struck by the relationship between God and Jesus. They are so deeply rooted together, and I wanted to know how it felt. I prayed and asked God, 'Show me how much Jesus loves You.'

After I prayed that prayer, I read about Jesus praying to God in Gethsemane. His soul was in anguish, and God sent Jesus an angel to comfort Him. As I read about Jesus just minutes before He would be betrayed, I remembered how I had always been dissatisfied with explanations of the crucifixion. Yes, the physical pain Jesus endured was incomprehensible, but I know that there was another pain that I wasn't understanding. Finally, it hit me. If Jesus became sin, and God can have no part of sin, then God would have to disconnect from Jesus for a time.

Jesus loved God so much, and His entire existence was solely dependent on God; therefore, Jesus' biggest fear was to be forsaken by God. I believe Jesus feared this more than the physical pain and more than becoming sin. When Jesus cried out on the cross with His only complaint, He did not cry out, 'My God, My God, this pain hurts so bad' or 'My God, My God this sin is so revolting.' No, Jesus cried out, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?' (Mark 15.34 NIV).

Nothing else mattered more to Jesus than the presence of God. That is how much Jesus loved God, and this showed me how much I do not. As I meditated on this, I became overwhelmed with anguish. God has been a sidenote, a ball I juggle in my busy schedule. Yes, He has also been a Father, a Friend, a Savior, a Healer, a Teacher, a Guide, an Encourager, yet He has never been my core. How do I know this? Because I constantly struggle with forsaking Him.

I forsake God for sleep, for my own desires, for my spouse, for my children, for my career, for the opinions of others, for security, for money, for prestige, for acclaim, for comfort, for pleasures, etc. I daily struggle with forsaking God, and I have no fear of it. Yes, I feel guilty and I repent when I know I've purposely walked away from His will, but do I fear? No.

I know that God loves me no matter what, and I'm happy to say that I have forgiveness of my sins through Jesus. However, I want God to be my core. I want Him to be my everything. I think that is why Jesus says, 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple' (Luke 14.26 NIV).

Jesus does not actually want us hating people or ourselves. Research the Scriptures, and you'll see that Jesus tells us over and over again to love others. However, our love for God should be so immense and so deep that our love for anything else should be comparatively weak. Would we be willing to give up all that we have for God? Jesus did.

When Jesus asked God to 'take this cup from me,' I do not believe He was talking about the physical pain or even becoming sin. Jesus' prayer before His crucifixion is the only time I see that Jesus took a step of obedience that He did not willingly want to take. God asked Jesus to give up the one thing that Jesus loved the most so that humankind could have everlasting life with Him: Jesus gave up God. Jesus became sin, and God can not have any part of sin. If this weren't true, then our sins are not really forgiven. If Jesus did not take our sins upon Himself, they are still on us. If they are still on us, God can not allow us into His glory.

If I could just understand Jesus' step of obedience, His sacrifice for me, I think I could have a glimpse of how much Jesus loved God. I love Jesus so much because He took this step of faith for God, even if He didn't want to. I love God so much because He 'so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life' (John 3.16 NIV). That God chose to weave me into this Divine Romance between Father and Son boggles my mind. I want to love them both back with a love deserving of their love for me. I know that my love will pale in comparison, but God beautifully makes up the difference with His grace!

Jesus is my hero because of His complete obedience to God. Many times God asks me to do things that I don't want to do, but I do them out of obedience. However, I can trust that God will never ask me to do it alone -- God will never forsake me (Hebrews 13.5) and Jesus is always praying on my behalf (Romans 8.34). The words that Jesus whispered before becoming my Living Sacrifice have become my new life's prayer: 'yet not my will, but yours be done' (Luke 22.42 NIV).

'For a brief moment I forsook you,
But with great compassion I will gather you' (Isaiah 54.7 NASB)."

Drbud.org

Is Your Brain B12 Deficient?: "

Lost your edge? Battling brain fog? Forgetting names lately?

Don’t write those off to just “getting older”; it could be something simple and curable, such as being deficient in Vitamin B12.

Vitamin B12 was once thought as only a challenge for the elderly or vegetarians; but a recent study shows that almost 40% of Americans (of all ages, whether vegetarians or not) have vitamin B12 deficiencies…which means almost everyone is at risk.

Why do we need it? Vitamin B12 is usually known as the “energy vitamin”, and is essential of course, for energy production. However, it is also necessary for DNA synthesis and blood formation, and is needed to form myelin, the protective insulation which surrounds nerve endings and helps nerves “talk” to each other. Without vitamin B12, myelin can break down and cause symptoms which mimic multiple sclerosis, depression or dementia.

Other Common Symptoms of Deficiency:

* poor memory and mental fogginess

* loss of motivation and apathy

* mood swings

* low energy

* fatigue

* Muscle weakness

* soreness or redness of the tongue

* lack of coordination

* hair loss

* tingling, numbness or crawling sensations in the arms, legs or feet

If you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, contact your healthcare provider for a B12 blood check.

Vitamin B12 is essential to life and good health, and must be consumed in our foods, but nutritional supplements like B12-2000 Lozenges or B12- Folate Plus can help.

Vitamin B12 deficiency is preventable and treatable. Correcting a deficiency may be just what you need to perk up your memory, mood and overall well-being.

Please feel free to contact us at Capture Your Health for access to a functional health check or for any questions you may have concerning a possible vitamin B12 deficiency, and try these online Brain Games to help keep you sharp!

* To learn more about the Health-E Community, go to Capture Your Health.

and…

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New here? If you’re not a member yet then you can get your free tips sent straight to your inbox every time a new post is up. All you have to do is put your name and e-mail in the little box below. Presto!"

Desiring God Blog

Auditing Church: "

(Author: Tyler Kenney)

David Livingston—one of our pastors at Bethlehem, not the missionary and explorer gone to glory—wrote a timely article for our church newsletter this week titled "Is Watching a Very Good Sermon on TV or Online the Same As 'Doing Church'?"

Here's the core of what he says:

No doubt there are more than just a few folks who have surfed their way into our services from elsewhere to hear the very good sermons and will stay only as long as the sermons remain very, very good. That's what 'doing church' is for them ... they are 'auditing' church.

And that's not all bad ... in fact, it's way better than staying away. By all means, come and audit! For that matter, staying home to watch a good sermon on TV is also way better than watching virtually everything else on TV. Long ago, the Apostle Paul wrote that he rejoiced at any kind of gospel preaching so long as Christ was proclaimed (Philippians 1:15—18), and so should we.

The rub comes in letting ourselves settle into minimalism. In other words, it's very sad to reduce 'doing church' to listening to a sermon whether it's at home in front of a screen or in a building with others in front of a screen. 'Doing church' is far more and far better than that ... both on Sunday mornings and all through the week. Why? Because church isn't a building to go to or programs and classes to attend; it's a living fellowship of people who have a saving relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ ... and a saving relationship with one another as members of the family of God (consider Hebrews 3:12—13).

Read the whole thing.

"

Crazy-for-Books

In My Mailbox -- March 28, 2010: "

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren where we highlight what books we bought, received, or picked up at the library in the last week.

Marcia of The Printed Page hosts Mailbox Monday, the gathering place for readers to share books that came into our homes last week (checked out library books don’t count, eBooks & audio books do). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.

Here's what I got this week!

FOR REVIEW:

Black Smoke by Robin Leigh Miller

Samantha Wells has lived through more hell in her short life than most. At the age of eight her serene life was turned upside down. Her parents were brutally murdered and Sam barely escaped with her life. But she didn't do it alone - a soft calm voice led her to safety, the voice of her spirit guide. Disguised by a black mask and the handle Black Smoke, with the help of her spirit guide Sam rescues those unfortunate people who find themselves in the hands of humanity's worst. Life is good until Sam is called on to assist a small covert military team in recovering a kidnapped scientist in Afghanistan. Lt. Mark Lowe (Kong) is less than thrilled to be placing his team's lives in the hands of a woman, much less one as beautiful and sexy as Sam. He quickly learns there is more to this woman than meets the eye. She not only infiltrates enemy bases - she's infiltrated his heart. Kong retreats to safer ground, leaving Sam heartbroken. Distant and unwilling to listen to anyone, Sam delves headfirst into a hell that only Kong can pull her from.

Glorious by Bernice L. McFadden

Glorious is set against the backdrops of the Jim Crow South, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights era. Blending the truth of American history with the fruits of Bernice L. McFadden’s rich imagination, this is the story of Easter Venetta Bartlett, a fictional Harlem Renaissance writer whose tumultuous path to success, ruin, and revival offers a candid portrait of the American experience in all its beauty and cruelty.



Glorious is ultimately an audacious exploration into the nature of self-hatred, love, possession, ego, betrayal, and, finally, redemption.

The Language of Secrets by Dianne Dixon

From a fresh and exciting new voice in women's fiction, The Language of Secrets unflinchingly examines the lifelong repercussions of a father's betrayal.

Justin Fisher has a successful career as the manager of a luxury hotel, a lovely wife, and a charming young son. While all signs point to a bright future, Justin can no longer ignore the hole in his life left by his estranged family. When he finally gathers the courage to reconnect with his troubled past, Justin is devastated to learn that his parents have passed away. And a visit to the cemetery brings the greatest shock of all—next to the graves of his father and mother sits a smaller tombstone for a three-year-old boy: a boy named Thomas Justin Fisher.

What follows is an extraordinary journey as Justin struggles with issues of his own identity and pieces together the complex and heartbreaking truth about his family. With great skill and care, Dianne Dixon explores the toll that misunderstandings, blame, and resentment can take on a family. But it is the intimate details of family life—a mother's lullaby for her son, a father's tragic error in judgment—that make this novel so exceptional and an absolute must for reading groups everywhere.

The Language of Secrets is the story of an unspeakable loss born of human frailty and an ultimate redemption born of human courage.

The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry

Zee Finch has come a long way from a motherless childhood spent stealing boats—a talent that earned her the nickname Trouble. She's now a respected psychotherapist working with the world-famous Dr. Liz Mattei. She's also about to marry one of Boston's most eligible bachelors. But the suicide of Zee's patient Lilly Braedon throws Zee into emotional chaos and takes her back to places she though she'd left behind.


What starts as a brief visit home to Salem after Lilly's funeral becomes the beginning of a larger journey for Zee. Her father, Finch, long ago diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, has been hiding how sick he really is. His longtime companion, Melville, has moved out, and it now falls to Zee to help her father through this difficult time. Their relationship, marked by half-truths and the untimely death of her mother, is strained and awkward.

Overwhelmed by her new role, and uncertain about her future, Zee destroys the existing map of her life and begins a new journey, one that will take her not only into her future but into her past as well. Like the sailors of old Salem who navigated by looking at the stars, Zee has to learn to find her way through uncharted waters to the place she will ultimately call home.

FROM PAPERBACKSWAP:


The Year of Ice by Brian Malloy

It is 1978 in the Twin Cities, and Kevin Doyle, a high school senior, is a marginal student in love with keggers, rock and roll, and-unbeknownst to anyone else-a boy in his class with thick eyelashes and a bad attitude. His mother Eileen died two years earlier when her car plunged into the icy waters of the Mississippi River, and since then Kevin's relationship with his father Patrick has become increasingly distant. As lonely women vie for his father's attention, Kevin discovers Patrick's own closely guarded secret: he had planned to abandon his family for another woman. More disturbingly, his mother's death may well have been a suicide, not an accident.

Complicating the family dynamic is the constant meddling of Kevin's outspoken Aunt Nora-who will never forgive Patrick for Eileen's death-along with Patrick's inability to stay single for very long. His loyalties divided between his father and his aunt, between his internal reality and his public persona, Kevin is forced to reevaluate his notions of family and love as painful truths emerge about both.

Crossing Washington Square by Joanne Rendell

A story of two strong-willed and passionate women who are compelled to unite their senses and sensibilities, from the author of The Professors' Wives' Club.

Professor Diana Monroe is a highly respected scholar of Sylvia Plath. Serious and aloof, she steadfastly keeps her mind on track. Professor Rachel Grey is young and impulsive, with a penchant for teaching relevant contemporary women's stories like Bridget Jones' Diary and The Devil Wears Prada, and for wearing her heart on her sleeve.

The two conflicting personalities meet head-to-heart when Carson McEvoy, a handsome and brilliant professor visiting from Harvard, sets his eyes on both women and creates even more tension between them. Now Diana and Rachel are slated to accompany an undergraduate trip to London, where an almost life-threatening experience with a student celebrity will force them to change their minds and heal their hearts...together.

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn’t know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes a powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past


Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time—and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother’s life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are.

Have you read any of these yet? Leave me a link to your review in the comments!"

Bloggin' 'bout Books

Mortal Instruments Like A Drug - and I Need Another Hit: "Pandemonium is a trip. As New York City's hottest all-ages club, the place guarantees a spectacle - garish tattoos, candy-colored hair, intricate costumes, mind-dulling trance music - there's always something new to see, taste or try. It's a colorful, dizzying, dream-like world so different from Clary Fray's usual humdrum existence, that the 15-year-old just can't get enough. Even when she witnesses what appears to be a murder, it's tainted with the strangeness that suffuses every square inch of Pandemonium. Her sudden appearance in a deserted storeroom stuns the would-be killers, her boldness saving a blue-haired boy - at least momentarily - but the assassins seem unconcerned with Clary's presence. They're talking about demons, Shadowhunters and some weirdo named Valentine. Are the 'murderers' acting out some crazy role play game? Are they hopped up on drugs? Or has Pandemonium completely warped her mind? Even outside the club, she can barely think clearly. She's seeing things that aren't there, knowing things she's never learned, remembering events that never occurred. What's happening to her?

When Clary's mother goes missing, apparently at the hands (well, claws) of a demon, Clary must face the fact that everything she's ever known - about her parents, her home, herself - is a lie. The 'killers' from Pandemonium seem to be the only ones with any clue as to what's going on. The teenagers claim to be Shadowhunters, beings created to track and kill demons. Whatever they really are, Clary is drawn to their energy, their powerful convictions, their sexy confidence. And the fact that they're the only ones who can help find her mother. Jace, an especially fine specimen of - well, whatever he is - helps Clary see the dark, fantastical underbelly of New York society, a strange, nightmare land that holds her mother somewhere in its clutches.

Clearly, Jace belongs in this bizarre alternate world, but what does it have to do with Clary and her mother, the most boring 'mundies' on the planet? As she desperately searches for her mom, Clary realizes the person she really has to find is herself. Who is she, truly? What are the Shadowhunters really after? What do the demons want with her mother? What will Clary have to do - to accept - to save herself and those she loves?

Just when I was really getting sick of demons, vampires, werewolves and the whole crazy, copycat genre of YA urban fantasy, Cassandra Clare creates a series that finally pumps some life (so to speak) back into this tired category. Although City of Bones doesn't quite live up to its hype, it's still an imaginative, engrossing debut that will leave readers clamoring for more. It's sexy, funny, addicting - and I sorely need another hit.

(Readalikes: Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer; a little like Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling)

Grade: B

If this were a movie, it would be rated: PG for language, sexual innuendo and violence

To the FTC, with love: Another library find "

Bible Gateway's Verse of the Day

2 Corinthians 5:21: "“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”"

Bible Gateway Blog

The Triumphal Entry: "

The final week of Jesus’ ministry covers a wide range of emotions and events. We see Jesus overturning tables in the temple; people hanging on Christ’s every word; cloak-and-dagger deals made to kill the Messiah; and fervent 11th-hour prayers offered. But before any of that happens, Jesus must first get to Jerusalem.

Today, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of of Passion Week. It starts with Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem, where a hero’s welcome awaits him. The streets are lined with people waving palm branches and singing. They’re ready for him to be their King—but Jesus’ purpose is far more significant than gaining political status and power.

Take a few minutes today to read the four Gospel accounts of the Triumphal Entry and try to imagine what it would have been like to be standing and singing in that crowd:

• Matthew 21:1-11


• Luke 19:28-41


• Mark 11:1-11


• John 12:12-18"
  
  

Becentsable

Walgreens Coupons and Deals: "

3/28-4/3

Thanks to Moms By Heart for these great deals

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Thanks for subscribing to our blog!
Be sure to click back BeCentsable to read articles of interest and COMMENT so we know what you liked!"

Becentsable

Target Coupons and Deals: "

3/28-4/3

Thanks to My Baton Rouge Mommy!

Brita On-Tap Filtration System $16.49

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Stack with this Target printable coupon to save $5.00/1

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(3/7 RP) Save $1.00/2 (regional)

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(3/7 RP) save $1.00/3

stack with Target Mobile Coupon Save $.75/1

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Reading Rockets

Teaching persuasive writing: "Kids really know how to lobby for something they want. Teachers and parents can harness this talent and turn young kids into writers who can write to persuade.

The first step is to find something that is important to a child or a group. Is it recess? A dessert after dinner? A sleep over?

Once the important privilege is chosen, have the child (or class) start to list reasons why they should be allowed this privilege. 'Just because,' and 'because I like it' quickly become hollow reasons. Students can work together to generate at least three good reasons to support an argument.

Then, have students do some research to gather facts or examples that support their reasons.

Finally, students can wrap up their persuasive argument by summarizing their position.

Need additional resources on the topic? Here are some good ones I found:

From Writing Fix, here's a lesson that uses the mentor text Otto Runs for President in conjunction with the RAFT strategy. In this other persuasive writing lesson, students assume to the role of a talking fruit or vegetable. Pretending that there's a 'Fruit/Vegetable of the Year' election, the students will create a campaign speech that explains why their fruit/veggie is the best candidate for the job.

Here's a list of persuasive words and phrases to get your students started.

This lesson from ReadWriteThink uses the Beverly Cleary book Emily's Runaway Imagination as the springboard for kids to write letters to a librarian urging the addition of certain titles to the library. A Persuasion Map Planning Sheet guides students through steps similar to what I outlined above.
"

Reading Rockets

Mother-daughter book clubs: "I like the concept of mother–daughter book clubs, and I think my girls would like it, but I'm barely holding on to my own book club right now! The thought of another one scares me off. But as my older daughter inches toward puberty, I'm starting to believe that this might be the perfect time to form one. We've got some things to talk about! Maybe doing it with friends nearby would make it easier.

I have two close friends who are each in a book club with their 4th and 6th grade daughters. I've heard similar things from both Moms. Their book clubs struggle with structure — too much and too little. Too much structure made the club feel like school. One well-intentioned Mom made a board game to foster discussion but the girls found it too stifling. Meetings with too little structure translated to little discussion about the book.

There's also the concept of trust that they both said was an integral element, and trust is not something that just happens. Rather, it evolves over time and through discussions. It's hard enough to talk about tough subjects like cliques and mean girls, but when your Mom is around, is it harder? Or easier?

Activities seem like a good way to spark discussion. One friend's club read Caddie Woodlawn and had their discussion after hiking into the woods for a picnic. Another friend's club read Chasing Vermeer and the book club spent the meeting working with pentominoes. I like both those ideas. The Mother Daughter Book Club site has booklists by age that are helpful, and a Club Connections section where clubs can become pen pals with other clubs reading the same book.

Are you in a book club with your son or daughter? "

Today’s Fast Freebies

Today’s Fast Freebies: "

3/28/10

* Get a new Huggies Enjoy the Ride out – enter the code : BGGCLHNZGFZZPGB (5pts)

* Mercedes is reporting that we can score a free 1 oz. bottle of Neutrogena sunscreen at CVS this week.

* Here is a coupon for $10 off a $30 purchase at Cost Plus World Market (expires 4/4)

Think you missed any freebies? Check out my previous freebies posts here.

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Like A Warm Cup of Coffee

How to Instill a Devotion to God in Your Little Girl: "

Portrait of Katherine Von Bora

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, [which is] your reasonable service. Romans 12:1

One of the ways we can instill devotion to the creator into our little girls is to find ourselves fully devoted to Him.

But sometimes, with all the distractions and conveniences of life, I find myself faltering in my devotion.

I am thankful for the strong, godly women who have gone before me who teach me a thing or two about what it means to be devoted.

Women like Katherine Von Bora, a woman who, at the age of 16, became a nun only to later discover that for her to glorify God meant that she would leave the convent (scary business at the time) and marry one of the great reformers in history, Martin Luther. She devoted herself to loving God, managing her home well, and helping her husband in his purpose and vision, thus furthering the Reformation.

Or how about Priscilla Mullins, a young woman, a Pilgrim, who persevered during a severe winter after her father, mother, and brother died on the Mayflower voyage across the Atlantic. She gave herself to serving the colony’s needs. She had a vision beyond her own desires.

Beautiful hearted heroines of the faith who lend their lives as a testimony to sacrifice, love, servanthood, humility, strength, and devotion.

I want to know more about these women…I want to crawl into their hearts and rest on their heartbeat as I learn to seek Him like they did. Alongside me I want my daughters.

So this year, instead of bunny hops and jelly beans, we’re filling our sweet girl’s Easter basket with something that teaches eternal.

And we will learn about devotion.

And we’ll seek hard after it.

Together.

Along with a few jelly beans…

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5 Minutes For Books

Some Spring Picture Books: "

March and April bring thoughts of jelly beans and creme-filled chocolate eggs (or is that just me)? Bunnies, chicks, lambs, pastel colors and verdant green fill our minds as well.

From the jacket flap:

How can a small sheep become a big orange balloon?

With a lot of imagination and determination anything is possible.

Mathilda and the Orange Balloon couldn't evoke Spring more if it tried. This delightful book by Randall de Seve features Mathilda the sheep, whose world is small, but whose imagination is very big. Jen Corace's illustrations also give it that fresh Spring feel. The sweet drawings pop on a white background.

What happens when Peter Cottontail gets a cold the day before Easter? His friend T-Rex steps in, that's what. When he breaks the eggs that he picks up from the Easter Bunny's house, his other dino friends Iguanodon, Stegasaurus, and Diplodocus help out by collecting eggs from some unlikely sources.

Here Comes T. Rex Cottontail by Lois Grambling is a clever story about helping each other and caring for each other. The drawings by Jack E. Davis are exaggerated and larger-than-life. They aren't my favorite type of illustrations, but my 5 1/2 year old son gravitated to this book right away. The story is creative and funny. I think that the drawings and the larger amount of text on a page make this book perfect for older picture-book readers, especially dinosaur-lovers.

Barbara Joosse's Higgledy-Piggledy Chicks features a Banty hen mama who watches over her newly-hatched chicks. Great sound words such as hussshhhhh, zip, bucka-buk, kak and kuk, and of course higgedly-piggledy make this a great read-aloud. The repetitious counting of the baby chicks as the mama warns them and keeps track of them all is a great learning tool.

Higgledy-Piggledy Chicks is targeted to preschoolers, although the information at the back of the book after the story about how little chicks grow did appeal to my scientifically-minded Kindergartner. The illustrator Rick Chrustowksi illuminates the readers about his real-life hobby farm and baby chicks that inspired his drawings, and specifically his first attempt to use collage (one of my very favorite mediums for picture-book art).

After a glorious taste of warm sunshine the last few weeks, Jennifer Donovan is definitely ready for Spring. With the recent return of cold, gloomy weather she'll have to experience Spring in the pages. She blogs about her life in Connecticut at Snapshot."