I know most of us are probably done with Easter. However, it is still Easter until halfway through the month of May! It lasts for 50 days and is the longest of the liturgical seasons of the church. Christ is risen! Christ is risen, indeed! Alleluia!

That's all well and good, but what difference does it make? It means we are no longer alone, bound by sin and death. The tomb is empty, and Christ is alive. We don't have to struggle on our own through life. Traveling through life is difficult, but we have this great Traveling Companion who leads us, holds us, carries us and does for us what we cannot do.

May is an exciting month around St. Timothy. On the first Sunday of May, there is the baptism of Trish and Bob Pecuch's great-grandson. On Mothers' Day, Ray and I will be returning from Lima, NY, where Elim Bible Institute and College is celebrating their 100th anniversary of God's goodness. I graduated from there in 1976. You will have the privilege of having Pastor Laura Csellak preach and lead worship on Mothers' Day.

The 19th is the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the beginning of the church, with fire and power. We are challenged by the large number of people coming to faith in Christ in the pages of the book of Acts. That's the technical end of Easter, at least in the church calendar.

But Jesus doesn't stop being the living, risen One. On the last Sunday of the month, we celebrate the Holy Trinity. Some have said it's the only feast we have that celebrates a doctrine of the church. But I would say it's far more than a doctrine. It's a relationship that we celebrate between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Then God invites us into that.

Also in May, we'll begin utilizing our fellowship hall and big-screen TV more. We are going to watch encouraging yet challenging movies. We will also utilize the video content in some Bible studies on Sundays.

As I write this article, I am very excited about my daughter, Sarah, and son-in-law, Nick, coming for the weekend. And they'll be here for pancakes–yum. We will finally celebrate our family's Christmas, Ray's birthday, my birthday and Sarah's birthday!! They're arriving on April 27, which actually is Sarah's birthday. My heart is full of gratitude for God's many blessings for our family.

With the alleluias of Easter ringing in my mind, I couldn't help but think of an old song by Bill Gaither that so eloquently expresses the joy of having a living Lord. Here are some of the words:

Because He Lives

God sent Hius son, they called Him, Jesus.

He came to love, heal and forgive,

He lived and died to buy my pardon,

An empty grave is there to prove my Savior lives!

Refrain: Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,

Because He lives, all fear is gone,

Because I know He holds the future,

And life is worth the living,

Just because He lives!

And then one day, I'll cross the river,

I'll fight life's final war with pain;