Happy Easter!

There are few things in life that baffle me more than Santa Clause (see my Christmas posts for details), putting pineapple on pizza or Justin Bieber's popularity. But one thing that also has me scratching my head is the whole idea of the Easter Bunny.

The tale goes that, once a year, a rabbit which has managed to get its paws on many coloured chocolate eggs will come to your house/flat/garden/cave and hide said eggs for your children to find. Seeing as this causes sibling rivalry to ascend to almost astronomical levels, mostly ending in screaming and tears, the only people who look forward to this time of year are dentists.

Or so you may think. In actual fact, Christian believers also look forward to this time of year. It is a time in which we celebrate the biggest sacrifice in history. The time when a loving Father in Heaven sacrificed His only Son so that we may come boldly into His presence. In the past, priests had to sacrifice animals in order to come close to God, but with that single act of sacrifice, God has ensured that we can be in His presence always, the debt having been paid. As a father myself I cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to have to sacrifice my only child on behalf of a sinful and ungrateful world. Jesus went through the most humiliating and cruel death known in the roman time, having steel nails hammered through His wrists and feet, fixing him to a wooden cross. Jesus knew what awaited Him, He was so anxious about it that He started sweating blood. When He was nailed to the cross, even God the Father turned from Him, as He had become the living embodiment of all our sins. Jesus cried out "Father, why have you forsaken me?!" As a father I would also not have been able to look upon my child dying so cruelly. I too would have turned my head, unable to witness their suffering. But Jesus knew He was doing His Father's will, He knew what His sacrifice would mean to a lost and sinful world. And just before He died, he proclaimed "It is done!"

This time of year we acknowledge that massive and heart-wrenching sacrifice. But we also rejoice that, three days after His death, He rose again. Our saviour lives, and through Him we too can have eternal life. All barriers separating us from our loving God have been removed. I urge you, if you have not yet accepted Jesus as your saviour, think of what He did with you in mind. And know that He loves you with a love that defies all human understanding. As He proved with the man who was crucified with Him, it is never to late to accept His love. No matter what you have done, He loves you and wants to be your provider and comforter.

The Outer Limits

I am a massive fan of sci-fi, so it should come as no surprise that I would be a fan of The Outer Limits. For those who don't know, The Outer Limits was a show featuring unexplained phenomena. Now while I am convinced that, given enough time, all mysteries can be resolved logically, there are some that just defy explanation. Is the Loch Ness Monster real, or was it just a large log floating about and looking all menacing? Is Big Foot real, or did they just happen to get a picture of me on the beach? Are UFOs real, or just the imaginings of concussed glue addicts? These are all questions that people have been asking for a long time. But now I have a new question. A very important one! One that will be on people's minds for centuries to come! And that question is quite simple: "What in the name of cinnamon flavoured flapjacks is going on in these pictures?!"

I have but one response to the pictures above....

A Total No-Brainer!

On an internet survey I completed the other day one of the questions was "Where would you live if you had a choice?" The question came with a list of options to choose from:

• A home by the sea
• A cabin in the woods
• Deep in the mountains
• In the city
• In the countryside
• A castle in Scotland

I didn't even have to think very hard to come up with my answer.....it would definitely be a castle in Scotland!

"But why?" someone asked me. Because it is a castle! In Scotland! The very fact that they felt compelled to ask me that question means that they are now off of my guest list and won't be allowed to visit me in my Scottish Castle. Who wouldn't want to live in a castle?! And one located in one of the most scenic and historic places on this planet! I know my two year old would absolutely jump at the chance!

Since childhood I have been fascinated by the idea of castles. And I have not outgrown that fascination. Okay sure, my first introduction to castles was Castle Grayskull in the Masters of the Universe series, which looked impressive but not very homely. Plus having a muscled blonde guy in a loincloth yelling things outside of your front door while pointing a large sword into the sky would get tiresome after a while. (He-Man reference, for those who didn't quite get it) When you are young castles are the stuff of legend. There is the aforementioned Castle Grayskull, and who hasn't heard of Camelot and imagined being a knight of the round table in King Arthur's Court. Although why such a fuss gets made about the shape of a table is beyond me! But then you realise that castles are real! And that there are castles all over the world! Just not in South Africa, which sucks.

I don't think I will ever get tired of the idea of living in a castle. And I don't think the fascination will ever fade. And if you don't agree that living in a castle in Scotland is the best thing ever, then you can go ahead and get off of my unicorn!