I can only imagine: 3 days before the FIRST Easter

Have you ever had that sinking feeling in the pit of your stomach when you know something bad is happening? Recently I showed up at work to see a large manila envelope waiting for me. It had been sent certified mail to Amy Baker Bynum...I had that sick feeling that just knew this wasn't good. I also remember getting this feeling when I sped by a cop (unknowingly, of course) only to see him zoom up behind me and turn on the blue light. Once again, that dooms-day feeling inside.

Well, this past Sunday Pastor David preached from Matthew 27 on the crucifixion of Christ. While I had read this before and seen the movie, one part stuck out in my mind like I'd never read it before. I remembered that Judas regretted betraying Jesus and consequently hanged himself. I remembered that Pilate thought Jesus to be innocent and openly washed his hands of the guilt (as best he could). But I didn't remember what our earth did in response to the dying of our Lord. Matthew 27:45 says that from the sixth hour to the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. In other words, at a time that would have been light outside, the sky was dark. Then once Jesus cried out and gave up his spirit (died) the earth shook and the rocks split open. There was an earthquake when Jesus died. But the man I felt drawn to was the centurion. From what I understand, the centurion was a soldier guarding Jesus. Matthew 27:54 says that when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, "Surely he was the Son of God!". Can you imagine the sinking feeling they had in the pits of their stomachs when they realized the true Son of God had been tortured and hung on a cross to die. Talk about a dooms-day feeling.

Thankfully, we've read the next chapter and we know that this death was hardly the end. Prophecies fulfilled.

Happy Birthday Theodor "Ted" Seuss Geisel

Today is the anniversary of the birth of a man I consider to fit the definition of a genius. Unmatched in the area of children's books, he is credited with causing the "death of Dick and Jane". While I won't bore you with the everyday facts about him...allow me to share some interesting trivia I found about this "silly looking fella".

* He is NOT a doctor of any sort. He picked this title because his daddy always wanted a doctor in the family. Obviously, Seuss is his middle name (and his mom's maiden name). However, Dr. Seuss pronounced "Seuss" as "soice" (as it rhymes with "voice"). His grandparents were German immigrants and thus the pronunciation. He said he was saving his real name to use on more serious works.

* He first became "known" as an ad writer/illustrator for Flit, a common insecticide years ago.

* His first book was And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street. He wrote it 1937 when returning home on an ocean voyage. He wrote it to the "rhythm of the ship's engines". This book was turned down by 27 publishers initially. His grandparents actually lived on Mulberry Street.

* The Cat in the Hat was his best selling book. It was written in response to a concern of illiteracy among school kids. His publisher made a list of "new-reader vocabulary words" and asked Dr. Seuss to write a book from the list. Thus, The Cat in the Hat was born using just over 200 of the words.

* Dr. Seuss is believed to be the originator of the word "nerd". It appeared in his 1950 book If I Ran the Zoo.

* Green Eggs and Ham uses only 50 different words in total. A publisher bet Dr. Seuss that he couldn't write a book with just 50 different words. Dr. Seuss won the bet and Green Eggs and Ham became his second best seller.

* If you look closely, it is believed that Dr. Seuss really only draws ONE human face on his characters. He just alters them slightly from person (or thing) to person.

* His last book was Oh! The Places You'll Go!

* Books that he wrote but did NOT illustrate show the author as: Theo LeSieg (his name backwards).

* His books have been translated into 20 languages and Braille. 1 in 4 American children receive a Dr. Seuss book as their very first book.

*Several of his books indirectly address social issues of the time. Some have even been a bit controversial.

* He never won a Caldecott Medal or Newberry Award.

So now we're all educated on the man behind the wonderfully rhyming books with silly made-up words. Much more to it than I ever thought.

"Think left and think right, think low and think high,
Oh, the things you can think up if only you try!"
--Dr. Seuss

Do you know this silly looking fella?