Grace Period

Holy Week

• Noel Thompson • Season 1 • Episode 14

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Holy Week is one of the most meaningful weeks in the Christian story—but it can also be one of the easiest to rush through.

In this episode, Noel Thompson is joined by Josh Nauman as they slow things down and walk through what Holy Week actually is, what happens each day, and why it still matters in a real and honest way.

From Palm Sunday to Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter, they talk about the meaning behind each day, what these moments reveal about Jesus, and why this story still connects so deeply to real life. They also take time to talk through each of the Holy Week services at Christ Lutheran Church, what each service is centered on, and what people can expect as they enter into worship throughout the week.

Whether Holy Week has always felt meaningful to you, or whether it’s something you’ve never fully understood, this conversation is a simple, grounded, and approachable way to enter the story and prepare for the week ahead.

SPEAKER_01

Welcome, welcome to the Grace Period Podcast, where we gather for honest conversations about faith, everyday life, and the grace that carries us through it all. Think of this podcast like friends deep down over a cup of coffee, sharing stories, laughing at ourselves, and leading into God's grace together. Amen. Expect honesty, humor, and a space to ask hard questions. No sermons here, just conversation. Grace period, making room for grace in real life. This podcast is sponsored and brought to you by Christ Lutheran Church here in Visalia, California. CLCVyselia.org. My name is Noel Thompson, and today I have my wonderful co-host back with me again. Josh. Josh, how are you doing today? I'm doing great today. The weather's been weird here lately. I feel like it's either like 95 degrees or 84 and sunny. I think we're getting rain next week. What? I don't know. Wow. It's that time of year where you really have no idea what's going on.

SPEAKER_02

Are we actually going to get a spring this year? Maybe. Because I feel like we didn't.

SPEAKER_01

I think it's supposed to rain a couple days next week, according to the the weather app. But again, how much yeah, wow. How much weight you put on now? What weather app do you use? Because I find it very fascinating that there's like 10 different weather apps out there and it's one earth, but right being into that later. What weather app do you prefer?

SPEAKER_02

I do not prefer. I have used the one that came with my phone.

SPEAKER_00

That's literally my answer, too. Whatever one came with Apple, that's the one I can.

SPEAKER_02

And the only one I've ever heard of is Weatherbug. And the only reason I've heard of that is because it's the one my mom uses. Okay. And she's like, Weatherbug told me it's 142 in your house today. I I actually have heard of that. I think I have weather channel on my phone too. But doesn't this have weather channel on it? I don't know. Or oh no, it has like the Noah stuff on it. Yeah. Okay.

SPEAKER_01

I remember I downloaded the Weather Channel for a specific reason. I'm not sure why. But I yeah, I use the Apple weather. But yeah. It's that time of year where you might be cold one day and hot the next. I don't know. In Minnesota last week, it was like or a couple weeks ago, they got like 10 inches of snow, and then it was like 80 degrees the other day.

SPEAKER_02

So well, yeah, it's it's I talked to my brother in Alaska the other day, and he said it was snowing sideways.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. I feel like you know, I've lived here now for 16 years. I think I've I've only experienced like one spring. Yeah. One real spring.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I'm going on 14 years now in the Central Valley, and it's very strange.

SPEAKER_01

That might be my least favorite part of this area. Yeah, that's a whole nother podcast for another time. But like I want a spring, people give me like a three or four week spring. There's no spring here. Yeah, I want to be cold in the morning and comfortable in the afternoon. Yeah. And I don't mind getting hot during the middle of the day, but cool down at night.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah.

unknown

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

I can 120 during the day is fine. Yep. But not getting below 90 at night is rough.

SPEAKER_01

That's the worst part of the summer here, is when it's 85 degrees at 9 p.m. Yeah. That's mean yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh. All right. Well, that was a tangent. I wasn't I wasn't even planning on talking about the weather. I just thought weather talk. Yeah. I went to a baseball game yesterday and I was like, it's windy. It was nice. I don't know. But today is March 26th. Oh, and shout out um because Nathan mentioned this the other day on Sunday. It's his girlfriend's birthday, CK, and she turned 26 today. Happy birthday. Happy golden birthday. Golden birthday. Um I was not aware of my she will be listening to this because I'm gonna send it to her. So that's why I know for sure she'll listen to it. When did golden birthdays become a thing? That's a great question. I'm sure, I'm sure there's an origin for it. I have a feeling, and you could correct me if I'm wrong. In the Midwest, golden birthdays are a big deal. Oh, okay. I don't know if it's a big deal out here. I really don't know, but I know back in Minnesota, we we take pride on our golden birthdays.

SPEAKER_02

So I mean, like I was born on the third, so yeah, Elliot.

SPEAKER_01

My son was born on the first.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, yeah. Yep, we short end there. So, do you did you acknowledge it?

SPEAKER_01

We probably did. He had no idea. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Which so I know Logan turns was born on the eighth. So when he turns eight, what am I supposed to do differently?

SPEAKER_01

He might maybe add another present to the oh gosh, to the list. I don't know. All right, this is a church podcast. My son Mark was born on the 21st, so that'll be fun.

SPEAKER_02

That'll be fun. Although, knowing him, put something aside now.

SPEAKER_01

Knowing him, you probably want to go to a Michelin star restaurant, yeah. And you know, order the catch of the day or go to the Philippines for some actual fun. The catch of the day, gosh. So, all right, we are recording this today. Uh, it's a Thursday, March 26th. Interesting national days here coming up, Josh. Today is national spinach day. Now, there's a lot of different salads out there. People like the mixed greens, the iceberg, and then you have spinach. Where's where does spinach rank in the list of greens? Because you're a salad guy too. I I I I enjoy a good salad. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um I tend if I'm buying it for if if I'm not if I'm just buying it to have to swap out the bag of lettuce that's in my fridge every week, like a lot of us do. Yeah, um, I'm usually getting like the 50-50. So it's like half spinach, half spring mix. Yeah, that's usually a go-to for me. I've only recently in the last couple of years come on board with like cooked spinach. It used to be something I never touched, never went near, and I've I've started coming around. Yeah, I still don't like the flavor, but I I understand why it's necessary.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. Yeah, I like getting a salad, it just can't be the majority of the green, half and half at the most. Yeah. So um the stems get in the way, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

When you're when that's all you got.

SPEAKER_01

And some like not all spinach is the same. It's weird.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, what is baby spinach versus regular spinach?

SPEAKER_01

And I feel like some I feel like spinach can be jalapeno. Sometimes some spinach leaves just hit a little harder, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

They're a little more spinachy than the others, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and then for those of you who are big shoes, I actually bought these from Mark the other day. It's air max day. So if you like Nike by this day, I don't know, maybe. So it's Nike Air Max Day. Are they gonna they better be on sale today? Well, I went to the outlets, they weren't on sale there. Let me tell you that right now. But uh, if you have any air maxes, uh I'm a Nike guy when it comes to athletic wear. I'm a big Nike guy. I don't I'm not sure why I I am or where that came from, but I am a Nike guy. Do you have a a specific athletic brand that you you like to wear?

SPEAKER_02

Or I was I was a volleyball kid in high school, so I wore Asics a lot.

SPEAKER_01

Um I'm really not trying to be mean here. Are they still around?

SPEAKER_02

Is that a is that is it asics is big in like in the in the fringe sports that I know of, like wrestling shoes a lot of time are ASICs, yeah, volleyball, racing, like auto racing makes were they on ASICs.

SPEAKER_01

Were they one of those companies that would send you free magazines? You never bought them. Did you ever get those growing up?

SPEAKER_02

No, I got the um what is that one that has like every shoe in the world? Yeah, the purple cover, yellow label. What is that? I remember that too with the cursive writing for the name of the company. Yeah, it was like the first internet shoe company.

SPEAKER_01

We'll have to look that up. Oh man. Um, no one ever signed up for that, but you got it.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, I don't know how you ever got on that list.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, and then today is opening day of baseball. Play ball, let's go. This is where Josh and I view baseball differently because his team's actually good.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and although they're saying if the Dodgers win again this year, it means baseball is dead.

SPEAKER_01

I got some major beef with baseball, and we might need to get you and like Austin Diaz on here because I got some things to say about major league baseball.

SPEAKER_02

All right, that's all. Isn't this the start of the uh the auto um? Yeah, yeah, you can challenge calls, but you have to do it really quickly.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I don't know. I think there's too many games in the season.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, I understand.

SPEAKER_01

I think we need to take away 20, not a lot, but like 20 or 30. Honestly, the COVID season wasn't that bad. I think you need a salary cap, and I also think you need a s uh a floor, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, if you have if if you need a ceiling and a floor, exactly. Yeah, you cannot have these teams that are purposefully tanking because they want to move.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Or just being cheap and not being punished for it. Uh we're gonna stop because I'm gonna.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, but it's not that day. Not that day.

SPEAKER_01

Uh, wear a hat day.

SPEAKER_02

Neither of us are doing that, right? Neither of us. I've I although I have two in my truck.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I this is a sore subject. I have a way too many hats. Uh a lot of hats I haven't even worn yet. I'm a sucker for a good hat. If I see a good hat, I'll just buy it just because I like it. But um, what's tomorrow, Josh? March 27th. We have national, or I'm assuming national, national scribble day. Scribble. Are you are you a scribbler?

SPEAKER_02

No, just doodling in a meeting. Do you draw stuff? Not really. No, I I've gotten away from taking like physical notes in meetings now.

SPEAKER_01

Oh, you have an iPad or a computer or something?

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, just I'm always every single meeting I have, I have my laptop in front of me. So I'm a big like one note guy now. But yeah, I've gotten away. I mean, Logan is 100% a scribbler.

SPEAKER_01

That's all he does. I'm a scribbler. I like I like the I still have a physical calendar. I like you know, taking notes, writing down my to-do list. I'm a scribbler for sure. I don't know if anybody has any Joes in their life, but tomorrow's National Joe Day. Joe or Joseph. Uh oh, shout out to listener Joe Schuster.

SPEAKER_02

Okay. Um he threw him under the bus a couple weeks ago. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

He's my guy. He's my guy, though. He's coming with us.

SPEAKER_02

I'm you were deflecting because everybody in the church was about to tell you happy birthday. And you're like, nope, it's Joe. I know. I know.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Happy birthday, by the way. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, Joe went to a hockey game. That's a great way to celebrate her birthday. Yeah. Uh, yeah, I don't know how many other Joes. Uh Joe Harding. Joe Harding. Joe Harding. Navy man.

SPEAKER_02

Yep.

SPEAKER_01

Submariner.

SPEAKER_02

Tennis coach.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah. Now, this next one is interesting. It was National Acoustic Soul Day. And the picture it had was someone like with headphones on in a sunset. So I don't know if it's listening to acoustic music, but I don't know. Acoustic soul. Hmm. Weird one. There's some weird ones on the show.

SPEAKER_02

I'm really trying to picture that. I don't I know, I guess I don't know. I've listened to a lot of soul music, but none of it's been acoustic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01

I don't mind acoustic music every once in a while.

SPEAKER_02

No, I like it, has definitely has a place in my playlist.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, for sure. Then March 28th is basically the Minnesota State Fair. It is national something on a stick day. So any food you could put on a stick, which if you've been to any fair or carnival, um pork chop on a stick, pork chop on a stick, butter on a stick. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

What's the weird thing you guys call corn dogs out there?

SPEAKER_01

Well, remember, it's pronto pups.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's a corn dog. No, it's but not with cornmeal. Yeah, it's it's a pancake batter. Yeah, all right.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's a that's a big deal for some of our friends back in Minnesota. I'm more of a corn, I like the corn, like corn dog.

SPEAKER_02

I just remember them giving me a pronto pup and like staring at me while I took the first bite. Like isn't this amazing? Yeah, I I I'm not a big pronto pancake batter, more of a corn. Sorry, Jenny. It was good, but yeah, I was also not feeling great.

SPEAKER_01

We're team corn dog, I think.

SPEAKER_02

I like corn dogs, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, Elliot, my son Elliot is a huge corn dog connoisseur, and then National Hot Tub Day, which I'm not gonna lie, every once in a while they have those hot tubs at Costco, and I it takes a lot of self-control.

SPEAKER_02

I have sent the picture of that to Nancy so many times, so many times, and it's we're coming up on the season when they're gonna start having their pools and stuff there.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, speaking of the Minnesota State Fair, there's like a section there. I remember like some some business was selling hot tubs, and there was a hot tub there that could fit like 20 people, it's basically a mini pool.

SPEAKER_02

When does it stop being a hot tub?

SPEAKER_01

I don't know, it was the coolest thing ever, though.

SPEAKER_02

I want one of the uh the infinity ones where it like has the jets that can make it feel like you're swimming but not going anywhere.

SPEAKER_01

Becky, my mother-in-law, has a hot tub that's like 25 years old. I think that thing is illegal now because it's like radioactive. That thing goes to like 108 degrees. Oh, yeah, you can cook somebody it it gets hot in there for sure. And then March 29th, that's I forget what day that is. Mermaid Day, mermaid day. Okay, yep. Uh sea folklore. People, I'm sure there's a group out there that people think does that go.

SPEAKER_02

Didn't you guys talk last week about manatee day? Yeah, isn't that what mermaids are? Manatees?

SPEAKER_01

I mean, yeah, they're manatees, right? Yeah, okay. And then it's world piano day on Sunday, which is the only thing we're gonna celebrate that day. That's right. And then it's the start of Holy Week, which is oh yeah, which is our our topic today, but yeah, so so some some interesting national days there. Um, I did leave out a lot. Uh it is ridiculous. I go on this website, National Days, and the amount of things we celebrate every there's a lot too for like different countries too. I don't even include one of these days. I'll include like holidays different countries are uh are celebrating.

SPEAKER_02

I think I think today is National Social Worker Day, social worker appreciated appreciation, yeah, appreciation day because there was a lot of donuts in my office. Well, there you go.

SPEAKER_01

Or government worker day or county worker.

SPEAKER_02

I think I think they had a plate of pastries in front of me and said happy national social worker appreciation day. I was like, Okay, did you take one? No, I took one later. Yeah, I let it walk by, and then I had to walk by the place where they put them a couple of times. And by the third time walking by, I was like, I can't, I can't do this again. Yeah, that's tough.

SPEAKER_01

That's tough. But you know, I wanted to come on the podcast today um because I realized I kind of forgot to do this last major season. Um, for those of you who have been listening along, I kind of randomly came on the podcast. Actually, it was my I haven't done one since. So it was the first yeah, first ever solo podcast where I was sitting there and I was like, you know, it's Lent is about to start, and it was like the day before Ash Wednesday, or maybe it was the day of Ash Wednesday, and I just kind of came along up here and I was like, huh. But then, you know, since I didn't want this to be somewhat so last minute like that, I was like, it is Holy Week, and Holy Week does start this Sunday, so I kind of wanted to come on the pod here with Josh and and talk about Holy Week as it is the biggest kind of season and week in the church year, and and it's always uh a busy time for people in the church and doing ministry, also just a busy time for the people in the church overall. And so um, Josh, before we dive into the to the the days of Holy Week, when you hear the words holy week, what's like the first thing that comes to your mind?

SPEAKER_02

Um so I was not raised in a church, yeah. So it's only been since I was been an adult that I've been around that. But there's uh it's very tra it's it's it's very traditional. Like um not necessarily what we do, but the themes for Holy Week are uh things that can be expected, I think, from what I understand from from what I'm picturing in my mind. Um if I want to get specific about it, there's lots of pom fronds being decorated. Um there holy week also has lots of like early mornings for me.

SPEAKER_00

Yep.

SPEAKER_02

Um, but uh yeah, that's that's it's it's tradition, I think, is the is the big word that pops up in my head.

SPEAKER_01

I in my head, I was wondering if you're gonna go the eat the pancake route just because you've been that's the early morning. Yeah, there was you've been such a instrumental part here in a Christ with church for the pancake breakfast.

SPEAKER_02

I was gonna I've only been a spectator at one sunrise service since I've been here, and that'll change this year, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so I don't know if this is breaking news or not, but um, we're not doing a pancake breakfast this year. And now I will say I I am gonna beef up the the mission cafe. We're gonna get some muffins and pastries, a lot of different creamers and stuff like that. So it's iron coffee. It's gonna be yeah, it's gonna be beefed up for sure, but we are not uh doing the pancake breakfast this year, and um uh Josh and I and the same team we've always kind of had over the years are kind of I don't have to get up at four o'clock in the morning on Easter Sunday. Taking this year off, which is which is weird, honestly. Like, I will be honest, I've been obviously I've been preparing for Holy Week just with all my responsibilities, and I feel like I'm missing something. Yeah, for the last week, I've been literally been like, I feel like I forgot something, and I'm wondering and I still have that feeling. I haven't really figured it out yet, but I think part of that is the pancake breakfast. Yeah, I really do. I think part of it is just because that's such a big responsibility of so much prep work, and you know, you and I would go shopping, and then you know, the bulletin board or the cause and just making sure everything is right. But I'm like, yeah, I we don't have that. Is it weird for you? Has it hit has it hit you yet, or will it hit you on on Saturday morning?

SPEAKER_02

I'm still trying to figure out if I want to come to the sunrise service. I probably will. I'll probably be coming alone though, because I doubt I can get everybody else up for that.

SPEAKER_01

That's tough. 630. We'll talk about that later, but 630.

SPEAKER_02

Um, but yeah, it is weird. I kept looking in because I took I've taken notes over the last couple of years of like how much pancake stuff we bought and what we should have bought that we didn't have, that kind of thing.

SPEAKER_01

You you have created quite the system with that.

SPEAKER_02

It's it's a very and inevitably we always run out of pancakes when we're not supposed to, too. So it's it's still a flawed system.

SPEAKER_01

There is a part of it that's very unpredictable.

SPEAKER_02

So hold your hold on to yourselves for next year when it's gonna be really flawed because after we've taken a year off. Rusty, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Well, so holy week does start this Sunday, and um well, you know, if you ask me real quick, if you ask me this back up, if you ask me what holy week, what I think of holy week, this is where you'll hear a little bit of my hmm, how do I word this? I think of spring break. If there's one thing I can change in this world, is Vicalia Unified, please move spring break and holy week away from each other.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, that's it. Yeah, my growing up for me, it was never like at least I didn't notice the fact that spring break and Easter were aligned in any way. Yeah, and I don't think they were because I I probably weren't. I think I have memories of going to spring spring break was always like the same week in like late March or early April, and sometimes it happened to be during Easter, but Easter moves around so much that well.

SPEAKER_01

Let me tell you, I went to Disneyland a couple weeks ago and it was spring break crowds. Oh, yeah, people were having spring break, and that's hard for me, you know. Obviously, my responsibility here at the church, love this job, but I have a wife who's a teacher and my kids, and so it's hard. They're on spring break, and it's like the opposite for me, you know. And so I understand why they do it. I I think there is some I think there is some validity to it, but come on, give me one year where you know it's not spring break and holy week at the same time, but because it's hard because if families want to plant stuff, they miss out on some services and some activities, especially like youth activities. We have some youth, so we're going to Magic Mountain on Tuesday. We have some youth who are missing that because they have some family obligations, and it's hard because they want to do both. I just think it'd be cool in a world where they can do both, where spring break is in March, no matter what, third week of March, no matter what, and then take it.

SPEAKER_02

It's something you can plan out ahead.

SPEAKER_01

Take Easter Monday off, right?

SPEAKER_02

Like just that's which used to be off. Uh, I don't think it is anymore.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I'm not sure. I think some schools do it, some schools don't. I'd be very curious. I think my I think uh my my family school does it, but anyway, unified does. Yeah, so holy week does start here at Christ Truth from Church. So we're gonna kind of go through the the themes of Holy Week, but also kind of give you a preview on all the on all the services too and what to expect. So um we'll just talk about what these days are and and some themes here. But yeah, it does kick off this Sunday. This Sunday is Palm Sunday, which is always kind of the start of Holy Week. It's a very, very cool day here at Christ Lutheran Church. We have some traditions here that have been going on for so many years. But yeah, Palm Sunday is a day where Jesus enters Jerusalem and uh specifically he rides a donkey while crowds uh wave palm branches and shout, Hosanna. Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord. And yeah, so the big theme on Palm Sunday is not only are are people welcoming Jesus like a king, but it's kind of how Jesus enters, right? That Jesus is uh a different king, he doesn't come on a horse or chariot, and and donkey is an animal that represents peace. And so it's kind of like you know, Jesus comes into a city as a king, but not as a king you um expect. And so there is that anticipation. And so one tradition we have here is we have a wonderful lady, Miss Carolyn Johnson, who wrote the song, um, Here Comes the King. And we've been playing that song, I think, for the last 25 30 years. Um, we have kids enter the sanctuary waving palms and sing the song. It's a cool time. I, you know, I I think it's a cool vibe. I don't know what what were your initial thoughts when you kind of came to this church, Josh, and we had this unique tradition of the song and and kids singing.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it's a It it it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of fun. And the song is very catchy. Um, and it's I've transitioned from being just a parti uh like a spectator to making sure my son is in line, and now I hold my breath as he's walking up there. Like, what is he gonna do now? Yeah, but um no, it it's a it's a great time. Um, and uh the more as years go on, I learn more about it and what it is. I just learned something five seconds ago. I did not realize the donkey is a symbol of peace. Yeah, I've never seen a peaceful donkey. It doesn't mean they act like it, it's just what they symbolize. Yeah, so learn something new every day, folks.

SPEAKER_01

Right. Well, I don't know if I could quote say this, but the other night I was watching Gladiator and the movie, yeah. The movie, and I was thinking of the scene of the emperor entering the city and all and all the chariots, sure.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, and and I yeah, like in the time, like horses were it was a war symbol, yep, and yeah, battle and power, I get that, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, it's just it's yeah, and donkey's such a humble animal, too, right? It's a it's an animal of like humility. So for this guy for Jesus, the the king of kings to to enter with you know humility and peace, like what a what an entrance.

SPEAKER_02

I'm just I'm picturing all of the donkey memes on Instagram right now of like a donkey playing with a rubber chicken. Yeah, yeah, that's all I can think about right now.

SPEAKER_01

But I think the theme there though, too, is that Jesus is a different kind of king. You know, he's not a king who rules by fear, but a king who rules by love and and mercy and humility and sacrifice. And so um, yeah, so Palm Sunday is the is the beginning of holy week. It reminds us that Jesus doesn't come in the way people expect, which that right there I think is a is a huge lesson. I think you know, God does come in a way we we don't expect, and so you know, he comes in humility, peace, and love. And it's like it's weird, not everyone knows what to do with that. It is a a little awkward because um, even though our God is powerful, you know, there's that humility factor. And so a good reflection on Palm Sunday is uh what kind of God are we actually looking for, you know? And I think the way Jesus enters Jerusalem is very, very, you know, it's it's parallel to what it what his ministry is. It's it's humility, love, and grace. And it kind of it almost begs the question sometimes, like what are our expectations of God and how do we view God? And um, and so yeah, so Palm Sunday is uh a great service. Uh this Sunday we are doing something just a tad bit different. We are kind of going through the passion, which means we are just reading all the verses of Holy Week. So uh this Sunday we're doing a little preview of Holy Week all together on Palm Sunday. We did that a couple years ago. We're doing that again this Sunday. So interesting. Yeah, we're really looking forward to uh really looking forward to that. It's a different type of service, which I don't mind. I I'll give Pastor Sean credit here. I think it's great to to mix it up, especially because guess what? Holy week is every week. I'm sorry, every year. Like holy week is every year. So sometimes it's good to try to kind of change a perspective, especially um Palm Sunday, where um it's kind of the same thing, same verse.

SPEAKER_02

And so to mix it up every once in a while, and keeping the traditions, like it would not be a Palm Sunday at Christ Lutheran Church without Carolyn Johnson's song. Absolutely, and but mixing it up with with different ways of telling the story as well.

SPEAKER_01

Yep. So we're still gonna do Carolyn Johnson's song. Um, the kids are coming at 9:30 service for those of you who will be listening, and then uh be a children's message as well on on the 9:30 service, which always fun to do a children's message. See how that one goes.

SPEAKER_02

Plenty of chaperones up there to keep Logan from playing with the candles.

SPEAKER_01

Actually, some of the deeper kids will be there too. So it'll be like a youth, a youth message. So um now holy week, there's still some stuff to do on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, but the next service in our holy week kind of schedule is Monday Thursday, which not a very, you know, some churches do Palm Sunday, but Monday Thursday is not a service that every church does, or now that's not saying they don't believe in it, but um again, more of the liturgical churches do the Monday Thursday. We do Monday Thursday here at Christ Lutheran Church. We're having one service that day, it'll be at 7 p.m. Now, Monday Thursday is uh it's not a misspelling, people not a missing. Yeah, you want to share that story real quick?

SPEAKER_02

That my very first Monday Thursday, I'm standing next to Kimberly, then Kimberly Mirwald. Yeah, and I lean over. Um it wasn't even Monday Thursday, it was a Sunday before that when they're going over the schedule for the week. And I lean over and I'm looking at the bulletin, and I was like, hey, they spelled Monday wrong. And she just looks at me like, What? I'm like, yeah. So that was that was my introduction to Monday Thursday.

SPEAKER_01

Well, in your defense, like the only time you hear the word Monday is the service. Yeah, like you never hear it anywhere else in society, let alone the church, right? Like, we don't say it any we don't say Monday at all until and apparently it comes from the word commandment, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

So it is it is mandatum, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

It is Latin, and so it it is kind of commandment, which Monday Thursday, a lot of themes. Oh my goodness, a lot of theme, a lot of themes on Monday Thursday. So you have Jesus um the Last Supper. So what he says in the Last Supper with the bread and wine, he also washes the feet of the disciples, and so there's that theme of being a servant where I mean, think about this the master washing his servant's feet. Um, and so you know, Jesus being the teacher and rabbi and Lord, he kneels down, and and kind of like many other cultures, right, Josh? We we know this in Thailand, the feet is kind of a a dirty part of the body. So for Jesus to to wash the feet of his disciples is a big deal. We talk about that theme of serving, we could talk about that forever, and then then obviously the the the Passover meal and he breaks bread and drinks wine, and so he introduces communion, but then yeah, he introduces that new commandment, right? Where it's like basically love God and love people, like amen. And so for me, it's like you know, I'm not gonna uh what do the youths say? I'm not gonna throw shade at other people, but like this is a great service. I mean, you want to talk about a service that I mean, I feel like almost Monday, Thursday is almost a service we do every Sunday, right?

SPEAKER_02

Well, right, yeah, that's what I was just gonna say. Like, we we do at Christ Lutheran Church, we do communion every single Thursday, and every single person in the building or watching is invited. Yep, and this is the reason why. Yep. This, if you didn't know why we do it, this is why. Yep.

SPEAKER_01

I mean, it is it's a service where literally this is what our faith is supposed to be, right? Where we serve without an agenda, we love without an agenda, and uh we welcome anyone to the table without an agenda. So there's a hospitality aspect too, of being like hospitable and and grace and and love, and so um one cool thing about Monday Thursday here at Christ Lutheran Church is we do celebrate first communion, and so let's talk about that. Because I remember I had a youth tell me, Well, Noel, Pastor always says anybody who wants to come up can take communion. Why do I have to take first communion class?

SPEAKER_02

And that's like I've had that question. That's a great question. I've never taken first communion, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

Wait, so here at Christ Lutheran Church, first communion, you do not have to take the class to take communion. The class is more about just teaching young ones what communion is, right? Right. I mean, and trust me, let me tell you this right now. My son Elliot is taking first communion class this week. Wow, and he's been taking communion though for like three years because we believe, hey, if a kid comes up and has his hand out, oh, yeah, we're we're giving him communion, yeah. So little Elliot, for those of you who know Elliot, he has put his hand out for the last two or three years, and he's and he's gotten communion, which hey, does he take the juice of the wine? I don't know. Uh yeah, I don't know. We'll see. Probably yes. The answer to that is yes, yeah, but yeah, Elliot's taking the class because it just gives him context, and so it's not, you know, first communion class is not a requirement, but it's just a little bit more of an of an opportunity for us to kind of teach the young ones a little bit more about context. I'm teaching that class this week. I'm really excited.

SPEAKER_02

Um, if folks want to get their kids in it, they can just contact you.

SPEAKER_01

Contact me, absolutely.

SPEAKER_02

I think Logan's doing it next year, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

And because of this goes back to my spring break thing. I'm teaching the class like three different times because of spring break schedules, you know. Usually I always teach it the afternoon of Palm Sunday, but it's it's the Sunday of spring break. Yeah, and we have some families that can't make it, so I'm teaching it on Monday and I'm teaching it on Wednesday.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, so a lot of us like we wait like when when that Sunday service is over, that's when spring break starts. Yeah, and you're out the door.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so well Monday Thursday is a great service. So again, only one service here at Christ Lutheran Church, um, 7 p.m. And then we actually end that service with something really, really cool because we end that service um in a way that prepares us for Good Friday, is that we strip the altar, which again, you never really hear those words until Monday Thursday, but we strip the altar because Monday Thursday does end with Jesus getting arrested, and so the altar is stripped. So that's really cool. Pastor Sean will be reading Psalm 22, and um, I usually have some volunteers that go up, and and usually when Monday Thursday service ends, the the altar is just absolutely bare and nothing because Jesus is arrested, and um and yeah, and so um what part of Monday Thursday, Josh, kind of impacts you the most? Is it the serving aspect of of Jesus washing um the disciples' feet? Is it the communion aspect, right? You know, here's here's my body broken for you, here's the blood, or is it the commandment where it's like love one another as I have loved you? And I guess there is a all of the above answer, but is there a certain right now today as you sit here, is there a certain part of those three one, is there one of those three things that that kind of just stands out to you more than the other ones?

SPEAKER_02

I think it's the come the the um communion aspect then because like and I didn't realize this until I've been going here for a while, but I I guess it's not it's not really common for more traditional churches to give communion every single week. Yep. Um, and I didn't know that. Um, and I didn't know that it's not traditional for or not common for other churches to give communion to every single person that comes up, yeah, without asking questions.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, that's important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Um, and where I didn't realize how unique Christ Lutheran Church is in those two aspects until I went to other churches and in some cases was almost was denied communion. Um but it's so that part of it I think is the most impactful for me. And also remind me about is this the one that has the book drop at the end, the slam?

SPEAKER_01

That's the next service.

SPEAKER_02

Okay, yeah. I get those confused a little bit.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, no, yeah, that's a valid point though. Yeah, here at Christ Lutheran Church, we have communion every Sunday, we have communion every worship service, except one service, which we'll talk about next, Good Friday, and there's a reason for that. But yeah, no, we do we do celebrate the sacrament of holy communion every Sunday, and we do say, Um, you know, I have the words like past shout out to Pastor Brian, who's like burnt these words. You do not have to be a member of this church or other church or any church, yeah. All are welcome to come forward, which is true. All are welcome to come forward here at Christ Lutheran Church and and Communion. So, yeah, so that's Monday, Thursday. Hope to hope to see you there. Um, and then Good Friday. So let's just kind of get the logistics out of the way. Good Friday here at Christ Lutheran Church. We this is where we do have two services, and those two services will be different. So we kind of have to throw out that disclaimer right here, right now. We do have a noon Good Friday service, and that'll be uh more of a stations of a cross. And then if you listen to our uh episode with Paul Delgado, I don't know, was that a month ago? Um, that 7 p.m. is actually gonna be a really awesome service. It's gonna be a requiem. Yeah, Gabriel somethings requiem. I am so sorry, I can't pronounce his last name. But real quick, let's talk about what Good Friday is. So, what happens on Good Friday? Yeah, so Good Friday is a day where Jesus is arrested, he is put on trial, he's mocked, he's beaten, crucified, and then um Good Friday service ends with Jesus dying on the cross, and so it is a very kind of dark service in both physically with light lighting, but also in the message. It's it's kind of like the the funeral of Jesus, if you will. And so uh this is the day where the church stops pretending that pain isn't real. Um, and for me, I it's weird to say, Josh, that Good Friday is my favorite service of the year because of obviously like the message and what we're talking about, but it is it Good Friday is is my favorite worship service of the year because it makes Easter really important. I always say for Jesus to rise, he has to die, and so Good Friday is that service where we reflect on the death of Jesus. But yeah, but Good Friday matters because it shows us a God who does not stay far away from suffering. Um, and this is where we believe that God enters fully into human pain, right? Jesus experiences betrayal, injustice, violence, grief, loneliness, and death. Um, and so that means that the cross is not just about what happened to Jesus, it's about what God is willing to step into with us. Now, why is it called Good Friday? That's a question I think everyone is like, huh. Um, it does sound strange. Um, it's called good, not because the suffering was good. Obviously, it wasn't. It's called good because you know, we believe that through the cross, God was doing something redemptive, bringing forgiveness, mercy, and love into the deepest uh brokenness of the world. And so the the major big theme is that God meets us in suffering, and that Good Friday reminds us that God is not absent from pain, God is not uh scared of grief, God is not only found in joy and victory, but God is also found in the places where everything feels lost. And that that's a theme too, Josh. And I know you know we all have felt these feelings, right? We all have felt betrayal and injustice, violence and grief and loneliness, and we all have felt lost. And so it is that reminder on Good Friday that Jesus feels all those things too, and that Jesus, the human, experiences all these things and eventually dies for us on the cross for us. And so, um, did you ever experience a Good Friday service before you came to Christ Lutheran? No, no, what were your initial thoughts on that? It is one of those services you kind of not many services throughout the year. Do you have to give someone a disclaimer? But I feel like Good Friday is maybe the one service where you kind of have to give them a warning.

SPEAKER_02

I kind of wish I would have gotten a disclaimer. So you so you didn't get one I can remember because it's a Friday night. Yep, I don't think I was married yet. Okay, I mean Nancy and I were dating still at that time, but it was a Friday night, and we were all all my friends are at church together here, and I just remember, like, all right, so where are we going out? Yeah, and somebody, and it might have been you, but somebody's like, it's not really what you do, yeah. I was like, Oh, okay, okay, all right, but um, yeah, so that that was I can't that may have may not have been the first one I did, but that was the first one I remember.

SPEAKER_01

Okay, I kind of like you. I remember being a teenager in youth group, and one of my friends invited me to the Good Friday service at the Lutheran church we went to, and I remember immediately when I walked in and I saw the pastor wearing like a black suit and black tie. I was like, immediately I was like, Oh, this is different.

SPEAKER_02

Yeah, it definitely, yeah. Looking back, it definitely more has more like funeral vibes.

SPEAKER_01

Because I remember being like, Well, Easter's in three days. Why is this dude dressed up like men in black? You know what I mean? Like, like honestly, I I was like, I so no one gave me the disclaimer, and then my church back home. I think Lutheran churches can do the same thing on Good Friday, very similar. Like, why this why is this service ending in complete darkness? Yeah, like I'm afraid of the dark, you know. Like, but but really, like, I'm in a sanctuary, and my sanctuary back in Minnesota got so dark. I remember being like, this is kind of spooky, yeah. You know, like I'm sitting there under dressed because no one told me, exactly, yeah, and like everyone's wearing black, and I'm crying. I don't know why I'm crying, and it's dark, I don't know how to get out of here.

SPEAKER_02

Like, there wasn't they do the book, the book slam.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_02

Like it's so it took me that immediately took me back to high school when somebody fell asleep in biology class, and the person teach takes the book and like drops it right next to them.

SPEAKER_01

So, yeah, here at Christ with the church, the the service does end with a slam, which is like the tomb be prepared for that. Yeah, the tomb being closed, and and uh we usually do, you know, here at Christhoot and we I I'm in charge of it, and I think I've been in charge of it the last, but the welcome part we always kind of say, Hey, the service is different, it's gonna end in darkness, and you know, it's please get your close belongings close to you because we do leave it dark, right? It is one of those services too where we don't end it with, you know, go in peace, serve the Lord. Exactly. Yeah, it does end in silence, it ends in kind of a more of a meditation atmosphere. And we also tell it's also one of those services too, where we tell people you can stay, and if you want to just sit there and be reflective, like by all means, and so we do leave the sanctuary dark uh for a while because I know I always take a few minutes too and just kind of sit there and try and grasp what we're doing, and so and we always end the service with a famous hymn, Were You There, which is a very, very powerful song. Um, but um, but yeah, it's it's it's a very, very powerful service. Um, it's one of those services where it's just um again, it's so different, right? From from everything else he experienced throughout the year, because you know it is. Um, but also we got to give a shout out to Paul because Paul and his team has been working really hard on the Requiem, which is basically a movement of death, so it makes sense.

SPEAKER_02

He he defined Requiem for us when he came up.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, I wish I could remember word for word. I I'm still stuck on the Paul Delgado 6, yeah. But um, I do know that Paul has been working hard, and and one thing Paul's been doing a great job of is connecting with the community, and so he has like uh an orchestra coming in, and there's a lot of great individual private players, kind of yeah, and not only is our church choir working their their tails off, but we're partnering with some other choral members of the community, especially specifically the COS and the Vicelia community. And again, I know um we have some youth. I think Evan Judson's coming in and playing French horn on the in the orchestra, and so it's gonna be like a I it's gonna I'm not gonna say the word spectacle, but it's gonna be impactful. Impactful, yeah. There's no way it can't be. Yeah, it's gonna be amazing. And so um, so that's the seven o'clock service. Um, that's not the noon. So again, the noon is more of a stations of a cross, very, very similar vibes, but um that seven o'clock service. Um, for those of you who are listening, yeah, come on out. It's gonna be a really, really great um experience. And we got to give Paul as the youth say, we got to give Paul his flowers. He's been working really hard on that. And um, anything else you want to add to that Good Friday there, Josh? I think of things, yeah. Um, Good Friday is the day we remember that God does not avoid human suffering, and Jesus God enters it fully and stays there with us. And so um, yeah, and then uh Good Friday asks, where do we see suffering in the world right now? Oh boy, that could be another podcast. And then um, where what does it mean to believe in a God who chooses solidarity over distance? Um, God meets us in the real world, not in denial of it. And so, um, and so yeah, then that brings us to Easter Sunday, which again, um what do you I have a question for you, okay?

SPEAKER_02

What is your Saturday look like in between those two days?

SPEAKER_01

Yeah, so we used to have a tradition here at Christ Lutheran Church, and this is where the whole and this I'm going back to my my grudge on spring break. Okay, where I take the confirmation students to the funeral home.

SPEAKER_02

That okay. I remember there was a thing, yeah.

SPEAKER_01

So ninth grade confirmation students again, we have a three-year confirmation program here at Christ Lutheran. Seventh and eighth grade meet every Wednesday throughout the school year, and then ninth grade confirmation meets once a month for like three hours, and it usually involves a guest speaker or a field trip. And years previous, on Holy Saturday, because Jesus is dead, is that the official name for that Saturday? Holy Saturday, it's a day where Jesus is dead, he's still in the tomb. I would take the confirmation students to the local funeral home at the Visalia uh cemetery, and we get a behind-the-scenes tour of the funeral home, literally behind the scenes. We get we go into every room we can legally enter. Right. There's parts we can't, it's because of obvious reasons. Yep, but we see the crematorium, everything, and then we walk around the Visalia Cemetery and we kind of you know do that part. Very, very, very powerful experience. The last couple years with um just spring break and holy week, not all the kids can make it. And this is one of those field trips, Josh, where like you want everyone there, yeah. And again, I can't get mad at parents or or families for having spring break plans.

SPEAKER_03

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_01

How dare you? You know, how dare you go on vacation and during spring break and so the so the last not last year but the years before that we would do it and kids would miss and that would just break my heart that's it's one of those field trips and experiences where uh you it it just it's so impactful and of course we would do that because it's holy saturday well the last couple years we've kind of pivoted from that and we kind of prioritized uh everyone being there more than a day sure does that make sense yeah and so we're doing that in April okay so everyone will be there and that to me that's what matters most is like the whole confirmation class will be there fully they've been they've been doing this program for three years they need to experience it all together no one's gonna miss it and so that's usually what we've done um so is that is that Saturday supposed to be like a day of mourning or reflection or okay yeah and some churches have maybe a service or a uh some sort of activity for that but yeah we I'm not sure you know we'll I do plan on having Pastor Brian on this podcast at some point um that'd probably be a question for him in my time here I don't think we've ever really done many much on whole I don't have any memory of it yeah I just it was just the day between the two yeah the day to set the pancake breakfast pretty much yeah yeah the Thailand team was it last year we were out and doing that yeah that was just last year we did the the pancake breakfast usually buying strawberries yeah so but yeah so um that's a cool tradition that that's something that's that's something that's very that's one of those field trips and uh things that I do I I I do it every year and I come like the museum itologist trip and yeah yeah those two things I do every year but every time I I do that I walk away just uh trans transformed how can you not right then Easter Sunday Easter Sunday here at Christ Lutheran Church um we have three services well four um 630 sunrise in the courtyard that's always kind of a a favorite to the 75 people that come it's beautiful i can uh you know i can probably tell you 50 people that have been there the last 15 years um rain or shine yep it's a beautiful service so 630 in the courtyard and then we have our 8 o'clock and 930 those will be in the sanctuary and i would say about 90 of those uh services are about the same in the sanctuary couple call musical differences and songs and stuff like that and then our lahu congregation shout out to the lahu pastor sammy he's doing wonderful work um they'll be meeting at 11 a.m need to have him on here too oh yeah he's coming on here i'm already i'm i've already planted that seed okay yeah yeah trust me he's he's coming on here so um yeah i mean easter is kind of the we'll explain it i mean it's probably the one service on this holy week thing that we probably don't need to explain as much but easter morning the women go to the tomb and it is empty and uh jesus is risen is risen indeed is risen indeed that a boy um i mean this is the day why we're here yeah why the faith exists why the church exists but uh but I think more than anything it's it's uh Easter is not just you know Jesus coming back it's a proclamation that death does not win uh despair does not win violence does not win hopelessness does not win I mean gosh those are powerful words right there right those are probably words we need to hear every day um it's a day of hope and so Easter matters because it changes the whole story right without Easter holy week ends in tragedy um with Easter we believe that the story becomes one of new life and hope and resurrection and uh resurrection is not just about heaven someday it's it's about our daily lives it's about hope after heartbreak healing after pain uh renewal after loss life where we thought there was only death and I mean gosh talk about that Josh we you know um all of us all of us have experienced heartbreak and pain and loss and death and so the resurrection of Jesus reminds us that there is hope and healing and renewal and life after all those things um and so it is about you know God creating new life and and within us every day and so um I feel like you know life is life and you and I are no strangers to brokenness and pain and suffering and I know our listeners aren't either and so Easter is that reminder that you know there is light at the end of the tunnel and that light is the hope and love of Jesus and that um and also too like we're never we're never alone you know and so um God is still creating new life um within us and that you know death does not win and and Jesus is the Jesus is the conquering of death and so Easter for you Josh talk about Easter growing up if you don't mind um did you have do you ever kind of how'd you celebrate Easter growing up we were a big Easter bunny family.

SPEAKER_02

Okay yeah yeah me too my mom went all out with uh Easter bunny stuff she even had little felt uh Easter bunny tracks that went through the house that's hardcore um we shout out to Nancy there we had a regular um me and my cousins would have a um an Easter I guess I don't know we all got together for dinner that night dinner okay there's always ham involved for some reason I don't know whether that's traditional Easter food ham usually lamb is okay yeah I don't think anybody in my family knows how to cook lamb okay so they probably just went with the honey baked ham yeah um but there was also um a uh scavenger hunt we didn't do we didn't do egg hunts I have little memory of doing egg hunts maybe when we were little really young but as we got older um they would do scavenger hunts and they were it was always like one clue led to another led to another led to another and I mean we're talking like 15 20 clues like it kept me and my two cousins busy for over an hour.

SPEAKER_00

Oh which I think was the whole point of it now now as an adult you look back you're like okay yeah and I see what they were doing.

SPEAKER_02

I thought I thought about doing one for my son last year um and I was like man this is a lot of work like because it was it was tailored to wherever we were eating dinner like whoever's house it was at it was tailored to that house I'm like you have to plan this out really well in advance is it worth this and then I think about it's like oh yeah definitely yeah especially as I got older and we didn't need one of the parents following us around okay but um so yeah that was mine I mean it was a lot of it was a lot of chocolate a lot of jelly beans and a lot of cheap toys yeah no religion yeah I I you know I grew up very very similar uh Easter basket yeah not a big fan of chocolate my mom would always give me the white chocolate bunny to this day I can literally visualize it um and my mom would hide eggs we would color eggs yeah I I have I have yeah I have pictures I have Polaroid pictures of me and my sister doing that and then my mom would hide those eggs within the house. Oh okay um and then we would go to my mom's side of the family too cold Minnesota to do anything outside that time we uh very unpredictable yeah yeah but um then we would go to my family my mom's side and have some sort of ham yeah ham yeah and then it's Minnesota so it'd be a ham salad right spam I don't know uh my dad's side didn't really celebrate it I was Native American so that really their thing but yeah so that was my my tradition kind of growing up um but now as an adult Josh how kind of how do you celebrate Easter that's kind of what I'm going at as the younger now yeah now now it's it's all about Logan it's all about my son usually um I don't want to say that we've like well like I mentioned before most of the time I'm cooking pancakes so I haven't gotten actually experienced uh an Easter Sunday here in a while maybe the first one I did here yeah and then this will probably be this will be the first one in a while yeah but um it's um I'm gonna be experiencing a lot of it new because I just kind of I'm I'm always at the door listening for certain cues in order and to know when to fire up the griddle. Right. Um Nancy and Logan do very traditional Easter stuff you know get dressed up like we don't get dressed up for church very often at least we don't dress up Logan for church very often but that's one of the days we do uh make it a little special um we're doing an egg hunt this year yep 1045 after 1045 after service right after about 10 about 15 minutes after the 930 service yep um and so um he's done that we did that last year too um and so that was a lot of fun um and then I think uh I think the the rest of the day is just kind of be gonna be relaxing and I'm I'm I don't know when to start like really hammering home the themes to him.

SPEAKER_01

Yeah like what age would that make sense right I think Easter is one of those holidays where like you could kind of share Easter themes throughout the whole year and then and then on Easter you kind of like hammer it home. This is what we've been talking about. Yeah this is exactly you know now you can still do that with Christmas might be a little bit harder with Christmas but there's so many themes in the Easter season throughout the year regarding life and lessons and mistakes you can kind of always go back to the Easter Christmas is so materialistic now and commercialized that it's hard to find those themes. But I think you can you can have like you can you can put in Easter themes into any conversation throughout the year and then it kind of like builds up to Easter Sunday. Like hey this is it right this is where you kind of hammer it home um yeah we now like I said you know um for for me it's like um I'll be preaching at the sunrise service so that's interesting having been able to do that because of the pancake thing and some of the youth will be involved so I'm looking forward to that is this is actually a different Easter for Josh and I in a lot of different ways just because man that pancake breakfast really kind of takes a lot of our energy and time more so for Josh. Josh worked more on Easter Sunday than me because he was the the pancake master but um really looking forward to kind of celebrating Easter differently I maybe that's our prayer Josh you and I is that that God will kind of open our eyes to new things just because it is a different Easter um for us. And maybe that's a good lesson for everybody listening to is like how how can you view Holy Week and Easter differently this year? What has happened in your life maybe in the last month last six months in the last year where you can view um Easter differently because I think it's so easy all right here comes the soapbox it is so easy to just go through the motions so easy to just be routine especially with a holiday that comes every single year. And I think too for those of who are spring break a lot of times people just want to turn off their minds and go through the motions which hey sometimes that's good for you right for a little bit we all need that every yeah absolutely I'm not gonna say don't do that but how can we view Easter and Holy Week differently what what in our life has changed our perspective where um Easter can fill our cup in a in a in a different way I mean that's a great this this can easily be one of those holidays that sneaks up on you.

SPEAKER_02

Oh 100% so easy like if you if you're not right if you're not going into a grocery store into like a a drugstore and seeing all the candy you're like you you would this could this could pass by you're like oh I missed it. Yeah no for sure it does especially how soon until we get like a bunny on the shelf and like the elf on the shelf yeah I don't know um I don't know pretend like I didn't say that folks I'm gonna yeah I'm gonna go talk to Mattel right now.

SPEAKER_01

Blame you that's right gotta commercialize it get a royal get a royalty get a royalty in there oh man uh but yeah so um yeah very very excited things happening here at CLC a lot of as Josh mentioned we are having uh uh an Easter egg hunt about 1045 while fifty that's for all sunday school kids are welcome to join us and um and we're still finding little tiny Jesuses everywhere I just bought like 200 more oh jeez yeah you can never have enough of those little Jesus I guess not I guess yeah they're just gonna show up everywhere and then one thing we did not mention and this is my least favorite time of the year Josh is coming we'll see if we can record a podcast but because holy week um falls on spring break usually the Tuesday of holy week we go to magic mountain as one does as one does uh and it's so funny it's not the Tuesday of spring and I know Josh you you were never this person so I'm not gonna I'm not gonna put you in this group but literally I would always say to people I I'm gonna use the word hate I hate my job twice a year and that's Hobbs Grove and magic and Magic Mountain and everyone thinks I'm joking. Like oh no they like laugh oh no you're so silly and I'm like why don't you believe me and so yeah this Tuesday we're going to Magic Mountain we have a great group going josh is coming just to be another driver and watcher and uh I'm not a ride I'm not going on right that's fine and I I remember that's how I framed it with Josh like hey you want to get some steps in and eat some food yeah the last thing I did at Magic Mountain was do like the old timey photos. Yeah that was fun honestly like maybe we'll do that yeah and so we are gonna try and and bring our podcast equipment uh to magic mountain maybe do like a a magic mountain episode and maybe like interview people walking uh coming in I don't know what do you think of holy week at Magic Mountain yeah I don't know so we're gonna try we're gonna try I can't promise you that there'll be an episode up uh uploaded on uh this upcoming Tuesday but kind of don't be surprised if there is I'm gonna try and bring that in maybe we get a GoPro and have you do this will maybe this will be a video podcast and have you on a ride with that thing no no no no we'd have to we'd have to bleep it out yeah yeah no we gotta drive we gotta that's the thing we have to drive home right so I'm not I'm I can't I can't take the muscle relaxer in time home over I'm not putting my body I'm not putting my body in any danger where it it uh I'm making sure I'm awake and yeah driving home and then of course we once magic mount ends we go we drive down that little hill and we go to in and out which I don't know why we do that but well I know why because it's cheaper to eat in and out than buy food there but what better way to end the day as you go through you throw your body in the roller coaster machines than uh in and out cap it off with in and out and a trip over the grapevine yeah although I gotta say real quick uh I am so happy that Magic Mountain is just literally another side of the grapevine yeah if it was like where Disneyland is oh yeah it's not we're not going to Universal Stadium no and their hours are great I know the youth don't like I know the youth want the hours to be longer because Disneyland's open eight to midnight yeah magic mountain is 10 30 to 8 yeah that's perfect that's awesome you know make it 11 to 7 for all I care yeah let's go just joke let's just go to for brunch serious uh nice little brunch let the kids give on a couple of rides last year was it last year or two years you know my oldest Luca was finally in deeper and magic mountain's a different beast like it's it's different right and so I was so nervous for her because I was like she either's gonna love it or not so that's usually the reaction yeah Disneyland you can you can pretend to like like the what's going on around you you don't you can you can talk about the atmosphere yeah exact atmosphere thank you you can't you don't have to go on rides to look like you're enjoying Disneyland right whereas that's still there is to do at Magic Mountain yeah yeah and so I was very nervous um for Luca but she ended up loving it and now she's heading back so whatever so while we were on the podcast earlier I finally it finally hit me josh that magazine I would get East Bay East Bay I thought of it too like five minutes ago East Bay East Bay yellow yellow uh cursive writing on like a purple background that's what always was I had every single shoe imaginable I've yeah I used to get pumas from east bay i i searched i searched like free magazine with shoes and then nothing came up but then i finally it like came catalog yeah east bay oh oh my gosh yeah that yellow writing right there and it just appeared in the mail like no one you never or I used to pass them around at school i can i can remember passing around the east bay catalog in in my french class for whatever reason huh yeah i just remember no one ever signed up for it but then um but then it just showed up one day and you would like those cds you used to get yeah oh gosh shout out east bay i have no idea are they still around did they pivot who knows if they're not around i'm not surprised because their expenses on sending out free magazines is probably a fortune yeah so well uh yeah so everybody else here join us for holy week palm sunday hey and honestly too let's let's finish with this if you can only make one service on palm sunday monday thursday good friday or easter that's fine you know one thing i've i've been i i say about our church is we don't take attendance right like we we we believe that god's love is with you no matter what and and nothing can separate you from god's love and we we don't take attendance here so uh if you could join us for all the services or just one hey that is fine we just hope that you know that you're loved and and that God's peace and love is with you so uh on that thank you so much for tuning in today we hope this conversation gave you something new to think about whether it's an idea story or just a fresh perspective on everyday life don't forget to subscribe so you won't miss future episodes and share this podcast with friends or family who might enjoy it too we love hearing from our listeners so connect with us online and let us know what topics you'd like us to explore. Until next time keep asking questions stay curious and enjoy the little moments that make life meaningful hope you all have a wonderful day and a wonderful holy week and goodbye from the Grace Period Podcast