This is spring break week for local schools so if you’re traveling be careful.  There is something hopeful about the phrase “spring break” – I know it officially denotes a weeklong break from school in the spring of the year.  But in my mind, it also speaks of hope.  Spring is just around the corner which means a break from the snow, a break from the gray clouds, a break from the cold, a break from wearing coats, hats and gloves, a break from spending so much time indoors, and so on.  It is no mystery to me why our Lord’s resurrection took place in the spring of the year – spring is the harbinger of hope.  New life is about to break through. 
     Spring is a season of encouragement and as we studied Sunday, Jesus was a master at encouraging others.  I love the fact that our Lord was always concerned about the details; even the little things in people’s lives mattered to him.  And as we saw in his first miracle in Cana, he spared an ill-prepared host family a moment of embarrassment.  It was a miracle of encouragement. This week look for the small matters in other’s lives that you might do something positive for them.  Be an encourager like Jesus! -  Tom Ellsworth