McHenry County Blog

This is Hobby Lobby’s newspaper ad for Easter, 2007:

Hobby Lobby’s 2007 newspaper ad for Easter.

Oklahoma City-based Hobby Lobby’s annual Easter ad in newspapers promotes a 10-hour mini-series entitled, “The Bible,” as you can see below:

The text next to the representation of Jesus says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one & only son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

It’s Easter, the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, the miracle upon which Christianity is based.

“Rejoice,” says the banner in front of our home above the yellow crocuses that popped through the leaves where the fall mums bloom.

My Grandmother Addie Watling-Skinner had a glass replication of Durer’s praying hands on her coffee table. My cousin has them now.

Nothing expensive, but they probably had more significance than I realized as a youth.

Today is a day that some Christian church’s hold prayer vigils. My First United Methodist Church has done this for several years and is doing again this year tonight through Easter.  (If you have prayers for the vigil, drop them off at the church–corner of West Crystal Lake and Dole Avenues–anytime before or during the vigil.)

That brings me to the Message of the Day–my grandmother’s praying hands, but rendered in chocolate, rather than in glass.

Albrecht Durer’s Praying Hands rendered in chocolate.

Today’s Message of the Day is a Hobby Lobby newspaper ad.  It ran in both newspapers we subscribe to, the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Hobby Lobby wears its Christian leanings on its sleeve, so to speak.

Listen to the music in the stores and it’s inspirational.

And on Easter and Christmas in years in which the company has sufficient money, full page ads run in newspapers.

Here’s this Easter’s ad:

Hobby Lobby's 2012 Easter ad.

Hobby Lobby has a tradition of publishing newspaper ads on Easter Sunday. The store is closed every Sunday.

Hobby Lobby is an unabashed Christian store.
Christian songs are played on the craft store’s PA system.

On Easter it publishes full-page Christian ads. You see this year’s above.

The message was

HE DIED

WE LIVE

Click on the image and you probably can read the small print.

Romans 5:8-9 is quoted:

But God demonstrates His love toward us

in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, having been justified by his blood,

we shall be saved from wrath through him.

"Easter. He Lives." That's the message on this car stick found in Yellowstone Park in 2009.

Services at my church, the First United Methodist Church of Crystal Lake, are at 8, 9:30 and 11. The 9:30 service is the most traditional. The 1 o’clock service is the most contemporary.

If you are not at Easter Services at 9:30 Sunday morning, You might want to tune in CBS-TV’s “Face the Nation.”

Freshman Joe Walsh, probably the best-spoken, self-identified Tea Party Republican has been invited to appear on Bob Schieffer’s interview program.

The tone of voice and demeanor of Joe Walsh on Christine Armapour's ABC's "This Week" on April 16, 2011, was mild.

Last Sunday Walsh acquitted himself well on Christine Armapour’s ABC show “This Week.”

Got the link and see for yourself how reasonably Walsh presents his positions, not to mention how mildly he calls the media to task for not exposing how President Barack Obama was a johnny-come-lately to entitlement reform.

Egg shaped cake that was served for desert for Easter dinner.

This one showed up for dinner in the form of a cake made by a thirteen year old. She molded it and decorated it herself.

The Skinners had family and friends over for Easter Dinner.

With its being Palm Sunday weekend, the Crystal Lake Chamber of Commerce Business Expo was perfectly timed for churches.

Lots of people go to church, at least on Christmas and Easter.

Lots of Protestant churches had booths. Now, that I think about it, I wonder why the Catholic Church didn’t. They have this elaborate public relations campaign to get lapsed Catholics to “Come Home.” This would have been a natural place for a “high touch” approach.

The Crystal Lake Evangelical Free Church

Crystal Lake’s Evangelical Free Church was the first I saw.  Hannah Beardsley Middle School was built next to it.

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church's booth.

I didn’t shoot these pictures in order, but Prince of Peace Lutheran Church was in the main hall.

I must have shot photos on Saturday, as well as Sunday, because the one below has different people manning the booth.

I remember that my legislative assistant Pete Castillo helped the church, located on McHenry Avenue just north of South High School, received the license for its day care center.  I wondered then and this weekend again what kind of a government requires a state legislator to help a church get a day care license.  One that doesn’t work very well, I’d suggest.

The Prince of Peace Lutheran Church booth on Saturday.

Down the row from the Republican booth where I was gathering petition signatures for to put the reapportionment constitutional amendment on the ballot this fall was the Christian Fellowship booth.  The church is located on the blacktop between Crystal Lake and McHenry.

Christian Fellowship Church booth.

It had bean bag toss to attract children.

Hope Covenant Church was in the smaller gym.

Hope Covenant Church was next.  It was in the second room of the exhibit.  The church is at the corner of Ackmann and Randall Roads across from CVS Pharmacy.

Lord and Savior Lutheran Church was the last one I saw.

The last was Lord and Savior Lutheran Church. It was near the food and in the hallway toward the exit.  I got a homemade book mark from the young lady.  The church is located on Route 14 beyond McHenry County College.