I can’t believe it is almost time for Lent to begin. Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday marking the first day of solemn repentance for most Christians as we turn our hearts and minds toward Good Friday. Then we can celebrate with full gusto on Easter Sunday. Ever wonder about Ash Wednesday? Here are five quick facts about this day: 1. On Ash Wednesday, many churches hold a special worship service where the people are blessed with ashes, typically marking their foreheads with the sign of the cross. The blessing typically comes with a reminder that we all come from ashes, and to ashes we all will return. 2. The marking of the forehead has been a known custom since Pope Gregory the Great in 604. It has been said to have a two fold purpose, one being the ashes were marked for humility and mortality and then also for sorrow and repentance. In the 12th century the rule developed that the ashes were to be created by burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday. Many parishes … [Read more...]
Practicing, not Perfecting Sabbath
For the last several years I have written in my journal my desire to be more faithful in keeping the Sabbath. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Exodus 20:8 I am a failure at keeping the Sabbath. I let my ever present to do list, my addiction to being online and my own ego driven desires rule that day. I focus my attention of the world instead of on God. Doesn’t honor the Lord much, does it? Then fellow blogger and Christian sister, Shelly Millerwrote about her struggles with Sabbath keeping and began a great series - Surrendering to Sabbath - on her blog, Redemptions Beauty. She even started a Surrendering to Sabbath Sisterhood for ongoing discussion and support. Shelly is sending out weekly emails to encourage us to keep the Sabbath; you can read one here. Shelly shared a wonderful quote by Margaret Feinberg: With rest, I noticed God-moments I might have missed before. My prayers grew clearer. … [Read more...]
Love Will Lead the Way – Lectio Divina
We don’t yet see things clearly. We’re squinting in a fog, peering through a mist.But it won’t be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We’ll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us!But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation:Trust steadily in God,hope unswervingly,love extravagantly.And the best of the three is love.1 Corinthians 13: 12-13 (The Message)Lord sometimes I can’t find You.I look.I listen. I seek Your face and stain to hear even a tiny whisper.I don’t see You in this fog of human living.Like driving in a murky midst of grey, I get disoriented and confused.I can’t wait until this haze lifts and I gaze directly into Your eyes.But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation:Trust steadily in God,hope unswervingly,love extravagantly.And the best of the three is love.But once again … [Read more...]
Independence – Strength or Obstacle? Quote of the Week
“Independence is the root of human sin, and it develops into conformity to the world. It is the broad, self-asserting and dominant “me” that would be a god. The first step, then, in the new life is surrender. Everything must be yielded to God, even the things that in themselves may be harmless. Why? For no other reason than to prove our will is wholly laid down and that God is all in all.”by ~ A.B. SimpsonThis quote stood out to me this week. For years I thought independence was a strength. I was proud of this characteristic; thankful for the courage and opportunities it brought to my life and even fostered this trait in my children. Perhaps I needed to rely on this crutch for that season of my life.But now I see independence as an obstacle between God and me and a difficult attachment to surrender.How do you view independence? … [Read more...]
Lent – a Solemn Season or a Season of Joy and a Little Lent Madness?
Lent begins in two weeks. In my church and I think this is true for other denominations, we don’t sing any Alleluias during lent. Why? I don’t know. I looked it up. In the season of Lent we focus on repentance and being sorry for our sins. Singing or saying the word "alleluia" has historically been suspended during Lent's forty days. The omission of alleluia during Lent goes back at least to the fifth century in the western church. Some churches even sing farewell to Alleluias the Sunday before Ash Wednesday. One other unusual ritual with this normal expression of praise is “burying the alleluias.” Yep, you read that correctly. Some churches make an alleluia from paper, fabric, metal, wood, or some other natural material that may be carried in procession or might lead a parade accompanied by instruments and singing. Burial could take place in the ground, or the alleluia could simply be placed in a suitable container that will remain in the worship space as a visual … [Read more...]
The Lost Art of a Handwritten Letter
My dad served in WWII, most of the time as a surgeon in a hospital in the Philippians. I cherish the six letters he wrote to my mom that were decorated by a recovering patient. What I treasure most though is his handwriting. Perhaps that is why I read in interest a blog last week, Yearning for God, about a month of letters challenge. A month of letters began in 2012 by writer Mary Robinette Kowal. Her idea is simple - write one letter each day in February. You can read more and sign up on this website. Her rules are easy: “1. In the month of February, mail at least one item through the post every day it runs. Write a postcard, a letter, send a picture, or a cutting from a newspaper, or a fabric swatch. 2. Write back to everyone who writes to you. This can count as one of your mailed items. 3. All you are committing to is to mail 23 items. Why 23? There are four Sundays and one US holiday. In fact, you might send more than 23 items. You … [Read more...]
My Only Response – AMEN – Lectio Divina
He read it aloud from daybreak till noon as he faced the square before the Water Gate in the presence of the men, women and others who could understand. And all the people listened attentively to the Book of the Law. Ezra the teacher of the Law stood on a high wooden platform built for the occasion. Beside him on his right stood Mattithiah, Shema, Anaiah, Uriah, Hilkiah and Maaseiah; and on his left were Pedaiah, Mishael, Malkijah, Hashum, Hashbaddanah, Zechariah and Meshullam.Ezra opened the book. All the people could see him because he was standing above them; and as he opened it, the people all stood up. Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.Nehemiah 8: 3-6 (NIV)Ezra opened the book... Ezra praised the Lord, the great God; and all the people lifted their hands and responded, “Amen! Amen!” Then they bowed down and worshiped the Lord with … [Read more...]
Spiritual Lessons in Frost – Quote of the Week – Joyce Rupp
"One winter morning I awoke to see magnificent lines of frost stretching across my window panes. They seemed to rise with the sunshine and the bitter cold outside. They looked like little miracles that had been formed in the dark of night. I watched them in sheer amazement and marveled that such beautiful forms could be born during such a winter-cold night. Yet, as I pondered them I thought of how life is so like that. We live our long, worn days in the shadows, in what often feels like barren, cold winter, so unaware of the miracles that are being created in our spirits. It takes the sudden daylight, some unexpected surprise of life, to cause our gaze to look upon a simple, stunning growth that has happened quietly inside us. Like frost designs on a winter window, they bring us beyond life's fragmentation and remind us that we are not nearly as lost as we thought we were, that all the time we thought we were dead inside, beautiful things were being born in us."Joyce RuppPraying our … [Read more...]