Each year around this time I write a feature about Advent. In a conversation the other day one of my friends mentioned she didn’t know much about this season. When she asked about Advent, we had just finished the typical conversation you hear this time of year. Me: How are you? She: Busy like everyone else. Me: Yes, this is a crazy time of year. She: Yeah, it seems nonstop racing from Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas to New Years. I spent too much money and eat too much when I really need some peace and rest and bring the true meaning of Christmas back to my heart. She needs Advent. Advent Advent is the four weeks before the celebration of the birth of Jesus. November 29 is the first Sunday in this season this year and at our church we will light the first of the four candles surrounding the white Christ candle. The candles symbolize joy, hope, peace and love. This time before Christmas is a time of anticipation and waiting for the gift of this … [Read more...]
Happy July 4th! What a Holiday!
Happy July 4th! July 4th is our country's birthday. Happy birthday, United States! July 4th Quote I love this Erma Bombeck quote about our nation's birthday. Yes we celebrate not with tanks, guns and showing the world our military strength. “You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism.” Erma Bombeck We put the emphasis on family, fellowship and of course food. And don't forget "even the flies die from happiness." She had quite a way with words, didn't she? If you are in the U.S. how will you celebrate today? … [Read more...]
Easter Lily Lessons
The front of our church erupted with white-trumpeted lilies this past Easter Sunday. The Easter lily has long been a sign of resurrection for many churches and its white flower symbolizing hope and purity. Legend tells that lilies were discovered in the Garden of Gethsemane after Christ died on the cross. Lilies grow from ugly dead looking bulbs. These bulbs are buried in the ground all winter – through terrible storms and cold endless nights. In spring they burst forth with new beautiful life. What a wonderful symbol of resurrection and life rising from death. The tradition of my church is different families purchase a lily for display on Easter in honor or in memory of someone. We did that this year and now that lily is gracing our dining room table. I enjoy this Easter lily three times. Once with my eyes – seeing this flower lifting its petals up in praise. A second time with my nose – a sweet fragrance trailing throughout the room. And third, with my heart … [Read more...]
It’s Spring!
I love spring. The new beginnings – trees spouting green tips, birds caroling from branch to branch, crisp fresh air rushing in from newly open windows and the earth awakening from its dull brown slumber. Spring is God's way of saying, 'One more time!' Robert Orben My Florida friend, Laura, knows I long for spring during the dreary cold Ohio winters. She sent me this quote last week that captures this season: "The snow has not yet left the earth, but spring is already asking to enter your heart. If you have ever recovered from a serious illness, you will be familiar with the blessed state when you are in a delicious state of anticipation, and are liable to smile without any obvious reason. Evidently that is what nature is experiencing just now. The ground is cold, mud and snow squelches under foot, but how cheerful, gentle and inviting everything is! The air is so clear and transparent that if you were to climb to the top of the pigeon loft or the bell tower, you feel you might … [Read more...]
He is Risen!
14 Heart Quotes – To Honor Valentine’s Day
Just some words of wisdom to ponder today: Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ... Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens. Carl Jung Your feet will take you where your heart is. Irish Proverb The workings of the human heart are the profoundest mystery of the universe. One moment they make us despair of our kind, and the next we see in them the reflection of the divine image. Charles W. Chestnut The thousand mysteries around us would not trouble but interest us, if only we had cheerful, healthy hearts. Nietzche Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meanings can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart. Martin Luther King, Jr. A joyful heart is the inevitable result of a heart burning with love. Mother Teresa Advice from a veteran trapeze performer: Throw your heart over the bars and your body will … [Read more...]
Getting Ready for Lent – A Prayer and Resources
Henri Nouwen wrote this Lenten prayer, which is so fitting as we get ready for Lent as it starts next week. “The Lenten season begins. It is a time to be with you, Lord, in a special way, a time to pray, to fast, and thus to follow you on your way to Jerusalem, to Golgotha, and to the final victory over death. I am still so divided. I truly want to follow you, but I also want to follow my own desires and lend an ear to the voices that speak about prestige, success, pleasure, power, and influence. Help me to become deaf to these voices and more attentive to your voice, which calls me to choose the narrow road to life. I know that Lent is going to be a very hard time for me. The choice for your way has to be made every moment of my life. I have to choose thoughts that are your thoughts, words that are your words, and actions that are your actions. There are not times or places without choices. And I know how deeply I resist choosing you. Please, Lord, be with me at every moment and … [Read more...]
An End to the Year Blessing – John O’Donohue
As this year draws to its end, We give thanks for the gifts it brought And how they became inlaid within Where neither time nor tide can touch them. The days when the veil lifted And the soul could see delight; When a quiver caressed the heart In the sheer exuberance of being here. Surprises that came awake In forgotten corners of old fields Where expectation seemed to have quenched. The slow, brooding times When all was awkward And the wave in the mind Pierced every sore with salt. The darkened days that stopped The confidence of the dawn. Days when beloved faces shone brighter With light from beyond themselves; And from the granite of some secret sorrow A stream of buried tears loosened. We bless this year for all we learned, For all we loved and lost And for the quiet way it brought us Nearer to our invisible destination. -- John O'Donohue (To Bless The Space Between Us/Benedictus) … [Read more...]