A Wrist Alarm to Be Imposed??
I suppose that to get to the blessings of the Lenten season, we must actively do penance. I mean, we know we sin, I know there are things that stand between God and me and our closeness, so I must go through the process of identifying my shortcomings, truly contemplate them and ask for God’s forgiveness. And I will get that. But, then, the really hard work follows. I must work diligently to correct my wrong doings or the things of which I am guilty by omission. The things I could do, I should do that would really make a difference and, yet, somehow they just don’t get done. Now, instead of thinking of things I do that are not good for ME…like OK, from now on I am going to wear a wrist alarm that will blast out alarms when I open the ICE CREAM case at Publix or pick up a pack of my favorite cookies from the bakery. You know, if I actually shopped that way I could lose a lot more weight and get better blood work reports. But, I don’t have that wrist alarm that probably would go straight to 911 and Publix might even go into lockdown!!! No, I just have a conscience or inner voice guiding me to make the right choices. And even though every time I hear my conscience telling me not to buy the ice cream, I buy the ice cream. I’m better on somethings, but that is one I must work on! 🙁 But, this year in Lent, I am working to identify my behaviors or lack of that are not good/helpful to other people. My behaviors that offend God. Really, offend God? That right there was hard for me to even type, yet, I know God wants and needs more from me. God, the Creator of the Universe and the lover of my soul, breathe into me the fullness of your love so that I may live life more fully within Your commandment of love. Inspire me, Father, to more actively reach out and stretch really hard to seek where I am needed. I lay at the foot of the cross of our Christ Jesus, all my shortcomings, and trust that you will nourish me with you Word and fill me with your grace and gentle mercy as we celebrate the feast of the Resurrection of Christ. Lent, a time of reflection, decisions, renewal through the journey of our Lord Jesus Christ ...
Read MoreContemplating Lent
For Christians around the world the season of lent is upon us. How shall we approach the cross? With Lent being the 40 days leading up to Easter, this is a season of discovery or, perhaps, rediscovery of who God is and who each of us is to Him. It is a season of sadness and sorrow that in the end becomes a “bright sadness.” For me, Holy Week, itself, has a somber tone with the awareness of Christ praying in the garden, the disciples gathering in a private room for their final meal together….the Last Supper. The Holy Communion they shared. The bread…His body broken for us; the wine, His blood shed for each of us. The parting words, so carefully chosen as the New Commandment…”love one another as I have loved you.” Christ knew he was to be killed and would be leaving His disciples so when I contemplate His choice of message to leave them with for all Christians on earth, it is just so divinely ordained. It was the New Commandment and it is for all times. Just as important, just as critical now as then…”love one another as I have loved you.” So how are we doing down here on this earth that grows more crowded every minute…more hostile and more secular as we breathe the day’s breaths in and out? So how are we doing with the New Commandment to “love one another as I have loved you.” Palm Sunday starts off our Christian Holy Week. Our custom has been to attend our Maundy Thursday service and leave in silence reflecting on the crucifixion and suffering of Christ for us and our salvation. Then, Good Friday services arrive setting the tone of the act of the crucifixion and beginning the three days until Christ rises from the dead in all glory. He is Risen…He is Risen, indeed!! The “Bright Sadness” has arrived! Glory, hallelujah! Easter has...
Read MoreApproaching Easter…The Garment
There is a song about Christ’s death that says something like this, “they should have been my hands, where the nails were; they should have been my feet, where the nails were; it should have been my side…for it’s for me my Lord died.” Yes, those nails should have pierced my hands, my feet and the sword should have been plunged into my side, not His. My sins, my salvation…His pain, His Grace. I guess most of us have all thought about this. God so loved us that He gave His own Son to take our nails, our sword, our pain, our death so that we might live…so that we would be forgiven. Now, you’ve got the picture, don’t you? I see it as a gray looking, windy day on Golgotha. Up on a hill, stood three crosses…two of them with thieves…we might even say they “deserved” THEIR crosses. But, the third one. That third cross…that one was yours and mine. Ours, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Remember how the Crown of Thorns adorned his head? The blood ran down His forehead, His head hanging slightly…I wish I could have wiped his brow for Him. The nails piercing His hands and feet. It hurts to really think what that must have felt like. I’ve wondered why those nails didn’t just rip right on through His hands with the weight of His body. Yet, I’ve thought about how trim His body looked in drawings…after all, He never indulged Himself and He did keep a busy schedule! Then, there’s the garment. Simply a loin cloth, barely hanging around His hips. Hanging. I see it dirty and bloody after walking His final walk from Gethsemane to Golgotha, carrying our cross, being knocked to the ground by the jabbing and jeering soldiers, beaten and whipped. Our Lord carrying our load, bearing our pain, stripped for our forgiveness. I must admit, I would have wanted to yell and scream at the soldiers and the crowd for persecuting him. Instead, He asked, “Father, forgive them.” What a Lord! It’s odd, isn’t it, how sometimes certain things can puzzle us? That garment bothers me. Not really fit for a King. Our King. I would have liked to have washed it for him. Instead, He washed ME. Clean. Completely clean. I would have liked to have made Him something more suitable, more honorable, more King-like. Instead, He prepared a Table for me…and you, too. I would have liked to have given him a drink of water…he had to be thirsty. Instead, He offered me His blood, shed for me…His body, broken for me, so that I might NEVER thirst again. I would have wanted to stand up for Him. Instead, He hung for me. The bread and the wine. Remembrance. Covenant. Grace. Love. Drink. Taste the tears, the pain, the humiliation, the loneliness and, then taste the Joy of forgiveness. The cross? Yours and mine. The sacrifice? His, for sure. The garment? The label reads, “Especially for Jesus, Designed by the Father.” Praise God from Whom all blessings flow....
Read MoreColor Purple in Lent
The color purple represents royalty and in the Christian church, is also celebrates through the pain and suffering Christ endured and leads us to the hope of newness in His resurrection on Easter morning. Christians around the world have been focusing on the season of Lent as we prepare for Easter. How do we prepare? Some choose to fast and young children are sometimes introduced to fasting or sacrificing by choosing to “give up” something they especially enjoy for the 40 weekdays of Lent. Discipline is one of the ways we prepare for Easter and disciplining ourselves is not always easy to accomplish. For me, the main idea of observing Lent, is to set aside time for reflection on Christ, himself, and what He experienced for our salvation. As we move our way toward the joy of Easter, we must consider the journey that our Lord took…the sacrifice, pain and suffering, the steps He took that led to His death and burial, and finally, His resurrection. Many Christians observe Lent as a time of prayer and strengthening our spirituality. Prayer, especially one of penance, helps me to refocus the days of my life and ponder my own short-comings when I can prayerfully ask God’s forgiveness and guidance in living a life more glorifying to God. What Grace there is in the blessed assurance of Christ’s great gift to each of...
Read MoreWhat's Your Passion?
National Audubon Society
Help support the efforts of our National Audubon Society in conservation of natural bird habitats. Visit: www.birds.audubon.org