Ash Wednesday

I purchased this book at the beginning of the year, A Disciple's Journal 2015: A Guide for Daily Prayer, Bible Reading, and Discipleship.  I've not been good a reading it every day, though when I do I really enjoy it.  Today's reading was especially for Ash Wednesday and I found it very interesting.

The scriptures are Joel 2:1-2, 12-17, Psalm 51:1-17, 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 and Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21.  You can read them here.   The lectionary has one more reading from Isaiah, 58:1-12.

In Joel it talks about blowing the trumpet to announce the coming of the Lord!  It talks about returning to God with fasting.

In Isaiah, it talks again about blowing the trumpet and fasting.  This time it talks about fasting to humble oneself, to loose the bonds of injustice, to share your bread with the hungry and gather the poor in to your home.

In Psalms, it talks about being made clean.  This says "Create in me a clean heart," "Open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise."

In 2 Corinthians it talks about becoming the righteousness of God.  It says, "See, now is the acceptable time; see, now is the day of salvation!"  Don't put obstacles in anyone's way so that no fault may be found with our ministry.  Being servants of God through the hard stuff.

And then in Matthew it talks about not putting on show in our fasting, our giving, our praying, but to do it in private and keep it between you and God.

They kind of all put this whole thing of 'giving up' something for Lent into perspective.  The whys and hows.  It quietly prepared me.

In preparing for Easter, I've decided to try to do through the lens of my camera by following photo-a-day project at Rethink Church.  Today's word is Announce and I loved how it played into the scripture readings.  I decided to look around me for announcements and here is what I found...

An announcement of spring coming in the middle of the snow.

An announcement of my husband's love for me.

Let's Be Transformed

I didn't get preach this morning so this morning as I listened to the sermon at our church, I remembered the sermon I had prepared last year, but never got to share because we had a snow storm, so I thought I'd share it here this year.

Exodus 24:12-18

Matthew 17:1-9

Today is the Feast of the Transfiguration or Transfiguration Sunday.  It is the Sunday between the season after Epiphany and Lent.  The transfiguration was a time when human nature met God with Jesus as the bridge.  Today, we will think about the Transfiguration of Jesus and how it relates to the upcoming season of Lent. 

Jesus takes Peter, James and John high up the mountain with him to be witnesses of what is about to happen.  This transfiguration is a revealing of Jesus’s true nature.  Jesus is glorified.  These three disciples get to see who Jesus really is and then they hear the voice of God coming out of the cloud, “This is my son, the Beloved; with him I am well pleased; listen to him!”

Jesus was revealed to them!  When they heard God’s voice they were scared.  They fell to the ground overcome with fear.  Can you imagine it?

Have you ever been that scared?  I will admit that I have.  My husband’s first deployment started about 3 or 4 months before the war in Iraq began. He left on a 6^th month rotation in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. We knew when he left that war was coming and that he might not come home as scheduled.  I was scared when he left.  I didn’t know what to expect.  Then one night, the night the war was kicking off, I got a phone call.  It was my husband.  He was calling before the blackout, that’s when all lines out are turned off and there is no more communication for a while.  His words made my blood run cold.  He said, “I just wanted to tell you I love you one last time.”  That scared me to death.  It literally took my breath away.  I quickly told him I loved him and then he was gone.  I remember that I barely made to the room where my parents were sleeping in, before I fell to the floor crying.  I was that scared.

I think this must have been a little like how the disciples felt when they heard the voice of God. They had just witnessed light glowing from Jesus and then Elijah and Moses appeared and then, this voice came from the cloud.  It had to be overwhelming and frightening.  They were overcome with fear and fell to the ground.  Then Jesus came over to them and touched them and said, “Get up and do not be afraid.”   That reassuring voice of Jesus, “Get up, you have more to do.  Don’t be afraid, I’m with you. “  If we had read on in Matthew just  few verses, we would have heard Jesus tell them to wait to tell anyone about what they had seen until after his resurrection.  There was more preparing to be done before everyone was ready to have Jesus really revealed to them.

Back in Exodus, God called Moses to the mountain to receive the stone tablets but he told them to wait there. And the glory of the Lord settled on the mountain in the form of a brilliant cloud.  Now, I bet the Israelites were just as scared as the disciples at the sight.   Moses waited on the mountain for 6 days.  On the 7^th day God called Moses from the cloud to come to him and Moses entered the cloud, went up the mountain and stayed there for 40 days and 40 nights.

Now, I enjoy finding how stories match up or finding threads that run through the Bible and 40 days is one of them.  In the story of Noah, it rained for 40 days and then Noah waited another 40 days before opening the window of the ark. Moses was on the mountain for 40 days (this happened twice with Moses).  Jesus was tempted in the desert for 40 days and so on.  And, Lent is a 40 day observance. 

Lent is a time when we draw near to God.  It’s time to reflect on our lives and our relationship with the Lord.  It’s a time for sacrifice, it’s a time for renewal.  If want, we can take these 40 days and use them to be transformed ourselves to be more like Christ.  Isn’t that what we are called to be?  

In Leviticus, we are told to be holy (19:2 it was discussed the week before) and then in Matthew, Jesus tells us to be perfect (5:48).  Lent is time for us to work on this.  There are many ways people observe Lent.  Some people give something up.  They give up chocolate, soft drinks, eating out.  Now a days, people try to give up Facebook or TV for the 40 days, though this year, I’ve heard of people just giving them up on Sundays during the 40 days. 

Some people add something to better themselves, a discipline.  Such as fasting once a week, adding daily Bible readings, more prayer time, exercising, eating healthier and so on.

Whichever way you go about it, the purpose is to spend the 40 days focusing more on God, strengthening our relationship with Christ, developing good habits that will help lead us to a our own transformation.

Christ was transfigured that day on the mountain.  His true self was revealed to the disciples.  Now it’s our turn.  We can‘t be transfigured but we can be transformed.  We can reveal through discipline who it is that God created us to be, a child of God, a Christ follower, a servant to others.  We can use these 40 days, which start this Wednesday, to transform our lives for Christ.  Will you join me? 

Meditation

https://andrewwillson.wordpress.com/tag/mindfulness/

Do you meditate?  I've tried but am never very successful.  I can't ever get my mind to quiet down, but this morning I started reading a book on meditation with your camera and it started out talking about centering.  It gave a little exercise to get you started and for the first time in my life, I was able to quiet my mind and just be present and just listen.  It was the most relaxing feeling.  It felt so good.

Often when we think of people meditating we think of sitting cross-legged, hands open on knees with two fingers touching chanting Ooommmm....  some new age thing or Buddhist practice but anyone can meditate and we probably all should. 

The definition of meditate is: "think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation." 

Too often people see the word spiritual and think of anything but religion.  Some people think of new age type stuff and are frightened away by it, but religion is spiritual and meditation is away for us to let the spirit in, or maybe to open ourselves to the spirit.

http://www.wellness-and-workouts.com/christian-meditation.html

During this time this morning I felt revived and felt... maybe... a sense of direction, a sense of peace.  I think I'm going to work on incorporating meditation more regularly into my life.  I can see where it can change things.  I can see where it can help in different aspects of my life.  The big one?  Letting go.  I could feel certain things I've been holding onto start to slip away.  I'm not saying they won't come back but it was nice to know that I can let go and let God have 'it'.  

So, do you meditate?  When you do it?  in the mornings?  in the evenings? throughout the day?  How do you do it?  sitting in a chair?  lying down?  eyes open or shut?  music or silence?  I'd love to hear what you have to say!  Please share!

Listening...

When I started out on this journey of Lay Servant Ministries, people asked me what 'level' (for lack of the right word right now) I planned to go to.  Local Lay Servant?  Certified Lay Servant?  Lay Speaker?  Certified Lay Minister? (That one is really a stand alone but it was there.) My reply was that I would go until God told me to stop.  The problem is, how do I know when God says stop?  I've heard a slow down, wait till it's time once but how do I know?

Borrowed from the Upper Room Facebook Page  Go 'like' them you'll be blessed.

I really try to listen, I do.  I listen to what those around me say.  I listen to the scriptures.  I listen, but I have a hard time trusting what I hear.  I have a hard time knowing what's God and what's not.  How do we discern that?  I took an 'advanced course' on this very thing and maybe I need to take it again because I don't think it took!  I hear conflicting things all the time, from the people around me and also from inside me, in my thoughts.

So... I'm going to work on that silence thing. I'm going to try to listen more.  

Speak, Lord.  Your servant is listening.

I borrowed this one from the IntentionLiving Facebook page.  Go 'like' them!

Update: I am a Lay Speaker which is as far as Lay Servant Ministries goes.  I'm just not sure if I am supposed to go beyond that or not...  

Daddy was a P̶r̶e̶a̶c̶h̶e̶r̶ Pastor

Do you remember the movie "Papa Was A Preacher?"  It came out in the mid '80's.  I loved it.  Papa even served in a church my Daddy did!  It was pretty cool but I don't know many people who watched it.

Anyway, back to my blogpost.  When I was little and would say that my daddy was a preacher, my mom would always correct me and say that he was a pastor, there's a difference.  It took me many years to figure this out, I mean, to me,  preacher, pastor, minister were all synonyms.  As a teen, I kind of started figuring out what she meant but it's really been as a adult that it all started making sense to me, and yes, there is a difference.

My daddy was a minister and a preacher but he was a true pastor.  He cared for people, he ministered to them.  He loved the congregation where he was serving and he was there for them.  He was often there to open and close the church each day.  When there was a death he was there.  When there was illness he was there.  If someone was in the hospital he was there, if they were having surgery he was there to pray with them before hand and most often stayed with the family.  He counseled with people. He helped people get through difficult times.  He was present; present in the church, present in the community, and present in the lives of the congregation and they loved him for it.  (And as a side note, he was always present in our family as well.)

I've not really experienced very many pastors in my adult life in church. I don't know, maybe it's because I'm a preacher's kid and people think I can take care of myself and I don't need anyone.  Maybe it's just me, and other people in churches experience pastors, but for me they have mostly been preachers.

Don't get me wrong, I've loved many of the preacher's I've had over the years, I really have, but very few of them truly ministered or pastored to me and my family.

I don't know.  Maybe it's because I don't let people see the need.  Maybe it's because I smile too much.  Maybe I expect too much.  Maybe I'm completely wrong and am being too harsh, too needy.  I don't know... but I do know that if my daddy was my preacher pastor, he would be actively ministering to me and my family during our time of grief. He would be checking to see if everything was okay with us and he would be encouraging me and helping me with my own ministry as a Lay Servant Minister and Lay Speaker.  He would be present in our lives not just from the pulpit or on Sunday morning.  He would be a pastor.

Joy comes in the morning

Five funerals and a graveside in four months.  I feel as though I've been surrounded by death, grief, and mourning for far too long.  Somedays the grief is unimaginable but I'm so thankful for my faith because without it I'm afraid the grief would completely overwhelm and consume me.

Thankfully, I have scripture to give me hope, to comfort me, to remind me that in Christ we are all resurrected.

I'm thankful for time spent with family as we all come together to offer comfort and support to one another.  Sometimes we get reacquainted after many years apart.  I think it's wonderful that we all come together to celebrate a life we all loved and will miss and then in the celebration we find each other again.

I love hearing the stories everyone has to tell about the one we will miss.  I love spending time remembering.  Sometimes it brings tears but usually laughter and love are right there with them.

I miss my daddy more than I can ever say and I always will. He was such a huge part of our everyday life even from afar.  There's not much that I do that doesn't make me think of him. He's in the sermons I write.  I hear him in the voice of my kids and my nieces and nephews.  I can see his grin and hear his laugh in my mind all the time.

I think of my brother-in-love's precious little face when I first started dating his big brother.  How he just adored and looked up to him.  I think of the time I spent with him and how funny he was. I can see the big smile that just exploded on his face that just got bigger as he got older.

I didn't know my uncles as well as I'd have liked but I thought they both looked like movie stars. They both had great smiles and I have special memories of them both.

I choose to think on the happiness that each one experienced and shared.  I choose to remember the good times.  I choose to think of them all partying in Heaven, without pain, without sorrow, just pure joy.  It's what gets me through.

Losing those we love is hard.  We're left behind to continue on living and sometimes that is so hard because the loss can be overwhelming but we are to continue living, it's what they would want and it's what we are here to do.  Let's rejoice in their joy.

Psalm 16:9-11
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.  My body rests in safety.  For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow Your Holy One to rot in the grave.  You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of Your presence and the pleasures of living with You forever.

John 14
Do not let your hearts be troubled.  Trust in God, trust also in me.  In my Father's house are many rooms, if it were not so, I would have told you.  I am going there to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me, that you also may be where I am.  Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.  I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid.

"Weeping may linger in the night, but joy comes in the morning."
Psalm 30:5b

The Baptism of the Lord

Well, there has been another death in our family.  Four siblings have passed away in the last two years or so.  I hate to see it.  We've had other family members pass away in this time as well.  It just seems like so much.  We've also lost a few friends too.  It just seems so crazy to me.  Every time I turn around, someone has died.  It's just so sad for those of us left behind.

This past Sunday was The Baptism of the Lord Sunday.  I had the pleasure of being able to share a sermon with a lovely congregation in Kansas City.  I spoke on baptism and what it means in the United Methodist Church.  We took time to remember our baptism, to reflect on the baptism of Jesus. We remembered, and I think, feel renewed in the Christian Family.  We remembered that as Christians we get our identity from Christ, not society.  We remembered that in baptism we "put on Christ" and become a new person.  We remembered that through baptism we receive the Holy Spirit and that He is at work in us.  We remembered that through baptism, we enter into a covenant with God to use our gifts to strengthen the church and to transform the world.   We remembered that we are children of God and he loves us.

This was so comforting to me as I face a difficult week.