Can you believe we get to do this
As we begin a new school year, I find myself repeating this particular phrase again and again. I am exhaling it out in hopes that I will find joy and purpose within its words.
“Can you believe we get to do this?
I am trying to make a habit of repeating this phrase when I feel stuck or uncertain, frustrated and ungrateful.
The first time I heard the Lord’s prayer was when I was nine years old.
A neighbor who attended the local Catholic school invited me to mass one Sunday morning. I was so impressed that she knew when to sit, stand, kneel, and recite this prayer. I had only ever visited Presbyterian and Episcopalian churches with my family, though mostly on holidays or special occasions.
When I was twelve, my parents divorced and my mother encouraged me to attend an Episcopalian church with her. I welcomed the idea and volunteered to be an altar girl on Sunday mornings and I committed to memorizing the Lord’s prayer and the Apostles Creed.
The way we normally do things is not an option these days. Our normal is gone. Our normal celebration of Easter will not be normal at all. Churches across the country and parts of the world will be closed. Traditional Easter hunts are cancelled. Most of us will be forgoing Easter outfits and pictures for pajamas and couch selfies.
I’m recognizing that God needs very little to do the things he desires. He doesn’t need the church steeple or the people. His way to the Resurrection was FOR us. We had little to do with it, other than the fact that we were sinners in need of a savior. Jesus had compassion on us and then carried his cross for us so that we could have communion with him and be saved from our sins. The plan of salvation was always in I am.
I am the Way.
I am the Truth.
I am the Life.
My children are getting older. When I first started writing I wrote about my motherhood struggles and of the waking hours, the weary and the worries. We have transitioned from those years and have moved into the years of what I call ‘flight training’ years. As my children get older they begin to practice flying from the nest.
I walk into the laundry room. Towels have erupted all over the place. I’m days behind on the monotony of wash, dry, fold, put away. The sink has dishes piled up. Each of my kids are needing something from me at the same time. I feel guilt wash over me…It’s all so messy and busy and weary.
The Refugee Crisis and the Church - Stop Talking and MOVE
I may not have an answer. All I have is what I know to be true. I know my family was changed because of the love shown to refugees by the Church. I know people more than anything desire to be free. I know people desire to be safe. I know people desire to be loved.Maybe instead of talking, arguing or giving lots of opinions, why don’t we take this opportunity and really be the hands and feet of Jesus.Imagine what the church could do if we put aside our talk of this crisis and instead we moved on behalf of this crisis.
Finding Him in Everyday Living
I’m spending a beautiful weekend on a beach in Florida. It’s chilly, for a cold front just came into the sunshine state, but even still, nothing beats the beach.I can hear the waves hit the shore and I see people waking on the sand. The water sparkles like chrystal and it’s blue waters goes beyond the eye can see into the horizon.I wonder, as I sit in the quiet of my room. My mind wanders and I wonder.All perspective is in my heart and minds eye. The beauty of life is striking and in the calm of the sea I can survey my life, past, present and future and I can wonder and know and believe.The Word teaches us the way we are to live, the truths we are to pursue, All we must stay away from and all we must seek and find.In the quiet reflections of this moment, I want to live for the right now. The moments of daily life; yes, even the monotonous and mundane, because after all this life that has come before, I have learned that the monotonous and mundane life is where grace is found. The quiet, daily living is where I come to serve and where I lose myself and become more like my Savior.
How to Delight and Desire Your God
About a year ago I sat in a friend’s living room and at the top of an index card I wrote “desires of my heart.” We were talking about delighting in the Lord and truly being in fellowship with Him. I don’t remember too much of the lesson, but we were suppose to write our calling and purpose and I had no idea what those were.At 15, I remember being at a youth convention and the speaker was talking about finding you calling and passions in life. I remember praying and asking the Lord to tell me what I was supposed to do with my life.That day, I heard Him speak to my spirit and I remember hearing very clearly, “write.”At 15, I didn’t know what writing would look like or what I would write, but it had always been a dream and passion.15 years later I sat in my dear friends’ home and on the card I write under callings: “To write…something? What?”