Category Archives: Holidays & Holy Days

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May 9, 2015

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Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Nature

HIS LOVE – Mother’s Day 2015

DSC05555-2redHe spreads his wings over them, even as an eagle overspreads her young. She carries them upon her wings – as does the Lord his people! [Deuteronomy 32:11 (TLB)]

These last few years, I’ve been blessed to watch a family of swans who nest in a nearby park. I’ve observed them take turns sitting on the nest, taking their babies for a swim and even teaching them to fly. Last year, I saw a mother swan actually taking her baby for a ride on her back, sheltering the cygnet with her wings. Moses probably never saw a swan because, if he had, he might have mentioned the swan in Deuteronomy as well as the eagle.

Thank you, God, for being like a mother bird, protecting us from harm, carrying us when we’re too weak to do it alone, and teaching us to fly. Thank you for our mothers and for every other woman who has acted in your place and boldly watched over and protected our young, helped them through the challenges of childhood and taught them the skills they need to be independent adults.

A mother’s love for her child is like nothing else in the world. It knows no law, no pity, it dares all things and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path. [Agatha Christie]

There is no friendship, no love, like that of a parent for the child. [Henry Ward Beecher]

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May 7, 2015

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Church & Worship, Holidays & Holy Days, Obedience, Prayer, Wisdom & Guidance

DO THE WAVE

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Listen to Your servant’s prayer and his petition, Lord my God, so that You may hear the cry and the prayer that Your servant prays before You today, [1 Kings 8:28 (HCSB)]

In 2008, 157,574 fans at the Bristol Motor Speedway participated in the world’s largest audience wave. Successive groups of spectators briefly stood, yelled as they raised their arms and then quickly returned to their seats. The Bristol wave traveled around the stadium in a continuous circuit four times for a distance of two miles. Today, we have an opportunity to participate in a much larger wave: a wave of prayer. The first Thursday of May is designated as the National Day of Prayer. At noon, the same prayer will be simultaneously offered throughout our nation. Unlike an audience wave, there’s no need to be in a stadium or arena. You can pray wherever you happen to be. Can you imagine how many hundreds of thousands could participate in this wave of prayer that will stretch over 2,800 miles across just the continental U.S? Add Hawaii and that wave of prayer would travel about 5,000 miles! Today at noon, please join thousands of others and offer this prayer for our nation.

[2015 National Prayer by Dr. Jack Graham]

 Heavenly Father,

We come to You in the Name that is above every name—Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Our hearts cry out to You. Knowing that You are a prayer-answering, faithful God—the One we trust in times like these—we ask that You renew our spirits, revive our churches, and heal our land.

We repent of our sins and ask for Your grace and power to save us. Hear our cry, oh God, and pour out Your Spirit upon us that we may walk in obedience to Your Word. We are desperate for Your tender mercies. We are broken and humbled before You. Forgive us, and in the power of Your great love, lift us up to live in Your righteousness.

We pray for our beloved nation. May we repent and return to You and be a light to the nations. And we pray for our leaders and ask that You give them wisdom and faith to follow You. Preserve and protect us, for You are our refuge and only hope. Deliver us from all fears except to fear You, and may we courageously stand in the Truth that sets us free.

We pray with expectant faith and grateful hearts. In Jesus’ name, our Savior. Amen.

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April 18, 2015

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Faith & Hope, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Holy Spirit, Nature, Salvation: A New You

RESURRECTION FERNS

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I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirsts for rain. [Psalm 143:6 (NLT)]

The question was asked, “How did the message of “Resurrection Day” [Easter] impact you specifically this year?” I never answered. The last two weeks have been hectic and, unfortunately, I allowed the busyness of life to keep me from feeling Easter’s complete impact. We had house guests until the day before Easter. After they left, laundry, cleaning and prep work for Easter dinner kept me from prayer and preparing my heart to receive the next day’s message. Easter morning arrived and we rushed to church where I took over 200 photos for the church website. Returning home, I had those photos to edit and post before our six dinner guests arrived. About the time the house was again clean and I’d nearly caught up with everything that hadn’t been done the week earlier, we had a second set of house guests. It wasn’t until today that I finally gave serious thought to how the Easter message has impacted my life.

We took a walk in the swamp this morning and I saw the resurrection ferns. Two days ago, when we walked the same boardwalk, the ferns’ fronds were brown and shriveled. While I reassured my guest that they were not dead, I’m not sure she believed me. It rained last night and I wish she could have seen the ferns this morning. Within thirty minutes of receiving rain, those shriveled leaves uncurl, green up and look “good as new.” Because of last night’s shower, the resurrection ferns in the swamp were lush and lovely today.

The Easter message is one of resurrection and renewal. Just as the rain water gives new life to the ferns, the living water of the resurrected Christ brings new life to us. The ferns, however, will again shrivel in the heat of the day; once we receive the Holy Spirit, we can thrive and blossom, even in hot dry spells. Jesus defeated death and by His power, we can defeat life! I have drunk of his water, been refreshed and renewed, and will never thirst again!

Thank you, Heavenly Father, for taking the shriveled bits of our lives and making them new again. With your living water, there is no need to wither and die. By the power of your Holy Spirit, we can always flourish in your garden!

Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.” [John 4:13-14 (NLT)]

Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, “Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.” [John 7:38 (NLT)]

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April 7, 2015

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Bible Stories, Challenges & Difficulty, Fear & Doubt, God's Promises, Holidays & Holy Days, Knowing Him, Sorrow, Grief & Regrets

WILL WE RECOGNIZE HIM?

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. [John 1:10 (NLT)]

?????????????????????????????The Gospel of John tells us that Mary Magdalene went to the tomb early that Sunday morning only to find it empty. Puzzled, upset, and thinking that someone had stolen the body of Jesus, she started to weep. When she saw a man, thinking he was the gardener, she asked what had been done with Jesus. It wasn’t until He spoke to her that she recognized the Lord.

Luke tells how, that same day, while walking to Emmaus, two of Jesus’ followers were talking about the crucifixion and the week’s events. Frightened and disturbed by the confusing news, a man joined them as they walked. The two, preoccupied with their sadness and disappointment, failed to recognize Him. It was not until Jesus sat down with them, broke bread and blessed it, that they finally recognized their Lord.

These men and Mary Magdalene were Jesus’ followers, yet they failed to recognize him at first. Were they so blinded by their grief or so focused on their disappointment that they couldn’t see their Savior? Were they so preoccupied by their troubles that they failed to see their solution in Jesus? Did they miss seeing Jesus simply because they weren’t looking for him? Was it because, in spite of Jesus’ promises, they weren’t even expecting him?

If we ever hope to experience Jesus’ power and hope, we must remember to look for him when we are grieving, disappointed or troubled. I wonder how many times I have seen Jesus and failed to recognize him, never realizing He was right beside me all of the time.

If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. [Jeremiah 29:13 (NLT)]

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March 20, 2015

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Attitudes & Behavior, Challenges & Difficulty, Family, Friends & Fellowship, God's Grace & Love, Holidays & Holy Days, Joy, Nature, Today: Make it Count

IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER – for the First Day of Spring

O Lord, God of my salvation, I cry out to you by day. I come to you at night. Now hear my prayer; listen to my cry. For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. … My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy. [Psalm 88:1-3,9 (NLT)]

3-20-15bleak-r-cropWEBPsalm 88, written by Heman the Ezrahite, was sung to a tune called “The Suffering of Affliction.” Clearly not a light-hearted ditty, this likely could be the most depressing of all the psalms. Written in a state of despair, the only glimmer of hope in the psalm is that the psalmist chose to pray at all. And pray he did, as he poured out his concerns and sorrow to God, the god of his salvation.

Last month, we went walking in a snow storm. It looked like a Psalm 88 kind of day: bleak and dreary with no hope of spring. Except for our parkas and the lone fox we surprised, we could have been in a black and white photograph. As we walked, my mind kept echoing the words, “In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan, Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone.”

I remembered a friend’s comment about the way she once viewed life. Bereaved and emotionally numb after some distressing years, she saw the world only in black, white and various shades of grey. Regardless of the weather outside, she remained stuck in a bleak midwinter. While the calendar tells us when seasons change and winter turns to spring, there is no designated date for spring when one is experiencing an emotional winter in life.1494-cropRWEB

Eventually, after making a concerted effort to move out of the bleakness of winter, spring arrived for my friend. Once again she saw the world in its amazing Technicolor. As she prayed, her faith strengthened and she moved out of isolation into God’s love. She cautiously stepped out of her lonely sorrow and into new friendships. With the warmth of God’s love and Christian fellowship, she again grew and blossomed, much as a spring flower does after winter. As color came back into her life, she brought color into the lives of those she met.

Jesus brought sight to the blind; not all the blind, however, are visually impaired. Many, like my friend, are temporarily blinded by their tears. If that is you, reach out to God in prayer and to your brothers and sisters in Christ. If not, do you know someone who needs the warmth of Christian fellowship to break the ice in their hearts? Is there someone who needs to experience some of God’s loving grace so they can, once again, experience spring and the world in full color? Is there someone who needs to know the rest of the song’s words: that the answer is in Jesus Christ?

“In the Bleak Midwinter” [Christina Rossetti (1872)]

In the bleak midwinter, frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron, water like a stone;
Snow had fallen, snow on snow, snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter, long ago.
Our God, Heaven cannot hold Him, nor earth sustain;
Heaven and earth shall flee away when He comes to reign.
In the bleak midwinter a stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty, Jesus Christ. …
What can I give Him, poor as I am?
If I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb;
If I were a Wise Man, I would do my part;
Yet what I can I give Him: give my heart.

In that day the deaf will hear words read from a book, and the blind will see through the gloom and darkness. [Isaiah 29:18 (NLT)]

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March 6, 2015

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Church & Worship, Holidays & Holy Days, Love & Works, Prayer, Sharing Our Faith

RADICAL LOVE – WORLD DAY OF PRAYER 2015

Jesus washed their feet and put on His coat. Then He sat down again and said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? [John 12:12 (NLV)]

My husband had an elderly aunt who clipped recipes continually and often sent them out to family. Her kitchen was filled with assorted recipes, recipe books and a beautiful array of pots, pans and other cooking utensils. The kitchen and equipment, however, were in pristine condition because they’d never been used. Although she read recipes, she rarely stepped into the kitchen and never cooked. Prayer without action is a bit like my husband’s aunt reading recipes and never doing anything with them. We can sit in our comfy chairs and pray about all sorts of things but never get up to do anything about our concerns. Prayer and action, however, are inseparable. If we care enough to pray about it, we should care enough to do something about it. My husband’s aunt didn’t have to become a gourmet chef like Mario Batali or Julia Child but she could have tried cooking something. We’re not necessarily called to become Mother Teresa or David Livingstone, but God expects us to do for others what He has done for us.

Today women, men and children in more than 170 countries will celebrate the World Day of Prayer. The motto of the World Day of Prayer organization is “Informed Prayer & Prayerful Action.” Materials for today’s celebration, prepared by the WDP Committee of The Bahamas, ask us to consider Jesus’ words to the disciples after washing their feet: “Do you understand what I have done for you?” The women of The Bahamas describe Jesus’ action as an act of “radical love.” They point out that such radical love comes from humility, compassion and commitment. God’s radical love is not inert and unmoving; it is dynamic. God’s radical love is not self-centered; it is selfless. God’s radical love reaches out and draws others in. God’s radical love gets off its knees and takes action.

The women of The Bahamas call for prayers and action regarding issues of special concern to them: domestic abuse, HIV/AIDS, women in the workplace, the environment, and immigrant and migrant workers. There is no shortage of issues that beg for prayer and action. Join with our sisters (and brothers) in Christ in both prayer and efforts toward justice, peace, healing and wholeness. Let us always remember Jesus’ radical act of love and follow his example.

We exalt your name for every opportunity given to us to minister to the poor and to wash the feet of the weary. …Open our eyes to those who are in need of a gentle touch, a listening ear, a word of comfort or a healing presence. Jesus, we are amazed by you. How deep and radical is your love for us! Teach us how to be more like you, and to model your radical love and gracious hospitality to all of your children. Amen. [From World Day of Prayer 2015]

Christ alone can save the world, but Christ cannot save the world alone. [David Livingstone]

You call Me Teacher and Lord. You are right because that is what I am. I am your Teacher and Lord. I have washed your feet. You should wash each other’s feet also. I have done this to show you what should be done. You should do as I have done to you. [John 12:13-15 (NLV)]