40 Days of Lent - Christ is Risen!

Christ is risen indeed!

Happy Easter

Today's Lenten and final thought is:

March 31 - Easter is the ultimate second chance.  Live anew!

Today, Pastor Mike's sermon started with a story about when he came to Salem.  John, the President of Consistory,  showed him the church, in the dark, without turning on the lights and then proceeded to tell him a ghost story.  The funny thing is that ghost story is mine.  A few years ago, the Monday after Easter I went into church to take care of the flowers.  When I walked in the Sanctuary I had walked to the front of the church and then turned and saw a women, dressed in green sitting in the pew in the back.  I can described to you details of what she was wearing.  I was alarmed I thought that this woman might of been confused, thought it was Sunday.  I had never seen her before.  When I quick turned back to talk to her, she was gone.  I went looking for her, even so much as to look under the pews, but she was gone.  She is now referred to as "The Lady in Green".

I don't know if she was a ghost or an angel, but I saw her and I believe.  Other people believe in her, even though they didn't see her.  We didn't see Jesus hang on the cross, nor did we see Him after the resurrection, but we believe! 

Pastor Mike says he sees God and Jesus everywhere, in people, in the congregation.  We carry on God's work and people can see that in us.

I see Jesus in the children and every so often something special happens that makes me believe all over again.  Today, it was a simple hug, from one of the children before he left.  It was full of love, joy and happiness.  That's the best kind of hug.  In that little unexpected moment I felt the Love of Jesus Christ and it was overwhelming.

CHRIST IS RISEN......CHRIST IS RISEN INDEED!!!!  This is not the
end, but just the beginning. 

40 days of Lent - Day 40

Today is the 40th day of Lent - since Sunday's don't count

Today's Lenten thought is a day late - I was going to put this on with yesterday but I forgot.

March 30 - Today's reading, John 18: 1-19:42, is a long one.  It is John's account of Jesus' passion.  On this Good Friday you might want to find a time to read it all through slowly. and to sit with this story.

Today is the day before Easter - I can only imagine how lost the disciples felt.  Jesus was dead, and they didn't understand that He was going to return.  This is a quiet time to pray and think about what this Lenten season meant to you.  Tomorrow will be my last entry in this...the 40 days of Lent.

Have a good evening and tomorrow we will rejoice!

40 days of Lent - If God B4 us

Well, we are winding down to the end of Lent - today is Maundy Thursday and today's Lenten thought is:

March 28 - The days before Easter are a good time to remember always that God is with you, within you, within you, behind you and before you.

Which brings us to the saying - If God be for us - who can be against us!  Which is from Romans 8:31 - What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?  And that says it all - I can't think of anything to add but have a great day!

40 Days of Lent - Eggs

Today's Lenten Thought:

March 27  - Dye Easter Eggs even if there are no kids around.  Buy the kit with the garish colors or, if you need to be more serious, use natural dyes - like beets and onions.  Search "natural Easter egg dyes" on google.

I am a PAAS girl myself.  Love solid brightly colored eggs.  But I will be doing this  Saturday when I am not working, so this lenten thought will be put on hold.

I had thought about doing eggs in more of a natural way - my family always did the onion shells, which I didn't like - if I wanted brown eggs I could just buy brown eggs and hard boil them.   But somthing about the fizz of a PAAS tablet I find exciting.

Here is the history of PAAS from there site:

The original PAAS Easter egg dye was invented by an American named William Townley.

"Mr. Townley owned a drug store in Newark, New Jersey, where he concocted recipes for home products. In the late 1800s, he came up with a recipe for Easter egg dye tablets that tinted eggs five cheerful colors.

Neighborhood families started buying Townley’s Easter Egg Dye packets in 1880 for only five cents and mixed them with water and white vinegar to create the perfect egg dye!

Soon, Mr. Townley realized that he had a wonderful product that other families would like to use to brighten their Easter tradition. He renamed his business the PAAS Dye Company. The name PAAS comes from “Passen,” the word that his Pennsylvania Dutch neighbors used for Easter.

Today, Americans purchase more than 10 million PAAS Easter Egg Color Kits during the Easter season, and use them to decorate as many as 180 million eggs!

Now—more than 130 years later—we believe Mr. Townley would be proud of PAAS’ perfect colors. The original is still the best!"

WOW - 130 years of PAAS - I always wonder what PAAS meant - now I know! 

Have a colorful day!

40 days of Lent- Let Go

Today's Lenten Thought

March 26 - Getting ready for Easter involves learning to make room for the power of God beyond your capacity to calculate or control.

Making room for the power of God.  It kind of reminds me of the phrase let go - let God. 

Sometimes we have to let go of what we think is best for us or for someone else.  We think that "mother knows best" attitude when in reality it "The Father knows best"

Jesus prayed “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42). We need to let go and let God do what God wills. This submission will lead to peace and joy, even when the way is difficult.

So get ready to make room for the power of God in your life, I know I am trying to.

40 Days of Lent - Why worry?

Today's Lenten thought:

March 2  -  In the spirit of Easter, think of three old things your are going to stop worrying about and three new things you're going to look forward to instead.

hmmmmm

The three things that I am going to stop worrying about, I won't share.  That way if someone would ask me, "hey did you stop worrying about......" I might start worrying about it again.  LOL Actually I feel they are kind of private, so I will keep them that way. 


But I will share the three things I am looking forward to.

1)  Spring - it can't come soon enough.
2)  A trip to the shore - my favorite place.  Anywhere were land meets the sea.
3)  Reading the books in my book pile - especially the next three

Maybe these are not three big things, but I look forward to each of them.

My favorite scripture about worry is as follows:

Matthew 6:25-27  “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

One time I was so worried about money that while I was driving to work  I was thinking, what if I don't have enough money for food.  Suddenly a pancake fell from the sky just missing the hood of my car. (True story! At first I thought, manna from heaven?) Then I saw a crow swoop down, pick it up, and carried it away.  There were so many nearby restaurants I figured he must of got it out of the trash somewhere and that's when I remembered this scripture.  Certainly if God could  provide pancakes to crows then I should not be worried where my next meal would be coming from.  I remember this story every time I worry too much.

So make you lists and throw out the worries and look forward to something exciting.