Passover & Easter

Passover and Easter are connected in very meaningful ways. The New Testament writers Mark and Luke record the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. This, of course, is the basis for Christians' celebration of communion. Jesus was celebrating the Passover meal with his followers just before his death.

To fully appreciate the significance of Jesus' death and resurrection, we must know a little about Passover. It's fascinating to learn how important a celebration this is in the Jewish faith. It ties in nicely with the Christian faith, as well. Both speak of freedom, salvation, and God's love.

From www.chabad.org we read this about Passover:

• It is an eight-day festival, this year running from April 3 through 11.
• It commemorates the emancipation of the Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt.
• The Israelites endured horrific conditions and forced labor under the rule of ancient Egyptian pharaohs for many decades.
• God sent Moses to Pharoah, requesting him to let the people go: "Send forth my people so they may serve God."
• Pharoah refused and ten awful plagues resulted--each one escalating in severity.
• The last plague was the tipping point for Pharoah. All first-born males were killed, including his son.
• The children of Israel were spared this horrific plague that PASSED OVER their homes. (The blood of a slain lamb was brushed on the doorposts of their homes so they would be spared this plague of death.)
• The Israelites had to gather themselves up and leave quickly--no time for bread to rise so they ate unleavened bread.
• The group consisted of 600,000 males plus women and children.
• They began their long and arduous trek to Mount Sinai.

Whew. Quite a bit of drama in a nutshell. But all this makes the celebration of Passover meaningful. It also makes the tie-in with the Resurrection meaningful.

Read the accounts in Mark 14: 12-26 and Luke 22: 7-38.

Ray Vander Laan, noted Bible teacher, writes an excellent article on the importance of Jesus celebrating the Passover meal just before his walk to the cross. It ties the two events together and gives meaning to both. Use this reading as your devotions for today. You will be blessed.  http://oneinjesus.info/2010/02/faith-lessons-by-ray-vander-laan-the-fifth-cup/

(Next blog post will discuss Passover and Easter celebrations and might even lead readers to some excellent recipes.)

New Friends/Old Friends

My favorite song from Girl Scout camping trips (sung around a campfire, of course) was this:

"Make new friends
But keep the old,
One is silver
And the other gold."

We sang it in a round, making for very nice harmony. Loved it then, love it now. I appreciate the sentiment expressed more than ever. Truly there is blessing in both old and new friends.

I am blessed with some thirty-plus years of friendship with a large group of people in Phoenix. I am blessed with the friendship of a couple my husband and I used to double-date with, eons ago. When we get together, it's like no time has passed. Another couple visits Phoenix yearly and we pick up right where we left off the previous year. Treasures, all of them.

I have a friend who has been my unofficial spiritual mentor for over forty years. There is something about sharing a history with other people that cements relationships. It amazes me to think of the various life stages we've muddled through together.

Recently, I've made several new friends. One I met about a year ago and we clicked right from the start. We both feel like we've known each other for years. We share the same values, similar outlooks, etc. Another woman is a friend of less than six months. It is exciting as we learn more about each others' outlooks and belief systems. Even our quirks are fun to discover.

One of the perks of social media is the connection that occurs through the Internet. I reconnected with a special girlfriend from my elementary, junior high, and high school days. We've been conversing electronically the past two years but just recently spoke on the phone. Imagine, hearing a friend's voice for the first time in fifty years! It was a joyful conversation--just two old girlfriends chatting and laughing like we did in fifth grade.

What about you? Are you connected with some very dear old (make that "former") friends? Do you appreciate their value in that they helped form your personality? Have you been blessed with the opportunity to make new friends? What a joy to discover similarities and differences.

The truth is, we are created to love and honor God and to relate to other people. We are social beings, created for interaction. New friends, old friends--both enrich our lives.

Yes, one really is as valuable as silver and the other is as valuable as gold.

Those Girl Scouts nailed it.

Your turn:

• Leave a comment telling how a special friend "lights up your life."
• Is there a person from your past you've reconnected with through social media?

Instructions for leaving comments:

• Click on No Comments (or Comments)
• Use down arrow to select how to respond--Anonymous works unless you have a Google account then you can select that
• Hit "Publish"
• Check box that says, "I am not a robot"
• Hit "Publish" again

That should work! Thank you for leaving comments. I love to hear from you.

Grounding

Fuses, circuit breakers, grounding wires, lightening rods, and special wiring in appliances all provide hidden but necessary protection from "leaky electrical currents." For the life of me, I don't understand the science, but I know the importance of being protected.

Just tallying up the many appliances and devices I use throughout a day boggles my mind. If I had to consider the danger of leaky electrical current, I would be a mess. That's where grounding comes in to play.

Spiritual Grounding

Spiritual grounding is equally important and something we should pay attention to. What grounds you? What keeps you humble, focused on important priorities rather than the trivia that invades your thinking? What keeps you from obsessing about the worries that are such a part of modern life?


Is it:

• Playing with children?
• Serving others?
• Appreciating nature?
• Keeping aware of suffering around the world and in your community?
• Minimizing your ecological footprint?
• Focusing on people, not things?
• Listening, really listening to: children, the elderly, the lonely?
• Waking every day with prayers of gratitude in your mind?
• Reading your Bible?
• Meditating?
• Praying?
• Taking time out to do nothing but daydream?

Whatever grounds you, keeps you aware of other people and keeps you aware of important priorities, be sure to make time for it. Slide it into your daily schedule. Your life will be enriched and you will be on your way to enjoying the "peace that passes understanding."

Most of all, it keeps you aware of God who created you, loves you, and desires the very best for you.

Many Hats

Let me guess: you're behind at work, you're behind at home, and you have many guilt feelings about:

• not exercising enough
• not spending enough time with spouse, children, friends, extended family, etc.
• not feeling peaceful
• not feeling rested

Modern schedules are incredibly full. Responsibilities eat up our joy if we don't get a handle on them and on our ability to juggle many things at once. Technology is wonderful. However, it both helps and hinders the universal drive for peace.

Have you ever spoken these phrases to yourself?

I'm wearing too many hats
My plate is full right now
I want to be all things to all people
If I want this done, I guess I'll have to...
I want it all, now

These clichés come in handy when we're trying to say no to someone asking us to perform a task. But look closely and see if they truly reflect what you're feeling.

Some questions to counter the clichés might be:

Which hat(s) can I put on the shelf for now?
What can I take off my plate without damaging someone or something?
It's impossible to be all things to all people. How can I starting encouraging others to take responsibility for themselves rather than relying on me?
If I want this done and no one else will do it, can it be left undone?
Who made up that saying, "You can have it all"? What planet were they from?

News Flash: God gives you permission to set aside some of your hats, to say no occasionally. Try to weed out things in your life that are draining. Especially this time of year, many families are feeling the crunch of over-loaded schedules. Simplify in order to experience peaceful living.

This is what life looks like when you wear too many hats!

What do you do to manage an over-loaded lifestyle? Any tricks you share will be helpful to others. Use the "No Comments" section below to respond. Feel free to share with your over-worked, over-stressed, over-scheduled friends on Facebook by using the icon below.

Coffee Mug Theology

I love my coffee mugs. But then, I LOVE my coffee, as my friends and family know. From time to time I go through my cupboards and weed out the mugs. It's tough because I'm emotionally attached to many of them.

Who can discard a mug with a cute penguin on it given to me by a grandchild?
Who can give away a mug bought on a trip to San Francisco many years ago?
And who can eliminate a mug with a just right handle that says, "Morning, Gorgeous"?

These pictured, though, are among my favorites because they remind me to ponder some important concepts of my Christian walk.

• Faith, the root of any belief system, but so vital to my enriched life--on earth and for eternity.

• Joy, that inner peace that can occur even amid the worst of situations.

• Trust, the concept I must continually adopt if I am to walk through my days with the security that God knows, understands, and cares--about both my big issues and my small ones.

Faith, Joy, and Trust. All are concepts the world needs to navigate the tangled messes it has created.

By the way, Hope got broken. Yep, smattered to bits. It's a terrible thing to lose hope. But hey, it's just a coffee mug, not my real hope which is in the salvation of Jesus Christ.
  
 

Rings of a Tree

Here's a photo of a very special item--a cross-section of a cedar tree my father planted when he was twelve years old. This is very special to my family because it reminds us so much of our dad.

When both our parents were gone and the family had to distribute their personal items, I was fortunate to receive the cut from the tree. Since I live 2000 miles from my two siblings, I was limited to something that fit in my suitcase. I feel privileged and blessed, knowing how meaningful this is to everyone. Note to family: rest assured, I take good care of it and appreciate the history involved.

Yes, Dad planted his tree outside his family's home in Norfolk, Virginia, in 1925. He married and relocated to Ohio but his family of origin stayed in that house until sometime in the 1960s. Sadly, a highway was planned, taking that home and many others.

What to do with that special cedar tree? Cut it down, of course, and don't tell the state because they itemized everything when purchasing the house and land. Dad was able to salvage enough wood from the tree to make three jewelry boxes--one for my sister, one for my sister-in-law, and one for me. We treasure them.

He also salvaged this cross section which is beautiful and memorable. Now you can understand why it's so important to our family. It reminds us of a father who spent a lifetime working with his hands crafting a beautiful home among other things. (More about that home in another blog post.)

Anyway, I wanted to share the meaning behind this beautiful piece of wood that graces my fireplace mantel. No deep Christian message or Biblical application. Just a warm fuzzy that bears sharing. Thanks for reading.

Wholesomeness

Garbage In, Garbage Out

Support Wholesomeness

We take such care to nourish our bodies with good foods, sometimes even shopping at specialty supermarkets to get the freshest produce. We spend enormous time keeping our bodies healthy and in shape. (If not, we spend enormous time feeling guilty about it!)

What about our brains, our most precious commodity? Do we feed it good stuff or bad? I'd like to propose a Wholesome Diet for Our Minds. It goes something like this:

• Determine to support worthwhile movies, especially faith-based or family-strengthening ones. Note to Hollywood: please increase the quality of movies. Memo to faith-based producers: no sickening, pollyanna stuff. Give us realistic Biblical solutions to real life problems. 

 

• Channel your family into watching reality television ONLY if it is worthwhile and teaches values.

(Suggestion: if your teen watches something a little questionable on television, a good tactic is to let them watch it only if they can come up with three to five reasons it is not valuable. This teaches discernment.)

• Watch television movies and programs that make you think, really question life and God. If it's current events information, make sure you hear both sides of any issue and then make up your own mind about what is truth. That is being a critical thinker.

 

• Take a class in other religions or dialog with those of differing faiths. Intellectual dialog with others can serve to strengthen your own faith.

Wholesome foods nourish our bodies. We must also be cautious about what we allow to infiltrate our brains. Garbage in, garbage out. 

 

 In what ways do you nourish your brain? Feel free to share in the Comments below. Also, feel free to share this blog post with your Facebook friends. Thank you.

Lent - Adding On

I respect the practice of giving up something for Lent as part of personal worship. But maybe another question could be:

What can I add?

 

I'd like to suggest a few ways to add something of value to your days. The common denominator is to become closer to God and what he wants from your life. That is the true essence of personal worship. Consider these:

• Focus on People Not Things

spend time with a friend or neighbor

develop a friendship with a fellow Christian

do something fun with friends or family who would benefit from time together

• Sabbath Fun

Ruth Bell Graham, late wife of evangelist Billy Graham, in her book about parenting the Graham children, shared that they always made Sundays fun. Many children of that era grew up thinking Sundays (the Sabbath in Bible terms) were long, boring, not-fun days. My husband was not allowed to ride his bike on Sundays because it was "the Lord's day." Instead, Ruth Graham declared Sundays the days the children could have pop or ice cream or do something fun with their siblings. She wisely wanted them to enjoy the special day set aside for God. Churches today are good about making Sunday school activities enjoyable for children. That joy should be carried over into adulthood. Think about ways you can make the Sundays during the Lenten season enjoyable for your family.

Speaking of Celebrations...

A church in Whittier, California, celebrates Easter by renting a confetti machine. At the end of the worshipful Easter service, off goes the confetti INSIDE the church. Contrary to what you might think, it is indeed very worshipful. Easter is the most significant celebration of the Christian faith. Why not rejoice for the party it truly is? I'll admit, I was skeptical at first, but I've worshiped there several Easters and I was blessed. Confetti all over the floor, our shoulders, our hair, and even in our mouths was a fun reminder of the celebration of eternal life because of the Easter Resurrection.

• Acts of Service

Again, I refer readers to Lent 101, a devotional that appears in The Upper Room. It gives some good suggestions for what to add to your preparation for Easter by observing the season of Lent. Read it again and be blessed.



Lent - Giving Up

Giving up for legalistic church rituals vs. Giving up to enhance my relationship to God?

 

 

Which is it? We're now two weeks into the Lenten season and I must admit, I do not honor the practice of giving up something for the 40 days before Easter. I feel a little guilty about that. I've always admired my Catholic friends and family who are disciplined in this practice.

 

As a teenager, just when I was coming into the Christian faith for myself rather than echoing my parents' beliefs, I envied my Catholic friends who "gave up" for Lent. I tried it. It had to be something important to me so I tried giving up make-up. I'm embarrassed to say, I didn't last very long. Another year I tried giving up chocolate and that didn't work, either.

 

Believers give up things for Lent to symbolize the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. He sacrificed everything for us, surely we can go without a thing or two to honor him. It's very noble and I wish it were an in-grained part of my Christian life. I suspect it would be very meaningful.

 

What might you and I give up in order to become stronger in our faith?  It would be different for each of us and could be big or small.

• a favorite food
• a favorite activity
• television
• movies
• social media
• gossip
• laziness
• working too many hours

 

The list could go on and on. The specifics are not as important as are the motives of our hearts. We can ask God to show us what hinders our relationship with him and then ask him to help us give up that certain something in preparation for our Easter worship.

An excellent discourse on the Lenten season, its origins, what it means, etc., can be found in a devotional titled, Lent 101. It's from The Upper Room.