Sunday's Coming!

I woke up about three this morning with this thought popping into my head. "It's Good Friday.....but Sunday is coming!" Every time I woke up after that the same thought would present itself.  I think God was trying to get my attention.

 Of course it is not Good Friday yet, but in some ways we have been living in a season of Good Friday now for quite some time.  Darkness, despair, suffering, death....our TV's, newspapers, and phones are filled with it and even though stories of hope are presented to us to try to balance some of the reality brought into our lives through the Covid-19 crisis, it cannot be avoided.  Our world is a mess. It looks bleak when we focus on it all.  But just like when Jesus died on the cross......it was not the end.  Sunday was coming!  And Sunday will be coming again for all of us concerning this pandemic, too.

Yesterday I headed out for the first time in three weeks to get the eye injection required for me to keep the vision in my left eye.  The doctor comes to our city every Monday and Tuesday to take care of patients in north Iowa.  They usually see an average of 80 each day!  My first appointment was set for 2:50 pm, but on Monday they changed it to 12 noon when there would be few patients.  Then I received a call yesterday morning asking me if I could come in at 11 am instead because they had a free slot.  When Joel and I went into the Retina section of the clinic we were the only people their besides the staff.  No one was scheduled for that time before lunch so they wanted us to come in to protect me from possible exposure.  Can you believe it?  How nice of them!  I am sure they did this for others too.  What a blessing!  It was surreal to be in that big clinic and not see anyone but staff in scrubs and masks.  We were in and out of there quickly and home within an hour.  Today it really stood out for me that in a season of Good Friday days was a Sunday is Coming moment!  We saw the sun peaking through the clouds....the SON Himself was made known in the grace and kindness of a staff that was concerned and caring.

We all have our "Sunday is Coming" moments we can think on and share with others.  Moments where we see the light at the end of the tunnel.  Moments when we know deep within this too shall pass and we will see Sunday come!  Moments when the goodness inside of all of us comes forth and shines a beacon in the darkness and uncertainty of our lives.

In the midst of Holy Week, we focus on our Lord Jesus and His journey to the cross.  We remember His death and the tremendous suffering He endured to save us all from death and destruction.  In this dark time, we hold close to us what we already know to be true.....Sunday is coming!!!!  Sunday is coming. 

When we wake each morning we are faced with the new reality that our world is shaken to its very core.   It can feel as dark, hopeless, or endless as Good Friday, but we are all called to stand firm and hold on to the hope that Sunday is coming!  Sunday is coming!

Holy Week: Hope Rising

It is the beginning of Holy Week and it is already brimming with death, grief, destruction, new life and that wonderful gift of hope.  Notre Dame burning filled our screens and news coverage for hours.  Today there is hope for what is salvaged.   Hope and determination to rebuild the 850 year old Paris treasure.

Ann Voskamp shares her youngest daughter's journey through open heart surgery in a powerful  blog post found HERE.  Her daughter from China with half a heart.  Her daughter Hope who walked out of the hospital during this Holy Week giving them all hope!

 Hoda from the Today Shows has adopted another daughter and is home on maternity leave holding a precious gift  that springs forth from another mother's loss.  She is overjoyed and so grateful to have her daughter Hope join their family.    Hope rising.

Yesterday morning I watched Joel who was watching the city trim trees on our block.  The second day of Holy Week there was tree trimming going on and from it will come new life.  Monday Joel worked in the front yard believing the snow is finally gone.  Tuesday he rode his bike 10 miles, taking in the sights and smells of Spring.  These moments in time were intentional for him.  He is so good about stepping out of the stresses of his life to shift his thinking and find release in distracting moments.  A week of many sermons and services, a conflict at one of the churches, and taking care of his Missy has him needing those moments.   Self care with hope rising.

A week plus 1 day ago I had yet another surgery related to kidney stones.  It was 2 1/2 hours of lasering another large stone and a couple of smaller ones.  In all honesty, being up in the urethra for so long has it's own set of symptoms relating to pain, incontinence, and more.  A fever, shakes, and chills were worrisome the first few days as my temperature ranged from normal to 103.  It quickly dissolved to normal through the power of answered prayers and I am sleeping nightly 2 hours at a time now before needing to head to the bathroom.  Improvement is slow (with cancer treatments weighing heavily in the mix) but I am improving.  Hope is rising....

Holy Week.  Hope is rising everywhere we look.  Even though it is a time to reflect and repent, it is also a time to remember all that Jesus did for us out of love.  Pure love.  He shed His blood for us.  He suffered for us.  Ahead of us is the darkest day of the year........Good Friday.  The grief is real, the need to be humble is real, the need for hope is real.  And it is there.  As the cross looms.......Hope is rising because of what we know! Because of Who we know.  God is the source of all hope, so we can say with hope,  Sunday is coming!!!!!!!

Remembering His Promises

"He will cover you with His feathers

and under His wings you will find refuge."

Psalm 91:4

Last fall right before my surgery for breast cancer I wrote about God, feathers, and protection.  You can read about it HERE.  God has provided me with this verse many times, and it began when I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Surgery followed by 6 weeks of radiation filled my calendar until December 17th.  Surgery went well, radiation was very difficult for me and I dealt with burns for several weeks during and after.  The verse above was my saving grace. I printed off the picture and verse and taped it  up around the house.  I did not understand the whys, but I could trust that God was with me.  Feathers became important as I took refuge under His wings often.

Not too long ago a friend texted me the amazing picture above that brought feathers to mind again. She had shared with me that when she saw this she thought of me because of the feather.  She is fighting her own health battle with such dignity and faith, and yet she took time to send me a precious reminder of God's promise. It was a great visual of God with us as I walked through yet another journey with cataract surgeries.

For my birthday our oldest daughter sent me a journal from her and her family with the most beautiful cover.  There it was, Psalm 91:4.  The day after my birthday as I settled in to rest in my recliner, this book brought to mind once again God's promises. Feathers have become that for me.......a reminder of God's love and protection.  How sweet that our daughter sent this!  I am once again looking for feathers everywhere.  I expect that each of you have your own reminder from God that brings to mind Who He is and what He promises.

Tonight we will go to Maunday Thursday services at a local church in town.  We will gather with other Christians as we remember and partake in the Last Supper.  Communion is about remembering, and as we walk through Holy Week into the celebration of Easter, we are reminded of what God has done for us.  Remembering His promises that were fulfilled through His Son.  We have so much to be grateful for.

God is faithful.  And He sends us reminders of that faithfulness in His Word, in His children, in Communion, and even in feathers.  Yes, we have so much to be grateful for.

In The Midst Of The Chaos There Is Hope Rising In Jesus

Once again terrorists have attacked and the dead are counted and the numbers of injured are rising. Hearts are breaking, families are searching and grieving, and the atmosphere is electric with fear.

It is difficult to keep peace in front of us as images are played over and over across the TV screen. White sheets soaked in blood, parents holding tight to wailing children, medical personal bent over victims, authorities and police running to and fro.  To be in the midst of it must be numbing.

Yet in the midst of it all a sign appears.....the name of Jesus is firmly planted surrounded by flowers and candles and........hope.

And it is Holy Week.  Jesus rode into the city on a donkey and ended up hanging from a cross just a few days later.  He suffered and died for us all.  I have a bad taste in my mouth when I think He suffered and died for those who do the devil's dirty work of hatred and destruction.  It is hard for me to resolve the feelings I have for the cowards who hide behind the normal and kill the innocent.  They need Jesus, too. Still, the loving your enemies part is hard to digest in the aftermath.  Necessary, but difficult.

The world is weary and its people are broken.  Broken by lack, or by nature's wrath ,and by those who fight for their own agenda whether in the world of terrorism, the world of politics, or our own backyards.  Is there any good answer to the many questions that form every time we hear "breaking news"?

There is good to be found in Good Friday as it looms ahead, a solemn day for us as Christians.  A time to remember what Christ did for us.  Oh how He loved us.  He suffered greatly to fulfill God's plan for us, His children. Some choose to embrace Jesus as Savior, others do not.   With a grateful heart we followers say, Jesus we love you......oh how we love you.  This is where our focus needs to return as we try to digest a world around us that continues to show less than loving behavior.  The love that God calls us to.  Only with Jesus before us, beside us, behind us, and around us can we stand firm in hope when the world shakes so violently.  Jesus,we love You.....You are the One are hearts adore.

He Reigns!

Three Words

Three words. 

Three words that changed the world

Three words that fulfilled

God's promises

Three words that

made eternal life

possible for

all of us!

Read inspirational posts or link up your own over at Spiritual Sundays

His Blood Shed For Us

This Holy Week I have been reflecting on the importance of forgiveness.  It was not of my own choosing, I believe it was placed on my heart by God.  Jesus speaks to it throughout the Gospels, and in The Lord's Prayer. He spoke of it on the cross.

"Jesus said, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they are doing." 

Luke 23:34

FORGIVENESS

While on the cross, in the midst of his deep indescribable suffering for the sins of this world, he still could ask his Father to forgive those who crucified Him.  He knew he was fulfilling His purpose.  He died for us.  For the forgiveness of our sins. 

FORGIVENESS

Do you have trouble forgiving yourselves?  When you kneel at the altar on bended knee and the pastor tells you that your sins are forgiven do you truly take it in.  Do you truly believe it.  Do you let them go?  Because THIS is why Jesus died on the cross.  His blood was shed for your sins.  As Marci Alborghetti expressed in the Daily Guidepost devotional, we are letting go of what is no longer ours~~what Jesus went through to take from us.  

FORGIVENESS

This is my blood

shed for

you 

This Is My Blood.....

"Now the Festival of the Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb in sacrificed.   Jesus sent Peter and John ahead saying, 'Go and prepare the Passover meal so we can eat it together."

Luke 22:7,8

(NLT)

"Then he took some bread, broke it and gave thanks for it saying, 'This is my body given for you.  Do this in remembrance of me.".........After supper he took another cup of wine and said, 'This cup is the new covenant between God and His people~ an agreement confirmed with my blood which is poured out as a sacrifice for you."

Luke 22:19,20
(NLT) 

Maunday Thursday is a time for us to remember when Jesus gathered with his disciples for the Passover~ a time together before his suffering began.  I agree with Marci Alborghetti, who shared in the Daily Guidepost devotional that often Maunday Thursday gets overshadowed by the sorrow of Good Friday.  But on this day, there was foot washing~ showing love and service to others, and there was the Lord's Supper when those who gathered listened to Jesus speak the words......This is my body.....This is my blood......These words have become so very familiar to all of us who partake in the Lord's Supper during our times of worship.

I miss communing with others at church, but with my illnesses it has not been an option.  I have been blessed to participate in the Lord's Supper at home because my husband Joel is a pastor.  Recently we began having communion as part of our healing journey after reading Paul L King's book, "God's Healing Arsenal"   King had communion every night while battling cancer.  He felt Jesus was not only cleansing his sins, but healing his disease.  By HIS blood we are saved......by His blood we are healed.  Paul Stone calls it "the meal that heals".  It is by grace we come to the Table.

Maunday Thursday was a time of joy and love, which gave the disciples the strength to stand with Jesus for what was to come.  It is so with us too.  As we remember today the Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the Lord's Supper, let us be filled with the strength to stand with Jesus for what is to come.  Good Friday.......a time of great sacrifice and suffering..........for our own times of suffering.  Thank you Jesus.

I am linking up to Grace Cafe today.

Some Things Never Change

When I was growing up Holy Week and Spring Break were at the same time.  During Holy Week churches held services every night and on Good Friday many of the churches held 3 hour services with 7 messages given on the last seven words of Jesus.  It was a time to reflect, to quietly ponder what Christ had done for us.

Easter Sunday for our family meant spending the whole morning at church.  One of us was either singing in a choir at one of the many services or sitting in the pew with the family.  As we got older we were active in the Easter breakfast that the youth put on.  I always thought of the church as my second home and was very comfortable there even though it was three stories high and spread out in length over half a city block.  I think we had 5 pastors, 3 Sunday Schools, and 5 choirs.  It still felt intimate and familiar to me, and I have fond memories of all that occurred inside its walls, including our wedding.

Our town's population was around 30,000 and most of the downtown would close up during those three hours on Good Friday.  Of course nothing was open on Sunday!  I don't remember when it started to change...certainly not while I was still at home.  But change it did.

Most Spring breaks take place at some time other than Holy Week so families can take vacations and so every religion is treated equally.  Church on Good Friday is not usually 3 hours long and the stores do not close down for anything.  Not even on Easter.  The need to make money prevails.

There are some things that have not changed though.  We still remember that Jesus still was worshiped on Palm Sunday and crucified on Good Friday.  He still had Passover and spoke to His disciples about what was coming.  Jesus still died for all our sins and for our diseases.  Jesus still rose from the dead.

Jesus is still our Savior and we still shed tears on Good Friday thinking of all He suffered....and we still rejoice and sing praises as we worship on Easter morning celebrating His resurrection from the dead.

Yes, some things never change.  Thank you God for sending your son.  Thank you Jesus.

"For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son, 

that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, 

but have everlasting life."

John 3:16