Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
Wash me completely clean of my guilt; purify me from my sin!
Because I know my wrongdoings, my sin is always right in front of me. (CEB)
Today began the season of Lent. We worshiped together with a service of stations, time spent in reflection and various scriptures. We purified with water and oil, we molded clay, and received ashes on our foreheads. My mandala prayer for today reflects those stations, but it also includes prayers for forgiveness. Intercessory prayers are laced through the green leaves. Commentary from The Voice on Psalm 51 and sin: At one time or another, all people experience the painful consequences of sin. Psalm 51 has been a comfort and a help to millions who have prayed these words as their own. It invites all who are broken to come before God and lean upon His compassion. It teaches that we need not only to be forgiven for the wrong we have done, but we also need to be cleansed of its effects on us. Ultimately, it helps us recognize that if we are to be healed, it is the work of God to create in us a heart that is clean and a spirit that is strong.
Thursday, Feb 19 HOPE
Romans 15:10-13 MSG
There's the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope! Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with HOPE!
I found a Lenten devotion calendar online designed for families that was filled with reflections and actual 'doable' things during this season of introspection and repentance. The word for today was HOPE. What a positive word to begin the season of Lent, a period we often associate with gloom and doom, with sin and sacrifice. Various words for focus are interspersed throughout Lent, along with service ideas, fasting practices, etc. It will be an interesting resource and I will search for appropriate scripture each day.
Matthew 12:17-21 MSG
Look well at my handpicked servant [Jesus]; I love him so much, take such delight in him. I've placed my Spirit on him; he'll decree justice to the nations. But he won't yell, won't raise his voice; there'll be no commotion in the streets. He won't walk over anyone's feelings, won't push you into a corner. Before you know it, his justice will triumph; the mere sound of his name will signal HOPE, even among far-off unbelievers.
Friday, Feb. 20
Card of Encouragement
1 Thessalonians 5:11 MSG
So speak encouraging words to one another. Build up hope so you'll all be together in this, no one left out, no one left behind. I know you're already doing this; just keep on doing it.
I am challenged today to send a card to someone who could use a little 'love'. I have a card ready to give to Jean Hurst, the pastor of the Burns church who has been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney cancer that has spread to her lungs. This prayer image is on the front of the card and Jean's name is just to the right of the center flower. I had dinner tonight with Jean and others on the Program Committee of Presbytery. Her attitude and trust in God's ultimate wisdom are a witness to her faith. Yet by meeting's end, a weary body was winning the battle. I will continue to keep Jean and the Burns faith community in my prayers. This mandala also celebrates the pussywillows that friend Bill brought to church last Sunday. Saturday, Feb. 21 GIVING
2 Corinthians 9:7 CEB
Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn't give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver.
Today, as I worked on the GIVING part of my design while Presbytery examined a pastoral candidate for the Hermiston Faith church, I found God once again at work. By afternoon we were exploring various scriptures relating to mission work. The final scripture? What you see above. I simply rejoice when God draws the bits and pieces of my day together and wraps them up in a single message. Enroute to John Day last night and again on the way home tonight, the heavens opened in a glorious display of color and light. In a simple line drawing, it is almost impossible to capture. Even so, I attempt to share that moment within GIVING. Giving of my time, my talents, my heart, my resources, my all. I am fascinated by Pope Francis. He is a refreshing breath of fresh air within the Catholic Church. Yesterday I found the following tucked away within a Facebook post. I felt it a worthy inclusion during this season that often speaks of FASTING.....
If we’re going to fast from anything this Lent, Pope Francis suggests that even more than candy or alcohol, we fast from indifference towards others.In his annual Lenten message, the pope writes, “Indifference to our neighbor and to God also represents a real temptation for us Christians. Each year during Lent we need to hear once more the voice of the prophets who cry out and trouble our conscience.”Describing this phenomenon he calls the globalization of indifference, Francis writes that “whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades.” He continues that, “We end up being incapable of feeling compassion at the outcry of the poor, weeping for other people’s pain, and feeling a need to help them, as though all this were someone else’s responsibility and not our own.”But when we fast from this indifference, we can began to feast on love. In fact, Lent is the perfect time to learn how to love again.
Then you won't look like you are fasting to people, but only to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
I am thinking I should just concentrate on this particular FAST all during Lent. It would strengthen me physically as well as spiritually, for 'grazing' is my biggest downfall in terms of keeping my weight down. Perhaps today when tempted to nibble, I will try to snack on spiritual food instead....a prayer, a reading, a meditative walk....or simply go out and pack something more in the trailer! We leave in two days!
(I focused here on my biggest vice - the stash of chocolate chips!)
Monday, Feb 23 Do Something Kind for a Neighbor
Romans 13:10 CEB
Love doesn't do anything wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is what fulfills the Law.
Today is a BUSY day of final preparations for departure. I have a package on the porch ready to send to my brother in Alaska; Rick and I will make a drive out to Fessels to see our dear friends before we leave; and finally dinner with the Conklins. Cherrie likes to make sure we don't have leftovers on departure day!! All neighbors in some way. Yet, yesterday, I did something kind for our NEW neighbors, the ones across the street. Something I haven't always done well in the past. As we were all preparing to drive off, I walked across and shared about a common friend and invited them to church. It wasn't particular bold on my part, as our common friend had already extended the invitation. But at least I echoed it and reaffirmed our welcome. My goal for today? Get the street address so we can send little Kate a postcard from Arizona!And now, since we will be enroute and unknown wifi connections, I am going to post this week a day early!
Copyright Traci Smith 2015 www.traci-smith.com LENTEN PRACTICES CALENDAR FOR FAMILIES: These activities are based around the traditional 'Three Pillars' of Lent: Prayer, Fasting, and Almsgiving or Service. The pillars are rotated throughout Lent with simple activities. On the prayer days, use the word provided to inspire a prayer you write, draw, or sing. All of the activities are suggestions. Modify as necessary or desired!
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