Melanie writes...

Holy bright sun shining off the snow! After days of little sunshine, my eyes have yet to adjust to the brilliant reflection of the sunlight off the snow. Just as the snow reflects the sun, may our faces reflect the love and joy of the son, the one who we walk with during these weeks of lent. May you walk, shuffle, snow shoe, cross country ski your way along with Christ in these days...
Melanie

Shirley Parker writes...

Mar 2nd the snowy Friday following the VERY snowy Thursday.
Our Bible Study lesson this week is from 1 John; 7 - 17, "Love is Light".
As I started my morning devotion time seated by my east window, looking out at a cloudy sky, bare willow tree branches and even snow heavy pine tree branches waving from the wind the sun came through a space in the cloudy sky and for a brief moment shined brightly on me, as if God was saying I'm glad you tuned in.
A gentle rap on my door revealed 2 little 3rd grade girls, new neighbor Maiya and her cousin, asking if it was O.K. to shovel my sidewalk. [They said they didn't want me to break my back] Then I heard a snow blower on my drive from the garage and another neighbor cleared that for me. What a timely reminder from the verses I just read. "The New Commandment: Loving your neighbor brings Light to the Darkness"

Manny Esguerra and Deb Dickey write from the Phillipines...

We're writing this from a coffee shop in a mall in Manila. We have some reflections on the medical mission and what we've seen here.

Manny writes: We spent Ash Wednesday this year working on a medical mission in the Philippines. My parents started this mission in 1995, and have been bringing their physician colleagues from New York every other year since, to bring medical care to needy Filipinos. This year we worked in two sites: a tiny hospital in the urban Manila neighborhood of San Juan, and a provincial hospital in rural Bohol Island. At both sites, hundreds of people lined up for adult and pediatric examinations, for major and minor surgeries, and for some of the medicines and vitamins the mission had brought. I'm not a physician, so I worked as a combination triage receptionist, messenger, and traffic director.

On Ash Wednesday I was in the internal medicine clinic keeping track of patients, managing their files, and running messages for the doctors. Our room had Dr. Dungca from New York, and two local residents who were volunteering their time. Patients lined up outside the door hoping to see a doctor and were constantly poking their heads in to see if they were next. I know minimal Tagalog, I could only say to them "Susunod (you'll be next)," or "teka po (wait)." That little word, "po," sticks with me. I noticed that the doctors, no matter how harried or tired, were using it to address all the patients. "Po" is a Filipino nominative that's used to express deep respect for the person you're addressing. It's usually reserved for talking to elders and other persons of authority. But here these doctors, with all their education and privileges, were using "po" to address the neediest and most desperate of people. Because the Philippines is 98% Roman Catholic, it so happened that everyone had been marked with ashes on their foreheads. The whole situation spoke volumes to me of the message of Ash Wednesday: that in the end, we are all the same in God's eyes.

Deb writes: In the first week of our trip, I was often asked how I enjoyed the Philippines. I would think to myself "I haven't really seen the Philippines" because all of our time had been spent in a nice hotel, in the hospital in San Jose or in vans being transported from place to place. Only after some time did I realize my mistaken prejudice; I had assumed that all of the Philippines was poor so what I was seeing couldn't be "real". However, the streets of Manilla I was seeing were in fact a true reflection of the country. Because just as the streets of New York are different than the streets of Roseville which are different from the streets of the village of Sherwood, Ohio where I went to school, no one street is more reflective of the United States than the other. For though all the streets are different, all are truly American. And so it is with all people. Though they may have different professions and different levels of income, in the end, we are all the same as the children of God.

Dee Lee writes...

Jeff has been doing a great job of encouraging our family to add a little more Ooomph to our excercise routines... I have really appreciated it, because I feel I have been in a rut, and this new workout gets the blood flowing a little (sometimes a LOT) faster, is good for my heart, and gives me more energy (after the aches and pains wear off!)... I am really hoping I can keep up with this new movement... It's always sad when the flabbiness starts to return and I take the dangerous "just one more night off," which indicates the new routine was only a temporary joy, and now will be placed on the shelf with all the other "good intentions"... (Mixed metaphors? sorry)...

The Lord placed it on my heart this morning that the same could be said for Lent... I am drawn to be in the Word just that much more during Lent. I am striving to add some of the disciplines on the "My Preparation for Easter" list (from church) into my life which are all excellent examples of faith exercises...

But I pray that this isn't going to "go away" after the Lenten period... Isn't 6 weeks the optimal amount of time to start or break a habit? What a wonderful way to "kick start" better discipline in my walk with the Lord... To remember to be organized and keep a prayer or faith journal so I can look back over the months and see how the Lord has been answering prayer and working in my life and in the lives of others... What a blessing that is! And what an easy practice for a huge return of benefits! To add reading a Psalm to my daily Bible reading... How marvelous to have the words of David to use when praising God! And now to make it a habit...

...hopefully, then, the flabbiness won't return...and it's good for the heart!

Dee Lee

"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled" - Jesus Christ

Lisa Schuler writes...

Luke 12:22-32 NRSV

He said to his disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? If then you are not able to do so small a thing as that, why do you worry about the rest? Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you-you of little faith! And do not keep striving for what you are to eat and what you are to drink, and do not keep worrying. For it is the nations of the world that strive after all these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, strive for his kingdom and these things will be given to you as well. Do not be afraid, little, flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

After Melanie asked me to submit an entry for her blog, I began thinking about what I would write and asked God’s guidance for the subject matter. After the same topic came up three different times in one day I decided that it must be the one: Fear.

Last Friday, my daughter showed me a paper she had written for fifth grade social studies about what she thought President Roosevelt meant when he said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” Then that night I was watching the TV show 20/20 in which John Stossel talked about fear and the media. Does the media put unnecessary emphasis on events or possibilities that rarely happen or may never happen, unduly concerning the public? As I was watching the show, across the bottom of the screen the local news station was playing warning after warning that it was going to snow in Minnesota. Imagine snow, in Minnesota, in February! Yes, lots of snow was coming, but did I need to be told this for several continuous hours. I had to smile as I watched the disappointment on the faces of the weather folks on the Saturday morning news when only a slight pelting sleet and maybe an inch of snow had actually arrived. Of course, more snow did arrive, but so did the plows and the snow blower started, so what’s the worry?

After watching 20/20, I was reading a book that was recommended to me called Excuse Me, Your Life is Waiting by Lynn Grabhorn. A section in her book talks about how we attract in our lives the things we most are feeling. If we are constantly being bombarded with the latest tragedy- concern about terrorism, accidents, weather problems- will our feelings not turn toward fear. Then will we not attract everything that is fear related in our lives, until we are consumed by so much worry that we cannot lead the joy-filled, complete lives that Jesus calls us to live? The Bible verse that came to my mind was the one in Luke in which Jesus tells us that we can add not a single hour to our lives by worrying. He sites examples of birds and flowers and how God takes of them and explains that God cares so much more for us.

After spending a large part of 2006 writing a risk management plan for Centennial, I was immersed in all the tragedies that had or could occur at churches and on church trips. Working with individuals and ministry teams on devising a plan for how Centennial would work to reduce those risks and how we would deal with situations if they arise was a freeing experience. Why? We have plans in place and are prepared the best we can be in many, many areas. Will fretting over any of these risks keep them from happening? No. Will lying awake at night wondering “What if” keep them from happening? No. It’s like the old saying, “Worrying is like rocking in a chair. It gives you something to do, but doesn’t get you anywhere.”

Write down the things you most fear. Consider the likelihood any of them will happen. Then remember Jesus’ words. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Now that’s comforting.

Jean writes...

I recently rewatched the movie “Patch Adams”. I had seen it several years ago. In one scene, “Patch” the radical medical student, is talking to his girlfriend about her childhood. She tells him she used to watch caterpillars and they moved to being butterflies and wished that she could make that change. The significance is that later in the movie she is murdered by a patient. Patch is devastated and searching for life to make sense. He is standing atop a hill talking to God. His is visited by a beautiful monarch butterfly that literally sits on his finger. It is a life changing event for him in his spiritual journey. That scene was different for me this time around. After the death of my mom 3 years ago, it was a very difficult time for me. I had the privilege of being her primary care giver for quite some time. One of her favorite things in the world was to hear the cardinal sing and if she spotted a male cardinal, she was ecstatic over their beauty. She was a very avid nature lover. I was especially missing her on what would have been her 85th birthday - 3 months after she died. Through my tears I looked out on our deck and their was the most beautiful big red cardinal. To me it was a sign that she was fine and that she would always be with me. Since then, every time I hear or see a cardinal, I remember that moment and feel at peace. I believe that is God working in our world. At this time of self reflection, it is times like those we miss if we aren’t listening with our heart. I am truly blessed in my journey.