Only Christ...
Showing posts with label Christ's Gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christ's Gift. Show all posts
Sunday, March 14, 2021
Sunday, April 12, 2020
Saturday, April 11, 2020
Walking Where Jesus Walked...
Nothing about this Easter season feels right. No church gatherings, no family celebrations... with the world in an unprecedented lock-down, it seems that this Holy Week has been hi-jacked.
If you're feeling the same way, read on. For there is Hope, even in the Darkness...
Earlier this year, our good friends, Stacy and Tina, had the privilege of joining the "Walking Where Jesus Walked" tour in Israel. It was an amazing trip and they said it deepened their faith in so many ways... this morning Stacy shared the following with friends and I was given permission to share his thoughts and experience with you all. In the midst of all the shut-downs, quarantines and Covid-19 worries, there is a truth here that we must not miss...
"I knew that based on my recent visit to Israel that this Easter was going to be a different experience.
Anytime you can add the physical memory to the hearing of a historical event it can always elevate your senses to a better understanding and provides more meaning.
We walked the path that Jesus took from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.
We walked to the places he went for those last few days all the way to the cross and the tomb. Got to get a sense of the distance, elevation, sights, sounds and smells.
We were even reminded of the opposition He faced as we could hear the 'Muslim call to prayers' being broadcast across the city.
But the one thing I did not expect this year was the feeling of isolation. In our culture, the Holy Week was become a time of celebration with church, family and friends. This year that social interaction is gone.
We are isolated to some degree.
I am reminded of the deep isolation He must have felt as one by one his followers faded to the shadows and many even denying they even knew Him.
As he took the brutal punishment handed out all the way to the cross as He continued to take on the weight of all of our sins and pay that debt He didn't owe with no one to come to He defense.
How isolated He must have felt.
I am also reminded of the isolation His followers must have felt, especially on this day in between His death and resurrection. How isolated and hopeless they must have felt.
So this year, more than any other, I have a better understanding of this historical event and the Hope of His resurrection. Sunday is coming and that historic new day.
We will someday soon be done with all of the social distancing and what a day of celebration that will be, but nothing like the celebration someday soon we will have with our Lord and Savior."
Truth!
So beautifully said... Thank you Stacy for sharing your experiences, your heart this Holy Week.
There is a darkness laid low with the crucifixion and Christ's death alone on a cross.
Thanking God with bended knee for the Light and Hope that defies every tomb, every grave, every darkness... for Christ's redeeming work will not be buried.
This story, the story of Christ's eternal gift, it is ageless and personal and full of such love and mercy and grace. This is Easter. This Holy Celebration, our Holy Week, will not be lost to the darkness.
(Spoiler Alert: The Tomb is Empty!)
May we all be reminded that God's best work is done through Darkness... Sunday's Coming.
My Love, Always,
Jane
If you're feeling the same way, read on. For there is Hope, even in the Darkness...
Earlier this year, our good friends, Stacy and Tina, had the privilege of joining the "Walking Where Jesus Walked" tour in Israel. It was an amazing trip and they said it deepened their faith in so many ways... this morning Stacy shared the following with friends and I was given permission to share his thoughts and experience with you all. In the midst of all the shut-downs, quarantines and Covid-19 worries, there is a truth here that we must not miss...
"I knew that based on my recent visit to Israel that this Easter was going to be a different experience.
Anytime you can add the physical memory to the hearing of a historical event it can always elevate your senses to a better understanding and provides more meaning.
We walked the path that Jesus took from the Mount of Olives to the Garden of Gethsemane.
We walked to the places he went for those last few days all the way to the cross and the tomb. Got to get a sense of the distance, elevation, sights, sounds and smells.
We were even reminded of the opposition He faced as we could hear the 'Muslim call to prayers' being broadcast across the city.
But the one thing I did not expect this year was the feeling of isolation. In our culture, the Holy Week was become a time of celebration with church, family and friends. This year that social interaction is gone.
We are isolated to some degree.
I am reminded of the deep isolation He must have felt as one by one his followers faded to the shadows and many even denying they even knew Him.
As he took the brutal punishment handed out all the way to the cross as He continued to take on the weight of all of our sins and pay that debt He didn't owe with no one to come to He defense.
How isolated He must have felt.
I am also reminded of the isolation His followers must have felt, especially on this day in between His death and resurrection. How isolated and hopeless they must have felt.
So this year, more than any other, I have a better understanding of this historical event and the Hope of His resurrection. Sunday is coming and that historic new day.
We will someday soon be done with all of the social distancing and what a day of celebration that will be, but nothing like the celebration someday soon we will have with our Lord and Savior."
Truth!
So beautifully said... Thank you Stacy for sharing your experiences, your heart this Holy Week.
There is a darkness laid low with the crucifixion and Christ's death alone on a cross.
Thanking God with bended knee for the Light and Hope that defies every tomb, every grave, every darkness... for Christ's redeeming work will not be buried.
This story, the story of Christ's eternal gift, it is ageless and personal and full of such love and mercy and grace. This is Easter. This Holy Celebration, our Holy Week, will not be lost to the darkness.
(Spoiler Alert: The Tomb is Empty!)
May we all be reminded that God's best work is done through Darkness... Sunday's Coming.
My Love, Always,
Jane
Sunday, April 21, 2019
It's Resurrection Sunday...
Behold the Risen King!
Our Hope Complete in the power of the Empty Tomb...
Rejoicing in the Gift of our Living Messiah!
Easter Blessings,
My Love,
Jane
* photo credit: thelordismylightandmysalvation
Monday, December 25, 2017
Love has a Name...
Even in the midst of grief, the Christmas season holds a magic...
The beauty. The music. The expectation shining bright in little one's eyes.
We gather to celebrate, we laugh, we hug, we feast. All the while feeling the missing deep. I find myself drawn to the mystery of that manger scene...
Do you think about Mary? Do you think she knew the grief that would be her son's purpose? Did she know the sorrow that would crack her heart wide? I have this hope that she was sheltered from the knowledge, allowed the holy privilege of rocking her newborn son, savoring those precious moments when the baby in her arms was hers alone... before the shadow of the cross covered that blessed manger, pronouncing to all, this... this is the Savior of the world.
Love has a name. JESUS.
The beauty. The music. The expectation shining bright in little one's eyes.
We gather to celebrate, we laugh, we hug, we feast. All the while feeling the missing deep. I find myself drawn to the mystery of that manger scene...
Do you think about Mary? Do you think she knew the grief that would be her son's purpose? Did she know the sorrow that would crack her heart wide? I have this hope that she was sheltered from the knowledge, allowed the holy privilege of rocking her newborn son, savoring those precious moments when the baby in her arms was hers alone... before the shadow of the cross covered that blessed manger, pronouncing to all, this... this is the Savior of the world.
Love has a name. JESUS.
The story... HIS story is still being written in our hearts.
From a simple manger to a crucifixion cross...
Christmas is the story of Love.
May this Christmas offer an everlasting Hope
because of a Saviors overcoming Love
no matter what grief shadows your heart.
Love has a name...
The baby in a manger.
Yes, His name is Jesus.
Praying Blessings of Mercy and Grace to all this day.
My Love,
Always,
Jane
Friday, March 25, 2016
The Good...and the Bad... and His Everlasting Light
We've had some good days...
and lately we've had some bad ones... pneumonia has taken hold once more and we have found ourselves standing vigil in a quiet hospital room these past days... doctors and nurses tend to Dad with hushed voices and promises of stronger antibiotics. We are beginning to wonder if the lungs had ever really healed from the last brutal bout...
In this sterile room, surrounded by monitors and wires and miles of oxygen tubing... my heart, it's simply starving to hear some good news.
And in the midst of the quiet, we grab a cup of hot chocolate as we wait for the latest chest x-ray results and the TV just happens to run a story on Good Friday services at a local parish. In a blink, my mind and heart are reminded of the day... for goodness sakes, it's Good Friday! When did that happen? (Hospital stays have a way of blurring time and bringing life to a rushed standstill...true? so true)
If you would humor me, here's a post from last year... a reminder for my soul. Did I even know when I wrote this one year ago how much I would need this message tonight? To know that God is here with us, even now holding us... when the darkness seems complete, it is then that God is doing His most miraculous work... for the darkness always gives way to His Light... Always.
Reposted from April 3, 2015:
"Today we celebrate Good Friday...
I've always wondered why it was called Good. Seems that there was nothing good about Christ's walk down Golgatha's path... his pain must have been immense, the lashings, the weight of the cross upon his wounded back, the scoffing of the crowd, the fear and horror on the disciples' faces, the brutal knowing of his fate awaiting at the top of the hill... nothing good on this Friday...
And when the torment was ended, his broken and bleeding body lay in a borrowed tomb, lifeless and still. And the stone rolled over the light and shut the Son of God in the darkest night...
The darkness of this hour would seem to be too much to bear...
And there were times in our pancreatic cancer journey that the darkness overwhelmed...just like that stone rolling out the light.
Our walk down the shadow valley led us to places of utter darkness.
The heartaches, the pain, the fear... it was as if the light was forever gone.
Perhaps you've been there too. Or maybe you are struggling to find your way through a dark journey even now.
Might you be encouraged this day. For it occurs to me that God does some of His most miraculous things in the dark.
There was Abraham. Father of the Jewish Nation. He struggled hard with obedient faith, trusting in God when all else about him was sifting sand. He endured droughts and strife with family, he was called to move to a foreign land and watched as war broke out on every side. And he aged. And became old. And had no son to be his heir. Even though God had promised his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Doubt had him questioning God's promises. We read in Genesis 15:12-18 that God came to Abraham in the dark of the night and renewed His Covenant with him...promising that his descendants would indeed have this land. Just as Abraham's heart was in so dark of a place, God chose the cover of darkness to reveal the Light that can only be found in Him...
And there was Moses. Leading the children of Israel from the bondage of Pharoah in the darkness of the night. I can only imagine the horror of that last plague... the death of all firstborn...
And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Eqypt... (but when He saw the blood of the lamb on the Israelites lintel and doorposts, the Lord passed over the door and did not allow the destroyer to come in and strike them)... So Pharoah rose in the night, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and said 'Go, serve the Lord, both you and the children of Israel.' And so it was that Moses led the Israelites out of the land of bondage in the dark of night. Exodus 12:21-42
And what about Jacob. The one who tricked his twin brother out of the birthright. Yep. Esau held a grudge. And back then, grudges could be deadly. So Jacob fled with his very life (and the birthright), but as the years passed, he found his heart hungering for reconciliation. He made the decision to head for home, but along the way... in the dark of night... he struggled with his fear and he wrestled the night through with God... like, really wrestling, physically fighting... through the long, dark night... Jacob wrestled with God. And he found peace. And the Blessing. Genesis 32:22-32
And I love Jonah. Running from God's call. Acting like a spoiled child not getting his way. Until God got his attention in the belly of the big fish. For 3 days. Can you imagine how dark, how horrid, how completely without hope Jonah must have felt? Surely the darkness must have been his undoing... for in Jonah 2:7-9 it is recorded, "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to you." In the midst of tormenting darkness, Jonah raised the voice of thanksgiving, saying "Salvation is of the Lord." And the fish spit Jonah up onto dry land... into the light of the sun...
"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3
Darkness. When it descends, it can overwhelm. The fear, the grief, the worry... all seem exaggerated in the midnight hour. We feel so alone, so helpless. So out of Hope.
Beloved, we are never alone. It is during our darkest hours that God is doing His most miraculous work in our lives. For out of our darkest places He can bring light to illuminate our very hearts... shining Hope over His Purpose in our lives, mining the treasures of the hidden riches for His Glory.
As hard as it is to walk the Shadow Valley, I know that His Hand goes before me to hollow out a place to hold me close until the morning light... for the darkness always gives way to His Light...
And so, this Good Friday... the very Savior is hidden from the light, in the tomb of the dead. It will never feel right to call it Good.
We could feel as desperate and hopeless as those disciples must have felt. The darkness surely radiated an eternal grief that night... and just when the darkness seemed to be too much to bear...
God prepares to reveal His most miraculous work...
Today the Light may be hidden in the darkest night,
but never doubt that Sunday's Coming..."
and lately we've had some bad ones... pneumonia has taken hold once more and we have found ourselves standing vigil in a quiet hospital room these past days... doctors and nurses tend to Dad with hushed voices and promises of stronger antibiotics. We are beginning to wonder if the lungs had ever really healed from the last brutal bout...
In this sterile room, surrounded by monitors and wires and miles of oxygen tubing... my heart, it's simply starving to hear some good news.
And in the midst of the quiet, we grab a cup of hot chocolate as we wait for the latest chest x-ray results and the TV just happens to run a story on Good Friday services at a local parish. In a blink, my mind and heart are reminded of the day... for goodness sakes, it's Good Friday! When did that happen? (Hospital stays have a way of blurring time and bringing life to a rushed standstill...true? so true)
If you would humor me, here's a post from last year... a reminder for my soul. Did I even know when I wrote this one year ago how much I would need this message tonight? To know that God is here with us, even now holding us... when the darkness seems complete, it is then that God is doing His most miraculous work... for the darkness always gives way to His Light... Always.
Reposted from April 3, 2015:
I've always wondered why it was called Good. Seems that there was nothing good about Christ's walk down Golgatha's path... his pain must have been immense, the lashings, the weight of the cross upon his wounded back, the scoffing of the crowd, the fear and horror on the disciples' faces, the brutal knowing of his fate awaiting at the top of the hill... nothing good on this Friday...
And when the torment was ended, his broken and bleeding body lay in a borrowed tomb, lifeless and still. And the stone rolled over the light and shut the Son of God in the darkest night...
The darkness of this hour would seem to be too much to bear...
And there were times in our pancreatic cancer journey that the darkness overwhelmed...just like that stone rolling out the light.
Our walk down the shadow valley led us to places of utter darkness.
The heartaches, the pain, the fear... it was as if the light was forever gone.
Perhaps you've been there too. Or maybe you are struggling to find your way through a dark journey even now.
Might you be encouraged this day. For it occurs to me that God does some of His most miraculous things in the dark.
There was Abraham. Father of the Jewish Nation. He struggled hard with obedient faith, trusting in God when all else about him was sifting sand. He endured droughts and strife with family, he was called to move to a foreign land and watched as war broke out on every side. And he aged. And became old. And had no son to be his heir. Even though God had promised his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky. Doubt had him questioning God's promises. We read in Genesis 15:12-18 that God came to Abraham in the dark of the night and renewed His Covenant with him...promising that his descendants would indeed have this land. Just as Abraham's heart was in so dark of a place, God chose the cover of darkness to reveal the Light that can only be found in Him...
And there was Moses. Leading the children of Israel from the bondage of Pharoah in the darkness of the night. I can only imagine the horror of that last plague... the death of all firstborn...
And it came to pass at midnight that the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Eqypt... (but when He saw the blood of the lamb on the Israelites lintel and doorposts, the Lord passed over the door and did not allow the destroyer to come in and strike them)... So Pharoah rose in the night, and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. Then he called for Moses and said 'Go, serve the Lord, both you and the children of Israel.' And so it was that Moses led the Israelites out of the land of bondage in the dark of night. Exodus 12:21-42
And what about Jacob. The one who tricked his twin brother out of the birthright. Yep. Esau held a grudge. And back then, grudges could be deadly. So Jacob fled with his very life (and the birthright), but as the years passed, he found his heart hungering for reconciliation. He made the decision to head for home, but along the way... in the dark of night... he struggled with his fear and he wrestled the night through with God... like, really wrestling, physically fighting... through the long, dark night... Jacob wrestled with God. And he found peace. And the Blessing. Genesis 32:22-32
And I love Jonah. Running from God's call. Acting like a spoiled child not getting his way. Until God got his attention in the belly of the big fish. For 3 days. Can you imagine how dark, how horrid, how completely without hope Jonah must have felt? Surely the darkness must have been his undoing... for in Jonah 2:7-9 it is recorded, "When my soul fainted within me, I remembered the Lord; And my prayer went up to you." In the midst of tormenting darkness, Jonah raised the voice of thanksgiving, saying "Salvation is of the Lord." And the fish spit Jonah up onto dry land... into the light of the sun...
"And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel." Isaiah 45:3
Darkness. When it descends, it can overwhelm. The fear, the grief, the worry... all seem exaggerated in the midnight hour. We feel so alone, so helpless. So out of Hope.
Beloved, we are never alone. It is during our darkest hours that God is doing His most miraculous work in our lives. For out of our darkest places He can bring light to illuminate our very hearts... shining Hope over His Purpose in our lives, mining the treasures of the hidden riches for His Glory.
As hard as it is to walk the Shadow Valley, I know that His Hand goes before me to hollow out a place to hold me close until the morning light... for the darkness always gives way to His Light...
And so, this Good Friday... the very Savior is hidden from the light, in the tomb of the dead. It will never feel right to call it Good.
We could feel as desperate and hopeless as those disciples must have felt. The darkness surely radiated an eternal grief that night... and just when the darkness seemed to be too much to bear...
God prepares to reveal His most miraculous work...
Today the Light may be hidden in the darkest night,
but never doubt that Sunday's Coming..."
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Freedom Day
Celebrating on the farm...
Caught in the grip of cancer tight, anguish fed the fear... hearts ached as we watched mom's world shrink, enslaved to a disease that battled furious for her very life.
Such a vicious disease. Pancreatic cancer binds freedom from a soul in so many ways...
* diets change
* pain closes in
* treatment choices map the days
* fatigue and nausea obscure the joy
* weakness ties the body to bed
Hearts grow sore. Freedoms diminish. Life revolves around the sickness that won't let go.
And we struggle with the chains. We fight the ever-tightening noose. How to live a life free.
Unfettered.
Unhindered.
Free...
As our nation celebrates the gift of Freedom, our Independence Day, I struggle anew with the journey. Soul cries unfair. Our Freedoms were taken the day mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.
Firecrackers explode with noise and beauty, lighting the heavens and my gaze shifts up...
the Heart follows.
There is a Freedom, this my soul knows. He speaks quiet to shattered dreams. Lifts up the fallen countenance and reminds again... and again...
There is only Freedom in the One who surrendered Himself to our chains, to our fetters.
A True Freedom in the Grace and Blessed Mercy of the Cross. In the Unfailing Love of God.
The 4th of July... Independence Day... Freedom Celebration
We can't help but celebrate these gifts with gratitude for the men and women, past and present, who guard our freedoms with their very lives. For some these freedoms were not free...they have given their cherished tomorrows for our todays. Bless you each one...
These thoughts temper the day of festivity with a solemnness. My mind wanders to the many freedoms lost around the world. The fight for independence still rages on, this I know. And my heart remembers a battle not so distant, a personal struggle, our journey with the beast of cancer. The fight was ultimately for her freedom...
Caught in the grip of cancer tight, anguish fed the fear... hearts ached as we watched mom's world shrink, enslaved to a disease that battled furious for her very life.
Such a vicious disease. Pancreatic cancer binds freedom from a soul in so many ways...
* diets change
* pain closes in
* treatment choices map the days
* fatigue and nausea obscure the joy
* weakness ties the body to bed
Hearts grow sore. Freedoms diminish. Life revolves around the sickness that won't let go.
And we struggle with the chains. We fight the ever-tightening noose. How to live a life free.
Unfettered.
Unhindered.
Free...
As our nation celebrates the gift of Freedom, our Independence Day, I struggle anew with the journey. Soul cries unfair. Our Freedoms were taken the day mom was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.
Firecrackers explode with noise and beauty, lighting the heavens and my gaze shifts up...
the Heart follows.
There is a Freedom, this my soul knows. He speaks quiet to shattered dreams. Lifts up the fallen countenance and reminds again... and again...
There is only Freedom in the One who surrendered Himself to our chains, to our fetters.
A True Freedom in the Grace and Blessed Mercy of the Cross. In the Unfailing Love of God.
"Lift up your eyes to the heavens,
look at the earth beneath:
the heavens will vanish like smoke,
the earth will wear out like a garment...
But my Salvation will last forever,
my righteousness will never fail."
~ Isaiah 51:6
In this life, freedom is such a transient thing. There are no perfect answers for our struggles, for the paths our journeys take.
Mom's Freedom came, whole and complete, the moment she closed her eyes here in our presence and opened them to the glorious wonders of Life Eternal with the One who loves her tender and will never fail her. Or us.
I don't know how this works. This Freedom. But I know it does. always. work.
We can celebrate our Independence no matter the circumstances that bind. It is a glorious gift born of sacrifice great. And it is balm to hearts sore this day.
Graced by Freedom to Celebrate with Joy,
Always, Jane
We can celebrate our Independence no matter the circumstances that bind. It is a glorious gift born of sacrifice great. And it is balm to hearts sore this day.
Graced by Freedom to Celebrate with Joy,
Always, Jane
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