“Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.” (Ps 119:37)
The Easter season begins with Lent, a 40-day period of prayer, reflection, and penance that leads to the celebration of Easter Sunday. Lent represents the 40 days that Jesus spent alone in the wilderness before starting his ministry. Continue reading “Growing During the Easter Season”
“…for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Neh 8:10)
In my first blog post this month, I discussed hope. Like hope, joy can also be difficult to find during the Christmas season. Perhaps our lives haven’t turned out the way we thought they would. Maybe we’ve lost someone close to us or been rejected by someone. In Western culture, we equate joy with happiness, but these are two different things. Both are emotions, but happiness is determined by our circumstances. Joy goes much deeper and is one of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22). The Greek word for joy is chara and is closely related to charis, or grace. Joy is the natural response to the work of God in our lives. Continue reading “Joy for the Season”
Author’s note: Since this month’s blog posts will coincide with the four Sundays in Advent, the theme of each blog post will have the same theme as that week in Advent. The theme for the first Sunday in Advent is hope, the second is love, the third is joy, and the final one is peace.
“…the Lord delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.” (Ps 147:11)
I look forward to Christmas with great anticipation each year. I enjoy everything about the season: the lights, the music, the baking, the gifts, the cards, the Hallmark movies…and the list goes on. As a child, I looked forward to opening gifts so much that I talked my mom into letting my brother and me open a gift on Christmas Eve once or twice.
As an adult, there have been years when I dreaded the holiday season. The year my grandma and father-in-law both passed away was particularly difficult. But nothing could have prepared me for the feelings of grief and loss that tainted my love for the holiday for several years after my divorce. For a while, I lost hope that things would ever be better. Continue reading “Finding Hope at Christmas”
“He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” (Mt 28:6)
Each year, I shop for a new Easter dress, knowing that the weather will probably be too cold to wear it without a sweater, especially if the dress is sleeveless. It seems we almost always have one last cold snap here in Oklahoma over Easter weekend. But I enjoy wearing dresses, and Easter provides the perfect opportunity to buy a new one as new, fresh styles become available for the spring and summer seasons. Continue reading “The Hope of Easter”
“You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness…” (Eph 4:22-24)
The holidays are over, and I’ve taken down all the Christmas decorations and put them away for safekeeping until next year. Each year, this ritual leaves me feeling a little sad, but also a little energized. There’s just something about the joy of the Christmas season that makes me want to leave things out as long as possible, but as much as I enjoy the decorations, I want my house back in order even more. Continue reading “Celebrating Christmas All Year”