Last night roughly 74 people gathered at our church to begin the season of Lent together at our Ash Wednesday service. The lights low, the music worshipful, and the feeling of connection with one another all created a wonderful atmosphere to embark on the journey of Lent. We were reminded that we all stand in need of God's grace, and that because of Jesus we have all been blessed with that very powerful gift. I loved that the night was not entirely somber, but had moments of laughter as we worshiped as the family we are. When we talked about giving something up for Lent, there was suddenly much discussion and giggling in the room! As we came forward to receive ashes, people had the opportunity to place a piece of purple paper with their name, and if they wanted to share - what they were giving up - in a basket. I always find that the extra step of writing it down, carrying it forward, and presenting it to God makes it a little easier to stay true to whatever we have chosen to do.

I am one of the strange ones who really loves the season of Lent. I love the extra emphasis on spiritual growth and reflection on our journey of faith. I pray that everyone finds a way during this season to grow closer to God and closer to the people God has placed in our lives.

May the journey of Lent be a blessing to you!

After a very long break...I'm back. I never would have imagined it would be so challenging to keep up with a blog. I guess it's that disciple thing...

Today I was at a Radical Hospitality Workshop at Trinity UMC in Tallahassee. It was awesome to see so many people from around that district gathered to spend their Saturday learning about ways to invite and reach new people for Christ! I was inspired and encouraged by their enthusiasm. I was leading a workshop on reaching new residents, and as I talked about things our church has done in the past I was reminded of how important it is to stay constant with our efforts and how quickly we can get comfortable with how things are. Complacency is that evil thing that is always one step behind us trying to convince us that everything is working just fine and there is no need to go that extra mile this time.

My prayer for all churches is that we never lose sight of the primary task before us - to love ALL of God's people, and to bring the message of Jesus into our world in real, welcoming, and relevant ways.

Job manages to cover any fear we may carry with us...loss of loved ones, loss of health, loss of wealth...

And in response to that we see his "wonderful" friends who are ever so helpful in their counsel...
They suggest all sorts of reasons for Job's misfortune...
You have sinned.
Your children have sinned.
You are being disciplined.

During this time people did not have a concept of eternal life after death or grace, and all consequences of behavior were thought to be experienced in this lifetime.

His friends also had thoughts on the proper responses Job should have...
Trust God, God will help you.
Don't be angry with God.
Be quiet, you have no right to complain.
Trouble comes to everybody.

Sometimes we have to remember that we live in a fallen world and bad things happen. We are not being punished or disciplined...we are simply living in our world with all its challenges. Think about how you respond when you face challenges. Do you turn to God for help? What advice do your friends give you? If you had a friend who was going through a difficult time, how would you respond? How can we be encouraging?

As 2 Chronicles came to an end, we saw the importance of the discovery of the Book of the Law. The young king was doing what was right and so discovered what they had lost.

We are reminded of how easy it is to get caught up in the things of the world and forget about God. Somehow that had happened to the Israelites and they lost the Book of the Law and began worshiping a variety of gods. It seems like we do the same thing sometimes!

Job is a fascinating story. According to the notes in the Harper Collins Study Bible, it is a folktale in elevated prose, akin to epic narrative. The story asks the question...is what happens in our lives the result of reward or punishment for our actions, or is our relationship with God not dependent upon our behavior, but instead constant because God is constant, regardless of what happen in our lives.

Think about how we react to the good and the bad things that happen in our lives...do we wonder why God "lets" the bad things happen, and yet fail to give God credit for the good things? Perhaps since we do have free will, we should instead recognize that God is with us through all the things our various paths lead us to...whether they are good or bad, we do not have to be alone.

More tomorrow...

Hello!

I am back from moving my daughter into college this weekend...wow, there sure is a lot to be done to get ready to go away to school!

Hopefully now that school has started and the big move is done I can get back to a normal schedule.

Tomorrow I'll re-do the 2nd Chronicles wrap-up and we'll dive into Job. If you have any questions about anything you have read...please don't hesitate to post them. I'm happy to go back and look at anything you were wondering about.