March 24th, 2021
|
| ps from ps… How many thresholds have you already walked through today? Doors? Transitions? I bet more than you think! And I bet you barely noticed. I mean think of your morning. Mine went like this: bedroom to bathroom to bedroom to hallway to stairs to dining room to kitchen to coffee pot. Eight thresholds before I even got my first cup of coffee. This clearly explains why I didn’t most of them! Door, thresholds and transitions take us from one thing to the other, one place to the other, one room to the other. From home to car to work to lunch to work again to car to home to dinner to random sporting event on tv and back to bed again. Some days we blitz through them so fast, we barely notice a thing. Think through your day already today…how many did you walk through? The door that we walk through this coming weekend is the threshold and transition between Lent and Holy Week. And Jesus DOES NOT want those who were there the first time, and those that are going through it this time, to miss it. He’s been going toward the cross since he came through the door in the stable into a manger. However, many on that first Palm Sunday are just noticing the threshold themselves. “Get the donkey so they notice.” Cue the Palms!! Make it obvious!! But even when they noticed, they didn’t fully understand the threshold they were in. “Hosanna. Hosanna!” But that’s not what Jesus was there to do. Jesus knew the door through which he was walking. And he knew the threshold it would allow to open for us. Did you notice THAT doorway today? As we move toward Palm Sunday again, will you realize the depth of what this transition holds? Notice the doorways today. The ones you’ve been through, the ones you’re about to enter and, of course, the one Jesus opened for us all. Lord, thanks for the important door being open for us all. Help me notice! Amen Still in One Peace, ps |
March 21st – March 27th – Week 5 Lent 2021
March 17th, 2021
 |
| ps from ps… This is my friend and colleague Lee Miller (pictured above). When he’s not being the lead pastor at Holy Trinity Lutheran or Dean of a group of Lutheran churches or a husband or dad, he’s running. Running with a purpose. Running for self-care. Now some would say, myself included, that he looks a lot like Forrest Gump when he does…. but that is not his intent either. His intent is simply to make sure that there is enough time in the day for self-care, prayer and reflection. He started at the beginning of the pandemic and just kept it going everyday. Here’s what he said yesterday as his streak went to 365 straight days. “One year ago I began this running streak committing myself to 30 minutes of #selfcare each day of the pandemic and inviting you to #loveyourself with a little bit of daily exercise, too. Remember when we only thought this would last a few weeks? 365 days later I’m still running. I’ve gone through three pairs of shoes and have run the same day as a colonoscopy and a root canal (not the same day.) I hope you can take time to care for yourself as we continue to take time to #loveoneanother. I acknowledge that I run with privilege and so on my runs I remember #ahmaudarbery and many more. Let’s keep on #runningtherace until we can all be together again. What’s your preferred form of self-care?” Wow. One full year of running everyday. One full year of self-care. One full year of giving himself time for reflection and centering each day. As we move through Lent, I invite you to start or restart that self-care for yourself….that reflection, meditation, centering and prayer time for yourself. Your Self! You deserve that time to bless and re-bless what God has created! Walking. Running. Counting steps. Movement. Yoga. Silence. Sitting with your coffee. Reading. Whatever it might be, take it for you and for your time to reconnect with God. (I do highly encourage you to merge your meditation/prayer with your movement, if you haven’t already, to be able to bless your body, mind and soul all at once.) So today, whether it’s Day 1 or Day 366, run, you, run! (Catch the Forrest Gump reference there?) Whatever it is, take the time for your Self. Lord, thanks for blessing my Self. Help me stay connected to it and you! Amen Still in One Peace, ps |
Recent Comments