by Sharon O | Mar 15, 2017 | Uncategorized
The meaning of lent:
(in the Christian religion) an annual season of fasting and penitence in preparation for Easter, beginning on Ash Wednesday and lasting 40 weekdays to Easter, observed by Roman Catholic, Anglican, and certain other churches.
What if we took some time to fast.
I can’t fast very well from food, because of blood sugar issues, but I could fast from tv or internet in the same way others would fast from some foods.
When I look up penitence it means: the state of being penitent; regret for one’s wrongdoing or sinning; contrition; repentance.
Kind of like being sorry for the areas we have failed, whether that be towards someone or just in general.
Perhaps even failed against our selves and our ‘well meaning goals or plans’.
I suggest we move our hearts to what is meaningful and allow a softening of the spirit as Easter comes near.
Some need to go apologize to others because of what has been done or said, during these last few months.
I have seen and experienced the hurt and wounds that have been placed because of disagreements.
It is hard to observe.
Contrition means sincere remorse. Sorrow for hurting someone. Have you ever hurt someone?
Have you ever been sorry enough to apologize to them?
Perhaps we need to evaluate our ‘hearts’ and search our ‘words spoken to one another’ and see if there are things we need to take care of in the way of relationships.
If we begin this year to prepare our hearts for the next 40 days to Easter, would we be in a better spiritual mindset to welcome the time of renewal?
What if we practice intentionality in keeping our hearts close to the resurrection story?
There is so much emotion surrounding Easter.
The story of the cross brings intensity and sorrow.
The story of the cross brings love in the deepest form.
That Jesus would choose, to give his life in the most horrendous of ways to show us HIS love for us.
It will be a challenge for us to focus on renewing our hearts and spirits towards the love that the cross represents.
It is like taking a pause from anything that could move us from the direction of hope and resurrection.
During this season of Easter I am asking all of us, to take time to renew, repent and restore anything that is broken between us and our Father God.
Repentance is saying I am sorry and I won’t do it again.
Let us begin to practice Lent in a new and different way this year.
Let us worship the one who gives us hope and renewed lives.
by Sharon O | Mar 13, 2017 | Uncategorized
In the last month we have had an election that has rocked our United States to the core.
I rarely talk politics and I really hardly ever bring up controversial topics.
This election has caused more friction between friends, coworkers and even family members, it has been staggering and disappointing to me to see the hard ‘opinions and words’ that people have said to one another.
The election is over. It is done.
I wish for people to deal with it and let go of their pre-conceived ideas of righteous arguments.
There is no argument worth losing a friend over.
No argument worth losing a family member over.
It is wasted energy and definitely not life giving or relationship building. The voting is over and we have a new President.
Let’s pray for him, and be faithful in our fundamental right of freedom of speech for in such a time as this we ask May God continue to bless America and keep us protected and safe.
[I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment.]
1st Corinthians 1:10
by Sharon O | Mar 10, 2017 | Uncategorized
Forty two years ago on March 10th we were blessed with a baby boy.
He was precious and new and tiny. A joy for us and a delight.
We were young and didn’t really know what to do as parents.
We had a tiny little house and he slept in a cradle my grandpa made for us, a wooden one on rockers. Oh those things really hurt when you ran into them with your toe in the middle of the night.
We named him Christopher; which means Christ-bearer.
We were so new at being parents and made so many mistakes.
Sometimes we were scared of the responsibility of being parents.
We wanted so much for our son.
He was such a joy to us and very life changing for it was the beginning of the three of us in our family.
He was extremely smart and talked many words at an early age.
Every day was a new challenge and we were so pleased, proud and tired too, for this little guy got up very early every morning.
I remember taking him to my grandma’s and grandpa’s house so she could cut his hair. We would have lunch and visit.
It was a great time of sharing and making memories.
A few months after he turned two we found out we were having our second baby. He was excited to be a big brother.
It has been such a joy to see our son grow up to be a Godly man.
Responsible and wise. After high school college became his plan.
Then he met his wife to be and they dated for 5 years.
Now they are married with three boys of their own.
He is a business man, a leader and police officer too.
Our prayers are always for his safety.
For his health, for his family and for his love to grow stronger in the Lord and in his marriage. Today I just want to say:
We love you son and wish you a happy birthday.
We have been so blessed and so proud to see you become the man you have become.
by Sharon O | Mar 9, 2017 | Uncategorized
Fruit of the Spirit: A Deep Challenge
March 7, 2017
“But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Against such things there is no law.”
When I read these words I find myself deeply challenged.
Is it possible to have any or all of these fruits? I read each one and ask myself, “do I have this and does it show?”
Love, means to care for and love those who I don’t often want to spend time with. Love…is hard. It is an action word.
It’s easy when we are with others we care for but that is not often the place we find ourselves in.
Joy, we can have deep joy in our lives and then it shows up in deep peace. Those who have joy inside them are often the most peaceful people one can meet.
Remember the song, “it is well with my soul?” When peace like a river, flowing and fulfilling it spills out into forbearance, which means patient endurance and self control.
Kindness, is to be kind and good and faithful. If you have ever met someone without kindness they often show lack of self control.
They are rude and not approachable. Gentleness and self control go together very well.
Living in the Spirit means I must take inventory of every word, every action and every behavior I show to others.
It is a good thing.
It is a wonderful challenge if we choose to grow in the Spirit.
When I was in high school one of my very good friends was in college and she was a mentor to me.
Often challenging me to look inside my heart and think deep and spiritual. She had cystic fibrosis and I would call her and often ask how she was and in the end she was the one asking me matters of the heart questions. She lived by the fruits of the spirit. Gentleness, compassion, goodness, patient endurance. Her disease didn’t destroy her attitude in fact it made it sweeter for she knew her time was short. I learned from her to and her modeling of what a Christian was. She prayed, she listened and she asked questions. I never felt shamed or discouraged with her, she had a way of lifting me up even within the midst of her own suffering.
If we can challenge each other to live by the fruit of the Spirit and to show our ‘kindness to others’ in these crazy times of meanness, I think we will have more opportunity to show others who are watching, the love of Jesus. We can learn to answer meanness from other peoples words with forgiveness and the act of being gentle.
This last voting season has caused a great stir among friends and family and there has been a spirit of ‘righteous’ behavior that I have not enjoyed.
Living by the Spirit means to show fruit of ‘kindness’… goodness and self control. We really do need to look inward and ask ourselves have we done these very well? No matter what opinion we choose to share if it is done in the wrong ‘way’ we lose all of our witness.
I pray we practice the art of discerning which fruit we will give our time and attention to.
Galatians 5:22
“But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard – things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people.”
Are you ready for the challenge set before you?
by Sharon O | Mar 2, 2017 | Uncategorized
Do you have a special place?
A place where it is your ‘peaceful place’ for your spirit and it renews you?
I do. I find when we get away to the beach; the wind and the waves and cool air refreshes my attitude.
In fact right now as I write I am in our travel trailer drinking my coffee and enjoying the quiet without noise or distractions.
Quiet is my peaceful place too.
There are many goals I have made to keep my writing schedule focused and on my calendar.
In fact my recent purchase is a small laptop so when we are out traveling I can keep at a steady pace.
Can’t wait for it to come to our home so I can learn it and begin a series for Easter.
Writing is my ‘hobby’ or a new way of journaling for me.
In saying that it is not often personal like a journal would be it; becomes more of a story telling or devotional thoughts to challenge the reader who is reading.
I appreciate those who are faithful to this quiet space of mine.
In the blogging world one should be a known name, or an author who has written a book in order to have faithful readers.
My husband keeps asking me when I am writing mine.
Good question, I haven’t been given the answer to that one yet.
The other hobby I am learning is the art of quilting.
Writing is a lot easier for me, but the reward of a new quilt made for someone special, is just like a ‘good writing piece’ it is something to be proud of and humbled by the gift of putting something together in a beautiful way.
So as I sit in this quiet place I have prayed that the words in this blog to be always challenging, always encouraging and always sharing the love of God to his people.
Without HIS leading this little blog space has no meaning for me.
Philipians 1:6
the message version.
[Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. I am so pleased that you have continued on in this with us, believing and proclaiming God’s Message, from the day you heard it right up to the present. There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears.]
God began this journey of blogging and it will continue to be my life message until HE tells me to stop.
