by Sharon O | Apr 7, 2025 | Uncategorized
This is the season leading up to Easter and in the Chirstian world many are choosing a purposeful time of sabbath.
A quiet shift reflecting the deep meaning of what is to come within the story.
The story of Easter is hard.
It is celebrations and also great grief.
Words cannot begin to share the emotional season around this time.
Palm Sunday when people were welcoming Jesus, happy and celebrating him.
They praised him and greeted him with joy as he rode the donkey into town.
Just as his mother Mary rode the donkey to his birthing place, HE rode the donkey to his dying place.
Did you know that every donkey has a cross on its back deep into the fur?
Interesting fact. Not accidental.
Celebrations and happy greetings and then not even a week later anger and hatred towards him.
The passion of Jesus as he entered into this season was filled with many heart wrenching moments.
It is a most horrific way to die. He knew it.
We must grasp the power and imagery of the idea that ‘God SO loved all of us so much that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him shall not perish.’
He chose to do this. For US, people who often rejected him.
It is all about choice. and belief and hope given to a world who desperately needs it.
The journey to the cross was a difficult finality of the life Jesus had here.
It was planned. It was orchestrated just as his birth was in details and in placement of people.
The rejection from his ‘tribe’ of men who walked with him and believed in his teachings.
Had to be hard for him. Yet I believe he knew they would do that.
He knew what they would say or do or choose and HE gave grace to them anyway.
Peter said to him, “I will never deny you,” But he did, three times.
When times of testing take place all of us have a choice.
Fear or faith.
This is the season leading up to Easter and those who believe will watch and remember all that he told them. 
by Sharon O | Apr 5, 2025 | Uncategorized
As we continue the journey towards Easter, I am reminded of the disciples who were not that different from us.
They left homes, jobs, families and followed Jesus a man who they had just met.
Because he said, ‘come follow.”
Because his voice gave them reason to give up in order to gain.
Common sense would tell you that is not a thought-out process.
To leave what was secure and follow what is not known.
But I believe Jesus KNEW who he was picking to follow him and to become his TRIBE,
I am fully convinced he knew the response they would give him and then knew how to gather them together in a group.
Perhaps they didn’t know each other in the beginning.
It was a group forming and they followed him.
They could not fully understand his wisdom.
Even Mary and Joseph were amazed at his wisdom.
There is a knowing, then there is a heart filled knowing.
Mary knew in her heart what the angel had told her,
but she was also the mother who would watch and observe and believe in, her son.
As the disciples watched miracle after miracle, then listened to his teaching and healings.
They were there. Close to him.
There was no reason for them to question him for he lived a believable life.
When he challenged them, He did not shame them, he wanted them to know the truth.
For he often said, ‘the truth will set you free’.
The journey towards Easter has many paths and we will follow some of them in this process.
The story is not just a little golden book read to little Children about Jesus riding on a donkey.
There was purpose. planned out so each scripture could be fulfilled.
Just like the story of Christmas each player, each reaction or response was all a part of the plan.
To fulfill the purpose God had set in motion.
As we continue the journey towards Easter we will listen and learn about the great love the father has for us.
by Sharon O | Apr 4, 2025 | Uncategorized
When we talk about the Easter story, we need to go back to the Christmas story.
The reason Jesus came as a baby to Mary and Joseph was for HIS life to be more believable to those watching.
The angel told Mary, “You are the one chosen’.
Joseph was chosen also to carry the weight of being supportive of Mary and later baby Jesus.
Without Christmas we can’t have Easter.
God planned for Jesus to grow in wisdom and stature.
The plan was for HIM to live as normal as possible till his 30’s when his ministry would begin.
I cannot imagine the disciples living with him, walking alongside him and listening to HIM.
How did they ever respond to the rumblings of the people as the Easter weekend began.
We stayed with some friends this weekend and when you stay with someone you see them within the realness of who they are.
Morning hair, need for coffee, and I would imagine Jesus would wake up and then begin teaching.
Mary Knew her son was special, and I wonder as he grew into a man how did she respond to the reality of ‘WHO’ he was deep in her heart..
When he turned water into wine, she knew he could do it but was surprised when HE DID.
Every mother who has ever had a child has the same moments. WOW I am proud of you for that accomplishment.
The Christmas story is about the beginning. The life given to HIM.
The ministry years were short, and we were not told much about the middle years.
Mary had to reconcile in her heart as any mother would that her son was sent for a very special reason and as the words spoken to her said, ‘a sword will pierce your heart.’
She didn’t know what that meant and she was not going to hold onto it very long.
When we talk about the Easter story, we have to go back to the Christmas story where it all began.
by Sharon O | Apr 4, 2025 | Uncategorized
Easter is coming and as we prepare our hearts, I have a cute little story to share.
When our granddaughter Faith was about 2, we decided she was old enough to help us do the eggs.
Tradition is to boil them, color them, hide them and find them then put them back in the fridge till dinner.
Well, she was ok with some of it kind of humoring her ‘grandma and grandpa’.
We would go through the movements of preparing the eggs.
She was in a darling little dress, and we found her a basket.
We said to her, “let’s go find the eggs outside.”
Grandpa had placed them in pretty easy spots to find.
She questioned us. “Why do I need to go find them I didn’t lose them.”
In her mind, why on earth would you cook eggs and then put them outside once colored.
It does sound a bit silly, but we wanted a fun day for her.
She was a first granddaughter and believe me it was all about making her life easy and fun.
So back to the egg finding, “let’s go get the eggs.”
She said to us again with a firmer tone that a little one can muster up.
(Just in case we didn’t hear her the first time,)
“But I didn’t LOSE them, why do I have to find them?”
We talked her into it finally, she found her basket and said rather loudly, “I am looking everywhere.”
It was a priceless moment this grandma will always remember.
And really it is a silly tradition.
Speaking of tradition.
Easter has always been for family including food and church and small Easter baskets for the kids.
The days of dressing up is long gone now although occasionally I will see the little kids dressed up.
We enter this season of Easter through reflection and as we prepare our hearts we are reminded of the story.
It was not an easy one and after watching some of the ‘chosen show’, the humanity of Jesus was always alongside the Godly side of him.
As we move towards the Easter weekend, I pray our hearts are open to the power and the Prescence and the perfect love that awaits us.
Easter is coming and as we prepare our hearts let us remember and re-visit the story.
by Sharon O | Mar 17, 2025 | Uncategorized
A new month full of changes.
I had my eyes corrected, having both cataracts removed.
I am not a good patient and really had to stretch myself on this one.
They do give you drugs to have you not be awake during surgery.
The right eye went well other than I got sick apparently, I was not able to take heavy drugs.
Had a great deal of nausea and had to work that out of my system, as we headed for home.
My left eye has had adjustments too. They give you a new lens and apparently my body is not appreciating this foreign thing.
I did not have the heavy drugs during my left eye surgery, and it seems to be way more sensitive.
Hoping in time it will settle down and I can see better.
I was really discouraged when we got home, and I could not read anything.
I just could not believe it seemed worse than before I started.
The doctor reassured me today it will all heal and be better.
I have purchased 6 pairs of reading glasses and two pair of cute sunglasses.
Good grief I didn’t think it would be such a big deal.
Tiem will have to be my friend on this one because my patience is being tested to the fullest.
We don’t know how much we appreciate eyesight and when we don’t have it, what a major change.
I kept thinking of my cousin who is legally blind telling myself she would do anything in her power to get her sight back.
I had to keep being brave.
MY MOTTO for this year.
We also had to take our 11-year-old cat to the vet thinking we were going to have to put her down.
She fooled us and had perfect lab tests done and she is very healthy just a bit underweight.
This expensive month has been a test for sure.
A new month of full of changes and life moves on into this new year.
by Sharon O | Feb 12, 2025 | Uncategorized
Yesterday was my sister’s birthday. She passed away in June of 2019.
We were about a year and a half apart she was older. I am the youngest daughter of four.
It’s hard for my other sister to think of me as 70 years old. I have always been ‘the baby’.
We grow up and life happens.
My sister had a rough life. She was by nature a wandering child. She moved to her own drum beat and
the life she chose brought addictions and ill health.
We do pay for what we choose.
I brought her home from Arkansas many years ago. I knew if I did not do anything I would never see her again.
She flew out to Oregon with my help. and visited with our parents and family.
I made it a nice time visiting the Oregon coast and t took her to a nice restaurant not knowing that was not at all like her life at home.
When it was time to send her home, I took her to the airport, and I told her to wait for me.
I parked my car went in to where she would be, and she was not there.
I panicked and paged her over the intercom system of the airport.
NO one knew where she was.
We discovered she wea already on the plane and sitting in her ‘row’ like a passenger wanting to go home.
The pilot let her go off the plane to say goodbye to me.
Life was often and adventure with her.
Later she returned to us with her whole family like the Beverly hillbillies and a car loaded with all they owned.
She lived her life around family, and it was both good and hard.
Her name was Mary.
She had a life that was challenging and also bittersweet.
We did all that we could do to keep her safe and healthy till she decided that was not her ‘ultimate goal’.
Yesterday was my sister’s birthday and I will always miss her.
