Lent

Give It Up

Clay lay on his cot constructed with paracord and padded with evergreen boughs. Light slanted through the open door of his shelter. Clay had cut slender trees, hacked off their limbs, then erected a handsome lean-to in which he lay. He situated the shelter near water and foraged for berries. After chinking the cracks with …

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Our Enemy Wears Camo

“Suzanne, Come over here. I want to show you something,” my grandmother called out across the yard. She faced me in a clearing between two outbuildings with the laundry basket wedged on her hip. The clothes line where she hung dish towels drew a line in the air behind her. My grandparents lived out of …

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Lent Week Two: Feb 27-March 4 Take a Knee

We participated in an Ash Wednesday service last week unlike any other I’ve attended. There were no ashes, but the church’s choir sang parts with volume, clapping and swaying to the beat. The whole-person-worship worked me out of my comfortable rut. Then the preacher took the microphone and stood before his congregation. “Fasting without prayer …

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Take a knee

We sat in a conference room with a dozen strangers. Every Saturday morning, this group of people met for prayer. My husband and I came to observe and see if we might fit with them. “Grab a copy of the prayer list,” the chaplain instructed. Someone picked up a paper and handed it to us. …

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Lent Week One: Feb 22-27 Entering the Wilderness

Lent 2023, Week 1: Entering the Wilderness Meditations Below you will find scripture readings followed by questions to ponder this week until next Tuesday’s blog. Some scriptures are provided. I also give my observations, but read them after you’ve come to your own conclusions. At the end I give an explanation why a forty day …

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Entering the Wilderness

I pulled a bowl of warmed chili from the microwave. The clock reminded me that I must leave in ten minutes for a volunteer job. I gulped down a spoonful, but the phone interrupted with a beep and triple vibrations stressing the message’s importance,  Buzzzzz, Buzzzz, Buzzzz. These startle me once a month or so …

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Lost

Panic jolts up my scalp. Where am I? I drove this a route several times before, from my university to Fort Hood to see my fiancé. I am somewhere near the halfway point based on time, but at this moment, I cannot find my bearings. Did I pass the turn, or does it still lay …

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Get Ready!

Various items lay on the bed next to an overnight bag. Among the items are a hair brush, a nightgown with the tag still attached, and a tiny outfit covered with puppies. Though this expectant mom packs for her second child, she needs to prepare for him as if he were her firstborn. Remembering what …

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Speak, O Lord

Ash Wednesday came and went yesterday. Some may wonder why I haven’t written anything about Lent this year. I feel like I’ve been in a season of Lent since this time last year. Racial tensions, politics and even the mask issue revealed many opportunities for recognizing and repenting of sin. The pandemic also mandated giving up …

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