Ashes

Thinking about lent.  Last night went to the Ash Wednesday service in our chapel in Campbell hall.  It reminded me so much of the mass-- there were actually three readings, the prayers, the focus on the Eucharist...The message spoken was about lent as a time of revival as we enter more fully into the life, death, and resurrection of Christ.  And, you know, that is something we could use more of.  So, what will I be doing during lent to grow spiritually?  I kind of failed last night through tiredness.  I planned to pray in the evenings with my scripture readings (more than just, "Lord, bless me as i go to sleep, and thank you for today. Good night.")  Well, I barely read.
Rev. Hames (or Chap) encouraged us to not give up after a slip up.  It is a time of growing.  So, don't get too discouraged.  By God's grace, (and you need His help anyway) get up and keep growing.

After the meeting I had "Ashes" stuck in my head.

We rise again from ashes,

from the good we've failed to do.

We rise again from ashes,

to create ourselves anew.

If all our world is ashes,

then must our lives be true,

An offering of ashes,

      An offering to You.

We offer You our failures,

we offer You attempts;

The gifts not fully given,

the dreams not fully dreamt.

Give our stumblings direction,

give our visions wider view,

An offering of ashes,

      An offering to You.

Then rise again from ashes,

let healing come to pain;

Though spring has turned to winter,

and sunshine turned to rain.

The rain we'll use for growing,

and create the world anew,

From an offering of ashes,

          An offering to You.

         

       

       
        ... Thanks be to the Father,

          who made us like Himself.

          ... Thanks be to His Son,

          who saved us by His death.

          ... Thanks be to the Spirit,

          who creates the world anew,

          From an offering of ashes,

                    An offering to You.

Today is beautiful

(from Multiply)

The day started out cold and gusty--I love days like that.  I woke up just in time to get ready for class and slide in as the teacher, Dr. Lankford took role.  College Algebra class--I am so glad I was able to switch to that class rather than taking Basic College Algebra or waiting a semester.  We did some word problems today and that happens to be an area that Mr. Deland focused on at Cedars. So, that was kind of fun really.
Understanding Old Testament--the teacher had me concerned for a bit as to whether he believed that the Bible is the inspired word of God.  Sometimes, that class had me feeling so frustrated, but today the conclusion was reached and it puts me much at ease.  Before, he referenced the two names for God in chapter one and two of Genesis as two gods and the stories as two separate stories.  Today, we finished the discussion.  That was a discussion of seeming, today was a discussion of meaning.  With meaning, you look at what the text actually says, what it meant (to the best of our ability to discover) to the people at the time of writing, and what it means for us.  Chapter one ends in the beginning of chapter two with the seventh day on which God rested from His labour.  We were created in His image, and created to worship Him.  The second telling of the creation of man concludes with the creation of woman and man and woman being joined as one flesh.  The teacher drew from this the importance of humanity coming together in respect and love.  He drew a parrallel from these two stories to the brief statement of the first commandment that Jesus made: You shall love the Lord your God with all you heart, mind and strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Part of what he did before going into his explanation was to present us with the scenario of his being a friend who is a sceptic--he sees two gods, two stories, and doesn't see how they fit or make sense, and he really doubts this whole god thing and is asking you what you are getting from these passages.  Apparently, this was something the teacher went through, and that has an influence on his round about methods of coming to a point.  In any case, it has me thinking....

"and he ate one of their crackers."

(from Multiply--funny, this was when they were 7 and 5)

I was spreading almonds in a pan for toasting, and Joshua and Lydia were in the next room playing.  I heard Joshua--"nhmnhmnhmnhm--and he was dead."
Lydia--"No, they would know he was not dead; and he ate one of their crackers."