some comfort and joy

Joy: Lent Week 4 – Our Daily Bread

Enjoy some bread this week, acknowledging God’s provision for each of us.

Do you have a favorite bakery or coffee shop? Find some time to visit and be thankful while you enjoy a yeasty treat. Do you enjoy baking bread of your own when you have the time? Bake some, and enjoy the beautiful scent that fills the house.

When I am too busy to make traditional yeast bread (most of the time!), I enjoy making quick breads like these muffins.

Carrot Bran Muffins
Recipe from Good Housekeeping: 400 Heart Healthy Recipes and Tips

1 ½ cups original whole-bran cereal (not bran flakes)
1 cup lowfat milk
¼ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup molasses
1 large egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
2 medium carrots, shredded (about 1 cup)
½ cup raisins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease your muffin tin. (12)
Mix bran cereal, milk, oil, molasses, and egg in a medium bowl until blended. Let it stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
Add liquid mixture to dry mixture, stir just until the flour is evenly mixed in.
Stir in carrots and raisins
Fill greased muffin tins.
Bake until muffins spring back when lightly touched about 18 to 20 min. Immediately remove from tins and enjoy!

Comfort: Lent Week 4 – Daily Needs

“…Give us today our daily bread…” -Matthew 6:11

As Anabaptist Mennonites we reject the teachings of the prosperity gospel. We take seriously the blesseds of beatitudes found in the Sermon on the Mount, trusting in the upside-down kingdom that Jesus revealed.

Those that gathered near to Jesus knew need, experienced suffering. And this simple and beautiful prayer that Jesus invites us to practice recognizes our dependence for the present and the eternal. The practical and ephemeral. The sacred ordinary that we name and proclaim as we pray in the way of Jesus reminds us that it is just as holy to feed our people as it is to study scripture. It is just as blessed to care about housing and clothing our brothers and sisters as it is to extend and receive forgiveness.

Are there cares or concerns you have resisted bringing before God? What weighs on your heart today? Consider your ordinary tasks today; what sacred import do these acts carry? How is God revealing and providing in the midst of the mundane?

Draw my awareness to your nearness, O God. May my acts of care be expressions of divine love for others. In my places of worry and need, may I notice your gifts of provision; may I experience the blessing of enough. Amen.

Joy: Lent Week 3 – The Will of God

“Set the world right; Do what’s best—as above, so below.” -Matthew 6:10

As Anabaptist Christians we understand our call to live in the way of Jesus. As the poem from Saint Teresa of Avila says: Christ has no body but yours. We are invited to join in God’s kingdom work, being agents of shalom.

As you go throughout this week, take the time to offer a random act of kindness. Perhaps you pay for the person behind you in the drive through as you grab your morning coffee. Maybe you stick a note of appreciation in your kid’s lunchbox. Secretly complete your spouse’s least favorite chore. Leave some muffin’s on your neighbor’s porch. Prayerfully consider how you might demonstrate the love and care of Jesus to someone you cross paths with this week.

Open my eyes, O God, to those around me who need a sign of your care this day. May I be your hands and feet, offering the blessing of shalom to those I meet. Amen.

Comfort: Lent Week 3 – Set the world right

“Set the world right;
Do what’s best-
as above, so below.” Matthew 6:10 (The Message)

“So many bad things have been done in the name of God. How do we know we are doing the right thing?” a friend asked during a Bible study. This is such a good question and one that many of us have struggled with. I have been involved in ministries of the church only to look back on them later and feel embarrassed by what I did in the name of Jesus. Maybe you have as well.

I also know there have been times when I have been so paralyzed by the fear of messing up that I have turned away and chosen not to get involved.

In this part of the Lord’s prayer Jesus is inviting God to be present and working here on Earth. One way God is present in the world is through God’s people – you and me. It won’t be perfect. We will make mistakes. But the more we can listen for and welcome God’s grace into our daily lives, showing up with love, the more often we will be able to be a part of bringing God’s kingdom here on earth. And thankfully Jesus’ life here gave us a beautiful blueprint to follow.

I hope as I look back on my life it will bring contentment, remembering the times when I tried to listen and follow Jesus hoping to “set the world right” at least a little bit. In the meantime I’m sure I will mess up frequently, but more importantly I will continue to try to be faithful.

During this season of Lent, what is God inviting you to do (or not do) in order to “set the world right”?

Our Father in Heaven,
Set the world right- Do what’s best as above, so below. We want to be your disciples. AMEN

Joy: Lent Week 2 – Holiness of God

For your practice this week find some time to enjoy the Lord’s Prayer set to music. There are many versions. Music, of course, helps us to remember, and a beautiful or catchy tune often springs up unbidden again later in the day. Find a musical version of the Lord’s Prayer that you love and play, sing, or listen to this week.

Here is one I love:

“Our Father in Heaven” by Brian Doerksen

Comfort: Lent Week 2 – The Holiness of God

“Reveal who you are.” -Matthew 6:9b (The Message)

Trends and theories all have their day, and often the most popular are in reaction to something that has come before. For those of us living in the West, our cultural conditioning towards individualism impacts our religious expression as well. We may forget how radical Jesus was in addressing God directly and so personally.

Our Christian faith is another invitation to practice both and. We have a personal relationship with Christ and we are part of a community of believers. We hold a set of beliefs and we live in ways that reflect what we profess. God is immanent and transcendent. Jesus is human and divine. The Kingdom of God is already and not yet.

As we pray, we acknowledge our closeness to God, our beloved Creator. And we recognize the vastness of God who stands outside of time. We pray with praise and petition; in gratitude and bearing our griefs. We pray to connect and to confess. We come to prayer both to speak and to listen. We learn of God through epiphany and revelation.

Holy God, you invite us to join with your work in the world. We are humbled and honored. Reveal yourself to us in the sacred ordinary of lives, that we might recognize your gifts and goodness around us. Amen.

Joy: Lent Week 1 – Imago Dei

“With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven…” -Matthew 6:9

The wallpaper image on my computer is a picture of me and my daughter sharing a laugh. While the photo is now five years old, it brings me joy to see the delight on my daughter’s face. Despite selfie culture, I have relatively few photos of myself. As the mom, I’m most often behind the camera, or to be quite honest, avoiding the shot!

Jesus invites us to an intimacy with God in prayer. The familiarity of address reminds us that we are God’s beloved children. God delights in us, and we share family traits with God.

Today, notice the pictures you have around you– on your wall, in albums on the shelf, the camera roll on your phone. As you take in your image from times recent and long ago, consider the ways that you are an image bearer of the divine. How does your life reflect your connection with God? Where have you seen the face of God in others?

Creator God, may I notice the sparks of you in those I greet today. And, may I reflect the goodness of your created order in my way of being. With each photo snapped and glance in the mirror, may I remember I am your beloved child, fearfully and wonderfully made. Amen.

And the book winner is . . .

The winner of the book Prone to Wander by Joanna Harader is Amy Kreider! Congratulations, Amy!

Thank you to everyone who participated and to everyone who has shared about Some Comfort and Joy with someone!

If you didn’t win, that’s OK, you can still order a copy of Prone to Wander from Herald Press ( https://heraldpress.com/9781513814810/prone-to-wander/ ) or any of your favorite book retailers.

Comfort: Lent Week 1 – Our Father

“Our Father in heaven…” -Matthew 6:9

I love hearing all the names children call their parents and grandparents. There are so many and they are generally endearing. When my son Joel was little he sometimes called me Mama, which warmed my heart. Now that my children are in college and middle school, I’m usually just Mom, but I enjoy that name too! It, of course, reveals our familial connection even if it is sometimes said with an eyeroll and an exasperated tone.

I am struck anew today by the Lord’s Prayer and its opening address. Jesus begins the prayer, “Our Father in heaven”. Jesus could have said “Our King in heaven.” Or maybe “Creator in heaven.” Instead he addressed God as family. His Father and ours as well.

Equally interesting is the pronoun. “Our”. Not “my” or “The” or just “Father”, but instead, “Our Father.” The word “Our” embraces the group-ness of relating to God. We are not on this journey towards God alone. And we are included with Jesus in the family relationship with God.

Right before Jesus begins this prayer he says this to his disciples, “This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven. . .” Matthew 6:8 (The Message)

Our Father in heaven, thank you for Jesus. Thank you for loving us and walking with us today. AMEN

Giveaway Time!

Sherah-Leigh and I are so grateful to have each of you as part of the Some Comfort and Joy community! In honor of the start of Lent, we would love to send one of you a copy of Prone to Wander: A Lenten Journey with Women in the Wilderness by Joanna Harader featuring artwork by Michelle Burkholder.

From the Herald Press website:

“God meets us in the wilderness.

Though most of us have never wandered a literal desert for forty years, we have all spent some time wandering in a wilderness of one kind or another. So, too, have many women across the pages of the Bible. In their stories of doubt and questioning, of dryness and distance, we can find guideposts for the inevitable wilderness periods in our own lives. As we enter into the wilderness season of the church year, this Lenten devotional by Joanna Harader explores the stories of thirty biblical women—from Eve to Mary Magdalene—who had their own such experiences. For some, the women inhabited a literal wilderness. For others, their wilderness was metaphorical. All were drawn closer to God, who does not leave us to wander alone.

Embark on a Lenten journey with these women in the wilderness through daily reflections, prayer practices, and questions, as well as Sunday blessings accompanied by beautiful hand-cut paper artwork by Michelle Burkholder.”

Simply complete the form below by midnight on Sunday March 9th for a chance to win a copy of this book!

If you’re the lucky winner, we’ll contact you via email so we can send you your prize. Also, we’d be delighted if you invite your friends, family, and anyone you think would be interested to follow our free Lenten series here on the blog.

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