Lent 2025 – some comfort and joy

Thank You!

We are so grateful to have journeyed through this Lenten season with you. Your comments, likes and shares mean so much to us. As we share our own wonder and wonderings with you, it is our prayer that our words and invitations nurture your soul. May you experience the nearness of God and notice theContinue reading “Thank You!”

Comfort: Easter Morning

AMEN: Easter Blessing Sometimes in the wintercold wraps around meWhere is God? Sometimes in the nightit’s hard to knowWhere God is. Sometimes weare the disciples waitingin the darkit must have feltlike winterWhere is God? ButEaster morningAlways comes like springbursting through thecold and darkblossoming with possibility Jesus is risenJesus is hereJesus is coming again

Joy: Lent Week 5 – Keep us safe

“And keep us safe.” Matthew 6:13 Maundy Thursday services will be held in many churches this week. These services often include a simple meal sometimes called a “love feast” or perhaps a seder meal. These meals are designed to help recount God’s faithfulness to God’s people over many generations. How has God shown faithfulness toContinue reading “Joy: Lent Week 5 – Keep us safe”

Comfort: Lent Week 6 – Humility

“Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil.” -Matthew 6:13 Lent begins with Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness. The forty days of testing are reflected in our forty days of fasting. The wilderness in its various forms ends up being a place of revealing. When we reach the end of our resources, we must faceContinue reading “Comfort: Lent Week 6 – Humility”

Joy: Lent Week 5 – The Practice of Forgiveness

“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.…” -Matthew 6:12 Large scale or small, a daily discipline or miraculous moment of transformation, forgiveness plays out in many different ways in our lives. Living in relationship with others (family, community, church) means that we will have disagreements and conflict, hurt feelings and broken promises. Take someContinue reading “Joy: Lent Week 5 – The Practice of Forgiveness”

Comfort: Lent Week 5 – Forgiveness

“Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others.” Matthew 6:12 There is an ancient Asian proverb that tells of a monk who carried a rich lady across a puddle so her feet wouldn’t get wet. The ungrateful woman did not thank the monk for his kindness. Miles down the road the monk’s apprentice asked howContinue reading “Comfort: Lent Week 5 – Forgiveness”

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 scentContinue reading “Joy: Lent Week 4 – Our Daily Bread”

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 andContinue reading “Comfort: Lent Week 4 – Daily Needs”

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. AsContinue reading “Joy: Lent Week 3 – The Will of God”

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 haveContinue reading “Comfort: Lent Week 3 – Set the world right”