Saturday Lent 2

Friends.  Yesterday was a reminder of great friends.   When we lived in Sherwood Park AB,  I belonged to the Sherwood Park Quilt Guild and out of that Guild came a great group of friends.  We called ourselves the Knotty Needles.   We had a common passion -- quilting.  Yet we also had a lot in common about our lives.....  hospitality,  compassion for helping others,  and a joy for living.  I certainly miss this group and over the years,  others have moved away as well yet through the wonders of e-mail we keep in touch.  I especially love when people share photos of new grand babies,  quilts,  places where they are now living. 

And yesterday by bestest friend (Husband Mine)  spent quite a bit of his day being chauffer.  Thursday we received 1000 posters for advertising our Museum Vimy Night celebration.  Only oopsie was we only ordered 100 posters.  So,  what to do with 900 extra posters?   Drive around town,  mail posters,  share 60 posters at a time with Museum Volunteers and Reservists and Cadet Commanding Officers.  And through each of these activities,  Glenn was available and ready with the car to drive me anywhere.  Aaaaah.  Now that is love :)

Just so you know....  26 Fd Regt RCA - XII MB Dragoons Museum presents the Vimy Night Fundraiser on Saturday  31 March 2012 Brandon Armoury  1116 Victoria Ave Brandon at 6pm.   Dinner tickets are $15.00 per person.  Evening Entertainment is the 26 Fd Regt RCA Pipes and Drums followed by a Live Auction with our very own Curator as Auctioneer.   

Today is a preparatory day.  I am playing the piano for St. Andrew's  again this week and need your prayers so that I can play each of the hymns without arthritic pain and can play the hymns as they were meant to be played!   As I practice the hymns,  I get discouraged as my fingers and brain just will not work together.  But I'm reading a book called "40 days with Joan Chittister".  Sister Joan is a Benedictine and believes that one should not cloister oneself behind walls in order to find God,  one must live out one's  life as God as given to each of us and rejoice greatly (okay,  rejoice quietly during Lent).    I love that idea and try to live it out each day.  God can be found with each step we take... and in each badly played wrong piano note.   So today as I practice and tomorrow as I play, I pray that my fingers play to God's glory... even if there are wrong notes.   

Preparatory Prayer for Worship tomorrow:
LORD,  we pray You to continually inspire Your Church universal with the Spirit of truth, unity,  and peace and joyfully played hymns.   Give Your grace to all Ministers, Elders, and Lay Preachers that by their life and their faith they may show forth Your Word of Truth and celebrate You this day in love and in joy.       Please remember this day  students and workers called to lead the Summer Vacation Bible Schools throughout the Presbytery of Winnipeg and Brandon.   Please remember Westwood Presbyterian Church  as they continue initiating and helping to fund this ministry of Vacation Bible School workers.     Give Your grace to all Your people as we  meet together in Your presence tomorrow.  May we hear and receive Your Word with purity of heart and true obedience, to serve You all the days of our life. And may You hold each who lead in worship tomorrow in the palms of your hands and give us peace.   Amen.

 Many blessings!

Friday - Lent 2

Happy Friday!   This week has flown by so quickly.   Between practicing the hymns for Sunday at St.  Andrew's and handing out posters for the Museum, this week is now at Friday.
Yesterday the Museum received their Vimy Night advertisement posters.  Instead of the 100 we ordered,  we received 1000. How drole.   1000.   I contacted all the Museum volunteers and asked how many posters they would like to take around town.    The Lt Col e-mailed back that he was presently on holiday in New Mexico.  Wow!  New Mexico.  Holiday.    Neat.  The Virden Army Cadet Commanding Officer is meeting me at Sobey's  Parking Lot this evening to hand him 50 posters for distribution in Virden.   Nothing says, "amusing" as standing in a parking lot at night in the dark with a bag of posters :)

May this Friday be a time of reflection upon your week and a joy knowing that Sunday is within view!  A day of blessing.

Devotional.....

Thank You God,  that during this time of Lent,  we make specific times to be alone with You in Prayer.    Transform us as we pray and renew our strength. Open our eyes to those moments when You speak to us and we say “aha!” in understanding.  And may we take the learning You have given us to those in our community.   This we ask in Jesus’ name.  Amen.

Read:  St. Matthew 8: 23 – 27

Finally Jesus has time alone.  A time to spend in prayer.   Jesus and disciples get in a boat and set off to cross to the other side of the lake of Tiberias.   Jesus,  being worn out and tired falls asleep.    Suddenly a storm appears. Not your ordinary storm which the fishermen disciples were familiar with as a storm.    In the Greek translation,  the word used for “storm”  is actually the word for “earthquake”.  This is the kind of earthquake that is the end of the world type of earthquake.  Apocalyptic storm.     Yet Jesus remains asleep as the waves wash over the boat.    The Disciples wake Jesus and say, “Lord,  save us!  We are going to drown!”     Jesus reprimands them by asking why they are such cowards and faint hearts.     Jesus stands up and tells the wind to be silent and the sea to be calm.   And it is so.   The disciples rub their eyes in disbelief.   The disciples exclaim, “Even the wind and sea heed his command”.      In this short story,  it is as if the Disciples have not been listening nor watching Jesus pray and heal the sick and create miracles.    Suddenly they are confronted with a teacher who heals and does miracles. 

We call this an “aha” moment.   A moment when faith and understanding collide.    A time of blessing.   

Like the Disciples,  we too have heard the stories of Jesus.  We too have worshipped God at Church each Sunday.  But sometimes in our lives comes a moment of “Aha!  That’s what God means!”

As we travel through this Lenten time,   watch and listen for the “aha” moments that God gives to us.

Eternal God,  You know what for us is hidden;  bless Your people as we lay before You the hardness of our hearts.  Strengthen us in Your might,  deliver us from all that is evil and confirm us in faith,  through Jesus Christ our Lord.  Amen.  (Taize “Praise in All our Days,  Mowbray 1981). 

Many blessings!

Saturday - Lent 1

Aaaah,  Prearatory Saturday.   And this day will be more than preparing for the Sabbath in just prayer.... I am playing the piano at St. Andrew's  tomorrow so there will be a lot of piano playing in this household today.   But our next wall neighbours don't get up on a Saturday until after 1pm and we like to have happy neighbours so I won't start practicing until after 1pm.     Thank goodness I've been practicing all week :)  And praying like mad that these old arthritic fingers can play praises to God!

Boy,  practicing for worship takes me all the way back to Coquitlam Presbyerian Church when I was 12 years old and the Sunday School Superintendant asked me to play for the Sunday School.  That alone was cool!  What an awesome Superintendant to recognize the importance of involving all ages in the Church.  Then to be asked to play for Sunday services when the Organist was away was even  super cooler.  Reflecting back upon Coquitlam Presbyterian Church,  I am so greatful that they did ask a 12 year old to be involved with the learnin' and prayin' of the Church.   Good on them!!!

  Today,  reflect upon who is asked in your congregation to be involved with leading Worship.   Does your congregation use the "old faithfuls" and not involve others?  Time to pray and seek change!  After all,  Lent is a time to seek changes in our lives so that the love of God will shine through clearer.

LORD,  we pray You to continually inspire Your Church universal with the Spirit of truth, unity,  and peace.   Give Your grace to all Ministers, Elders, and Lay Preachers that by their life and their faith they may show forth Your Word of Truth and celebrate You this day in love and in joy.       Please remember this day  Knox Winnipegosis and St. Andrew’s  Geraldton as they seek out Summer Student Ministers.     Give Your grace to all Your people as we  meet together in Your presence.  May we hear and receive Your Word with purity of heart and true obedience, to serve You all the days of our life.  Amen.