A Little Clearing

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 54: Today, I am grateful for a little clearing. 

"Sometimes, the path that will bring you the most joy requires some clearing."

Said another way, the most joyful outcome might require a little work. When presented with easy or a little work, which do we choose? When the answer is "a little work" it often means we have a vision of the outcome that requires some input. We are willing to clear the path. 

What path do we have to clear today? Preparation for the job makes a difference. Do we have the right tools for the job? Many are excited to clear their garden beds to make room for the spring plantings. They need a little clearing. 

Today is day 6 of lent. Lent is a way of preparing our hearts for the biggest celebration of our faith. How do we prepare? This scripture provides a great instruction. 

 "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." -James 4:7

We can clear our hearts of pride. We can stand firm and safe behind the armor of God. We put some work into clearing the path of anything that gets in the way of our relationship with Him and with others. 

Today, I am grateful for a little clearing. 

Watch & Pray

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 53: Today, I am grateful for reminders to watch and pray. 

If you live or work with military people or first responders, situational awareness is something you hear often. Self-defense classes talk about it, because some situations can be avoided or prevented simply by being in tune with our surroundings. Situational awareness can save lives. 

At our house if we say "bunny" or "squirrel", Daisy Mae completely loses her mind as she waits to be let outside to chase a backyard nemesis. She may not see other dangers or things to avoid because she is hyper-focused on the critter in the backyard. She is not paying any attention to our commands at that moment. 

Are we so different? Probably not. Matthew 26:41 was today's verse for lent. Jesus is in the Garden of Gethsemane with the disciples. He knows Judas has sold him out for 30 pieces of silver. He knows of Peter's potential for knee-jerk reactions. He knows the cross is before him, unless the Father changes the game plan at the last minute. 

He goes out to find his friends sleeping after he told them to keep watch. Sleeping! They are clueless, not understanding the things he has said to them. They will understand, but at that moment they are not particularly supportive... or even awake. He told them:  

"Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!” -Matthew 26:41

Judas arrives with the posse. Jesus heals it. The infamous "Judas Kiss" was bestowed upon Jesus to signal him out as the one to arrest. Peter grabs a sword and cuts of a high priest's slave's ear. Jesus heals the ear. Oh, what a night!

When we watch and pray, we stay out of trouble. 

Do we fall asleep in prayer? I confess, I have. Mostly at night when I wake up with something on my heart. I call it the night shift. I do occasionally fall asleep before the "amen." It gives me some compassion for the disciples who had been well fed and had a little wine with dinner. 

This world is full of distractions and things that become idols. Other things consume us, stealing our time, energy, and resources. When we don't know what to do... watch and pray.

Today, I am grateful for reminders to watch and pray. 

The Bread of Life

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 52: Today, I am grateful for the Bread of Life.

I have continued to read the 40 days of Lent passages. This one is one that always takes my breath away for many reasons. Most do not say, "Suffering? Sign me up!". Yet, Jesus was not unaware of the price he would pay. He knew the scriptures. He knew the cost of obedience. He chose the nails. 

"But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." -Isaiah 53:5

Love kept him on the cross. Not nails. Mama Ina Mae used to love the song, "He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels" because of the deep truth. He could have, but He didn't. 

With Mama on my mind, the words in the scripture caught my eye. Did the recipe for our salvation carry the echoes of a basic bread recipe. 

 

Then, I consulted Goggle for a basic bread recipe. Here is the answer:

To create a delicious loaf of bread, follow these essential steps:

Whip: Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar; let it sit until frothy.

Beat: Mix in flour and salt, then beat the dough until smooth.

Crush: Knead the dough on a floured surface until elastic and smooth.

Pierce: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and pierce to release air.

Rise: Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Shape: Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a pan.

Second Rise: Allow the shaped dough to rise again until puffy.

Bake: Preheat the oven and bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding.

Cool: Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy: Slice and enjoy your freshly baked bread!

How do we make bread? Before grocery stores, wheat had to be CRUSHED into flour. We WHIP the warm water, yeast, and sugar until light and fluffy and WAIT. We MIX the ingredients. We BEAT the dough. We can CRUSH nuts or seeds to add more texture or flavor. We let is RISE. We PIERCE the dough to release air when rising. PUNCH DOWN and SHAPE and let it RISE again in the pan. PIERCE before baking to let the steam escape. We bake it until it sounds HOLLOW... or we could use the word EMPTY. Most bread recipes are clear about waiting to slice the bread. DO NOT TOUCH it with a knife until it has cooled. 

And... at the Passover, the instruction for the people was to NOT use the yeast. There was no time to waste when leaving Egypt with Moses. That bread didn't rise. Later, manna from God's hand sustained them in the desert. It arrived ready. But, the Bread of Life would rise again. 

Jesus was the lamb and the Bread of Life who would be beaten, whipped, crushed, pierced, and his torn dead body was wrapped in grave linens. There was the silence, the wait, and then he would rise again. Pierced, but perfect. 

Today, I am grateful for the Bread of Life.

2-21-26

From Google: 

To create a delicious loaf of bread, follow these essential steps:

Whip: Combine warm water, yeast, and sugar; let it sit until frothy.

Beat: Mix in flour and salt, then beat the dough until smooth.

Crush: Knead the dough on a floured surface until elastic and smooth.

Pierce: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and pierce to release air.

Rise: Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

Shape: Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and place it in a pan.

Second Rise: Allow the shaped dough to rise again until puffy.

Bake: Preheat the oven and bake until golden brown and hollow-sounding.

Cool: Remove from the oven and let it cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Enjoy: Slice and enjoy your freshly baked bread!

Save for later-

I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronising nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. . . . Now it seems to me obvious that He was neither a lunatic nor a fiend: and consequently, however strange or terrifying or unlikely it may seem, I have to accept the view that He was and is God. (CS Lewis) Mere Christianity, 55-56)

Renewal

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 51: Today, I am grateful for renewal.

David had messed up in a big way. How did the one who seemed so close and connected to God found himself in such a predicament? 

David sent a loyal soldier to the front line of war to cover his own sin. He had betrayed Uriah in more than one way. The first child David conceived with Bathsheba (while she was married to Uriah) did not live. He and Bathsheba tasted deep grief at the loss of the child. 

David prayed this prayer:

"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me." -Psalm 51:10

Our God longs to redeem and renew us. God answered David's prayer. There was no "undo," for his sins, but there was forgiveness. The legendary King Solomon would be born of their union. From brokenness and sorrow came a restoration to relationship with God and a new life was welcomed into the world.

Winter has returned to the Midwest. I am reminded that the earth is not done resting. The cluster of warmer days was refreshing, but winter is not over, yet. Spring is on the way, just about the time Easter arrives. 

Today, I am grateful for renewal.

Works of Heart

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 50: Today, I am grateful for works of heart.

This is from yesterday's passages for lent. Joel was a prophet to the people then and his writings still ring true. The tradition of the people was to but on sackcloth and ashes when they were repenting and confessing their sins and the troubles of their own making. It had been their way for a long time. God has seen it and seen them repent and then return to their old ways. 

This time he tells them to tear their hearts. We use the phrase broken-hearted quite often. It creates an image. God is instructing them to be brokenhearted over their poor decisions. He pleads with them to return to Him, while there is still time. 

"That is why the Lord says,
    “Turn to me now, while there is time.
Give me your hearts.
    Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
Don’t tear your clothing in your grief,
    but tear your hearts instead.”
Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is merciful and compassionate,
slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.
    He is eager to relent and not punish." -Joel 2:12-13

This image of a broken heart with the butterflies emerging caught my eye. He trades our brokenness for freedom and beauty. Surrender is not to become a slave; there is freedom like no other in Him. Our hearts are lighter when our souls know true peace. It is a work of  heart.

Today, I am grateful for works of heart. 

Lent Begins

 

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 49: Today, I am grateful Lent begins. 

It is 40 Days until we celebrate Easter. Brothers and sisters who worship in the Catholic tradition will attend mass and receive the mark of the cross in ashes on their forehead. It is a physical act to declare something spiritual. Lent officially begins. 

Lent is for everyone. Forty days of focusing on the days before the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our Lord, our Savior, our brother, and the one who purchased our sin debt and made it his own. We are free because of His decision to take our place... so that we might be rescued and restored. 

Knowledge of it all is quite humbling. The baby who was born in the little village that means "House of Bread" grew up to be broken for us. His purpose and the mission became clear. In the forty days before Easter, we remember the choice and the sacrifice. He stepped into our shoes and claimed victory for us. 

He trusted the Father's will, even when it was inconvenient. He understood better than our human minds can grasp the "big picture" of our redemption stories. Connected, but individual and personal, too. The scriptures are full of glimpses into His heart and love for all of us. One person's biggest trial may bring another to the foot of the cross for rebirth. 

Jesus allowed himself to be broken for us. He paid our sin debt in full! Cancelled. Paid in full in His blood. 

"But Jesus told him, “No! The Scriptures say, ‘People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” -Matthew 4:4

Forty days of focus on the One who made it all right as a gift. It was a promise fulfilled. 

Today, I am grateful Lent begins.

Semicolon

Daily Gratitude- Year 14 - Day 48: Today, I am grateful for the semicolon.

I had to laugh at the image. 

"Yes, a winky face is correct. But in ancient times, times, the semicolon was actually used to separate archaic written devices known as 'complete sentences.'"

I love a semicolon. It is a pause that indicates that the first one is complete, but the second one is connected. It can keep a sentence from being too long. It can add strength to a piece of writing without extra words. 

I giggled at the winky face. Still, I think we are missing something if we do not apply the semicolon when it is appropriate. 

The semicolon has become a popular tattoo for those have contemplated, overcome, and found their way past suicidal thoughts. It reminds them of the power of the pause. Whatever is overwhelming today is truly temporary or something that will become more manageable with time. 

Today is not forever; tomorrow is not promised. We truly only have this day. 

"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” -Psalm 46:10 (NIV)

Read it again. Pause. Pray. He has got this day. The good, the bad, the victorious, and the pause. Often it is in the semicolon moments that we learn to fully rely on His strength and grace for the day. 

Today, I am grateful for the semicolon.