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Happy Ascension Day!

May 17th, 2012 by stephanie

I was doing some research online and came across www.timeanddate.com. It was interesting to not only find this website, but the following entry in the Holidays section:
Ascension Day is observed in the United States on the 40th day of Easter. It commemorates Jesus Christ’s ascension into heaven, according to the New Testament of the Bible.

I found that surprising, being as, if this is celebrated in North America, I’d have to say, I know few folks these days that have any awareness of it as a Holiday. It was this next section that gave me some new insight.
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What do people do?
Some churches in the United States join forces to celebrate a combined Day of Prayer and Ascension Day service, which may include a time for reflection. A few churches also organize a “church crawl”, where people travel from one church to another and experience the different prayer events.

Other churches may feature combined cathedral choirs that offer a special solemn Eucharist written especially for Ascension Day. A social time usually follows the service. Some Lutheran churches hold a special ceremony where the Paschal candle is extinguished and removed after the reading of the gospel on Ascension Day.
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Now, I have heard of a Pub Crawl, and you probably have too, but a church crawl was new to me. All that said, here’s where this whole thing started. Enjoy!
Acts 1:9-11 After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Filed under: Holidays, HOLY WEEK | No Comments »

40 Days after the Resurrection.

May 15th, 2012 by stephanie

As many of you who have been following along know, we have been talking about how Jesus was on the earth an additional 40 days after He rose from the grave. Eight days after that incredible Sunday, he appeared again to the disciples, still in the upper room, in Jerusalem.

He then met them in Galilee. Taught them. Spent time with them. And not all of it is recorded. We do hear about him greeting them on the seashore and making them breakfast on the beach, however. This is the time when Peter jumped out of the boat and walked on the water as well. Then, there was that famous interaction where Jesus asked Peter three times, “Peter, do you love me?” After the disciple would answer, Jesus would respond, “Feed my sheep.” All of these famous stories happened during this time frame in the Sea of Galilee area.

We also see in another obscure passage of Scripture that quite a few folks got a glimpse of Jesus during these few weeks as well. And some special folks actually got some one on one time. 1 Cor. 15:5-7 says, “…and that he appeared to Peter, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.” We learn from different verses that Jesus was a busy man in those mere 40 days.

Before Jesus disappeared in the clouds, He and his disciples left Galilee and made their way back to Jerusalem at some point. We’ll talk about that in the next couple of days.

Stay tuned…
S.

Filed under: HOLY WEEK | No Comments »

Easing My Way…after Sweet Baby J.

April 26th, 2012 by stephanie

As the text and Facebook messages rolled in, I was not only touched, I was blown away by the compassion and concern and the prayers. I found myself responding to their “How are you doing?” inquiries with, “I’m just easing my way into my new normal.” They seemed to understand. And it meant a lot to me that they did.

I mean, after all, to some folks, (I can only imagine) they were probably thinking, “Gosh, it’s just a dog!” But to me, my Judgers, The Judge, Sweet Baby J, had been in my home for a third of my life! I had never been in this current house without him. And I had only slept there two or three nights total without him by my side. Nights when I couldn’t get to the kennel in time after a late flight home.

The days I had with my furry friend meant more than I could ever express in words. I pondered. I would never see his face at the french doors waiting for me again, the curtains swishing back and forth due to the movement of his happy body upon seeing me drive in. I would never hear that sweet bark that announced to the neighborhood, “She’s home!!!!!” Now, when I reach to turn out the light, he is no longer stretched out along the floor by my bed or curled up on his big pillow. When I awake, he’s not there to yawn and greet me (before we both stumbled down the hall and into the kitchen). The hardest part has been not having him by my side during my morning coffee and prayer time. Each morning when I hit that particular line in my prayer book, I’d reach over, grab his tail and pray out loud, “and health, healing and long life to The J.” I guess my prayers were answered…he did after all make it to 13 years and 9 months. Not bad for a 100 pound dog. But never long enough to a pet owner.

In a way, I guess it’s a small connection to what it must have been like for the disciples when Jesus finally left them. Once and for all. It was never how they expected it to end. They were all too young! How could this have happened?! While in shock, they found themselves having to navigate, or better yet, ease their way into their “new normal”. When you’ve been through a tragedy, or experience pain or loss, it just takes some time.

Interestingly, Jesus didn’t give The 12 that much time to make the transition. They were actually up and running pretty fast. We’ll hear more about that in the days ahead. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, just know that I personally am easing my way…after Sweet Baby J.
Hugs,
S.

Filed under: Death/Mourning, Pets | 4 Comments »

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