Home Base

Home Base

By Holly Hess

For about a year now I’ve been longing to spend time in the woods.  I grew up in “God’s country” – Wisconsin’s beautiful north woods, surrounded by trees and wildlife and northern lights.  As an adult I’ve lived in several parts of our state but lately, the woods have been calling.  The smell, the quiet, the peacefulness.

Last week I participated in the women’s retreat at Lutherdale Bible Camp.  During our personal time, I went into the woods.  What I realized is that it’s not so much the woods I miss as it is my roots.  This past year, busy schedules have kept me away from my family in northern Wisconsin more than any other year since I left for college.  Being in the woods gave me this clarity.

Lent offers the same clarity.  In Lent, we walk into the woods and get to the core of our faith.   In Lent we strip away any of the frivolity of our spiritual practices and see the real and raw meaning of it all.

Holy Week reminds us of who we are as Christians.  It is home base.

This year, I’ll journey through Holy Week in the small, Northern Wisconsin church where I was baptized, confirmed and married.  Home base.

Holy week is where our past, present and future are folded together in God’s love and grace.  It’s where a cross draped in purple becomes a cross draped in white.  It’s where we learn that nothing can separate us from God.

It’s Holy Week.  Invite God to be at home in your heart.

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Romans 8:38

Have you Prayed as Much as You”ve Talked?

Have You Prayed As Much As You’ve Talked?

By Guest Blogger Karen Magee

Note: Karen is a member of the MPLC Writer’s Group that meets the 3^rd Thursday of each month at 6:30 p.m.

My birthday came in December, and everything went downhill after that, it seemed.  Along came aches, pains, and maladies that I had never experienced before.  They were nothing life-threatening, and I knew that in time they would subside, but they were nonetheless inconvenient and unwelcome stressors in my life.  However, these aches, pains, and maladies gave me the opportunity to do what I do best–complain.  So complain I did. . . to anyone who would listen.  Woe to the unsuspecting victim who unwittingly asked, “How are you?”  I seemed to feel that I would get better faster if I talked about it all, and I have never been one to suffer in silence.

Then one day, quite by accident, I came across a post on Facebook that asked, “Have you prayed about it as much as you’ve talked about it?”  That truly brought me up short, because in all honesty I had to answer, “No.”  It was time to change my tune.  Wouldn’t talking to God about my issues be far more productive than burdening my friends?  So every time I complained after that I also made a conscious effort to pray as well.  I didn’t magically get better instantly, but I felt calmer and more accepting of what was happening in my life, as well as more assured that things would improve.

Now, when I find myself talking about problems that arise, I also find myself offering a short prayer about them. And the best news here is, it works!

“Dear Lord, help us to remember always that you are here for us, and that you are willing to share our burdens, hurts, and cares.  Help us to pray about it more than we talk about it.  Amen.”

Do Not Grow Weary or Lose Heart

Do Not Grow Weary or Lose Heart

By Holly Hess

Consider him who endured such hostility against himself from sinners, so that you may not grow weary or lose heart.  Hebrews 12: 3.

I’ve always wanted to be a runner.  I watch enviously as people run past my house with perfect form and long, smooth strides.  On paper, running sounds great.  It’s excellent and efficient exercise, it doesn’t cost much, and you can do it just about anywhere.  I tell myself these things and I get excited to start.  I lace up my running shoes and head out the door.  The problem is, I don’t seem to be designed for endurance.  As soon as I get started my lungs hurt, my knees ache and about two blocks into it, I’m ready to stop.  I quickly grow weary and lose heart.

In life, we are continually facing challenges that require patience, persistence, and a willingness to press on.  That’s true for all of us, including Jesus, who endured pain, fear, heartache, and uncertainty.

In Hebrews, we are reminded of the perfect example of Jesus, who came to show us the way.  It makes me think of the line from the song Jesus Loves Me that says, “They are weak but he is strong.”  During Lent, we acknowledge the strength and endurance of Jesus.

What gives you strength to go on when you are tempted to stop?  In those times when we can no longer draw from our own reserves, we are invited to turn to God through Jesus, who lovingly endured more than we could ever imagine.

For me, it’s running.  After years of running to the neighbor’s driveway and calling it quits, I’ve committed to sticking with it, step by step, block by block.  For you it might be something else.  What goals have you set for yourself and not attained?  What roadblocks are keeping you from living your best life?  What race have you started only to stop? Surely, if Jesus could hold up against all that he faced, we can show courage against our own challenges.

Each day is a new starting block in our lives, our relationships, our faith.  On your mark, get set, go.

God of Strength and Endurance,      

You sent your son as the truest example of endurance in faith and life.  Give me strength so that I do not lose heart or grow weary today.

Amen.

Perspective

Perspective

By Holly Hess

My math teacher used to say, “You can’t see the forest through the trees.”  He was right.  It is hard to assess things we’re too close to.  Sometimes we need a change of perspective in order to see life more clearly.

The other day I was frustrated when one of my children stole some art supplies and painted my upholstered chair.   I was up to my elbows in stain remover and a little crabby when word came that a friend was in the hospital with her little girl, who had just suffered a serious seizure.

Perspective.

Lent changes our spiritual perspective.  We experience Jesus differently during lent.  Jesus the savior also becomes Jesus the sufferer. The tone of our worship and our lives change in response to his suffering and sacrifice.  We ask, “How are we responding to Jesus?”  Is our faith making a difference in the world?  Are we too caught up in little things to be grateful for the big things?

I recently read a quote that said, “Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian anymore than standing in a garage makes you a car.”

Perspective?

God gathers us together as a Christian family and calls us to live a life of love and service.  Being at church feeds our family.  It sustains us.  But we should also consider what our every day actions say about our faith.  The perspective from the pew is important but how we act on our faith beyond these walls can and does change the world.

My, “I’m spiritual but not religious” friends ask why going to church is so important to me.  It’s simple.  My faith shapes my perspective and being in worship opens my eyes to things I would never see on my own.

It’s Lent.  Jesus is in the wilderness and we’re trying to see the forest through the trees.  We can go through the motions or we can make things happen.  We can demonstrate that people of faith are people of action.  We can gather together to share the Lenten experience.  We can let go of little things and focus on more important things.  We can model Jesus’ strength, trust and selflessness.  We can lead by example.  We can change perspectives.

All-Seeing God,Give me perspective and help me to see where you are calling me in this world.

Amen.

God is Love

God is Love  

By Holly Hess

Today I went shopping, hoping to find some pink M&M’s in a Valentine’s clearance bin for a baby shower I’m hosting.  I soon realized that Valentine’s Day, and all of the merchandise associated with it, is a distant memory.  The red roses have dried up, the pink candy has been put away, and the threat of being shot by that creepy little Cupid has passed.  Retailers have moved onto the greener pastures of St. Patrick’s Day.  Love is no longer in the air.
This got me thinking, is Valentine’s really the undisputed season of love?  I don’t think so.  I think the truest season of love is upon us.  I think it’s Lent.

More so than any other season, during Lent we see the full scope of God’s love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave his only son… “, plays out right before our eyes during Lent.  Jesus is the ultimate valentine, the ultimate “Be Mine”, the ultimate example of unconditional love.  During Lent, Jesus assures us that nothing can separate us from God’s love for us.  Because of Jesus’ undying love, any barriers between us and God are our doing.  Not God’s.

Recently, I was talking with a friend who has been away from the church for a long time.  At one point during our conversation she said, “I’m pretty sure I’ve been banned from almost every church by now.” The longer she has stayed away, the more convinced my friend has become that the distance between her and God cannot be closed

Earlier this week I read an article about a woman who was denied communion at her own mother’s funeral by a clergy who didn’t agree with her life choices.  Grieving and deflated, she also perceived the gap between her and God as simply too big.

The truth is, there is no gap.  Even when we draw away from God, God holds us close.  During Lent we are reminded that Jesus closed every gap, removed every road block, broke every barrier between us and our God who loves us.  Nothing we have or have not done can keep us from God’s grace.

As our retail seasons change and Cupid’s hearts are replaced by St. Patrick’s pot of gold, we should remember that of all the symbols of love and good fortune we know, none can compare to the symbol of Lent.  The cross, not the heart, is our truest symbol of abundant and everlasting love.

It’s Lent, and love is most certainly in the air.  The kind of love we can’t earn and God won’t deny.

Romans 8: 39
Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.

Loving God,
Help me to know the strength of your love and to draw on that love during lent and always.
Amen