A Lenten Pilgrimage 2023

  “The Lord is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love.” Psalm 145:8 I’ve always appreciated that God is slow to anger . Probably because I am not. At least not most of the time. I have a hard time accepting the inevitable detours in daily life. Even those plans to do good for others seem to get highjacked frequently. The madness of this world also provokes anger in us, no doubt. Everywhere we turn there is corruption and evil. But, despite all of the ways we are provoked to anger, we are called to be “quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” (James 1:19). Fortunately, for this difficult task we have a great teacher and guide, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew scriptures it was common to refer to someone expressing anger as   “their nose burned hot” or “burned with anger” (1 Samuel 17:28). This was obviously describing the human physiological response to being filled with this intense emotion. A long nose would l...

Waterton from Bear’s Hump   Psalm 46: 1-3 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.   2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.   I took the above picture in July 2020. A few friends and I decided to take a day off work, drive to Waterton, and climb Bear’s Hump. Southern Albertans may remember that the trail to Bear’s Hump was closed after the Kenow Wildfire in August 2017. The trail had just recently reopened and we decided it would be fun to climb it. If you’ve climbed Bear’s Hump, you’ll know it’s a short hike, but it’s grueling. A steep ascent and a series of switchbacks. Burning legs and shortness of breath. At the end, you come to the top of the “hump” and you are rewarded with a view of the town site, the lake, the mountains in the distance. On that day in July 2020, m...

  From Praise and Worship - Bing images   The readings provided for today’s blog were:                  Isaiah  65: 17-21          Psalm  30          John  4: 43-54          Romans  7: 1-12   In reading, reflecting and holding space for what these scripture passages are saying to us. It came to remind us that we need to be more fully involved and mindful of our daily walk with God. They remind us about a clear need for our praise and worship of Jesus to allow us to receive the Grace and love of God.   It reminded us that we often fall short, and we get caught up in the daily issues forgetting what Jesus has done for us. When this happens, we sometimes resort to just following the rules o...

    Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.   This is such a good psalm.   I understand some people probably overlook it, or just move past it because it is read and re read over and over.   But it is such a reassuring poem.   "He makes me lie down in green pastures" it just calms me down. It also reminds me that he protects me. I'm not aware of any people that I would consider my "enemies....

  2 Samuel, chapter seven verses 4 and 8-16 recounts the story of The Lord speaking to a man named Nathan, a prophet, about the home he will build for Nathan. While he explains the house will be built for him in Israel, he goes on to talk about a messiah. A son of God who will be full of the love of God, and will likewise share in his grace and glory, but The Lord also warns of the wrath of man against this son, “the rod of man, and the blow of mortals.” While the bible quotes God using the word “discipline”, we can interpret this section to be an allegory for our harsh and sometimes unwise judgement, prejudices, and disciplinary or punishing actions we sometimes award those in our life unfairly. I know for me personally, it can be hard to have patience with the people in my life on bad or busy days when I am stressed, but we all are equals experiencing different but valid problems. This passage offers us peace of mind, as we can see Jesus as our home, our place of shelter and rest...

Our readings today are mostly about repentance and our Father’s forgiveness. Our gospel are the two commandments of Christ which complete us after our repentance. How loving and forgiving is our Father of all my mistakes.  I spent so many years depending totally on myself… a perfectionist. I thought I had achieved everything I ever wanted or could have needed. Over the next 18 months, I lost everything… illusions slipping through my fingers. Professional loss, financial losses, my home and even some family. Only after I registered my losses did I realize I was holding it up as my idols. It was shocking to realize that  all the material possessions were actually idols to me… all my time, my money, all my focus led me completely astray. My mother used to say when your hands are full, you can’t receive anything. Wise woman. God has healed my waywardness. There is so much freedom in learning to trust in him. I will never amass all that I once had but it never brought ...

  Sometimes I go to church, pray and then assume that this will be enough to demonstrate and/or sustain my faith in God.    Then in my daily life, I am willing to endure a certain amount of suffering, knowing that it builds my character and allows me to tell myself that I am faithful because I am enduring this hardship. But in those circumstances where I cannot see an end to my daily struggles or experience a major setback or crisis in my life, I wonder if I will still be able to call upon my faith in God  to sustain me. How much more so for those who have lost homes, and families suffering through terrible, pointless wars.   When we stumble and fall in our faith because the burden seems just too much to handle, God’s love, protection and strength is always there for us to call upon, even if it seems nowhere to be found. No matter how many times we fall, God will always be there to pick us up. This is not something that we can earn or ...