Lent Season Quotes

God is not merely at your fingertips but within your grasp. Live each day like a child digging through a treasure chest, rifling for the next discovery. Open your arms and your eyes to the God who stands in plain sight and works miracles in your midst. Look for him in your workdays and weekends, in your meeting-filled Mondays and your lazy Saturdays. Search for him in the snowy sunsets and Sabbaths, seasons of Lent and sitting at your table. Pray for—and expect—wonder. For when you search for God, you will discover him.

These special holidays give rise to various liturgical calendars that suggest we should mark our days not only with the cycles of the moon and seasons, but also with occasions to tell our children the stories of our faith community's past so that this past will have a future, and so that our ancient way and its practices will be rediscovered and renewed every year.

Then too, and this was as romantic as the others, Briartree was the only thing she had ever really owned. Everything else had more or less been lent her; so it seemed. But this was hers, earned by blood, the only good she ever got from being kin to her mother.

The season of Lent is a participation in God’s life, not an entrance fee to heaven. Our security comes from resting in God’s free gift.

Lent is a much-needed mentor in an age obsessed with visible, measurable, manageable, and tweetable increase, for it invites us to walk with Jesus and His disciples through darker seasons that we would rather avoid: grief, conflict, misunderstanding, betrayal, restriction, rejection, and pain. Then Easter leads us in celebration of salvation as the stunningly satisfying fruit of Jesus’ sacred decrease.

misunderstandings test us. can we say I'm sorry or do we have to stand and fall with our perceptions. help me Lord to stand for what I believe, yet to know that I may not possess all truth. Aquinas after pages of describing You had the blessed humility to end his words 'but not that.

As they entered November, the weather turned very cold. The mountains around the school became icy gray and the lake like chilled steel. Every morning the ground was covered in frost. Hagrid could be seen from the upstairs windows defrosting broomsticks on the Quidditch field, bundled up in a long moleskin overcoat, rabbit fur gloves, and enormous beaverskin boots. The Quidditch season had begun. On Saturday, Harry would be playing in his first match after weeks of training: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. If Gryffindor won, they would move up into second place in the House Championship. Hardly anyone had seen Harry play because Wood had decided that, as their secret weapon, Harry should be kept, well, secret. But the news that he was playing Seeker had leaked out somehow, and Harry didn’t know which was worse — people telling him he’d be brilliant or people telling him they’d be running around underneath him holding a mattress. It was really lucky that Harry now had Hermione as a friend. He didn’t know how he’d have gotten through all his homework without her, what with all the last-minute Quidditch practice Wood was making them do. She had also lent him Quidditch Through the Ages, which turned out to be a very interesting read.

Easter was late in April that year; my first three tours of trenches occupied me during the last thirty days of Lent. This essential season in the Church calendar was not, as far as I remember, remarked upon by anyone in my company, although the name of Christ was often on our lips, and Mansfield (when a canister made a mess of the trench not many yards away from him) was even heard to refer to our Saviour as ‘murry old Jesus!’ These innocuous blasphemings of the holy name were a peculiar feature of the War, in which the principles of Christianity were either obliterated or falsified for the convenience of all who were engaged in it. Up in the trenches every man bore his own burden; the Sabbath was not made for man; and if a man laid down his life for his friends it was no part of his military duties. To kill an enemy was an effective action; to bring in one of our own wounded was praiseworthy, but unrelated to our war-aims. The Brigade chaplain did not exhort us to love our enemies. He was content to lead off with the hymn ‘How sweet the name of Jesus sounds’!

The season of Lent is the time for us to take a journey; an inward journey. The season of Lent is as the prophet Joel writes, “a time for us to rend our hearts and not our clothing.” It is a time for self-examination; a time to get to know ourselves a little better. Often times for Lent people will give up a favorite food, or some other form of self-sacrifice. These things are all well and good IF they come from the heart, IF they are a true attempt to re-connect with the Spirit inside us. Otherwise, we are simply “rending” our clothes.

Holidays: Imagine if the great holidays and seasons of the Christian year were redesigned to emphasize love. Advent would be the season of preparing our hearts to receive God’s love. Epiphany would train us to keep our eyes open for expressions of compassion in our daily lives. Lent would be an honest self-examination of our maturity in love and a renewal of our commitment to grow in it. Instead of giving up chocolate or coffee for Lent, we would stop criticizing or gossiping about or interrupting others. Maundy Thursday would refocus us on the great and new commandment; Good Friday would present the suffering of crucifixion as the suffering of love; Holy Saturday would allow us to lament and grieve the lack of love in our lives and world; and Easter would celebrate the revolutionary power of death-defying love. Pentecost could be an “altar call” to be filled with the Spirit of love, and “ordinary time” could be “extraordinary time” if it involved challenges to celebrate and express love in new ways—to new people, to ourselves, to the earth, and to God—including time to tell stories about our experiences of doing so.

Dear Mr. Beard, On the radio last spring, President Roosevelt said that each and every one of us here on the home front has a battle to fight; We must keep our spirits up. I am doing my best, but in my opinion Liver Gems are a lost cause, because they would take the spirit right out of anyone. So when Mother says it is wrong for us to eat better than our brave men overseas, I tell her that I don't see how eating disgusting stuff helps them in the least. But, Mr. Beard, it is very hard to cook good food when you're only a beginner! When Mother decided it was her patriotic duty to work at the airplane factory, she should have warned me about the recipes. You just can't trust them! Prudence Penny's are so revolting. I want to throw them right into the garbage. Mrs. Davis from next door lent me one of her wartime recipe pamphlets, and I read about liver salmi, which sounded so romantic. But by the time I had cooked the liver for twenty minutes in hot water, cut it into little cubes, rolled them in flour, and sautéed them in fat, I'd made flour footprints all over the kitchen floor. The consommé and cream both hissed like angry cats when I added them. Then I was supposed to add stoned olives and taste for seasoning. I spit it right into the sink.

After my return to Paris, one thing seemed obvious: To see Manhattan again, to feel as good about New York as Liza Minnelli sounded singing about it at Giants Stadium in 1986 (Google it), I had to start treating it as if it were a foreign city; to bring a reporter's eye and habits, care, and attention to daily life. But as that was the sort of vague self-directive easily ignored, I gave myself a specific assignment: Once a week, during routine errands, I would try something new or go someplace I hadn't been in a long while. It could be as quick as a walk past the supposedly haunted brownstone at 14 West 10th Street, where former resident Mark Twain is said to be among the ghosts. It could a stroll on the High Line, the elevated park with birch trees and long grasses growing where freight trains used to roll. Or it could be a snowy evening visit to the New York Public Library's Beaux-Arts flagship on Fifth Avenue, where Pamuk wrote the first sentence of The Museum of Innocence. There I wandered past white marble walls and candelabras, under chandeliers and ornate ceiling murals, through the room with more than ten thousand maps of my city, eventually taking a seat at a communal wood table to read a translation of Petrarch's Life of Solitude, to rare to be lent out. Tourist Tuesdays I called these outings, to no one but myself.

Every once in a while at a restaurant, the dish you order looks so good, you don't even know where to begin tackling it. Such are HOME/MADE's scrambles. There are four simple options- my favorite is the smoked salmon, goat cheese, and dill- along with the occasional special or seasonal flavor, and they're served with soft, savory home fries and slabs of grilled walnut bread. Let's break it down: The scramble: Monica, who doesn't even like eggs, created these sublime scrambles with a specific and studied technique. "We whisk the hell out of them," she says, ticking off her methodology on her fingers. "We use cream, not milk. And we keep turning them and turning them until they're fluffy and in one piece, not broken into bits of egg." The toast: While the rave-worthiness of toast usually boils down to the quality of the bread, HOME/MADE takes it a step further. "The flame char is my happiness," the chef explains of her preference for grilling bread instead of toasting it, as 99 percent of restaurants do. That it's walnut bread from Balthazar, one of the city's best French bakeries, doesn't hurt. The home fries, or roasted potatoes as Monica insists on calling them, abiding by chefs' definitions of home fries (small fried chunks of potatoes) versus hash browns (shredded potatoes fried greasy on the griddle) versus roasted potatoes (roasted in the oven instead of fried on the stove top): "My potatoes I've been making for a hundred years," she says with a smile (really, it's been about twenty). The recipe came when she was roasting potatoes early on in her career and thought they were too bland. She didn't want to just keep adding salt so instead she reached for the mustard, which her mom always used on fries. "It just was everything," she says of the tangy, vinegary flavor the French condiment lent to her spuds. Along with the new potatoes, mustard, and herbs de Provence, she uses whole jacket garlic cloves in the roasting pan. It's a simple recipe that's also "a Zen exercise," as the potatoes have to be continuously turned every fifteen minutes to get them hard and crispy on the outside and soft and billowy on the inside.

Reflection A child needs the affirmation of their father. But many times that affirmation is not there. The father may be absent or it may be that their father never told them how proud he was of them. He was quick to criticize, but slow to affirm. When that child grows older, they will continue to search for the blessing of their father. They may become a work-a-holic, believing that through accomplishment they can finally find the fulfillment they are looking for. But they continue to live with a void. In another scenario, it might happen that feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt would be so pervasive that they never pursue God’s calling on their life and settle for less. Maybe you can relate. You desire love, respect, acceptance, or approval. But you don’t feel worthy. You believe you are not accomplished enough. You believe you are not beautiful enough. You believe you are not able enough. You believe you are not __________ (You fill in the blank). But these are lies that come straight out of the pit of hell. You are worthy enough because Jesus died for you. He accomplished everything that needed to be accomplished. He makes you beautiful. His Holy Spirit gives you the ability to accomplish all things (see Philippians 4:13). Before Jesus began his ministry, he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. And when Jesus was baptized, the voice of the Heavenly Father spoke from heaven: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 5:17 ESV The ministry of Jesus had yet to begin. He had not yet healed anyone. He had not yet preached any sermons of note. He had not accomplished anything worthy to be recorded in the Scriptures. But still the Father expresses his approval. Why? It was because of the relationship of the Father to the Son. The Father’s love and approval of the Son was not based on accomplishment. He loved the Son for no other reason than the fact that he was his son. You are so important to your Heavenly Father that he sent Jesus for you. The Heavenly Father made you and created you. He gave you your life and your being. He loved you so much that he sent Jesus to die on the cross for you. It is not about anything you have accomplished. You need to know that you are the most beautiful, the most precious, and the most prized part of his creation. Your Heavenly Father is proud of you. More than you realize! You are worthy because you are his precious child, redeemed by the blood of Jesus.

22. Giving up Distraction Week #4 Saturday Scripture Verses •Hebrews 12:1–2 •Mark 1:35 •John 1:14–18 Questions to Consider •What distracts you from being present with other people around you? •What distracts you from living out God’s agenda for your life? •What helps you to focus and be the most productive? •How does Jesus help us focus on what is most important in any given moment? Plan of Action •At your next lunch, have everyone set their phone facing down at the middle of the table. The first person who picks up their phone pays for the meal. •Challenge yourself that the first thing you watch, read, or listen to in the morning when you wake up is God’s Word (not email or Facebook). •Do a digital detox. Turn off everything with a screen for 24 hours. Tomorrow would be a great day to do it, since there is no “40 Things Devotion” on Sunday. Reflection We live in an ever connected world. With smart phones at the tip of our fingers, we can instantly communicate with people on the other side of the world. It is an amazing time to live in. I love the possibilities and the opportunities. With the rise of social media, we not only connect with our current circle of friends and family, but we are also able to connect with circles from the past. We can build new communities in the virtual world to find like-minded people we cannot find in our physical world. Services like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram all have tremendous power. They have a way of connecting us with others to shine the light of Jesus. While all of these wonderful things open up incredible possibilities, there are also many dangers that lurk. One of the biggest dangers is distraction. They keep us from living in the moment and they keep us from enjoying the people sitting right across the room from us. We’ve all seen that picture where the family is texting one another from across the table. They are not looking at each other. They are looking at the tablet or the phone in front of them. They are distracted in the moment. Today we are giving up distraction and we are going to live in the moment. Distraction doesn’t just come from modern technology. We are distracted by our work. We are distracted by hobbies. We are distracted by entertainment. We are distracted by busyness. The opposite of distraction is focus. It is setting our hearts and our minds on Jesus. It’s not just putting him first. It’s about him being a part of everything. It is about making our choices to be God’s choices. It is about letting him determine how we use our time and focus our attention. He is the one setting our agenda. I saw a statistic that 80% of smartphone users will check their phone within the first 15 minutes of waking up. Many of those are checking their phones before they even get out of bed. What are they checking? Social media? Email? The news of the day? Think about that for a moment. My personal challenge is the first thing I open up every day is God’s word. I might open up the Bible on my phone, but I want to make sure the first thing I am looking at is God’s agenda. When I open up my email, my mind is quickly set to the tasks those emails generate rather than the tasks God would put before me. Who do I want to set my agenda? For me personally, I know that if God is going to set the agenda, I need to hear from him before I hear from anyone else. There is a myth called multitasking. We talk about doing it, but it is something impossible to do. We are very good at switching back and forth from different tasks very quickly, but we are never truly doing two things at once. So the challenge is to be present where God has planted you. In any given moment, know what is the one most important thing. Be present in that one thing. Be present here and now.

Let us help." "You already did." My voice didn't betray anything. "Both of you helped plan this. You lent me this car. Aubrey put up the funds." He raised his brow. "Lending you this car doesn't count as helping. It was more like public service. If you drove your car, the noise would wake up all of Haverleau." "It's not that bad —" "Yeah, if you want to be as obvious as a rhinoceros." I gave a pointed look at his lime-green coat and bright maroon sweater. Talk about burning my retinas. "Pot calling kettle." He glanced at himself. "It's seasonal. I look Christmasy.

Lent is a desert so that it can become a season of conversion.

The season of Lent is puzzling to many. Denying ourselves our favorite treats or habits—even for a short time—seems archaic in our I-want-it-now culture. Lent is a plodding, definitive crescendo that leads up to the cacophonous noise of Good Friday and the gorgeous aria of Easter. It’s a season marked by deliberateness and intentionality.

Studies show that adults who ask younger people to join them in volunteer ministries become significant mentors and friends to these young servants ... a great way to serve not only those you are serving but young people, too.

Oh, that my hunger for you would be as compelling as my hunger for every other kind of bread. No bread endures to eternal life except the bread that you give. Indeed, all breads except the Bread of Life will ultimately spoil. During this season of Lent, renew our craving for the manna of the gospel. Intensify our longings for the day when we will feast together at the wedding feast of the Lamb. Ignite our hearts to sing with vigor, “Bread of heaven, feed me till I want no more!” To come to you today is to never hunger for eternity.

There are different seasons of life. And there are different callings for different times. The work we do changes over time. But we don’t really retire from the work God gives us, we just transition in our calling.

Early in this season of Lent, let him survey your wondrous cross, upon which you, the Prince of Glory, died for rebels, fools, and idolaters just like me and just like my friend.

They served perfectly seasoned tender steaks and creamed spinach that people dreamt about. They charged almost twenty dollars for the burger, a thick sirloin patty cooked in butter that always came out glistening. During Lent, they went fish heavy on the menu---fried perch and shrimp. They were fancy comfort food, meatloaf and chicken potpie. Their chicken paillard was lemony and crisp, served over a bed of bright greens.

The symbol of the Easter season is the paschal candle. Consider having a special candle in your home to light during these 50 days. Symbols help.

From the first yearning for a Saviour’s birth To the full joy of knowing sins forgiven, We start our journey here on God’s good earth To catch an echo of the choirs of heaven. I send these out, returning what was lent, Turning to praise each ‘moment’s monument’. The lectern Some rise on eagles’ wings, this one is plain, Plain English workmanship in solid oak. Age gracefully, it says, go with the grain. You walk towards an always open book, Open as every life to every light, Open to shade and shadow, day and night, The changeless witness of your changing pain. Be still, the lectern says, stand here and read. Here are your mysteries, your love and fear, And, running through them all, the slender thread Of God’s strange grace, red as these ribbons, red As your own blood when reading reads you here And pierces joint and marrow . . . So you stand, The lectern still beneath your trembling hand.

In Old English, spring is called lencten, a word which derives from the same Germanic root as ‘long’ and ‘lengthen’, denoting the season when the days are growing longer. After the conversion, lencten also came to be used for the season of fasting before Easter, and so became the origin of the word ‘Lent’.

Love for God that doesn’t pursue holiness misunderstands the freedom from sin inherent in the gospel.

All the kingdoms of the world ‘So here’s the deal and this is what you get: The penthouse suite with world-commanding views, The banker’s bonus and the private jet, Control and ownership of all the news, An “in” to that exclusive one percent, Who know the score, who really run the show, With interest on every penny lent  And sweeteners for cronies in the know. A straight arrangement between me and you, No hell below or heaven high above, You just admit it, and give me my due And wake up from this foolish dream of love . . .’ But Jesus laughed, ‘You are not what you seem. Love is the waking life, you are the dream.

We remain for the time being in the valley of the shadow of death. But the grace and mercy of Jesus, especially in this holy season of Lent, assure us that life looms on the horizon.

Shortly upon their departure, while I was at prayer in an attempt thus to replenish our supplies, since for lack of wafers (which had been stolen and consumed) I was not able to celebrate the Mass, one of the men cut off his own hand, to eat it. Weeping, he told us that since it was frozen, it was no good for aught else. For the cold did intensify our suffering so; the harshness of our own winters and the dangers of our glaciers are, in comparison, but the mildness of the gardens of Italica. The torments of hunger and cold were now augmented by the stench of putrefying flesh from the frozen limbs, too foul to bear description here on parchment. In my weakened state, I found the strength, as per Your Grace's instructions, to exercise my extremities, and thus did I avoid having to lose any myself. Alas, several of the men did not have such fortitude, and I was obliged to amputate more than one limb with the axe, sewing up the wounds with twine. Their groans tore from my heart what little feeling the cold had left there. I forbad them to do as their comrade had done by eating the rotting flesh from which I had severed them. One of them replied that the season was not Lent, and proceeded to devour his own toes. Compassion stayed me from punishing such blasphemy.

We hope that as Christians we mature and grow and become more and more like Christ. But the church and its wisdom assumes we will fail even after our baptism. The church presumes that life is long and zeal fades not just for some of us but for all. So it has included with it's life a season in which all of us recapture our love for God and his kingdom and cast off those things that so easily entangle us.

We emphasize and cannot emphasize enough one point about this very, very prominent theme in Mark. His story of failed discipleship is his warning gift to all who ever hear or read his narrative. We must think of Lent today as a penitential season because we know that, like those first disciples, we would like to avoid the implications of this journey with Jesus. We would like its Holy Week conclusion to be about the interior rather than the exterior life, about heaven rather than earth, about the future rather than the present, and, above all else, about religion safely and securely quarantined from politics. Confronting violent political power and unjust religious collaboration is dangerous in most times and most places, first century and twenty-first century alike.

In the season of Lent, we get in touch with our own sin, with what has produced a desert in us. We don’t cover it up, make excuses for it, or dull our sensitivity to it; rather, following Jesus, we face down our own fears and temptations in the desert.

Truce of God, which limited the days of the week and times of the year the nobility could wage war, and declared a state of permanent peace for churches and monasteries. Women, merchants, workmen in the fields, cattle and horses—all were to be left in peace. Violence on Sundays was prohibited. Peace was to be maintained during the seasons of Advent and Lent. By the eleventh century these movements together would be known as the Peace and Truce of God, and it would in time transform not just how the Western world conducted warfare, but how it conceived of peace, not war, as the normative state of society, to which every person, however lowly, was entitled.

Traditionally, both Lent and Advent are penitential seasons—not times of overflowing celebrations. This is not something we have sought to cultivate at all, even though we do observe a basic church calendar, made up of what the Reformers called the five evangelical feast days. Our reluctance to adopt this kind of penitential approach to these seasons of the year is not caused by ignorance of the practice. It is a deliberate attempt to lean in the other direction. I want to present three arguments for a rejection of this practice of extended penitential observance. First, if we were to adopt this practice, we would be in worse shape than our Old Covenant brethren, who had to afflict their souls only one day out of the year. Why would the time of anticipation of salvation be so liturgically celebratory, while the times of fulfilled salvation be so liturgically glum? Instead of establishing a sense of longing, it will tend to do the reverse. Second, each penitential season keeps getting interrupted with our weekly Easters. Many who relate exciting movies they have seen to others are careful to avoid “spoilers.” Well, these feasts we have, according to God’s ordinance every seven days, spoil the penitential mood. And last, what gospel is implicitly preached by the practice of drawing out the process of repentance and forgiveness? It is a false gospel. Now I am not saying that fellow Christians who observe their church year in this way are preaching a false gospel, but I am saying that lex orandi lex credendi—the law of prayer is the law of faith, and over time, this liturgical practice will speak very loudly to our descendants. If we have the opportunity to speak to our descendants, and we do, then I want to tell them that the joy of the Lord is our strength.

To begin with, she would focus on tried-and-true dishes that she loved to make and which she knew would turn a profit. She had a petite filet mignon planned, which she would rotate with different sauces, but she would keep lobster and lump crabmeat confined to supporting roles with fresh pasta, in ravioli and in sauces, rather than serving up whole Maine lobsters at "market price." Her Chicken Cacciatore de Provence was an upscale twist on a farmhouse classic that paired her love of exotic mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, and fresh herbs with imminently affordable cuts of chicken. She wanted to serve a Spiral Stuffed Pork Loin in a savory reduction with yam patties and fresh garden peas, in season, which lent itself to a marvelous visual presentation and tasted like Thanksgiving dinner all on one plate.

our children's teeth are set on edge by the choices we have made that dollars and profits are all that measure, and souls not. turn us again to your ways of wisdom, recall our hearts.

Holy God, let me not hide myself from the richness of this journey by being unwilling to go on the long inner journey with you. As I travel in my physical body from place to place, let me courageously travel in my mind and spirit. May I have the same faith, confidence, and commitment for this inner journey that I have for the external journeys that I travel to by car, train, plane, or foot. Amen.

O God, whose glory it is always to have mercy: Be gracious to all who have gone astray from your ways, and bring them again with penitent hearts and steadfast faith to embrace and hold fast the unchangeable truth of your Word, Jesus Christ your Son; who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Denying truth hinders our ability to be in right relationship with the world and with our loved ones in a variety of ways. While confronting the root and digesting the fruit of our pain and grief is a bitter experience, when we refuse to deny the truth, we may find that we are, in fact, embraced and held fast by a God who offers the unchangeable truth of love.

Lord my heart rests in you at day's end quiet comes to my room and I bow my head in silent appreciation for all that filled my day love, friends, warmth, possibilities and terrors alike. may I not forget those for whom this day was more difficult and trying, lonely and hurtful we are all in your hands.

After a long time the king of Egypt died. The Israelites groaned under their slavery, and cried out. Out of the slavery their cry for help rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. God looked upon the Israelites, and God took notice of them. Exodus 2:23-25

Even Jesus knows what it means to cry out. He groans with the weight of the world's sins, which we seem eager to pile on him day after day. His pilgrimage is one of incarnation, of movement through his life—and of gathering a community who will face rejection for following him and suffer for proclaiming his good news. Yet the pilgrim road Jesus walks—and that we walk as his disciples—always leads to resurrection.

The motif of life as pilgrimage is firmly rooted in the lives of the saints and can easily be seen in the life of Jesus and his movement through the Judean countryside and his ultimate destination—Jerusalem. Jesus bids all his followers to take this journey with him; he sets his face toward Jerusalem and extends his life to us with the gentle words: Come and see.

We beseech Thee O Lord, pour thy grace into our hearts, that as we have known the Incarnation of thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ by the message of an angel, so by his +Cross and passion we may be brought to the glory of his Resurrection; through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Let your Spirit, O Lord, come into the midst of us to wash us with the pure water of repentance, and prepare us to be always a living sacrifice to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. Lesser Feasts and Fasts

Mary knows what it means to cry out to God in despair. She groans as her son dies on the tree. She holds his lifeless body in her arms after he has been beaten and tortured. Her pilgrimage is one of a mother's love, her hopes and dreams poured out for her child.

O God, you willed to redeem us from all iniquity by your Son: Deliver us when we are tempted to regard sin without abhorrence, and let the virtue of his passion come between us and our mortal enemy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

increase in me Lord the gift of humility not the false hearted t'weren't nothin' t'weren't nothin' nor the soul-harming denial of value to dare but the truth-telling knowledge of both gifts and limit that I may offer the one for the good and the doing and honor the other for salvation from despair.

for souls that have off wandered for those who've never heard for hearts that know but nothing of what the faith has learned; for peoples that have prospered in only wealth of gold but let the values soften and turned their tone to scorn; give mercy and forgiveness but more Lord help us turn to save us from a darkening a world sore lost and burned.

O God, you so loved the world that you gave your only-begotten Son to reconcile earth with heaven: Grant that we, loving you above all things, may love our friends in you, and our enemies for your sake; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

dark night black yet calm. like the inside of a soul that has not yet seen the light but knows that it is coming. thank you, Lord for the impulse of creation.

Holy God, as my awakened heart turns toward you, I seek to learn to be patient toward what is unsolved in my heart, to live into your answers, and to make my heart able to hear them. Amen.

hunger builds up Lord for more than I need, while others go needing for less than I crave. may my fast be one of the heart and the body teach me to want what is gifting indeed.

Holy God, though brokenness can lead to new strength, save me from trials that are immobilizing. May the trials that come be accompanied by enough grace to create the energy that I need to stand with courage and steadfastness. Amen.

Holy God, grant this day that I will have eyes to see and ears to hear of the great cloud of witnesses that surround me as I travel this path. Help me to remember the ones who suffered beyond words and to hold their memory in my heart. May we all find healing as we remember. Amen.

Jesus Mary and Joseph Moses Muhammad and Buddha the history books lie when they leave you out as if all those lives never found life or shaped the world, in and through you. May I never forget your name.

I find temptation to be my teacher. that I am not yet as noble as I suppose nor as strong, yet you give me another chance to get it right today.

The value of paying attention to every invitation to embrace a new frontier is verified by heaven itself. When we accept an invitation to see and live into a new frontier, our lives change—and then will change again.

An enthusiastic "yes" to the beckoning call of a new frontier requires courage. But that courageous response is the first step toward a life with the capacity to be lived in peace.

Holy God, as I stand in the security of the firm foundation that you have provided for me as your child, give me the courage to say yes to the call of the frontier, which will lead me on the pilgrim's path toward all that you have prepared for me. I seek your gift of courage. Amen.

To press on in our journey of faith, especially during Lent, we must open our eyes, hearts, and lives to God's presence right now, in this present moment. Each Sunday, when we eat the bread and drink the cup, we claim our space in a multidimensional world—not a flat one. In those holy and consecrated moments, we are with Jesus at the Last Supper, surrounded by the great cloud of witnesses and in the present company of our worship community.

May we find God mighty to save by viewing and understanding the everyday parts of our lives as sacramental doorways to the holy. May we truly believe that "your presence is what truly feeds us each day." Let us pray this with all our hearts: May it be so.

my family gathers around like those at the table in Jerusalem when you took the bread and said that you would be with us. we share a cup now though not always in remembrance yet your presence is what truly feeds us each day. may it be so.

Holy God, the pain of the journey can be daunting. Thank you for the light that comes. Thank you for the gift of sustaining hope that each new day, with its questions, challenges, pain, and sorrows, belongs to you—just as I belong to you. Thank you for the possibility of this joy and for all the glimpses of it. Amen.

Let me this day be open to what I can let go of and what needs to be taken up.

O God, you made us in your own image and redeemed us through Jesus your Son: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. The Book of Common Prayer

If everything is up to us all the time, life can become exhausting. The good news of Lent is that the One who knows us—our stories, our failures, our burdens—is with us.

Failures, a part of our stories whose burden we bear, by whose grace we have grown. I give thanks to you Lord for these moments, these graces, that touched down in my life along the way to save me.

God, lighten our loads. Give us grace this Lent to let go of those things we carry that do not serve us or serve you, and to hold onto what is good and true. Help us to remember Jesus' words: "Come to me all you who are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest...my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Amen.

Most of us will fail to meet our personal expectations for a "Holy Lent." But that's okay. A human Lent is a holy Lent. We don't need to save ourselves. We can let go of that. That is God's job, not ours. We just need to put one foot in front of the other, take life one step, one minute, one day at a time and do the best we can, trusting that God will provide for our needs. We are simply human. God doesn't want us to be anything more than that—or anything less. God loves us exactly as we are.

Almighty and everlasting God, you hate nothing you have made and forgive the sins of all who are penitent: Create and make in us new and contrite hearts, that we, worthily lamenting our sins and acknowledging our wretchedness, may obtain of you, the God of all mercy, perfect remission and forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Ashes speak to me of what matters and what does not. Remind me of the heart of my heart and that I and the ones I love are more than what will dribble into the ground. May I be thankful that I await not just the ashes but the Phoenix.

Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3

Teach us, O Lord, not to hold onto life too tightly, but lightly, gently, and gracefully. Teach us that significance and meaning in life come from the conversations we share along the journey with fellow travelers. Teach us to walk as pilgrims, traveling by faith, being open to surprise, receiving the gifts that you and others seek to offer us along the way. Transform and transfigure us as we travel. Amen.

I've fallen and I can't get up... I've fallen and I can't get up... I've fallen and I can't get up. Please, Lord... help me up.

Lord Jesus Christ, you call each one of us by name. You know our needs and know us better than we know ourselves. Guide each of us in our Lenten pilgrimage, that we might listen for your voice and faithfully follow where you lead. Lead us to that place of freedom and Easter joy. Amen.

Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray you, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

suffering builds endurance, which builds character, which builds hope at least that is our hope that we will not just suffer alone without meaning. your son is the living voice of that hope in his suffering alone that turned out to be hope for the many, the touch of your hand taking the worst the world offers transforming it to good. may it be so.

taking a piece of the truth as the whole leads our hearts astray forgetting all the grace that comes our way as if only one part mattered help us to see your hand beyond the narrow focus of our plans

We come to realize that while our own journeys and callings and paths may look and carry a different rhythm from others on the road, we are always in community and we can always find each other over and over again.

Dearest God, offer us the courage to walk our own path at our own pace and to help us find the calling for our own journey. Let us also remember that beloved community surrounds us wherever we are, and let us know that even when we walk alone, we need not be lonely on this pilgrim path. Amen.

Almighty God, you know that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves: Keep us both outwardly in our bodies and inwardly in our souls, that we may be defended from all adversities which may happen to the body, and from all evil thoughts which may assault and hurt the soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

deceits are all around us closer than we know or suspect. harder to be let down by those we thought trustworthy, faithful part of the community part of your name. where the angels are there demons will be also may we be innocent as doves and wise as serpents as you advised us when you first came.

Now there was a great wind, so strong that it was splitting the mountains and breaking rocks in pieces before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of sheer silence. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. Then came the voice to him that said, "What are you doing here, Elijah?

Dearest God, we call to you to breathe with us, walk with us, and carry us forward on our pilgrimages into the heart of ourselves and into your own heart. Send us your guides to whisper into our lives, and help us find the way toward full love of and full embrace of you. Amen.

so many die too soon too soon, yet nothing went wrong the mortality rate is still one-hundred percent Lord, have mercy.

Dearest God, give us the strength to let go of that which we do not need for this journey of life. Help us to release from our lives, our hearts, and our spirits all that hurts us or is too heavy to carry. Help us release our burdens so that we might see you more clearly and hear you more crisply breathing light and life into our lives. Amen.

for lovers and partners who bring smiles to our faces just because for a world that sings of wonder and grace just walking through for pleasures and pains that speak the intricate magic of all creation so direct for my life and those of all who have been your vehicles I thank you, good Lord.

One translation of the Greek word for repent is "to go beyond the mind you have.

To Canterbury, and pay devout homage, there came at nightfall to the hostelry some nine-and-twenty in a company, Folk of all kinds, met in accidental companionship, for they were pilgrims all.

Grant, most merciful Lord, to your faithful people pardon and peace, that they may be cleansed from all their sins, and serve you with a quiet mind; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let us see that we cannot see it all—around all the edges and corners of creation and the mind of God. We must allow ourselves to be reminded daily of the wonder of the universe—of God exposing Godself to us through our lives and the world and the vast expanse of the whole of creation, without believing we will ever, or should ever, have all the answers.

Grant, O Lord, that as your Son Jesus Christ prayed for his enemies on the cross, so we may have grace to forgive those who wrongfully or scornfully use us, that we ourselves may be able to receive your forgiveness; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

As Christians in the Western tradition, our spiritual lives often become merely intellectual exercises. This unfortunately means our lives of faith can occur wholly within our thoughts and intentions, never being made manifest in our living flesh and blood.

Jesus on the Throne of his glory, Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, Jesus received into your hearts in Communion, Jesus with you mystically as you pray, and Jesus enthroned in the hearts and bodies of his brothers and sisters up and down this country. And it is folly—it is madness—to suppose that you can worship Jesus in the Sacraments and Jesus on the Throne of glory, when you are sweating him in the souls and bodies of his children. It cannot be done.

There then, as I conceive it, is your present duty; and I beg you, brethren, as you love the Lord Jesus...Go out and look for Jesus in the ragged, in the naked, in the oppressed and sweated, in those who have lost hope, in those who are struggling to make good. Look for Jesus. And when you see him, gird yourselves with his towel and try to wash their feet.

O Lord, strong and mighty, Lord of hosts and King of glory: Cleanse our hearts from sin, keep our hands pure, and turn our minds from what is passing away; so that at the last we may stand in your holy place and receive your blessing; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Sooner or later, every one of us will find our way into the wilderness, discovering over and over again that we have no power in ourselves to help ourselves. Then, by God's grace, we turn around. We repent, we open our hearts to God. We ask God to come find us, because we do not know how to find where God is.

The men and women in the Bible who come closest to Jesus are those who have no illusions about their ability to make their lives work. They are lame, blind, bleeding, bereaved; some are even already dead. They have come to the end of their ropes and fall into the hands of the living God, praying the ultimate prayer of surrender and sacrifice, "Help.