"Dear friends, I
am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you
have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one
another—is the same message you heard before. Yet
it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also
are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is
already shining." 1 John 2:7-8 NLT
A beautiful reminder of the freedom we have in Christ, sung by Aaron Shust "We are Free"
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It seems easier to breathe when I've left the darkness of the tomb behind. Our Easter celebration brings me great joy, sharing a feast with family and friends.
Knowing we are celebrating the very fact that makes us Christians; the belief that Jesus died for us and rose again as a promise of our eternal life with Him, fills me with peace and a deeply felt joy. However, I experienced a real let-down after the holiday. There was lots of food preparation to do and music to prepare for worship. A LOT to do.
I found myself feeling a little like Christmas, when we can put too much into the "doing" and not enough into the real meaning of the day. And perhaps, that's why I felt the "post-Easter" blues. In addition, everyone went home. While five of us in the house is hardly empty, with everyone home the house is so full of life, and I love it. It reminds me of when all the boys were growing up, and we always had a houseful, whether it was just our family or the always-welcome friends of our sons who came and ate many a meal here. So, to distract my brain from my sadness, I started to write. Not everyone's cure, I'm sure. But what has been birthed is my new blog,Colleen's Gardens. I've been wanting to start a gardening blog for quite some time, to share my horticultural knowledge and experience, and deep love of all things green and flowering. So now you can read my words in two places, but this blog will still focus on my faith. And the hope of springtime, for me, is what faith is all about. I spent a morning recently, on the overlook by the Vernon Marsh. I'll write about my experience there tomorrow. Taking this time out to just "be" in the early morning hours renewed my sense of who I am in this grand scheme of life.
I'm excited to note the changes in my landscape with the warmer days and sunshine. Next week will be cold again, with rain, but for now the sun is shining and the skies are blue. Enjoy the beauty of the world awakening around us. It is truly a gift to feel life stir within our hearts and lives again. Blessings to you, my friends.
I step out into the cool, early spring morning. The songs of the morning birds sing through the bare treetops, and the wind is still, for now.
Great masses of
snow have dissipated, and I long for the greening of the natural world to
begin again.
It's been so long since I could feel earth's life energy flowing. With this hint of spring, I find there is hope beginning to grow in my heart that once again the natural world will begin to feel alive
Hope.
In the dead of winter, after months of sub zero temperatures
and endless white landscapes, hope for green and growing life was hard to find.
Truly, there was a recent day when I thought I might never see color in the landscape again.
Of course, logic prevailed on that winter day, as I knew
that with the cycle of the earth, spring would return, as surely as the sun
would rise the next day.
But what about those of us who are deep in the dark night of the
soul? When darkness surrounds you, and there is no glimmer of light, the heaviness in your heart makes it feel as if there is no hope.
The day after Jesus died, all hope was gone. As his body lay
in the silence of the dark tomb, the world outside awakened. Birds sang, the
warm sun rose. But for the apostles, there was no light, no glimmer of hope.
Love had been defeated by death.
They didn't know that in one more day the opposite would prove to be
true. Death would be defeated by Love! Joy would surge through their hearts.
They would have disbelief, sure, with the miraculous vision of a man returning
from death. However, their dark night of the soul would end in glorious
reunion with their Lord.
Is your soul in the tomb today, my friend? We’ve all been
there, when dark thoughts seem to block out the Light. When there is no
hope, only despair. No joy, only sadness.
I imagine many know deep despair, after the death of loved
one; after many of the disappointments that strike us deeply in our spirit and
make it seem impossible to go on.
But the sun will always rise tomorrow. And while the breath
of life runs through us still, we have to believe there is hope. For nothing
stays the same. Change is inevitable. Perhaps we must initiate the change. But
it will happen, and hope will be restored.
On that glorious Easter morning when faith was restored,
when hope was reborn, the world saw a miracle, a fulfilling of prophesy.
Likewise, life does return to the lifeless heart. When despair has us lying in our
graves of hopelessness, we have to believe that tomorrow will bring hope. That our
faith can be restored. It may take time.
Somewhere deep within, there must glow a faint ember of
hope. Lean on God to help you breathe into that flame of life inside you. Reach
out to receive His love. Let His comfort cover you like a warm blanket. Rest in
the safety of His Love.
You are loved. It may be a Saturday in the tomb, but
tomorrow the sun will rise, birds will sing, and life will continue its
endless cycle. When you are ready, rise and add your beautiful song. The world
needs you and the love only you can share.
"No storm can chase my inmost calm, when to that Rock, I'm clinging.
Since love is Lord of heaven and earth, how can I keep from singing?"
Enjoy this beautiful rendition of "How Can I Keep From Singing"
and have hope, my friends.
Heed these words from 2 Corinthians 5, vs. 15-17
15 He
died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer
live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and
was raised for them.
16 So we have stopped evaluation others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ as merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!
17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.
"Then Jesus told them, “I
tell you the truth, if you have faith and don’t doubt, you can do
things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May
you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen."
Matthew 21:21 (NLT)
Doubt: a feeling of uncertainty or lack of conviction.
We all try to have faith "like a mustard seed". That tiny powerhouse of energy within us that, when nurtured, will blossom into a productive, living source that will carry us through the trials of this life.
But what about when doubt creeps in. That unwelcome feeling that threatens our security. It creeps in through the back door and stands there, darkening the doorway. It wants to block the Light.
Doubt brings Fear.
If we begin to entertain doubt, our next unwelcome guest is fear. And fear will steal our joy.
Don't let doubt even get a foothold in the door. Stomp out your doubt with FAITH.
Faith is our strong belief in God, our constant companion, our deliverer. Putting our faith in God as our confidence and our trust renews our strength to combat doubt and fear. Keeping our faith in God prohibits fear and doubt from creeping in to steal our joy.
Nurture your faith, keep it strong to combat fear and doubt. Keep your eyes upon Jesus, and your thoughts will not wander to doubting. We can trust in God. He's proven it. And He is always there for us. No matter what we face.
"When doubts filled my mind, your comfort gave me renewed hope and cheer."
Psalm 94:19 (NLT)
One of my favorite contemporary Christian recording artists is a man who knows a thing or two about fear. Through his faith in God, Jason Gray overcame a debilitating stutter to become a successful singer-songwriter who shares his faith and humbly shares his story with his audiences. When Jason speaks, his stutter is evident, but through his songs, God has blessed him with the power to share His love and never once does he stutter.
This song, "No Thief Like Fear" is from his album, "A Way to See in the Dark"
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