What do you do? STAND

Has Lent seemed extra long to you? It has to me. Today is the first day of Spring and the sunlight is encouraging, but it’s still nowhere near Easter yet…but it will be! It’s no small thing that our Hebrew brothers and sisters celebrate every year a “Day of Atonement” (think: at-ONE-ment) in the fall when their New Year begins. This is a time to go to people who have hurt you and forgive them, at the same time going to others whom you have hurt and asking their forgiveness. A time to make things *right*, for reconciliation and restoration. I wonder if they have the same caveat about this, though, that many twelve step programs do wherein you “make amends” only when doing so would not bring harm or hurt to the other person. You know that in some circumstances just opening the door for discussion about past unresolved situations or misunderstandings would bring renewed hurt or pain for some people. Therefore in those circumstances, you must refrain. It’s hard. That’s why I’m glad Easter’s coming for all of us.

What do you do in a situation where there’s been hurt and misunderstanding and you’ve done everything you can to make things right but nothing seems to work? How do you move from that spot knowing the other person is stuck thinking something which just isn’t the way it is, or even the way it happened? Even when you know the other person may be reeling from circumstances or past events and is dealing with a kind of pain that seems to have morphed your circumstances into an entirely different “movie” than the one you’re seeing, it doesn’t make it any easier because you can’t do anything about it. And that’s the hardest part, isn’t it? There is such helplessness in knowing there’s been misunderstanding or miscommunication, that the other person feels badly and is carrying hurt and anger which is based on all that. You’ve done everything you could to explain, share heartfelt concern but perhaps to no avail. Now you’re stuck. To do or say more could well make things worse. Hard…hard as the nails on Good Friday.

There’s a song I really like by Donnie McClurkin which so well describes this dilemma, called “Stand”. Here are selected excerpts and the chorus from that song:

“Tell me what do you do when you’ve done all you can, and it seems like it’s never enough? … Tell me what can you give when you’ve given your all, and it seems like you can’t make it through? And how can you smile when your heart has been broken and filled with pain? “ And here’s God’s answer, in the chorus of that same song: “Well you just stand when there’s nothing left to do; You just stand, watch the Lord see you through. Yes, after you’ve done all you can, you just stand.”

Where do we stand? On the Word of God where in so many places He encourages us that He will take care of us in stormy circumstances, when we’ve done all we can. In one translation of Psalm 14, verse 14 says, “Wait for the Lord; take heart and stand firm, wait for the Lord.”

All of us have places in our past, tricky sore spots in our hearts we avoid because of hurt and there’s nothing we can do about them on our own. While every day, every hour, every moment that we breathe we have the opportunity of applying God’s grace as a soothing balm to these aching places, if that hasn’t helped before, think about doing this powerful thing. As we approach the final days of Lent, moving toward Maundy Thursday and Good Friday, prayerfully and gently consider the things of pain hidden in your heart, the people and the misunderstandings. If there is anyone you haven’t made amends to yet and could do so without bringing pain to them, seek Jesus’ help in doing so. Perhaps in a lovingly written letter which could be read privately.

In those circumstances where approaching the person is not an option (due to bringing angst to them), set aside some quiet time and with prayer, write those people’s name(s) and a key word or two on a piece of paper. Lovingly place the paper in your Bible, perhaps at a passage such as Psalm 14 or at any of these scriptures which will also help to strengthen and encourage you in this work: Eph 6:10-11, Nahum 1:7, Is 41:10, 2Timothy 4:18, Eph 3:16-21, Is 40:31, 2Cor 2:14, 2 Cor 12:9, Ps 138:3, Ps 71:1-5,16, Ps 31:1-3, Ps 46:1-3, Ps 27:14, Ps 61:2-4, 2 Tim 1:7-9, Heb 12:1-4, and Heb 13:5b,6.

Remember that in the scriptures which speak of “evildoers” etc. in these passages, this doesn’t mean the people in our circumstances are necessarily evil. The evil one takes delight in our being shackled by unresolved heartache or anything else which gets in the way of freedom in Christ. In this case, it’s the long fermenting situations which are the badness referred to in the scripture references.

On Maundy Thursday when we pick up our nails at the beginning of the service and then bring them to put in the basket at the foot of the cross, if you choose to bring the paper with the names to place at the cross, too, I promise you no one will read what’s there except Christ who already knows what’s written in your hearts. At our counseling agency we had a similar practice. When people brought things like this to be placed in God’s hands in exchange for inner freedom and peace, we prayerfully burned those things unread, trusting the people who brought them in faith to be released by the love of Jesus.

Hard. Hard as the nails on Good Friday, and that’s exactly the place where these pains belong. Stand and release them, friends, and be freed by the same power which raised our Lord Jesus on Resurrection Sunday. Christ is Risen, Alleluia! He is risen indeed, Alleluia!

Looking Forward...Rejoice!

While this Sunday is only the second Sunday in Lent, I find myself looking *foward* and thinking about Lent's fourth Sunday which is historically known as "Laetare Sunday" with the Latin word Laetare meaning "Rejoice". Rejoicing in Lent? Seem like a contradiction? Aren't we supposed to save the rejoicing and celebrating until Easter? Ahhhh.....not so! While some churches who use "alleluia" as part of their regular Sunday liturgical content but elect to omit it throughout Lent, actually, EVERY Sunday in Lent and always is a time for rejoicing. Every Sunday, regardless of the church season, we remember and celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. When you think about it, Lent is the key to the mother of all celebrations...without Lent there is no cause for "rejoicing", there is no Easter. There is no resurrection without a crucifixion. Right? Just as Advent, the *purple* season before Christmas is considered a small fast with the third Sunday being rose colored and called Gaudate Sunday (another word for "rejoice") where we're on the countdown to Christmas and thinking about Jesus' mother who'd be getting ready herself for the birth. Just as typically Gaudate Sunday in Advent the "fast" is lifted for a brief break, so also is the same true for Laetare Sunday in Lent. It's as though the combination of dark winter whose moanings and groanings for Spring echo those of our own hearts, combined with whichever fasts or tasks for spiritual growth we've taken on for Lent together make us feel like we'd REALLY like a break, along comes the British tradition of the Simnel Cake. Ever heard of it? Oh my goodness it's amazing. Do you like marzipan (almond paste) and dried, candied fruits? Read on! The custom of the Simnel cake comes from medievel England when the 4th Sunday of Lent, Laetare Sunday, was also called "Mothering Sunday" as on that day, servants who resided far from their families were given the day off to go back to their own homes and visit with their mothers. They were also able to make a cake of fine semolina flour (hence the shortened version of the word "Simnel") and fruits to bring with them and honor their mothers. The cake itself is rich in Lenten meaning, including the top being covered with 11 carefully rolled little balls of marzipan to represent the 11 disciples who remained faithful to Jesus (leaving out Judas who betrayed him). There are tons of other symbolic meanings to other parts of the cake, but I want to move on and leave room for the recipe for you! For those of you thinking "ick....sounds like just another fruit cake", oh ye of small belief! Oh no indeed. This is rich, wonderful, heavenly food. And, if there are fruits in the recipe you don't enjoy, well, just omit them! It's a very forgiving recipe --- which is fitting for Lent, don't you think? :-)While I have a whole book of Simnel cake recipes, I searched for one that's not too complex and with American measurements instead of things being weighed out in grams as in older English recipes (and other European ones as well). Below is a recipe for Simnel cake:

Simnel Cake

1 cup margarine, softened
1 cup light brown sugar
4 eggs
1 3/4 cups self-rising flour
1 1/3 cups golden raisins
1 cup dried currants
2/3 cup candied cherries, rinsed, dried and quartered
1/4 cup candied mixed fruit peel, chopped
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons mixed spice
1 pound almond paste
2 tablespoons apricot jam
1 egg, beaten

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 inch springform pan. Line the bottom and sides of pan with greased parchment paper. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the flour. Stir in the golden raisins, currants, candied cherries, mixed fruit, lemon zest and mixed spice. Pour 1/2 of batter into prepared pan.

Divide almond paste into 3 equal portions. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste to an 8 inch circle. Place the circle of almond paste on the cake batter in pan. Cover with remaining cake batter. Bake in the preheated oven for 2 1/2 hours, or until evenly brown and firm to the touch. If the cake is browning too quickly, cover with foil after an hour of baking. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely. Set oven to broil. When the cake has cooled, brush the top with warmed apricot jam. Roll out 1/3 of the almond paste into an 8 inch circle and place on top of cake.

Divide the remaining 1/3 of almond paste into 11 pieces and roll into balls. These represent the 12 Apostles minus Judas. Brush the almond paste on top of cake with beaten egg. Arrange the 11 balls around the outside edge on the top of cake. Brush the balls lightly with egg. Place cake under the broiler for 8 to 10 minutes, or until almond paste is golden brown.

Making this cake is a fun activity to do together with children, or a peaceful one to do meditatively by yourself. Sometimes Simnel Cake is also referred to as Easter Cake for those who prefer to save this rich treat until Easter. For those of you who read through the recipe thinking, "something about this feels a little familiar" but have never heard of or had such a cake, just think about "Hot Cross Buns". Wonderful little mini-cakes filled with dried, candied fruit and marked with a cross of frosting (plain vanilla, not luscious almond marzipan, but yummy none-the-less). See the connection? The first Simnel cakes were yeast cakes like the kind of dough used in Hot Cross Buns. My husband and I look forward to enjoying a Hot Cross Bun treat for breakfast each Sunday through Lent, as a tiny break from our typical fasting from desserts and sweet treats.

Perhaps because we're looking at yet more wintery weather and it's a gray Currier and Ives day outside but my heart is yearning for spring to come, I've been remembering a beautiful setting of part of the Walt Whitman poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloomed" by Robert Sanders. For the musically adept, this is quite different from the Paul Hindeminth much larger arrangement of the entire poem for chorus and orchestra. This is simple, elegant but profound setting for accapella chorus. I have looked all over the Internet for a recording but, alas, have found none except the Hindemith setting. While Walt Whitman wrote the poem in remembrance of the death of Abraham Lincoln, it's something which resonates with us all. Years ago I sang this with an amazing accapella group and it has always stayed with me, engraved on my heart. So, while I cannot share a link to a recording of the Sanders arrangement, below is the segment of the poem (the first section of the entire poem) by Walt Whitman. Think about it as you're making your Simnel cake and again while you're enjoying it...unless you make the supreme sacrifice of giving it to someone you love to honor them on "Mothering Sunday", Laetare Sunday, to help them rejoice in proper, amazing, delightful style.

When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d,
And the great star early droop’d in the western sky in the night,
I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.
Ever-returning spring, trinity sure to me you bring,
Lilac blooming perennial and drooping star in the west,
And thought of him I love.

The words from which "Laetare Sunday" are derived are:

Rejoice, [Laetare] O Jerusalem: and come together all you that love her: rejoice with joy, you that have been in sorrow: that you may exult, and be filled from the breasts of your consolation. (Psalm) I rejoiced at the things that were said to me: we shall go into the house of the Lord.

Even if you elect to keep your fast without Sunday breaks, even on the 4th Sunday, don't postpone your rejoicing until Easter! Looking forward...."come Lord, Jesus, come". Alleluia!

Twitter...who'd a thought!

I've heard about this for a little while and decided tonight I'd give this "Twitter" thing a look-see. www.Twitter.com is pretty cool. Lots of reasons. You're limited to 160 characters in a post which is good discipline for a writer. Short little "real world" commentary in stead of profound thoughts, insights or venting. A Twitter "post" is called a Tweet. Cute! "All the little birds go tweet tweet tweet..."
Despite all the conveniences meant to make life more simple and tasks easier to complete so we have more time for connection with friends as well as to engage in other pursuits, let me ask you. Have you found you have more time as a result of technology? Um...me neither. Don't get me wrong. I love gizmos and technology both fascinates me as well as fascilitates my getting things done which does make these things faster and more fun, too.

But connection with others. That's the tougher thing. Geography, pain, other issues like time and major busyness...things I'm doing, busyness of friends etc. are great limiters of maintaining the connections. For communication I'm grateful for email, voicemail, cell phone and land line and even my answering machine. But that spontanaeity thing is hard to capture, that sense of little quips one might share with friends without framing stuff in an entire email or a blog post. Love my cell phone and the odd, occasional text message but our wireless account isn't set up for lots of texting and it would be a huge expense to use my phone for Internet access (due to how we've set up our plan/contract). Also, not a whole lot of time for that with my cell phone, too. Use my computer mostly for this sort of communique.

So I checked out the Twitter thing, and now I'm on board. Cool concept, really. So, calling all friends....tweet tweet! And of course, it's SisterTroi - just as in my email address. SisterTroi "tweets" that you all have a good night's rest. Peace!

Living the "Fully Alive" Life

Do you know what a 6-pack of Diet Coke looks like in the back seat of your car in -35 degree weather? That’d be 35 degrees BELOW zero. If you guessed that the cans would be imploded with hundreds of little Coke-colored icicles clinging to the ceiling of the car and other surfaces, you’ve either seen this similar phenomenon or are just a good guesser. Some years ago I’d been visiting friends in Vermont at their ski house and, sleeping soundly in a cozy featherbed with a down comforter, I had no idea the temperature had plunged that low. True, it had been negligent of me to leave the Diet Coke in the car in the winter time. But I had a long drive ahead of me in the morning and this beverage has always been something which helps me stay alert at the wheel if I’m driving for a few hours at a time.
It was quite a shock to step out into such frigidness early that Vermont January morning. My car wouldn’t even humor me by making any noise at all when I turned the key. Nope. I wasn’t going anywhere until the weather warmed a bit. At least I was able to pluck out all the frozen cola before it thawed, leaving no trace of my messy mistake.
In the past week or so, there have been several below zero mornings here. There is a particular rigid silence when it is that cold. Just looking out at the trees covered in snow and ice with nothing moving, seemingly all turned to stone in such frozenness, there’s no need to see a thermometer to know it’s below zero. Such stillness was surprisingly broken one morning when a bright streak of bird song loudly broke the silence. It was like a rebellion of sorts. How could anything, especially one lone little bird, draw such breath and produce a vibrantly loud jubilant song amidst these icebound surroundings? It was remarkable! As if to mock the utter stillness of this Arctic frozenness, the bird song continued for some minutes. I was amazed. What a contrast to all else which was totally, solidly paralyzed in the cold.
These few minutes at the window, listening to the lighthearted bird singing boldly in an Arctic-like landscape made me think of the book PJ and I are currently reading. The main focus in John Eldridge’s "Waking the Dead" is drawn from this quote: “The glory of God is man fully alive” (from St. Irenaeus, an early church writer, a manuscript from 185 AD). Think about it for a moment. In our hectic, task-driven world, how “alive” are we as a whole or, more personally, are you? Typically we rise, do our quick morning routine of grooming, dressing, and maybe a little breakfast before hitting the door with possibly a few words of prayer tangled in the middle of getting ready for the day. We are consumed by thoughts, barraged by images, requests, news, complaints, anxieties etc. Often our inner dialogue is composed mainly of self-criticisms about why we can’t get something done faster, better, why we’re not exercising, eating better, losing weight….you name it. Seldom is our mind and even more importantly, our heart, quiet enough to hear what God is trying to say to us. So, in other words, we are nowhere near living a “fully alive” life.
At first blush the quote above might seem a little, well, too lofty and high-minded a notion for Christian people who are supposed to live in humility, giving praise and glory to the Lord for everything attained/experienced in life. BUT, when you consider this quote from Jesus, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10), isn’t that a big part of God’s whole idea? And as we are created in God’s image (Gen. 1:26) and He is all glory, then wouldn’t it follow that to be “fully alive” is our best gift to God? The fulfilling of His intention for us?
Ok, so how do we approach this? It takes time, willingness, awareness, and practice. The benefits we reap in personal peace and joy are more than worth learning a new attitude and mode of living. Basically we need to first break all the agreements we’ve made (and continue to make) with the Evil one that we are bad. All those ideas suggested in our minds, those critical thoughts, those condemning remarks --- they are not from God. It is important to remember that the father of lies, the Evil one, seeks to disrupt anything that would bring us the fullness of life and happiness that life in Jesus promises. If you think about it, really it is mostly us agreeing with these critical thoughts which make up a tremendous part of our picture of ourselves and colors the emotions we experience every day.
I am NOT saying we do not make bad choices, select unhealthy options etc. Yes we do, and we reap the consequences of them also. However, this is separate and apart from how we view ourselves and then also see others as well. Those critical little judgmental thoughts that creep into your mind about someone….where do you think they come from? Who do you think they come from initially before we agree with them? Yup. Freedom comes from recognizing this and saying stop! Proverbs 23: 7 says that how we think is how we are: “As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is”. If we’re thinking unkind, critical, judgmental toxic thoughts, they’re going to soon turn into how we’re feeling as well. As this may seem a bit daunting, here’s a quick filter through which to test things if you’re wondering if they’re the thoughts which get in the way of being “full alive”, living with peace and joy. It’s Philippians 4:8, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”.A-ha! Gottcha! If something happens to be true but it is NOT “lovely, admirable, praiseworthy” then it would follow that dwelling on it means taking on everything else that goes with it --- yucky thoughts produce yucky feelings. This Lent, why not take the opportunity to consciously renew your mind, become like the rebellious little songbird in the frozen winter and seek to be “fully alive” and reap the joy and goodness that Jesus came to bring us all. Amen!