March 9, 2009
Joan Heath passed on to me the following piece of encouragement last week. I hope it is also an encouragement for you!
“There are no limits with God;
His resources are far beyond your abilities.
Never say,”I can’t” without saying “He can”.
Never feel you are weak without knowing that He is strong.
You will never have to hold back or turn back due to fear,
Because He is with you—
You will never have to be defeated,
Because His victory is yours.
You will never have to settle for the ordinary,
Because His life in you is extraordinary.”
(Roy Lessin, from “Continue On”)
Now that we are a couple weeks into the season of Lent, it is easy to get discouraged and give up. I know that I have not been fasting and feasting as much as I had hoped. But the good news is that our hope is in GOD, not in our own efforts.
The scriptures for feasting on this week are all about hope:
Romans 8:22-25
Psalm 33
Lamentations 3:19-26
Romans 5:1-5
Colossians 1:3-5
Just a reminder: As you read these passages, try to slow down and reflect, taking time to let the truth of the words come to life. Listen to how Eugene Peterson describes this kind of reading in Eat This Book:
“Reading is an immense gift, but only if the words are assimilated, taken into the soul– eaten, chewed, gnawed, received in unhurried delight. Words of men and women long dead, or separated by miles and/or years, come off the page and enter our lives freshly and precisely, conveying truth and beauty and goodness, words that God’s Spirit has used and uses to breathe life into our souls.” (p. 11)
This week, may we enjoy the feast of hope that God has prepared for us!
March 8, 2009
A popular reflection, Lent: A Time for Fasting and Feasting written by William Arthur Ward advances the premise that Lent is not only a time to fast from certain things but to feast on others. His reflection reminds us that we are to eliminate what we don’t need so that we may more fully appreciate what we do need. This Lent take deliberate steps to unite your sacrifices with the sacrifice of Christ. Ask yourself if your sacrifices are going to challenge you to live more “Christ-like.”
Fast from judging others;
feast on the Christ dwelling in them.
Fast from emphasis on differences;
feast on the unity of life.
Fast from apparent darkness;
feast on the reality of light.
Fast from thoughts of illness;
feast on the healing power of God.
Fast from words that pollute;
feast on phrases that purify.
Fast from discontent;
feast on gratitude.
Fast from anger;
feast on patience.
Fast from pessimism;
feast on optimism.
Fast from worry;
feast on divine order.
Fast from complaining;
feast on appreciation.
Fast from negatives;
feast on affirmatives.
Fast from unrelenting pressures;
feast on unceasing prayer.
Fast from hostility;
feast on non-resistance.
Fast from bitterness;
feast on forgiveness.
Fast from self-concern;
feast on compassion for others.
Fast from personal anxiety;
feast on eternal truth.
Fast from discouragements;
feast on hope.
Fast from facts that depress;
feast on verities that uplift.
Fast from lethargy;
feast on enthusiasm.
Fast from thoughts that weaken;
feast on promises that inspire.
Fast from shadows of sorrow;
feast on the sunlight of serenity.
Fast from idle gossip;
feast on purposeful silence.
Fast from problems that overwhelm;
feast on prayer that undergirds.
William Arthur Ward
(American author, teacher and pastor, 1921-1994.)
February 26, 2009
As I mentioned last night at our Ash Wednesday service, to the left you will find a page titled, “Journey Through Lent.” On this page, I will be posting the weekly emails that Betsy plans to send out as encouragement for the next 40 days. I am trying to allow comments on this page so that you can share your thoughts, observations, meditations and struggles with others in our community, but sadly, the WordPress blog program is getting the best of me. So for now, please leave your comments for Lent in response to this post…
I titled the post Ash Wednesday Conclusion because the thought occurred to me last night that Lent is a hard season. I realized that when we fast from what usually gets in between us and God, Satan gets revved up. The last thing he wants is for us to have pure, uninhibited access to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Therefore, Lent is the perfect time for us to pursue depth and intimacy with a tough resolution to make it through to the end.
In order to that, I am trying to give up wanting to find my mate. I have to admit that I would like to get married and probably think about it more than I should. Ultimately, I trust that God has a plan for my life and His timing is perfect. However, sometimes I doubt. Thus, for Lent I am trying to remember that as John Piper says, “God is most glorified in me when I am most satisfied in him.” Practically, I am having a hard time determining what this looks like, but am sure the Holy Spirit will give me plenty of guidance…
I would love for you all to explain what you have given up for Lent and why if you feel comfortable doing so, and encouragements for the group are welcome as well!
February 19, 2009
This past Friday (the 13th) was my 29th birthday. I know, I’m gettin’ up there. Birthdays are usually good experiences for me, but sometimes are overshadowed by lack of dates for V-day. For some strange reason, I am always between boyfriends when Cupid’s holiday and my birthday come around. However, despite my single status, I was looking forward to celebrating at Iota with friends and then having a low-key Saturday. Well, let me tell you – God had a different plan and quite a surprise in store for me.
Thursday night I had dinner plans with my former roommate Elaine. When she arrived, she came in the back door and quickly shut it behind her. I noticed a camera in her hand and asked her why in the world she had it out. Her response was, “I just do.” I looked at her like she had lost it until I heard another knock at the back door. I spun around and opened it to see my two best friends from Texas standing on the back step. I was in complete shock. I just stared in disbelief. I can’t even begin to explain what a tremendous gift it was to have Lesley and Laura here in D.C. for both my birthday and Valentine’s.
As I tried to thank God for such an overwhelming display of his loving kindness, I was almost at a loss for words. Then the verse in Ephesians that says, “to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine” came to mind. It was the exact phrase I would use to describe what I was feeling.
I would guess that many of you have had an experience with God like I just did. So please share in the comments what God did for you to display His ability to go beyond our expectations. If you don’t have an experience like this, don’t worry, yours will come soon. I think God delights in loving us well…
January 27, 2009
Welcome to the Church at Clarendon’s new blog! With the word commencement rolling around in my head, I immediately think of graduation ceremonies. I don’t know about your personal experiences, but mine tended to be a little on the boring side, dragging on until the exciting part where you get to throw your cap in the air. They did serve an important purpose though.
They moved us out into something new, a fresh start, the beginning. The blog for the Church at Clarendon will serve much the same purpose. I want to move us toward being a community that doesn’t simply attend church on Sunday mornings and forget about God for the rest of the week. The Church is to serve as a group of people united by their love…love for God, love for others in the world right around them, and love for those they don’t even know. It may seem silly to some, but discussing our thoughts and actions on a blog will allow us to be aware of those things that unite us. This is a beginning for discovering what makes us more than a social club, and instead makes us a body, Christ’s body, His hands and feet.
Know that all healthy responses are welcome here. I say healthy because there is a caveat that this blog will delete posts that include offensive language as we hope our audience ranges in age from young to old. If you are fired up about something, that is certainly allowed, but please be mindful of others reading your comments.
And finally, this blog is an outlet and hopefully, an ongoing conversation. If, however, you want/need the conversation to be private versus published on the world wide web, feel free to email our Pastor, David (david@1bc.org), or your trusty blogger, Haley (haley@1bc.org).
Consider the blog commenced!