Fat Tuesday
New Orleans is on my mind today and has certainly been in the news. Mardi Gras, parades, revelry and a moment of silence there this morning in remembrance of the horrors that Katrina inflicted in 2005.
I'm so thankful that dh and I got to visit that wonderful city twice...in '04 and '05 and that we were there once for Mardi Gras. Eating beignets (which we jokingly pronounced BIGnits in our West Texas drawl) and drinking coffee at Cafe du Monde was a special moment in time for me. I was on my own wandering through the French Quarter while dh was busy at his conference. The day was beautiful, the street entertainers were out in mass. This was the Saturday before Fat Tuesday in 2004. Pigeons skirted the covered outdoor cafe grabbing bits of leftover pastries. A young woman with spikey red hair, wearing a red jump suit set up shop just outside the cafe. She opened her case and began playing her flute, looking for tips.
We made reservations to go back to New Orleans for this Mardi Gras...as a show of support for the city. We decided to cancel the trip but I have no doubt that we will return next year or the year after.
Today I received a devotion from Pastor Kerry Nelson of Houston. I receive these daily. Since he does give permission to use his devotions in anyway, I am posting it here and hope that someone will read it and be blessed by the message.
This minister took a 5 month sabbatical and only returned to work yesterday. His congregation allowed him to do that...just to stay home and do 'whatever' for that period of time. I don't know, but suspect that he had reached a point in life where such a break was essential. I think many of us reach that point but not everyone is able to step away from the world for awhile. I'm thankful that he received this blessing of time.
Anyway, I think this message is worth sharing. Stepping out in faith isn't just about those who become missionaries. It is also about those who are "courageously facing the demands of daily life". So read this if you have time. And enjoy your Fat Tuesday!
"Good morning. Welcome to Tuesday, February 28th.
But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die-- there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!" Ruth 1:16-17
Stepping out in faith.
For those of us raised in the "Star Trek generation," any talk of "stepping out in faith" conjures up images of bravely going "where no man has gone before." Missionaries heading off to exotic locations with a Bible and a passionate heart. People making drastic life changes. Taking risks. Going to the edge. Spiritual superstars and religious romance.
Especially now, the day before Lent. Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. The traditional day for repentance and eating pancakes. The final big fling before the heavy spiritual lifting of Ash Wednesday and Lent. Gearing up for gearing down.
Then we hear the quiet and insistent voice of Ruth.
She, like us, is on a journey that has broken her heart, and taken her to places that she didn't realize she would go. But for Ruth, stepping forward in faith wasn't about running away or running for home or heading off to exotic locations. It was about staying with the one who needed her. It was about quiet and enduring faithfulness. It was courage born of love and determination sealed by decision.
Someone yesterday wrote a note to me that expressed gratitude for God's presence in the miraculous "tedium" of daily life and routine. I appreciated that reminder and immediately thought of Ruth and her kind.
History lifts up the heroes who make big splashes. But the shoulders we stand on include all of those Ruth's for whom stepping forward in faith meant courageously facing the daily demands of life, holding on to the basic relationships of family, and trusting that God was working in the mundane and the painful and the ordinary and the daily.
To follow Ruth's journey is to see surprise and provision and quick thinking. It is also to see the fingers, the hands and the heart of God at work.
When we look at our own lives through eyes of faith, as turbulent and quiet and ordinary and miraculous as they might be, we see the same.
Let us pray: Guide us, Lord, not only as we move forward but also as we stay the course of life with courage and determination. In Jesus' name.
Amen."
Pastor Kerry
I'm so thankful that dh and I got to visit that wonderful city twice...in '04 and '05 and that we were there once for Mardi Gras. Eating beignets (which we jokingly pronounced BIGnits in our West Texas drawl) and drinking coffee at Cafe du Monde was a special moment in time for me. I was on my own wandering through the French Quarter while dh was busy at his conference. The day was beautiful, the street entertainers were out in mass. This was the Saturday before Fat Tuesday in 2004. Pigeons skirted the covered outdoor cafe grabbing bits of leftover pastries. A young woman with spikey red hair, wearing a red jump suit set up shop just outside the cafe. She opened her case and began playing her flute, looking for tips.
We made reservations to go back to New Orleans for this Mardi Gras...as a show of support for the city. We decided to cancel the trip but I have no doubt that we will return next year or the year after.
Today I received a devotion from Pastor Kerry Nelson of Houston. I receive these daily. Since he does give permission to use his devotions in anyway, I am posting it here and hope that someone will read it and be blessed by the message.
This minister took a 5 month sabbatical and only returned to work yesterday. His congregation allowed him to do that...just to stay home and do 'whatever' for that period of time. I don't know, but suspect that he had reached a point in life where such a break was essential. I think many of us reach that point but not everyone is able to step away from the world for awhile. I'm thankful that he received this blessing of time.
Anyway, I think this message is worth sharing. Stepping out in faith isn't just about those who become missionaries. It is also about those who are "courageously facing the demands of daily life". So read this if you have time. And enjoy your Fat Tuesday!
"Good morning. Welcome to Tuesday, February 28th.
But Ruth said, "Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; where you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die-- there will I be buried. May the LORD do thus and so to me, and more as well, if even death parts me from you!" Ruth 1:16-17
Stepping out in faith.
For those of us raised in the "Star Trek generation," any talk of "stepping out in faith" conjures up images of bravely going "where no man has gone before." Missionaries heading off to exotic locations with a Bible and a passionate heart. People making drastic life changes. Taking risks. Going to the edge. Spiritual superstars and religious romance.
Especially now, the day before Lent. Fat Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday. The traditional day for repentance and eating pancakes. The final big fling before the heavy spiritual lifting of Ash Wednesday and Lent. Gearing up for gearing down.
Then we hear the quiet and insistent voice of Ruth.
She, like us, is on a journey that has broken her heart, and taken her to places that she didn't realize she would go. But for Ruth, stepping forward in faith wasn't about running away or running for home or heading off to exotic locations. It was about staying with the one who needed her. It was about quiet and enduring faithfulness. It was courage born of love and determination sealed by decision.
Someone yesterday wrote a note to me that expressed gratitude for God's presence in the miraculous "tedium" of daily life and routine. I appreciated that reminder and immediately thought of Ruth and her kind.
History lifts up the heroes who make big splashes. But the shoulders we stand on include all of those Ruth's for whom stepping forward in faith meant courageously facing the daily demands of life, holding on to the basic relationships of family, and trusting that God was working in the mundane and the painful and the ordinary and the daily.
To follow Ruth's journey is to see surprise and provision and quick thinking. It is also to see the fingers, the hands and the heart of God at work.
When we look at our own lives through eyes of faith, as turbulent and quiet and ordinary and miraculous as they might be, we see the same.
Let us pray: Guide us, Lord, not only as we move forward but also as we stay the course of life with courage and determination. In Jesus' name.
Amen."
Pastor Kerry
posted by Mary @ 9:49 AM
1 Comments:
At 9:02 AM ,
Anonymous said...
I've written about faith many times. Faith is a topic that is never far from my thoughts or my heart. Faith is something more than what we say or what we believe -- it is something that we do.
Nice post...
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