Spend Good Friday with Jesus. He appreciates your company. You can spend the time doing these things: Fast. Perhaps eat some soup for lunch. Visit the Stations of Cross. This step-by-step remembrance of Jesus’ journey to death is found in most Catholic churches and in many others, too. If you can’t go visit one, you can watch one on YouTube. Light a candle. Begin at noon. Pray. Go before the Lord as you consider your own sins that He is carrying as He dies. Seek His forgiveness and His peace. Read the story. “A Harmony of the Gospels” , available in a variety of translations and formats, alig ..read more

"Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look at them with hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them ... the same everlasting God who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and every day, either by shielding you from suffering, or by giving you strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, and put aside all anxious thoughts."Francis de Sales The post How to Put Aside Anxiety appeared first on Mindful Christian Year ..read more

This week in January is the traditional time to pray for Christian unity. Since Jesus did this at the Last Supper, you might even call it his dying wish. Today, the Christian church is far from unified. Searching about this unity online brings up a lot of material about why unity is not a particularly good thing. As well as some divisive material on both sides of the political spectrum. Weird, isn’t it? I myself have experienced hateful behavior from other Christians who view issues differently than I do. Surely this is not what Jesus wants for us, especially when everyone in the disagreement ..read more

Parts of the world are at war. We may be missing loved ones. And the cost of Thanksgiving may be much higher than last year. Nonetheless, the Lord has been so good to us. Today, let’s look with intention at what’s right and how God has blessed us. Listing our blessings helps us to stay focused on what is good in our lives. For example, I am thankful to the Lord for: Our continued health. Our marriage that has remained solid despite both of us in pain from shoulder and back conditions. Food, water and a warm house. My granddaughter and the miracles of technology that allow us to spend time tog ..read more

“Mindfulness and Sleep: How to improve your sleep quality through practicing mindfulness” is a British book packed with good ideas for a good night’s sleep. Author Anna Black believes that mindfulness meditation helps us to become accept wakefulness in the night. By reducing anxiety, we can sleep … or not … with a quiet mind. A Harvard study backs up this idea because mindfulness helps to invoke the relaxation response. The book contains about 25 exercises to improve sleep quality. For example, “Checking Your Posture” is a practice done during the day to establish the relaxed posture that help ..read more

My former boss died last week. I worked for her for 13 years. She taught me how to be a communications strategist, how to embrace New York, and how to deal with difficult people without losing your cool. We went through her divorce, the deaths of her parents, my son’s disability, and the deaths of my father and sister-in-law. I have many good memories and a little sadness from difficult times. The last time I saw her was at a Christmas party just before the pandemic. She was busy with a client, and I needed to leave. So I stood near her, waiting for an opening. It was brief. I gave her a hug a ..read more

Today we have arrived at the peak of all blessings. We have reached the capital of feasts. We have obtained the very fruit of the Lord’s promise. John Chrysostom Pentecost is one of the holiest, happiest days of the Christian year. Coming 10 days after the celebration of the risen Christ’s ascension into heaven, Pentecost commemorates the gift of the Holy Spirit upon the first Christians. This was the day that Peter stepped forward to speak to the crowd. As a result, thousands of people who first thought the Christians were drunk at 9 a.m. decided that Jesus really was the Messiah after all ..read more

“Is the church in crisis? If so, what?” That’s the answer I found in a notebook I retrieved to go a community meeting. I don’t even remember the meeting where we discussed the question. But my answer is there: “The crisis is that the truth of Jesus has been obscured, often by His own people.” I wrote it about a year ago, and it’s more true that ever. Exhibit A: The failure of my Lenten pledge. I wanted to find a group of committed Christians to deepen my experience of contemplative prayer. The first two Christian groups I tried were miles away from the truth about Jesus. For example, this is t ..read more

The most delightful experience I had this Lent was reading “Enjoying the Presence of God: Discovering Intimacy With God in the Daily Rhythms of Life” by Jan Johnson. I met Jan Johnson on Zoom doing a class during 2020. Calm and funny, she seems like a person who has great insight into God. She also was a close associate of Dallas Willard, so she was well taught. Her wonderful short book gives examples of how others have spent the day … and night … with Jesus during their ordinary circumstances. As the back cover says, “It shows that continual awareness of God is not just for the super-spiritua ..read more

Adding the Stations of the Cross to your Lent routine allows God to vividly display what Jesus endured for us. During Lent, I add this to my lunchtime routine on Fridays. The prayer “Look Down Upon Me, Good and Gentle Jesus” is another good addition. The Stations of the Cross developed out of a desire for Christians to walk “The Via Dolorosa” in Jerusalem, the route from Pontius Pilate’s praetorium to the cross. It’s popular in Western Christian traditions, including Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and Methodist. In churches, 14 pictures or plaques are on the walls or on an outdoor walk that allo ..read more