Where do you go from here? We are hoping that this year’s Lenten Blog inspired you onward in your journey through life. This year’s blog included pieces from many different contributors who I am incredibly grateful for, thank you my friends. The contributors opened their hearts and souls for all of the readers and we hope you connected to their stories, poems, and thoughts. I was reminded by many of the submissions this year of the weight of the burdens we all carry in life. And how so many of had to overcome great challenges with our faith providing solace and a roadmap for healing. May the ..read more

Happy Easter! When all Falls Silent by Geert D’hollander When all falls silent, And the breath of life Flows from the source And calms the stormy sea, My heart-song, Always sung but seldom heard, Rises from the mist, Calling, calling… Then, slowly, I turn my gaze, Drawn toward beauty And the song’s amber light; I open my soul, And I am at peace, I am in harmony, Listening, listening. The post He is Risen appeared first on Lenten Blog ..read more

On this Saturday, the day in between Good Friday and Easter, I share a song you may be familiar with, “Ashokan Farewell” by Jay Ungar. Ashokan is the name given by the Leni Lenape to a section of Ulster County, New York. A place of extreme natural beauty where the rushing waters meet that has become a retreat center, musical and dance camp, and used for nature exploration. A few weeks ago, the retreat planning team started to compile our scripture for the upcoming retreat in late May. Our theme this year, Navigating the Waters of Change and we decided to use Isaiah 43:2. When you pass through ..read more

My thoughts keep switching back and forth between contemplating roads I’ve traveled and Jesus’ road to Gethsemane.  My road has been rocky and smooth, as was His.  I have experienced the sorrow and joy of both.  I hope that I have offered and provided some light along the way, inspired by my God and The Son and The Advocate.  “While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be children of light.”  (John 12:36) Committing to reading the Gospel of John for my Lenten season; focusing especially on the combinations of letters printed in red, has enlightened and chal ..read more

As the reality of the path He was called to climb bore down increasingly on His heart, His flesh and mind, Jesus brought His closest friends to the familiar garden grove.  But this night, everything was different.  Dialogue of Agony  Yeshua : “Father!…FA-THER!…ABBA… Some. other. way.  ANY other way. Why? Why this way?  Why only this way?  The excruciation of the Cross?  My God, My God,  Why will You forsake Me?  I have never known a second without Your love,  And now At this hour  In My greatest ..read more

I have been thinking about where the road ends as we approach Easter Sunday. Jesus says,”My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me so that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-4   So, I know that the road ends in heaven with Jesus and my loved ones who have gone before me. But I don’t know when the road will end. It could be five years, forty years, or tomorrow.  If it were tomorrow, would I have lived a lif ..read more

Passiontide refers to the last two weeks of Lent.  It commemorates the passio – suffering of Jesus and encompasses Palm Sunday and Holy Week.  It is a time of remembrance of Jesus’ unswerving path, the road to Jerusalem, the Via Dolorosa (from the Latin language in the medieval period) for “the sorrowful way” and believed to be the route in the Old City of Jerusalem that Jesus walked to his crucifixion.  Jesus kept going.  Some say a poem does nothing – makes nothing happen. Is that so? Why then am I moved to lament weep hope trust – change when words come to me as a song o ..read more

We approach the end of the Lenten season. Perhaps we’ve traveled some new paths, or maybe we have continued on old well-worn paths. Whichever path we have journeyed, I hope that, like Jesus, we have known joy within our sorrows, love amid hatred, kindness in strange places, peace in the midst of turmoil and hope despite it all. Like us, Jesus also had a path to follow… his was God’s mission of love for all. While he traveled, he left behind mother, father and family; alone, but not alone. He experienced sorrow, hatred, mean-spiritedness, yet he also experienced hospitality, friendship and lov ..read more

An excerpt from “Remember Me.” In the night in which my deepest doubt are known, You come to me and I am not alone. When I taste your blood and body giv’n for me, When I hear your prayer in dark Gethsemane, Then I know you will remember me Remember me. O Lord, remember me. Remember me. An excerpt from “My Song is Love Unknown” Here might I stay and sing, No story so divine; Never was love, dear King, Never was grief like Thine. This is my Friend, In whose sweet praise I all my days Could gladly spend. An excerpt from “This is my Song.” This is my song, O God of all the nations, a song of pe ..read more

While I only live about 25 miles from work, I have a difficult commute that can take anywhere between a half hour and two hours each way. I will not bore you with the details, but I live near the “happiest place on Earth” but when you have to commute through it, well it can be a bit challenging. In a few months, I will eliminate this commute with a move closer to work. Amen to that. My escape on the commute has always focused on listening to music, an audio book, or a podcast. I am in the mood to chill and sing along, or be inspired by a book for learning or escape? But my regular listening ha ..read more