Heart Full of Thanks -- Counting One Thousand Gifts (414-428)

The risen living Christ

Calls me by my name;

Comes to the loneliness within me;

Heals that which is wounded within me;

Comforts that which grieves within me;

Releases me from that which has dominion over me;

Cleanses me of that which does not belong to me;

Renews that which feels drained within me;

Awakens that which is asleep within me;

Names that which is formless within me;

Empowers that which is newborn within me;

Consecrates and guides that which is strong within me;

Restores me to this world which needs me;

Reaches out, in endless love to others, through me.

~~ Flora Wuellner

(Scripture reference on image:  Matthew 28:1-10)

Photo credit:  St. Mary's Parish East Islip

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Following Holy Week and after a glorious Resurrection Sunday, who can help but continue to count to One Thousand Gifts:

414.  Life itself.

415.  My husband's commitment to the busy choir activities of Holy Week, practices included!

416.  Privilege of praying for sick friends and their families.

417.  Life of a dear friend who has left us for a better place in Heaven.  Such a Christian example!

418.  Preparations for Easter weekend.

419.  Passover meal on Maundy Thursday prior to moving service of music and Scripture.

420.  Good Friday meditations and another moving service at church.

421.  Easter dinner and egg hunt with our son's family.

423.  Watching great-granddaughter (3 yrs.) hunt for eggs and her excitement at finding them.

424.  Cuddling and talking with great-grandson (4 months), soaking up his gorgeous blue eyes and smiles.

425.  Easter Sunday and celebrating our Risen Lord.

426.  Honor of serving communion at services on Easter.

427.  Quiet Easter afternoon spent at home reflecting on the price paid for my sins.

428.  Matthew 28:1-10.

Linking up with Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience for Monday Musings.  Have you ever stopped by to see what it's all about?  Maybe today's the day to visit.

 

And also visiting with Laura Boggess at The Wellspring

 

He Is Risen!

If Not For Easter  If not for Easter,
the chaos of this world
would be all there is
and all there ever would be.
 If not for Easter,
the unfairness of life
would drive us to despair.
 But God sent His Son
to give eternal life
filled with peace, happiness
and unimaginable blessings
to those who choose Him.
  All we have to do is choose Him.
Happy, Happy Easter!  By  Joanna Fuchs
(Poem Source)  * * * He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you,while he was still with you in Galilee: "The Son of Man must be delivered over to thehands of sinners, be crucified andon the third day be raised again." Luke 24:6-7 (NIV)

 

 

 

Happy Resurrection Day!

 

 

Photo credit:  Themes for Windows

Legend of the Dogwood Tree

About this time of year, our dogwood trees begin to start their annual show.  Our trees are not hybridized trees, but naturalized as you would find them in the forest.  And that's partly because these trees were part of the original farm grounds where our home is built, at the edge of some woods. 

Ours trees look more like the ones to the right, than the full ones you might find growing free without other trees encroaching.  I don't prefer one over the other -- both are beautiful as part of God's creation.

Perhaps you have hard of the legend of the dogwood tree.  And if you have, I apologize for repeating it here.  If you haven't, I hope you'll enjoy it. 

Long before the Native Americans determined that the American dogwood was hard and therefore useful for making skewers or daggers, or smaller utilitarian tools, a culture already knew of the dogwood.  That culture looked upon creation as the natural wonders offered at the hands of the Creator.  Here began the legend of the dogwood tree identifying it with the Crucifixion.

What could be more natural as the delicately brilliant white blossoms dazzle man's vision in spring?  In medieval times, man's passion at this time of year was focused entirely on the Passion of the Lord Jesus Christ, His suffering and the redeeming act of His love.

The blossoms are four-petaled, forming a cross with two short petals and two long ones.  At the edge of each petal, you will find small holes, brown on one side and rusty on the other, reminiscent of the nails that pierced our Lord.  The center of the blossom reflects the cross He was forced to wear.

I could attempt to rewrite for you here the words of the Legend handed down through the years, but I will choose to copy it in from Tradition in Action:

"At the time of Our Lord’s Crucifixion, the dogwood used to have the size of the oak and other forest trees. Because the wood was so firm and strong and there were few trees in the Middle East that were very large, it was chosen to be the wood for the crosses used in crucifixions of criminals.

Thus, the wood of the cross that would bear Our Lord and Savior was made from the dogwood tree. To be used thus for such a cruel purpose, however, greatly distressed the tree. Sensing this, the crucified Christ said to it:

'Because of your compassion and pity for My suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used as a cross. Henceforth, you shall be slender and bent and twisted and your blossoms shall be in the form of a cross.

'On the outer edge of each petal there will be nail prints, and the center of the flower will resemble the cruel crown of thorns placed on My head, with bright red clusters once again recalling the blood I shed. Thus, all who see this will remember Me.'"

No one seems to know when the legend first appeared.  What can be gathered from this beautiful story is a reaction from people who were familiar with the Life, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ and who were deeply moved by the imprints of His love around them.  Inspiration for this legend must be a true and profound love for Christ.

  

 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your

flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,

having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood

against us and condemned us; he has taken it away,

nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities,

he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Colossians 2:13-15

Moving ahead to a glorious Resurrection Sunday! 

A Cradle and A Cross

A cradle and a cross

And between these -- a life

Bethlehem and Jerusalem

A birth and a death

One "of sorrows"

Who often wept

One of joy who also kept

Sensitivity and compassion

Alive and real

This evening let us feel

The surge of that life

The beauty of that love

The power of that cross.

~~ Anonymous

(From the Good Friday Liturgy, Moreland Presbyterian Church, Portland, OR)

Photo credits:

Top:  Nancy Raabe 

Bottom:  Sovereign Joy Community Church 

 

What A Gift!

For God so loved the world

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* * *

God loved the world, not just you and me, the whole world,

and He still does and always will, no matter what.

* * *

that he gave his one and only Son,

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* * *

He gave us a gift, not just any gift --

He gave His one and only Son, Jesus, to

bleed and die on a cross.

* * *

  

  that whoever believes in him

* * *

"Whoever" is anyone -- you, me, the boy who bags your
groceries, the woman who styles your hair,
the homeless, the jobless -- who believes His promises
through faith and willingly accepts God's love.

* * *

 shall not perish but have eternal life.

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 * * * 
 And through the added gift of eternal life,
salvation is ours -- His promise to us
through His Son.

John 3:16 (NIV)

Let us give thanks again and again for this extraordinary gift of sacrifice and love.