Alleluia!

He is risen!

He is risen indeed!

Giving Thanks 5

It is a rare person who is prepared to lay down his or her life for others.  Sometimes it is called altruistic suicide.  Sometimes it is called conspicuous valor.   Often it is done without thought, a selfless, instinctive act, like the professor at Virginia Tech who used his body as a barricade so that other men and women could escape.

And sometimes it comes from love.  "For God so loved the world..." (John 3:16) that he was willing to give his life, even to suffer death by crucifixion.  Others have said it more eloquently.  The one who is timeless in the moment of his death saw all of His creations and willingly became the sacrificial lamb. 

I give thanks for all who have given their lives so that others may live, and especially thanks to the one who died for all.

Giving Thanks 4

They are gathered around the table.  Gethsemane is looming, but for now they are enjoying their meal with their teacher.  Did they sense anything?  A touch of unease?  Or did they do all the things close friends do on a meal in the town?  Who can say what they did?

But when the bread was broken and the cup was raised I doubt any of them had any idea of the depths of despair and the ultimate joy the next few days and weeks would bring.

There are no words that can capture the debt I owe or the gratitude I feel.

A Special Giving Thanks

To Diana Wilder; who managed to recover a post deleted by accident and helped me repost, making it better than before.

I am truly grateful.

Giving Thanks 3

Today I'm going just a tad toward the frivolous and giving thanks for Good Service.  It's that time of year when you pull out the next  season's clothes from storage and realize that what you do have needs help.

So I hied myself off to a mall and hit one of my regular stores.  I was largely ignored and the person with me was absolutely ignored.  A sales clerk finally approached and asked if she could help: I said I was looking for solid colored shirts.

"The Tees are over there..."

"I was thinking of something more like a shirt...", I said.

 And she went wafting off.

I did finally buy one pair of jeans and was given a little lip at the register by the same clerk who seemed to want to look me up by my phone number rather than use the member card I was holding out to her.  I left feeling that I had interrupted her fun: we were the only ones in the store.  Perhaps she wanted to get back to the novel she was reading in the back room.

Two doors down was a new store; a British concern that had opened a few months before.  There was a lovely dress just inside the door in a jewel-toned paisley, a lovely patterned blouse and an embroidered evening dress.  I was lured in.  The two women greeted me, my companion, and anyone else who came to the store as a friend.  They didn't have assigned customers; they worked as a team, making sure no one was left waiting for help.

Over the next hour or so I tried on more than 45 items: 15 I selected myself and the rest clothes they thought I might like.  Their choices were better than mine.

I was noy pressured.  I was not made to feel out of place: I noticed women of all ages in the store.  They were helpful.  They provided honest feedback.  I lest with three items that made me feel pretty.   The store?  Monsoon in Holyoke MA.  The experience?  It reminded me of the training I received in an upscale boutique in Philly.  The clothes? Well made.    Why I am thankful?  I don't usually enjoy shopping, I usually leave with my ego in shreds.  This was different, due largely to two young women who loved their job and liked people.

Giving Thanks 2

Yesterday was the beginning of Holy Week and we relived the triumphal entrance into Jerusalem. The palms waving, the crowds yelling "Hosanna!"

Words of praise. The savior comes. 

I learned it can also be a plea, as in the 118 Psalm, Save Us! Or, more importantly "save me". Save me from loneliness. Save me from despair. Save me from my enemies. Save me from myself... 

At the core of the joyful entry into Israel's capital city is the mustard seed that grows into a mighty plant at the end of this week. So today I give thanks saying "Hosanna!" Save me from myself this day; still my hasty tongue; help me cool my hot temper; bring me Peace; and grant me and all those around me Joy

Giving Thanks 1

It's so easy to get caught up in the drama around us: prima donnas throwing fits, Kim and Kanye's wedding favors, and whether Justin Bieber should go back to Canada...it can make your own life seem so, well, odd.

No one is chasing you for autographs.

No one cares if you complain about your coffee.

You can cry in public without people snapping your picture all over the web looking less than stunning.

If you lose a child, parent, or spouse no one expects you to release a press statement at one of your darkest hours baring your grief for public consumption.  You don't need a PR expert.

So I am giving thanks for the fact that I am not a celebrity.  That I don't live under a microscope.  That I. Can be me rather than what the "public" expects me to be.

It doesn't get much better than that.