Thank you for joining us this Lenten Season with the Marble Women’s Ministry from New York City.  Here are some thoughts for taking the Lenten journey into your daily life.

Make me a Channel of your Peace

Happy Easter!  We are all blessed today!

May the joy of the risen Jesus Christ be with you, to bring joy into your very soul. The good God has given Himself to us. During His life here on earth, Jesus wanted to share His joy with His apostles, ” That my joy may be in you. ” Joy was the password of the first Christians. ” Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say to you, rejoice. ”  Mother Teresa

Easter Medley

Words and Music by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev’ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow’r of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow’r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow’r of Christ I’ll stand.”

In Christ Alone…

The bell tolls.

The congregation settles.

The cello’s mourning begins.

The violins and flute lie beneath

to accentuate the agony.

The bass voices entomb us

within the sorrow.

The sopranos punctuate our cry.

It’s the beginning,

our communal funeral march.

By Susan Phillips

What is Jesus dying for?

“Doesn’t anyone want to listen to my story?”

If we do listen,

If we do hear,

Our hearts break

at His sacrifice,

at how disappointed

He must be

at what binds us.

If we do listen,

If we do hear,

Grace and courage might save us.

By Susan Phillips

The midweek of Holy Week should be filled with songs that unite our divided world and so I share the following songs to help you.

Heal the World sung by Child Prodigy

My Own Two Hands by Playing for Change

United by Playing for Change

Several of the blog posts from Advent and Lent have focused on releasing our fears, being more grateful, and going forth with boldness.  So today, I want you to gain the courage to just dance.

Come from the Heart

Lyrics by Susanna Clark and Richard Leigh

My daddy told me when I was a young girl
A lesson he learned, it was a long time ago
If you want to have someone to hold onto
You’re gonna have to learn to let go

You got to sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You got to dance like nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart
If you want it to work

Now here is the one thing I keep forgettin’
When everything is falling apart
In life as in love, you know I need to remember
There’s such a thing as trying too hard

You got to sing like you don’t need the money
Love like you’ll never get hurt
You got to dance like nobody’s watchin’
It’s gotta come from the heart
If you want it to work

Many have been credited with the quote, “dance like nobody’s watching,” but this old style country song really helped the quote reach the masses.

So to give you a bit of a laugh, one of the best recent examples of this sentiment came out of New Orleans on Super Sunday, 2018.

A dance video where the man just dances…

Find a way to dance like nobody is watching and release your fear…

Marcie Doll

“Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.”
Proverbs 27:6

In the age of Facebook and Instagram, you may have collected thousands of friends on these sites from all stages of your life.  I so enjoy keeping in touch with people who have made a difference in my life.  And then there is that kind of friend, where you can just pick -up where you left off…

Yesterday, I spent time with one of those friends that I do not get to see as regularly as I used to when we worked together, but it was just like we hung out last week.  I know she will tell me the truth and do so kindly, that I will not even flinch.  She will laugh with me and let me cry on the phone, when I do not get the job I was hoping for or a door closed I did not expect to.  And she will encourage you to be your best self, even when you are not up to it.  And we can sloppy laugh at something that we should not….

In a week, where many of Jesus’s friends denied and one betrayed him, I like to think of the people who always stood by him.  Mary and Martha, Lazarus, Mary Magdalene, etc..,

“This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends…. This I command you, that you love one another.” John 15:12-13, 17

So this Holy Week, I will focus on being the best friend that I can be, one that is kind, connected, a cheerleader, a shoulder to cry on, one to laugh with, and all of the other things that a friend needs to be…

Here is a list of articles that may help you if you need to reboot some of your friendships….

NY Times on True Friendship

I

Quiet beauty

welcoming

upon arrival

reminiscent

of prior visits

at warm

destinations

II

Unexpected

presence in

colder places

Ireland,

England,

coastal France

with Gulf Stream

the catalyst

III

Sturdy trunks

swaying

gracefully

from breezes,

bowing severely,

even uprooted

during hurricanes

IV

Unique,

many varieties

some fruit bearing

laden with

coconuts

as its jewels

V

Regal

cited in

Biblical passages

its branches

honoring Christ’s

entry

to Jerusalem

with praise

hosannas

signifying

beginning of Holy Week

over the centuries.

by Lynn Doll