April 1, 2018 Easter Sunday
Happy Easter!! I was not looking for a cross when God led me to this one at Hobby Lobby on Friday. My house needed something for this corner on the porch and this is perfect!
The Resurrection could not have happened without the cross. Most of the biggest gifts in our lives wouldn’t have happened without a cross. Celebrate those gifts. Celebrate those crosses.
Wait! What? Celebrate crosses?
I would not want my crosses to be given to anyone else. I do not celebrate what has happened to me. But I do celebrate what God has done in me because of those crosses.
Thanks to those crosses I have become a much more compassionate person. I have learned to accept people where they are. I have learned to see God in the midst of anything and everything. I have come to accept that I am not perfect and do not need to be. I have learned that I am creative in so many ways! I have found joy. None of that would have happened if I hadn’t journeyed with God in the midst of my crosses. I consider all of these little resurrections!
This Easter may you see the flowers on your cross – may your see the presence of God there and all the gifts he has given you and still wants to give you! May you see the little resurrections God has already given you.
Celebrate all of your life – but most of all, celebrate God’s presence with you!
Thank you for the privilege and grace of sharing this Lenten journey with you. Thank you to all of you who have responded to me with comments and encouragement. Question for meditation/journaling today and each day forward is this:
Who are you sharing your journey with? Who are you letting God touch through your story and faith?
March 31, 2018
This cross belongs to Pastor Nancy and is maybe about a foot in length or more and is black. So striking!
“Amazing Grace” sums up Holy Saturday for me. It’s a day of quiet pondering. The drama and horror of Good Friday is over. Jesus has died for my sins. Jesus has given his all for ME! I can’t fully comprehend that. So I sit in the space of “Amazing Grace!” It’s so much more than the song. It’s so much bigger than anything in my life or knowledge. How is it that GOD would give so much to me when he has already given me life – blood that pumps through my body, lungs that breathe, muscles that move, senses that allow me to take in his creation, a heart that loves and hurts, a family, amazing friends, a job that I love, my creativity that comes out in so many ways, laughter, tears, and on and on!
Amazing Grace fills me to overflowing and overwhelms me when I sit with the awesomeness of that gift.
For meditation/journaling –
Find a quiet place today for even just 15 minutes and let the Amazing Grace of these days touch your heart.
March 30, 2018
This is a small section of the trunk of a cross made of limbs of a tree.
Every Good Friday people of Early meet at the Methodist Church and walk through town carrying a cross, stopping at different places to read a Scripture and pray. They end at Sacred Heart Church where this cross stands for a closing prayer. Then each person pounds a nail into the cross before leaving in silence. What a profound experience.
Each time we bully someone, call them names, refuse to treat anyone with respect and dignity, intentionally hurt someone, ignore them we pound a nail into the cross. Each time we steal, whether it’s time at our workplace, or cheating someone, or refuse to pay a bill, or pick up money on the sidewalk and refuse to try to find the owner, we pound a nail into the cross. Every time we are aware of someone in need and don’t do anything to help, we pound a nail into the cross. Every time we see an injustice and turn away, we pound a nail into the cross.
Each time we refuse to let God be God, we pound a nail into the cross.
Each time we refuse to be a Christian we pound a nail into the cross.
And yet Jesus loves us enough to die for us.
For meditation/journaling –
I strongly encourage to sit down with paper and pen and write a love letter to Jesus, thanking him for the gift of his life, given for you.
March 29, 2018
The pictures don’t do this justice and I’m sorry about that…. At the Early United Methodist Church this Lent, the people were invited to write their crosses on a table cloth in the narthex as they walked in.
All kinds of crosses were there – broken heart, pain, abuse, cancer, broken promises, unemployment, family problems and on and on. No names, just the crosses.
Tonight, at the Holy Thursday services, Pastor Nancy is using this table cloth of crosses to cover the altar as she says the Communion Prayers and blesses the bread and juice for Communion.
Jesus gathers up all of our crosses and takes them to his cross and dies for us.
Jesus knows our crosses and bears them with us. He does not leave us alone in our pain and struggle. Give him your cross.
For meditation/journaling –
Make a list of your crosses – big and small. Literally write them down. Then burn them or rip them up into tiny pieces as a sign of giving them to God.
Sit quietly. Focus on what you have just done. Listen deep in your heart for what God is telling you about your crosses.
March 28, 2018
This cross hangs in the Reconciliation Room in Sacred Heart Church in Early. And this is what that room is all about…. And it’s what this Holy Week is all about.
Jesus died to take away our sins but the story doesn’t end there! And the story doesn’t end with our sins. Jesus forgives our sins and moves on to Resurrection. We may confess our sins but sometimes we don’t move on new life – we continue to hang on to our guilt and regret and continue to punish ourselves for things we have done. And we have no one to blame for that but ourselves and our refusal to forgive ourselves.
God has forgiven us and it is forgotten. What an amazing gift!! We can also give that gift to ourselves. In fact, God WANTS us to give that gift to ourselves! If Jesus died for the forgiveness of our sins, then what are we saying to him when we continue to hang on to it?
Maybe the greatest gift we can give to God and to ourselves this Easter is to rise from our guilt that we carry unnecessarily.
For meditation/journaling –
What guilt or regret are you hanging on to and continue to use to punish yourself?
How do you let go and give that to God so you can have new life with Jesus?
March 27, 2018
This unique cross is made up of the Our Father! Pastor Nancy brought it to work this morning to show it to me.
When we really needed (or still need) help with something, especially if it was hard, most of us went to our dad. Our Father in heaven is just waiting for us to ask him to help us carry our cross. He knows how to do it – he helped his own Son do just that. And the end result is eternal life for us!
Our Father is just waiting to help us whether it’s daily bread we need or help forgiving someone or dealing with temptation or anything else! And he gives us more than we ask for – he is never outdone in generosity.
Sometimes we just need to get beyond our “I can do it” attitude and trust him enough to ask for help. After all, he’s dad.
For meditation/journaling:
Can you just imagine God the Father holding you and listening to what you need – and then helping you in the best possible way?
How is the “I can do it” attitude getting in your way?
March 26, 2018
I created this card last night for a friend to send to a friend of hers who is suffering from terminal cancer.
All the time I was working on this there were so many thoughts for me to ponder….
The word grateful led me down several paths. I am grateful for so many people in my life who are carrying crosses – sometimes really heavy ones. Do I tell them I am grateful for their presence in my life? That’s important for them to know at this time in their life and suffering. It doesn’t take a lot to tell them that – either in words or a card or a gift. What graces can I give them to strengthen them by letting them know of my caring and gratitude?
Am I grateful to God for my own crosses? - especially for His presence in carrying my crosses? Am I grateful for how my crosses have changed me? Am I grateful for the gifts my crosses have brought into my life? Especially for the people I would not have met had it not been for my crosses.
Am I grateful for all those who have helped me carry my crosses? Doctors, nurses, therapists, spiritual directors, pastors, family, friends, physical therapists, writers, speakers, and those we don’t even recognize they have helped us.
For meditation/journaling:
Am I focused on the cross or on those who help me, including God?
How do I show my gratitude?
March 24, 2018
I love this cross – it keeps reminding me to get my focus off my suffering and realize that God is at work and it can be all grace if I surrender it all to God and let him work.
Our instinct when things start going wrong is to try to control the situation. And God asks us to let go of that control and trust him. That’s when the grace comes in – we can’t give grace or get grace on our own. It’s only when we surrender control and let God do his thing is there an abundance of grace!
And usually that grace is full of surprises! God gives us so much and usually things we don’t expect but are so much better than we expect. It takes seeing with different eyes – with the eyes of faith. And that takes so much courage…. And even that courage is grace….
May you have the courage today to say to God: “Here is my cross. I put it in your hands. I am letting you be God for me.”
For meditation/journaling:
How are you trying to control the situations involving your cross?
Can you honestly say that prayer? Sometimes it means saying it hourly until it really sinks in and I quit trying to take control back! Just keep putting it in God’s hands – no matter how many times you try to take it back.
March 23, 2018
My good friend, Laurie, just sent me this cross that she found quite by accident when she Googled something else. I’ve been waiting for today’s cross…..
There are so many things to learn from this cross. When I think of Laurie, I see her letting go of her son, Jake and the cross that grief is – and yet there is a strong connection between mother and son. Just as there was between Jesus and his mother Mary as he hung on the cross.
For me, this cross speaks of the strong connection each of us has with Jesus when we join him on the cross. In embracing our crosses we form such a strong bond with Jesus that we become him.
When we journey with others as they carry their crosses, we are journeying with Jesus. When we sit with them and accept their tears and fears and pain (and don’t try to fix them!), we are Jesus to them. And what a profound gift the other gives to us when they let us sit with them in that sacred space of suffering.
What a profound cross….
For meditation/journaling…
What does this cross say to you? (Feel free to share that confidentially with me – I would love to hear how God is touching you in this cross.)
March 22, 2018
This cross is in the Prayer Garden at the Early United Methodist Church. What struck me about this one is how open it is. And in this setting, I was also struck by the brick that shows through it.
When we embrace our crosses, be it big or small, we are often surprised, especially in hind sight, by how we survived/are surviving our crosses. God gives us strength and courage beyond what we are capable of by ourselves. For me, the bricks are God’s strength that he fills us with.
Are you letting God help you?
For meditation/journaling –
How are you aware of God’s strength helping you to carry your cross?
Are you fighting your cross or accepting it? Are you letting God help you? Have you asked him to help you?
March 21, 2018
When I wake up in the morning, one of my first questions is, “Ok, God, what cross am I writing about today?” Sometimes it pops into my mind immediately, sometimes I am going through my day and it jumps out at me and sometimes I have to wait until late in the day until He gives me a cross to write about. This morning was a waiting morning – until I stopped at the bank to deliver a package to Deb. She had ordered some things through the church. In the box was not only the things she had ordered but the ‘packing’ was a whole bunch of these little crosses – about 3 inches long. It was an immediate “This is today’s cross!”
If Jesus isn’t a major part of our carrying our cross, we are missing so much! We are missing the strength and grace that Jesus gives us. We are missing the peace that comes with journeying with Jesus instead of on our own. We are missing the spiritual help that we could be giving to others by embracing our cross with Jesus. We are missing so much of our relationship with Jesus!
For me, this whole journey this Lent with the cross, is teaching me what a gift my crosses are. I’ve only seen them as challenges and/or suffering. But it’s so much more than that! It is deepening my knowledge of Jesus and deepening my relationship with him. There is so much I can learn, give, and receive when I embrace my crosses with Jesus and journey with him in the midst of it.
Most of all, I am so much more aware of the Father’s love, the presence of Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Gifts I can’t find anywhere else.
For meditation/journaling –
What is this journey of the crosses teaching you? (I would love to hear yours if you are comfortable sharing it with me – it will remain confidential.)
What is Jesus saying to you through your cross?
March 20, 2018
I call this my Trinity Cross. At the bottom LOVE is carved – that’s the Father. The Dove is the Holy Spirit. And carved in the Spirit’s body is Jesus on the cross. All so intricately connected.
Our crosses are so rich! We hang on the cross of suffering with Christ. The Father’s Love is right there supporting us. And the Spirit wraps itself around us giving us all we need. What a privilege to carry our cross and be so close to the Trinity!
An important part of this one for me is that it is hand carved. Our crosses carve away parts of us and our lives and makes room for God to fill in those spaces. What an invitation we give to God when we willingly embrace our crosses.
For meditation/journaling –
How do you see your cross as a privilege to carry?
How do you think God sees you when you willingly embrace your crosses?
March 19, 2018
I preached at Wheatland Presbyterian Church near Breda, IA this past weekend and when I saw this clock I immediately asked if I could use it in my Lenten journey!
On my way home I pondered this cross and realized that several of my crosses are because of time and how I misuse that time.
Foolishly I think I am in control of my time! So when interruptions happen, I get frustrated and sometimes even angry instead of seeing that the person interrupting me or the situation (like losing internet connection) could be God breaking into my day with a gift. When I am not open to the possibility of a gift, I won’t see it. I forget that time is a gift from God.
While it is good and healthy for us to relax and do fun things, sometimes I take that too far and get wound up in computer games or my knitting or watching tv or….. and end up really wasting time. And then I am frustrated or maybe even angry that I haven’t gotten done the things I needed to get done. I forget that time is a gift from God.
Time is a wonderful gift from God – and a wonderful gift for us to give to each other. In this day of quick texts and emails and PMs, time spent face to face with someone without my phone tells the other how important they are! I forget that time is a gift from God.
I forget that time is a gift from God and not mine to hoard, to do with as I please. How well do I listen to God’s plans for my time? He knows better what I am capable of and how much time I have – do I trust him?
For meditation/journaling –
What is my attitude toward the 24 hours God gives me every day? Do I see it as a gift?
How do I hoard that time? Try to control that time? Waste that time?
How do I give the gift of my time to someone else?
March 17, 2018
This cross was given to me by my friend Joan. It’s small – only about 3 or 4 inches tall but I love the intricacy of carved wood.
God shows the beauty of his love as he gently carves out space for him inside us through our crosses.
Through our crosses we realize how much we need God and that brings us to our knees. It’s not that God is egotistical in wanting us to need him – rather, he brings us to the reality that he is the only one who can truly help us. No one else can give us what we need or love us as deeply as he does.
It’s only when we let go of trying to control things in our lives, especially in our crosses, and realize only God knows what is best and that that is what he will do for us if we let him, will the beautiful intricacy of our lives, our crosses, our faith, our relationship with God shine through.
Most of the time it’s like jumping off a cliff – especially if you think you need to be in control of everything. Who are you really needing – yourself or God? Can you do for yourself what God can do if you but let him?
Yes, there will be so many twists and turns in your life if you let go and let God be in control but that’s where the beautiful intricacy comes in! Look back over your life and see the times you let God take over and the good stuff that happened!
For meditation/journaling –
Why are you trying to control a situation and not recognizing how much you need God?
Where has trusting God brought a beautiful intricacy to your life or to a friend’s life?
March 16, 2018
This is the Baptismal font the Early Methodist Church.
During the Rite of Baptism, we were marked with the sign of the cross. God claims us as his own with this very powerful sign of his great love for us.
The sign of the cross brings to mind not only the love that the Son shows us through his suffering but also the great love of the Father in letting his Son go through all of that for us. Jesus chose to suffer for us and the Father chose to witness that.
The Father also witnesses our suffering – he does not send it to us – but rather journeys with us, giving us the strength and everything else we need to carry that cross. God is Love and he loves us at all times in the midst of all things.
The cross that we are signed with is a sign of celebration, a sign of amazing love that we receive from God. Each time we trace that sign of the cross on ourselves we remind ourselves that we belong to God and how much he loves us. It reminds us of the hope and faith we are called to when we trust God’s presence when we can’t feel it.
What an amazing gift God has given us in our Baptism!
For meditation/journaling –
Take a moment to tell God what the gift of your Baptism means to you today.
Be conscious of what it means as you make the sign of the cross on yourself.
March 14, 2018
My good friend Laurie, my spiritual sister, is the owner of this cross. Her son, Jake, died suddenly at 18 yrs. old. Her son Nathan made this cross.
Here is what Laurie wrote about this cross: “This is the one Nathan made at his machine shop by melting down the brass plate that he had designed, made the cutting tool for, and engraved, framed and welded for Jake's grave marker. He made this cross after we got the grave stone about two years after Jake's death. Grief transforms, but remains. Transforms us.”
“Transforms us.” Any cross will do that but especially grief changes us. If we fight the cross, it transforms us into angry bitter people. If we grab God’s hand in the midst of the cross and walk that horribly painful path with him, it does transform us into people who are more compassionate, more understanding, with a deeper faith and a deeper love for others. I’ve watched that happen with several of my friends, Laurie included.
As those of us who love her have journeyed with Laurie through this valley of darkness, we in essence have crawled up on that cross with her so she doesn’t have to be there alone. Like Simon, we have helped her pick up her cross and carry it when we just sit with her, when we catch her tears, when we just hold her, when we make her laugh, when we have coffee with her or lunch – those are not big things but to Laurie, they mean she is not alone on that cross. We are God’s hand to her that she can grab on to.
For meditation/journaling –
Who do you crawl up on the cross for so they don’t have to be there alone?
How is God using you to be his hands for someone who is suffering?
Who does that for you? Do you experience them as God with you?
March 13, 2018
This window of Jesus on the cross is one of the most powerful for me. It can be found above the main east doors of St. Mary’s in Storm Lake.
If you notice, the cross is green, the color of hope. If Jesus had not died for us, there would be no hope for us. It was Jesus’ death that makes opened the gates of heaven after Adam and Eve’s sin. It is Jesus’ death and resurrection that makes it possible for us to be with God for all eternity. That is what gives purpose and worth to our life here.
If you notice there is a circle around Jesus on the cross. Outside of that circle are weird little creatures – you might have to enlarge the photo to see that (I had a hard time getting this photo). Those weird little creatures represent evil. For me, it means that as long as I stay close to Jesus, remain inside that circle with him, evil has no power over me. Jesus protects me and gives me all I need to fight the evil around me.
Most often, it’s not the big evils (murder, stealing, adultery, etc.) that are the problem but the little ones that try to break into our lives. Gossiping, unjustified anger, bullying, gluttony, not doing my best at work, etc. lead us away from God. If I am close to God, reading and pondering his Word, having daily conversations with him, then I am aware of those things and have the gifts I need to fight them.
Lord, keep me close to you and out of evil’s reach!
For meditation/journaling –
What do you do daily to stay close to Jesus? Do you need to change that?
What evils do you need Jesus’ help with when fighting them?
Take time right now to talk to Jesus about the evils you are fighting.
March 12, 2018
This simple cross was given to me after I did a presentation to a group of women for National Day of Prayer last year. The husband of one of the women made it for me.
This cross looks simple and plain at first glance. I love that the grain of the wood is so obvious and only enhanced by the glossiness of the finish.
The grain of the wood is far from straight. Nothing about our crosses is simple or straight. There are many twists and turns and even times when the grain disappears.
God’s presence in the midst of our crosses can be like that. There is no pattern to his presence and he often surprises us with his gifts. And there are times when he seems to have ‘gone away’.
But it’s at those times when God is at work in the deepest part of our hearts, where we can’t see or feel him – but it’s his most important work. When we can trust him in the darkness of faith, God can do the most within us. In those circumstances, we are asked to let go of all control and just trust him. Nothing is harder and nothing tells God more of our love for him.
Many times the worst or hardest part of our cross is the letting go of the illusion of being in control and/or trying to be in control of what is happening to us. The choice becomes do I trust myself more or God more? Jesus faced that same choice and he showed us how to let go and trust the Father. Jesus is the one who loved you to death on his own cross. No one can love you more. Trust him.
For meditation/journaling –
How do you try to be in control in the midst of carrying your own cross?
How open are you to God’s surprises in the midst of carrying your cross?
Do you trust God when he seems ‘gone away’?
March 10, 2018
This is the cross that hangs above the altar at St. Mary’s in Storm Lake.
What strikes me today about this cross is how wide Jesus has stretched his arms – he includes EVERYONE! No one is outside of his love and his sacrifice, no matter how much I judge anyone not worthy to be in that church, to worship with me, to sit next to me, to shake my hand as I give the sign of peace, or to receive Communion.
No matter how down and out someone is, no matter how screwed up their life may be, no matter how many mistakes they’ve made, Jesus’ arms are stretched wide enough to take them in, to include them in his love and grace. If Jesus accepts them, who am I to write them off, to dismiss them, or even to hate them. Sometimes I think we are never farther from God than when we hate – God is the opposite, he is love personified.
I go to Worship to gather within the arms of that cross knowing that I also am not perfect and have hurt some of the people who are gathered there with me. I go to Worship knowing that I need God, I need his strength, his teaching, his forgiveness, his love – and then I need to go out from that place to share what I have just received.
Only the love that Jesus gives each one of us can change us. Only when we allow ourselves to be wrapped up in those arms that he stretches wide for all of us, can we become the people of God that God created us to be. That’s what Worship can be. Is it for you?
For meditation, journaling –
How is Worship important to you?
Who needs you to be at Worship with them?
How does it change your heart to know that everyone in every church is accepted by God and wrapped up in his stretched out arms – just as you are?
March 9, 2018
This is my favorite cross necklace, given to me by Pastor Nancy which makes it even more special. (Thanks to Karen who helped me take the pics!)
When you look at it straight on, it’s a cross. But when you look at it form the side, it’s a fish – the identifying symbol for the early Christians in times of persecution. When they met a stranger, they would trace the symbol of the fish and if the other reacted by doing the same, then it was safe to talk about Christ. Many times the symbol of the fish was somehow marked on their doorposts so other Christians would know this is a safe place.
This cross means lot of things to me, but today what struck me is that I can look at this necklace and see the cross – the tough stuff I am carrying. But if I look at it another way, it proclaims that I am Christian. How I carry my crosses is seen by others – do I proclaim my own suffering or do I proclaim Christ’s presence in the midst of my suffering?
I belong to a group of women who email each other daily 5 things we are grateful for. Many times that also includes sharing a cross we are carrying and that sharing has become such an amazing source of grace for all of us! Not only do we encourage and support each other in the midst of those crosses but we see the strength and faith in the person suffering and that encourages us when we are faced with our own crosses.
Jesus did not carry his cross silently and all alone – his mom helped him, Simon helped him, Veronica helped him, the weeping women helped him…. You never know who you help when you share your cross. I’m not talking about proclaiming it on the street corner – but with those people God puts in your path.
For meditation/journaling –
How do you see your crosses – only as suffering or also an opportunity to proclaim Christ’s love and grace?
Who supports you in carrying your cross? Who do you support?
March 8, 2018
I love the Stations of the Cross in St. Mary’s Church in Storm Lake. The traditional picture or statues are of people from the time of Jesus. However, the Stations at St. Mary’s depict more current day people. This one is Jesus being nailed to the cross. Notice that it’s more of a current day workman. The invitation is to think about how Jesus is nailed to the cross today – and by whom?
I nail Jesus to the cross today when I judge people as below me and refuse to change my judgment.
I nail Jesus to the cross today with my words when I call him names or degrade him or refuse to speak to him at all.
I nail Jesus to the cross today when I refuse to treat him with respect and dignity no matter his race or country of origin or language or religion.
I nail Jesus to the cross today when I ignore his needs of food, heat, or shelter.
Jesus, forgive me.
For meditation/journaling –
How do you nail Jesus to the cross?
March 7, 2018
This cross was given to me by my much-loved goddaughter Meghan. Several years ago she and her parents were in Florida for the Volleyball National Competition. Meghan played for a volleyball team in her hometown – and they won the Championship and even a good medal! Meghan brought this back from that trip for me.
Two things strike me about this cross. Seashells make me think of beaches and sand and water and sunshine and vacations! All good stuff! But sometimes what is ‘good stuff’ for some is a cross for others. Sometimes we need to step away from what we enjoy to see the very same thing through another’s eyes and see the cross they carry.
This cross is made up of many little seashells. Often our crosses are that also – not just one big thing but lots of little things combining to become a burden. I think that maybe those of us who are older experience this one more often. As our bodies age, we can’t do the things we used to do or want to do, or even need to do. It’s not easy depending on others to help you – a cross in itself. But yet, my depending on others to help me has led to some wonderful friendships – God at work in the middle of my cross.
For meditation/journaling:
How is God at work in the middle of your cross?
Have you thanked God for his presence and his gifts in the midst of carrying your cross? What graces have come because of your cross?
March 6, 2018
How’s this for a unique cross? It hangs on the wall in Pastor Nancy’s office at the Early United Methodist Church so I see it often.
I love that it takes the common ordinary horseshoe and makes something holy out of it. Isn’t that what our crosses do to us? Unless we fight the cross or the burden, then the result is often anger and bitterness. If we let our crosses lead us to God and a deeper faith and dependence and relationship with him, then we are made holy. We often don’t turn to God as much when things are going well, so our crosses, big or small, do us a huge favor when they lead us to turn to God! A relationship is not built without interaction between the two. Our cross leads us to interact with God; and a deeper relationship with God is holiness.
Don’t dismiss those little annoyances and interruptions and burdens you carry as ordinary or common! See those cross, big or small, as a wonderful opportunity to bring you closer to God. And that is the only thing we take with us into eternity – our relationship with God.
For meditation/journaling:
What common things are you not seeing as an opportunity to turn to God?
How have your crosses in the past, big or small, led you to a deeper relationship with God?
What are you taking with you into eternity?
March 5, 2018
I wear this ring all the time.
It reminds me constantly who I belong to. Not only is there a cross but between the crosses is a fish, the ancient symbol of early Christians (Jesus told them “I will make you fishers of men…”
When I get annoyed or irritated or things are really going wrong, my cross on my finger reminds me of what Jesus has done for me. It reminds me that he gets what I am experiencing and has “been there, done that”.
The cross on my left ring finger reminds me that I am loved – more than I can imagine! My beloved laid down his life for me. How much am I willing to do for him?
Lord, help me to fall more in love with you every day!
For meditation/journaling:
Can you pray to fall more in love with God every day? What does that mean for you?
March 3, 2018
This cross is made from spikes close to the size of the spikes used to nail Jesus to the cross. This is only 2 spikes.
Some crosses bring horrible physical pain. Jesus gets that – he’s ‘been there, done that’.
Some crosses bring a deep emotional pain. Jesus gets that – he’s ‘been there, done that’. His family tried to stop what he was doing. His best friend betrayed him. Another friend delivered him up to the enemy.
Some crosses bring a spiritual pain. Jesus gets that – he’s ‘been there, done that’. Remember when he cried out from the cross: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
No matter what your cross, no matter what your pain, Jesus gets it and is right there with you helping you. Let him help you.
For meditation/journaling –
What does it mean to me to realize that Jesus has suffered as I do?
What does it mean to me that Jesus endured his suffering for me?
Am I being called to endure my suffering to help someone else?
March 2, 2018
This cross was my grandmother’s and hung in her bedroom. After Gram died at age 103, it became mom’s cross and hung in her bedroom. When mom died at age 97, it become mine and now hangs in my bedroom. It is a reminder of the deep roots that faith has in my family, in my history. It is a constant reminder of who I am and whose I am.
It reminds me that life is not always easy but Jesus is with me through it all, suffering with me, strengthening me. It reminds me that God is showering me with grace just as he showered grace upon his son to carry his cross.
As I think about the crosses Gram carried, mom carried, and I have carried and am carrying, I am aware of the strength of faith in our family – and that settles me and gives me what I need to keep going.
There are also those in my family of friends who carry their crosses with such grace and strength. Especially when they share their crosses and their faith with me, I am strengthened and encouraged.
There is also my family in my church that gives me strength. When I go to mass or to worship, I look around and know some of the crosses the people around me are carrying and know that there are so many that I don’t know about. Yet, here they are, singing praise and showing their faith in the God who loves them – and asking him for his help. And the opposite is true. Going to church is not just about what I get out of it – it’s also about what I share, often without words, with those also there.
Not only am I connected to my family of origin, but also to my family of faith from Adam and Abraham and Moses and Paul and Jesus and all the others who have believed in God before me, show me constantly how to carry my cross and keep reminding me that if they could carry theirs, I can carry mine with grace and joy.
For meditation/journaling –
Who in your family of origin or your family of faith shows you how to carry the cross?
Who do you show how to carry the cross? Who do you share your cross with so they can help you?
What is God saying to you today about how you are carrying your cross?
March 1, 2018
How many crosses do you see?
There is obviously the white one – the expected one, the one that stands out.
But what about the hundreds of little cross (and some big ones) that are formed by the branches of the tree crossing over each other?
We miss those little ones in our own lives and in the lives of others. What we sometimes just dismiss as an irritation or an interruption or “I really don’t need that to happen today!” or an encounter with someone you don’t like or a little ache in your body or one more cloudy dreary day in a whole string of them or…… those things can be a cross.
Here’s where our attitude becomes important. We can ignore it or dismiss it or just live with it. Or we can see it as a cross and God breaking into our lives. Imagine God just waiting for you to ask him to help you with it. Imagine God just waiting for you to ask him to show you his presence and his grace in the midst of even the smallest annoyance.
What a gift we give to God when we ask him for help!
And what a gift we give to others when we ask them to journey with us….. just as I have invited you to journey with me.
For meditation/journaling:
What do you do with the small crosses in your everyday life? Do you ask God for help with them?
How is asking God for help a gift to him?
Who do you give the gift of inviting them to journey with you? If you don’t, why not?
February 28, 2018
More crosses from my trip to Spencer on Monday.
We have a choice in how we carry our crosses.
We can choose to focus on the weight of it and the pain and burden of our cross. We can complain and grumble and be angry. We can become depressed about it and let it overwhelm us.
The power pole crosses remind me that they are there to carry the power of electricity to others. They lift up their crossbeams to keep the power moving. If I think of the power as God’s power, then I can look at my cross differently. I can discover just how God is showing me the power of his love through all the ways that he is working in the midst of my cross. I can carry the power of God’s love to others in the way I carry my cross.
I can choose to focus on God and how he is present in my life. I can choose to proclaim the good things God is doing, not standing on a soap box on a corner, but sharing with family and friends and anyone else that God puts in front of me and nudges me to say something to them….
The power crosses above are all connected by the power lines. We are all connected – not only in the fact that every one of us are carrying crosses – we are all in this journey together. But the power is in how we share God’s presence! In sharing how God is present in our lives, we share power with each other – not our power but God’s!
For meditation/journaling:
How willing am I to share with someone how God is with me? How is God inviting me to share his power?
What happens when I don’t share God’s presence in my life? (ever see a power pole with no lines to or from it?)
How do I receive God's power from others sharing their journey with me?
February 27, 2018
I made a trip up to Spencer yesterday to have lunch with a friend. As I left Early, I asked God to show me unexpected crosses. Oh my, did he!!!
This is one of the first crosses that caught my attention. Our crosses aren’t just there for us to carry. Many times they teach us a lesson or help us realize that we need to make more time for God or that we need to give up a bad habit or something else. Sometimes our cross helps us learn that we need to change direction and points out to us what way God wants us to go.
I taught in Whittemore IA for several years but then the school closed and the house I was renting was sold so I was jobless and homeless….. and scared! Long story, but I ended up in Storm Lake, with a whole new direction to my life! That new direction has helped me find gifts I didn’t know I had and refined other gifts that I hadn’t had much opportunity to use.
It takes a lot of faith and trust to leave the road we think we want and follow the signs that God puts up for us. Even following that sign can be a cross but if we are following God, the results are usually more amazing than we can imagine when we make that turn.
Lord, help me to always follow where you lead, whether it makes sense to me or not. Give me the courage and strength to make the turns in my life that you encourage me to make. Help me to let go of my plans and trust yours!
For meditation/journaling –
What turns, big or small, is God encouraging you to make?
Think back over the times in your life where a cross you carried led you to something new. Can you see God in the midst of that?
When has hanging on the path you want instead of following God’s leading led to more problems?
February 26, 2018
This is one of my favorite necklaces. So many of my crosses were given to me by very special people and Jennifer is one of them. Part of my job at St. Mary’s as Director of Faith Formation was to journey with people as they went through the almost year long process to becoming a Catholic. There were so many wonderful God-conversations as both of us shared God working in our lives.
For me, the circle in the center is God and the rest of the circles spiral off from that center. All the things in my life spiral off from God’s love for me – whether it’s my friends /friendships or my gifts/talents or my job or specific situations God leads me to or my crosses or or or……
The more I remember, the more I am aware, that God is the center of everything I do and am, the more his grace flows and no matter what the situation, there is a deep joy even in the midst of pain.
That awareness only comes from spending time with God, whether it’s prayer or worship or reading scripture or conversations with others or Christian music or just sitting in silence with God. We don’t get close to people (or God) without spending time with them! Lent is a good time to make spending that time a priority! I invite you to fast from tv or the computer or whatever it is that is keeping you from spending even a little time with God. Make him your center.
For meditation/journaling –
What parts of your life spiral off from your awareness of God in your life?
What parts of your life need that awareness of God within it?
How are you spending time with God today?
February 24, 2018
This cross is actually a painting done for me by my good friend Nicole. She added one of my favorite scriptures. The cross is a glittery red.
I love that she paired this scripture with the cross. So many times, when we are in the midst of carrying a heavy cross or a scary cross, we worry and fret and stew. When I get like that, I sit with God and listen to him tell me: “Be still and know that I am God.”
In other words, God is trying to tell me to quit wasting so much energy and time worrying! I need to realize that I am not in control of my cross so worrying and fretting and stewing isn’t going to do anything but get me all wound up and waste my energy!
God is God. God is love and he is loving me all the time in as many ways as he can! He is journeying with me and giving me all that I need to carry that cross. “Be still and know that I am God.”
If I am still and I do know that He is God, then I trust him. Trusting him when I can’t see what he is doing and don’t understand his presence is real faith. And that faith, that believing in his love for me and trusting in that love, is my real gift to God in the midst of carrying my cross.
This cross hangs in my craft room (where I spend most of my time) right above my main working area. I love being reminded of this often!
For meditation/journaling –
In what circumstances in your life do you need to sit down with God and hear him tell you: “Be still and know that I am God”?
How is your faith, your trusting God, a gift to God?
How can you keep reminding yourself in the midst of your carrying your cross to “Be still and know that I am God”?
February 23, 2018
This awesome cross was given to me by my wonderful Goddaughter (does she know me or what?!!)
This is from www.answeredprayerscross.org. They are ceramic crosses that you decorate with images about the cross you carry or the hope you wish to give to others. Then you register your cross at the website and share your story of how God is/has acted in your experience with the cross. You witness the healing as people respond to your story. And then you pass the cross on to someone who needs it. There is a tag attached so they can go to the website and join the journey of the cross as it gets passed from person to person to person.
On the back of every cross is a tiny real mustard seed glued onto the cross. Your story, your experience with these crosses is indeed a mustard seed – you plant the seed of deeper faith and deeper relationship with God as you share your story, your experience, your cross. Sharing your story, your experience with the cross is not about you – it’s about what God is doing and can do for others!
I invite you to check out the website, read the stories and maybe even order a cross for you to use.
Feel that you aren’t artistic enough to do one? On the back of the tag it says “This Cross is perfectly flawed, just like you.” The art isn’t what’s important! It’s your faith and heart that goes into it. The mustard seed isn’t much – but look what it can grow!!
Lord, give me the courage to share my story and my experience of carrying my cross with others. May you work in the midst of that sharing, giving hope and strength to others that will help them carry their cross and then share their story. May I be aware of the mustard seeds you plant through me and my openness.
For meditation/journaling –
How willing am I to let God use my story and my experience with the cross to help others?
Make a list of people who have helped you carry your cross – physically, emotionally, spiritually.
Make a list of people you have helped carry their cross – physically, emotionally, spiritually.
February 22, 2018
This cross used to belong to Fr. Bob Schimmer who was my pastor and boss at St. Mary’s in Storm Lake for several years and has since died of cancer. He was one of the best bosses I have ever had and I will forever be grateful for all he taught me and the gifts he brought to my life and ministry.
The open piece at the heart of the cross reminds me to have an open heart in the midst of my cross. With an open heart I can hear God telling me he loves me in the midst of my suffering. With an open heart God leads me to others who are also suffering, maybe in the same way I am. With an open heart I can journey with others and give them the gifts of understanding and acceptance and support. That’s the way Fr. Bob approached life and ministry.
Fr. Bob also had a wonderful sense of humor! He taught me to see the humor in life and not to laugh at people but help them laugh with me. He helped me to appreciate God’s sense of humor in creation and life. The circle behind the cross reminds me of that – of the full circle of life. I can stay focused on my pain and my suffering and my cross and, in doing that, I miss so much of life! Fr. Bob also taught me that a good laugh dulls pain.
A cross can be such a gift….
For meditation/journaling:
How is God asking you to have an open heart in the midst of carrying your cross?
Who gives you the gifts of understanding and acceptance and support in the midst of your pain?
Does laughter have a place in your suffering?
February 21, 2018
How’s this for unusual? I love that the material of the cross is a ceramic with flecks of white in it.
It makes me aware that sometimes my cross is not a big one but one made up of all kinds of little things – sometimes so little and so many that we don’t recognize it as a cross.
I would think you moms could really identify with that – your day is made up of getting the kids (and hubby?) up and dressed and fed and backpacks found and out the door on time. Then there is your own agenda for the day that usually doesn’t go as planned with a hundred and one interruptions (each one a fleck in the material of your cross also!). There’s dinner to cook and dishes to do and cleaning the house and doing the laundry and helping with homework and listening to the kids (and hubby?) and off to sports events or other things your kids (and hubby?) are involved in. Then there is also the friends who need your attention or help or shoulder or encouragement. There are the things you yourself are involved in – whether it be church or community or organizations you belong to. LOTS of flecks in your daily cross! And that’s only some of them!
The pink makes me aware that not all crosses are heavy and difficult but, like being a mom, can and does bring great joy and peace.
The candle reminds me that Jesus, as Light of the World, is right there with me in the midst of all I do, bringing the Light of God’s love to me and those others that I help.
Lord, help me to be aware of you in all that I do! Help me to appreciate the joy I feel in the midst of all that I do because it’s from you. Help me to be generous with my time and my attention, especially when the interruptions and unplanned things come my way. Help me to see that it’s YOU breaking into my agenda!
For meditation/journaling:
How can I be more aware of the fact that it’s God breaking into my agenda when the unplanned interruptions come?
Do I feel joy in carrying any of my crosses?
Do I need to look at my crosses differently to find the joy?
February 20, 2018
This is one of my most unusual crosses but again one that holds so many memories for me. The cross itself is twisted wire with a metal paw print in the middle. I received it from a good friend of mine when my much loved cat, Frank, died.
Frank was definitely “God’s love wrapped up in fur” for me. I found him trapped in my landlady’s garage after she had been out of town for over a week already. He was only a kitten and was so scared – he literally climbed the wall to get to the rafters to get away from me. I finally had to get an animal trap from the police dept to catch him. The vet had to tranquilize him to get him out of the cage and treat him and give him a bath. Turned out he also had mange so that was another journey. I couldn’t take him home because of my other cat, Snickers, so Frank spent a couple of weeks on the enclosed porch of my friend, Julianne.
Frank and I bonded big time during those couple of weeks. As he was coming out of the anesthesia, I learned to lay him on my chest and hum deep notes so it was close to his mom’s purring. As I laid there, deep in me I sensed God saying to me, “Will you let me do the same for you?” In so many ways, Frank helped me to let God love me.
Being a farrow cat, Frank had a lot of issues and took a lot of care. To me that’s the twisted wire – not things I expected and were a constant surprise. It took a lot of time and attention and care – and money. Definitely a cross but a much loved cross. Not all our crosses hurt. Sometimes crosses bring us a deeper richer love than we could imagine. Sometimes our crosses bring us gifts we never imagined. God works in amazing ways when we let him!
Frank left a deep imprint on my heart and deepened my spirituality and connection with God more than I ever thought possible!
Definitely “God’s love wrapped up in fur.”
Thank you, God, for the cross of Frank. Thank you for all the wonderful ways you worked through him to teach me of your great love for me.
For meditation/journaling:
Have you been able to see the gift in any of the crosses you have had to carry?
What do you hear God saying to you in the midst of your cross to tell you of his deep love for you?
February 19, 2018
This beautifully simple cross was made for me by one of my students back when I was teaching grade school. Ben was a 5th grader with a muscular disease but he loved woodworking with his dad. This cross was made by Ben without using any nails – it is all fit together with tongue and groove.
This reminds me that even crosses can be a surprise! Crosses can come to us from unexpected people or places. I had never expected Ben with his limitations to make a cross for me. Crosses come to us in unexpected shapes – which make our crosses unique. Crosses come to us made in different ways – this one does not have a nail in it, usually something we associate with crosses.
When we spend time sitting with our crosses – instead of fighting them – we learn to see the beauty of the cross. Yes, I said beauty of the cross.
When we sit with our crosses and let God speak to us about them and the circumstances, we find his love in so many ways and shapes and forms – and people.
This cross means so much to me because it was created in the midst of Ben carrying his cross.
This cross also reminds me that even in the midst of carrying a cross, it can show me ways to help others carry theirs and/or show God’s love to others.
February 17, 2018
This very special cross was given to me by my much loved Goddaughter Meghan (a beautiful young women inside and out, by the way!) as a gift.
This one is also close to my recliner so I can see it often. It reminds me that not everything about the cross is doom and gloom and suffering! In the midst of carrying our cross, or helping others to carry theirs (it’s not always all about ME!) God shows us such beauty which is what the flowers and the colors say to me.
I have met the most wonderful beautiful people when I let others help me carry my cross or I step out of my comfort zone to help others – even if it is just listening to them and/or being a presence with them in the midst of their stuff.
And there is the beauty of God’s graces that I find when I am suffering. It might be the strength that I didn’t know I had or the tears I shed that help relieve some of the emotions I hold inside or the laughter that comes despite the pain. It might be the peace that comes deep within when I manage to put everything in God’s hands and quit worrying.
All of that requires us to take our eyes off our cross and our pain and suffering and look outside of ourselves to see God’s gifts. They are there!!
Thank you, God, for all of your awesome gifts, especially for the ones I don’t see and appreciate! Open my eyes and my ears and my heart and help me take my focus off of myself so that I may be aware of all that you are giving to me. Thank you for your presence in all that I experience.
For meditation/journaling –
How does God show up in your daily life, in your suffering, in how you walk with others?
What can you do to be more aware of his presence and gifts?
February 16, 2018
I’ve spent a lot of time meditating on this cross but two things really speak to me.
I love the way Jesus is part of the cross. When we embrace our cross and see Jesus in the midst of it, he works within us in ways we can’t begin to imagine. A good friend of mine told me some time ago when I was really struggling with a cross that “Jesus crawled up on the cross so you wouldn’t have to be there alone.” Sometimes he is there through the presence of others. Sometimes he is there in the strength we didn’t think we had. Sometimes he is there is circumstances. Sometimes he is there in the honesty of our gut-level prayer. He is there is whatever way we need him – maybe not as we want him, but definitely as we need him.
The other thing that really strikes me is his uplifted arm. You can’t see it very well in this pic but that ‘arm’ is a serpent that winds around Jesus’ body and then becomes his arm. When we let Jesus be with us carrying our cross, even evil can point us to God. This takes a lot of faith – so many times when we are caught up in carrying a really heavy cross we can’t see anything but the cross. We have to trust that God is there with us and trust that he is working in ways we can’t see or even imagine.
Think back over tragedies in our country from 9/11 to the hurricanes to the recent Florida shootings, and everything in between, God has been there in the midst of the pain and the evil, working through people and circumstances to give us what we need. Whether it's physical help or money or presence or prayer or even a bottle of water, God is there!
For meditation/journaling….
Think back over the crosses you have carried. How was Jesus there with you?
How can you be Jesus hanging on the cross to someone who needs you to show them Jesus is there?
February 15, 2018
This cross hangs in my living room close to my recliner so I can see it all the time. I deliberately took the picture from the side so you can see the carving. This one will take two days to talk about!
While in southern Texas visiting my friends, Ron & Janella, years ago, we took a day trip down to Mexico. I found this cross (just the cross) in one of the shops. My friends bought it for me and it even survived the trip home in my suitcase! It’s close to 2 feet long. When I got home I couldn’t wait to get it up on my wall! But with my walls being off-white, it just faded into the wall color.
Friends of mine here asked me to trust them and they took the cross. This is what I got back and I absolutely love it! Marilyn Snyder refinished a frame she had in gold and navy blue and Mary Veehoff covered the backing in a beautiful mottled blue fabric. Now the cross jumps off of that and touches my heart and soul.
So many people journey with us and love us in so many ways, showing us God’s love in every little action. Sometimes they know about the cross we carry and sometimes they don’t – it doesn’t matter. They simply love us in whatever way they can – from buying us a gift to refinishing a picture frame to choosing a fabric for a project to a phone call or an email to all the 101 things people do for each other every single day!
Don’t discount what you do for others because it seems so ‘little’. You never know how deeply and richly you touch another’s heart. I wonder if Ron & Janella, Marilyn, and Mary know how deeply they have touched my heart – and my faith.
For reflection/journaling:
Make a list of 10 ways that someone did something for you today, no matter how little.
How do you see God loving you in the midst of that list?
Make a list of 10 ways that you did something for someone today.
How do you see God loving them in the midst of what you did for them?
Ash Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2018
Lent starts today. I am choosing personally to focus on the cross in all its aspects this year. I will be using photographs of crosses that I find as I journey through my day and then sitting with them and letting God tell me about the cross. I invite you to journey with me and to see how often a cross appears in your day!
This small simple cross in Furrow Hall in the Early United Methodist Church in Early, Iowa (where I work part time) strikes me every time I walk into that room. The simplicity of it makes me think of how often we try to put flowers all around it and dress it up – and it still remains simply the cross. The starkness of the reality of just what the cross it – hard, painful, torture at times – leads me to think about how often we try to avoid the cross. We don’t want to think about the pain and suffering Jesus suffered for us. We don’t want to face the pain and suffering of our own crosses. We do a lot of things to try to avoid the cross. And yet, that’s where God is.
Help me today, Lord, to see you in the crosses I carry every day, most of them so small in comparison to the cross you carried for me. You were aware of each one of us, of me, as you carried that cross and died upon it. Help me to be aware of You as I carry my cross. You’ve been here. You know what it’s like. You know what I need. You know how to speak to my heart in the midst of it. Help me to listen.
For reflection/journaling:
What crosses do I carry?
Do I try to avoid them or do I embrace them? How?
What is God trying to tell me through those crosses?