Second Church Steps

Five Minute Family Devotion Just as our children look for eggs at Easter, so we need to train them to look for Easter. Easter is a season; it is the 50 “great days” before Ascension, when Jesus goes to heaven. These are the “walking around and seeing Jesus near us” times. Sunday we heard from Pastor Chris Henry, “this is the beginning.” Perhaps you might want to begin your season of Easter Dinners, during the Great 50 Days, by having children select an egg and read the note inside and complete the sentence. There are two kinds of prompts in these eggs. There are prayer prompts and a God sighting prompt. OPTION: Your children can have fun filling their Great 50 Days eggs! I am thankful for…I am hoping for…I am praying for…I am asking for…I see God… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am thankful for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am hoping for… I am praying for… I am praying for… I am p...

Advent is about journey and anticipation and preparation. Christmas is about a gift and joy and the presence of the Living God breaking into darkness. Lent is about reflection and atonement and forgiveness. Easter is about life and victory and new life in Christ. Pentecost is about the birthday of the body of Christ, the Way, the whole church of believers. That is the church year in a nutshell.  What if they happen within the span of three weeks, or a week, or one night? This year Christmas and Easter collided. Twenty days is not long to go from confirmed diagnosis to  eternal life, but that was my father’s Advent, Lent and Christmas/Easter journey. He invited in friends, family and loved ones to witness his journey. He worked very hard to prepare my sisters and his twin brother’s daughters for a garden moment when he would die.  I have never wished for Advent nor Lent to be longer, but I wished for one more day--one more night--one more morning.  However, ...

Grover taught me about the joy of Easter morning.  I knew the Easter story, see my previous blog post.  However, until someone is NOT where you expect them or someone is where you LEAST expect them -- only then can you step in the very soil of Easter joy.  Grover was an elder of a PCUSA church near the Cumberland Gap in Kentucky.  He was the "open-the-doors-in-the-morning" and "there-until-the-last-light-is-out" elder. His wife brought cookies every Sunday morning.  My children felt rather than knew this couple's ministry.  One morning, there weren't any cookie s because Grover's wife had died suddenly.  My daughter was astonished!  How could this happen? She insisted that we bring cookies the next Sunday.  Since Sunday School wasn't until HOURS after  two toddlers were awake, we began a year and a half practice of making sugar cookies for church on Sunday, yes every Sunday.  My three year old nudged us into taking up thi...