Devotional #2: “In Blackwater Woods,” after describing ponds, Mary Oliver continues: “Every yeareverything I have ever learnedin my lifetimeleads back to this: the firesand the black river of losswhose other sideis salvationwhose meaningnone of us will ever know. To live in the worldyou must be able to do three things:to love what is mortal;to hold itagainst your . . .
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Beth Urech Lenten devotional for April 7, 2022
When agreeing to write a week’s worth of devotionals for the Lenten Season 2022, I knew I wanted to start at a river. Not just any river, but the Gallinas River that runs right through Las Vegas and which I’d be more apt to call a creek or stream. But the locals call it a . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 6, 2022
Many of us have lived our lives in a busy, goal-oriented world, hearing the message, “don’t slow down, or you’ll lose your edge.” The COVID world has slowed us down and filled our inner ear with messages of failure. During Lent, we can ask God to speak to us of the good things in our . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 5, 2022
Even during Lent, the troubling voices of our times threaten to drown out the coming Easter message of salvation. Many of us feel lonely and lacking in emotional support. We need to listen hard for the messages of reassurance and grace God has for us today. . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 4, 2022
During Lent we hear successive stories of Christ’s mission, passion, death, and resurrection — and how these events altered and re-altered the lives of His family and followers. During this time we can also think about our own lives, spiritual and otherwise, plan, open our ears, and hear ways in which we need to double . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 3, 2022
Many of the young people in our lives have become especially weighed down by news of cyber bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault. By listening for God’s voice, we can hear and pass on messages of hope which transcend the worldly noises of uncertainty and dread. . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 2, 2022
In the past year and more, voices of work, school, distressing news and medical instructions have permeated our personal space, controlling more of our lives. Our observance of Lent gives us a chance to carve out a separate space for listening to God, for exploring our Lord’s sacrifice and gift of salvation. Creating this space . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for April 1, 2022
Internal voices of despair, isolation and anxiety have weighed many of us down in the past year. Focusing on Lent and the coming message of salvation can make God’s voice audible in our lives and give us hope. . . .
Richard Lindeborg Lenten devotional for March 31, 2022
This year we enter Lent deep into a time of stress, and anxiety. We have been bombarded by messages of alarm and uncertainty. Sometimes we doubt our personal and collective resiliency. Lent gives us time to listen closely to the messages of God’s love for us and Christ’s willingness to suffer for us. How could . . .
D.R. Palmer Lenten devotional for March 30, 2022
Finley quotes a Zen Mondo referenced by Merton and expands upon it (p. 24):“A Zen Master said to his disciple, ‘Go get my rhinoceroshorn fan.’Disciple: ‘Sorry, Master, it is broken.’Master: ‘Okay, then get me the rhinoceros.’ If we can realize at the beginning that we are presented with an impossible task, if we can . . .
