Faith, Folklore, and Friends

Thousand Red Birds by Phil Porter We clutch our tiny bits of faith in tight fists shoved firmly in our pockets. We clutch it suspiciously, so unwilling to let it go we don’t want to lose it. We clutch it fearing that once it is spent,we will be without hope, cast adrift, out of luck. Help us loosen our grip. Help us to pull our hands out of our pockets. Help us to uncurl our fingers stiffened over time. to grow,to shimmer,to pulse,to explode into the air like a thousand red birds. Faith is the supreme effort of your life - throwing yourself with abandon and total confidence upon God." - Oswald Chambers

Light of the World who stepped down into darkness, opened my eyes , let me see ... In all things, we are grateful... 351-400 For apples and angels, baskets and bread. Candles and coffee Dogwoods and dancing. Easter and elephants, family and fun. Gardens and gumballs, HOME, and hearts won. Ice cream and ideas, jonquils and jays. Kisses and kinfolks Long lazy days. Music and musing, neighbors and nails. Oysters and openness Promises and pails. Quilts and quandaries, Ribbons and rain. Sweet spring singing, thunderstorms and trains. Uncles and umbrellas, victory and vines. Working and wandering, X-cellent places to dine. Yams and youngsters, zebras and zoos. Today, I'm grateful Dear Reader, for you! I'll never know how much it cost to see my sin upon the Cross .

Our Lord has written the promise of resurrection , not in books alone, but in every leaf in springtime. Martin Luther At the crack of dawn on Sunday, the women came to the tomb carrying the burial spices they had prepared. They found the entrance stone rolled back from the tomb, so they walked in. But once inside, they couldn't find the body of the Master Jesus. They were puzzled, wondering what to make of this. Then, out of nowhere it seemed, two men, light cascading over them, stood there. The women were awestruck and bowed down in worship. The men said, "Why are you looking for the Living One in a cemetery? He is not here, but raised up. Remember how he told you when you were still back in Galilee that he had to be handed over to sinners,be killed on a cross, and in three days rise up?" Then they remembered Jesus' words. Luke 24:1-8

As early as the 2nd century, Good Friday has been observed by Christians as the day Jesus was crucified. It was the most mournful day of the year, set aside for fasting and penance. It has evolved into a happy spring holiday when schools and businesses are closed. In southwest Tennessee, it was the day to plant your garden. Root crops should have already been planted, but if because of weather or other reasons they were not, Good Friday was the last chance to get them in the ground if you wanted a bountiful crop. Green beans, squash, and cucumbers were planted on Good Friday. We were envied by our relatives in Michigan and Indiana; their soil still way too cold to plant anything. English folklore held that the devil had no power to spoil crops planted on a holy day. Others from the same region thought it sin to disturb the earth in any way on that day. For women, washing clothes were forbidden. Anything hung out to dry was in danger of becoming spotted with blood. I plan to hang out so...

In this season of Easter, this season of remembering, we search for words of thanksgiving. Gratitude for the blood, the cross, the suffering. Gratitude for the plan, the adoption, the freedom. It is just too overwhelming, trying to fit this ocean-sized love into a cup-sized heart. My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine; For Thee all the follies of sin I resign. My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. I love Thee because Thou has first loved me, And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree. I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death, And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath; And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow, If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. In mansions of glory and endless delight, I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright; I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow; If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now. Th...

Matthew called him notorious. John referred to his as a bandit. Mark and Luke called him a rioter. Barabbas was an insurrectionary, a terrorist, a murderer, and an all-around nasty fellow. Barabbus, a vile, smelly person whom mothers shielded their children from in public, was what my Grandma would call just low-down, dog mean. It is likely his mother rubbed his smooth skin as she suckled him, and dreamed about what kind of man he would become. Would her heart leap with gladness when she saw him doing good as a young man? Would he give her grandchildren? Would he care for her, providing food and shelter when she was old? It probably never entered her mind that he would be the first person Jesus would die for. There was a Jewish custom that when prisoners were sentenced, Pilate would release one, giving a pardon from death. Maybe someone who the crowd thought was innocent, or one who had family to care for. Maybe someone who had contributed much to society before t...

Hosanna. A word of praise, a word of happiness. A word used for adoration. The crowd shouted "Hosanna" as He rode the donkey into Jerusalem. Some threw their garments on the road in front of Him, giving Him the royal welcome. Some broke tree branches and made Him a welcome mat. Some were attracted by the cheering, and didn't have a clue what was happening. "Who is this? What's going on?" they questioned. The parade crowd, the ones closest to Jesus, answered. They said, "This is the prophet Jesus, the one from Nazareth in Galilee." I wonder what our LORD thought, as He heard their hosannas and praise. Where they still praising when He cleaned the temple just a few hours later? Did the all-knowing look ahead for a few days, and see these same people cheering from the sidelines as He was being beaten? Did He see them accusing Him before Pilate? When He said, "Father, forgive them", was He referring to the soldiers? Or to a crowd that might l...