In the middle of Lent

The crocuses came out last weekend around our house. There's little bits of green sticking through the ground that in a few weeks will be tulips or daffodils. My amaryllis is growing on my kitchen table... faithfully appearing each year.

It's in the middle of Lent that I look for these signs of life. Some time in the middle of "take a walk with God" month, I begin to look for signs of resurrection after a lengthy season of winter death.

Check out this clip from Fantasia 2000 and see if you can find connections between its story and our beloved Christian story of Holy Week and Easter. Feel free to comment!

"Taking a Walk with God" - Lent 2009

Lent is often explained as a journey. But it's not just any journey (after all, isn't our entire life one long journey with God and others?). In a way, the season of Lent is set aside for us to be intentional about our spiritual lives. That's why sometimes people give things up for Lent, or take things on for Lent... those things serve as a reminder that we are on a journey.

Do you give anything up for Lent? Do you take anything on for Lent? Take a moment to share what you will do to remind yourself that you are on a "walk with God" this Lenten season.

Spiritual Practices as Training?

In this month's Sandpiper, I mentioned Kristin Black (shown here) who ran a marathon. Kristin is a member of our congregation and a student at McCormick Theological seminary. Running a marathon takes practice - of course they call it training. Is our spiritual life any different than our physical life? Aren't there spiritual practices that also train us as we grow in faith? What are some spiritual practices that you enjoy? And why?

Practicing Faith - sermon series Jan 25 - Feb 22

For you, what does it mean to be a "person who practices his or her faith?" Comment below to join the conversation.

Join us on Sundays as we consider Mark chapter one along with a book by Brian McLaren entitled "Finding Our Way Again."

Talking to Strangers: September 21 - October 5

Do you talk to strangers?

You know sometimes us folks from NJ like to brag a bit about how we don't really like talking to others. We want people to leave us alone. We don't talk to folks walking on the sidewalk. We don't always say Hello to strangers.

But recently I've found this not to be a universal truth. Many folks from NJ do infact talk to strangers. Do you? If so, when? Where? Why? Tell us about it.