Week of april 20 Devotional Thoughts

April 20 Sunday-Psalm 114 is selected for Easter evening, but I am not sure why. I suppose that this ancient prayer that praises the god of the Exodus can also then be taken to praise the god of the Exodus from the power of death, our move from slavery toward freedom from the fear of death. After all, the sea is often a symbol of chaos against god’s order for life.

Monday-"Dear God, We celebrate spring’s returning and the rejuvenation of the natural world. Let us be moved by this vast and gentle insistence that goodness shall return, that warmth and life shall succeed, and help us to understand our place within this miracle. Let us see that as a bird now builds its nest, bravely, with bits and pieces, so we must build human faith. It is our simple duty; it is the highest art; it is our natural and vital role within the miracle of spring: the creation of faith. " Amen Prayer by Michael Leunig from the book, When I talk to You

Tuesday-Maybe any one day of a life, even the most humdrum, has in it something of the mystery of that life as a whole. (Frederick Buechner)

Wednesday-the Psalms have many laments where people feel abandoned by God. Job felt God was silent or even his enemy. As the death of his wife neared, C. S. Lewis was reminded by friends that God knew and God was present. Lewis replied, "I know God knows and is near, but does God care?" Sometimes people struggle with the same questions as Lewis. Today we are reminded of a time when Jesus also felt abandoned by God. If at some time in your life you have felt abandoned by God, do not feel guilty. God can take your feelings and questions. Be honest, ... at least with God. God's presence and love go deeper than our momentary feelings and despair.  Peter Sethre

Thursday-“Age puzzles me. I thought it was a quiet time. My seventies were interesting, and fairly serene, but my eighties are passionate. I grow more intense as I age. To my own surprise I burst out with hot conviction. Only a few years ago I enjoyed my tranquility; now I am so disturbed by the outer world and by human quality in general that I want to put things right, as though I still owed a debt to life. I must calm down. I am far too frail to indulge in moral fervor.” –Florida Scott-Maxwell, from her wonderful little book, THE MEASURE OF MY DAYS.

Friday-I encourage you to build your nest of faith out of the hopes and fears, joys and sorrows, doubts and confusions, the creativity and insights, even the anger and despair of daily life. The bird takes any old thing and starts building. Good luck with your nest of faith. Build it with love. Birth and Renewal will be the surprising miracle of your life.-Macrina Wiederkehr

Saturday-Dan Hotchkiss  It's good to pay attention to what's going well. Most congregations--like most people--can accomplish more by building on their strengths than worrying about how to fix everything that could be better. Thats the basic insight of Appreciative Inquiry and other asset-based approaches to strategic planning: Instead of asking "What's the matter?" ask, "What's good? What's going well?"Sometimes that's all it takes. But at other times, wise leaders need to add an extra twist and ask, "What's good about this?" This simple question takes appreciation to a higher level.