Hello dear friends, this was meant to be Sunday’s sermon, but I woke up to no power and therefore no internet and could not upload it. Like many in my area just north of Madoc, ON, I still don’t have power or internet. So I decided to drive down to my folks’ place (were power and internet abound) in order to record and upload. I apologize for the lateness of this sermon, but hope it will be edifying, nonetheless!

Blessings to each of you, today and always. (This is posted to St. Peter’s, Madoc youtube page, as well as my profile and St. Peter’s page on Facebook…so I’m sorry if you’re receiving it multiple ways, but I’d rather be a little too zealous on getting it out there, than risk missing anyone.)

In the midst of doom scrolling for updates about this weekend’s weather (in my part of Ontario, we’ve been warned for days that a rather catastrophic ice storm is set to rage all weekend. I’ve found myself caught between wanting to know the latest predictions, wanting to be prepared for a few days without power, and wanting to believe it’s just a lot of hype…I’ve been going back and forth between all three today!), I came across this:

It jarred me out of my doom scrolling and made me ask myself – why am I following Jesus? And the original poster’s reasons align pretty well with my own.

I might add that it is because of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, that I know there is no limit to how far God will go to show his love for us.

From choosing to step out of eternity into finite time, into a body that would die, into a reality where he would be rejected, betrayed, despised, humiliated and tortured, to choosing ordinary people to take his mission to the world after his death – pretty much everything Jesus did was an expression of “God loves you, God wants to have relationship with you, God has a purpose for you.”

I’m a Christian because I find that compelling – to know that I was loved that deeply long before I was born. I’m a Christian because I want to do everything I can to make sure others know that they are that deeply loved, too. I am a Christian because remembering these things makes me a better, kinder, gentler, more generous person. And our world desperately needs kindness, gentleness and generosity right now.

As we continue to journey through Lent, may we all spend some time reflecting on what our faith means to us, and what kind of person it calls us to be.

All day I’ve been trying to figure out what to blog about today. It’s been buzzing in the background of my brain, distracting me and making me feel a bit lost. Because sometimes, despite my best intentions and my commitment to blogging throughout this season, I just don’t have any idea what I’m going to write about.

I’ve done this practice of blogging during Advent and Lent for enough years to know I can’t force it, and I kind of just have to dog through my day trusting that God will provide what I need. It’s unsettling, but it is an act of faith. And even when I’ve not found something I can write about, I’ve always found SOMETHING to post (maybe sharing a song or a poem, or an image).

As I was about to throw up my hands in defeat and accept that there just wasn’t going to be a post today, I came across this: 

And it settled into my soul. It was the reminder I needed. I thought about a time a little more than two years ago when I considered walking away from my faith entirely. I thought about a time when I was certain my life in congregational ministry was over and done. I thought about all that has happened since.

The thing is – when I felt like walking away, when that temptation rose in me, I knew it wasn’t that I WANTED to walk away from my faith. It was that I was hurting, and I needed time to heal. So I took that time. And the One going the road with me, never gave up on me. God just kept encouraging me forward – one step after another, down the road…I didn’t know what would happen next. I thought I did, but I didn’t.

I’m still here, still in congregational ministry, still in this walk of faith, still in this call on my life, because the One going walking the road with me never gave up on me (even when I wanted to give up on myself).

So that is my encouragement for you today – that the One who walks the road with you hasn’t given up on you, either. And He never will, it’s just not in His nature. So take the next step, whatever it may be. You can’t imagine where the road is leading, that is not for you to know. But God knows. God sees where it all is going. And it will be for your good.

As we continue through Lent, may we know that stumbling and faltering though your steps might be at times, we never go the road alone.

Earlier this week, as I prepared to go to bed, I noticed an itching at the top hem of my sock. I prefer short ankle-socks. I don’t like socks that go too far up my leg (we all have our idiosyncrasies!). So this was just above the bone of my ankle. It REALLY itched and irritated me. I looked, and sure enough, there was a small raised bump…a mosquito bite. In March. 

REALLY!?

But as I sat there feeling that oh-my-goodness-I-MUST-scratch-it itch of a newly formed bite, I began to smile. Because even though it feels ridiculously early to deal with mosquito bites, it is a sign that the times are changing. In my corner of Ontario, the weather had changed drastically in the last week or so. We’ve gone from a bitter, snow-drenched winter to days that feel like Spring. 

More than once, I’ve stepped out of my house and been shocked at the warmth. I’ve wondered if I even needed a jacket. My winter coat has been sitting on the back seat of my car, untouched, for at least a week now. I’ve been wearing runners rather than my -35C rated boots.

And now, a mosquito bite… Spring is on the move.

Which reminds me of one of my favourite lines in CS Lewis’ Narnia series – Aslan is on the move! 

Aslan is a great lion, an image of Christ, in a story that is all about sacrifice and new life. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Aslan comes to break the endless winter that the White Witch has presided over, causing suffering for all of Narnia. 

Why am I thinking about mosquito bites and Spring and Aslan? Because I’m feeling a deep need for hope right now. In all of the uncertainty and upset in our world, in all of the anger and anxiety that seems to be surrounding us, in all of the fears for dark days ahead, my soul cries out for hope.

And when my soul cries out for hope, it’s really crying out for Jesus, for God, for the presence and advocacy of the Holy Spirit.

So, I want to leave you with this short, but powerful prayer.

As we continue our Lenten journey, may we see signs of Spring (even in the small irritations of daily life), and may they remind us that Jesus is on the move. May we find our hope in the Lord. May our souls cry out for what we most need – the presence of Father, Son and Spirit – to guide us through these days.

These two came across my socials this week, and were what I needed to hear. Maybe you need to hear them, too:

One of the things that I’m continually bothered by these days is how quick to anger people seem to be. I know I’m seeing some of this through the lens of social media, which is distorted to begin with, but it just seems that people go from zero to enraged in an increasingly short amount of time.

A post about literally anything will draw out some incredibly angry responses. While I recognize that there is safety behind the screen, and people have a bit of ‘allowed to be my worst self’ syndrome on social media, I can’t help but feel like it’s grown worse since the pandemic. That somewhere in the turmoil of the first half of the 2020 decade, we’ve lost patience and the ability to ask ourselves what is worth (and what is NOT worth) getting worked up about.

Maybe we are all just so fatigued by the endless uncertainty of our times. I know when I’m tired, anger bubbles closer to the surface in me. Things that I could normally take in stride, will spark anger – even rage – in me when my battery is running low.

Maybe that’s the thing. Maybe all of humanity’s battery is running low right now.

Which leads me to the question – what do we do to recharge when our battery is running low? The obvious answer is rest, and while I wish I could to say to the entire world: let’s just take a nap for the next six months, that clearly isn’t going to happen.

So I wonder if something like this might be the answer:

Choosing to speak words of encouragement, rather than words of anger. Choosing to see the best in others, to focus on their strengths and attributes. Choosing to make a difference to someone by building them up.

Even just writing those last three sentences, I can feel the anxiety and anger that have been on a low simmer in me as I write this post, begin to calm. I can feel their power draining, and being replaced by the things I value: compassion, empathy, love, hope. 

Words are powerful. We can use them to build up or to destroy. But with so much destruction around us these days, I’d encourage us all to choose to use them to build up.

As we continue to journey through the season of Lent, may we all think carefully about the things we say. May we use words to build up and not to destroy. May we see this as a vital part of our faith as we walk with Jesus.

(For those new to my blog: I often do a thing on Wednesdays where instead of posting a full reflection from me, I post something (or things) that I’ve found helpful without a lot of comment. I call this Wordless Wednesday – it was born out of a season when I was blogging regularly and came to a day when I just felt like I didn’t have any words. I’ve kept it up as I find it’s a great way to balance having fresh content on the blog with my own energy stores. So here we go – the first Wordless Wednesday of the 2025 Lent blogs!)

This felt extremely apropos in the current socio-political climate (Sunday’s sermon included the phrase “Despair is not an option…which is still rattling around in my soul, and which this speaks to):

And this, because sometimes we all need a reminder of what is ours to do and what is not ours to do.

This past Sunday was the first Sunday in Lent. Lent actually began on Ash Wednesday during the previous week. But since my congregation doesn’t have a tradition of holding an Ash Wednesday service, it really felt like the season began on Sunday. Sometimes the beginning of a new season can feel awkward – like you’re not quite ready for it yet. And in the case of Lent, sometimes it begins so early in the year that it feels as if we’ve barely finished celebrating Jesus’ birth and we’re already journeying towards his death and Resurrection. But that’s not how I’m feeling this Lent.

This Lent feels like it is arriving at precisely the right moment. It’s been a tough beginning to the year – winter in these parts was harsher than it has been for several years. It snowed a WHOLE lot in February and generally felt dark and gloomy. The second Trump Era in the USA began at the end of January and it’s been a lot of chaos and stress for Canadians as we find ourselves threatened with tariffs, and other trade-war-stuff. Plus, the “jokes” about becoming a 51st State, which feel less like a joke and more like a real threat. The first two months have just been HARD. People are already weary of 2025 and all that it has wrought on us.

So it might seem odd that I’m glad that Lent has arrived. It’s a season that is often marked by sombreness, frugality, and self-denial. Which doesn’t sound like a lot of fun in a world that feels pretty dark and threatening. But I’m always trying to reframe Lent to a certain extent. While many of Lent’s traditions have to do with being solemn, I always think of it as a time for drawing closer to God.

A few years back (or, you know, probably a decade ago…who can tell with the way the pandemic has messed with our ability to put events on an accurate timeline), there was a movement away from “giving something up for Lent” towards “doing something for Lent. Or “taking up something for Lent.” I loved that. It’s part of what moved me to blog during this season. This extra bit of reflecting on and writing about my faith (and the process of sharing my reflection/writing with others) is part of what I “take up for Lent.” It helps me draw closer to God. It helps me live out my spirituality. It helps me practice what I preach.

So as Lent begins, I hope you’ll join me on this journey. I hope you’ll find your own ways of drawing close to God in this season (to be fair, that might mean you give something up for Lent…IF that is a spiritually meaningful practice for you!). I hope your faith and my faith will be strengthened as we move towards new life.

Today is the Advent Sunday of love. It is the Sunday that is closest to Christmas Eve. I find it beautiful that love is the theme most closely associated with the birth of the Christ child.

As far as I am concerned – love is the bottom line of Christianity. It is what is meant to drive us, what every decision should be reduced to (what is the most loving decision here?), what should lead us to (like our Saviour) lay down our lives in service of others.

That might sound like a very lofty goal – laying down one’s life. But I remember a moment in a dollar store in the first few years of my ministry. I was there to buy toiletries and necessities to help supply a young woman in my congregation who would go on a missionary trip in the coming months. But I’d miscounted my money. What I thought was a twonie (a $2 coin) was actually a quarter. I had other change, but even with that, I found myself 25 cents short. I told the cashier to put my stuff aside, and I’d go take out more money (these were the days before the dollar store would let you tap your bank card to pay – it was cash or nothing). But a woman behind me in the line spoke up. She said, “you need a quarter? I’ve got a quarter you can have.”

Normally, I’m more self sufficient than is good for me. Normally, I would have said, “no, it’s fine, I can go get more money.” But for some reason, I found myself looking her in the eye and saying, “thank you, that’s so kind of you.” I accepted her quarter, purchased my stuff, and left the store.

It’s been, maybe 15 years (maybe more) since that happened, and I still think of that woman regularly. I don’t know her name, I couldn’t pick her out of a crowd. But that day, she laid down her life for me. Maybe just a little…maybe just 25 cents worth, but I’ve never forgotten it. And maybe that’s why God moved me to accept her little gift of a quarter. Maybe God wanted to show me, in a very personal, very real way, that small acts of love can have a huge impact.

This Advent, may you find ways to lay down your life for another. May you give what you are able, when you are able. May you know that whatever you are able to do likely has a much greater effect than you can imagine.