Heartbroken

That's really about all I can say at this time after 1 of my 3 beloved doggies - our beagle, Snoopy - unexpectedly and suddenly died this morning.

Dylan was just playing with her here a couple of days ago! She was SO good with him and with Ian, whom we have yet to tell, by the way. We haven't because we weren't going to be home with him and Dylan this evening due to our monthly Church Council Meeting and we both want to be there for them, especially Ian who is older and definitely more sentimental.

For now, I just don't even know what to do with myself, I feel so sad. We will be telling him together tomorrow after school. We are really just heartbroken though.

Snoopy, we love and miss you so much. God bless and rest your sweet soul, buddy. :-(

Bible Study - Lent & Easter Season

The more years I attend church regularly the more I learn about the Bible, God and Jesus. I very often find myself telling Tod "The word (as in the word of God, the Bible) is SO good, it's just amazing!" and it really, truly is.

I had been curious about the church for a long time when I started attending in 2001 shortly after Tod and I married NOT in a church. Back then it just wasn't an active part of my life. I even considered myself an atheist in my early youth so pissed off and so disconnected was I.

I don't consider myself a "born-again Christian" or an expert in the matter of religion but these days, these past few years actually (incredible how time flies!), I must say I just feel plugged in and connected to God (which I consider, among many things, to be the greatest of all things and the force of all good in the world) in a way I never had before. I feel a knowing inside me and a connection and a peace so deep, it's hard to even explain it. All I know is that today is one week since Lent started and that, like at Christmas time, it's the first time I really get it. I've yet to share what I "got" at Christmas and I will but I wanted o share what I'm getting and learning about Lent so far.

The following is from the Evangelica Lutheran Church of America website, www.ELCA.org. The Lutheran church is divided into 2 main branches, one more progressive than the other. The ELCA is the more progressive of the 2 and the church I'm a member of, South Miami Lutheran Church, is part of this organization.

What is Lent?

Lent is a 40-day liturgical season that begins on Ash Wednesday and concludes at the Great Vigil of Easter. Sundays are not included in the 40-day count because every Sunday is a joyful celebration of Jesus' resurrection. Though not biblical, Lent has long been a tradition in the Christian Church, and it is thought that the tradition of the 40 days recalls the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness, fasting and being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:1-11). Lent is considered a time of penance and discipline.

Because of Lent's penitential nature, worship tends to be more solemn, and purple is the liturgical color of the season. Some congregations remove flowers from the worship space, and for many, songs of praise like the Gloria in Excelsis ("Glory in the highest") and expressions of joy like the exclamation "Alleluia" ("Praise the Lord") are removed from the liturgy until Easter. Many congregations hold special mid-week worship services and promote other devotional activities to help their members concentrate on the Lenten disciplines of fasting, almsgiving (charity) and prayer.

Ash Wednesday is the first day of Lent. On this day, Christians focus on their complete sinfulness and the necessity of Christ's suffering and death to insure their salvation. Ashes are referred to many times in the Old Testament as signs of sorrow, mourning, humility, and repentance, and on Ash Wednesday they are used to remind people of their mortality -- that "you are dust, and to dust you shall return" (Genesis 3:19). Many churches use ashes during Ash Wednesday worship in a ritual called the Imposition of Ashes. In this custom, ashes are mixed with a small amount of oil and applied to the forehead of each worshipper.

The Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday begins the last week of Lent, known as Holy Week. During this holiest time of the church year, the worship services relive the final week of our Lord's human life. Holy Week includes Maundy Thursday, when Christians observe Christ's "Last Supper" -- the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion -- and the mandate to serve one another in love. Good Friday commemorates the imprisonment, trial and death by crucifixion of Jesus.

Lent culminates on Saturday evening of Holy Week in the Great Vigil of Easter, when Christians gather in darkness, light new fire, and celebrate the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies in the resurrection of Christ.

The Bible, history, life, Jesus, God ... it's all such a beautiful thing. I truly feel privileged to be a part of it and just thank God immensely, especially at Lent and Easter time, for the opportunity to live and be and learn and understand.