We’ve Lost Christmas as a Spiritual Celebration. Let’s Not Lose Easter Too Recently some groups have banned Easter egg hunts—not the activity but the name. Concerned pundits decry this as political correctness gone awry or the timid majority kowtowing to the vocal minority. Although “spring egg hunt” sounds lame, this new label doesn’t dismay me. […]
Without Good Friday, There Would be No Easter At one time, my dad received his paycheck every other week, on the last day of the workweek. With a smile, he called each of these paydays good Friday. (And he called the other Fridays Passover!) Dad enjoyed good Friday twenty-six times a year. Some years the […]
Let’s play word association. I say “St Patrick” and you might say “March 17,” “shamrock” (three leaf clovers), “Ireland,” “leprechaun,” or “green beverages.” To be cute, you might even answer with an Irish brogue. Just like Christmas and Easter, St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration of religious origin, of which the original meaning has been […]
Moving Toward Good Friday and Easter This week, many in the Christian community will observe Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of the season known as Lent, a solemn journey towards Easter. For some followers of Jesus, Ash Wednesday is little more than a notation on their calendar, whereas, for others, it is a meaningful spiritual […]
Remember to Celebrate Jesus’s Birthday As You Give and Receive Presents From my family to yours, we wish you a safe and happy Christmas as you celebrate Jesus’s birthday. As you spend this season with family and friends, may your celebrations be joyous and your time together be uplifting. May you receive the gifts given […]
Today is the fourth of July. Everywhere in the world, it’s the fourth of July. In the United States of America, however, it’s a special one. It’s the Fourth of July, a national holiday, officially known as Independence Day. It’s the day we celebrate our freedom as a country. Freedom is important to Jesus too. […]
Christmas and Easter Focus on Jesus, Preparing for Pentecost to Complete His Work and Reveal the Holy Spirit Though it’s been co-opted by secular society, Christmas remains as the most popular Christian holiday, celebrating the birth of Jesus. Next in notoriety stand the tandem of Good Friday, remembering the execution of Jesus, and Easter, celebrating […]
Celebrate Jesus’s Return to Heaven, Which Prepares the Way for Pentecost In my post The Four Main Christian Celebrations, I list for holy days (holidays) that smartly recognize Jesus and succinctly outline the key elements of his life and what he did for us. These Christian holidays are: I wonder if I should add Ascension […]
May We Never Become Indifferent toward Our Spiritual Practices and Faith Consider the adage that familiarity breeds contempt. While I hope that our familiarity with God will never breed contempt toward our Creator and Savior, I do wonder if our familiarity breeds complacency, that is a smug indifference or even apathy toward our faith. Recall […]
Happy Good Friday Today is Good Friday. Happy Good Friday! Seriously. Today is the day we remember Jesus’ sacrifice so that we could be made right with God. It stands as the ultimate sacrifice to end all sacrifices. For many people, Good Friday is a solemn day, in which we take time to gratefully recall […]