Journeying to the Cross

The lenten season is upon us. Being in the midst of a busy season with work, I will admit that the days and weeks leading up to Ash Wednesday were not necessarily focused on what I was planning to set aside for the next 6 weeks in order to draw nearer to Jesus. In fact, I will be the first to admit that I've never been all that great at "giving up" for lent. It's not that I can't live without tv or Facebook or certain foods (ok, maybe I can't live very long without coffee...in fact, I'm almost certain that my body would go into shock or some sort of failure without coffee), but past experiences have shown that the cutting out of various forms of technology and unhealthy food does not result in more time, more intimacy spent with God. Rather than being challenged to "give up" for lent, my focus is instead shifted to the addition of something to my life.

So, what is it that I am adding to my life?

Simply put, I am choosing to feast in thanksgiving as I make my way to the cross over these next 6 weeks. The word feast has become significant to me over the course of the last little while, as I explained a few posts back. This notion of feasting - an unusual or abundant enjoyment - is an invitation for me to take time to get away with Jesus. Feasting leads me to a place of intimacy.

The word thanksgiving has also become increasingly significant over the last few days, personally and as we as a staff team have been preparing for SOAR. Through various conversations with friends and mentors, I have been both challenged and encouraged to return to a place of thanksgiving. For the past year and a half in particular, I have been on a journey learning what it means to give thanks - to be attentive to the ways in which God moves and transforms through the little things. I must confess that thankfulness has not  necessarily been a part of my vocabulary for the last 6 months as I have allowed doubt and fear to creep in and veil my eyes from truly seeing. I want to return to a place of posturing myself and rooting myself in thanksgiving.

"The password is thank you"

These wise words given to us as a SOAR Saskatchewan planning team by one of our intercessors. What a good word. When we choose to take on a posture of giving thanks, we find ourselves able to enter into locked doors, to enter into rooms we might not have otherwise been able to enter. Thanksgiving unlocks doors. We as a team have come to love those words and we will continue to sit with them throughout the week ahead in particular.

I can't help but think that those same words, "the password is thank you" is the key to journeying to the cross. How can we truly grasp the significance and the power of what Christ accomplished on the cross if we fail to practice thanksgiving? I want to be intentional in choosing to give thanks. When we choose to clothe our hearts and our minds in thanksgiving, we are promised that we will experience a peace that exceeds all understanding. But thanksgiving must come first.

"Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." ~ Phil. 4:4-7

So, as I walk out this season of lent and make my way to the cross, I am choosing to center my heart and mind around these verses - that I might not only posture myself in thanksgiving, but that I would revel in the presence of Jesus and take in the extravagance of his love for me.

Choosing thanks for...

• coffee that dispels sleepy eyes and tired minds.
• 44 teenagers who will experience heart, mind and soul transformation as they spend their school break in the inner city of Saskatoon.
• air-mattresses that make sleeping in a church slightly more comfortable.
• co-workers who encourage, who inspire, who empower, who love, who laugh and who I am privileged to do life with.
• a God who speaks.