Stations of the Cross
Today is Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the holy season of Lent. Lent is the fourty days leading up to Holy Week, a period of thought and reflection before we celebrate the risen Lord on Easter Sunday.
I’m providing you today with a link to a set of Stations of the Cross which I wrote a few years ago.
Central to our belief is that Christ walked amongst us, tried to reach out to us as one of us and became the sacrificial lamb for all of our sins through the crucifixion and resurrection.
The stations are used as focal points for prayer, mediation and reflection on the journey Christ took in the hours leading up to and during his crucifixion. I’ve put them online for those who wish to explore.
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Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh
I remember one of those rare times my dad told me a story about his wartime experiences, about his unit’s Chaplain and his unshakable faith. After a long day out on patrol near enemy lines in Italy his unit had found a deserted home to spend the night in. After they ate dad noticed the Chaplain seated by the window catching the last of the daylight, reading. Dad approached him and asked him “Padre, don’t you think you are taking an awful risk sitting there by the window?”. The answer he got was a calm, “son, if the good Lord is ready for me today, it wont matter where I’m sitting” and he returned to his book.
My mind went back to that story many times as I read Walsh’s book. He, who possessed that unquestioned trust in the one to whose hands he had entrusted his life. Walsh recounts her struggles to learn to take the leap of faith that let her trust as he had. She didn’t emerge from the battlefields of war ravaged Italy, she emerged instead from the war within that clinical depression engages us in.
That trust and the peace that comes with it didn’t come to her in a flash of almighty insight. It came to her one small piece and step at a time as she learned Christ doesn’t take us out of the pain that life brings us, he comes to hold us as we go through it together. She takes the reader through her own journey, not back to where she was before depression crumpled her but forward to where her growing trust in the Father was leading her, a step at a time.
For anyone who has been down the path of struggling with depression, Walsh’s writing is oh too real. I found myself brought to tears, something almost unheard of for me, as I saw flashes of myself in her story. I haven’t moved to her level of trust in the hands of the Father as she has or the openness about the journey.
As I read, she guided me through her commentary on ten stories from the bible which illustrated the depth and importance of trust. The book gave me much to consider, much to pray on and much to inspire myself to. Well worth the read.
NOTICE: I received this book from Nelson Thomas to read and review. You want to get some books to read and review you can find them at www.booksneeze.com
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Beautiful Things Happen When a Woman Trusts God by Sheila Walsh
Own The Podium Controversy — Chill Out
Five years ago Canada; as in the Canadian Olympic Committee, sports federations and the government took a pretty bold and overdue move. They put together a group known as “Own the Podium” with the goal to provide the training, support and technology to our top athletes with the stated goal of topping the medal count at the 2010 Olympics.
I was rather amused at the premise that Canada would own the podium in 2010 when we have taken far too long to pour the resources into our sports programs from which our Olympian’s emerge. Other countries, like the United States, Russia and China have made no bones about pouring millions into the development of their elite athletes. Why shouldn’t Canada?
Some criticize the goal of owning the podium as arrogance on Canada’s part, as setting unrealistic goals, putting to much pressure on our athletes etc. Chill out people. The fact is if you don’t set the bar as high as you dare to reach, you will never reach the goal. There is nothing unrealistic about the goals the program sets, Canadian athletes throughout the history of the games have turned in amazing performances, there is no reason why they shouldn’t receive the support of the nation they so proudly represent.
As for pressure on the athletes, I don’t believe anyone or anything can put as much pressure on the athletes as they do on themselves. They do what they do because they are driven to be the best at what they do. When our young skater breaks down in tears at a press conference after turning in a fourth place finish she is perceiving that she’s let her country down because she believes she let herself down. She’s beating herself up and how many of us haven’t done the same for a lot less?
When Chris Del Bosco could have settled for a bronze he saw his opportunity to strike for silver and made the move. It cost him the bronze but he wouldn’t have been satisfied knowing he could have taken the chance and finished higher. No one yelled at him to make the move, he pushed himself because that is who he is.
If striving to be the best and being backed up by your country, the country you will represent, is arrogance, then let’s wear that with pride. We join a lot of other countries with the same aspirations. They might not have been bold enough to give their program the name “Own the Podium” but they are doing exactly the same.
Canada has hosted two previous Olympic games and failed to capture even one gold. These games, so far, we’ve captured six and appear to be on track for a few more before the games end. I call that a success. What I call even more of a success, is watching the spectators and their unabashed pride in their country and their athletes. That doesn’t even take into account the millions who are watching from across the country.
The 2010 Olympic Games need to be remembered as the first games after Canada finally started providing the money and resources our athletes have deserved for many generations. The federal and provincial governments need to set a base of funding that will rise in response to corporate Canada stepping up to the plate with funds to continue the program. There should be no question about the funding being reduced, the only question should be, how high can Canada take it to support our young athletes?
They are among the Canadians who inspire our next and future generations to strive to be the best. When that happens, all Canadians win.
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