Today's JAR - Keeping Christ in Christmas

Today's JAR just a reminder

The Advent Fast begins on Saturday, November 15th... But since the 14th is a fast day, TODAY is the last day to eat meat (and depending on how strictly you are planning to fast... )

Remember to stay focused on the feast day and less on the festivities.  After all, Keeping Christ in Christmas doesn't mean saying "Merry Christmas" instead of "Happy Holidays." There is a deeper meaning to this phrase.  Keeping Christ in Christmas means that we respect that this is a religious holiday and are following the traditions the church has protected.  We fill these days with prayer, fasting and alms giving not  lists to Santa for our wants, Christmas parties and overspending on gifts to give to friends, who already have everything they could possible need; meanwhile, ignoring the poor and shut-in. 


this card is available at www.shop.vacardbox.com

Keep Christ in Christmas... And remember it is a religious holiday.

Today's JAR- Modern Christianity vs Orthodoxy

Today's JAR. just a reminder


Modern Christianity says

"God created me and He doesn't make mistakes." 

Orthodoxy says

"Deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Him

and He will transform you into His image

so that you can become who you were meant to be,"

Today's JAR- Just a Reminder. On the Third Sunday of Lent We Remember the Holy Cross

We remember the Holy Cross twice a year: on the Third Sunday of Lent, and on September 14th. 

The third Sunday is about half way through our 7 week Lenten journey, when we are starting to get hungry, tired and easily irritated.  The fast is wearing on us and we are finding the evening fast food commercials appetizing maybe even mouth watering.  We might even find that after three weeks of clean living, our thoughts wander more than we ever realized and we are not in as much control as we once imagined.

But the Church places the adoration of the Holy Cross before us to remind us of God's love, power, and willingness to endure all things for our salvation.  It is placed as a beacon before us to encourage and strengthen us on this spiritual journey with the awareness that this isn't going to be easy, but worth every effort we put into it. 

Let us carry our crosses quietly, bravely and courageously... with the understanding that God is always with us, the cross we carry strengthens us and we are half way to our destination. 

Today's JAR- Just a Reminder. Lent requires your time.

The third week of lent is a tough one.  I'm still getting used to the new diet.  I am realizing that my high ideals of everything I was going to accomplish during Lent was too high.  And I see that as we near the midpoint, I still have a long way to go. 

It's not too late for me to take a more realistic approach to the three major aspects of lent: prayer, fasting and almsgiving.  But I am finding time to be my biggest struggle right now.  The new recipes take more time to prepare and cook as I learn them.  I've been "too busy" to attend the extra services.  I am also sure I can actually pick up one of my stacked books and make time to read those enlightening books on the lives of the saints.  And even if I don't have a dime to spare, there are plenty of people who don't need my money, just my time, some one to visit them and keep them company. 

 

Looks like a key element of lent is time more than anything else. 

How do we spend our time.?

On Marsh 29th I am going to be speaking at a retreat at the St. Photios Shrine in St. Augustine, FL about time and ways that we sanctify time, make it holy. 

I will first identify the 5 different types of time... Seasonal, Cyclical, Measurable, Relative, and Healing... I even add Greek as a sub category for those who think being late is a virtue.   

Then we will go through the twelve major feast days of the church calendar and identify how we can make room in our busy schedules to recognize them and celebrate them.  I will give a synopsis of each feast day and we will discuss traditions and menus.  For example, Palm Sunday is a day we traditionally eat fish and the Elevation of the Cross is a strict fast day. 

Do you know the twelve major feasts?  Can you identify the ones that are moveable, associated with Pascha/Easter?  

1. Nativity of the Theotokos,
2. Elevation of the Cross,
3. Entrance of the Theotokos into the Temple,
4. Nativity of Christ,
5. Theophany of our Lord,
6. Presentation of Our Lord,
7. Annunciation of the Theotokos,
8. Palm Sunday,
9. Ascension,
10. Pentecost,
11. Transfiguration of Our Lord,
12. Dormition of the Theotokos. 

Stay strong as you continue on your Lenten journey.  If you are hungry, make adjustments and take your vitamins.  If you are finding it hard to make time for Lent, look at what you spend your time on.  Re-evaluate your priorities.  If we don't have time for prayer, fasting and almsgiving, we have to adjust something.  

Today's JAR- Just a Reminder- Annunciation

Card available at www.vscardbox.com

Tuesday, March 25, is the Feast of the Annunciation.  How are you going to celebrate this Major Feast of the Church?  Did you ask off work so you can attend Liturgy?  Did you plan a dinner considering fish is permitted on this day?  Did you realize Christmas is 9 months away? 

Don't let this holiday slip away. 



Luke 1: 26-38

Christ’s Birth Announced to Mary

 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!”^[c]
  
But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
  
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?”

And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. For with God nothing will be impossible.”

Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

Today's JAR- Fortune Telling is Against God's Will

Today's JAR  Just a Reminder

I was reading a popular blog on Greek traditions and my heart stopped when I read, HOW TO READ A COFFEE CUP.    She wrote, "Remember that this is superstition, a game, something to do for fun!"

Any time we look away from God to see our future we look to the demons.  I say this because when we look away, we no longer trust God's will to lead us, no longer learn from the journey, and no long depend on Him to give us what we need.   And any seed that is planted during these "games" can harm us even more.  They grow the weeds of doubt and fear, or false confidence.  

Fortune telling is more of a demonic practice than a game.  I feel the same way about horoscopes.  Or as I say, horror-scopes. 

If you want to know what your future holds, pray.  Establish your life towards a godly direction.  Nurture your relationship with God.  Keep your compass set on Christ and the Church's teachings.  I can assure you your future will hold challenges, joys, peace, falls and repentance.   Little by little, day by day, you will come to find that living each day will be enough for you to worry about and the future will be better left in God's hands.  Like manna in the desert, you will have every thing you need for today. 

Matthew 6:25-34  New King James Version (NKJV)

Do Not Worry

 “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
 “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;  and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
 “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’  For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Today's Jar- Now is the Time.

 

 

Hoping you have a blessed Lent. 

 

 

I love how the psalmist compares the fast to a great sea...  Leavening images of a challenging journey where  some patches are rough, others are smooth... The sea is very deep and storms (temptations, struggles, passions) will come.  But we are on the sea with a destination in mind.  We are out at sea with a purpose.  Use your nautical tools: prayer services, fasting, alms giving...  Don't get lost at sea.  Keep your eye on the horizon.  Soon we will cry out "Land, Ho!"  And the relief of salvation will come as we sing "Christ is risen from the dead!"  

Today's JAR- Just a Reminder. Jesus Came to Heal the Sick.

Yesterday I saw a post shared on facebook from Humans of New York.  The page shares candid pictures of New Yorkers and then shares a mini interview of a few questions.  The post I saw was of a man sitting on a bench, maybe a subway or outside a building.  He was reading a nook or mini pad and seemed very comfortable with where he was. 

 

the Q&A

 

"Who do you love most in this world?"
"God."
"When did you find it most difficult to love God?"
"Childhood."
"Why during childhood?"
"Because I always wondered why things happened to me."
"How long did you wonder why?"
"Until I found God, then I knew why."
"Why?"
"Because people aren't bad, they're sick. And sick people do bad things."

 

The Blogger continued to add in the comments.... "There was about thirty seconds of silence after each question."  http://www.humansofnewyork.com/ 

 

Today's JAR- Jesus came to heal the sick.

We all want to be loved. We talk about how much God loves us and how love is the key to Christianity.

 

Love is the antidote. 

 

It is the medication the heals us. 

 

Love is the cure.

If God is the Doctor, the Physician of our souls and bodies as we pray during the Liturgy,

 He holds the prescription pad...

Be the pharmacist today and give love. Heal those around you with love.  

Today's JAR- Who Defines Love?

Let today's Valentine's Day celebration be of a Godly love, not a bodily love. Be loving to your family, friends and strangers. Go one step more and say a prayer for your enemies and those who have hurt you.

Don't let the world define love, live by the definition of the One who established love. Let today be a Christian holiday.

Today's JAR, Just a Reminder- The Math of Pain, It Just Adds Up.

I bet I could write an entire blog just on my dad and his parenting skills.   He had the best way to teach us about life.  He thought it was really important for us to think for ourselves.  We weren't taught to be proud of ourselves, but we were expected to be smart or get smart. 

For example, when we were kids, if one of us got hurt, bumped our head or had a tooth ache, he'd say, "Come here so I can step on your toe." 

You might think that sounds cruel, and to whiney kids, it wasn't the response we were looking for.  But I think back and I can't miss the lesson he was teaching us, beside the obvious, "Don't be a whiner."  If it even takes one time for him to step on toes, most kids know one pain doesn't make another pain go away.  You just end up with two pains. 

And there are times I look back at the choices I've made and the situations I've been in and I can honestly say, it's better to sit with one pain than to end up with two. 

So, thanks, Dad! You had your moments of brilliance. 

Oh, and I have been enjoying teaching this lesson to my son.  Luckily he catches on quickly.

Today's JAR- The Power of Prayer

Today's JAR- Just a Reminder  If you want to truly see the power of prayer and experience God's love, pray for your enemies.  It's one of those things you have to experience to believe.  But if you need a Biblical reference, here are two:

 

 

 and

 

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 

 But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

 

Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.  Matthew 5:43-48

Today's JAR (Just a Reminder) Our Purpose is to Learn How to Love.

  

I keep hearing a conversation that is foreign to me.  It involves Christians searching to understand their purpose in life that would fulfill and complete them and justify their existence.  This language does not refer to a calling, the means to fulfilling this purpose, but in this contemporary theology it seems we all have a purpose for being born.  And until we understand and fulfill this purpose we are wanderers in life, we are letting God down.  There is a dire sense that we were born for a purpose and not simply with a purpose.

 

I do not like this theology...

 

God created us with a purpose, a very important purpose...to have a relationship (walk with) Him, to know Him, to love Him.  This is common to all of us. 

 

 

 

But this kind of love isn’t forced onto us, we have to learn it and be accountable to it, choose it.  Look at Adam and Eve.  They weren’t born with it or they wouldn’t have blamed someone else for their own sins.  They would have apologized.  They would have repented.  They wouldn't have look outside of God for that which only God could give.   They were children.  They weren’t mature in love. 

 

Let our purpose in life be learning to love in a way that is God-like.  Let us do away with childish things.*  Let us fulfill Adam and Eve's purpose and allow God to guide us. 

 

 

* The Greatest Gift -- 1 Corinthians 13

 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.  And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up;  does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;  does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part.   But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away.

 

When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Today's JAR- We Fast to Prepare for Theophany

Today's JAR.  Just a Reminder- I hope you enjoyed our Fast Free period... 11 days fast free... because today is a fasting day in preparation for Theophany: our Lord's baptism, the manifestation of the Trinity ( the voice of the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Spirit in the form of a dove.) and the beginning of Jesus' public ministry. 

Don't let today's football celebrations overpower tomorrow's celebration of THEOPHANY. 

Today's JAR- Are You Willing to Keep Christ in Christmas?

Today's JAR- Some of you are getting antsy and tempted to remove any signs of Christmas from your décor, to start fresh in the new year. But if you ever shouted out "Keep Christ in Christmas!" Then you should consider the irony of removing Him before Epiphany, January 6th. The Orthodox faithful celebrate Christmas for the twelve days between Christmas and Epiphany.

Please be consistent and keep Christ in the true Christmas season.

 

 

 

 

Christmas for Toddlers

We are busy. busy with preparations for Thanksgiving but I know many of you will want to start celebrating Christmas on Friday.  I try to wait as long as possible because it can all be so distracting for us... especially when teachers are still sending homework home.  But for those of you with smaller children here are a few thoughts.


1) Hide all advertisements and stop watching (or at least limit) TV.  Nothing spoils the giving mood more than greed, and nothing yells greed more than commercials and sale ads. 

2) Keep it simple.  Toddlers only need 2-3 presents to be happy.  Don't waste your money on toys that will only bore your kids in 2 hours.  Give them craft supplies and interesting paper.  One of our "successful" gifts included really cool graph paper and markers. 

3) Keep it kid friendly... Don't bring out the pretty manger scene and décor until you are sure the kids won't break them.  When our son started walking and reaching we were in a very small apartment on campus.  We were creative and we opted for a tabletop tree and a kid friendly (and welcoming) manger scene... Now that he's older, we bring out the ceramic manger. 

 4) Read more books.  Libraries usually offer a special section for Christmas books.   Ebay has great prices on slightly used books as well.  I pull ours down from the top shelf in December and have them in reach for him to read and look through.  Libraries also have CD's of Christmas music and carols.  I try to buy a new CD every year because I have learned that the radio will stop playing Christmas music on December 26th, but we celebrate till January 6th with Theophany.  We have a nice collection so far. 

That's it for now.  Thanksgiving preparations are still tugging for my attention and we have company coming.  I will add more as the season continues...   Till then, stay hydrated and prayerful. 

Today's JAR- You Are Loved

Today's JAR- As we prepare for Christmas, this first day of the Advent Fast, it's good to remember that when we start a sentence with "I deserve (blank)" then we've started in the wrong direction. Once we start making decisions because of what we perceive we deserve, because we love ourselves, we've invited suffering into our future.  I say this because these days that lead to Christmas are no longer about preparation, but of indulgence.  Commercials will be airing the next 40 days trying to convince us that we don't have enough and deserve more.  They will try to imply that we are not happy until... And they will plant seeds that we aren't really loved unless... . Let's be guarded from these distractions of the truth; these destructive lies.

This truth is...

Well, it's two-fold:  1) No one deserves to be loved.  2) We are loved anyway. 

Christmas is a confirmation of this... “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." John 3:16. 

Let's keep this verse on the top of our thoughts as we enter into this holy time of preparation. 

Today's JAR- just a reminder

Today's JAR (just a reminder) Those Who Seek The Lord Shall Never Lack Any Good Thing.

We were created to be in communion with God.  This is why we feel an insatiable spot in our hearts that can only be filled by Him.   Most of us don't understand this feeling or have become numb to it.  As a result, we try to satisfy the vacancy with things.  But they only distract us for a while.  The emptiness is still there. You will never be able to fill it except with God. 

Today's JAR- just a reminder- Lists are Great Spiritual Tools.

Are you a List Maker?  Do you need to write things down so you'll remember?  I do.  I have a list of groceries to buy, meals to make, ideas and deep thoughts to write about... people to call, bills to pay and things to do next while I am online before I get lost in an article or on facebook.  I am definitely a list maker.  It's mostly because I am a Forgetter.  I forget names, good ideas, things I've done and people who are mad at me.  Eventually, I even forget people I didn’t get along with and I don’t hold grudges.  

Being a forgetter can be a good thing... but when it comes to spiritual growth it can really be a downer.  Like when I forget how great it feels to fast for Lent, and then when it’s time to fast again, I complain about it. Or when I find comfort reading Bible passages, but I never stop to read the Bible on a regular basis.  Or, when I pray for things I want in the moment forgetting about the Big Picture- God’s perfect perspective.  That’s when I find myself praying without discernment: Lord, please bless me with a well paying job.  Lord, please bless me with lots of children to love and care for.  Lord, please find a husband who is kind and loving and always home for dinner… but be sure he has a job that makes enough money that I can have everything I desire, including long vacations. 

I used to pray for opposite things all the time, mostly because I wanted it all.  I wanted everything without the consequences.

On the other hand, I also realized that I would say I wanted something, but after I really thought about it, it wasn’t what I truly wanted... it wasn’t what my heart truly desired.

So one day, at the suggestion of a friend, I started writing down what I was going to pray for.  Not just a list of names of who to pray for, but a list of what I wanted, hoped for, for myself and my friends and family.  I prayed from this list each night.  And you know what I found… There were things on my list I truly wanted and things that weren’t going to be good for me.  There were prayers that weren’t answered and that was okay, because I knew I tried, so the answer must have been “No.”  It was a good lesson of discernment.  But the best part was the there were things I was crossing off my list to write a little “thank you” in the margin, lots of things!  Things I thought were pretty much impossible, were happening.  

And then the darndest thing happened.  I stopped writing my list.  I was afraid to ask for things because I might actually get what I asked for.  And that scared me.  I thought I was being selfish.  

Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense.

But I am over that now.  I got back to writing my lists again.  Today, I have a little notebook on my icon shelf, a tiny thing.  And I rewrote my lists.  From the front of the notebook I have lists for people, a page for each of the following: immediate family members, relatives, friends from church, friends from school, friends from work, clergy families and spiritual fathers- past and present. There is a memorial list for people who have died as well.  Another friend taught me to pray for parishioners and relative who didn’t have children or grandchildren, since there will most likely be only one generation to remember them- and we don’t know how long till the Second Coming.  

As for things and situations, starting from the back, I have lists for those: for me, my family and for others.  It’s not a long list.  And I am very careful as to what I write on it.  But I write it with an understanding that I might just get what I ask for. 

 

This morning I was able to write another “thank you” in the margin.  It wasn’t scary this time.  It was actually very comforting.

 

 

 

Today's JAR- just a reminder. Harvesting Basil in the Fall for the Elevation of the Holy Cross

 

 

This post may come a little late, and I should repost in the spring, but as we find ourselves harvesting our gardens and many of our plants going to seed, if we planted basil this year, we probably noticed its little white flowers.  Hopefully we clipped the blooms to prevent it from seeding so the leaves last a few more days.   We will want to take some as an offer to Liturgy on Saturday, September 14th as we celebrate the Elevation of the Holy Cross. 

 

Here is the story of the Holy Cross I found on www.goarch.org the website for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America.

 

Saint Helen, the mother of Saint Constantine the Great, when she was already advanced in years, undertook, in her great piety, the hardships of a journey to Jerusalem in search of the cross, about the year 325. A temple to Aphrodite had been raised up by the Emperor Hadrian upon Golgotha, to defile and cover with oblivion the place where the saving Passion had been suffered. The venerable Helen had the statue of Aphrodite destroyed, and the earth removed, revealing the Tomb of our Lord, and three crosses. Of these, it was believed that one must be that of our Lord, the other two of the thieves crucified with Him; but Saint Helen was at a loss which one might be the Wood of our salvation. At the inspiration of Saint Macarius, Archbishop of Jerusalem, a lady of Jerusalem, who was already at the point of death from a certain disease, was brought to touch the crosses, and as soon as she came near to the Cross of our Lord, she was made perfectly whole. Consequently, the precious Cross was lifted on high by Archbishop Macarius of Jerusalem; as he stood on the ambo, and when the people beheld it, they cried out, "Lord have mercy."  . 

Another source described the tradition of the basil:

On the spot where the Cross was discovered, St. Helen had found a hitherto unknown flower of rare beauty and fragrance, which has been named “Vasiliko”, or Basil, meaning the flower of royalty. Note that the word “Vasiliko” means “of the King,” since the word “Basileus” in Greek means “King”; so, the plant Vasiliko, Basil, is tied to the Precious Cross of the King of Glory, our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, it is a tradition to bring basil to be blessed at today’s Divine Liturgy.

 

 

 



 

 

 

For the Feast of the Holy Cross, churches will decorate a tray of basil to surround a cross as a reminder of this history.   Following the service, as people receive a blessing from the piece, we will receive a small spray to take home.  I try to put the stems from my basil in water to root for next year.  Caring for it all year is a good reminder of the value and importance of the Cross.  Most times, I have to buy seeds because I didn't so such a good job.  :) 

 

 

 

 

We must remember to bring our children to church on Saturday, making this holy strict-fasting day a priority above soccer and other Saturday morning lessons.   We must help our children navigate the many choices that they will have to make and by our example, model that the church calendar is our compass, our guide to living and experiencing a full Orthodox life. 

 

Slow down this weekend.  Attend Liturgy Saturday morning to honor the Cross and then again Sunday morning to honor Christ's resurrection.  Plan a Lenten meal to cook for your family.  Let us stop for a moment and reflect upon our cross that we carry.  Let us raise it to our shoulders bravely and carry it as we follow Christ and His teachings, as taught through the Bible and Holy Tradition.  For many of us, this "cross" is to decide that Liturgy is the most important thing this Saturday.