Casual Fridays

It’s true – I kissed a pig! This week was Vacation Bible School at St. Luke’s Edmond. Every year at VBS we have a little contest between the boys and the girls. We collect offerings throughout the week to support a local cause that benefits children. This year, all the funds were going to benefit Positive Tomorrows, a school for homeless children in Oklahoma City.

At St. Luke’s, we have started a sermon series to look at phrases that sound biblical, but aren’t actually in the bible. I’ve been having fun looking at the true origins of some of these sayings, and it got me curious about the origins of other common sayings. For example, have you ever wondered why we often say, “God bless you!” when someone sneezes? Why not when someone coughs or gets the hiccups?

Earlier this week I found two of my worlds colliding as I was listening to the radio driving home from the Oklahoma Annual Conference (our yearly business meeting for all United Methodists in the state). I was listening to the classical station and The Rite of Spring came on.

This weekend is Memorial Weekend. For many, it’s a time to kick off summer, go to the lake, and enjoy a little vacation. But, let’s not forget what the weekend and holiday is all about. We take time to remember those who have given the ultimate measure of sacrifice to ensure our freedoms in this country. They have given us the freedom to pray, worship, and speak freely. They have given us the freedom to voice our opinions through a democratic process. They have given us the freedom to vote in elections and protest peacefully when we disagree with something. We can never take these freedoms and so many others for granted.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and it’s a time to specifically focus on our moms and all the important women in our lives who have helped to shape us and make us better people. Moms certainly deserve more than one day out of the year to be celebrated! I know I don’t tell my mom enough how much she means to me, and I’m sure I don’t fully appreciate all that she has done for me in my life. This weekend, take time to tell the important women in your life how much they mean to you. They are certainly a gift from God. Happy Mother’s Day mom!

This past week I received two different “thank you” gifts from two of our classes in our childcare center at St. Luke’s Edmond. Sometimes it’s the simple ways that kids let you know they’re grateful that can do the most to brighten your day. If you have kids or grandkids take them this weekend to do something simple to express gratitude to someone else. I guarantee it will brighten their day, it will be a blessing to you, and it will teach a valuable lesson to your child!

This morning I attended our “Under Construction Men’s Community Group” meeting. One of the group members had arranged for a Catholic priest to come and talk with us about Catholicism and we had opportunities to ask questions about some of the things we didn’t understand about the Catholic faith, or maybe misconceptions we held. It was a fascinating discussion, and I’m grateful to Father Aaron Foshee for coming to talk to us.

One of my favorite weekends of the year is here, and it’s not just because it’s the beginning to Holy Week. It’s also The Masters golf tournament! I love the tradition, pageantry, and beauty of this tournament every year. Four years ago I had the opportunity to go to Augusta, Georgia with my dad and brother and see one of golf’s most revered courses.

Next Sunday begins the week we call “Holy Week” in the Church. It represents the last week of the life of Jesus before he was crucified and then resurrected on the first Easter Sunday. Holy Week begins with what we call “Palm Sunday”. It gets its name from the story told in Matthew 21 of people cutting branches out of the trees and laying them on the ground before Jesus as he made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem.