Wednesdays with Wendy

Recently I watched the series “A.B.C. Murders” on Amazon Prime. It is based on the book of the same name written by Agatha Christie. Now, when I was in junior high and high school, I read as many Agatha Christie novels as I could get. So when I saw that the series featured one of my favorite Christie characters, Detective Hercule Poirot, I was eager to watch it. It was an interesting adaptation – it featured an elderly Poirot dealing with his own aging process in the midst of feeling dismissed and forgotten. On a side note – I really enjoyed the series! But more importantly, it really started me thinking on how we treat the elderly.

Six days. I still have trouble realizing that Christmas will be here in just six days. I feel like we just finished summer! But whether I feel like it’s time or not, Christmas will arrive. Whether I am ready or not, it will happen. Whether or not I have all my shopping done – Christmas will occur.

This Sunday will begin the season of Advent. We celebrate four weeks of Advent to prepare our hearts for the celebration of the birth of Christ. One practice that can help develop a deeper connection to the meaning of Christmas is to focus on a certain value each week. This Sunday we will light the first candle of the Advent wreath. Traditionally it carries a meaning of hope. We light a candle for hope because the Light of the World brought us everlasting hope. The second Sunday of Advent we will light the candle for faith. Faith is trusting in God’s everlasting love for us as His children. The third Sunday of Advent is often represented by a pink candle in the Advent wreath. The third Sunday has a special name; it is called Gaudete Sunday. “Gaudete” is the Latin word for “rejoice”. It is also a Sunday to remember Mary, the mother of Jesus. In Luke 1:46-49, we have the beautiful words of Mary singing of her joy at being part of God’s work in the world:

Last evening I found myself a little disappointed that more of the candidates I had wanted to win, didn’t. There was a moment that I even caught myself questioning the time I spent in the process of voting.

If you have not read the letter that Senator John McCain released before his death, I encourage you to take two minutes and read it […]

This week I am in Washington, D.C. to visit The Museum of the Bible. Next year St. Luke’s will take two trips to the MotB; […]

Do you think that God hears your voice? I’ll be honest – the concept of the Creator of the universe listening to me – is sometimes too much for me to conceive. The reason I sometimes struggle with the idea is that I can feel that my voice seems too small to reach God in the midst of all that goes on in the world.

On this particular Wednesday, I am in the Holy Land. It has been a great trip with a group of wonderful people! Yesterday was a particular blessing for me. I had a chance to relive a special moment. Two years ago I was part of another trip to the Holy Land and we stopped to have lunch in Jericho, part of the Palestinian Authority. The restaurant was owned and run by a Muslim family and they were good friends of our guide who was Jewish. Not only was I moved by the hospitality that was shown to me and my family, I was moved by the friendship that existed between my guide and the family. I had a picture taken with the two men and I thought how funny for the three of us to be together – a Palestian Muslim, an Israeli Jew, and an American Christian.

In two weeks St. Luke’s will be leaving on a trip to the Holy Land. I am working on all the last minute things I have to get done before I leave. I am making up a half dozen to-do lists of personal tasks, things I still need to pick up from the store, people I need to call, things to do for church, and so on. But in all the things I have to prepare, I realized that I had neglected to put myself on any of the lists.

In honor of teachers (and in hopes that this post will make its way to Mr. Goodner) please share this status and add the name of a teacher who changed YOUR life!

Teachers have changed my life – over and over again!