Lenten Reflections – week 4

March 20, 2017
Today’s song is a musical setting of the Prayer of St. Teresa:

Let nothing disturb you, nothing distress you. While all things fade away, God is unchanging. Be patient, for with God in your heart, nothing is lacking. God is enough.

To listen to the song, click the link, then select “Prayer of St. Teresa,” the fourth track in the song list. The song was used in today’s Pray-As-You-Go devotional, and I strongly encourage you to take the 12+ minutes to listen to the full devotional, which includes a reading from Matthew 1:18-21, 24a.

March 22, 2017
In Chicago, the sky is overcast, and the forecast is cold and windy. But I am reminding myself that it’s still a beautiful day. Whenever I find myself considering cold and rainy/grey days as less than optimal, I’m reminded of a woman I met years ago. She’d shared a story about a tragic auto accident that had left her near death and requiring extensive physical therapy. For her, whether it was a rainy day or the skies were blue and full of sun, it was a “beautiful day” because she was alive to experience it.

March 23, 2017
I have a few go-to songs for when I need some extra energy to get going. This one pumps me up physically and spiritually. If God is for us, who can be against us?
#Lent2017 #EncourageYourselfInTheLord #BeEncouraged

March 24, 2017
This is always my prayer, for Jesus to walk with me. Here’s a beautiful rendention by Sharon Irving
#Lent2017 #EncourageYourselfInTheLord #BeEncouraged

March 25, 2017
Most people only associate Handel’s “Messiah” with the Christmas season, but there are actually three parts to it. The music we’re most familiar with is in the first section. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to sing some of the choral pieces from the third section. One of my absolute favorite pieces from that section is the extremely moving “Worthy is the Lamb That Was Slain.” It’s a little over 8 minutes long, and over half of it is “Amen.” It blows me away, and it’s just what my spirit needed this morning!