Holy Week Pt 3. The Garden Awaits...

Matthew 26:30
"30 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."
   I love this verse. Jesus sang. I'm not sure what they sang. It could have been the Lord's prayer, or some other song that was traditionally sung during Passover. With all that was yet to come Jesus sang. I believe it lifted not only his heart but those of the disciples. They were soon going to need that encouragement. 

 "39 Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him."  Luke 22:39 NIV 
     From this verse it seem like this wasn't anything new for Jesus. I don't know if it was his usual practice only at passover, or if it was his usual practice when he was in Jerusalem. Either way Jesus and his disciples set out heading for the Mt. of Olives. 

The garden they would come to was at the base of the mt. Again I try to envision this walk. I don't know if it was just down the road from where the group had celebrated the passover meal, or if it was a long enough walk to settle the food in their stomachs and give them a bit of exercise. Did the disciples talk among themselves? I think so. I think Jesus was silent on the walk. Already in prayer with his Father about all that was being set into motion. I imagine his thoughts were deep, and he was silent. 

We know from the Bible accounts that Jesus told a few of the disciples to sit and pray. He specifically said for them to pray that they wouldn't fall into temptation. He already knew the temptations of that night and the days ahead that they would all face. He wanted them to be ready. Then we walked a little farther.. 

Matthew 26:36-38  "37 He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”  

I like to poo poo the disciples who couldn't stay wake to pray with Jesus when he was so obviously hurting and troubled. Then I think I would have been just like them. How many times have I seen someone burdened with something and turned the other way so I could avoid them. How many times have I said "sure I'll pray for you about that"  and never thought of them or the request again. Way to many times.  

39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”

I don't know about you, but I try not to sweat. I've done a lot of it outside in the summer in the vegetable garden, and working in our yard in Ky. I have never been so focused on anything that I sweat large drops of water let alone blood. Jesus did some earnest praying that day. Praying that there could be another way of Salvation for mankind. Praying that he could endure what was to come. Praying not my will but your will. I could stay here and talk about this all day.. but time is moving and there is more to come on this night.

40 Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. 41 “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”

43 When he came back, he again found them sleeping, because their eyes were heavy. 44 So he left them and went away once more and prayed the third time, saying the same thing.

45 Then he returned to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Look, the hour has come, and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners. 46 Rise! Let us go! Here comes my betrayer!” 

Matthew 26: 40-46 NIV 

Holy Week - 2. The Last Supper

As I continue to think about the last week of Christ I am drawn to that last supper. The actual Passover meal that would be celebrated again this year as in the past. We know Jesus' ministry lasted about 3 yrs.  I'm no Bible scholar, but I'm guessing that these same 12 disciples had celebrated that Passover 2 times previously. 

The Bible tells us that Jesus sent the disciples out into Jerusalem to make preparations for the meal. (Luke 22: 7-23) I can almost see them getting ready to celebrate yet another Passover with "The Master". Looking for that perfect place for the dinner. We know Jesus sent them to find a certain man who would have a private upper room that would be prepared for them. 

 I can just imagine them making sure the food was purchased and double checking that the good plates were used, and that someone to clean up was hired. I wonder if a couple of them were sent out to the "Store" to choose the wine, and make sure the best Passover bread was purchased. 

This photo comes from the center for Judaic studies and shows what the Passover table would have looked like 

you can see more here.

Only Jesus knew this Passover meal would be different, special, and remembered by all Believers for all the generations to come. I believe Jesus already knew the conversations that would take place. The way His disciples would lean in to hear Him speak about His body and blood, and the mention of a new covenant. 

I can only imagine the questioning looks as Jesus reveals that He knows that He is about to be betrayed by Judas, and how it broke his heart to know one of his closest friends had plotted with his enemies and it would lead to his death. Talk about the betrayal of a friend. Jesus knew that pain well.

One of my favorite parts is that Jesus takes time before the meal starts to wash his disciples' feet. I think that maybe a servant had been dispatched by the owner of the house to do this task. I can just see Jesus telling him "I've got this covered" and sending him back to his master. Then Jesus, the very Son of God. removed his robe, girded his loins, took the bowl and the water and washed the feet of his beloved disciples. 

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't have wanted to wash any of those feet. As I said I'm not a Bible scholar, I may have the timing of this off, but I know feet. Feet aren't pretty. They tend to stink and look all yukky. Back in those days I just imagine that those feet were covered by well worn sandals. Those feet were dirty, maybe even filthy just like our sin filled hearts. I would have been one who begged Jesus to just "skip it". I'll do my own feet washing thank you. 

I know that Jesus would have told me like he did Peter. "Unless I wash you, you have no part of me." *John 13: 1-17 NIV

 (Unless Jesus washes us in his blood, we haven't got clean hearts. Jesus has to wash us, or we remain filthy.) 

When my papa was spending his last days on this earth I washed his feet. His precious feet. Bent from years of work. Tired and worn. When I did that God showed me just a bit of how Jesus felt washing those feet. He did for us what we could not do for ourselves. 

The time is passing quickly now. Judas has left. The meal has come to an end. They are heading to the garden. 

Luke 22: 1-23 NIV   

Holy Week -1 The Triumphant Entry Into Jerusalem

During Holy week I like to reflect each day on what Jesus faced his last week. The past couple of days I've thought about how his disciples must have felt at Christ's triumphant entry into the city of Jerusalem just a few short days ago. The crowds cheered for him, Welcomed him, and exalted him. 

Jesus knew how the tide would quickly turn. How those faces that loved him would soon hate him, spit on him, jeer him, and ultimately demand his death on the cross. Jesus knew and yet He continued to walk on through the preparations of the week. 
I imagine He continued to Teach and heal. I also think he may have spent a little extra time with His disciples/friends. The time was quickly coming when all would abandon Him. 

His love placed him on the Donkey to enter Jerusalem as the scripture prophesied. 
His love for us would soon face his persecutors. 
His Love for us would soon lead to His blood being spilled as He was crucified to cover all of mankind's Sin. 
Then 3 days later He would Rise and all that was written in the Heart of God for the Salvation of all mankind would be fulfilled.
Soon He will celebrate the Passover with His disciples. Friday is coming..

Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
- Hebrews 2:17 (NLT)

A Life Well Lived....

Today I got an email from a friend. The following was enclosed. I thought I'd share it with you..  

Written by Regina Brett, 90 years old, of the Plain Dealer, Cleveland , Ohio .

"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most requested column I've ever written.

My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.

3. Life is too short, enjoy it.

4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and family will.

5. Pay off your credit cards every month.

6. You don't have to win every argument. Stay true to yourself.

7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.

8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.

10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.

11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye, but don't worry, God never blinks.

16.. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn't useful. Clutter weighs you down in many ways.

18. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.

19.. It's never too late to be happy. But it's all up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.

21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.

22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.

23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

24. The most important sex organ is the brain.

25. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?'

27. Always choose life.

28. Forgive

29. What other people think of you is none of your business.

30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.

31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

32. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

33. Believe in miracles.

34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.

35. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.

36. Growing old beats the alternative of dying young.

37. Your children get only one childhood.

38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.

41. Envy is a waste of time. Accept what you already have, not what you need

42. The best is yet to come...

43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

44. Yield.

45. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift.

We Are Fearfully And Wonderfully Made...

I was just listening to Matthew West's song "Wonderfully Made". You can listen to the song and see the inspiration for it here.

wow what a testimony that young man has. What an inspiration. 

I think about a little girl at our Church.. Alyson... She is such a wonderful kid.. I can't really explain the issues Alyson has to deal with. The doctors themselves are not really sure. I don't really think that's important. What is important is that Alyson, along with all of us,  is fearfully and wonderfully made.  She loves deeply, she is full of kindness.. She knows God in a very special way. She wants everyone she meets to know Him too.  

Ally may never be able to sit down and tell you how and why she loves God, or why she loves you, But I know along with everyone who meets her, that God has made Alyson special for His Glory. She has a heart full of His love and mercy. She has a purpose. She has a story. We all do. 

Maybe you have something that keeps you from being seen as "normal" or "just like everyone else"..  God created us all for a purpose; For His Glory. If we look with our hearts we will see that Everyone is fearfully and wonderfully made..  

Some Days I Have To Hold Jesus' Hand A Little Tighter....

Today has been a little overwhelming. We lost my Aunt Shirley on Thursday and a dear friend from Ky. Papaw Bobby, on Wed. As I was calling to order flowers this morning for the respective families the pain of it starts to overwhelm me. We lost Ken's brother almost 2 weeks ago. It's overwhelming. 

Mom called to tell me about Aunt Shirley. I don't normally have regrets, but today I do. I could have made time to go see aunt Shirley. I fully intended to go. Every spring, every summer, and every fall... especially when I don't drive during the winter. I had 3 knee surgeries and didn't drive for months.. I just had another surgery this past fall.. See lots of excuses. So the pain of not seeing her is a bit more intense, because I thought I had plenty of time.

I feel overwhelmed with death and the pain and grief of it today. So today I have to hold Jesus' hand a little tighter. I have to ask for more comfort. I have to ask forgiveness for putting off what I should have done because I could do it another time. I have to ask for extra comfort for my mom. Shirley was her last sister. the others have passed. 

I am so thankful for the times we did see each other. I am thankful that on one of those visits she shared the information she had on their family tree. I'm glad she wanted to share it with me. I'm praying for Uncle Lynwood today. They spent 56 wonderful years together. I'm also praying for the kids and grandkids. Their grief is heavy. 

I also want to mention Papaw Bobby. Funny how we just called him that. Our dear friend Terry, (she's the same age as our Sue, so we've always just thought of her as our kid) introduced us to Bobby, her mom's 2nd husband. "hey Karen, meet papaw bobby"..  

He looked at me from under that big scruffy Grizzly Adams beard and said "Hey Sis"..  I melted right there. My brother Keith had been gone for several years and no one had ever called me sis except him. He just continued calling me Sis all the years we knew him. I think probably because he couldn't remember my name. :) 

we would see him from time to time at Terry's house bringing her mom for a visit, or looking for parts. He was always tinkering with some sort of motor or vehicle. He loved to fish and he spent many a day on the river or at the lake cat-fishing.. He was "old timey" as Miss Head would say. I just loved Papaw Bobby. He was a very special kind of man. 

Today as I remember papaw Bobby and Aunt Shirley I'd like to think they are already sitting on the porches of their mansions sipping ice tea. Sweet tea for Bobby.. I bet he's already asked the Lord if He needs anything worked on. He'll be catfishing this afternoon sometime and pulling in a few "big uns"... 

Today I'm thinking of aunt Shirley finally able to be with her baby son, her sisters, and her parents. there'll be lots of hugs and a lot of catching up to do. 

I'll be thinking about Papaw Bobby and his gentle smile and his sparkly eyes full of mischief, and I'll sing for them.. 

I will Rise ... Chris Tomlin.. join in and sing.. it's a great way to remember that some day God will call our names and we will Rise.. 

click here...

I Can't Believe It's Been 24 yrs. Today....

24 yrs. ago today I found my birth family. wow, it doesn't seem like it's been that long. What a journey it was. I won't bore you with the whole long thing. I'll just tell you that I received a call from a Judge I had written a letter to asking for information about my adoption and my birth family. Now I will tell you that Judges Never, and I mean Never call you. I don't know if he had ever done it before. I just know for some reason (It was a God reason) he called my Dad's house. He found my dad had passed along with my older brother Tommy. He spoke to my sister Pennie. she was a bit surprised. The kids hadn't heard about us. They knew dad had been married before, but they didn't know there were 2 more kids. 

well after that conversation, he called me. I was shocked to say the least.. I'd only known about an older brother for a couple of months. Now to know I had a sister.. I would soon learn there were even more kids.. between my mom (6) and Dad (2) and the 3 of us.. there were 11 kids.. oh my.. I about fainted..   

The judge asked if I wanted to talk to my sister.. of course I did.. so we talked.. well we cried for a while to each other.. then laughed and just jabbered about everything.. We made plans to meet at my step-mom's house.. My mom-Ella is so wonderful.. she knew about us kids (my brother and I.. Keith passed in 1982 so he never got to meet everyone. He would have loved it) She and my dad had hoped we would look for them someday.. but I don't think she had planned on it being that day. 

My adopted family was awesome and wonderful and big and huge and loving and well just everything that anyone could ever want in a family. They loved us and many didn't know we were adopted.. I just had a need to know about my birth family. I wanted to know some things.. and well I mostly just needed them. I had lost my Papa (my name for my adopted dad) and Keith and I felt so alone in the world. God answered my heart prayer, and He did it in a wonderfully fast way. 

I made my way that evening to mom-Ella's house and we all met. I'll tell you there were lots of hugs and kisses.. lots of tears, and lots of questions and answers. The photo albums were brought out and I got to see pictures of my Dad and Tommy. Then photos of aunts and uncles, grandparents and cousins. It was so weird to see pictures of people who looked just like me. I'd never seen that. It was wonderful. A party was planned for the weekend. I met my Aunt Janet and my Uncle Mike and heard more stories about the family and all the Aunts and Uncles.. 

I got the phone number of my aunt Shirley from mom-Ella, and called. Within a few short days I made the call to my mom-Lillian (I was a bit hesitant) and the plan was made for us to meet and then we had a party with all the family here. It was so strange to walk into a room and see a woman who looked a lot like me. The party was great. It was so much fun to meet more Aunts and Uncles and cousins. 

I will say I have my dad's hair.. "the Woodruff hair" White white.. all the aunts and uncles had it too. I'm not sure if any of the nieces and nephews have it, but I do and I love it.. I think I look a lot like my Aunt Janet (dad's sister) I have the same body shape as my mom. all us girls do.. well I think we do.. it's just so much fun to see how much we look alike and then how we look different. 

Since then I've met many more of my Woodruff/Christie/Rodarte/Donelow family members. Some I've only talked to on the phone, but that's fine. I hope to meet more of my family that live in Texas. 

Today I'm celebrating Family. They are really the most important thing. they make life so much fun and so interesting. They are our history.. and our legacy. I am so richly blessed with family.. It is so great to add them all in with my huge Pennala Family. 

I can't wait for the next 24 yrs. 

Mom-Lillian and my Christie Family

Mom-Lillian's family and my brother Juan

My mom-Ella and the Woodruff women.

More of my Woodruff Family...

Mom-Lillian and some of my Rodarte Family