On March 5th, 2014, the liturgical church (a segment of believers in the body of Christ), will begin a journey known to the world as the "Season of Lent". The "opening chapter" to this startling journey begins on a Wednesday..."Ash Wednesday"...and will conclude on a Sunday..."Easter Sunday"...totaling a time frame of approximately 40 days....
...and the non-traditionalist type Christian churches (another segment of believers in the body of Christ) will draw their "swords" and lead a counter attack on this season known as Lent...stating the "foolishness and error" of following such an ancient tradition....
...and the world watches....
The Christian world is not as different from the rest of the world as we sometimes lead people to believe...we fight, argue, run one another down, and will "bloody" our brothers and sisters in Christ... if God tells us to! After all..."May His Kingdom come"...
So why does this season of Lent attract "swords" and confrontations between all these... lovers of Christ Jesus? And whose side of this great argument is Jesus on?...or is He on either one? As for those "looking in", it must seem like everything else we see in our various cultures today...people simply "killing one another" in the name of the God they have sworn allegiance to. As for those who commit to the complete annihilation of this "poisonous" season known as Lent within the Christian church...the battle cry is exalted: "kill 'em all"...in the name of greatest source of love the world has ever received...the Lord Jesus Christ!
...and the world watches...
I think I will relate this Lenten Season through the eyes of a young girl....her name is "Annie", and this story is called: "Annie...Lent is Calling..."
" The winds had been blowing for the past few days, the coldness of winter had grasped it's hold on this upper Midwest farming community, and there seemed to be no end in sight.
Mom had noticed all of us (children) had been ignoring the importance of "bundling up" as Mom would often mention...she didn't realize we were all almost adults now... in our teens! Besides, I hated wearing those knit caps...messed up my hair!
The problem was..Shawn, my oldest brother...he was almost 19...had gotten bronchitis...and this really "set Mom off". We were all going to look like a large ball of yarn if we were ever to venture outdoors again.
While Shawn was confined to his bed...and granted Shawn was sick...which was kind of weird because he was one of those strong type guys....worked out, ate right, all that stuff...and here he is...sicker "than a dog" as they say.
And of course, there is Mom, pulling the Rosary beads out of her jewelry drawer...something she always did when things got rough or one of us were in trouble, as she had just given Shawn some of her homemade chicken noodle soup...which was "to die for".
My Dad, a seasoned farmer, was getting a little "ancy" for spring...plans in place to have a bumper crop this year, fix things up, get new stuff...you know...livin' the American Dream thing.
The last few years on the farm had been kind of up and down. I even saw Dad pause by the statue of Saint Francis we had between the back door of the kitchen that went into this little villa area...and then into the garage. Anyway, the other day I happen to be in the kitchen and watched as Dad paused at Saint Francis, and I got a little closer and heard my Dad mumbling something...weird!...you never hear my Dad praying, well except at church you could barely him when it was time to say the Lord's Prayer. Really, I am not sure what he was sayin'...but he was definitely sayin' something. I remember this pretty well because I had thought to myself, "Hmmm? I wonder what it takes to get God's attention? Mom and Dad have worked hard all these years, raising us kids, workin' the farm, and going to church. Oh well, it is what it is...I guess you gotta put your hope in something...or someone I guess."
As for me, I was now 15 years of age, and was aching to go out with this guy named "Gunner". He was pretty nice...and to be honest...I was really liking his name. Besides, he lived in town...which I think would be so cool! This "Old McDonald had a farm thing" had really gotten old...and besides, farms..and farmers...were dropping like "flies"...not a desired occupation for the upcoming "young and restless".
But it seemed God, Jesus, Mary, and all the saints had made sure I wasn't going anywhere...farm life...my destiny?...please....!
Hi! my name...Annie Cole...and I would like to share a little story...about me!"
...and the non-traditionalist type Christian churches (another segment of believers in the body of Christ) will draw their "swords" and lead a counter attack on this season known as Lent...stating the "foolishness and error" of following such an ancient tradition....
...and the world watches....
The Christian world is not as different from the rest of the world as we sometimes lead people to believe...we fight, argue, run one another down, and will "bloody" our brothers and sisters in Christ... if God tells us to! After all..."May His Kingdom come"...
So why does this season of Lent attract "swords" and confrontations between all these... lovers of Christ Jesus? And whose side of this great argument is Jesus on?...or is He on either one? As for those "looking in", it must seem like everything else we see in our various cultures today...people simply "killing one another" in the name of the God they have sworn allegiance to. As for those who commit to the complete annihilation of this "poisonous" season known as Lent within the Christian church...the battle cry is exalted: "kill 'em all"...in the name of greatest source of love the world has ever received...the Lord Jesus Christ!
...and the world watches...
I think I will relate this Lenten Season through the eyes of a young girl....her name is "Annie", and this story is called: "Annie...Lent is Calling..."
" The winds had been blowing for the past few days, the coldness of winter had grasped it's hold on this upper Midwest farming community, and there seemed to be no end in sight.
Mom had noticed all of us (children) had been ignoring the importance of "bundling up" as Mom would often mention...she didn't realize we were all almost adults now... in our teens! Besides, I hated wearing those knit caps...messed up my hair!
The problem was..Shawn, my oldest brother...he was almost 19...had gotten bronchitis...and this really "set Mom off". We were all going to look like a large ball of yarn if we were ever to venture outdoors again.
While Shawn was confined to his bed...and granted Shawn was sick...which was kind of weird because he was one of those strong type guys....worked out, ate right, all that stuff...and here he is...sicker "than a dog" as they say.
And of course, there is Mom, pulling the Rosary beads out of her jewelry drawer...something she always did when things got rough or one of us were in trouble, as she had just given Shawn some of her homemade chicken noodle soup...which was "to die for".
My Dad, a seasoned farmer, was getting a little "ancy" for spring...plans in place to have a bumper crop this year, fix things up, get new stuff...you know...livin' the American Dream thing.
As for me, I was now 15 years of age, and was aching to go out with this guy named "Gunner". He was pretty nice...and to be honest...I was really liking his name. Besides, he lived in town...which I think would be so cool! This "Old McDonald had a farm thing" had really gotten old...and besides, farms..and farmers...were dropping like "flies"...not a desired occupation for the upcoming "young and restless".
But it seemed God, Jesus, Mary, and all the saints had made sure I wasn't going anywhere...farm life...my destiny?...please....!
Hi! my name...Annie Cole...and I would like to share a little story...about me!"
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