LEAP INTO LENT AND MARCH MADNESS

Happy Leap Day!! Not exactly sure how we're supposed to celebrate, but it's amusing having this day every four years. I think I have one friend who's birthday is today, so I don't want to forget to wish her a great day. Can't imagine only having so few actual birthdays to celebrate.

After my last post on Ash Wednesday, I did go to the Upperroom website to check out their lenten study. Unfortunately, to take part in the study required a forty dollar fee, so I thought I'd go another direction for a Lenten study. Because we did one last year during our Sunday school time, I decided to try getting more from that study. After an hour or two spent looking for it, I'm pleased to say that I have immersed myself in the beginning pages of Shadows, Darkness and Dawn, A Lenten Journey with Jesus. Much of it is coming back to me and I'm looking forward to spending the remaining days of this Holy season exploring how I can share in on this journey.

I understand that most Lenten studies are loosely based on the book of John, which is written by "the disciple Jesus loved", as he wrote it. This book is John's first hand account of Jesus' life on earth between his baptism by John the Baptist and his final days up to and including the crucifixion. John also includes the miraculous account of the empty tomb and the appearances of the resurrected Savior before his disciples and followers. The primary focus of start of this Lenten study is the forty days that Jesus spent in the wilderness being tempted by Satan. These days of Jesus in the wilderness are covered in the other gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. We are to examine our lives and question our wilderness and our temptations. An important part of lent is to practice self denial, thus giving something up for lent. Jesus went forty days prior to his earthly ministry going without food or physical contact while the tempter tormented him with one seductive suggestion after another. Jesus was victorious over the persuasions of Satan. We can always take heart in using Him, alone as our shining example.

Yesterday was a practically perfect day as weather goes. I think it hit around 71 and was sunny and mild. I've taken two of my doggies for walks the past two days. We enjoy getting out again after the cold days. It was even wonderful sitting outside later in the afternoon and working in my garden. I'm hoping to rid my flower beds of weeds and then put down mulch to prevent further re-infestation. As nice as the weather has been, I believe we're in for a real roller coaster these next few days. Today brings tornado watches for our area, as well as thunderstorms. I believe there is also predicted cold spell in the coming days to get through. I just hope and pray all these beautiful flowers and new blooms will be able to survive into the first week of March.

And speaking of March, we Kentucky fans are ready for March Madness to begin. After Kentucky men and women Wildcats each clinched their respective regular season SEC titles, we are looking forward to an amazing tournament time. I was very fortunate to see the Senior night festivities for the women at Memorial Coliseum. I'm looking forward to the last away game for the men at Florida on Thursday night and the men's basketball team's Senior Day festivities and Senior game against Georgia at Rupp.

I hope you enjoy this coming week of the Lenten season as well as the beginning of March Madness. Take care and stay safe, luv, Susan

ASH WEDNESDAY, The Beginning of Lent

Today is Ash Wednesday. In years past, it was traditionally recognized by Catholics as a day to go to church and get the priest to administer the ashes upon your forehead. I always showed my ignorance at the hospital where I worked as the first person would come into the door of our Accounting office and I'd, like an idiot, tell them they had a smudge on their forehead. It seems that year after year I managed to do this. Would I ever not show my continued ignorance of this day that marks the "official" beginning of the holiest of times for Christians?

Well, I'm still in the dark somewhat about this holy day. The church I've attended all my life has begun to embrace recognizing this day as well. I have been able to attend an Ash Wednesday service from time to time and had the ashes placed on my forehead, in the shape of a cross and been told to remember my baptism. I believe the ashes are made from burning the palms of the previous years palm branches used in the Palm Sunday service. I'm not clear on all of the specifics of the ritual, but because I do want to prepare myself for the Holy season between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday, I'm going to make an effort to learn.

As I was thinking about just how to go about learning more about the Lenten season, I noticed on my UpperRoom devotion page a suggestion to go to the UpperRoom website and see their Lenten Study Guide. Perfect! I will be doing that as soon as I'm done here.

Kentucky fans really got rangled last night watching the Cats play the Dogs down in Starkville, Mississippi. Could our Cats have looked any more clueless as to what they were doing in the opening minutes of that game? It was shocking to see these players throw up one futile shot after another in an attempt to close the growing gap between the bulldog point tally and the wildcat score. Thankfully, they got their heads together during halftime and began playing like the elite team that they are. Big Blue Nation made a collective "WHEW" in the latter part of the second half of the ESPN latenight game.

I have to confess that, not only will I be giving up sweets for lent, but also speeding. I've always managed to allow myself the permission to go faster than the speed limit on so many occasions because I was intending to use my time to do good and helpful things. Always figured that God was watching over me and protecting me and my lead foot. Well, the protection ended this past Friday when I was pulled over after leaving my volunteer job and driving across the downtown area to make a deposit for my homemaker's club. I was running behind and still had to make a delivery to recycling and pick up dogfood before I could get back to my little country church for a 1:00 United Methodist Women's meeting. I didn't even try to explain all this to the very serious young officer who gave me my ticket for traveling at a "high rate of speed". So, I'm gonna give myself more time to get to where I'm supposed to be and slow down and pay closer attention to the speed limits. Still trying to figure out how to come up with the $165 to pay the ticket for going 11 miles over the posted limit.

The weather today is supposed to be Springlike, so I am looking forward to getting out for a walk with the doggies. I hope you're also able to enjoy being outdoors today and take a couple minutes to remember your baptism and the beginning of this special time of year. Stay safe and have a great day, luv, Susan

ENJOYING HAPPY MEMORIES

It appears the groundhog was right after all. We are definitely trudging through some more winter weather and looking forward to Spring. We've had plenty of rain, in addition to colder temps, so I am especially looking forward to the blooms that will appear in my garden. I am not enjoying, however, all the wet, muddy little footprints all over my house from my little menagerie of malti-poos.

Last weekend was a lot of fun for my family. Our friend, Catherine, had her ninetieth birthday and celebrated it with an openhouse with family and friends. We have been friends with this family our entire lives, as we are all from a little town in Illinois called Argenta, population 1000, last I heard. It was so good to see her enjoy many friends and family who made the trip from our home state, as well as all her friends and family here in Kentucky. Her husband, Walt, who passed away in 2004, was directly responsible for getting my family involved in our first Kentucky church. My little country church today, reminds me so much of that little church out past the Bourbon Drive-In. One of the best memories I have of that time is when Catherine noticed, after we all got settled into our pew, that she had inadvertently wore different colored pumps, rather high-heeled shoes, on her feet. She and my mom giggled uncontrollably the entire service, as they continued to glance down at the navy and black pair of shoes. Catherine can still make us giggle today when she reminisces about things from her past.

I also had a wonderful time yesterday taking Dustin and his girlfriend to the movie. I told him at Christmas time that when we could, we'd go see The Muppets. He enjoyed them when they were a TV program back in the early eighties. I'll never forget how he would run to get his little plastic saxaphone when he was told it was about to come on. He would snuggle into the corner of the sofa and play the intro along with the rest of the muppet band. We really enjoyed the movie and I, especially enjoyed the memories it brought back, as well as meeting his girlfriend.

We are still having a heck of a time getting used to life without Roy. Riff is having a difficult time learning to play with Pudge. He was so used to pulling Roy around by his tail and always starting up something with him....he just isn't quite sure he wants to start something up with Pudge, who is about twice his size, it seems. I'm convinced that as the weather warms up, they'll warm up to each other and be running circles around the yard and each other.

I've always enjoyed Bible Studies, especially those specifically for women. I'm really looking forward to a friend at church introducing a Beth Moore study in the coming weeks.

Today looks to be a bit gloomy, but I know sunnier days are on the horizon. I hope you are having a great day. Stay safe, luv, Susan

GROUNDHOG DAY, The Movie

I remember the childhood verse about the days of the week. Didn't it say that Wednesday's child was full of woe? Well, Wednesdays are certainly woeful for me now. It's been three weeks ago that we lost our crazy, little dog, Roy. I miss him so much. I hope he has found someone in heaven to carry him around all the time, or another little dog to play with and run around like he and Riff did.

To be truthful, I've not felt like blogging, but for years now I've wanted to give my friends a heads up about the movie, Groundhog Day, so that's what I'm going to do. It was always one of my favorite movies. At first, I simply appreciated it for it's humor and touching love story between Bill Murray and Andy McDowell. Buy later, I began to watch it and realize that it is so much more than a funny and sweet romantic comedy...it is the story of how living our lives according to Jesus' teachings can change us not only for the better, but can impact the world around us as well.

If you've seen the movie, you know the main character, Phil, is a really cynical and beaten down by the world jerk of a guy, who happens to be a small town weatherman. It is his assignment to go with his cameraman and first time lady producer to Ponxatuny, Pennsylvania to report on the Groundhog Day Festivities, and most importantly, the prediction of the "man, rather critter, of the hour", Punxatuny Phil. Poor weatherman Phil is so bored with it all and so unhappy to be doing such a lame story, he simply brushes by everyone as he uses as little effort as possible to get through the entire ordeal and be outa there as soon as possible. Unbeknownst, however, to weatherman Phil, a blizzard is bearing down upon the little town, and he's unexpectedly stuck there for the night. Hoping to get out of there as soon as possible, he awakes the next morning in his little bed and breakfast room, only to realize that he is reliving Groundhog Day again.

I hope you've seen this movie, I catch it playing all the time. I used to have a copy of it. It is absolutely priceless how Phil handles the revelation that he is actually going to have to live this same, terrible day over and over and over again. His attempts to make it bearable are so typical of what we do with our own lives to find meaning or happiness or whatever it is that we think we are looking for. First Phil decides that since he knows everything that happens, he will get rich by stealing money and he will at least be happy because he'll be able to buy fulfillment. He also tries going into the local cafe and orders all his favorite foods to see if that will bring him happiness. And, yes, he decides to trick some of the local girls into having sex with him, thinking this will fulfill the emptiness he's feeling as he relives this day.

When Phil finally realizes that neither money, food nor sex bring him happiness as he relives each day, he decides he might as well end it all. He attempts suicide in many different ways, the funniest is driving over a cliff with the actual groundhog. But, even though it appears that he's ended his life, he awakes after each failed attempt to realize he is trapped in this same day and same place again and again and again.

Finally, Phil decides to take the focus off of himself and starts actually noticing those around him. He actually begins to help the people of this little town during this day that repeats for him over and over. He saves a little boy that falls from a tree, he changes the tire of some elderly ladies who have a flat and most heartfelt, he tries unsuccessfully to save a homeless man's life who dies on the street. Because Phil had been so callous and unfeeling, it is really heartwarming to see him learn to like, enjoy and finally love the people of this little Pennsylvania town. And because he is feeling better as each Groundhog Day rolls into the next, he even begins to feel better about himself and begins taking piano lessons to use a talent that God had apparently given him.

By the time Phil is spending his last Groundhog Day, he is the absolute hero of the whole town. He knows and is friends with everyone in the town, he is able to not only help aid his new neighbors and friends, but he can also entertain them with his newfound piano expertise. He is fulfilled and loved and apparently is fulfilling and loving to all around him. It didn't take money or meeting all his selfish needs, it took looking around and meeting the needs of others. When Phil finally understands the way to true happiness is loving and serving others, voila, he awakes the following morning to the day after Groundhog Day and continues his life with a fresh new perspective.

My hope is that we can all learn from Phil. More importantly let us learn the example of our loving savior, Jesus Christ, who came to earth from his heavenly home to show us by His example how to love and serve others.

Since I've been typing, I've actually been able to hear little doggies tummies' growling, so I best get going. I believe that today is going to be beautiful. I actually was able to hang clothes out yesterday and saw daffodils, tulips and hyacinths coming up in my garden. I am so looking forward to an early Spring, how about it, Mr. Groundhog. Have a great day, luv, Susan ps I was not at all surprised when my friend, Marla Owens, told me at a lunch back in Henderson that Groundhog Day had been one of her son, Ryan's favorite movies.