Tag Archives: learning

About Maundy Thursday

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Having taken part in many a Maundy Thursday ceremony over the years I’m loathe to admit I never really knew the meaning of Maundy.

I knew that Jesus gathered his disciples for their last meal together before his crucifixion, and it has always been known as The Last Supper; but that did not explain the meaning of Maundy. After reading the excerpt below I am much the wiser and it has only taken eighty-four years! Hopefully, those who are learning about this two-thousand-year-plus event will gain this insight at a much younger age.

Here is an explanation of Maundy Thursday as gleaned from the Intrnet:

The name ‘Maundy‘ is derived from the Latin word “mandatum”, meaning a commandment. Jesus Christ, at the Last Supper, commanded:

‘And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.‘ John 13:34

Last Supper, Leonardo da Vinci: Meaning, Interpretation

More Reflection

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Upon reflection, I thought it would be good to see what others think of reflecting and found a few quotes. Happy Saturday.

We do not learn from experience…we learn from reflecting on experience. John Dewey

Life is only a reflection of what we allow ourselves to see.

The way we experience the world around us is a direct reflection of the world within us. Gabrielle Bernstein

Learning without reflection is a waste. Reflection without learning is dangerous. Confucius

Some Sound Advice

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Sometimes we read a book, put it down, and say, “Wow, that was really good!” I have read many books like that, and Tuesdays with Morrie was one of them, Morrie being a man at the edge of life’s fragile end.

Here is some of what I learned from one of Mitch Albom’s very popular books.

“Don’t cling to things because everything is impermanent.”

“The truth is, once you learn how to die, you learn how to live.”

“Death ends a life, not a relationship.”

“Be compassionate,” Morrie whispered. “And take responsibility for each other. If we only learned those lessons, this world would be so much better a place.”

“As you grow, you learn more. If you stayed as ignorant as you were at twenty-two, you’d always be twenty-two. Aging is not just decay, you know. It’s growth. It’s more than the negative that you’re going to die, it’s the positive that you understand you’re going to die, and that you live a better life because of it.”

“I thought about all the people I knew who spent many of their waking hours feeling sorry for themselves. How useful it would be to put a daily limit on self-pity. Just a few tearful minutes, then on with the day.”

“The truth is, when our mothers held us, rocked us, stroked our heads -none of us ever got enough of that. We all yearn in some way to return to those days when we were completely taken care of – unconditional love, unconditional attention. Most of us didn’t get enough.”

“Devote yourself to loving others, devote yourself to your community around you, and devote yourself to creating something that gives you purpose and meaning.”

Happy Tuesday.

10 favorite quotes from Tuesdays with Morrie - The Crown Publishing Group

The Three R’s

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We once knew the three r’s as reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmatic. Today they stand for rest, relaxation, and renewal.

In bygone days we were admonished to practice the three r’s, and so today, with all that is going on in our world it is prudent to practice the three r’s of this day and age.

“Come to me all who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest…” Matthew 11:28

“Be still (relax) and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 (parenthesis mine)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind…” Romans 12:2

If we close our eyes for a moment we are apt to see these new three r’s on the blackboard of our minds and renew ourselves with rest and relaxation.

Time to Ponder

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All over the world there are clocks ticking and people learning to tell the time…little ones, especially.

I have written a few time posts because I find the topic fascinating. Today I suggest you spend some of your time thinking about time and its many connotations.

No matter what time it is in your part of the world there is always time to ponder. Happy Saturday.

Image result for clock photos

 

Believing in Difficult Times

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I often quote one of my favorite scriptures, Jeremiah 29:11-13, to those who are going through difficult times in their lives and things look hopeless. I also quote it to new believers who will begin to learn the promises of God, and this is one of His best.

11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

This morning I read in Luke 1:45: Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” 

I have believed this promise since I learned it in 1995 and it has proven itself, or better, God has proven Himself, many times over in my life since.

I have found it pays great dividends to believe…especially in difficult times.

 

Insights

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These insights come from different issues of Our Daily Bread magazines and make good pondering.

The actual words and thoughts of God are revealed in the Bible. Don’t just read them and repeat them; think them, feel them, ask the Lord to clarify them, to make them a part of your experience and teach you.

Second Timothy  3:16 and Peter 1:19-21 are two key passages that tell us the Bible is the inspired Word of God. The human writers of the Bible were not afraid to acknowledge that what they spoke or wrote was given to them by God (Ex. 34:27; Acts 3:18; Heb. 1:1) through the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). The Lord Jesus affirmed that it is the Spirit who is the author of Scripture (Matt.22:43; Mark 12:36).

Happy Sunday.

Let the Porter Take Your Baggage

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While talking to a friend yesterday, we touched on the subject of the excess baggage many of us carry through life and how God is our heavenly porter. It prompted today’s post:

How many of us have journeyed through life carrying more baggage than we should?

Everything we need for life can be carried in a carry-on case…wisdom, love, caring, common sense, trust, forgiveness, compassion, helpfulness, and more.

But we are loaded down with bad memories, guilt, revenge, unforgiveness, self-centredness, and other things that weigh a ton and cause life to be a heavy burden rather than the learning experience it is meant to be.

Weights can be good for fitness and toning when used in moderation but when dragged through life in the form of overweight baggage, they can wear us down rather than build us up.

When life becomes overloaded with the weights that drag you down, do yourself a favor…let The Porter take your baggage.

It’s All In Your Mind

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How many of us have had this sentence pronounced on us after disclosing a thought or ailment. Well, it turns out it is true, whatever it is is all in our mind.

Many books convey information on the subconscious mind and I, for one, find it fascinating. More than once I have read that the subconscious mind is an obedient servant and whatever we tell it, it obeys. I gleaned this from a book in 1984 “…the subconscious mind has no sense of humor. It cannot take a joke. It does not chuckle in amusement if we make such statements as , ‘That’s a real pain in the neck!’ On the contrary, to the subconscious mind, an order has been given and, like any good servant, it goes about its business to achieve the goal to which it has been assigned…in this case, a pain in the neck.”

My late husband constantly complained about everything being a pain in the neck and he suffered from chronic neck pain. I read the above passage to him one evening and suggested he try to stop telling himself that everything was a pain in the neck.

Well, he really tried to heed this advice and it took some time but his neck pain was gone.

Someone else constantly complained that everything was a pain in the — (backside). This person died of painful colorectal cancer.

Our minds are truly an amazing part of our being, and learning more about our subconscious mind can be extremely helpful in living life to a fuller extent.

 

 

 

A Father and His Son

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Here is a photo I cannot resist posting. It is my nephew reading the Bible to his three-and-a-half-month-old son. Just as the son of God learned everything from His Father, this little one is off to a good start learning from his daddy. It is among the top most precious photos to come my way recently. On this Good Friday, let’s remember the teachings of our Father and His Son as well as what a picture like this can teach us.