Remembering Good Friday's of my past

 

Photograph of the Michelangelo's Pieta - Mary holding the crucified Jesus - taken in the Vatican, taken year 2000.

Hello and welcome!

The quality of my photo is, I freely  admit, not good, but the work of art is incredibly powerful and moving. It speaks of the anguish of Jesus' mother. It shows that Christ died a horrific death, for us, that we might be saved...

Yet, the miracle of His Resurrection was to come three days later.  

For Christians today, Good Friday, is the holiest day of the year. It used to be respected by the whole UK but how things have changed. Despite the fact that Christians are still in the majority here, and King Charles is head of the Church of England we are allowing ourselves to be marginalized...

This morning, as I ate my Hot Cross buns, my mind tumbled backwards to my childhood and Good Fridays then. All the shops were closed. But, because of the Hot Cross buns, cake shops and bakeries were allowed to open for a short time to sell them. Our local cake shop opened at 10 am and my brother and I were waiting to buy our buns for the family breakfast. Though not baked on the premises they were still warm from the oven and absolutely delicious! A treat to be enjoyed once a year. A part of our Christian heritage; a part of our British culture. 

Fortunately the buns are still baked. Now, though, they are sold all year round and have simply become a tasty fruit bun. But I suppose it's not such a big deal. It's only a bun. For me, though, and for all Christians, as I said at the start, this is the holiest day of the year. So, this post will be short as I'm gearing up to our church service, where we meet, and at 3pm remember Christ's death on the cross. Then we read from scripture His Passion. And after that make our way home in silence. 

I hope that you remember Christ's sacrificial death for you, especially on this day.

God bless,

Teresa 

My book Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God is a prayer guide that shows you how to listen for God's voice in order to draw closer to Him. It is for all. You may not know God yet or you may know Him well, in either case the book can be of great help in deepening Faith. Check out Pray Then Listen

2nd May 23 

Update: I want to share some more good news with you:

My debut novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel,  Christian fiction - Holidays-romance-suspense - recently launched which is set in Corfu and features characters from Wales, America and Ireland - I think you will love it! Find all the details here.       

               

Read the Backstory here

Also, for more info about me please visit my website.  

Blessings, 

Teresa x  

Lenten course: Let Holy Week be a fresh start!

 Let Holy Week be a Fresh Start to your life!

A Lenten course based on Pray Then Listen, a heart-to-heart with God

Hello and welcome!

We are now in the final week before the celebration of Easter. I hope that you have been enjoying this, deliberately, very simple Lenten course - either as part of your chosen Lenten observations, or the central part of that. Admittedly, Holy Week, leading to the remembrance of Christ's sufferings, is such a sad and sombre experience. Yet, it is crucial that we remember the sequence of events and the sacrifice on Calvary. That is what our Lenten journey has been about. 

It is also my hope that, through a taster of my prayer guide, Pray Then Listen, A heart-to-heart with God, you have moved nearer in relationship with Him. And that you have either begun to listen to His voice or are doing that more than formerly. If this is the case you may well be wanting to read the whole book, or to buy a copy for a loved one to help them in their journey. To do this click on this link:  Check out Pray Then Listen

Holy Week – Make a fresh start to your life!

In Pray Then Listen this comes in the section “The Two-Way Street of Prayer”

You may find the Fresh Start angle a little surprising in Holy Week. I have introduced it, though, for two reasons. Firstly, as you are a human being, I am not presuming that your Lenten journey has been perfectly carried out. You cannot change the past, though, but please don't let your faltering come between you and Holy Week. For that reason I want to encourage you to choose again! Secondly, I suggest that Holy Week is the perfect opportunity to ask God to help you start afresh in your spiritual journey towards Heaven.

Consider this: Christ died for us; died for you! And what a horrific death it was. But He did so willingly, and beforehand Jesus told His apostles, "I have longed to eat this Passover meal with you before I suffer," (Luke 22:15) so at that point He was eager to go through with His Passion. That was because, by doing this He opened a gateway through which the faithful could, by approaching on the specific narrow pathway, enter Heaven. 

"... small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it." Matthew 7:14 

Use the following prayer to renew your commitment to Christ.

Prayer for a fresh start

Dear Lord Jesus,

I stand at the foot of Your cross to bring before You all my sins.

[Pause for a few moments to reflect on what you have done or failed to do, so that you can tell Him specific things you regret.]

I am sorry for each and every one of them.

I ask now for Your forgiveness.

I also ask that, when I have Your forgiveness, You will help me to forgive myself, and in doing so set me free for a fresh start to my life.

I ask this through the same Christ our Lord. Amen. 

Listen for a few moments for anything that Christ may want to say to you now. As you go about your day and the rest of Holy Week keep open to His communications. 

God may answer you like this:

God may remind you of certain things or events where you fell short of showing His love to others. That is your cue to ask Him what, if anything, He wants  you to do about it. He may, for instance, prompt you to make an apology to someone, or make amends in some way. 

After actively listening and watching for God's communications during Lent I hope that you are becoming familiar, or more familiar, with the variety of methods He may use. I would be so happy if you would take a moment to share those with us. Also, if you have any questions about anything we have covered in this Lenten course please do get in touch. Please post communications in the Comments box below. And / or visit my website for more info or to contact me 

God bless,

Teresa 

 To check out Pray Then Listen in the UK

NEWS NEWS NEWS!

2nd May 23 

Update: I want to share some good news with you:

My debut novel, Angel at the Paradise Hotel,  Christian fiction - Holidays-romance-suspense - recently launched which is set in Corfu and features characters from Wales, America and Ireland - I think you will love it! Find all the details here.   Also: Check it out In UK  In US  In Singapore

               

Read the Backstory here

Also, for more info about me please visit my website.  

Blessings, Teresa x