The Son of Man Will Be Delivered Over to the Chief Priests

Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. — Matthew 20:17-18

During this time of Lent, we remember that Jesus knew about His death beforehand.

He explained it to His disciples.

Then He told them that he would be condemned to death.

He would be handed over to the Gentiles.

They will flog Him, mock Him, and crucify Him,

Treating Him as a common criminal.

So that I can live with Him forever one day.

Here's Kirk's brother with his retirement gifts.

The army decanter and glasses arrived just before dinner.

And the redbreast came earlier today.

Perfect timing!

Equipping the Saints for the Work of Ministry

And He gave some as apostles, some as prophets, some as evangelists, some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ; — Ephesians 4:11-12

For the past few months, I've been meeting every other week with a mom from our congregation.

She is joining our church and met with our elders yesterday to confirm that she wants to follow Jesus.

She mentioned how blessed she's been by our times together.

And I've felt the same.

God has brought us together to pray for each other and to share our burdens and blessings.

We are both cancer survivors, and we often feel nervous about what that means for our futures.

She went through chemo 10 years ago. 

Mine was two years ago.

We have both learned to trust in God and put our lives in His hands.

We are still learning to be anxious about nothing.

In three weeks, her youngest son will be baptized.

Thank you, Lord!

I'm a Survivor

Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever. — Psalm 125:1

Yesterday one of Kirk's teacher friends gave me a Survivor necklace that a friend had given her when she went through chemo for cancer. I love it. Thanks to Kathy for her thoughtfulness!

On the back of the necklace is a collage of words:

The world is round and the places
which may seem like the end
may only be just the beginning.

Those of us who trust in the Lord are survivors. We are not shaken but endure even the hard trials knowing that God is with us to guide us each step of the way.

It reminds me of the song I'm a Survivor.

Today I will have my first chemo at 11:00. It will last about six hours so the nurses can make sure I'm not having adverse reactions to the meds.

Kirk, Abby and I will go to breakfast together in the morning so I have food in my stomach. Then they will alternate sitting with me and later will go to lunch together at our local restaurant, Troys. After they eat, they will bring lunch for me, too. 

Liz and Peggy have offered to come sit with me too, during treatments. How wonderful to be surrounded by my family and wonderful friends.

Gratefully trusting in the Lord!