The end of another month already! As I begin writing this, it's Saturday night, the eve before Palm Sunday on the Christian Calendar. Thoughts turn to Passion Week, Passover, Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. How do you celebrate this coming week?
In our house, we began celebrating a Christian and somewhat shortened version of Passover when my kids were small. I'd intended to add to it as they got older, but the book I'd borrowed moved away and I can no longer remember the title. The intention however, has not diminished. There are so many correlations between that first Passover and what Christ came to do for us, that engaging in this bit of ceremony and feast reminds us every year, of why Christ came and what He came to do. There is even a part of the Messianic ceremony at the end of the feast, that celebrates Christ rising from the dead. Is my household Messianic? No, but we do recognize the Jewish nature of our Lord and Saviour, and show our respect for that with this celebration. This week's shopping trip will partly be spent on the fixings for that special meal.
Many people engage in special Scripture readings throughout Passion Week, and I received a package in the mail from the Canadian Bible Society containing a card with a list of Scriptures and suggested prayers at various points throughout the coming week. They included Easter greeting cards as well. I was a bit surprised by that. Who do you know that hands out Easter-themed greeting cards??!! No one I know. . . but as it turns out, only one of them was truly themed around the Resurrection, leaving the others to be used as nice note cards for the future.
I always look forward to Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. To me, these days and their significance are why Christmas happened. For many churches, my own included, this weekend unfortunately tends to take a back seat to the amount of effort, build-up toward, and focus of this Christian holiday. For myself, that's backwards. As exciting and glittery as Christmas tends to be (never mind that first Christmas was anything but), the very fact that we have been granted entrance into the Holy of Holies through the shed Blood of Jesus on the Cross of Calvary, should be enough to get every born-again Christian more than willing to make the most of next weekend.
When God was impressing on me the nature of the Bride of Christ, and how the Church should be longing for reunion with their Heavenly Bridegroom, a poem came to me that my Pastor shared that Easter:
Bride Price
Copyright 2010 Marilynn Dawson
Eyes of love
Closed in pain
Opened to gaze on you
Arms outstretched
Nails pierced
Eyebrows stained for you
Blood and water
Broken heart
Such love poured out to you
Do you see it?
Do you feel it?
Has He captured you?
Cup of wine
Piece of bread
A speech to those He loves
Garden prayer
Romans stare
Lashes thorns and Cross
Veil Torn
Empty tomb
Christ rising in the air
Bridal price
Father's smile
A promise to return
Do you see it?
Do you feel it?
Has He captured you?
Do you see it?
Do you feel it?
The price He paid for you?
Do you see it?
Do you feel it?
The love for which He died?
Do you see it?
Do you feel it?
His Love His Church His Bride?
What do you do in your household to bring solid focus and celebration of all Christ came to do for us during this time on the Calendar?
Grad Season is Approaching!
Grad season is not quite upon us yet, but will be gearing up over the course of April until it reaches full force in May with graduation ceremonies taking place one after the other until the end of July, depending on where you live in the world. But already, a copy of "Mom's Little Black Book: Godly Advice for the High School Graduate" (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/mlbb-2/) sold to someone in Denver Colorado just this past week.
If you are looking for an affordable grad gift under $20, then you'll want to head to my website (linked above) where you can get it for just $10, and $7 shipping and handling. On Amazon (http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/099168334X/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=099168334X&linkCode=as2&tag=becothebridof-20) and other locations, the paperback runs for $12 or less, depending on vender store-wide sales and discounts. So at times, you may even get it for cheaper at those locations than what I sell it for myself.
If you are wanting to buy it in bulk for your youth group, or for your young adults group heading off to college, contact me to find out more precise shipping for a bulk order to your location.
Spending Time in Prayer with the Lover of Your Soul
There hasn't been much feedback on the first 50 days of 2015 where I shared prayer card images from "A Year in Prayer With Jesus". All efforts have halted on that project due to hard drive limitations. The first month's worth of cards is available on gumroad.com for $20 (https://gumroad.com/songdove) as a downloadable set of high-quality printables. Eventually, I hope to have the entire book in prayer card format.
This coming Easter Weekend is actually a great time to begin your own year in prayer with Jesus. The book in paperback can be purchased online for $25.50 (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/a-year-in-prayer-with-jesus/) or as an ebook for $9.99. The ebook displays best on a laptop or computer screen, as some ebook readers struggle with the large size of the main part of the book. Because of areas after each prayer point where you can write in your own thoughts, my recommendation is to have the book in print anyway.
This is an undated book so that Day One can begin literally on any calendar date of the year!
Check out this video (http://youtu.be/q2DhnE5f7QU?list=PLsfmoQFz615pJIdjL-3_429_cSbSNQkXA) to get a feel for how to engage with The Lord's Prayer at a deeper level this year.
Dressed for Eternity
Resurrection Sunday would be a great time to dive into the book, "Dressed for Eternity" as well. Available as an ebook at $9.99 (http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=K1omJoJt2ZE&subid=&offerid=327977.1&type=10&tmpid=8432&RD_PARM1=http%253A%252F%252Fwww.barnesandnoble.com%252Fw%252Fdressed-for-eternity-marilynn-dawson%252F1118043661%253Fean%253D2940148258858%2526itm%253D1%2526usri%253D2940148258858), or in full-colour paperback for $36.00 from me (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/store/) and more from other online locations, this book takes you through a detailed discussion of Aaron's Breastplate, the New Jerusalem foundations, the priestly clothing, the annointing oil's composition, jewelry in Exekiel, and so much more! Learn how God adorns His Bride in the Scriptures as you prepare yourself for being united with Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and the Celestial Bridegroom coming for His Bride.
Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey
My own journey learning how to live life as the Bride of Christ began in 2007, and I've captured a fair bit of the bootcamp portion of this journey in my series, "Becoming the Bride of Christ: A Personal Journey". So many lessons, discoveries, revelations, and challenges. . . The volumes in this series are all sold individually anywhere they are found online from my website (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/store/) to Amazon (http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/smile/) and other online locations. Because they have questions and places for notes, I recommend getting the paperback version. The entire series, including a Leader's Guide, costs roughly $56 before shipping and handling, depending on where you shop.
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Wrap-up
March didn't see any special promotions going on. No contests took place. It was a quiet month on the book front in general. Not so quiet on the blog however, as you'll see in the blog snippets below. I pray that God meets you this Sunday, and this coming week in an extra special way. May you see Christ's sacrifice for your sins in a whole new light and be struck once again with the impact of what He did for you.
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View past newsletters.http://songdove.fa-ct.com/wordpress-mu/songdovemusings/past-newsletters/
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Songdove Books Newsletter 2015
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