bierkergaard

In the troika of Good Friday, Saturday, and Easter Sunday, the Saturday is called in High Churches as Holy Saturday (in Latin Sabbatum Sanctum). It is to be a day of mourning and quietude. Good Friday are those days of tragedy. Easter Sundays are triumphs. And, Saturdays are the great in-between. Archetype-wise, Friday is the Fall, Sunday is the Second Coming, and Saturdays are the bridge. How can we make it Saturday holy, not just today, but every Saturday? As well as the rest of our days? Being mindful of both the Cross and the Resurrection in our present Saturday is the required balance. Catholics tend to emphasize the Cross (mourning), Protestants focus on the Resurrection (hope). Let us be mindful of both. Rain and Sun.

Just finished reading this week's People magazine. People, the tenth largest magazine in circulation in the U.S. (as of 2010) is an interesting amalgamation of feel good human interest stories, heartbreak (both serious and stupid), celebrity gossip, and just a touch of trashiness. Throw is some fashion and food, and it is a magazine with a wide angle and a larger audience. My dream one day is to have a picture of me coming out a Starbucks with my grande in People. Then I know I have made it. This week's issues has Catherine Zeta-Jones on the cover and the article about her details her battle with Bipolar Depression II. Also in this week's mag--which could be titled the Depression Issue--is the story of teen singer and Disney star Demi Lovato who has struggled with anorexia and bulimia, and Bipolar clinical depression. Later in the pages, is the story of the Florida military mom who killed her two kids in January, who had chronic depression. Finally, there was brief blurb an...

Tonight was the inaugural mow for the 2011 grass-cutting season. Yipee. I think some in the neighborhood anxiously await lawn care duties. Not me. I'd install Astroturf if permissible. So, I get a speck of something in my eye mid-mow and four hours later I have not been able to get it out. I tried to think of something I was sad about so that I would cry. The thing that is making me saddest now is the crud in my eye. I even went to K-Mart to get an eye cup. No luck with washing it with water. I have learned a good lesson tonight. It is quite hard to take a speck out of an eye...even my own, not to mention how hard it would be for me to get someone else's speck out. Jesus talks about getting the plank out of our own eye before "helping" (actually hypocritically judging others). Shoot a piece of wood is easy to remove in comparison. The greatest service we can do for others in the world is to address or own sin first, rather than going on a mote mission. Excuse me, I h...

Read a devotional this morning from Jonathan Edwards. In it he contrasts Jesus as the Lamb who was slain and the Jesus as the Lion who triumphs. Made me think how men in our culture tend to either bifurcate into becoming bad-asses (Lions) or good little boys (Lambs). The modern church tends to cater to not rocking the boat and keeping things effeminate and domestic. In reaction, John Eldredge has made his millions trying to re-manify and he-manify men. Both tendencies are wrong...we can't correct one problem with another problem. We have to merge opposites...mercy with power, caring with confrontation, anger with peace, etc. A Love that can say both yes and no. As Edwards writes, " There is an admirable conjunction of diverse excellencies in Jesus Christ. The lion and the lamb, though very diverse kinds of creatures, yet have each their peculiar excellencies. The lion excels in strength, and in the majesty of his appearance and voice: the lamb excels in meekness and patience...

I have had three door issues within the last couple of days. Yesterday, we were late for church and rather than open the door to the vestibule for my wife, I bum rushed the stage. So much for women and children first...the 21st century is so confusing for us guys. Do we act chivalrous...will it perceived as being chauvinist? Strike one. As penance, I opened the door for my wife to my car after the service. Lina commented how she would like to see that more often. We are trending towards chivalrous and chauffeur. Not real keen on doing so. Strike two. Then, this morning, again in a hurry, I closed the door too loudly to our bedroom after kissing her good-bye when I was leaving for work. She is a light sleeper and it woke her up. She had asked the other day for me to be less forceful with the shutting of the door. In a huff, I thought, "Well maybe I just won't kiss you in the morning." I know, very spiritual attitude. I got over it by noon. Strike 3. I swear I don't ...

Read an article about thankfulness by Andree Seu in the recent World Magazine and it reminded me of this verse.... Romans 1:21 Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened." This verse is obviously bad news...but I want to concentrate on the Good News converse: "Knowing God, we glorify him as God, and give thanks; in our reasonings, and our sensible hearts, are enlightened. " It has to be present tense. As difficult as it is to give God thanks for hardship and adversity, it seems even more a challenge in a way to give Him thanks for His blessings. Pride wants to accept the good that comes our way as our due. With negative events, we want to return to sender. Our degree of thankfulness has a directly proportional and positive relationship to how we think and what we feel...the two great attributes, often at odds with one another like squabbling siblings. Thankfu...