Because even I get the message if you repeat it often enough…

Even as I go through my personal meditations of this season of Lent, the thing that has been pressed over and over on me is Joy…

because in the midst of all the repentance and all the serious focus on this season…

I have been reminded over and over that Jesus was not only loving, but He was and is … so easy to love for those who belong to Him…

for those who followed Him….

for those who FOLLOW Him now…

But also for those who are hurting, those who are broken, those who don’t have it all figured out in some kind of neat package but are a bit of a mess and are looking for a Savior who is also a Shepherd.

In the movie Risen, I was given a visual of the Scriptural accounts of Jesus and His tenderness and affection for His disciples and for the masses as He walked along.

And a clear picture of their joyous love for Him.

It was also a picture of how He didn’t force anyone to love Him.

He offers and He loves and He leaves it up to us…but there is Joy when we know HIm.

After His Resurrection, we see such sorrow in those who knew Him. The women are weeping that His body has been taken…

and we see fear in His disciples and followers as they hide out. Not just afraid but terrified…but when He appears over and over…

He says….Peace…peace…and they are calmed by His presence.

Seeing Him and being with Him fills them with joy.

They keep seeking after Him…looking for Him to show up in their midst.

Taking comfort in His presence.

I don’t know how you grew up but having too much fun in my family usually led to trouble.

It was better to temper any happy moments with a good dose of seriousness or a remembrance of other’s sorrows to keep it all in balance.

Oh we laughed and had fun…we just were very careful to remember not to get carried away….

and for good measure most joy rides included a bonus guilt trip.

Somberness meant holiness and somehow I lost the joy part of Jesus…

I didn’t catch that I could enJOY Him…

and I have been refreshed by this revelation of Him this season of Lent.

There is a lot of scary stuff out there…He says to take heart for He has overcome it.

There is a lot of stuff we regret…He says…Do you LOVE ME? … and gives us second, third and thousandth chances.

There’s a lot of wondering if He remembers us…He says He has gone to prepare a place, and if He is preparing a place then, of course, He is coming back.

There’s a lot of strife…He says Peace.

There’s a lot of pain…He says He will bind up our wounds.

There’s a lot of injustice….He says He will justify.

There’s a lot of confusion and so much change it makes my head spin….He says He is the same…

yesterday…

today…

forever.

Let us remember with appropriate awe and wonder.

Let us repent and turn from our sin.

But let us rejoice …re[JOY]ce..

let us be filled with JOY over and over and over and over again….until He returns…

John 15:10 and 11 remind us…as we follow Him…as we keep His commands…this is not a somber thing but a thing of great JOY…

and so I hope you are enJOYing the way I am walking through this last week of Lent with you…

this Holy Week as I share some of our favorites…

remembering the fellowship of shared meals and the love that flows because He first loved us <3

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If we have a “secret recipe” in this family, it was my dad’s pancakes…but the secret wasn’t in the ingredients…it was in the way he made them.

Oh he gave out the recipe…but no one was ever able to duplicate them the way the Colonel made them…they are delicious…just never have been as good as his…here is his recipe and do yourself a favor…read it because it is hilarious even if you never knew my dad…

Carl Lochner’s Pancake Recipe (animal shapes optional, but highly recommended)

Sift together in a medium size mixing bowl: 1 Cup flour, 1/2 cup yellow corn meal, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 3/4 teaspoon salt.

Into another bowl: beat 1 egg, add 1 1/2 cup buttermilk and 3 Tablespoons of vegetable oil (liquid crisco, peanut oil or what have you…melted bacon grease also good here). Mix well.

Then pour entire liquid mixture into flour mixture and mix well – lumps are ok but be sure all dry mixture gets wet. Don’t beat to death.

Set fry pan to 375 degrees or use a good hot skillet on stove (a water drop should dance slightly and then disappear).

Grease skillet and fry until one side is done (air holes should appear on top – you can sneak a peek by lifting a lip if necessary) *the man was dead serious about his pancakes….

Flip one time and brown second side. Don’t flip-flop, flip-flop, etc.

Also don’t fry them to death on a slow burner.

Oh my gosh…I laugh every time I read it…but not too hard…just the right, respectful, appropriate amount <3

Be blessed and Happy Wednesday!