Shall We Shell? My wife Barb is an avid sheller and gifted shell finder. I'm her assistant. Of course, Sanibel is notorious for its shells, but then, we are not in the shell hot zone of Sanibel. We stay at a place called ''Tween Waters. It's between Sanibel and Captiva Islands. That's' not to say the shelling there isn't good. It is...just not as good. Not to grumble, but we have oodles of glass containers, even a rather large one shaped like a fish, all around our home filled with seashells. We even have framed shells on our walls, along with prints of shells framed on the walls. We are beach people. Today, the last day of our five-day vacation together, we walked and talked about how shells remind us of just how great our Creator is.

I love these words from Raymond Brown, a prominent New Testament scholar. “How did the following of Jesus which involved love for him survive after he died? The answer, I suggest, is that it survived only because love for Jesus was looked on as an ongoing element, even among those who never knew him during his ministry.” (From The Churches the Apostles Left Behind, by Raymond E. Brown p. 97) Sometimes the love for Jesus is extravagant. Here are a couple of images of extravagant love from John’s gospel. One is Mary, the sister to Lazarus and Martha, anointing Jesus at dinner. And the other is Peter being asked over and over again if he really loves Jesus. I think something beautiful was going on inside the heart of both Mary and Peter.

At the end of my days, I would like my epitaph to read something like, “Here lies Carl, he loved well.” Perhaps even before the end of my days. It is said that Annie Dillard said, “The way we live our lives is the way we live our days.“ So I have decided that I would even like to hear at the end of Lent’s days, “Carl Loved Well this Lent.” Yes, at the end of Lent and Life, I’d like to have loved well. How do you love others well? I like to add to Annie’s saying, that the way we live our days is the way we live our moments. So nowadays, I try and keep an eye out for “holy moments.” I saw one while visiting family in North Carolina a few months ago.

A Friday Message from Sara Buffington, Worship Leader 5-9-2014

I believe this is a word for all would be followers of our Savior.