Shirlee Abbott

Hallowed Eve, Holy Night (Friday)

Posted on October 31, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged Halloween, Psalm 34:8 | Comments Off

Hallowed Eve, Holy Night (Thursday)

Posted on October 30, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

You find the time to shop for candy to give neighborhood children who come to your door on Halloween. How about a year-round gift that is better than candy? Find the time to pray for all the children you know:

(from Ephesians 3:17-18)
May they be rooted and established in love, able to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ. Amen.

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Holy Night (Wednesday)

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

All Saints Day–a solemn day of devotion to the departed faithful.

All Hallows Eve, the night before All Saints Day. Let’s make it a holy time of prayer, devoted to the not-yet-departed faithful:

Ephesians 6:18 (NASB)
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.

Posted in other | Tagged All Saints Day, Ephesians 6:18, Halloween | Comments Off

Holy Night (Tuesday)

Posted on October 28, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

I read that some ancient cultures considered harvest time the end of their year. Thus the new year marked the start of a season of cold and dark. I wonder how they acknowledged their new year’s eve. Was it more like Mardis Gras, or Thanksgiving, or the Day of Atonement? Devil-may-care, an attitude of gratitude or somber reflection?

Our Hallowed Eve looks a little like New Year’s Eve. Don’t forget the spiritual reflection . . . add some holiness to the holiday.

Posted in other | Tagged Halloween | Comments Off

Holy Night

Posted on October 27, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

It’s almost Halloween.

The decorations are up, the candy is ready.

Be very afraid!
Give me something good to eat
Count me out

The origins of Halloween are uncertain. It is likely rooted in the Celtic festival of Samhaim, when bonfires and costumes were thought to ward off the dead. It may have been influenced by the Roman festivals of Feralia, commemorating the passing of the dead. It has ties to Catholicism’s All Martyrs Day, later All Saints Day or Hallowmas—wherein we get its name, All Hallows Eve.

Gotta admit, it doesn’t seem holy–that is, devoted to God.

Posted in other | Tagged Halloween, Holy | Comments Off

Virus? (Friday)

Posted on October 24, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Posted in other | Tagged Ephesians 4:29, vaccine, virus | Comments Off

Virus? (Thursday)

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Viral people (especially among believers) get on my nerves–the people who live under a black cloud and drag others into their darkness.

Me: Here we go again, God. I’m so tired of the negativity and the drama. Can I just go home and enjoy some peace and quiet?

God: You wouldn’t think much of a hospital that turned away sick people. What do you think about a church that turns away sick souls?

Me: Give me strength, Lord!

Posted in other | Tagged sick souls, viral people | Comments Off

Virus? (Wednesday)

Posted on October 22, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

Wisdom out of Russian Orthodox tradition:

“A man who is wrathful with us is a sick man; we must apply a plaster to his heart – love; we must treat him kindly, speak to him gently, lovingly. And if there is not deeply-rooted malice against us within him, but only a temporary fit of anger, you will see how his heart, or his malice, will melt away through your kindness and love – how good will conquer evil.”
John of Kronstadt, Russian Orthodox archpriest. 1829-1908

Indeed, love is the cure for sick souls.

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Virus? (Tuesday)

Posted on October 21, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

The church is a clinic for hurting souls and spirits. We must welcome them into our fellowship and carefully care for them. But how do we minister to hurting people without being infected by what ails them?

Healthcare workers caring for infectious patients wear PPE (personal protective equipment). Be careful to wear our God-given protective gear while ministering to sick souls.

1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NLT)
But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

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Virus?

Posted on October 20, 2014 by Shirlee Abbott

The Ebola virus dominated the news last week. What do you think?

Doesn’t affect me, I don’t care
An ounce of prevention . . .
Be afraid, be very afraid

Remember that you are spirit, soul and body. Why are we so focused on what sickens the body?

Think of the “viruses” we catch from others that devastate the soul and spirit: apathy, anger, busyness, compromise with our culture, discouragement, exhaustion, gossip . . . The list goes on and on.

Beware lest you infect others; beware lest you be infected by others.

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