Just for Lent #2 When Did My Bitterness Start?

Sunday, Feb. 17 Lent, 2013 Reflection Series: #2 When Did My Bitterness Start? Lenten Newsletter sent Sunday nights-by midnight Reminder: Lenten Study begins tomorrow evening: 7 - 8 Lettertowomen.blogspot.com . When did bitterness start for me? When did I become enwrapped in its tentacles? When did it start for you? A person that I was "counting on" being perfect for me, became less than perfect in the way that I needed them to be perfect. I became shocked, angry, self-righteous, "holier than thou", demanding, judgmental, challenging, looking for other wrongs, unhappy. I cried an awful lot. I talked to many people, trying to get this wrong righted. Nothing worked. I was bitter....plain bitter and really nothing was going to change this unless this person showed themselves perfect again. People that I respected and admired told me that I just needed to "let the bitterness and anger go". They told me that the bitterness would destroy me and wouldn't solve anything. Yes, they were right. The bitterness would begin to destroy me and wouldn't solve anything. I would think..."oh, if only I could be holier and just 'let it go; if only I could be more forgiving; if only I could just stop being angry." But it was impossible for me to let it go, and to tell you the truth, I didn't want to let it go. The anger and bitterness held things "in place" for me. The journey I took to get "free" was much better than just "letting it go". God wanted to do a much deeper work in my soul and He had so much more happiness for me than just stuffing the bitterness somewhere deep inside of me, and just "hoping" that it wouldn't rear its head when something or someone "similar" came on the scene. Does your bitterness hold your world together? Are you afraid, like me, that to let bitterness go would mean giving up a "just grudge"... or risking being shockingly hurt again, traumatized , disillusioned, taken advantage of... or that God would take another loved one away from you... or that you will be abused again, abandoned, taken for granted, neglected, or that you'll be left all alone...Or that the anger and frustration and fear underneath would be too big for even God to handle?   Lent isn't just a time of looking at our sins to see how bad we are in comparison to an all -loving God who died on the cross for us. Lent is a time of taking a good look at our sins, our failures, our weaknesses, AND the defense mechanisms that we have put in to place to cover the places in our hearts that hurt so badly...so that God can accompany us to those areas of pain that hold the lies we believed about ourselves when something bad happened to us; ... so that we can talk to Him about how He sees us and invite Him to touch us with His love. When we hear his voice, our minds and hearts will catch on fire and they'll be no stopping us in moving forward with our lives. Lent is a beautiful love story between you and your creator...between you and your savior. Don't let your bitterness just "go" to some subconscious level. Draw near to God and He will draw near to You. OH Happy Lent! Sharon Ephesians 4, vs. 23, 24 "Be Renewed in the Spirit of your Minds, and put on the new self, created in God's way in righteousness and holiness of truth." Until Next Sunday For Posts during the week go to: Lettertowomen.blogspot.com A Lenten Resourse: Fr. Jonathan's Plan for Lent Lent Challenge: 2013 click above

#1 When Bitterness Won't Go Away

Sunday, Feb. 17 Lent, 2013 Reflection Series: #1 When Bitterness Won't Go Away Lenten Newsletter sent Sunday nights by midnight. Also: You are invited to join Theresa Pirie and Sharon Morris for a 4 week Study During Lent of : 24-Hour Turn-Around, Change Your Life One Hour at a Time by James Hartness and Neil Eskelin Feb. 25, March 4, March 18, March 25th. Mondays from 7 to 8pm at the Morris', Copley, Ohio. RSVP: Text/Call: 330-715-9613 or SharonMorris@KW.com Also: Introducing: Lettertowomen.blogspot.com .   Have any of us escaped the "worse than flu-like" symptoms of bitterness? We can catch them in an instant, and they can stay with us for a lifetime. Bitterness can travel through our spirits like disease carries its destruction through our bodies. When we rid ourselves of it's tentacles, we experience a spiritual return to health, accompanied by a new enthusiasm for life and hope for ourselves and others. I'm inviting you to join me in a Lenten Journey, as we consider "Bitterness"... and where we might discover glimpses of it in our own life. I'll be sharing inspiring stories of people who have found freedom from its tentacles, scriptures to encourage us, and just some friendship along the way as we Allow God to be our ALL in this beautiful season of our life. Lettertowomen.blogspot.com is my new Blog site where you can go any time to read the reflections as I write them, add your own comments, or access last year's Lenten reflections in the: archived newsletters at: Lettertowomen.blogspot.com If you want to be notified when I post something on the blog site, you can sign up at the site (on the right hand side) and you will receive a notification as soon as it is posted. OH Happy Lent! Sharon Luke 6: Verse 37, 38 "Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give and it will be given to you; good measure pressed down, shaken together running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back." Here is a link to one of last year's Lenten Reflections that will start our reflections for this Season. Just For Lent - You Forgave Me click to go to Reflection A Lenten Resourse: Fr. Jonathan's Plan for Lent Lent Challenge: 2013 click above Contact Information: ntnwoman@gmail.com Join our mailing list!

Till Next Sunday Use your scriptures daily. Come out of Lent a new woman. Place the scriptures on your mirror/ over your kitchen sink, on the dashboard of your car, at your office desk. Have fun, make it a game. Feel free to share this Lenten Journey with your friends on Facebook or Twitter or Linkedin by accessing the buttons at the beginning of the email. Sharon

Archived Newsletters Just For Lent

You can Access Newsletters that I sent out in 2012 Just For Lent Reflections by clicking on the Archieved Newsletter link and scrolling down to Just For Lent.

I'll be posting my first Reflection for 2013 tonight before midnight. 

http://lettertowomen.blogspot.com/2012/12/archived-simply-and-beautifully-woman.html

Visiting Those In Prison

 As women, our hearts are often moved toward those that are most vulnerable and most precious.  Even though prisoners aren't considered the most "precious", there is something we hope for when we think of them...Renewal.  Here is a story about a modern day "saint for our times", hidden behind bars.   I have never visited him in prison, but I have gone to the prison store in New Hampshire and purchased his ships that he makes in prison.  They are a work of art!  He is a real person.  I just came back from New Hampshire and rode past the prison and stopped and prayed for the two  men who live out their lives there that I have come to know through their writings.

Click on Link to Read about Pornchai.

http://thedivinemercy.org/news/story.php?NID=5142

Sacrifice...a road to Becoming the Who you want to be.

In my faith Tradition, Lent is a 40 day journey towards a greater union with God.  It happens to be one of my favorite times of the year.  While the New Year brought some dreams for a "new me" and "new ways of living", Lent holds the promise of something deeper.  It offers to me an opportunity of penance and sacrifice for the purpose of drawing closer to the Heart of God.  I don't like "sacrifices"...and yet I do like to sacrifice.  Deciding to turning off the shower earlier than I want to, giving up coffee or chocolate, or giving up salty snacks are some of the sacrifices I always consider when Lent comes rolling around. 

Below is a Link to my son's Challenge for Lent.  I want to share it with you because it might bless you if you too are approaching this cyclicle event of reflecting on the Life of Christ. 

http://fatherjonathan.com/lent_2013.html