Events

There are so many events that have or will happen that I just can't narrow down what to talk to you guys about! So here is a little snippet of various events with a short blurb about how to think about what's going on.

Superbowl

 
After the Ravens won the Superbowl, Baltimore held a parade and then a ceremony at the football stadium. There were so many people who wanted to go to the parade and the ceremony, but there wasn't enough room in the stadium. The fire department closed the gates to the stadium, but as you can see in the picture, so many people wanted to just even get a glimpse of the Ravens that they started scaling the walls of the stadium to get in. Hearing this, it reminded me of a story in the Bible where Zacchaeus, a tax collector, wanted to see Jesus so badly because he had great faith that Jesus was a great man, that he climbed a sycamore tree even to get a glimpse of Jesus. Read Luke 19:1-10 for more details on the story and see if you can find the parallels!

Valentine's Day
Last year I told you the history of Valentine's Day, but this year, I want you to take time to think about what true love is. Is love buying gifts for someone on Valentine's Day? Is it being nice to someone? Is it helping someone? While yes all of these things are examples of how we can display our love, we must understand that as a Christian, the truest love we will ever experience is from God when He gave up everything that is good to take on everything that is bad/evil so that we could have access to anything good. So remember this Thursday as you experience good things (candy, dinners, or presents), that you would not even have a chance to understand good things had it not been for God showing you love first.

Mardi Gras, Ash Wednesday, and Easter
Don't forget that the Easter season is starting today. Today is the first day of the 40 days before Easter. Easter represents the time when Jesus died on the cross to take on our sins (as mentioned in the Valentine's section). More to come on this topic but just to keep it on your radar!

Lunar New Year
This Sunday, I know many of you will be participating in Tet or Lunar New Year. For Eastern cultures, this is one of the most important holidays of the year. They take the whole week off and instead of working, they are celebrating! Sometimes in life, we need to take a break from all the things that we are doing to spend time with God. Instead of celebrating a new year, we can celebrate the work that God has already done in us and take time to focus on what He wants us to be doing. This break can be a week if you really need it, a day, an hour, or a few minutes--take as much time as you need to pray and seek God's wisdom for your life.

I hope you enjoyed this extra long post to cover the last few weeks with so many events!! I would love to hear from you, so please email me what you think and what's going on in your life.

Until next time,