my apology...

wow! the harder i try to keep this thing updated, the further behind i get! got back last night from the confirmation trip (12 freshman, youth expert pat hawks, me), now in on a blue sky iowa spring day feeling like i just spent 3 days away from home with a group of kids...let your imagination run wild there! i can't complain; pat is the 'fun' guy, which means he stayed up late with the kids while i slept. ahhh.....

this is my confession, accept my apology. that's the closing line from the chorus of the song 'my apology'. i really love the lyrics of this song. it seems to be one that speaks to me each time i hear it. i wonder in the season of lent how seriously we take this idea of confession, apology, and then accepting the redemption and forgiveness extended to us? i love that lent is a somber season. the late winter is always somber for me -- i get itchy for spring to come, get grumpy when it snows in march, and am eager for the leaves and grass to start turning green again. as it starts, funny how the mood switches from somber to hopeful to downright excited, as the sun stays out longer, the air is warmer, and the earth comes back to life. i like that as lent ends and easter approaches, so does spring. how about the idea of confession in this setting, then? we confess in a somber way, truly apologetic for the wrongs we've done, but then we don't stay there. we keep moving towards the 'spring' of forgiveness and being made new again...it's like the turning of the seasons everyday. kinda cool...

tomorrow: