Month: February 2026

Ashes to Go

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My church is having pancakes and ashes on Tuesday night. We will enjoy a time of fellowship over tasty pancakes made by the youth and then everyone will leave with a baggie of ashes and a piece of paper with the following words.

Ash Wednesday is tomorrow. This special day is the beginning of the
season of Lent. For the next 40 days, we will focus on the life of
Jesus preparing ourselves to follow him as witnesses of his death and
resurrection. Lent is a time to focus on following Jesus through
prayer, Bible reading, sharing what we have with each other, and
asking for forgiveness when we are wrong. As you place these ashes on
your head, consider how you will follow Jesus this Lenten season.

Bible Reading from Joel 2: 12-16a

“Even now,” declares the Lord,
   “return to me with all your heart,
   with fasting and weeping and mourning.”

13 Rend your heart and not your garments.
Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
   and he relents from sending calamity.
14 Who knows? He may turn and relent
   and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings for the Lord your God.

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion, declare a holy fast,
   call a sacred assembly. 16 Gather the people, consecrate the
assembly; bring together the elders,    gather the children.

Blessing of Us as We Receive the Ashes

Holy God, you created humans from the dust of this earth. You created
us in your own image. We are grateful to be your beloved children. As we receive these ashes, help us to remember your love and your call
for us to return to you. We admit we have sinned and we know that
these ashes are a sign of your forgiveness and your love for us.
Through Jesus Christ, our Savior, who we are following today and each
day, we pray, Amen.

Imposition of Ashes-

You can place the ashes on your own head or have someone else place
them for you. As the ashes are placed say-

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.

Or

Remember God’s amazing love for you and that you belong to God today
and everyday.

Closing Prayer and Blessing (Psalm 51:10)

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Amen.

Five Years without My Mom (Thoughts on Grief)

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Today marks five years since the death of my Mom. I miss her. I spent time today wondering through Barnes and Noble (which she loved to do), looking at pictures of her, and remembering.

And I spent time thinking about what grief looks like for me. It is now much different from that initial grief when I could cry so easily and the missing her was an intense ache. Today, there were tears and sadness and a longing for her to have not been absent the past five years. The feelings change even as they linger.

I want to normalize grief and death in our society. We all grieve, and we will all die. It is not something we must think about all of the time until we are preoccupied with it. Also, we do not need to fear it or ignore it or pretend it will never happen to us.

For me, rituals have been helpful in coping with the deaths of people I love. I find ways that are meaningful to me to mark important days. I honor my Mom’s birthday and the day of her death. My whole family honors cheeseburger day which is the day she and my sister completed chemo (same day different years).

Honoring these big days in my Mom’s life is one way I hold on to her memory while also living my life as part of her legacy.

In honor of my Mom, I invite you to read a book, wear comfy pants, put your feet up and cover up with a blanket, eat a food you enjoy, hug your family, laugh out loud or silently, watch a movie you have seen countless times, go buy a book you may never read, visit your local library, build something with Legos, or just smile and be thankful for your life.