What is Palm Sunday?

Palm Sunday is one of several “holidays”, or more correctly holy days that Christians “celebrate”, meaning observe, in the weeks before Easter which we call Lent.

Jesus Enters Jerusalem
(Mark 11.1-11; Luke 19.28-38; John 12.12-19)

Many people spread clothes in the road, while others put down (palm) branches which they had cut from trees. Some people walked ahead of Jesus and others followed behind. They were all shouting,

image from the LIGHTSTOCK.COM collection, an affiliate link

“Hooray for the Son of David!
God bless the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Hooray for God in heaven above!”

Matthew chapter 21, CEV

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)

© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.


image from the LIGHTSTOCK.COM collection, an affiliate link

Edward McKendree Bounds was trained as an attorney, but instead of pursuing a legal career, he entered the ministry in his early twenties. In 1859 he was ordained as pastor of the the Monticello Methodist Church in Missouri.

Bounds served as a chaplain in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. He was captured by the Union Army in Franklin, Tennessee. After his release, he strove to build up the spiritual state of Franklin by starting weekly prayer sessions.

The “holy days” of Lent

Palm Sunday is one of several “holidays”, or more correctly holy days that Christians “celebrate”, meaning observe, in the weeks before Easter which we call Lent.

Lent starts with the well known Fat Tuesday-Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday.

Holy Week starts with Palm Sunday, illustrated in the Lightstock drawing above.

At my church on Palm Sunday, the preschool age children march into the auditorium waving palm branches and sing a song for us. The parents and grandparents sit up front, proudly taking pictures and video. It’s a day to celebrate before we observe the solemn sad day later in the week, Good Friday. .

cheesy-free faith-focused stock photos

Lightstock-quality photos and graphics site- here. 

(This is an affiliate link)

Exploring the Heart of

FAITH LOVE HOPE- words created with letter tiles
These three remain, faith, hope and love, and greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:13, a Lightstock graphic

Dr Aletha

New Year’s Resolutions Approved by Grandmas

I’m a stickler for definitions so I checked to see what “resolution” means. It is a “firm determination to do something” or the “act of solving a problem.”

With people living such long lives now, most of us will spend a large portion of it as grandparents, even great-grandparents. But today’s grandmothers aren’t just sitting in rocking chairs knitting.

checkerboard between 2 rocking chairs

Modern grandmothers do everything. They run businesses and run for office.

There are grandmothers in Congress and on the Supreme Court.

Grandmothers run marathons, teach yoga, and compete in ballroom dancing (like me). 

Some retire from long successful careers and some start new careers.

And some grandmothers write blogs.

New Year's resolutions approved by grandmas

 

 

 

 

  These grandmothers’ blogs cover a variety of subjects

home,marriage, family, travel, cooking, fitness, retirement, faith, genealogy, crafts, gardening, books, health, DIY, and of course grandchildren.

find hidden opportunities hidden in each new day
Michael Josephson-ethics law professor– affiliate link 

 

 

 

2019 New Year’s Resolutions

Several of the other grandmother bloggers I know shared their new year’s resolutions online. Here is what I wrote-

I’m a stickler for definitions so I checked to see what “resolution” means. It is a “firm determination to do something” or the “act of solving a problem.”

So I don’t do New Year’s resolutions because I think we should be doing resolutions all the time; if we think of it as just a once a year process, we miss multiple opportunities to accomplish new things or solve problems.

So, I do resolve to continue learning new things and improving my skills. In 2019 I will be required to recertify as a family physician, so I have a “firm determination” to pass the exam.

I also want to improve my ballroom dancing skills, learn new steps and routines.

I want to update old blog posts with newer information and address important medical topics that I haven’t tackled before.

I want to spend quality time with my friends and family, nurture my faith and find new ways to give back to my community.

This bright new year is given to me to live each day with zest-William Arthur Ward
William Arthur Ward- author and pastor– affiliate link 

 

 

 

More grandmothers’ resolutions 

Here are summaries of what other grandmothers  shared with a link to their blogs.

Kimberly – Passing Down the Love:

  • finalize my retirement plans,
  • move my feet a little more and
  • look for happiness in the little things.

Donna – Retirement Reflections:

        healthy diet and increased exercise.

Sylvia – Grace for a Gypsy:

      to organize and publish my family research

Angie – Flippin Fanchers:

      fully transition my DIY blog to a grandma blog.

Louise – Going Ba-Nanas for Baby:

  • To pray with consistency, and not just when I need help.
  • To thank God for my blessings instead of complaining about my challenges
  • To request, each and every day, that my loved ones and I will be watched over from above, and always kept in the light of divine grace.

Marilyn – Marilyn’s Treats:

  • To simplify my life.
  • To spend more time taking care of “me” so I can be there to enjoy family and friends.

Cathy – Life of 2 Snowbirds:

      Start my healthy diet and exercise more.

Nikki – Gwin Gal Inside and Out:

     to host more family get-togethers much more frequently in the coming            months.

Renee – Grandmommin:

      to be more verbally appreciative

Pat – Mille Fiori Favoriti:

  • to live even more healthfully, with more exercise, and to
  • be proactive about going to exams and tests to monitor our health.

Marisa – All Our Way:

  •          I’m signing on with an agent which leaves me free to work on my blog
  •          I  want to double my page view by next year.

Christie – So What? Now What?:

 to accomplish or experience things during 2019, focusing on  health, joy, learning, and relationships.

Beverly – Across the Boulevard:

for blogging, to re-evaluate what I want to accomplish and to take steps that puts it on the path I want for it.

Your turn to resolve-

How about you? What do you resolve, plan, hope, or want to achieve in 2019? And why not ask your grandmother what her resolutions are?

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year, but a new you.

the HEART of health

Thanks for joining me to explore New Year’s resolutions and the HEART of health. Will you resolve to share this blog post and follow Watercress Words? I appreciate your support.

The graphics and photos in this post are from Lightstock.com, an affiliate that helps me fund this blog. Thank you for considering. 

Happy New Year. 

cheesy-free faith-focused stock photos

Lightstock-quality photos and graphics site- here. 

(This is an affiliate link)

Dr Aletha

Wednesday AIM Link Party
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