“For you will certainly carry out God’s purpose, however you act,
but it makes a difference to you whether you serve
like Judas or like John.”
C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain
(nature’s little sunbrellas / Julie Cook / 2021)
By accepting the sufferings ‘offered’ by life and allowed by God for our progress
and purification, we spare ourselves much harder ones.
We need to develop this kind of realism and, once and for all,
stop dreaming of a life without suffering or conflict.
That is the life of heaven, not earth.
We must take up our cross and follow Christ courageously every day;
the bitterness of that cross will sooner or later be transformed into sweetness.”
Fr. Jacques Philippe, p. 49
An Excerpt From
Interior Freedom
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
The photograph makes a more or less end of the summer reminder. The umbrellas along the shore or in the backyard will soon be stowed away for another time. Soon we will be looking for a warm spot in the sun to soak up God’s warm rays rather than seeking shade.
So true Elaine—I loved the notion of “nature’s sunbrellas” 🙂
Fr. Philippe is a Rockstar!!❤️
Yes he is!!!!!
Lutheran theologians distinguish between the theology of glory and the theology of the cross. I’m sure Anglican/Episcopal theologians discuss the same idea, with those labels or with others. Today we live under the cross; seeking glory today leads us off God’s paths. But living the theology of the cross today maintains our sure and certain hope of glory in the new creation. J.
Beautifully put!!!
Yes we are living in the shadow of the cross— its shadow will be our eventual unending light ☺️