Dear God,
It’s Palm Sunday.
Jesus arrived to a defiant city on a donkey to people shouting “Hosanna.”
Enter my disobedient heart.
Replace my pride with humility.
Release me. Rescue me.
Form in me a deep desire to trust You more fully.
Form in me a deep desire to trust You more fully.
Give me a faithful obedience to follow You whenever and wherever.
Forge in me the strength to listen to and respond to Your voice.
May I say “yes” to Your plans and promises.
May I say “no” to the competing shallow securities of this world.
Eliminate prideful attitudes that separate me from community with others
and distance me from closeness and intimacy with You.
Eradicate my behavior of constantly comparing myself with others
and teach me that my worth and value in life is a gift from You.
Rescue me from the double standard of singing “Hosanna” in worship
and shouting “crucify him” at work, with friends, and even at home.
Release me from the hypocrisy of worshipping You with my words at church
but denying You with my actions in the community.
Prevent me from holding on to habits that are harmful to me and hurtful to others.
Let the destructive parts of my life die and disappear.
Prepare me for resurrection and new life that comes as a gift from You.
Let reconstruction begin and make me alive again!
You entered a holy city to people waving palm branches and waiting for a King.
Enter my life to make me holy, victorious, and obedient to the King of all Kings.
Amen.
2 comments:
Craig,
Tyler Maschino here.
I am assuming I am writing this to the Craig Finnestad who, 30 years ago, couldn't wait to hear what Gordon Solie had to say about the Tommy "Wildfire" Rich vs Ric Flair match that we couldn't watch the night before because it was being held in The Omni in Atlanta. If this is the wrong Craig Finnestad you have my apologies.
If it's the right one, how are you doing?
Recently watched Wrestlemania 31 with family and friends and thoughts turned to Laurens, IA and how much fun childhood was (at least most of the time).
Looked you up and wow...
Looks like you're doing great. Sorry I am contacting you through your blog (a wonderful read, btw) but couldn't quickly find an email address to send this to.
Have a wife and two girls of my own. Started out as a history teacher and now am the tech director for a school in southeast Iowa. Life has been good.
Anyway, just felt compelled to see how you were doing after I was hit with a flood of very fond memories from back in the day. You know... when we had the Laurens phone book half memorized and kids had to talk to parents before talking to friends and all that.
Great to know you're doing well!
Tyler
tymaschino@yahoo.com
Hey Tyler -
Those were good days. As far as being a kid, I don't think we could have asked for better friends and a better place to grow up. High school got a little awkward for some of us - but no regrets. Some of life's great memories were spent with you watching sports, having fun, and causing trouble. Your parents were like parents for me and you were like a brother. Can't believe it's been as long as it's been. craig@weomaha.com
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