Sip #1 – Read Chapter 7 of Mark in the HCSB translation as Round 5 rolls on
Sip #2 – Read my big takeaway from the day
Sip #3 – Add comments/thoughts/questions in the Comments Box (bottom of page). NOT REQUIRED
Sip #4 – Re-read any parts of Chapter 7 that impacted you
Sip #5 – Come back tomorrow as we move to Mark, Chapter 8

A VERY Happy Mother’s Day to all the ladies out there! 

Did you know?… While there are ancient cultures that have honored moms, the modern version gained prominence in the late 19th and early 20th centuries through the efforts of Ann Jarvis, Julia Ward Howe, and others. Ann Reeves Jarvis was a social activist who organized women’s groups to care for wounded soldiers during the Civil War, and later promoted a day dedicated to peace, known as “Mothers’ Friendship Day“. Julia Ward Howe also advocated for a day to honor mothers, particularly as a means of promoting peace. However, the national holiday as we know it was largely the work of Anna Jarvis, who, after her mother’s death, campaigned for a day to honor mothers, leading to its official recognition in 1914.

While I do not really have the chance to do it anymore in public on a stage, years ago a gal named Amy Young published a prayer that has always spoke to me. I can’t even remember the first time I read it, but it’s ALWAYS stuck with me. If you have journeyed with me over the years, you have probably seen my post this on more than one Mother’s Day in the past, but it has more power every year if you ask me. Feel free to share it and/or pray it with me before we dig into today’s chapter…

A Tribute Prayer for Mother’s Day

To those who gave birth this year to their first child—we celebrate with you
To those who lost a child this year – we mourn with you
To those who are in the trenches with little ones every day and wear the badge of food stains – we appreciate you
To those who experienced loss through miscarriage, failed adoptions, or running away—we mourn with you
To those who walk the hard path of infertility, fraught with pokes, prods, tears, and disappointment – we walk with you. Forgive us when we say foolish things. We don’t mean to make this harder than it is.
To those who are foster moms, mentor moms, and spiritual moms – we need you
To those who have warm and close relationships with your children – we celebrate with you
To those who have disappointment, heartache, and distance with your children – we sit with you
To those who lost their mothers this year – we grieve with you
To those who experienced abuse at the hands of your own mother – we acknowledge your experience
To those who lived through driving tests, medical tests, and the overall testing of motherhood – we are better for having you in our midst
To those who have aborted children – we remember them and you on this day
To those who are single and long to be married and mothering your own children – we mourn that life has not turned out the way you longed for it to be
To those who step-parent – we walk with you on these complex paths
To those who envisioned lavishing love on grandchildren -yet that dream is not to be, we grieve with you
To those who will have emptier nests in the upcoming year – we grieve and rejoice with you
To those who placed children up for adoption — we commend you for your selflessness and remember how you hold that child in your heart
And to those who are pregnant with new life, both expected and surprising –we anticipate with you

This Mother’s Day, we walk with you. Mothering is not for the faint of heart and we have real warriors in our midst.

We remember and honor you today… and every day.

Let’s open up Mark, Chapter 7, and take a good look at verses 31-35…

“Again, leaving the region of Tyre, He went by way of Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the region of the Decapolis. They brought to Him a deaf man who also had a speech difficulty, and begged Jesus to lay His hand on him. So He took him away from the crowd privately. After putting His fingers in the man’s ears and spitting, He touched his tongue. Then, looking up to heaven, He sighed deeply and said to him, “Ephphatha!” (that is, “Be opened!”). Immediately his ears were opened, his speech difficulty was removed, and he began to speak clearly.”

Did you know that…