Happy St. Patrick's Day

And a happy St. Patrick's Day to you!  Are you celebrating?  Maybe you should  celebrate with some green cupcakes, green eggs, green tea or at least a piece of (preferably green) celery?  Well, actually I feel a little green thinking about eating those green things.  I guess we often associate St. Patrick's Day with out-of-control drinking and celebrating and, unless you are Irish, today is probably just another day in your life.  Quite often I receive a blog from Awana.  The blog is called "ApPARENTly Blogging" and is really written to parents.  And while I never celebrate St. Patrick's Day myself, I thought some of the things she blogged (is that a word?) about this week were interesting.  Here are some of the things she shared.  "First of all … Patrick wasn't Irish, nor did he drive the snakes out of Ireland. They were never there in the first place.  Patrick was actually born into a wealthy Christian family in England around 390 A.D.. His father was a deacon in the Celtic Church of Britain, which at that time had a reputation for Bible teaching and missionary endeavors.  Patrick's full name is Patrick Magonus Sucatus. Life was good for the young boy, but when he was 14 years old, he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave in Ireland. Now, life was terrifying. The people all around him worshiped idols and were ungodly in the way they treated him.  Patrick remembered the good things his father had taught him about God, and there, in captivity, trusted Christ as Savior.  Finally, at age 20, he escaped and went back to England, but he could not forget the idol-worshipping people of Ireland.  He knew that they needed a Savior. He finished his education and then went back to Ireland as a missionary for 30 years. He died on March 17 at age 70.   Here is an excerpt from a hymn written by Patrick, often called Patrick's Breastplate:

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me.

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the Name,

The strong Name of the Trinity,

By invocation of the same,

The Three in One and One in Three.

By Whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

Salvation is of Christ the Lord.

In many ways, St. Patrick's Day is one of the most Christian-based holidays we celebrate."   So maybe you ought to at least put on some green today to celebrate Patrick's Christian life.  Or maybe you could go out and cut your "green" grass or, better yet, look for some four leaf clovers!