Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

Exodus 35:1-19 Shortly after God gave the delivered people of Israel the Ten Commandments, God told Moses to begin the construction of the Tabernacle, a kind of portable temple where the people could gather to worship and offer the sacrifices God had commanded.  It was a very big undertaking -- definitely not a weekend handyman project.  It was a God-sized job. The outer wall surrounding the courtyard of the Tabernacle was a rectangle measuring seventy-five feet by one hundred fifty feet.  It was constructed of seven and a half foot high fine white linen panels suspended between acacia wood poles plus the gates.  Just for the walls, it would take over 3,000 square feet of linen. The Tabernacle tent was forty-five feet by fifteen feet and stood fifteen feet high.  It would require 1,350 square feet of fabric per each of the four layers to cover the structure. And there were the precious gems and metals.  The project would need 2,204.85 ...

I Kings 19:1-8 Matthew 6:25-34 Whenever someone asks me what brought my husband and I to Iowa in 1984, I joke that it was a big, yellow Ryder truck. If I was completely honest, I'd have to say that desperation and despair drove us to Iowa.  Barely married, we both lost our jobs due to the recession.  Experiencing chronic unemployment, we had already moved twice following jobs, and each move left me feeling more anxious, lonely and isolated. The memory of that move symbolizes that time in our life.  Coming into Des Moines, we missed the exit that would take us to our east-side apartment.  We ended up on a two-lane highway outside of Walnut Woods State Park, which is outside of West Des Moines.  I was following Tom in the truck in our car, becoming more stressed by the minute because I knew the truck and the car were both running on fumes with no gas station in sight.  Finally, I couldn't take it any longer and signaled Tom to pull over.  On the ...

O God, from my youth you have taught me,   and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18  So even to old age and gray hairs,  O God, do not forsake me,  until I proclaim your might to all the generations to come.    Psalms 71:17-18 (NRSV) Wisdom is with aged men.  With long life is understanding.   Job 12:12 (NASB) Luke 2:25-38               All across the United States, Senior Citizens are making amazing contirbutions at every level of public and private life.   According the the Corporation for National and Community Service, seniors account for one third of the volunteer force, with over 20 million volunteers.  They are volunteering nearly 3 billion hours with a value of $67 billion.  So, it should be of little wonder that our seniors play an important part in the future of the church. As attested by the evidence of the many volunteer hours older adults contribute, they still...

Y ou then, my child, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus;  and what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.                                                 2 Timothy 2:1-2 (NRSV) Middle-age, now that's and age and stage that's pretty close to my heart right now.  It's a time when I'm not too old and not too young.  I've gained knowledge and life experience, but there's still plenty for me to learn and room  to grow as a human being. The Bible has some things to say about middle-age.  Job said it was the prime of life, and Isaiah stated that it is the noon time of our years.  With our middle years, we have a lot to offer from our work, volunteer and life experiences, the knowledge and skills we've acquired, as well as common sense (the wisd...

SOME SCRIPTURE FOR THOUGHT You shall not be violent toward an alien.*  You shall not oppress him, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. Exodus 22:21  (see also, Exodus 23:9) And when an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress him.  As the native among you so shall be the alien who resides with you.  And for you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt.    Leviticus 33-34    ... you who then were not a people, but now are the people of God; the one not pitied** then but now pitied.                               I Peter 2:10 *  Immigrants are referred to as aliens, sojourners and strangers in the scripture. ** Pity is interchangeable with mercy. The roots of the United States of America are embedded in immigration.  From those who crossed the land bridge from Siberia to Alaska during the ice age to the e...

Acts 2:17-18 For a few years, I was a volunteer at the Indian Creek Nature Center on the south east side of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, doing nature programs for pre-schoolers and school-aged children.  The center has wetland and prairie restoration projects.  Up until my time there, my concept of what a prairie was was something out of "Little House on the Prairie."  Did you know that of all the midwest prairie states, Iowa was the only one completely covered by tall grass prairie? There are a few other things I learned about prairies, including what is needed for a prairie to be vital.  One is diversity of both plant and animal life.  Prairie fires helped with that, in order for the prairie to flourish, it needed two other things, well animals to be precise.  One is buffalo.  These big animals pawed up the ground and created wallows.  Where they broke up the sod, seeds from various plants were given the space and the sun to sprout and grow. ...

Micah 6:8 "He has declared to you, man, what is good; and what does Jehovah require of you, but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"            Joe Green, Sr., A Literal Translation of the Bible , 1985            (I'll be using this translation through the duration of this study.) The increasing number of unaccompanied children and youth from Central America entering the United States under the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 has been creating of buzz of conversation at coffee hour at our church.  The purpose of this study and discussion is not to tell you how to think, but rather to provide a biblical view point. As United Methodist, we believe that Scripture enlightened by the Holy Spirit is our primary source for forming and influencing our world view and response to the issues we face.  So, in this post, I'd like to explore with ...

Proverbs 22:6  (The Message) Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost. Mark 10:13-14 (The Message) The people brought children to Jesus, hoping he might touch them. The disciples shooed them off. But Jesus was irate and let them know it: “Don’t push these children away. Don’t ever get between them and me. These children are at the very center of life in the kingdom. Mark this: Unless you accept God’s kingdom in the simplicity of a child, you’ll never get in.” Then, gathering the children up in his arms, he laid his hands of blessing on them. One of my former pastors, Rev. Larry Brooks, once told me he met Jesus as a boy in the basement of a Methodist Church where his Boy Scout Troop met.  That statement is especially memorable to me this week since we are preparing to host the Eagle Scout Honor Court ceremony for one of our youth. “Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of ...