Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

The prodigal daughter came home from a distant country, a reality created by mental illness and alcohol abuse.  There was no ring to assure she was and always will be part of our family, no fattened calf and no party.  Instead, we sat at her bedside in an ICU, surrounded by beeps and the sound of the ventilator, IV bags and lines and a feeding tube.  She was unable to respond to us, and after years of estrangement, she seemed like a stranger to me. I have counseled many who sat at the bed sides of their loved ones to share memories with them through stories. So, that's what I did -- I told her the stories of of our growing up together, recounting the adventures of our childhood.  Through those stories, I reunited with the sister I grew up with.  Paula, perky Paula, making friends wherever she went; always on the go, ready for anything and willing to try anything, at least twice; seldom ever silent, talking a mile a minute. Anger melted away as I r...

Ephesians 2:1-10 I Corinthians 12:1-11 There are two parts to thriving.  The first is to deeply root ourselves in our faith in God through Jesus Christ.  The second is reaching out high and wide into the world and producing fruits of witness and mission.  Thriving is having a relationship with God that results in us impacting the lives of others in life-giving and life-changing ways. And we who are in the Body of Christ, we have each been uniquely gifted to do that. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor, Rich Man, Poor Man, Beggar Man, Thief" Traditional English Nursery and Fortune-telling Rhyme, 15th Century When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?  When I was in third grade, we were given the assignment to write about just one occupation we aspired to.  I couldn't narrow it down to one thing.  I loved to read and write stories and draw.  Becoming a teacher appealed to me, and I even thought being a minister lik...

Ephesians 1:7-10 Matthew 28:18-20 We continue our exploration of what it means to thrive as Christians and the church.  We've learned that thriving begins with sending our roots deep into our relationship with God through Christ.  Now, our thoughts turn to reaching out our branches high and wide, but before we do that, we should be clear on our purpose for doing so. "We're on a mission from God." In the movie, "The Blues Brothers," Jake and Elwood Blues are divinely inspired to take up the mission of saving the orphanage where they grew up.  All they have to do is raise $5,000 in a very short amount of time, and they're going to do that by "getting the band back together." Having a mission or purpose is a good thing.  It's part of human thriving.  In the article "The 4 Step Path to Human Thriving" by Joe Brewer and Michel de Kemmeter (October 12, 2013, Environment, Political Mind, Social Movement), " Every human b...