Jesus and Me ... and the Cats

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 ...

Sermon Version Psalm 131 Philippians 4:10-14 Railroad Bridge at Fort Madison, Iowa It's interesting watching what comes down the Mississippi in the spring and during flooding.   There's lots of tree snags, but this year, I saw a boat house, bits and pieces of docks, ruined boats and even an ice fishing shanty.  Down the river they went, riding the swift current, headed to who knows where.  Sometimes, life is like this great river, trying to sweep me off my feet and into deep midstream.  Ever feel that way, like you're paddling as fast as you can to keep your head above water and avoid having your life capsized by passing debris? It's times like we have been promised that Christ is our rock and the solid ground upon which we can stand secure amid the rising flood.  I remember what is true and well-proven about God: God is our fortress, our defense and protection. But sometimes, God is the river carrying me to places I don't want to be....

Iowa Prairie in Bloom Part 2 of "We're Where God Wants Us to Be and That's Good! Philippians 4:10-13 I'm a pale, fair-haired northerner who is genetically programmed to be up to my armpits in snow nine months of the year.  Home for me was paper birches, trembling aspens, cedars and swamps, and the smell of pine forests.  Home was where there were three or more generations of my family living in the same county and natural, clear water lakes where we swam and fished in summer. When we moved to Iowa, I couldn't understand why the current of God's will brought us to Iowa, far away from home, from the forests, from family, from small town living to the large city of Des Moines, Iowa.  It was both ecological and culture shock  I fought the flow, clinging to my homesickness and creating emotional turmoil around me. On Paul's missionary journeys, God took him to many different places.  From the accounts we read in the book of Acts, he encountered many ha...

Heads up!  I'm going to try something new. In addition to my regular weekly posts, in lieu of current events and the buzz in the conversation after church during fellowship time, I'm going to present a short series of Bible study and discussion on line called "What the Bible Says about Immigrants."  For three weeks, there will be a new post and an opportunity for you to respond.  Actually, you always have the chance to respond to anything I write.  Go to the bottom of the post and click on "Comments" and share your thoughts. Looking forward to being in Christian conversation with you!

                                          "God Is a River" by Peter Mayer Part 1 of I'M WHERE GOD WANTS ME TO BE, AND THAT'S GOOD! Psalm 131 Living on the Mississippi in south eastern Iowa has shown me the power of this great river.  I have seen with the swelling of the spring melt and the rising of the flood waters how it sweeps great tree snags, boat houses, docks, ice shanties, damaged boats and other debris along and takes them far, far away down river. I have also experienced the powerful and swift current of life as it tries to knock me off my feet  and pull me under, places where I feel I am drowning in confusion and fighting to catch my breath.  It is then that Christ becomes the rock upon which I build my life.  It is at those times that God is my refuge, my protection, my rock and my safe place. But sometimes, God is the river, carrying me t...