Fifteen to Life

Everything living has an expiration date. The leaf on a tree waves with the wind and is shelter for birds and squirrels for about six months. Before turning into veal, the calf lives approximately six weeks. Eggs can be transformed into a meal within minutes of being laid. The lifespan of any dog or cat that gets dropped off at a Humane Society could have an early expiration date especially if they are older, have special needs, or the facility is at full capacity.

Growing up, I was taught that cats were sneaky and a nuisance as they cut through our backyard on their daily surveillance of the neighborhood. To my surprise when I met my husband, his entourage had been two cats, Jaguar and Pixel. I shook off what I was programmed to know about, and expect from, a cat and was open to let the three of them teach me about cats.

I learned quickly from Jaguar and Pixel that cats are alright. I did not find them to be sneaky or a nuisance. In fact, my blood pressure went down the minute they cuddled with me and purred with contentment.

Within weeks, we were at the local Humane Society and I was filling out an application form to adopt a cat. Once approved, I found the cutest little Tortoise colored kitten and asked to see her. She was caged with a big black cat and a grey cat; we assumed this was from the same household. My (now) husband had asked to see the black cat.

As we were in a little room getting to know each other, the kitten ran and hid behind some furniture. A worker had to move the furniture and we had to fish her out all while the black cat was standing tall investigating a caged bird in the same room.

I fell in love with the kitten. Planning to call my new cat Alli, I found out her previous owners already had named her that, but spelled it differently. Being unable to have children of my own, I believe God orchestrated this relationship and blessed us with each other.

According to a veterinary guesstimate, Alli had turned fifteen earlier this month and we were blessed to be her parents since she was six months old. She was the sweetest, gentlest lap cat we have ever known. Alli had a rare form of lymphatic cancer which was detected a few weeks ago. The cancer was very aggressive and now our little girl is sitting on Jesus’ lap instead of ours.  Some may comment and say animals have no soul to go to Heaven.  I choose to think that since we have such close relationships with our pets, I cannot believe God would not allow us to meet back up in Heaven.  So Alli, enjoy your new life.

With empty laps and hearts full of love for you and from you, may you rest in peace Alli.

Love Always,

Mom and Dad

Alli Marie, 1998-2013

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
A Time for Everything
There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
2 a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
6 a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

Why Blog?

Daily Prompt: Million-Dollar Question Why do you blog?

Just as unique is the snowflake, so are we.

Mathematicians, scientists, chemists, singers, actors, ballerinas, and computer programmers – my gifts and talents do not lie in any of these awesome professions. What is interesting is that God created us in such a fashion that even in similar careers, we add a new dimension because of our uniqueness.

How can I have such a passion for writing when I am not a voracious reader? I admire people with a book collection who are able to list off favorite authors. When I do take the time to read, I first have to meet my own list of demands: to be fresh from sleep, in a comfortable chair that keeps me in an upright position, a clean house, the perfect lighting and dead silence. When these demands are met I love to read writings from two of my favorite authors, God and Robert B. Parker.

My love for writing began in my pre-teen years as I penned my thoughts in a journal I hid in my bedroom. I wrote poems that explained my feelings on paper because I could not find a trusted ear to listen to my voice. I also remember writing personalized poems to friends in high school yearbooks; the funny shared memories or simply my perspective of who they were and how they touched my life penned forever. Presently, any chance I get to write in a card to a friend or a co-worker is as unique as they are to me.

I believe one of my unique qualities is being able to mix up the 26 letters of the alphabet and sentence them to life in the form of a blog. I was taught to write about what I know as it is a pathway to writing more. Sports writers write about favorite athletes, food critics write about food…it is their passion they want to share with the world. I constantly write about God because I owe it to Him; He seriously changed my life. God isn’t the only topic I know, but it is one where I feel the most passionate about at this point in time.

There are many bloggers that write about God, and I follow and read them on a regular basis. I love to read what God sparked in them because it gives me a glimpse into how He works in the lives of others.

Why do I blog? My physical voice is easily drowned out in a crowd. I have an opportunity to let the spiritual inspiration I receive be passed on to others as if I am scattering seeds around the globe. I do not know who will read this and I do not know how God needs my readers to receive him. All I know is that my unique perspective of my relationship with God is worth blogging about.

May you recognize your uniqueness and share it with others.

Separated

John 20:3-17
3 So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. 4 Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. 6 Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, 7 as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. 8 Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. 9 (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) 10 Then the disciples went back to where they were staying.

Jesus Appears to Mary Magdalene

11 Now Mary stood outside the tomb crying. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb 12 and saw two angels in white, seated where Jesus’ body had been, one at the head and the other at the foot. 13 They asked her, “Woman, why are you crying?”
“They have taken my Lord away,” she said, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?” Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”

Family

Every Wednesday in Lent, my church family gathers for homemade soup suppers with a Lenten Jazz Vespers service that follows. My current work schedule, along with the distance from work to church, prohibits my participation in the soup supper, but I am there for the service. On Wednesday, March 20 I arrived at the church 15 minutes before the service started so I took the opportunity to sit in a pew in the sanctuary to pray. I am blown away at how God had prepared my heart for what happened next.

While I sat and prayed, I noticed my church family and visitors were talking amongst each other in the Narthex. It was a very beautiful sound to hear and I thanked God for the life within the congregation.

Since we are without a devoted Pastor to our church, our awesome supply Pastor, whom we all love, has been leading our family in worship on Sundays, as well as our Wednesday evening services. His sermon was on the Gospel story where a woman poured the expensive perfume on Jesus. After Pastor talked for a short time, he invited the congregation to speak up and share what we do as a church family to serve Jesus. Like popcorn, voices popped up from the front, the back and each side of the church sharing the minitries that we offer to each other and the community. Such examples are Stephen Ministry, Personal Care Pantry, members rotate and feed the homeless at a shelter in the downtown area of our city, Vacation Bible School, Prayer Shawls, Food Baskets for the poor at Thanksgiving and Christmas, Shut-in Visitation, Easter baskets for the local children’s hospital, and the list went on. In fact, to keep the service within an hour, he had to cut the people short as they did not exhaust in sharing their examples.

God prepared my heart to be open to the ways we, as a congregation, are serving Jesus. We do not sit around and mope without a dedicated Pastor. In fact, we continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus. We continue to breathe life within our church and breathe life out into the community. I had tears in my eyes as even the professional Jazz Band, who shared freely of their time and talent that evening, played so beautifully adding to the blessing of the evening.

If you are having one of those days where life seems bleek and fruitless, take some quiet time with God and ask Him to open your heart to see how you serve Him. It took me about a week to realize how I serve Jesus because I consider myself very ordinary, although mindful of others. He showed me the many gifts and talents with which I have been blessed and that I have used them to be a blessing to Him.

May you realize what a blessing you are to others and Jesus.

Matthew 26:6-11
Jesus Anointed at Bethany

6 While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, 7 a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8 When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. 9 “This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor.”
10 Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. 11 The poor you will always have with you,[a] but you will not always have me.

Daily Highlight

My Bible is old, a bit tattered and worn. Some pages at the very beginning have pulled away from the binding, but remain in their original space. Pages are dog-eared, sticky notes are stuck and bookmarks of all shapes and sizes lie in waiting within.

Aspects I love about my Bible are the previous yellow highlights. What God spoke to me in the past has been so important, I wanted to be sure not to miss it in the future.

A yellow highlight that jumps out at me from my time alone with God this weekend is from John 1:12-13 which says: “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God–children not born of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Membership in God’s family is by Grace alone–the gift of God.

I Come In Peace

I am currently on a 4-day silent retreat and would like to share this story.

My Life in Time, Made into a Rhyme

Daily Prompt: Ghostwriter
If you could have any author –living or dead – write your biography, who would you choose?

GoodBye For Now

Heaven is half empty or Heaven is half full; it is just the way you look at it.

Today was the second funeral for my family just shy of a six month window. I love my immediate family as well as my aunts, uncles and cousins. Thank God we have Heaven to reunite us all someday as it gets harder and harder to say good-bye.

Missing: The Letter Between N and P

Daily Prompt: Twenty-Five

There are 26 letters in the English language, and we need every single one of them. Want proof? Choose a letter and write a blog post without using it. (Feeling really brave? Make it a vowel!)

Truth Be Told

Daily Prompt: No, Thanks
Is there a place in the world you never want to visit? Where, and why not?