Tuesday, October 23

F.A.M.I.L.Y.

When you think that you KNOW what's important, God has a way of showing you what is TRULY important..............................This says it all..........a poem someone sent me.

F A M I L Y
I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too; I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.
While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,
'While dealing with a stranger, common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'
I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers,
especially the blue.'
FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company that we are working for could easily replace us in a matter of days. But the family we left behind will feel the loss for the rest of their lives. And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed, don't you think? So what is behind the story?
Do you know what the word FAMILY means?


FAMILY =
(F)ATHER
(A)ND
(M)OTHER
(I)
(L)OVE
(Y)OU

Monday, October 22

Beware the cat inside your soul

October 20, 2007

BY GARY SOULSMAN

THE NEWS JOURNAL of the Detroit News.

The joke: A dog says, "You pet me, you feed me, you love me, you must be God."
A cat says, "You pet me, you feed me, you love me, I must be God."

When evangelist Bob Sjogren (pronounced "SHOW grin") of Richmond, Va., heard the punch line, it was an eye-opener.

"That's it," he says. "That's the American church. There's a tidal wave of me-ism out there."

Or, to put it in pet terms, there's too much catlike self-centeredness and not a lot of doggie glorifying of God.

That's a major thesis of "Cat & Dog Theology: Rethinking Our Relationship with Our Master" (Gabriel Publishing, $12.99), a book Sjogren wrote with his friend, Gerald Robison. They also created a DVD that churches like Newark United Methodist Church in Newark, Del., have used in adult education classes.

Haig Stubblebine of Newark United believes the dog and cat metaphor stimulates plenty of interest.

"There's a little bit of dog and cat in each of us," says Stubblebine, who led a workshop on the topic at the church.

The authors agree.

"Odds are you aren't either," they write. "You are somewhere in between."

Considering that there are so many pets in so many homes, people tend to smile at the analogy. Cats tend to be aloof and self-centered. Dogs are warm and have no trouble looking to a higher authority.

To the authors, the analogy goes farther. Cats are like Christians who always want to feel blessed and feel that life is fair. But what if a person's life becomes like Job's?
For many, he says, "our faith is three thousand miles wide and half an inch deep. Most church members pray for three minutes a day, most pastors for five minutes.

"When we do, what's on our minds? We want a bigger house, a nicer car, a prettier spouse.

"We want to get from birth to death in an easy way. Well, I've got news for you, that's cat, cat, cat. And it may not be what life has in store. So we might want to think about changing this me-ology to a theology that makes room for everything life offers, even when it's tragedy and loss."

It's not that wanting a blessed life is wrong, he says, it's just not a complete view of how God might decide to glorify a life.

What kind of Christian are you? A cat or a dog?
Dogs

• God is lord

• Serve God whatever comes

• Hungry to worship

• An obedience theology

• Knows hell exists

• Repentance is in; holiness is in

• A job is an opportunity for ministry

• Blessings are to be passed on

Cats

• I am lord

• Serve God when it's fun

• Hungry to be entertained

• A feel-good theology

• Can't believe in hell

• Repentance is out; self-esteem is in

• A job is a means of wealth

• Blessings are to be hoarded

On the Web: http://www.catanddogtheology.com/