where are you?

The following was posted on Facebook by a church member:

As I looked around the congregation at church last night, I wondered why it was so much smaller than it was Sunday morning.  Of course, I know some people aren't able to come back & some may have to work, but I'm sure there are others who could be there, but just don't choose to come back.  This is discouraging to a pastor who is teaching or preaching God's Word.  Here is a poem that I wrote about this very thing:

WHERE ARE YOU?

When I look around the congregation

And I don’t see your face

I wonder what is wrong,

Why aren’t you sitting in your place?

Then as the choir comes in to sing

I look and you’re not there,

It makes me wonder what is wrong

Could it be that you just don’t care?

Why aren’t you here to worship God?

Do you not have the time to spare?

I saw you in church Sunday morning,

But Sunday night you weren’t there.

In our church congregations today,

There are just too many empty pews.

Is it because others see that worship

Doesn’t matter that much to you?

Written by:  R Westmoreland  

Date: January 4, 2010

kittens & cats

 

"Any household with at least one feline member has no need for an alarm clock."

Louise A. Belcher

"One small cat changes coming home to an empty house to coming home."

Pam Brown

 

"People who love cats have some of the biggest hearts around." 

Susan Easterly

 

"What greater gift than the love of a cat?"   

Charles Dickens

 

"When your cat rubs the side of its face along your leg, it's affectionately marking you with its scent, identifying you as its private property, saying, in effect, 'You belong to me'." 

Susan McDonough, D.M.V.

 

"I cannot deny that a cat lover and his cat have a master/slave relationship. The cat is the master." 

Arthur R. Kassin

He is Risen

He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen.
Come, see where his body was lying.
Matthew 28:6 NLT
 

Good Friday

quick quotes

quick quotes

unlovable yet loved

“Grace is being loved when you are unlovable.”

Grace is God reaching downward to a people who are constantly pushing back against Him, who are in rebellion against Him.  Scripture tells us that all people sin and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23) and that we deserve death (Rom. 6:23).  But in His lovingkindness and mercy, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us and take upon himself the punishment that we deserve.  Romans 4:24-25 says that righteousness “will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.”

Paul writes in Romans 5:8, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The grace of God did not come at a time when we had everything together, all of our ducks lined up in a row.  No, grace comes to us when we are broken and can offer nothing in return.  “Grace is most needed and best understood in the midst of sin, suffering, and brokenness."

We come to God with nothing in our hands to offer but our brokenness and sin, and He gladly takes it and gives to us new life as His child.

“Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you, the beloved. It has everything and only to do with the lover.”  

 

 learninginthegripofgrace.com

'cause pooh says so

My spelling is Wobbly. It's good spelling but it Wobbles, and the letters get in the wrong places.
-- Winnie the Pooh

People who don't Think probably don't have Brains; rather, they have grey fluff that's blown into their heads by mistake.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Poetry and Hums aren't things which you get, they're things which get you. And all you can do is go where they can find you.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Promise me you'll never forget me because if I thought you would I'd never leave.
-- Winnie the Pooh

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Some people care too much, I think it's called love.
-- Winnie the Pooh

more about grace

Grace. It’s a word that I read about and hear a lot. It’s in the Bible, sermons, poems, hymns, quotes, devotions, songs, and study material. But exactly what is it?  I guess the simplest definition I’ve seen is unmerited favor.  

Well, what is unmerited?   Since merit means earning or deserving something, then unmerited means not earning or deserving something.    

 

Then, there’s favor.  Favor is being given something good, like kindness or a helping hand.

So, when you receive grace, you’re given something better than what you deserve.

God gives us grace thru Jesus.  When He was on the cross, Jesus took all the punishment that we deserve and placed it on Himself. On that cross, Jesus gave us a relationship with God, something we can’t earn nor deserve. 

'cause pooh says so

A bear, however hard he tries, grows tubby without exercise.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

A little Consideration, a little Thought for Others, makes all the difference.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Always watch where you are going. Otherwise, you may step on a piece of the Forest that was left out by mistake.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne

Before beginning a Hunt, it is wise to ask someone what you are looking for before you begin looking for it.
-- Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

Don't underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering.
-- Piglet, Pooh's Little Instruction Book, inspired by A. A. Milne

I am a Bear of Very Little Brain, and long words bother me.
-- Winnie the Pooh

"I don't see much sense in that," said Rabbit. "No," said Pooh humbly, "there isn't. But there was going to be when I began it. It's just that something happened to it along the way."
-- Winnie the Pooh