Having a Wonder-FULL Life!

If you know much about me,you would know that one thing I do with much of my free time is grandchild or grand-dog sitting. Those moments are truly highlights in my life. I have realized that when I am taking care of grandkids and grandpets I feel a little extra pressure because I am responsible at that time for pets and children who are not my own. I think it brings out in me an attentiveness and caution that may even be beyond what I have for my own dog or when my own children lived at home. I am simply managing for that short, designated period of time these very special family members. God forbid if anything happened on my watch!!!


Recently one of my granddaughters was staying with her other grandma.I received a picture via text of my granddaughter’s new haircut while with her other grandma. No, it was not done professionally!  It was done with scissors in the hands of a creative 4 year old herself. I immediately laughed because I know that virtually every child has this kind of experience sometime in their life and the good news is that it will grow back!. But I also thought at that moment, as I was laughing, that I was glad it did not happen on my watch! I called the other grandma to make sure that she was laughing also! She was but she was also devastated. I assured her it could happen to any of us. 


This makes me think about God and what stewardship means. I know that the word “stewardship” has lost its place in many ways in today’s world, but I am reminded that stewardship denotes the management of another’s property or resources.  Everything I have is God’s and I am simply managing God’s resources. Theses resources have been given to me to use and share for the benefit of God’s people.


If I had been the grandma in charge at the time of the disaster, I would have been devastated. I would have felt that I had not taken good enough care of my grandchild while she was in my care. Honestly, isn’t this the same kind of response we ought to feel when we think about all that God blesses us with? God owns it all and we are simply managing His resources. God gives to us so that we will administer what we receive for the benefit of God’s people. 


It’s a wonder-FULL life we can have from God, Pastor Patti






Archived Posts

Such A Rich Passage (Luke 19:1-10)

 

            I reflected a lot on the passage about Zacchaeus because it has been written off as “been there, read that, little guy in a tree.”  But it is so rich in getting to the heart of what it means to be saved by grace through faith—to live our lives out of gratitude rather than obligation.

The Power of Presence

        This last Sunday I had so much more to share than time to share it.  The last Emotional Management Technique was to stay present in the process.  Just as Jesus stayed with the woman who was judged and found guilty by the angry crowd, we stay by our children and our friends, especially when they need us the most.  Here a couple of examples...

What’s In A Benediction?

Last Sunday I used one of my favorite benedictions. 
It was inspired by a saying from about ten years ago:

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

There are several powerful and evocative artworks that depict the scene from Mark 9:14–29, where Jesus heals a boy possessed by an unclean spirit... Some of the following have internet links, the others are worth googling.  Enjoy!

The Gift of Ourselves As A Gift of Love

  The more the giving of myself costs me something, the greater the power of the gift. You know I love quotes, so after a little research, let me share a few of my favorites on this very subject:

The Loss of a Great Christian Leader

         The death today of Pope Francis was particularly poignant, falling as it did on the day after Easter.  As Protestant Christians we have a once removed interest in the leader of the Roman Catholic church. Yet the pope is the authoritative leader of 1.4 billion women and men around the world.  It is worth our time to pause and consider what kind of man and what kind of legacy Pope Francis left behind.

Everything You Wanted To Know About Judas Iscariot
(Drawn from online sources)