Merry Month of May . . .

It was a month of celebrations, most of which featured food.  Now, it's time to think about simple things and a smaller waistline!  Fortunately, it's just about time for fresh tomatoes and all the other treats of summer.  All ready Paw Paw's garden stand down the road is open for business, selling squash (lots of squash), cucumbers and green beans, which we missed. 

We began the month by celebrating our friend John's birthday.  It was so many meals ago I can't remember what we served, but I do remember making caramel cake.  Mother's Day Tommy cooked red snapper with a crawfish cream sauce, risotto, salad and chocolate chess pie.  That was followed by his birthday and I prepared a veal dish from some "fancy, smancy" book, spinach fettucine w/ an herb sauce (from my herb garden) and German chocolate cake.  For the end of school, Tommy made a new shrimp dish from a Louisiana cookbook I gave him for his birthday; we celebrated Sarah's birthday w/ grilled steaks; and last night we had venison backstrap with sweet potatoes, green beans almondine and chocolate chip cheesecake for dessert (Sarah's birthday cake choice).  I am stuffed and we're all needing to get back to simple fare. 

Two weeks ago Elisa and I made a visit to the animal shelter so I could adopt a cat.  We decided on a little gray kitten and named her Smokey.  So far, she has been a delightful addidion to my household, but doesn't even blink when I hear mice.  She must have missed the "cats don't like mice" lesson in Kitty Behavior 101.  And, speaking of mice, all out war has been declared!!!  Tommy and Liz have discovered their presence in their laundry room. Their terrier has caught one, Tommy got one in a trap and two have sprung traps and gotten away.  He's been researching on the internet and today is making some contraption to put in the basement under my house.  A good bit of what he was found focused on "humane ways to get rid of mice."  It's too late for that.  I WANT THEM GONE AND WILL GO TO ANY MEANS TO SEND THEM PACKING! 

On the 17th, I preached at the opening worship for our spring Presbytery meeting.  It's always a little daunting to preach for your peers, but the day was a little more difficult because the agenda included dismissing five churches and three ministers to another denomination.  Separation is always hard.  Even in churches, it has feelings of divorce.  Who goes where?  Who gets what?  Who gets the friends?  How do we both adjust to new ways of being?  Several weeks before the meeting, I was sitting in church pondering some of those questions during the organ prelude. Several thoughts came to me:

• Though the Scripture says: "God so loved the world . . ." we are in a one on one relationship with God.
•  In the "Lamb's Book of Life," the name of my church is not listed.  My name is there.  I am an individual child of God, not just a member of some earthly boday of people.
• When we pose the question:  "What will ministry look like apart from these with whom I am accustomed to working?"  we have to respond individually.
• Just as our relationship, our salvation is personal, so is our obedience and our service. 
• Yes, we decide as a congregation what we will do about denminational issues, but we are responsible as individuals to God.

I have seen friends and families divided over church issues.  I have seen the decline of ministry of the Church as people have focused on issues, to the exclusion of focusing on Almighty God and striving to follow His wisdom and direction.  It's very sad!  It's also sad when a denomination spends most of its time trying to administrate rather than making disciples, when a people of God are more interested in relevancy than truth.  We have separated ourselves by issues so much that we have neglected to unite as believers in Christ.  Am I pleased with the direction of things?  No, not now, nor have I been for a very long time, but I am determined to stand firm in what I believe God's Word teaches and to be obedient, by the power of the Holy Spirit. 

Monday we observe Memorial Day.  Remember to thank a service person for the sacrifice made so that we might remain free.  Have a good one.

Blessings,
Pastor Margaret