"Not my will but thine, O Lord. Not my will but thine, O Lord. Not my will but thine, O Lord..." While some parents count to 10 with deep breathing to keep from losing it with the kids, this prayer method worked most times for me when our children were young. 

"Not my will but thine, O Lord." Over and over and over and over I would pray this when the girls were fighting; when the diaper pail (yes, I used cloth diapers) was tipped over; when stars were scratched into the furniture; when sullenness was the attitude of the moment; when tantrums occurred; when I had to get up during the night yet again; when .... Parenting is one of the toughest jobs a person will ever have, and it is a journey with many opportunities to serve as judge or executioner, to react in bad temper or respond with gentle consistency, to give in to selfish, impatient ways or follow God's plan.  I never really thought about how Micah 6:8 could 

relate to parenting, but I believe I could make a case for it as we journey with our children!

"Sounds Simple Enough" is what Brother Mick is calling his message as he expounds on Micah 6:1-8. Many of us have memorized verse 8,  "and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  Mick writes, "They are (these verses), in effect, the job description for disciples; and they sound fairly easy to accomplish as well...do justice, love mercy, walk humbly. Those are good things all of us can agree upon. But the disconnect between what sounds good and simple and what you do or are able to do is vast...." 

Sunday school classes begin at 9 AM; we'll have "All Church Singing" from 9:55-10:10 in the rec room. The famous "Amish Wedding Feast" fundraiser will be during the fellowship hour following the worship service. Although the senior high hasn't had confirmation yet, they hope to serve with Mennonite Disaster Service this summer. I expect we'll begin our meal around 11:40. Everyone is welcome!

I think Sunday is the final day to bring in the Progresso Soup for the Food Pac Program which provides weekend food for children in need. Items for Mennonite Central Committee school kits are what we'll be gathering for February. mcc school kits Did you know the school kits are MCC's most requested item? I didn't until I checked out the website! Korinne and Ian distributed kits when they were in Honduras with EMU a few years ago.

Prayer for today: Keep us safe, O God, for in you we take refuge. Apart from you there is no good thing.Ps. 16 Grant us courage, Loving God, to seek justice on the path of life that you've prepared for us. Grant us wisdom, Gentle God, to live in peace, mercy, and kindness with one another. Help us to trust, Faithful God, in your Presence, knowing you'll never leave us nor forsake us. Come Kingdom of God. Be done, will of God here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus Name!  AMEN.

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too!

Love and Light,
Carol

http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

A number of years ago when I was wearing the school librarian hat at Locust Grove Mennonite School, I was enjoying the diverse student population but struggling with names that were new to me such as Kangofta and Illala. Reviewing the list of first graders for the new school year, I sat in a circle on the floor with them for a meet and greet time.  Most of the kiddos were returning from last year, so I knew their names, but there was one new student.  
"You must be CaSADee," I said to the little girl.  In a chorus upon which even the excellent music teachers could not have improved, all the students voiced, "It's CASadee." 

Of course it is! Silly me! I was getting so used to unfamiliar pronunciations that I missed the familiar. I seem to have an impressive number of opportunities to laugh at myself. 
Hearing our names spoken respectfully and correctly from others is important, so there are times I am frustrated with myself as I doubt my pronunciation, therefore I don't even try. 

"By Any Other Name" is the tile of Brother Mick's message this week with scripture text from Isaiah 9:2-7. The question we'll be exploring on this Mennonite World Fellowship Sunday is, "How can we best realize that it is not the names with which we are born into this world that unite us as one people group over against another but rather the names and characteristics of Jesus that we take on for ourselves as disciples that bring us together regardless of our location?"  The service begins at 10:15 AM with Sunday school for all ages at 9 AM. Please join us. If you've never been to Ridgeview, there are friendly people in the foyer that can help you find your way.  (or ask for me!) 

Here is a link to the bulletin for lots of information.Ridgeview Bulletin

As well as our ingathering of cleaning supplies, etc. for Bridge of Hope, we are also collecting Progresso Soup for the Food Pac program so if you get to the grocery store before Sunday, pick up a few items, won't you?  

Prayer for today:  Gentle God, as we pause and behold the expansive variety of colors and shapes in your people; as we pause and touch the roughness of a tree and rest in the embrace of a loved one; as we pause and hear the singing of birds and diversity of language; as we pause and smell the wood smoke of the stove and the simmering of stew; Lord, we taste and see that You are good. Your mercy and love extends to all of us.  Come Kingdom of God. Be done will of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name. AMEN. 


Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too!

Love and Light,
Carol

http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

"Here kitty, kitty, kitty, kitty!" We called; we looked; we looked; we called.  No Hattie. 
A few years ago on a Wednesday, our beautiful "miracle kitty" http://carol-thecommunique.blogspot.com/search/label/cats went missing.  Growing up on a farm, I had experienced the comings and goings of our many felines, but when on Friday morning Hattie was still missing, our hopes to find this little critter who had worked her way into our hearts began to wane. 

Grimly inspecting road kill as I returned home from the grocery store, I found myself praying, "Lord, if Hattie is alive and to be found, would you show me?" 

Thinking about the last time I saw her, I recalled that it was late afternoon on Wednesday. She was walking toward the pasture and the shed that housed the neighbor's lawn/snow equipment. Could it be? Could she be trapped in the shed? That sense of "knowing" that I've had on occasion welled up within me, and I could barely wait to get home.  Even before I unloaded the groceries, I sprinted to that shed and opened the door. 
Pitiful, frightened, and hungry, there was our forlorn cat. 

Yes, yes, I know. It was just a cat. Yes, yes, I know. The shed was a practical place to look. Yes, yes, I know. I know these things, yet I know God loves all his creatures, and this time the tender hearts of some girls rejoiced as our family cat was found. 

Sometimes we know exactly for what we are looking, like a lost kitty. My focus was centered and distinct as I searched.  But sadly there are times on our life journeys when our vision isn't so clear. There are times when our focus on what truly matters is askew. There are times we choose to walk a dead-end path searching for life in soul-sapping places. 

Brother Mick's sermon text this week is John 1:29-42, the passage where John acknowledges who Jesus is, and John's disciples go with Jesus. Mick has entitled his message, "What are you looking for?"  "What is (it) that we are seeking...an easy way through life...some kind of great reward for doing 'what we are supposed to do'...a great reward in the end...the desire to live as God's people in the kingdom way? The way we answer that question says much about our own motivations, desires and intent as we follow after the Messiah."  Please join us at 10:15 AM for our worship time, and at 9 AM for our Christian Ed hour. 

Keep Lizzie Stoltzfus in your prayers as she is in Haiti with Smith and Rhonda to begin work on a new school building.  

Stephen and the other Lizzie got married this past Saturday in a beautiful wedding. :) There are two Lizzies in the family now! 

Remember to bring items for the Bridge of Hope January ingathering--canned vegetables, cleaning supplies, dish soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, sponges, toilet paper, trash bags, and umbrellas. You don't have to bring everything; one or two items would be terrific! 

On Wednesday nights at 6:15 PM we share a meal together before our 7 PM classes.  Everyone is welcome! 

Prayer for today: Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost...Is. 55:1 
Living Water, we desire to be refreshed, revived, and restored by you that we can in turn can share healing and hope with a thirsty  world. Fill us with your Spirit fruit, that no matter our life circumstances, You will be evident. Help us to focus on what really matters in our lives.  Come Kingdom of God. Be done will of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. In JESUS name. Amen. 

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too!

Love and Light,
Carol

http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

What if...? What if...? It's time again for this question.

 What if.... 

• You're right, and I'm wrong? 
• I'm right, and you're wrong? 
• We're both wrong? 
• It doesn't really matter? 
• People really don't care?
• What really matters has nothing to do religion and theology but everything to do with how I treat you, and how you treat me? (You know... do unto others)
• God isn't contained by church walls and is working as much out of the church as in the church? 
• God doesn't have to be "named" to be the One at work?  
• It is okay if we don't have all the answers? 
• Jesus really meant it when he said we should love our enemies?
• I wouldn't be afraid to ask my questions out loud? 
• We believed God is bigger than the Bible as we relate to our world? 
• I get fired for asking questions? 
• We would really understand the meaning of grace? 
• We understood that the answer to the question is "Love?" 

I struggle when we as believers profess to have all the answers, or when we are certain that our way is the only way. (How many Christian denominations are there, anyway?) Some of us say, "But the Bible says..." yet we pick and choose what we want to inform our lives from this important book. Over the years the Bible has been used to condone the KKK, slavery, the Inquisition, misogyny, homophobia, and the Crusades,to name a few. I appreciate Barbara Brown Taylor's image of the Bible as "God's word with human fingerprints all over it."  What if the Bible is the starting place for discernment not the final place?

So, as I post what I think, and you post what you think, and she posts what she thinks, and he posts what he thinks.... What if we're all just noisy gongs and clanging cymbals? What if the measure of our words is found in the action of love in our lives? What if...?What if...? What if....?


And I'll keep pondering the questions....Perhaps we should meet to bring our questions; not for answers, mind you, but rather for contemplation.

This week Brother Mick's message is called "If I Had My Druthers," with his sermon text from Acts 10:34-43. Mick says in his presermon notes, "Peter was fairly sure about his original understandings of who was in and who was omitted from Christ's body until his vision and a new perspective on God's much broader acceptance of those who believe. So much of our lives seems to come down to niggling little preferences quite apart from reason or reality which can cause us to completely shut others out." I hope you can join us for worship at 10:15 AM. If you're unable to attend but want to hear the message, it will be posted on the website. http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/sermons/index.php

College students who've not yet returned to school or live locally, I'm hoping you can join me in the Upper Room at 9 AM.  
Todd will join those attending the new class of more established young adults in a room in the 1960 hall at 9 AM. There is nursery care available, or you can take your little ones to class. 

Steve and Lizzie get married tomorrow!  

The ingathering for January is items for Bridge of Hope. See last week's blog or the bulletin for the list. 

Winter family night activities begin on  Wednesday, January 15 with a meal at 6:15 PM.  There are classes for children from kindergarten through senior high, and an adult class. Brother Mick is leading a sing along with new and familiar songs from our songbooks/hymnal with the adults. 

I think I'll grab our copy of Laura Ingalls Wilder's The Long Winter and curl up with a cup of tea for the rest of the season. 

Prayer for today: Open our eyes, Creator God, to the beauty of your Presence. Open our ears, Gentle Master, to the wisdom of your Voice that speaks to our souls. Open our hearts, loving Savior, to the invitation of peace and hope.  Open our minds, Divine Mystery, to the wonders of true life. Author of all life, fill us with Your bread and wine that we may be vessels of sustenance and warmth to a world crying out for relief. Come Kingdom of God. Be done, will of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. In JESUS name. Amen. 

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too!

Love and Light,
Carol

http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd

Christmas Eve 2013-- Standing at the stove, I had just folded the parsley into the spicy sausage rice finishing the dish when the lights flickered, the smoke alarms gave an eyeblink shriek, and we were pitched into darkness. Everyone scrambled for flashlights, phones, and candles, and after a few minutes we were eating by the gentle glow of leftover wedding candles. Laughter, great conversation, and a savory meal commenced followed by a time of playing with light and photography creating what seemed like magical illusions thanks to our photographer friend Cody who was with us. :)

Light. As a person who admits to being afraid of the dark, I find great comfort in light and appreciate the image of God as light.

c 2004 "Korinne/Korinne" by Alana

The magi followed the light of the star to find the Divine Light, the hope and comfort of all. "Nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising." Is.60:3 I wish I knew the stories of how the lives of the magi were changed after having come face to face with the Divine. How much they comprehended of the holiness of their encounter, I have no idea, but they certainly had knowledge that perhaps was transformed into understanding with this sacred meeting.

Brother Nelson's message this week is "Drawn by Light; Sent as Light" using texts from Ephesians 3:1-12; Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6; and Psalm 72:1-7. Nelson says in his pre-sermon notes, "We are drawn to God's light and sent as God's light showing the mystery of God working far beyond the boundaries we create and impose within ourselves and between each other." I look forward to hearing our brother's exegesis. I hope you'll join me. Worship begins at 10:15 AM with Sunday school at 9 AM.

Everyone is invited to corporate singing in the Rec room from 9-9:15 AM before they go to their classes.  Oh, and the new class for younger married couples/singles will be meeting in a 1960 hall classroom. Childcare is available.   If you can make the party on Saturday evening at Todd and Cindy's home, let me know! :)

Our ingathering for January: items for Bridge of Hope. http://lancasterchester.bridgeofhopeinc.org/ We're collecting canned veggies, cleaning supplies, dish soap, laundry detergent, paper towels, sponges, toilep paper, trash bags, and umbrellas.  You'll find a box in the lobby to place any items you bring.

Be sure to read the bulletin for additional notes and activities. http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/bulletins/

As brutal temperatures cover much of the nation, keep safe and warm, dear friends! Listen to the voice of your mother in your head. (Wear your hat. Cover your nose and mouth with a scarf. Do you have a blanket in your car in case of an emergency? Don't go outside unless you need to. Take breaks if you're shoveling snow.....) :)
I'm certainly thinking of our refugee family from Myanmar this morning.  I hope they don't have to go anywhere today. They must think they've landed in freezerland!

My prayer for today: You are wrapped in light as a garment, O Lord, and ride on the wings of the wind.  As we are drawn to your light, Divine, fill us with hope and awe as you illumine our paths. Lord, I ask that you would especially bless those organizations that are bringing warmth and housing to the homeless on this frigid morning. Grant us, dear Lord, the power to understand the breadth, height, length, and width of the love of Christ that is greater than knowledge, so that we would be filled with the fullness of your Divine Being. Come Kingdom of God. Be done will of God, here on earth as it is in heaven. In Jesus name. Amen. 

Without question or doubt, you are loved by God, and I love you too!

Love and Light,
Carol

http://www.ridgeviewmennonite.net/

"Always remember who you are, whose you are, where you are going, and what you believe, because it does make a difference! Oh, and don't forget to attend a church of your choice this weekend." jd