"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