reinbeck umc - the view out my window

Today someone broke into my car and stole my son’s wallet. 

 That is such a small thing compared to the stories in the news this week:

 Two separate men throw their children from bridges on opposite sides of the country.  Is that the image of God?

 Terrorists line up to strap on explosives to kill people who believe differently than they do.  Is that the image of God?

 Crack addicts with gaunt faces covered with lesions, rotted teeth, and thin brittle hair.  Is that the image God wants us to see?

 12 year old boys convicted of felony sexual assault.  How can that be in God's image?

 Sometimes I look at the things people do and I have to wonder where the “made in the image of God” tag has gone.  Has it been thrown out like the Styrofoam that surrounds your new computer, the mysterious “inspected by #4” tag, or the plastic fortress that protects your new CD?

 (More)

Have you ever seen the clip on America’s Funniest Home Videos where a little boy opens his Christmas present and screams and shouts and dances?  The he looks at the present again and asks “What is it?”

 What if we would live like that?  I don’t mean in puzzlement . . . for some of us that is an all too present reality.  I mean in AWE.

 (More)

Hard Prayers

How do we pray when God's will seems so strange to us?

I have been struggling with a situation many of you know about.  Just a few weeks ago the lady was so vital, and alive, and hopeful.  Just a few weeks ago she was praying for others.  Now she lies in a hospice bed, comfortable but unresponsive; and each day seems to bring her closer to meeting Jesus face to face.
 (More)

   

I am calling this "The view out my window" largely becasue of this picture.
       If you have had children or grandchildren I trust you know the experience of seeing things differently, almost like for the first time through their eyes.  In this picture my grandson and I happen to be seeing birds in that way. 
       I hope that  the dialogue  created in this blog will help us to see things in a way we have never seen them before.

You are welcome to post here, respond privately by e-mail or stop me in the hall and visit.  With your permission I will post responses here for others to read.

Terry