The Parable of the Three Goldfish

Once upon a time there was a boy who loved goldfish. He asked his parents if he could have some in a tank in his room. His parents thought about it and said yes.
A few days later, they went shopping for a new tank and accessories so that the fish would have a nice home.They bought a book that told them how to care for goldfish and get their fish tank ready for them. After setting it up and getting it ready, they went to the store to buy some fish. The boy picked out three small fish that he liked, and bought them, and they brought them home.One was white and the other two were orange.
He took good care of the fish with his family's help.The little fish  were happy and healthy and very hungry. They grew bigger. They got stronger. And as they grew, they got hungrier. One of the orange fish ate so much that it grew bigger than the other fish. The boy had to feed the fish more and more food, and the fish kept growing. And they were still healthy and happy.
One day, the white fish had a wound on its side. The next day, it was a bigger wound. The next day, the wound was even bigger. The boy and his parents couldn't figure out what was wrong with the fish, but they read the goldfish book and then went to the store to buy some medicine help the fish get better. And they prayed for it.
The fish began to get better. It was swimming around quite happily. Then one day, the wound on the fish looked worse again. The boy and his parents couldn't figure out why, but they kept taking care of it, and praying for it, and watching it to see if it was getting hurt on the plants in the tank. The goldfish book said that happens sometimes. One afternoon, when it was time to feed the fish, the boy's mom decided to watch the fish and see what happened. She felt that maybe, just maybe, one fish was hurting another. So she watched for a few minutes, and, just as she suspected, one fish was being very naughty. The large orange fish was biting pieces off the poor white fish! The littler orange fish stayed close to the hurt one, but it couldn't help.
So the boy and his family prayed some more for the poor fish, and went to the store to buy another fish tank to keep the two nice fish safe. They decided that the naughty fish would have to live all by itself.
The white fish began to get better, but something else was wrong with it. Perhaps the wound went deep in side the fish where no one could see it. Whatever the cause, the poor fish could not swim straight anymore. It swam over on its side, and very slowly. It hid behind the plants most of the time. It would only come out to eat and then it would go back and hide behind the plants again. The little orange fish stayed close by it to protect it and keep it company, but it was suffering and not getting better. The boy's mom prayed some more. The goldfish book said that the swim bladder, the part that helps the fish swim and float, was sick. The book also said there was no hope or help and the fish would probably die.
The mom felt so bad...the poor fish! And her poor boy! He would be so sad if his fish died. The mom remembered that one time, at a prayer meeting, she heard God whisper in her heart. He said, "Ask me for healing because it pleases me."
So she prayed some more. And she said to God, "You told me to ask you for healing because it pleases you. So I am. And I'm asking you to heal this little fish. Thank you Father."
The next morning, the fish was a little better. She prayed every day. Each day the fish got better. Each day, she said to God, "You told me to ask you for healing because it pleases you. So I am. Thank you Father" And the fish got better. It has a heart-shaped scar where the wound used to be.
Now the fish is well and happy. The little orange fish is happy again too. They eat and sleep and swim around the tank together. They never hurt each other. The naughty fish still lives alone. He needs to be loved and cared for too, but he can't be nice so he must live by himself.
The moral of the story is, "If you hurt your friends you will end up alone. So don't hurt your friends." The other moral of the story is " Always pray and don't give up. If God will heal a little fish, how much more will He do for the ones who carry His presence and love Him."  THE END.
p.s...This is a true story. You can visit them any time you like. Just stop by and ask Adam to show you his goldfish. He'll be happy you did. And so will you.

Bridging the Bridge

In 1991, I left the chuch that had been my home for 14 years. I felt God was telling me to become part of the Vineyard church here on Long Island. I liked the change and knew I had made a good move. A new church was being planted in Suffolk County, the South Shore Vineyard, and I became part of it. Through the years, we faced a lot of changes. Our leadership decided God wanted us to become independant, so we did, and became known as The Lighthouse. Time passed and  our leadership decided that the Lord wanted us to become part of the Association of Bridge Churches, and we did that too. Our name became The Lighthouse Bridge.Those leaders left a few years later to go where they felt God was leading them. New leadership came and we love them and our name changed again to the Bridge Long Island.  We lost a large portion of our membership when the change in leadership happened, and lost some more as people felt called to go somewhere else after a year or two. Our church has decided to merge with another church and become a larger family. And our name will be changing again.

 Strange title for my blog post, but it's strange times in my world. Things change all the time, whether we're ready for it or not. I like change; I've said that before. I guess the Lord knows I mean it, because it's happening rather quickly... 

I don't know how I feel right now. I'm  not ready to be excited for what's ahead. I'm not sure how things will work out. I want to know what God thinks about it all, but He's not telling me. And I've BEEN asking. For the last few months,He's been showing me what would happen, but He didn't say it's His perfect plan for us.

I know what I want, but that's not going to happen. I know what others want, and that is happening. I don't think it's wrong, it just isn't my plan. God didn't ask me what my plan was.

The only inkling I have of His plan is that He wants me to make a decision for LOVE.

It's hard watching something die when you've spent so many years praying for it to live and become what God designed it for. Fifteen years of weekly prayer meetings, if I'm counting....and I am.

And all the words spoken over us over the many years; what happened to all of them?

Perhaps others don't feel like it's a death, but it is to me. I'm glad the Lord is metamorphosing us into something new, but I don't feel much like a butterfly.                                                                                                                                                                 

Adam's Unfiltered Status

You never know what is going to come out of the mouths of kids. Even bigger ones. I recently wrote about a friend's UFSOTD...unfiltered status if the day. It's when she writes whatever she's thinking about without filtering in case someone else may not like her subject matter.
Adam rarely, actually never, filters what he says. He can't. His speech disability doesn't allow for that kind of planning. He most often can't even say what's on his mind that's unfiltered. That's the nature of expressive aphasia; you know what you want to say, but it gets stuck somewhere between your brain and your mouth. He often speaks very fast, hoping to get it out before he loses the train of thought to the wrong station. Not so in the middle of the night between Monday and Tuesday. "I have to thowing up", he kept telling me. I got the bucket just in case and sat in his room with him. He was pacing around with his head down. "I feel like trap.."(Adam can't pronounce the hard c or k sound at the beginning of a word, so it comes out as a strange blend of  t and something I never heard anywhere else ) as he shakes his head back and forth.
To tell the truth, as bad as I felt for him being sick, it was all I could do to keep from laughing. He was so serious and dismayed, and spoke his feelings on the matter quite elegantly. And he has never said that before. It was funny and cute and sad all at once. A few minutes later, vomit he did.
The phrase of the day on Tuesday became "I feel like trap".
Ever have one of those days? You know, when "I feel like crap" expresses it better than anything else, even though it isn't the most polite way of speaking. I'm sorry for Adam that his day went that way, but I'm so happy he was able to talk about it.
 Maybe we can all learn something from Adam. When you "feel like crap", tell someone. I bet there's somebody who knows exactly how you feel and will hold the bucket for you.
Have a healthy year, everyone. xoxoxo

2012...Where Are We Going????

2012...the year begins with changes. My church is moving to a new location. Only thing is, we don't know where just yet. We are checking out the possibilities, and waiting on the Lord. We will know in two weeks where we will be located. (at least we intend to know) Hopefully it will be the last physical move. Of course, moving involves change. I think we're getting pretty good at change. We've done a great deal of shifting and adjusting in the last couple of years; but we are not yet what we will be.
Between the now and the not yet...it's a bit uncomfortable, but at the same time, I like change...it means challenges, and I think that's good for us. It's easy to go with the flow; it's not so easy to pursue a dream wherever it may take you. It can be difficult to navigate when there aren't any signposts pointing to the destination. But I know there is a bridge...
There are things I want and need in a new place. Physically, I really need it to be handicapped accessible. It doesn't matter to me if it's a store front or a cathedral; if it's not accessible, it's not going to work for Adam and me. We can't be part of  anything if we can't get into the building. It doesn't matter how great the worship is, how fantastic the preaching is, how wonderful and loving the members are and how comfortable the seats might be. It doesn't matter if the most famous and best speakers come to visit. It doesn't even matter how much we are loved by the others; if it's not accessible, it doesn't do us any good.
I wonder how many people are left out because they simply can't get in?
There are many different barriers to church attendance. I mention perhaps the most obvious, but there are so many others.
Being different. Looking different . Too young. Too old. Wrong clothes. Too poor. Too rich. Too crazy. Not crazy enough. Too cool. Not cool enough. Tattoos? Piercings? Purple hair? Mullet? Blue jeans? Three piece suits?
Not acceptable.
What keeps you out? Who would you keep out? What gets you in? Who would you bring in?
I say ...fling open the doors and let everybody in! I hate being left out.....I bet lots of you do too. I hope to see every expression of the love of God wherever we end up. The doors have been closed too long and the staircases have been too high. I hope we are accessible to every disabling condition. After all, wasn't Jesus?

The Tower of Babel and Ephesians 3:20-21

One of my favorite scriptures is Ephesians 3:20 and following. It encourages me that God has plans that I can't even imagine or comprehend. Way above what I could ever think or dream up. A several years ago He showed me a link between these verses and the story of the Tower of Babel in the book of Genesis. I was reminded of it today, so I thought I would share it here.
In Genesis 11:1-9...the people are building a tower, wanting it to be the tallest ever built.They said "let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves..." The Lord decides that they have gone too far and scatters them over the face of the earth, changing their languages so that they cannot speak to each other. God says this about them..."If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing will be impossible for them. Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not be able to understand each other."
Maybe you think that God is acting badly, that He is jealous of their abilities, or that He's afraid they won't need Him anymore. I don't think so. I think He's watching over them and knowing they will decide to live without Him and just how disastrous that will be. Human beings, when left to their own imaginings and designs, can come up with some very bad ideas. Just take a look at some of our history. (And yes, I know all about the Crusades, but that was also man's design, without the truth of who God is and how He loves His creation. That's the point, isn't it?)
In the letter to the Ephesians., Paul writes "Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!" (italics mine)
Can you imagine how different the world would be if we actually believed that? I believe this was God's plan from the beginning. I think mankind strayed away from God and devised their own way to heaven and power. And I think that God seperated us so that we would depend on Him and ask Him about His plans for our lives and this earth and then go and do those very things "according to His power that is at work within us"...and I can't imagine what that would be like! Far better than what we have accomplished over the millenia since the tower erecting was abandoned.(or has it been?) Just my thoughts in the beginning of a new year...maybe my resolution. Thanks for stopping by, friends.