OUR LITTLE CHURCH FAMILY

Jimmy rolls along... embracing his faith and traditional values,
      In his mind, they fit together perfectly,
            and he watches only Fox for legitimate news.
Susie's mind is filled with questions and answers.
      She's taken in a library of information,
            but tolerance is not her strong suit.
Bob has trouble breathing.
      He's a gracious man,
            and we're all glad that he has someone to love him.
Marjorie's gone now, like so many others,
      but she had enough time on this earth
            to read the entire Bible... 33 times!
Ralph is battling Alzheimer's-
      so is Joe, and Mary, and several others.
           Sometimes, I think it's inevitable.
Vern's hanging on, clinging to his home,
      fighting for his independence, and
           always missing his wife.
Katie's found a new love.
      I hope he treats her like a princess.
            We don't know of anyone more deserving.
George & Lettie, Doug & Debra- they're grieving their daughters.
      They always will, and we need to do
            a better job of remembering their sacred days.
Where have all the children gone?
      They were all just kids when I arrived.
            May God be with them in their vulnerable teenage years.
Stacey has significant struggles physically,
      but her spirit is strong, and she's a wonderful joy-giver.
            Besides, it's fun to talk with her about shows like "The Voice."
No one seems to know why Frieda has so little energy.
      She's not herself and the doctors don't know why
            but they hardly ever know around here.
Jack and Joyce are gathering grandkids,
      and they are chewing up miles on their Golden Wings.
            But fall's coming, and we'll see more of them in church.
Jeff continues to fight cancer,
      and now, I've learned that Morgan's dad is too.
            When I was attending school in the 60s,
                   I thought someone told me that they were finding a cure.
Last year, Harper spent her birthday in Iowa City.
      This year, she's at home- active and beautiful
            (although she was beautiful anyway).
Our new choir director had an excellent debut last Sunday.
      Our choir did too,
            and we are delighted to have a new Treasurer
                  and a new receptionist... join our team!
We will be baptizing little Jack and an adult in 3 weeks.
      Jack is between 2 and 3- the adult is older-
            but I love baptisms- adult, babies, and everyone in between.
Truth is- in our church family...
      some of our family members are thriving, some are dying;
      some are pleased, some are frustrated;
      some are building homes, some are leaving homes;
      some are active, some we seldom see;
      some are discovering new and empowering faith,
            some are struggling to keep the modest faith they have.
It's our little church family... experiencing life together.
      Sometimes we roll our eyes, but mostly, we live by grace.
            We have our individual quirks and our unique stories.
      Some of our family members are hard to understand;
            some are easy to like...
                  but we really do love one another.
We dream together, we talk together, we walk together.
      We cry together, and we laugh together...
             never doubting that Christ is always with us!
Can I hear an "amen"?