Fingerprint Friday: Lost & Found

By Ginny (MAD21)

There are many things that enter and exit our lives unexpectedly. Makes it hard to plan. Most of the time it's just small things so there is only a little flexibility that is required. Then there are those times when you have to take a moment to think about how it will impact things long-term.

While we were on vacation two weeks ago, a teen friend of ours called me and said that someone had dumped a 7-8 week old kitten on their yard. She wanted to know what she should do. We talked things out and made a plan for how to take care of her in the short-term. And then she sent me a picture...

Oh.My.Goodness. I'll save you the long version of what happened during the following weeks save to say there was a visit to the vet (at 3.2 pounds, she was actually 12-13 weeks old), medications administered, weight gained, pets introduced, and a ton of snuggle and play time.

We were really worried how our cat, KC, would react to having a new little fur ball added to our family.  This is her home, and we made it clear to our girls that if KC didn't like it, or it stressed her out too much, that we would have to find the kitten another home. As I've written about before, KC's a bit possessive and gets really stressed out at times.

But as with many things in our lives, God apparently had a plan for this little kitten, and for us. Both Bailey and KC have reacted well to having the kitten here. There are still a few tense moments, every now and then, when the cats get nose to nose and walk carefully in circles around each other, but they all seem to be adjusting very well.

I really wish this little ball of fur could tell me what she's been through in her short little life. What it was like to be lost. The vet said she'd been on her own for some time. But even so, there wasn't an ounce of feral behavior in her. All she wants is attention and play time like any other kitty, and when she's happy you can hear her purring from the other room.

I have no idea how someone could ever let her go. But she is no longer lost. She's found a home with people who will love her for as long as it takes. And even though she still has a ways to go to finish healing from her time alone, she is covered in God's fingerprints, and she's spreading them all over our house.

Meet Tia:

Fellow blogger Beki at The Rusted Chain has a really great weekly post she does every Friday called "Fingerprint Friday." We are to look around and see where we can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Anywhere? Go find out where Beki saw God this week, and be sure to check out the other bloggers who linked their stories as well.

God Says... "I am loved."

By Nick (My Experience As...)

I think there are two lies which cut deeper than any other, that quite simply break us and make us doubt ourselves, doubt humanity, and doubt God. “You are bad” and “You are unloved.”

I work with teens on a near daily basis, and I see them in broken family situations, and self-destructing.  It seems these two lies are the ones that destroy them the most.  I want to consider the second “You are unloved.”  It seems to start early on. Maybe parents are too busy, or fight, or divorce, or … but they don’t get told just how loved they are at home.  Then every slight or perceived slight just reinforces this lie.  Someone says something mean to them, the teacher grades harshly, or that special someone dumps them. It doesn’t take much and suddenly they start dwelling on how unloved they are. It turns into a rapid downward spiral that ends in self destruction.  I’ve worked with teens that turn to all sorts of things to either feel loved or deaden themselves to feeling unloved.  Casual sex, drinking, drugs, smoking, cutting … the list goes on and on, but it all seems rooted into this lie.

Funny thing is, I see the same thing in many adults. The feeling of “unloved” causes them to throw themselves into their work, killing themselves and cutting off the ones that should be most important to try and gain the love and respect of those same people. They turn inward and self destruct, destroying their marriages, and ultimately spreading this lie of “unloved” like a virus.

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Fingerprint Friday: Giving Hearts & Gardens Found

By Ginny (MAD21)

I haven't been around the online world very much the last few weeks. I got involved in a project that I had originally scheduled to be just for one ten-hour day with about 20 people. It turned into six days over two and a half weeks, 320+ man-hours, and about 40-50 teens and adults.

I have an amazing mother-in-law (MIL). She is imperfect, just like the rest of us, but she has a heart of gold. She has spent most of her life serving her family and the people at our church. Aside from a few really great teens who have been able to help me out occasionally over the last seven years, she has been my only help as a parent. Pretty much any time I've needed a babysitter whether I had an appointment or just needed a few hours to regain my sanity, my MIL was, and is still, nearly always available to watch them for me. For those of you who can relate to my situation, you can understand my desire to do something to bless her.

Her yard is a haven to a ton of butterflies!My MIL has always been an avid gardener. So you can imagine what her yard has always looked like. Anywhere there could be a flowerbed, there was one, even now. The problem is that she is getting older (she's 88) and can't tend to them anymore. Over the last several years, they have all just become so overwhelmed with weeds and overgrown bushes, that there was very little "flower" in the bed. To say everything was overgrown is a gross understatement. If you live on the east coast you know that if you leave any piece of ground untended for more than a week or so, there is something growing. So you can imagine leaving it unattended for a few years!

More than two years ago I wanted to organize a day when I could get a group over to her house to get things cleaned up. But then she had some health issues and I spent more than a year driving her to all of her appointments and doing her shopping. But things have been much better for her for the last 6-8 months and she's driving (locally) again, so there has been more time to focus on other things. I decided late spring that we really, REALLY needed to get the yard worked on this year. But even I didn't realize how big that project would become. It took on a life of it's own.

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One Word At A Time: Swings

By Ginny (MAD21)

If you were ever around me as a kid, you would know that anytime we were near a playground there was one place you could almost always find me... on the swings. Watching my own children over the last several years, I've wondered if it's genetic. They are like most kids running around going down the slides, or jumping over the bouncy bridge, etc. But almost always, both of my girls revert back to the swings.

When my oldest was a toddler and we went to the playground, we would spend almost the entire time with me pushing her on the swings. It was your purest joy (both for me and her!). She still prefers swinging over most things. Her swing of choice? The regular swing. My youngest, however, prefers the tire swing. Which should show the difference between the two. One enjoys things as they are, the other wants more excitement. This is my scary future you see before you. Haha!

One of my fondest memories as a child was going on the long five-hour drive to visit my aunt and uncle. They were so good to me. They were some of my favorite people. One of the things I loved about going to visit them at their house was the giant oak tree outside their house. It always had a tire swing on it. I loved the tree... and the swing.

I've often wondered why we love to swing. What is it about it that brings so much joy. Like rocking in a chair, sky diving, hang-gliding, repelling, or riding in a boat, I wonder if it's a small sense of freedom. The closest we'll ever feel to flying. Whatever it is, I hope I never grow up so much I forget how much joy such a simple thing can bring.

This post is a participant in a blog carnival over at Peter Pollock's place.
After you finish here, be sure to go and check out what everyone else wrote on: Swings

God Says... His Grace is Sufficient

By Dusty (Reflections on the Life of a Christian)

Have you ever been at the point of saying "I can’t go on?"

I have. What follows is my testimony…

Suicidal

I have been to that place where darkness surrounds and despair overwhelms. I have lived and breathed it.

I have tied the knot in a hangman’s noose and climbed on to a chair. I have secured the far end of the rope to the steel pipes lining the roof of a maintenance tunnel under my college dormitory. I have placed the noose around my neck. I have committed to kicking the chair out from under me… and so end my misery.

It was a place and time when I had lost all hope for a successful future. It was a time when I felt abandoned and abused by all I had held dear.

It was a time when there seemed to be no other way out…

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