Ignite HOPE

"'I stand at the door and knock ' (Revelation 3:20) was penned for believers, not unbelievers " - Richard Foster, "Celebration of Discipline"

"this is a great risk on God's part. The moral development of personality is possible only in a world of genuine freedom. And for us to have the freedom to grow in moral character also means we have the freedom to choose moral evil... At times horrendous more evil. So, for us to develop and grow in moral character is God's Great project for human beings. This is the gamble God has made with the human enterprise. And what God gets out of this gamble is the kind of person we become." - Richard Foster, "Celebration of Discipline"

For Mother's Day, Wendy shared breakfast with two teenage girls who slept on the church steps last night.

A parable:
My neighbor has dogs. They often come into my yard. I don't have any problem with dogs. They do what dogs do and I don't mind cleaning up after them or seeing them relaxing out in the grass. I wouldn't do anything to encourage them to be in my yard. In fact, when I have the opportunity, I'll use whatever influence I have to encourage them to go back to their own yard. But I don't chase them off. I'm not mean to them, or abusive, or scary.

The neighbor is angry at me because there are often dogs in my yard. Sometimes they are his dogs, but not all the time. He wants me to chase all the dogs away (I guess so that they will be in other peoples' yards and can't be so easily associated with him). I can't tell the difference between his dogs and other dogs. I've asked him if he would come over and identify his dogs but he won't even respond to me.

He's starting to tell the neighbors that I'm bad for the community because there are dogs in my yard. He will not let me feed or water any of the dogs because he says that if I do that I'm encouraging his dogs to leave his yard to come to mine, like it's my fault that he isn't willing to take whatever action he needs to in order to keep his dogs in his yard. He doesn't say anything directly to me, though. He talks to other people, maligning me as inconsiderate and indifferent to the welfare of dogs because I don't chase them out of my yard.

So what should I do?

Free Recycling Event this weekend! Bring your household electronics and household hazardous waste to 305 W. Oak Street, Lebanon, on Saturday, April 5, from 9:00 AM - 2:00 PM.