Thumper is gone..

Last Thursday, my wife had to put down our cat, Thumper.  As I posted before, I firmly believe that God used Thumper to bring me back to church and in turn, I accepted Christ as my savior.  She had battled cancer for almost a year and she fought it tooth and nail.  Even after the vets and specialist said there was nothing that could be done, Thumper for a long time did what she wanted to do, even though the tumor on her head continued to grow, making it harder to do things.

The last two weeks though, she wasn't the Thumper me and Becky knew and loved.  It was hard for her to get around, she couldn't jump up or down on her favorite spots and she started having accidents.  At the end, she couldn't eat and she couldn't walk without stumbling, so we knew it was time for us to have her put down.  

Whoever says that they are just animals has never been a pet owner.  To me and my wife, Thumper was a daughter to us.  We don't have human kids, so our pets are our kids and I am proud to say we treat them so.  It hurts not to have her here, but considering what condition she was in, she is better off.  She is with God now and she is at peace.  I do believe God takes care of his creatures and that one day, me and Becky will see Thumper again with our other pets.  I have wrote a poem for my baby and it is below:

For Thumper

You would snuggle on my arm
as I laid on the bed;
whacking me with your tail
while I stroked your auburn fur.
You would purr quietly
with your eyes staring into mine;
listening to me as I talked to you
like a father to a child.

You would jump upon the sink
and ask me to turn on the faucet;
lapping water with your eager tongue,
drinking until you had your fill.
Stretched out where the sun appeared,
you would sleep for hours;
enjoying the simple pleasures
life gave you every day.

I miss you so much Thumper,
but I know it’s for the best.
Cancer took its toll on you
yet, you fought him long and hard.
Now you are in Heaven,
and your body is made whole again.
I’ll always remember you my Thumper cat,
until we see each other once more.

Old Testement Reading and Church

I was asked to do the Old Testement Reading for church today and it was Joel 2:8-32.  I thought when I found out what the reading was that it was a little lengthy, but it was in poetic form, so I went with it.  I found out after church that it was a misprint, but everything turned out alright because it did tell a story and the reading was fairly easy other than I did fumble a couple of times.  The readings and the theme of today's sermon was about the Holy Spirit.  It seems that the Holy Spirit is one of the hardest concepts to grasp and I don't claim to be an authority.

The Holy Spirit to me is the force you feel during great times, whether it is of a loss, hardship, comforting, etc.  I know in my times of worry this week when I've felt overwhelmed getting things ready for school, I have felt comforted after I've prayed and to me, I believe it's the Holy Spirit I'm feeling.  I know I felt the Holy Spirit once I accepted Jesus.  It was like a wave of relief rolled over my soul that I had never felt before.  

In my Sunday School class, a few weeks ago we talked about the Holy Spirit and we read different passages that showed evidence in the New Testement.  What I found enlightening however, was when members of the class gave their personal experiences and it made me feel good that others experienced it in similar fashion that I did.  One discussion was if people felt the Holy Spirit immediately after they have accepted Christ or does it happen later.  I'm not an expert, but I feel it is different in each experience since not one person is the same.  

On another note: I found a song that has really stuck with me by the christian group, MercyMe called Bring the Rain.  Here is a video from YouTube that someone made with the song.  Enjoy.

Busy Time

First, an update on Thumper. She is still with us. She has a hard time holding up her head, so she bumps into things, but she is still eating okay and her bodily functions are fine. We had a scare when a bump on her head released some blood, but the vet said that is normal considering how big her tumor is. We are just taking one day at a time with her.

I have been very busy with getting ready for the new school year. School starts here on Monday and I'm anxious in a nervous way.  I've been at school all week between trainings and getting our store ready, I managed to get the room ready as best as possible. No matter how much work I do, I never feel that I am ready. The regular ed. teachers have been busy trying to create units based on new guidelines and they feel like they're unprepared as well.

Not only is school keeping me busy, I've been making revisions for our project with the local newspaper and we got paid for it! Yea! Our side business did the graphic design for a supplement that will be coming out in a few weeks that deals with teenage suicide prevention. The paper gave us the information and basically, we put it together with graphics. I can't wait for it come out so I can see what it looks like on paper.

On the book front, I sold 28 books at the church and they are being shipped to me. The youth group will be getting $100 once I get all the money from the customers. I will be selling the book to faculty at my school in a couple of weeks, so it should be interesting how it will do.

Who Is God?

God exists.
Observe His creations:
The splendor of a robin
in the apple tree-
she sings dawn’s entrance.

God is beautiful.
Every flower a testament,
lush green meadows
roll across deep valleys;
We are his reflection.

God is immense.
Horizons loom on the sea,
like watercolor landscapes,
spanning forever;
His depth, beyond us.

God is near.
Look in the eyes of loving couples
and laughter of small children.
His presence touches us each day,
in ways we take for granted.

God is Love.

Updates

Thumper seems to be doing okay appetite wise.  The blood test results indicated that her thyroid is fine, so the vet has placed her on high calorie wet food that we are mixing with dry.  She devours the food, so we know she's eating well.  I think we will weigh her once or twice a week from here on out just to make sure she doesn't lose anymore.  It's been a stressful time for me and my wife since we treat her like our baby.

The book is doing well at church.  I am up to 12 orders and the deadline is next Sunday.  After church next week, I will order the books online.  After shipping, we are close to making $45 for the youth group which is nice.  I hope we can get 3 more sales so I know we will go over the $50 mark in profits for the kids.  

I decided that I will be going up to my school on Tuesday and Wednesday to get my classroom in order and work on lesson material.  School starts here on August 13 and the week of the 6th will be packed with professional development, so I need to get the classroom in order.  Starting a new year is always stressful since you don't know how the kids are after the summer off and just starting in general.  I look forward to getting back into the routine.  I know my wife is ready for me to go back (heh).  I plan to write more tomorrow on a more religious nature because I have so many things to say.

A Little Down Right Now

In my very first post I gave a history and one of the things that brought me back to church was our cat that has a cancerous tumor and meeting with a member who specializes in holistic medicine.  Well, the kitty is not doing well.  She is down to 9.7 pounds.  This was a cat who was 17 pounds a year ago.  There is nothing anyone can do medically.  We have to hand feed her because the tumor on her head has grown to the point where she has a hard time moving her jaw.  I have thought over and over when should we put her down.  Bodily function wise, she does everything.  With her tumor though, she is starting to bump into things because she can't keep her head up for long periods of time due to the weight of the tumor.  I admit, me and Becky are upset and I do cry during a weak moment.  I know God will take of her and she truly has been a blessing.  She's a fighter.  When I weep and talk to her, she still purrs.  She's a trooper.  God brought her to us so that we could know Him and I am forever grateful.  The hard part is coming up and I know it.  I will keep praying for her to keep a quality of life, but I know the time is coming close when we will have to decide enough is enough.  Please pray for her.

Checking In

Sorry for the lack of blogging. I've been working on getting Scorched Earth ready for the next issue. (Submission deadline is July 30th) and we have a graphic design project that I've been working on. Until it comes out, I have to keep it under wraps, but I can say it is going to do a lot of good here locally. It is a paid job, so I've been devoting a lot of time to it. I am going to get back to getting school work ready tomorrow. I don't have too much more I can do here at home and I plan to work next week up at school.

I've started taking orders for the book at church and after the announcement, I have 5 orders already. I'm taking orders until August 5th, so I am hoping for more. I would love to get 26 orders so I can get a discount and give more of the money back to the youth group. I'm also planning to set up my own web site soon to advertise the book and I'm going to go to the local paper and get a story about the book. I'm thinking about asking the public library about doing a poetry reading, but Becky thinks that it would bomb. It won't hurt to ask the librarian if they've had any in the past. I know I won't sell a lot of books. Most poets, unless they are the giants, are lucky if they sell hundreds. My goal is to sell at least 50 books between local and online. If I can do that, I will consider myself a success.

My book arrived!

I was working on a project today and decided to take a break.  When I went outside, I noticed a package on my porch and behold, my book had arrived!  I went in and like a kid on Christmas Day, I tore opened the package and started looking through it to make sure everything looked okay.  I can honestly say that Lulu.com did an excellent job putting it together.  It is exactly the way I had designed it.  My book is now on sale at Lulu.com.  All the proceeds are going my church's youth group to help fund their trips and activities.
You can click here to see it and purchase a copy.  

Beautiful Song

Last Sunday, our minister and a member of the choir did a beautiful rendition of Allison Krauss' Down in the River to Pray.  After they got done, everyone gave them a large round of applause.  The song is so beautiful that I wanted to share the original.

The Apostle's Creed Part 1

Today in church, our pastor talked about The Apostle's Creed, more specifically, the first line of the creed:I believe in God, the Father Almighty.  He talked about who God is and how do we believe in God, as individuals.  What does it take to believe in God?  His question is a valid one for Christians as we try to lead a Christian life.  My answer is this: I believe in God because I have felt his prescence in my life.  I have talked to him.  It is my faith that makes me believe.  I have seen things that I know occurred because I prayed for them.  A non-believer may say it must be coincidence, but to me, I know it's not. Faith plays a major role in believing.  One cannot see the physical prescence of wind.  It doesn't have a form. Yet we know the wind blows because we feel the air on our face, we see tree branches move, etc.  However, if we needed to see wind in a visual form, we wouldn't be able to show it because air itself is invisible.  

God is not a biological God.  He's not male or female, but he reveals himself to us in a fatherly form, at least to me.  I fully understand if someone wants to view God in another form, especially if they didn't know their father or didn't have a good fatherly figure in growing up.  Our pastor explained that although a woman has eggs, it takes a male to fertilize the egg, therefore, many people view God in the fatherly role.  I see his point in that.  If someone wants to view God as something other than a father, especially if they've had a bad experience, I am fine with that, as long as they come to know God.  I look forward to his series of sermons as we explore each line in the Apostle Creed.  It definitely made me think today.

Important News

I had planned on posting more this week, but I have been busy.  Between getting materials ready for school and other miscellanous stuff, I had an important project.  That project in question, is the self-publication of my first poetry book entitled: Along Life's Path:Experiences Through Poetry.  The 71-page book is a collection of my poetry taken from parts of my life.  I'm going through Lulu.com to make the book and it will be sold on their site only since I couldn't justify getting the ISBN number since this book will be a small audience. The book isn't up for sale yet because I want to get a copy of the book to make sure the quality is to my liking.  Once I feel comfortable, I will open it up for sale to the public.  I don't plan to make any money on this book, in fact, when I tell fellow church members about the book, I plan on taking orders and just charge an extra amount which I plan to give a good amount back to the church as a donation to either the youth group or seed money for next years VBS.  

This is truly an exciting time and I can't wait to get my copy.

Reading the Bible in a Year:Part 1

Becky and I have decided to try and read the Bible in 365 days with the of the The Grand Sweep series.  Each day, you read a certain number of chapters in the Bible and answer questions about what you read.  I won't blog about this every day, but I will pick out a selection.  Today I will start at the beginning with Genesis 1.  The question that was asked was:
How will my attitude toward the environment be affected if I seriously believe in God as 
Creator?

My answer is: I consider every living thing and the land itself a miracle in itself, created by God.  He is the maker of all things and all things that he creates are miracles in my eyes.  

I do try to be aware of the environment wherever I can.  I'm always in awe of the beauty of nature and all the creatures God has created.  I don't like it when I see trash on the side of a road or people dumping into lakes and streams.  You would think people would be more considerate and consider who created those things we take for granted.  I'm not an environmentalist, but I do have respect what we have been given.  

How to Wash a Cat

As an owner of 5 cats, I don't suggest you do what is shown in the film unless you are a brave soul.  However, if you are foolhardy, watch ahead and enjoy!

Listening and Speaking

Temptation whispers sweet promises
with the cost of a simple lie.

Her seductive voice speaks softly -
“Say it and all will be yours.”
For a brief moment, my mind
wants to follow her siren’s song.

My heart’s voice -
cries out “No!”
inside this mortal shell.

The Holy Spirit shines its light,
exposing the sin into my eyes.
The conscience cries out for mercy;
an inner turmoil shakes my soul.

Her cold whispers cease their murmur;
while God’s love comforts me once more.

Thoughts on Prayer

I've been reading from various sources about prayer and how it's used to communicate with God.  It's amazing based on what I read how most people use it almost like a laundry list of requests to the Lord for him to intervene.  Granted, we do pray to God to help us with our daily lives and everyone should pray, but prayer shouldn't be just requests in my opinion.  In all reality, God knows what we are going to ask for anyway if you think about it.  Anyway, people should also take the opportunity to praise God for all the things he has done for us and for others.  People should glorify him in prayer as well.  

I know when I pray, I always try to glorify God in some fashion that comes from my own feelings.  Glorifying should not be just to "kiss up" to the Lord.  It should come from the heart.  An example would be: "Oh wondeful father who grants us eternal life..." My praises come from things I feel.  For example, I always thank the Lord for giving us such a beautiful world that we live in because I'm always in awe of nature and all its beauty daily.  There are other things I praise God for, but this is just an example.  

Then there is the requests themselves.  Prayer is for anything you are asking for.  I try not to be petty in what I ask, but we are all human and it's easy to fall into that.  The Lord listens to whatever we ask for and determines what we need.  Like I said earlier, he knows what we are going to ask for anyway, so it's okay to pray for anything, for God will answer in his own way and his own time table.  I admit I ask for petty things, but I try not to.  I do ask for things like helping those in need, in harm's way, those are dealing with illness, etc. because I do care for them.  Once I pray, I feel like a burden has been lifted.  I don't feel like prayer as a chore, because to me, it isn't.  It's more like a session talking to God and it's always a great feeling when someone listens to your problems and needs.

Thank you Lord

Thank you Lord,
for night’s sparkling stars,
dawn’s promising sunrise,
and day’s warming rays.

Thank you Lord,
for a nose to smell your garden creations,
a mouth to sing your heavenly praises,
ears to hear your guiding voice,
hands to write your glowing tributes,
and eyes to see your wondrous miracles.

Thank you Lord,
for listening to my prayers,
comforting my heart in times of need,
humbling me when I do wrong,
and teaching me wisdom every day.

Thank you Lord,
for inviting me to your table,
accepting me with all my faults,
giving me eternal life,
and forgiving me of all my sins.

Thank you.

Final Day of Vacation Bible School

Well, Vacation Bible School is over for another year.  The theme of the night was God is in Charge.  Our schedule was abbrieviated due to the kids had to put on a presentation for their parents, so everything was rushed.  The kids all wanted to see the ending of Chaddar's Wild West Adventure, so that went really well.  We had some storms in the area last night and attendance was down by a few.  I hope that was the reason for the decline.  I thought VBS was organized very well so, I don't think it was that.  I think the staff was glad to get it done because how many times can you hear the children's songs before it's burned into your brain? :)  

Fourth Day of Vacation Bible School

Last night's theme was God Is Awesome and the kids for the most part seemed to understand what we were trying to teach them.  Of course, the younger ones wanted to see the new installment of Chaddar's Wild West Theatre, but we also talked about how Jesus died for our sins and what we needed to do to have our sins forgiven.  I was surprised how the little ones payed close attention.  It gave me a warm feeling inside that the kids listened to such an important message.  Did we reach someone who will become a Christian?  Only time will tell, but I know at least some that listened.  We wrap things up tonight and the parents are invited for the grand finale, so it should be interesting.

Third Day of Vacation Bible School

Vacation Bible School went well again last night.  Becky (my wife) got to do an experiment with the kids using a hair dryer and a ping-pong ball to show how we need to connect with God through prayer.  First, she played dumb and tried to use the hair dryer without plugging into the wall.  Once she showed that it wouldn't work, she got the kids to tell her she needed to plug the hair dryer in and did the experiment right.  She explained with the hair dryer connected with electricity, the ping-pong ball floated with the air on.  Therefore, if we pray to God, we are connected to him and we can use his strength in our time of need.  The kids had a great time with it and Becky enjoyed interacting with them.

Tonight's theme is God is Awesome.  I've been studying the material and I think it will be a special lesson as I explain how Jesus died for our sins.  I just hope everyone survives the heat outside before we go in for our lesson.

Second Day of Vacation Bible School

I was pleasantly surprised to see more kids last night at Vacation Bible School.  We showed the second installment of Chadder's Wild West Theatre and the kids loved it.  What is really encouraging is seeing that the kids are taking the daily challenges seriously.  Tonight's theme is God is Strong with the film part only 2 and a half minutes long.  We will be doing an experiment with the hair dryer and ping pong ball and connecting it with being in contact with God.  I'm having a great time with this and I'm letting my wife do more interaction with the kids tonight so that she doesn't feel like she's just there.  She's been adding things to the presentation and I'm so glad to have her in my room.  

Vacation Bible School and more

Last night was the first night of our vacation bible school.  The theme is Avalanche Ranch and me and my wife were put in charge of Cheddar's Wild West Theatre.  To be honest, when I signed up to help out with vacation bible school, I was expecting to help with the crafts or something else.  I wasn't really wanting to teach since that's what I do as my career.  After some careful thinking and praying, I realize now that God wanted me to teach the kids.  I felt really good teaching the Word of God to the kids and even though after seeing the first segment of the movie 4 times makes it tedious, it was a great feeling to talk to the kids about how God is real and he's the creator of all things. I'm looking forward to the rest of the week as we continue with the film and related materials.

Yesterday was also the first Sunday with our new minister.  He and his wife sat with our adult Sunday school class and listened while the teacher talked about comparing people.  I thought the teacher did a great job and honest discussion was given what the fears of the congregation.  Most of the fears was how was he going to do his sermon and how was he going to handle Children's Church.  I didn't plan on speaking up, but I felt compelled to say that when I accepted Christ and our former pastor planned the baptism, he found out a week later he was going to move.  Sure, everyone was upset because he had been here a long time and someone asked me I must be devastated since I just became a Christian.  I said to that person, yes, I'm upset that he was leaving, but I worship Christ, not the pastor.  Jesus is the head of the church, not the minister.  In regards to our new minister, I have a good feeling about him.  I thought he did a wonderful job with the kids and his sermon was about how he became a minister and how we are all priests of God and that we work together to build the church as a group, not one person.  How so true.

On a side note, I was planning on blogging last week about preparing for vacation bible school, but I did a dummy and tried to life an air conditioner.  Something snapped in my back and I had to go to the emergency room.  I'm still on anti-inflammatory medication, but I'm doing better.  

Transition

Today is a day of transition for me and my church.  Today, our pastor of 6 years and who has been with the church for 10 is moving to a new position as pastor of a larger church 30 minutes north of Williamstown.  Chris Morgan was our pastor and he does such a fantastic job that I'm sure he will succeed at there.  I won't go on with a tribute because should he see this post, he would be embarrassed, but let's just say that I have never seen a person so knowledgeable and who brings in his humanity about the word of God than Chris has.  

Since Chris is moving, our church is receiving Bruce Hiner, whose previous postion was pastor at a church in Cannonsburg, Kentucky.  I haven't met Bruce as of this posting, but I feel he will do a great job and that our church will welcome him with open arms.  For Jesus is the head of the church, and we worship him, not the pastor.  Every person has a different style of how to do things, and I'm sure Bruce will have his own way of doing things.  I plan on welcoming Bruce to Williamstown and look forward to hearing God's message from him.

Inspired Poetry

One of things I like to do is write poetry.  I admit freely that it has been awhile since I wrote a poem, over a year I would guess.  After I accepted Christ, I was inspired to write.  It was like the words were given to me.  Other than an edit or two, the words came out like this:

Declaration

It’s not paint by numbers
as I write your praises Lord.
With a master’s guidance,
You have filled my empty canvas.

Before I accepted you,
despair enveloped my soul,
doubt blinded my eyes,
and I fell into the darkening abyss.

You saw me,
tortured and haunted
above deception’s deepening pit
and gave me your hand.
Your love lifted me to salvation,
my heart now beats with joy,
my sight, restored with trust.

Use me Lord as your servant.
I shall do what you expect,
just guide me along the way.
Thank you God, for everything
from the miraculous to the mundane
as I walk this path with you.

Mark Manis
© 2007

My Church History

This is my first post, so I would like to talk a little about my background.  Growing up, my mom would take me to a Baptist church.  Although I did like some of the singing there, I admit, I thought the church was too much of the "fire and brimstone" sermoning and not enough of the inspirational variety.  Also, I felt that that it was a little too conservative on social issues.  When I became a teenager, I admit, I quit going to church as I got more involved in school.  College came along and I was exposed to different people, but I wasn't a church-goer.  I was more involved with myself as I was trying to keep my grades up.  Once I left college, I was trying to start my career as a teacher and found myself working as a substitute teacher instead of being a social studies teacher.  Once I realized that I wasn't going to be hired as a social studies teacher, 
I decided to go back and become a special education teacher because I loved it so much when I substituted.

I was so involved with teaching that I didn't involve myself with church.  This was the time when all the televangelists were having their scandals and it left a bad taste in my mouth.  Not too mention, many politicians were trying to associate religion with a particular party that truly offended me.  (The practice is still going on, but I ignore it since I fully believe that God doesn't favor one political  group over another.)  I then met my future wife on the internet and we started dating on and offline.  After two years of dating, I proposed and got married a year later.  This was the time I found myself helping to plan the wedding and my wife wanted to be married in the Methodist Church she grew up in.  I didn't know anything about the Methodist Church and we met with the minister my wife wanted to officiate over the wedding.  At that time, I still wasn't a religious person, but from everything the minister was telling me, I was put at ease.  We had more or less a traditional ceremony in the Methodist Church and took Communion.  Once we moved my wife to Kentucky, we didn't go to church.  Again, it wasn't anything against church itself, we just never made time.  After we moved to our house 7 years ago, we found out that there was a Methodist church less than a half-mile away.  We had talked about going there, but for some reason or another, we never went.

Last October, we noticed that one of our cats had a growth on her head.  We took her to the vet and they said it was cancer and there was nothing that could be done about it.  My wife and I were both distraught and didn't know what to do other than to make her comfortable.  A friend of ours who goes to our local Methodist church said she knew of a person who did holistic medicene and she could possible help us out.  In December, we decided to go meet this person by attending a church service.  The service was dynamic and I felt welcomed there by members of the congregation.  We decided to go to another service, and then another and I started learn what the Methodist Church was all about.  I soon decided to join a membership class to learn more and several weeks ago, I accepted God's call and committed myself to Christ.  On June 10th, I was baptised and became a member of the church.  Our cat isn't doing well and I think it is a matter of time, but I feel that God sent our cat to us to bring us back to church and to show God's love to me.  I know that God has a plan for all of us, whether we know it or not.