Uphill idealist

We are sad to inform you that our dog Kahlúa passed away Thurday evening. Thank you for your prayers and support during this time. Kahlúa, You were the best dog in the world. You lived with and cared for us for 11 years. Thank you for making our lives better and happier. Rest in great peace -

I picked up a copy of Neil Cole's Organic Church at one Emergent Pittsburgh event along the way and it jumped out to me on my over-full bookshelf this week. So far, I'm really pleased with his non- ABC, 123 way of getting to the heart of living and sharing a life and faith in community as the body of Christ. So many times, I feel we (as the church) become so introspective that we forget that Jesus called and challenged his disciples to ..."go into the whole world..." and not hide away in our respective sanctuary corners waiting for the world to come to us. So if we are claiming to be Jesus disciples, and his 'church' we should be more than ready and willing to be actively "going into" the world around us. Here are some basic questions to get this conversation started in regards to who the church is and whom it really belongs to. 1. Ask yourself: "Who is Jesus to me?" Your reply reflects your perspective, personality and characteristics th

Lord, make me an instrument of Thy Peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love. Where there is injury, pardon. Where there is doubt, faith. Where there is despair, hope. Where there is darkness, light. Where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; To be understood, as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive. It is in pardoning, that we are pardoned. And it is in dying that we are born to Eternal Life. Saint Francis of Assisi -- The Patron Saint of Animals

Kahlúa is our 15 year old dog that we adopted from the Humane Society when she was four. She joined our family and has been with us for eleven years so far. This morning we found her laying on the carpet in the dining room and was unable to get up and go outside. After letting her rest for a few hours, I gave her some bread to eat and she got up. She was wobbly so I scooped her up and took her outside to go to the bathroom. She managed to remain standing for a few minutes, but was back down quickly. Her back legs did not want to support her even though she was trying to walk. By this point, she had begin to cry so I called the vet and they said to bring her in for an evaluation. My kids and I tearfully wrapped her up in a blanket and drove to the vet. It seemed as if we were sitting in the waiting room forever. The vet told me that her heart, eye function, and lungs were great - also taking into consideration her age of 15! The problem seemed to be FCE - firocartilanginous embolism: w