29 Jul, 2008

Here Kitty Kitty!

Meet a woman who had 117 cats in their house.

117 cats, raccoon, and rabbit found at Omaha home

OMAHA, Neb. - Humane society workers have found 117 cats, a raccoon and a rabbit in a north Omaha house. The discovery came Wednesday after Council Bluffs, Iowa, police caught the 54-year-old woman who lives at the house reportedly stealing cat food. Officials say she smelled like cat urine.

It isn't the first time the woman has been in trouble for having too many cats. At one time the humane society pulled more than 200 cats from her house.

Many of the cats taken Wednesday were sick and the floor was covered in feces. Some of the cats were dead.

The woman faces possible citations for cruelty to animals and other charges.

Photo courtesy images.google.com & story news.yahoo.com, 7/23/08

Ecclesiastes 5:13 (NLT)

13 There is another serious problem I have seen under the sun. Hoarding riches harms the saver.

What does today's God's Story scripture teach us about hoarding?

King Solomon was the wisest man in the world, according to the Bible. Actually, I'm not super smart, but I know enough to not keep 117 cats in our house! (Dogs would be OK...just kidding you cat lovers!)

Sol's point is simple. If we get too focused on riches, it will cost us! He's really talking about hoarding. What is hoarding? Hoarding is when we obsess to possess! Keeping too much of anything earthly can hurt us.

I don't know if anyone would consider cats to be like "riches", but today's story is a great example of keeping too much.

You and I are poorly mistaken if we think that hoarding some earthly possessions will not be a problem in our lives. We may never go to extreme cat collections, but maybe it's something else like...money...clothes...CDs...video games...food...DVDs...

How can we connect today's God's Story scripture to our lives?

Answer this question honestly: Are you trying to possess or letting God control your possessions?

  • If you think you have a problem with hoarding (that is getting out of control) please talk to your youth leader, your pastor or a Christain counselor.
  • Do an inventory of your possessions. Be honest. Is there something that you accumulate that gets in the way of your focus being on Christ?
  • The next time you go shopping and you're looking for something you already have a lot of...ask yourself why you want to buy it?

Pray right now...Thank God for His blessings in your life. Praise Him because "every good gift is from above"! Confess anything in this earthly life that has gotten in the way of your relationship with Jesus. If you have been hoarding some possessions, ask God to forgive you and He will. Ask His Spirit to enable you to daily pursue intimacy with Christ rather than earthly possessions.

How can you connect today's story, God's Story scripture, and our story to others?
  • If you have a friend or family member in your "storysphere" who owns a cat, use today's story to start a conversation about earthly possessions.
  • When you are talking with your friends about possessions, look for opportunities to share part of your story about what God is teaching you about the "obsession for possessions".
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The Daily Bide is brought to you by a team of writers from Youth for Christ/USA. The writers all have various years of experience in youth ministry but share a common bond in serving Jesus and discovering what it means to abide deeply everyday and to connect God's Story with those around them. A number of the Daily Bide writers have also written portions of our 3Story® resources. You can check out our resources at the 3Story.org website or connect with our writers at 3story@yfc.net. If you have a question or a story you would like to share, please reference the Daily Bide date in your email.

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