Lessons from a cat

He told me to tell you that ’m not a morning person but the Blonde is, and, after almost 37 years of marriage, I ’m changing. What I ’m saying is I wake up grumpy and in a bad mood.

They say most old people are already mad because they are old so it doesn’t take much to tick them off. I ’m an old, tired and cynical pastor who doesn’t sleep well so maybe when I get woken up I ’m ticked off but I don’t know why. I don’t like being ticked off so I ’m waking up happy now and I give all the glory to God.

We have an orange cat that decided to make our casa his casa. We already have an outdoor cat. His name is Oscar. Oscar is of the three-legged variety and is probably the best cat we have ever had. Or maybe I just feel sorry for him because he hops around on three legs like a rabbit.

Most of us know that cats are not Christians but I think there might be hope. I f any cat could be Christian it just might be Oscar. Time will tell. My point is that I tried to scare the orange cat off, but cats don’t scare easy and I have given up. Not only have we given up but we are no longer angry at the orange cat.

I t used to be we would pull up to the house and I would hear the Blonde say, “there’s that orange cat! # % & @# ! ” Now we just say in a passive voice, “there’s that orange cat.”

They say we are what we eat. I f that’s true I ’m a Hostess Cinnamon Sugar Crunch mini donut. We are also what we think. What I ’m saying is if we think it’s going to be bad day it probably is and we will probably wake up in a bad mood. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as a person thinks, so he is.”

I ’m writing a book. Not really but it makes me sound smart and people are always impressed when I say it. But I ’m writing a book entitled, “Everything I Needed to Learn, I Learned From an Orange Cat.” This nameless cat taught me that life is too short and God is too good to be angry when stray cats show up for a free meal.

He also taught me that if cats are cats then people are people. I f people want to wear their pajamas to Walmart that’s their business. Last time I checked I ’m not anyone’s mother.

I n Matthew 15:19 J esus said, “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” n other words, lying is a thought before it ever becomes an action.

The Red Letters tell us in Luke 6:45 that, “Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks.” Ouch. I don’t have a people problem or a cat problem or a sleep problem that justifies my bad mood in the morning. I have a heart problem. Okay, I said it now how about you?

He asked me to ask you that.

“Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart.” (I Timothy 1:5)