​Hi everyone, my name is Zeus and I am a proud member of the St. Matthew by the Lake pet family.  I live with Cheryl and Kent.  I came to live with Kent and Cheryl some time ago under some very interesting circumstances.  They went to the shelter to adopt another kind of dog and then, they came home with me.  I needed a home and I needed a new name. I rolled my eyes when they called me by the name given to me at the shelter.  When Kent finally called me Zeus I became his friend for life.  He knew my “real” name.  God also knows our real names and knows us all inside and out.  When the world tries to call us by other names it comforting to know that God knows us by our real names.  Along with this new name and home I now have my own couch where I am currently resting.  God wants us all to take time to rest. It would be great that those of us who are sheltering in place could take some time to rest more in the arms of our Almighty God.  Speaking of rest, its time for another nap.  So long for now.

​Have you heard the term PK for Pastor’s kid? Well, my name is Zoe and I am a PP, pastor’s pup. I live with Pastor Colleen and David.  I’m sure you all can tell I am a German Shepherd and a senior one at that.  I have been around for over 12 years and that is a long time for a Dog of my breed and size.  German Shepherds are a working breed and tasks like herding, shepherding, and guarding are in my blood.  You might think I am just relaxing at a random spot on this deck but that is not so. I am relaxing, but I’m also guarding the door to the garage and my bowl.  I am not a mean guard, I accept love and pets, and dearly love people.  I expect many of you know the Lord is also our shepherd and our guardian. In John 10:11 Jesus says “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”  Jesus as our shepherd and guardian shows much more love than I do.  He loves us so much he gave his life for us and rose again on the 3rd day.  Because of Jesus we have salvation.  Now that is awesome!

Hi everyone let me introduce myself.  I am Stormy and happy to be a featured member of the St. Matthew by the Lake pet family. I live with Steve and Lee. I know with a name like Stormy you might wonder if I have a rather “stormy” disposition but that is not at all the case.  I was found and rescued by Lee and Steve, at the church, in stormy weather. In return I love Steve and Lee and don’t hesitate to show my love through my snuggles and purrs and they continue to love me back. You know God through Christ rescues us from storms in this life, in return we love God and God continues to love us.  Sometimes God’s love and rescues from life’s storms come through the helping hand of a neighbor or even a stranger.  God has many ways of helping us through the storms of this life and this virus situation is no exception.  Keep your eyes on Jesus and with the help of Jesus we will get through this.  So long for now.

​Good morning my name is Sammy. I am a proud member of the St. Matthew by the Lake pet community and I live with Dianne and Howard. Don’t you just love this pose.  During this pandemic it is my job to give Dianne and Howard joy, crawl up on their laps and let them just love me all over.  You know, I am a gift from God and I can be a gift to you too.  Go ahead and love me virtually, think about petting my head and rubbing my tummy and don’t forget the treats.  I really love those.  You know there are advantages to loving me from a distance, I can’t leave hair on your clothes, or make you sneeze if you just so happen to be allergic to dogs.  Well, so long for now I hope some of the other pets out there will have their families share their pictures with Pastor Colleen so we can hear from them too.

This is a test blog.  I thought I would post an old picture of four of our church ladies.  Do you know who they are?