A Tale of Four Kitties

This is a true tale of four cats. For the sake of this writing I shall name the cats for distinction purposes according to their ways and habits. First we have Sin-bad and Carnal Cat, two large gray and white beasts. They roam about with cocky domineering attitudes looking for sport in terrorizing other cats in the neighborhood. They appear to be healthy, if their size speaks to that, but given the skulking about they do for food, perhaps they are feral street cats. Then we have Weak-n-Whiny, a ball of dull, shaggy long orange hair that decidedly says Weak-n-Whiny is homeless. Last but not least we have Skitty Kitty. She’s a small frightened dark chocolate calico with small sprinkles of orange all over.

Skitty Kitty started hanging around on our front deck when she thought no one was a threat. My Honey and I decided to feed the small critter because she did not appear to be accustomed to people; therefore we assumed she was wild. She was small and very skittish, running for cover under our deck and house at the slightest provocation. In the beginning she was almost more a shadow of a cat because we merely caught glimpses of her as she disappeared below. We were not sure of gender until it became apparent that Skitty Kitty was going to be a mother. Wining her confidence was a slow, tedious process. Each week she seemed more confident and would run to the door when I approached with food; finally, she felt comfortable enough to stay on the porch with me as long as I didn’t move quickly or simply sat and had my breakfast while she ate hers. No touching allowed.

Kittens were born, Skitty Kitty reverted back to her more skittish ways and the ‘boys’ became more aggressive. We chase them off at every opportunity to protect her food and kittens. One day the sad sight of a dead kitten was waiting for me when I took her food out. It seemed rather large for its age and there was a nasty large puncture wound in its neck. This seemed to really throw her world into a tizzy. She became wilder and could be seen chasing about or hiding from Sin-Bad and Carnal Cat. Weak-n-Whiny began to cry louder and with more persistence. It was sad and disappointing to see the downward slide. We do not know if there are more kittens dead or alive. We will continue to feed her to insure her health and that of any kittens. It would be great if she came to trust us; my husband wants to touch her so much, he can hardly stand it.

The big picture in this tale of four cats is that it reflects the life and ways of so many people. They try to live life on their own terms but will not hesitate to indulge in the bounty provided by others, a sense of entitlement to that which others have worked to acquire. Perhaps, like Skitty Kitty, they will move in a little closer to God’s provision as long as nothing is expected in return. At times, she shows up at my door rather peeved that her food isn’t waiting for her. “Hello, God…aren’t you suppose to be looking out for me, providing for my every need? Where is it? I want it now!” When a life tragedy occurs people go crazy and act wild…”See, I knew I couldn’t trust you!” and revert to running from the hand of God rather than reaching out to the only One that really can help. They may run to booze, drugs, sin and other people, but God? Not so much.

In life there will always be Sin-Bad and Carnal Cats chasing after you. Sin-Bad and Carnal Cat will come up on our deck but they know when our presence is evident they have to leave. Weak-n-Whiny people will always be around bemoaning their fate loudly for all to hear. If my husband and I are willing to love and provide for a wild little cat we can not even touch, then how much more God will care for His people? She knows she will be safe in our world, on our deck and in our presence….yet still she hangs back. Is this so different from people and God? In His presence we are safe, loved, find provision and protection but when we run in the wild we face sin and carnal people ready to cause harm and steal our provisions as we endure the endless whine of those that know no other way to live. Safe under His watchful eye or wild with cause to cry; which choice will you make this day?

Caution: Comfort Zone Ahead!

Early this morning I put the kettle on to heat water for oatmeal. I was in another room when it proceeded to boil and whistle. The whistling sound disturbed my dogs. I had never given it any thought before but I suppose the high pitch sound was offensive to their sensitive ears. Once the kettle was removed from the heat source, the whistling stopped and so did the complaining from the dogs.

My preferred way to make oatmeal is to pour boiling water on the oats, cover them off heat and just let the water be absorbed, not cooked. I like the Old Fashioned oats because the texture is retained. My Honey has a different preference. His mom cooked the oatmeal in a pot, and then mixed it with sugar and enough milk to make it drinkable from a glass. Generations have been raised on instant oatmeal and know it in no other form.

Oatmeal is a comfort food but we lose the comfort factor if it is prepared differently than the way with which we are familiar. Familiarity, I have decided, is what makes our comfort food a comfort food. Comfort, then, is relative.

The preparation of oatmeal does not really hit the radar of life altering issues but the theory of how, why and what we find comfortable in our spiritual life does.

For some, the mere mention of ‘spiritual life’ is a foreign term and they squirm in discomfort. Some may have a foundation in a solemn, ritualistic form of spiritual worship. Others may have a foundation built on a more casual, relaxed form of congregational worship. Regardless, take them out of that setting and they are most certainly not in their comfort zone. I invited a friend to church years ago and afterward she commented that it required more audience participation than she liked. She was out of her comfort zone. She did not come back.

It seems to me that we may be doing ourselves a disservice when we lock ourselves into the small circle we call our comfort zone. While we may roam about freely within that circle, we are choosing not to discover or experience anything outside the circle. Who knows, perhaps our circle of comfort would be increased, our zone expanded if we did not cling so tenaciously to the rope that tethers us to the center of our comfort circle. Often, the comfort zone circle does not even offer true comfort, but merely clothes us in familiarity. Possible change scares the bejebbers out of some; so much so, they choose to hold on to painful or disappointing albeit familiar ways rather than face risk outside of their comfort zone. And, yes, this is even true regarding our choices in worshiping the Lord.

My God is infinite…omnipotent…omnipresent…alpha and omega...does it stand to reason then that He would have us be so limited in how we relate to or worship Him?

In our Christian faith we know from scripture that Jesus certainly ventured outside his comfort zone from the day he took the form of man until he was once again seated at the side of his Father. He called men out of their comfort zones to follow Him. The fishermen dropped their nets, the tax collector walked away from his records, the doctor left his patients and they all ventured into a nomadic life of miracles and teachings from Jesus Christ, the likes of which they were unfamiliar. Not one comfort zone in sight.

This brings me back to the whistling tea kettle. I don’t imagine the water, if it could talk, would say the boiling to make steam for the whistle was a comfortable situation. But because of it, dried oats are transformed into nourishment, dried tea leaves become a soothing beverage, hard vegetables and beans become more edible, dirty dishes and bodies are cleaned and germs are killed. The process and experience for the water may be harsh but the end result is life giving. Our Lord, the Living Water, went through much the same so we can have eternal life. Yet, like our dogs, we whine and cry when faced with discomfort and rush back to the familiar comfort zone we have created for ourselves as quickly as possible.

I’m wondering if we really can follow after Christ if we insist on staying in our comfort zone. Something to think about……

Happy Anniversary, Truth!

Today we celebrate the 1^st anniversary of the launching of Truth in the Morning blog! I remember that day well. I had set a time-line, a deadline so to speak, for getting the blog launched and, thanks to God’s grace and favor; it launched two full weeks ahead of schedule…that was exciting for me. It represented my commitment to God to honor His commitment to me. God alone is to be praised and honored.

I believe and know in my heart of hearts that any ability I have to share Him through the written word is because He gave me the gift and love of writing; then and only then could the desire to serve Him with those gifts manifest into anything at all. First, He loved me, and then I loved Him. Any gift from God to be used for God is to His glory. God is a god of order not chaos; which abounds when we get the order askew.

God’s giving continues as He teaches me and reveals to me that which He would have me share with others through Truth in the Morning. I have never proclaimed to be a theologian or expert on anything, most especially our Creator, our Lord and/or the Holy Spirit. I simply and in plain language share the life lessons God gives me to share. This is possible only because I have learned to wait on Him and His direction rather than my own purposes. I attune my ear in anticipation of His direction…more commonly referred to in the blog as ‘the holy tap on the shoulder.’ Was I not purposely listening and expecting the ‘holy tap’ I might miss it all together. You may recall I am sometimes perplexed, even bewildered on occasion, by the subject I am given to write on but when I trust Him to lead the writing, I know He will pull it together in spite of my finite mind and limited skill. He is the author; I simply put my fingers to work for Him on the keyboard.

One more thought about the setting of a deadline to launch the blog….to be of any use to God in this endeavor, I had to be right with God. I set a deadline because I know my limitations as a flawed human being. You see, for years God had prompted me to ‘get about my Father’s business’ and use the writing to reach others. I had started an internet devotional group many years ago that lives on today due to the perseverance of my friend and fellow ministry student, Art. I have written training materials for taking people out in the mission field, Bible study materials, daily devotionals I sent out and other forms of writing. All good things, I’m not saying this was bad on my part. BUT, though it was all ‘God stuff’ it wasn’t THE God stuff He was prompting me to write. I pacified myself by thinking I was doing enough. However, any form of disobedience is still disobedience. Until I stopped trying to make God’s direction take me where I thought I should go, I was walking in disobedience. I had to ask for forgiveness for insisting on my own way and then set about with purpose and determination to follow His leading alone. The first step after acknowledging my sin of disobedience was to make a Business Plan to keep me on track with ‘doing my Fathers business’. The rest fell into place when I first got right with God.

The life lesson today: This isn’t Burger King, you can’t have it your own way. When you serve THE King, it is all His way or the highway. As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord!

Coffee?

Early morning usually finds me at my desk reading the Bible, moving on to a little study and research before attempting to write the blog post; this common start to my work day routine. This morning, however, I felt distracted, a bit discombobulated and unstructured. Monday mornings typically find me raring to get back to it, revived from the weekend off I’m ready to hit the ground running…or writing, as the case may be. Not so this morning. Being the analytical sort, I pondered this dilemma a few minutes, asked the Lord to help me get it together, and then all but disregarded the holy tap on my shoulder that came with the instructions to ‘consider the coffee.’ In all fairness to my disregard, let me say I do not consider anything until I’ve imbibed my morning coffee so I was fairly certain this was my minds way of telling me I was not fully caffeinated. I poured myself another cup and proceeded to clear off my desk.

Not being concerned with either my desk or my disregard, the holy tap on the shoulder returned and once more I received instructions to consider the coffee. Don’t know where this is headed but it came with the tap so I know God is taking it somewhere. Let’s sit back, take another sip and see what He shows us.

Last fall I wrote a posting called: Coffee: The Life Lesson. In it I explored how our spiritual lives can become ineffective by miniscule deposits of ungodly behaviors like the mineral deposits do to the interior of the coffeemaker; rendering our spiritual walk as weak as coffee made with luke warm water; tasteless with poor quality. This morning, I made the coffee from freshly ground whole beans. I was out of the ground coffee, so I pulled out the stash of whole beans, set the grinder setting somewhere between medium strength and espresso and let it whirl! The end result was a full bodied brew with depth of flavor and one satisfied coffee lover. Why, I asked myself, do I not do this every morning? Ah, let’s consider the coffee!

Stumbling into my darkened kitchen each morning I make the coffee before doing anything else. It’s far easier to grab the canister with grounds ready to go than to assault my waking senses with the noise of the grinder, so I do. Sad, isn’t it, that I use the whole beans as my backup plan when I run out of the easy stuff?

As a serious coffee drinker I had made a point of reading Consumer Digest to learn which brand of coffee ranked #1 in their flavor tests; testing it myself I found it to be wonderful. I talked to the grocery person in charge of ordering coffee where I shop because it was hard to get regularly and have shared my new found knowledge and satisfaction in this brand of coffee with anyone that will stand still long enough to listen. I have experienced my own custom blend, fine expensive coffee, really pitiful excuses for coffee and everything in between. I know what I like and what I consider substandard. The coffee of choice for me is not expensive but well balanced, full bodied and satisfying depth of flavor. Having gone to that much trouble, one would think I would make the most of it….yet I settle for good when I could have better. The cost is the same. The pre-ground coffee is very good…the freshly ground is far better. I am only cheating myself when I settle for less than the best it has to offer.

Looking back, I can see where I did the same thing in my relationship with God from time to time. It’s quicker and easier to go with the ‘prepackaged’ spiritual walk that requires less of us. It’s better than no spiritual walk at all, I suppose, but far less than the full bodied, flavorful walk of depth that comes from doing the inner work, spending the time. We can go to church, attend class here and there, do our perfunctory prayer time and get to know OF Jesus but that is not the same as sacrificing self to personally KNOW Jesus. The cost/price He paid was the same regardless. You know, when I took the freshly ground coffee out of the grinder, the beans were warm and fragrant from the grinding process. This made the difference in the depth of flavor and consequently the satisfaction it brought. Perhaps we should take a lesson from the coffee bean and be willing to go through the grinder, asking God to change us to a more usable form that allows our relationship with Jesus to be warm and satisfying instead of just utilitarian.

I know the holy shoulder tap got me attention and I will never look at the effort it takes to seek after the best in the same way. It makes more sense now…considering the coffee.

Seasons of Life

Life in south central Texas does not allow us to enjoy the changing of the seasons like other parts of our country. We basically have one season: Hot and then there is the 3 days of cold that are not enough to even qualify as a season. If we are really lucky we might have three weeks of open window weather.….again, not enough to claim season status. This is the natural world; or at least the part where we live.

Life and growing up, then growing older seems to have a natural rhyme and reason to it. I believe I am in the ‘Autumn’ of my life….whatever that really means. Apparently it means my Spring Chicken days are over and I am no longer in an age to be raising young….whoo-hoo! I have been curious as to where my ‘Summer’ stage of life has gone. You never really hear much about the Summer part, do you? I’m thinking that must be the part where you are so busy working and raising your family you don’t have time to think about seasons of your life. It flies by and you don’t even know it has come and gone. One day, you just wake up with achy joints and think, “Oh my! It must be Autumn!” No one ever tells you when ‘Winter’ is setting in…..hmm, maybe I need to give more thought to what my current season may be.…

I don’t get excited about global warming and the changes it may bring because my God set the seasons in motion and my God is still in control and my God has a plan with a purpose! It says so in the Bible in Ecclesiastes 3:1-14. Here is what it says:

TO EVERYTHING there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven:

A time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted,

A time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to break down and a time to build up,

A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,

A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away,

A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak,

A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.

What profit remains for the worker from his toil?

I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He also has planted eternity in men's hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.

I know that there is nothing better for them than to be glad and to get and do good as long as they live;

And also that every man should eat and drink and enjoy the good of all his labor--it is the gift of God.

I know that whatever God does, it endures forever; nothing can be added to it nor anything taken from it. And God does it so that men will [reverently] fear Him [revere and worship Him, knowing that He is].

It’s reassuring to know I am in tune with God’s plan and purposes, walking through life as the seasons come and go just as He intended. Regardless of what stage of life the world tells me I am in, I am still in line with God’s plan. I can live with the changes to my body, hair color, eye sight, etc….I can live without fear of global warming or any other man-made calamity because God’s plan made provisions from the beginning. He is not surprised by it, not caught unaware. Therefore, I can rest assured that His plan cannot be rattled by mortal man. Where ever you are on the sliding scale of life, God has got you covered! Takes a lot of pressure off, doesn’t it?

Got a Minute?

Over the years I have often written about spending time seeking the Lord on a daily basis. I hear a host of reasons people say they can not do that. Most citing they simply do not have the time. Time is a valuable commodity and it seems our world today spins at a faster pace than the world of our grandparents though we have the same 24 hours in each day they had.

Time is a valuable commodity:

The price of time goes up with every activity you add to your day but the value of that time can be lessened until it is lost altogether when you focus more on quantity of activities than you do quality of time. You can squeeze a lot into your day but you can not add time. Some people seem to find their self-worth in how much they can accomplish, feeling like they must peddle faster and faster so they feel they are doing something and not wasting time.

Other people seem to make a competition out of how packed their schedules are as if vying for the prize and bragging rights to the title of Most Jammed Packed Schedule. It does not take long to listen to people rattling off a litany of responsibilities and activities they have before them. They are feeling overwhelmed by the load yet, in some cases, are bringing their children up with this mentality and molding the next generations to fall in to the same trap of believing in their own busyness rather than looking to God.

Time is a valuable commodity:

Mankind and our need for frenzied activity only subtract the time allotted to us. Everyday we take away 24 hours of our live on earth and spend it. It is what we have chosen to spend it on that determines the value of the time spent.

Seriously, will the world stop on its axis if your child does not participate in every sport available? Will the PTO crumble into dust if YOU are not involved? Does world peace hinge on your hectic schedule that is stretched to the point of snapping? No, not one of those questions can be answered with ‘Yes’ but they can be with a resounding ‘NO!’

It seems to me that we tend to protect, preserve and insure the things we consider valuable in our lives (homes, cars, jewelry, etc)……except our time.

Time is a valuable commodity:

If you are part of a church congregation you know there are a handful of people who have given a lot of their time to the mechanics of keeping things running at the church. Most people pop in on Sundays, some more so when food is involved, some unable to command their time enough to arrive there on time; the rest of the week their time is all about themselves and the world in which their time is spent.

Is it possible they subconsciously think their world is more worthy of their valuable time than that given to seek and serve God? People make time for that which they deem worthy and important. It may be, People, that some of our ‘important stuff’ we spend our time on my have to be left undone if that is what it takes to reserve, preserve and insure time to be spent with God. Our personal spiritual health and growth is dependent on time spent with God. When I stand before the Lord I want to hear, “Welcome, old friend!” I want my voice to be familiar as one that sought Him daily.

The dust in my house will matter not; money in my bank will not be counted but my time is multiplied when I spend it regularly with Him rather than depositing my time in the Bank of Worldly Pursuits.

Time is valuable….spend it wisely!

Home is Where the Heart Is

I must say, my coffee was particularly satisfying this morning. Having returned home late yesterday afternoon from a family funeral trip, I was thankful to wake up to a beautiful morning. Coffee and breakfast on the deck is a favorite around here as I’ve mentioned before but somehow you appreciate it more when you’ve been away. All things that spell out ‘home’ in my heart dance to the familiar bird songs, delight to the distant view of the hills beyond and the simple day to day tasks of life are considered in anticipation. I’m fairly certain that last part will not last long but I’m going to run with it while it’s here!

It’s interesting how your perspective on things once taken for granted changes and becomes more clear, maybe a bit more objective. Having spent my youth in the coastal area I never paid much attention to the trees. I liked some more than others but never spent time considering the majesty of the towering pines or the depth of character in the mighty oaks. I did appreciate the oak tree lined street I walked to school. It amazed me that the trees were so big they seemed to reach out across the street to one another. I do not take those trees for granted anymore. I felt quite nostalgic and somewhat homesick by the lush green grass, flowers, plants and trees. My beloved hill country has its own unique beauty that I truly love but I do so miss the green and the trees.

This trip back to the past and family was a mixed bag of emotion. There was, of course, the sadness of losing my uncle. There was happiness at seeing four aunts from two different sides of my family, a multitude of cousins and their kids and we can add their grandkids in the mix now, too. A poignant moment for me was during the memorial service when a baby got a little fussy, as babies tend to do. The baby in question was the first child of my uncle’s first child’s first child; his great granddaughter. If seeing the four generations come together to honor the family patriarch doesn’t stir your heart, not much will. The baby’s cry was reassuring to me because it echoed the promise of life continuing on beyond the sadness of loss; our future generations. The circle of life…..

Speaking of the circles and cycles of life, I must head out to the garden before the heat wipes away the freshness of morning. Three cousins I saw this trip and I share the love of gardening and we all know it is a legacy we inherited from our Grandpa. I took some Swiss Chard I harvested the morning I left on my trip to my aunt who graciously always allows me to kick my shoes off and make her house my home away from home. I’ve learned valuable life lessons from years of gardening and the cousins I was spending time with at the funeral were some of my fellow harvesters of the bounty from our grandpa’s garden years ago at the Huntsville farm. The aunts and grandkid (us) all gathered at harvest time when the heat drove our grandparents into town where my grandpa could have air conditioning because he suffered with emphysema. The only air conditioning at the farm came from the cracks in the walls in the outhouse! We had indoor plumbing (well, cold water anyway) but when all the cousins and aunts gathered for harvest the old outhouse became a workhorse of necessity once more. That and the #3 washtubs we used at bath time in the kitchen where water was heated on the stove. I imagine no one will forget the required ‘tick check’ by the aunts before your bath. Ah, life at the farm and the memories it birthed!

There is nothing like a trip down memory lane when you love so many of the memories. AND, there is nothing like waking up in your own bed when get back home! I am blessed to have wonderful childhood memories. I am blessed to come home to a husband I cherish and the warm fuzzy feeling of seeing his face light up when he first saw me yesterday. I am thankful to God to be home at the hacienda with my Honey and hounds…life is good!