Come and dine

My weekday morning routine includes a few minutes of mommy-time with my four canine children. Yesterday, I was finishing up a piece of coffee cake before leaving for work. Three of the four pups were sitting at my feet, looking innocent and cute, waiting - and drooling - for the anticipated bite of cake. I cut the last piece into four bites and started handing out the treat. But the fourth dog still hadn’t made her appearance in the kitchen. I called her two or three times before she trotted around the corner and took her treat out of my hand. She had been laying in the living room, in front of the fireplace, staying warm.

The strange thing about this is: all of the dogs usually congregate in the kitchen with us because there is always a chance they will get thrown a bite of what’s being prepared. They don’t usually have to be called – it’s more likely that we have to shoo them out of the room!

Spot, Chelsey, Carmella, Pearl & Bear

My first reaction when having to call Pearl more than once was one of irritation. Who has to call a dog to eat, anyway?

On the way to work, I mulled this over. And wondered if God gets irritated with me when He calls me to dine at His table, and I’m busy sitting by the fire, staying warm. This doesn’t mean that I’m always sitting idle, doing nothing. It could be that I have become too busy to sit with Him and sup with Him. But sadly, I’m often in my comfortable zone, doing what I’m comfortable doing, and miss His entreaty to join Him for Father-time.

The passage in Luke 10:38-42 (NIV) came to mind:
As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, "Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!" "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."

Too often, I’ve been Martha. Busy working, and missing out on the best in order to accomplish the good. Yes, the work has to be done … needs to be done. But when I've only made time to do the work, to stay occupied by something else rather than sitting still in His presence, then I’ve sold myself short by missing out on the main thing.

The main thing is a sweet, deep relationship with my Savior. In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” When I am invited to have dinner with friends, it’s not just about eating. It’s about the fellowship. The bonding. The caring for one another. If I miss that dinner appointment, I’ve missed much more than a meal.

The Savior invites us to spend time with Him. He is the Lover of our souls and He wants us to know Him, love Him, to crave His very presence like He craves ours. When we've reached that place in our relationship, He won't have to call us into His presence. We'll be there already.

A little birdy told me so

Spring is coming. The last few days, I’ve noticed a flurry of winged activity around the house. What appears to be an entire flock of small birds, sparrows of some type, have invaded the property in search of nesting space and materials. In just two days, I’ve noticed the beginning of construction of four new nests right outside the house.

This afternoon, I inadvertently interrupted a contractor/husband-bird, in his nest-building duties. I walked out the back door and was startled by a flash of color and the whoosh of wings. I retreated to the other end of the porch, stood quietly and waited for the little guy to come back so I could see where he was building.

After several minutes, I saw him light in the tree branch nearby. After several seconds, he moved to closer, then closer still. He kept jerking his little head around, looking for predators. I felt sorry for him and thought it was too bad they didn’t have little chiropractor bird physicians to can relieve the inevitable, resulting pain. But then again, God cares about the little sparrows - maybe they don't get neck pain!

After he was satisfied that I wasn’t moving and no cats where nearby, he flew to a small opening in a storage container I have on the porch. He took his little twig treasure inside, set it in place, popped his head back out for a quick look around before flying off to get the next twig.

I told Craig about the incident later, and commented that I didn’t know what was stored in that container, but that I wouldn’t be opening it for a few months because of the nest. “It’s a home now,” he replied calmly. (How I love that man!)

With spring on the way, I’m thinking about planting a vegetable garden, and some new flowers and other plants around the house. With the onset of warm weather, new life springs up all around us. We start thinking about new beginnings. Clean out the old, make way for the new.

God is a God of seasons. He put these seasons in motion for a reason. Seedtime and harvest. Fertile and fallow ground. Both the physical and spiritual realms. There is a season when the ground stands cold in a state of hibernation when nothing grows.

Then comes the Spring. When the warm winds return, the sun warms the ground, and new life sticks it’s little green head above the surface of the soil.

To the Believer who has been in the grip of the cold fingers of winter, wondering if this season will ever end: know that Spring is on it’s way. Whether you see the signs or not, it will come – soon!

My Valentine

Sometimes I watch him without him noticing. And I smile. My eyes might get a little misty.

He's my direct opposite and sometimes I can't imagine how we actually got together. But he is the most wonderful man that God ever put on this planet - fully human man, that is. As I was floundering around in the world, trying harder and harder to get as far away from God as I could, God was watching me, caring for me, planning my future. Through a bizarre set of circumstances, I met Craig. And I was done.

We've been married nearly seven years. And they have been the most wonderful years of my life. They have not been the easiest years, by any means. But his unconditional love for me has totally flipped my world upside down. And I can't imagine ever going back to the old normal.

God has blessed me with the most amazing gift of a loving husband who has stood by me, put up with me, defended me, protected me, and still plans to grow old with me. Not a day goes by that I don't thank God for trusting me with Craig's heart.

If Jesus tarries, I look forward to many more Valentines days, many more Christmases, many more anniversaries with the love of my life - Craig.

My Name

When a couple is expecting a baby, they will sit for hours looking through books of baby names, trying to select just the right one. Many times this process can be contentious and cause rather heated disagreements, but the dad usually gives in. Who wants to argue with a pregnant woman?

Names go through popularity cycles. Names that were popular in the 1950’s and 60’s are eschewed now for names that are so much cooler. Come on! Who’d want to be named Kim when they could have a name like Alexis or Madison. It’s rather refreshing when a baby is given an family name or Biblical name rather than a trendy “new” name. The old family name may seem a little out of place in our current culture, but it has a sentimental meaning to it. It brings to mind the family member for whom the child was named, perpetuating the family legacy.

A name is that by which a person is marked and known and is an identifier or a label that sets individuals apart. Besides designating persons, the name might also stand for fame, renown, reputation, character gained or expressed. In Biblical times, people believed that there was a connection between the name and the person it identified. The name could reflect the nature of the individual, the circumstances surrounding the birth, the parents’ gratitude to God for this precious gift.

A few weeks ago I was surfing ministry sites on the internet and ran across a devotional that suggested that I look up the meaning of my name and then research the scriptures and find a verse or verses that used that meaning. I would then have a “name scripture”. Sounded like an interesting little project. I was a little disappointed when I looked up the meaning of my name. It wasn’t nearly as splendid or as interesting as I would have liked it to be. I looked up the names of a lot of my friends, and they have much more “Christian” or Biblical meanings to their names, and I started feeling a little sorry for myself … until the song “He Knows My Name” came to mind.

In the late 50’s and early 60’s, Kim was a very popular name, so there are lots of Kims around my age. When someone calls out the name “Kim” in a room full of people, several of us turn to answer the summons. But when God calls my name, I am the only one who hears and is capable of responding to His Call. Even though He calls Kim, He is speaking directly to my heart and no one elses. There is no mistaken identity. There is no confusion among the rest of the Kims in the room … My name is unique between God and me.

God knows my name. He knows yours. And when He calls my name, even though there may be a million Kims in the world, I have no doubt that He knows exactly which Kim He’s calling. He knows how many hairs are on my head. He knew me before I was formed in my mother’s womb. He knows me intimately, and better than I know myself. He ought to; He’s The Creator! How beautiful my name sounds on the lips of the Almighty! He loves me more than I could ever comprehend.