Feral

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:27,28

 I love kittens. I love cuddling them and listening to their soft purrs telling me they enjoy being loved. My dad had a friend with a big barn. Feral barn cats were always available to any little girl in need of a kitten but feral barn cats are not trusting animals. I think they are a lot like people. I'd like to share a story of one of my kittens. 

You came to me in a shoebox from Patti’s barn. You were a feral kitten, afraid of your own shadow, and especially of mine. I held you on my lap as Daddy jerked the stick shift over the rough country roads. I turned you loose in a basement filled with greasy car parts, Mama’s washtub, and clutter. You made a mad dash for the cover of Daddy’s long workbench. I called, “Here Kitty, Kitty” and brought you a bowl of warm milk. You were tucked deep under the bench. I could barely see the white tip of your orange tail as you curled in the corner. “Here Kitty, Kitty.” You didn’t move a muscle. 

I wanted to feed you and give you a soothing rub. I longed to hear your kitty purr. For hours I sat and waited. Sometimes I spoke soothing words but mostly I just called, “Here Kitty, Kitty.” You must have been hungry. Late in the evening, your green eyes shone in the shadows as they peered out into the darkening basement. “Here Kitty, kitty.” You retreated to your corner. Perhaps tomorrow, I thought, as Mama called me to supper. I slipped out the door and left you to your own devices. 

In the morning, the bowl was empty. I brought fresh milk. “Here Kitty, Kitty.” You turned as if to sniff the fresh warm milk wafting in the musty basement air. You padded to the edge of the workbench. I must have moved. You quickly retreated to your corner. There I sat again, waiting hour after hour. Sometimes calling, mostly sitting, just letting you know I was there. You crept to peep from under the workbench again. Gingerly you placed one paw into the sunlight streaming from a window onto the cement floor. I barely breathed. Then you ventured another paw. Your eyes never left me, questioning the safety of the open space. You crept out to the warm bowl of milk that by now was only lukewarm. Your tongue lapped into the milk but your eyes were on me. I smiled and reached to touch your ruffled orange fur. You skittered back under the bench. 

Another hour and you crept to the edge of protection again. When you came to the bowl, I sat still. I waited to hear a purr. When after a few slurps, your motor began, I reached out again to touch, not to rub but to touch. Just the light touch of my hand on your back sent you scrambling again. This time it took only a few minutes and you returned to the bowl. I tried again when you cranked up your motor. This time you allowed my hand on your back. You allowed the light rub across your head. Your eyes were on the milk. A trust, a bond that belonged to no one but the two of us began. 

You were a good kitty, using the tray of litter I placed near your hide-out from the beginning. You didn’t climb or scratch or destroy. Dare I let you into the yard? Only when I could put you into my lap and hear you purr because of us, did I trust that the door could be opened. 

You were a good kitty who came when I called. You caught the mice as your country mom had taught you. You scratched up trees to escape the dog or chase a squirrel. You wound around my tanned legs and rubbed your soft head against my hands. I fed you and played yarn-ball. You allowed me to dress you in doll clothes. I held you, read stories to you, stroking your fur, and listening to your purr. You were my kitty, and I was your person. We had bonded in a musty basement with a bowl warm of milk. 

God calls us coaxing us with tender love just as I called my kitten. In our heads we know we should respond but our human instinct is to fear and shy away. Often Jesus has to wait patiently for us to turn loose of ourselves and trust Him. 

Have you trusted Jesus as your Savior? Have you given yourself to His will? What are we waiting on? Jesus waits patiently with loving arms to hold us, feed us and calm all our fears. He longs to hear us speak to Him from our hearts. He longs to bless us from His word and bond our hearts together eternally.

Trusting Him for daily blessings, 

Gail

Finding the Trinity

  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Romans 1:20

Ahh, Autumn, my favorite time of the year. Leaves, mountain apples, pumpkins, and cooler weather, what could be better? We often use pumpkins to explain the plan of salvation to children (See Pumpkin Time). But that is not the only thing we can learn from the beauty of Autumn. 

What do we find when we cut open an apple or pumpkin or practically anything? On the outside is the skin. Just inside is the flesh. At the core of the fruit, we find the seeds. Did you notice the trinity?  Seeds that are most often thrown away are the heart of the fruit itself. Those seeds will produce more plants and fruit just like the parent plant. Even the seed is a trinity. The outer coating, the food store inside, and the embryo that contains the leaf.  

It seems so hard to understand how God is a Trinity yet He shows us daily through His creation. He shows us how we too are created in His image. We have a body, a mind that thinks, and a soul that is eternal. The soul is actually the heart of our being. Have you ever thought about how we feel things? We say "my heart is broken." when there's nothing wrong with our heart, it's our feelings, the core of who we are. God, too, is a being who thinks and yes, who feels. Love is a feeling. God showed us His love by sending His only Son to die in our place for our sins. 

When we show our children what it is like to be a Christian we are instilling in our little seeds the understanding that will reproduce itself to the third and fourth generation. In contrast when we distort or confuse or don't recognize the importance of instilling Christian doctrines in our children we still teach them. We teach a lack of importance for the things of God. That too will reproduce itself to the third and fourth generation. 

Take a walk with your children today. Notice the beautiful sun coming up or setting. Notice the light, how it colors the sky, or brightens the day. Feel the warmth of the sun. What a delight to enjoy another trinity God has created for us to know more about who He is and the love He has for us.

Autumn blessings,

Gail 

Singing in My Head

 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Zephaniah 3:17

Have you ever listened to a baby "sing" himself to sleep? There were no words and very little tune, just the sweet soft "la, la, la" of sleep. 

Often I wake in the night with a song in my head. Not the kind that gets stuck and rambles around forever like "Baby Shark" but the Lord's songs of rest and peace and even strength. Where do they come from? I haven't listened to the radio before bed. The alarm isn't going off with music. I'm not dreaming, — just singing. Or is it me?

The Lord says He will joy over you with singing. In this troubling, disquieting, crazy time we live in, could it be that the Lord is singing over me peace and rest? Is it His singing I hear? Whatever has awakened me, the voice of singing calms me, relaxes me, and I drift off to sleep again. 

Often I find myself singing in the day. When the TV is off and the house or garden is quiet I notice there's a song in my head. Sometimes I begin to openly sing but more often I just enjoy the music while I clean or pull weeds. I rest in the Lord knowing He never leaves me or forsakes me whether in the day or in the night. All I need to do is Be still and know that He is God and He joys over me with singing. 

What song is the Lord putting in your heart and mind this week? 

Be blessed.

Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Ephesians 5:19

Gail

Autumn Rainbow

 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and ruby. A rainbow that shone like an emerald encircled the throne. Revelation 4:3 NIV

When we went out on the playground, the children wanted to know if they could go on a leaf hunt. In just a few minutes they returned with handfuls of leaves. As they sorted, they began to form an arc. We were studying a unit on colors and it was spilling over into their play. They were creating a rainbow with leaves. Yay, teacher! But more importantly, I saw the connection between God's creation and His promises in His word. 

The first rainbow in Genesis was to remind Noah that God would never flood the earth again. It was beautiful. Even now when a rainbow appears we point it out to others and take pictures to share on social media. Rainbows fascinate us even though we understand how they are made with sunshine and water droplets. 

Have you ever seen a complete rainbow? Once when we were on the Blue Ridge Parkway I looked down through the leftover clouds of a storm and saw a rainbow make a complete circle. The last rainbow is in Revelation. It encircles God's throne. Its beauty creates awe of God and His throne. It's a reminder that God is a promise keeper. He takes care of us in every situation whether on earth or in eternity. He has power and to Him belongs all glory. 

This has been a tough year with COVID and all that it has entailed. In our area, there have been lots of rainbows. God has tried to remind us that He is a promise keeper and He is in control even when it looks like the world is spinning out of control. This past month there was a Day of Prayer and Return in our capitol. There were clouds and even a clap of loud thunder just as there is thunder and lightning around God's throne. 

God is listening to our prayers. Are we listening to His pleas? Are we repenting of our neglect of Him and His word? Do we serve Him with our lips but serve ourselves with our actions?  God is our promise keeper. He will see us through if we return to Him. He reminds us with His rainbow that He is still watching and still caring. He is still in charge.

May your life be filled with rainbow reminders,

Gail