Bark With Faith

Willa, our German/Australian mix shepherd looks forward to going out 

every morning as most dogs do. Though it's still dark, she does her 

business then sits on her covered porch and enjoys the smells and sounds 

of early morning. After an hour or so she wonders if I'm cooking anything 

yet.  

"Woof!"(one sharp bark means she wants in.) 

Let me finish this thought first, I think sitting at the table surrounded with 

my Bible, other books, and stacks of scattered notes. 

As I scribble another sentence in my journal she barks again. By Willa's 

third bark I open the back door and see her curled up on her outdoor dog 

bed. She hasn't moved an inch from her comfort zone. Once she sees me 

open the door on her behalf, she stretches her legs, slowly stands, jumps 

down, and walks though the open door.

"Gosh Willa, can't you bark in faith that I will open the door, even though 
it may not be until your third request?"

At once I see a picture of myself praying as if from her dog bed. Yelping 
out prayers without moving one inch closer to the door I desperately ask 
God to open. Not a single move until I see God's answer unfold with my physical eyes. What's wrong with this picture God is showing me? 

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen" (Heb. 11: 1.)

Other times Willa crawls under her porch and sleeps there. Later in the 
day she often barks from down under and waits for me to open the door. 
But when I do, she can't even see me standing there saying, "I thought 
you wanted in?" Sometimes I shut it and wait until she's serious enough 
to crawl out from under her circumstances to show me she truly wants in.

"Bark in faith Willa! Show you trust your master to open the door by 
moving toward it."

"Pray in faith, Kathleen! Show you trust Your Master to open the right 
door by moving toward it. Live as if He listens to your prayers."

God loves hearing our prayers, and even treasures them in heaven. 

Thank You, God for reminding us what a powerful treasure we hold every 
time we pray. Thanks for showing us to step toward the door, believing 
You will open it. And if it's not the right one for us, guide us to the right 
door.  
    

      

Finding Purpose

Grocery shopping fulfills a purpose. People like to eat and families 

have favorite recipes which call for certain ingredients. Hence, grocery 

shopping has a direct purpose. I find myself at the grocery store far too 

often. In fact that's one of my pet peeves and the reason for a forming resolution: Only one trip to the grocery store per week. My mom used to 

shop for the entire month, surely I can make once a week work. 

But this post isn't about grocery shopping.

In order for a direct effort to take us closer to where we want to be, it 
must have a clear purpose. I began this blog to see if I could, or would, 
post frequently enough to connect with some readers along the way. 
Since I had no idea if I'd find and maintain momentum, I've told very 
few people it exists. I admit, some months have been fairly sketchy. 
Weeks tend to get away from me while I shop for groceries and get 
distracted by all the other activities of maintaining a household.

Still, the real reason for my hit and miss posts is a lack of clear purpose 

for posting in the first place. Every good purpose is built on priorities. 

I've prayed, considered, and decided the ongoing direction for this blog. 

The following quote sums it up rather well. 

       "I love little children and it is no slight thing when they who are fresh 

        from God love us." ~ Charles Dickens

The Lord has graciously placed children in my life and I thank Him for 

that blessing on top of all the others. Yet it's also a responsibility. We 

owe our children love, prayers, respect, and encouragement. We also 

need to help them learn the truth about God, their Creator. We live in 

a dark world, one determined to grow darker and further from the Light 

of God's Word. It's up to us to teach our little ones about the Lord.

For now this blog is primarily a reminder to myself and others of the 

treasure we have in our children. Precious and worth every moment 

we spend with them. Priorities like taking a walk together, coloring a 

picture, and baking cookies. They sound cliche`but my granddaughter 

and I just baked chocolate chip cookies. We had fun and created a 

tasty treat too.            

Children grow up fast, another true cliche`, as anyone with kids can 

tell you. May the Lord remind and enable us to cherish them every 

day in word and deed.   

You're Forgetting 

Lily, age 4, walked in one morning ready to spend the day at grandma's 

house. She looked around and saw something amiss.

     "You're forgetting," she said, smiling.

     "What is it?" I asked.

     "The gate," she pointed to the stairs. "You forgot to put the gate up." 

Oops! I immediately clicked the portable gate in place so she wouldn't be tempted to run up and down the stairs, not safe for a preschooler.

Very little gets past the sharp eye of a child. Perhaps because their 
minds aren't cluttered with concerns or weighed down with worries.

In the midst of trying times we tend to forget important things, like how 

much God cares about us. Someone may say, "God loves you," and we 

accept it with an anemic smile. Then like other Christian cliches`, it 
slides off without changing the way we  perceive or deal with problems.

Distracted by so many lesser things, we truly do forget the depth of 
God's love. I ran across an amazing verse in the obscure book of 
Zephaniah.

       "The Lord your God in your midst, the Mighty One, will save; He 
          will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you in His love, 
          He will rejoice over you with singing" (Zephaniah 3:17).

It's like we know God loves us, but when was the last time we heard 
Him sing to us? Ever? The drama and clamor of this life crowds out the 
song we most need to hear. Jesus said we'll always have the poor with 
us. We'll always have circumstances vying for our attention as well.  

So I close my eyes and listen for heaven's song. Because only in His 
song will we begin to know the depth of His love.  



      

    

Making Room for Yes

I actually did it.

"No, I'm sorry," I said over the phone. "but I need to work on my book 

if I ever expect to publish it. I can babysit for a couple of hours 

tomorrow though."

Okay. So it wasn't a clean no. I qualified it with a yes for the next day 

but I said no first, something I rarely do. It felt unusual like a sunny 

morning after a week of rain. It also felt like an opportunity and a 

responsibility.

I said no for a specific purpose and needed to take my work seriously. 

How can I expect anyone else to if I won't? So that day I edited two 

difficult chapters and emailed a publisher asking permission to quote 

one of their books. 

Isn't it amazing that the Creator of heaven and earth invites us to work with Him on projects? It pleases Him when we make those things a 

priority. Saying no to friends, family, and phone calls (sometimes) 

enables us to say yes to God more often. It's one way we can thank 

Him for including us in His plans.

God's thoughts about us outnumber the sand (Ps. 139:17,18). For 

those who rarely walk along the ocean's shores let me remind you, no 

one can count the grains of sand. We can't count God's thoughts about 

us either. So much of His truth exceeds our ability to comprehend. 

  

I recently ordered The Best Yes, wise decisions in the midst of endless demands, a book by Lysa Terkeurst. I have a feeling it's one I seriously 

need to read because most of the demands that keep me from saying 

yes to God come from myself.   

The yellow buses have started circling through our neighborhoods again. 

As kids get back into the school routine, it's a good reminder for us to 
continue learning and growing too.