What to do When There's Another Mouth to Feed

Someone dropped off a little something near my house on Wednesday.

It would appear he is a "last of the litter." Right now, this household has four cats (who barely get along) as well as two dogs. That's a lot of animal hair in the vaccuum.

However, there are few alternatives for the little guy. While I desperately want him to go to someone who would enthusiastically welcome a cute little kitten in their home, there just aren't many people who want one.

Shelters are packed. I know without making the first phone call that none are accepting more.

So what happens?

This is us coming home from the vet's office:

He's about four weeks old and still wants to nurse. He's eating soft food, but not the hard kibble just yet.

It's not going to be easy for my other cats to accept another cat, particularly one that doesn't understand boundaries.

In God's family, He always is wanting more and more and more. Sometimes we don't want to add any more weirdos into the family. But weren't we all stray at one time? Shouldn't we welcome all who need shelter and love of the Lord (which is everyone)?

Jesus said, "I am the Bread of Life." He also said a lot about being the Living Water. It would seem the resources in God's economy never run out.

I"m not so sure about my personal resources. But, I'll do my best.

Shedding the Old

Foster has been shedding a lot lately. After his surgery, clumps of fur came out. It wasn't pretty, but I like to imagine some birds had some extra cushy nests with Foster Fur in them.

Foster's old dead fur was useless to him. However, at one time, it was extremely useful and necessary to keep him warm as well as protect him from bugs, bites, brush and other hazards dogs might encounter (not all of which start with "b").

Often there are parts of our personalities or habits that we keep around. Maybe we need them for awhile. But maybe after a time they are no longer serving a purpose. That's when we need to shed what is useless. New, better things take the place of the old. It's amazing how this can happen when we are open to the transformation God can provide within ourselves.

And bad habits are for the birds.

What has God changed in you? What do you wish he'd change in you?

Why We Need to Remember

On Memorial Day, we take to time to remember and appreciate the veterans who fought in wars to protect the rights we enjoy in our country. Why is this important? Our freedom came at a price, one that most of us didn't have to pay but get to enjoy.

I don't know about you, but when I have a cold, I forget what it's like to be healthy. When I'm going through a difficult time, I forget what it was like during the "easy" days. When I'm mad at God, I forget that everything that happens is for His glory and not my own personal happiness and that God is, indeed, good.

The Israelites complained to Moses when they were in the desert. There, God provided manna for them every day. But, they couldn't collect it and save it for later. They wanted to go back to Egypt, where they enjoyed different kinds of food. They seemed to forget that they were enslaved in Egypt, and had to depend on the generosity of their masters for food. Often, they only received scraps. But oh, that one steak they got - that seemed to trump the gruel. They didn't appreciate the daily provision that came miraculously from God every morning.

In other words, our memories are not very good. To my detriment, I want to eat chocolate every day, like I forgot what it tasted like yesterday. Like they may stop making it or something.

Trust is a hard thing. Remembering with accuracy helps build our trust, which builds our faith. It's not an easy thing. Stopping to remember is an important component of enjoying the freedom God gives us, and the meaningful sacrifice that provided us with that freedom.

Hide and Seek

Some people play a game with their dog(s). They put the dog in a "stay", hide, then call the dog to find them. This is a mentally stimulating as well as physical activity for the dog.

"It is the glory of the Lord to conceal a matter." I don't know about you, but I get a little annoyed that God hides things from me - like explanations. It seems like if God really loved us, He'd explain why things happen, particularly bad things (we don't seem to be as interested in explanations for good things do we?).

And just what does it mean that God hiding things is to "His glory?" That's pretty mysterious, isn't it? Perhaps the Lord wants us to get emotional and spiritual exercise by pondering His ways. Sometimes we get insight. Sometimes we remain baffled. It's an exercise of faith - accepting that we will not understand everything about God. Not yet. There is still mystery. But will we trust God, when we don't understand? Would life be interesting if we did know everything there is to know?

Sometimes it is not fun to seek a God who seems to be hiding things from us. When we persevere through the mystery, though, we can find, eventually, a great treasure.

When are you tempted to give up and reject God? What makes you want to keep holding on?

The Secret Ingredient of Courage is Fear

Think about it. One can't choose to react with courage if they first do not realize the gravity of the situation they are facing.

If you're Spanky (below), you don't "fear" carrying a dead squirrel in your mouth. He doesn't understand the germ concerns us humans do. In fact, a person choosing to pick up a dead squirrel with their bare hands is probably not brave or courageous. They may be...unwise.

Fears can be rational or irrational. However, when I see the damage done by the recent tornadoes rocking our country and then hear the sirens go off, I'm scared! It's a rational fear, based on the gravity of the situation. The wise thing to do is take cover. The foolish thing to do is run out with your video camera (unless you have one of those cool army tank-type weather channel vehicles).

After the storm has passed and someone is struggling in the debris, only a courageous person dives in to rescue them. As much as I'd like to think I'd be that person, most likely I'd flail my arms, spin in circles and (hopefully) eventually call an ambulance. It's not that I'd be afraid to get blood on me or step on a nail. It's that I'd be afraid to find someone suffering and I'd feel helpless.

A courageous person knows what they might find, but goes forward anyway.

Today you might be facing a situation that causes you fear. Whether it's something at your job or something within yourself, what you might discover and have to deal with may frighten you. Chances are, you can avoid it. Or, you can act with courage by pushing through the legitimate obstacles that may cause pain and distress.

When my husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness, we both cried. We knew he was going to die and death is, well, scary. However, he still got up every morning and acted like a normal person (normal for him anyway) living his life. A month before he died, he went to the dentist to have his teeth cleaned, even though he knew the end was near. Maybe that's not courage as much as it is faith (or maybe something else, like an addiction to oral hygiene - that man loved to floss). But he did have options, giving into his fear, reacting with panic and acting with the utmost despair.

When people said "he was so brave" I didn't really understand it. Understanding that fear is necessary for courage to take place, I think I do.

In today's world, there's plenty to fear. How will you choose to react?

Biting the Hand That Feeds You

Here's an example of an animal that is NOT welcome in the kennel.

However, some dogs can be rather gator-like in their behavior here. This weekend, friends helped me out by taking care of the dogs when I had to be gone all day. Only one dog gave them a problem. Since he growled and cowered in the back of his kennel run, he didn't get to go out. This is a rather scared dog and while he's fine with me, I wasn't surprised to hear he snarled at the strangers.

We tend to fear strangers. We rarely give people the benefit of the doubt that they are not going to harm us. Sometimes this is wise. Others, though, we miss out on the benefits of trusting someone else.

Taking risks is difficult. Jesus risked his life coming to earth and hanging out with us feeble, mean-spirited, broken people. And it seems like it didn't work out so well for him - the crowd that cheered him one week completely turned on him within days and had him crucified.

That wasn't the end of the story. Thankfully for us, that dead man got up and walked around again. And he did it for us - for our benefit - to be made acceptable to God despite our brokenness and mean-spirited selves. Following Jesus is also risky - there are no promises that our lives will be perfect if we do so. In fact, they may be very painful indeed. However, it's not the end of the story.

Enduring the Pain

Three weeks ago, Foster had his eye surgery. Happily, he's made a great recovery and back to being energetic.

Even Blue Bunny (his favorite toy) has made a reappearance, dragging it out when people come visit.

I can't even imagine what pain he must have been in before he went through this. While it's not easy to look at where his eye used to be, it's fantastic to have "the old Dingo" back!

Life tosses us pain. Sometimes it lasts a long time, other times it passes through. In other words, we endure it forever or for a short time.

A friend of mine says, "You can go through life without God, but it's not pretty." It's hard enough to go through pain WITH God. However, it's unimaginable to not have the long view of pain - that eventually there's a redemptive purpose. Faith is worth fighting for just for that understanding alone! Without God, where does one go with all the pain?

What about you? Maybe I still like to go for ice cream when I'm challenged, but ultimately going to God is soothing. How do you cope?