Wrought

This is a picture of a bowl my husband and I bought at a pottery shop in the Smoky Mountain craft community. It was handmade by a Native American Indian. He uses red Tennessee clay and crushed Tennessee limestone to make his beautiful pieces. The simple lines and rich colors are, in my opinion, absolutely beautiful.

I love handmade things. I love the time, effort, and creative spirit that are infused in them. I have handmade gifts that I have treasured for more than 40 years.

This particular pottery piece is especially intriguing to me because it bears the unique signature of its maker. Do you see it? Look at the picture again and see if you can see it . . .

See the fingerprints? There near the bottom of the bowl’s right inside curve? I love that. The fingerprint of the maker stamped upon the creation.

I think that’s why I love nature so much. The starry canopy of Kirkhaven’s nighttime sky. The bare, winter limbs of an ancient oak tree beside my bass pond. The tiny seedlings quietly growing in my greenhouse nursery. I see the Lord’s fingerprints in all of these things. And I am continually intrigued by the story and the testimony this Fingerprint speaks.

I also think that’s why I sense such deep gratitude for the people God has brought into my life. Faithful family members who love me through every circumstance and in every season. Generous, compassionate friends who have spent years ministering the Lord’s Truth and Kindness to my heart. I experience my Lord in their words. Their arms. Their steadfast presence. God’s testimony of the power of His Son is astounding when I think of the love they have given to me.

But I feel no compunction to bragg about my home or my testimony or my family or my life circumstances.  Because the Fingerprint of the Maker completely eclipses every gift He has given. I will be eternally grateful for His mercy and grace. I will never be able to repay Him for His great love and generosity. But in all of it I see the Fingerprint of God.  For me . . . more and more . . . it is all about the Giver, not the gifts.

Everything within me explodes in praise and adoration for the One who is crafting my life.  That is where you can find me as I celebrate my 52nd year on this earth. I am in utter awe at the Fingerprint of God.

He is the Giver of all Blessing.
He is the Rescuer in every tragedy.
He is the Sustainer through every trial.
He is my philosophy.
He is my theology.
He is my reward.
And He is my inspiration.

All that I have is gloriously His.
Every person in my life . . . those who hate me and those who love me . . . those who respect me and those who pity me . . . are precious gifts in my quest to follow Him and to become more like Him.

In these autumn years of my earthly sojourn,
it is my deepest prayer and my greatest passion
that every eye . . .
my eyes and the eyes of all who observe life's happinesses and sorrows . . .
will be riveted
to neither any earthly vessel
nor any heavenly blessing,
but to the Potter Himself.

I pray that the Light of Truth will strike my fragile form in such a way that the miraculous, eternal Fingerprints of the Lord of the Universe will be visible.

When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.
1 Corinthians 13:11-13

There is so much I do not know.
I am so very fragile and earthy.

But this one thing is the sum of all my knowledge
and the goal of my every righteous pursuit
and the object of all my praise:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:1-5, 9-13

"For God so loved the world,that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God."
John 3:16-21

To be wrought
in God,
and by God,
is the real treasure indeed.

Chickens Don't Need a Shepherd

Chickens don’t need a shepherd. They need a rooster.

That’s the pearl of wisdom my husband blessed me with this morning. It is such a rich thought, that I simply had to blog about it. I suspect I will be stepping on a few toes with my ponderings, however.

Eli, the captain of my Kirkhaven Egg Brigade, is a very handsome rooster. His red comb is large and deeply serrated. His long, folded wattles dangle majestically from his chin. His bright black eyes are alert, with an intelligent but slightly suspicious gleam. He has an abundance of beautifully arching tail feathers and a respectable set of rooster spurs. And as Eli traverses the pens and fields of his ridge-top kingdom, he doesn’t just walk . . . Eli struts.

My rooster is a diligent, able provider for his flock of busily-laying hens. He is an excellent forager in the woods behind the barn and easily finds delicious caches of bugs underneath logs or on top of the compost heap. When he chortles happily about a yummy discovery, the girls always come running to his insect buffet. He even steps aside, like a perfect gentleman, so the girls can enjoy the bounty. Eli feeds his girls very well. They depend upon him, and he never lets them down.

Eli is very serious about keeping his flock safe from predators. He is a bit untrusting by nature and never hesitates to gather the girls into a safe corner or protected nook if he gets an unsettled feeling. If he sees imminent danger (a hawk in the sky or a dog on the loose), his loud squawk sends everyone into an immediate scurry for safe cover. Eli is the unchallenged authority on all-things-dangerous. I have never seen any hen hesitate to run when Eli squawks.

He is also quite determined to keep his flock peaceful and orderly. First, he expects the hens to create their own pecking order. Order is achieved when everyone knows their place and no one bucks the system. Secondly, Eli allows no excessive bickering. If squabbles erupt among any disagreeable girls, he simply runs into the midst of the flurry, pecks both offending parties, and the argument is immediately ended.

Eli is careful to keep his small flock in a tightly-knit group. All roosters know that you can’t protect what you can’t easily corral, so he doesn’t let his girls wander too much. He is, however, their “knight in shining armor” if any of them get in a bind. All they have to do is send out a panicked holler and he comes boldly running to their defense . . . wings flapping, head bobbing, spurs at the ready.

He is also is very leery of strangers.  He does, however, give people a chance to get on his “trusted” list if they behave in an acceptable way. He isn’t a mean or aggressive rooster, but he does expect a certain amount of decorum and respect. Here are Eli’s "Three Rules of Proper Etiquette:"

#1.  Respect the Rooster.  Pause before entering the coop, so he can peck your shoes, block your steps, or head-butt your leg to prove his manliness. He will appreciate your role as Farmer if you appreciate his role as Exalted Prince Over All Chickendom.

#2.  Do not make exaggerated movements or unexpected loud noises.  Nothing irritates a rooster more than trying to calm a flustered group of hens.

#3.  Bring treats.  It makes him look good in front of the girls. If he can provide delicacies like bananas, Cheerios, or some table leftovers . . . even if by your hand . . . he can keep the girls happy. And happy girls make for a comfortable coop.

The whole system is harmonious and natural. Eli and his girls are thriving in their self-regulated community. This is how healthy, well-adjusted chickens live.

But this isn’t how people should live. And it definitely isn’t how the Kingdom of God should function.

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.

Serve the Lord with gladness;

Come before Him with joyful singing.

Know that the Lord Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving

And His courts with praise.

Give thanks to Him, bless His name.

For the Lord is good;

His lovingkindness is everlasting

And His faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 100:1-5

We are sheep. The Bible never refers to the people of God as chickens.  Men are sheep. Women are sheep. Children are sheep. Even church leaders are sheep.

Sheep don’t strut. They have no pecking order.  They are neither self-sufficient nor community-sufficient. And they do not need a rooster: sheep need a Shepherd.

The Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23

Frankly, I am astounded by what “passes” as “acceptable” Christian culture today:

“You are so freaking gorgeous”

“My husband is a stud”
“I am hot”
"You are hot."
bawdy humor
sassy personalities
sharp-witted tongues

It seems that God’s people are so busy trying to “out strut” the world that we have lost the true image of what Godliness looks like.

We are so intent upon having
the most relevant,
least restrictive,
enchantingly cleaver,
globally receptive
outward posture,

that we have completely discarded
the simple 
inward demeanor
of an obedient disciple.

What has happened to old fashioned morality?
And quiet, Godly living?

Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another. Galatians 5:19-26

Let the hens squawk if they must.
Let the cocks swagger and crow.
Let passion and noise and arrogance and wit have their place in the coops of the world.

Sheep don’t need a rooster; they need a Shepherd.
They don't perch in coops, they rest in broad, green meadows.
And a strutting lamb simply is obscene.

I think we should stop being afraid or embarrased to say . . .
and to believe . . .

A quieted heart,
a simple life,
and a Godly demeanor
are good things . . .
in the green patures of the Good Shepherd.