D is For Desperate!

D is for Desperate

Well now, I suppose you figured I would write something about dogs, but this is a problem. Everyone thinks that dogs are man’s best friend, while I’m trying to convince humans that they should be a cat’s best friend. Instead, I am going to share what I am most desperate for---meat! Melted cheese is a close second, though.

I simply love meat. There’s nothing like it. I do not care about what kind of meat it is. It could be from a cow, a pig or a chicken, though I guess chicken is technically poultry. All right, I guess I’m also desperate for poultry . . . and fish, too. My meals have to be broken up into smaller portions, because of my tummy trouble. This simply means I get to annoy Mom multiple times a day, reminding her that I am HUNGRY! I never quite get filled up.

There’s breakfast, and if Mom comes home after being out part of the morning, I try to scam her into second breakfast. The hobbitses had a great idea! I give her my best pathetic, “but you completely forgot to feed me this morning and then you left me” look. Unfortunately, she’s onto me, especially when I do this several times a day. I also like to dance around at meal time, jumping onto my corner of the counter or pacing near the kitchen island and saying, “Mrraw, mraww. Mraww, mraww,” in a high-pitched voice. She likes it when she thinks I’m trying to say “Mama.” Yeah, right. It’s cat for, “Feed me now and I’ll stop thinking about slashing your ankles.”

Helping Mom with her dinner.

I must admit Mom can even coax me back into the house, when I escape into the yard, by rattling a saucer on which she serves my delicious canned food. It’s meat, er, poultry-based. I like to turn up my nose at the readily available kibble in my bowl, unless she’s not looking. Hee hee!

Desperation for meat has driven me to deception, false humility, loss of dignity and honor, all for the purpose of begging for those juicy animal-flavored morsels. Even I, a regal cat, will lower my standards to get meat!

What food/treat is your dog or cat most desperate for? And what about you? Mom would confess to dark chocolate or ice cream or perhaps dark chocolate on ice cream. Or spaghetti, but not all three at the same time.

D -- 10/29

Hungry Yet? (Saturday Spiritual Uplift)

When David wrote Psalm 23 I wonder what
he had in mind when he wrote You prepare a feast for me 
in the presence of my enemies. Was an army marching toward him while he was out having a picnic? Was he having a great feast after a battle victory? Or is he talking about the sheep—munching the grass safely while the shepherd fended off the wolf? What does this look like in our world? I realize it’s symbolic, but I wondered about believers suffering in poverty and persecution. Is there a feast available to them?

My conclusion was even in trying circumstances, I have a feast available to me in God’s Word and in talking with Him through prayer. Jesus said, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry again. Whoever believes in me will never be thirsty . . .” And John describes Jesus as the Word in the beginning of his gospel: 

In the beginning the Word already existed.
The Word was with God,
and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him,
and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness,
and the darkness can never extinguish it.

Reading the Bible, times of prayer and fellowship with God nourish the spirit, giving us direction, even if He’s asking us to be still, trust and wait on Him. Read the Psalms and He repeatedly whispers of His unfailing love and care for us. In the work of the Holy Spirit we are led to truth and He helps us in our weakness. Jesus left us a gift of peace: “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

The eternal part of us is strengthened and we have hope again, so that we continue to live for Christ, body and soul. Romans 8:35 and 37 says: Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? . . . No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 

Jesus is always with His children and makes spiritual food available to us daily. The question is: Am I hungry enough to partake? Or has my heart at times grown cold and self-sufficient?

Heavenly Father, please keep my heart soft to hear the voice of your Holy Spirit and open to see your work. Help me to be hungry for your Word and wisdom, to be closer to You and more like Jesus.