Kitchen Tools

Who am I? I’m just like you are. I’m a wife, a mother, I’m a friend. I’m family, and I’m a random stranger.

Is your kitchen big or small?

Is your kitchen clean or dirty?

Is your kitchen tidy or cluttered?

Does anyone NOT have a kitchen? As long as you have running water and microwave, you have a kitchen.

When we talk about “Kitchen Service” which is the title of the chapter that inspired this presentation, you have to realize that we all have a kitchen and we all have what it takes to serve others. Our ability and opportunity to serve others, like our kitchens, are all different – but we all have kitchens.

What is a kitchen for?

First of all, our kitchens are a place where we provide nourishment – first for ourselves, then our family. Our kitchens and our lives are designed to help nourish and sustain people. The Bible talks about the word of God being milk for newborns and meat for the more mature.

Sometimes our kitchens are a place of hospitality and refreshment. When I remember my grandmother, one of her signature characteristics was her hospitality. Whether you were invited or if you showed up unannounced, her first question, regardless of the time of day, was, “Can I get you something to eat or drink?” Of course, what made my grandmother memorable was her capacity to make people feel welcome. And, she did that by taking time to listen and talk more than by her offers of food and drink.

Kitchens are also the place where treats – where desserts – are born. Are your life and your service a treat for others? Do your interactions leave them feeling satisfied? or with the feeling that something was missing?

So what are the tools in your kitchen? What do you already possess that already equips you to serve others? I’ve come up with a list of 7 kitchen tools and I believe most of you already have these items in your kitchen toolbox and in your life toolbox. Let’s see if you’re ready for “kitchen service.”

The Kitchen Timer

By Mindful – Listen to the Holy Spirit’s prompting so you’ll know when it’s TIME to minister. That means slowing down to listen for Him. You can’t serve others if you’re not taking care of yourself and your own spiritual walk. Being mindful also means slowing down to listen to others. Effective listening always requires TIME and effort.

Oven Mitts

Be Protected – Remember to protect yourself from being worn away by service without wrapping your heart, your hands, and your mind in Christ’s love. You need an active relationship with Jesus to protect your from the cares and the overwhelming need of the world.

Seasoning

Be salt. The Bible calls us to be salt that has not lost its savor – its effectiveness as a seasoning and a preservative. And, we need to be sugar when people need sweetness in their lives, chamomile when people need soothing, and cayenne when they need a little heat to make them sweat!

Knives

Be Sharp! Act wisely and use the right tools for the job. We don’t use a paring knife to cut a watermelon or a meat cleaver to trim strawberries! Serving others may mean helping trim off dirty peelings, cutting out bad spots, or slicing things into manageable chunks.

A Turner

Be watchful. We all need people in our lives who watch over us – and if we are fortunate, they step in and guide us when the timing is just right. Sometime, people are stubborn, and when they stick – they get burned.

A Spatula

Be pliable. Spatulas are those handy flexible tools that allow you took scrape all the sweet brownie mix from the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl. We need to be pliable people who bend to God’s urging, who dole out the bits of sweet stuff that remains when someone’s world seems to be empty and dry.

A Citrus Press

Be refreshing. Not everyone has a citrus press. It’s a tool many people don’t feel like they need. But if you plan on being refreshment to those around you, if you believe God is calling you to give that cup of cool water to a child, that Quik Trip Coke to a highway worker, then this might be a tool you need. This is one of those inexpensive tools that can make your job easier. As a life tool, being refreshing to others just takes an awareness that a little thing can make a huge difference. We need to work smarter, not harder, when we serve others.

These are our tools: Be mindful, Be protected. Be salt. Be sharp. Be watchful. Be a treat. Be refreshing.

Now, how do we use our set of kitchen tools in the world? We don’t really need much training to use this particular set of tools. We’re all human, we all have a kitchen.

Where will we use our tools?

We will use our tools where we are. You don’t have to change much to more effectively use your kitchen tools. You come in contact with people every day.

Change your resolutions to better serve others into goals. Resolutions are nothing more than vague promises to be better. Instead of resolutions, set a tangible goal to serve others as you go on your way, out of your way, and in all kinds of ways.

Our tools won’t work if we don’t have a desire or a plan to use them. Without God’s Spirit working in your life, you cannot love. Without love, you will have no desire to serve in God’s name. Without that desire, you cannot minister. You must have Mary’s willingness to sit and learn at the feet of Jesus before you can turn your Martha work into God’s work.

O'Possum Olympics

When a fam'ly of five lives out on a farm

You'd expect that they'd have tales to tell

Of spiders and snakes, coyotes and deer,

And critters both furry and fell.

We've told you stories of cats and the dog

And how snakes by the mailbox do dwell

How Rosie will bark at cows in the yard

And asks burglars to sit for a spell.

On bright sunny days our home schooling stops

Then out on the meadow we walk.

Raccoon tracks and deer spoor we recognize,

Of flowers and grasses we talk.

But on dark nights, whether cloudy or clear,

When we shut our eyelids tightly

Excitement starts at Concharty Creek Farm:

O’Possum Olympics - held nightly.

The events in this nocturnal contest

Include punting, and running and more.

Our favorite sport is the possum shot put.

Daddy Dwayne holds the high score.

His blood pressure's up, adrenaline's high

A flashlight he holds in his hand:

"Where is that foul beast - disturber of sleep!

That possum's a plague on my land!"

The light shines along the edge of the house

Searching for those small beady eyes.

Rosie assists with charging and barking

Until the o'possum he spies.

Removal begins with a good swift kick.

He darts away! The air is tense.

Dwayne chases the possum all 'round the yard,

Then the possum makes for the fence.

He's trapped at the fence ~ no way to get through.

There's Rosie to bark in his face.

Now he must do, what all possums must do,

And he does it with style and grace.

Mister O'Possum pretends he is dead;

He just lies there and does not budge.

What happens next is not PETA approved --

Dwayne gives mister possum a nudge.

Grabbing the long, hairless tail of his foe

Dwayne lifts the gray fiend from the ground.

Rosie leaps high to look in its eye,

Before Dwayne begins to spin 'round.

Rosie runs rings and she tracks his orbit

As Mister O'Possum gains speed.

He flies through the air like a great, gray bird

And Dwayne is content with the deed.

Next morning we rise, still sleep deprived,

And we stick our heads out the door.

The shot-putted marsupial is gone ~ moved on,

But tonight he'll be back for more.

The Jar Jar Blinks Story

When Daniel was about 4 years old he had a plush Jar Jar Binks toy. He loved Jar Jar and the toy was the star of several adventures. This one is my favorite:

Dwayne was trying to nap on the couch on a lazy Sunday afternoon when Daniel came wandering down the hall with Jar Jar in one arm and a cat toy in the other. This homemade cat toy was a duplo block (pre-Lego Lego) tied to a 10 foot long piece of yarn.

Daniel tossed the duplo into the air toward the ceiling fan. It missed, so he tried again. Since Daniel couldn't do anything quietly, Dwayne looked up just in time to see the duplo fly between the blades of the fan. Dwayne jumped off the couch, grabbed the fan blade and exclaimed: "Daniel! What are you trying to do!"

Daniel answered, "I teach Jar Jar Blinks about velocity!" Jar Jar "Blinks" was attached to the other end of the yarn and was ready for a Star Wars style trip into hyperspace.

Daniel, who turned 19 yesterday, still has Jar Jar Blinks is a toy chest somewhere (in a galaxy far, far away).

Modern television

I was having my usual evening chat with my mom as I drove home... This evening she told me she didn't understand the television choices of her house guest (my 23 year old daughter Loren). 

Me: What's she watching? 

Gran: She's watching cooking shows, so I told her to remember all the good ideas so she can do the cooking for a while. 

Me: Sounds like a plan. . . 

Gran: What I don't understand is why she watches the tattoo artist shows, and Duck Dynasty, and that other one she watches, Dust Busters . . . 

Me: Mom, I think you mean Myth Busters 

Gran: Oh crap, you're going to put that in your blog, aren't you? Me: Yep.

more about chickens. . .and boobs

My sister Jan is eight years younger than I am, and when we were kids we fought like cats and dogs (which reminds me of the cat-juggling story). At some point in my baby sister's delicate development she decided "breast" was a naughty word. For some reason, however, she decided "boobies" was a perfectly acceptable reference for a woman's mammary glands. Since Jan was more than capable of beating the crap out of me with her toy baton, a can of pledge, or  box of tissues, my only recourse for defense was my superior quick tongue (cough). So. . . whenever I had the opportunity, I would do this:

Me: Hey, guess what we're having for dinner tonight?

Jan: What?

Me: BRRRREAST of chicken.

Jan: MOMMA! Dee's talking naughty.

Mom: Stop it you two or you'll be washing dishes. And, Jan, breast is not a naughty word.

My Mother's Pet Chicken

When my mother (Janelle Ward Haley) was about three or four years old, she picked out a gentle Rhode Island Red hen from the family's collection of poultry. She named the chicken "Mine" and it was her boon companion. Mine followed her around the farm like a devoted dog. She could tell Mine to "sit" and "stay" and the devoted chicken would sit and stay until Mom returned to collect it. Mine would stay by her side and share her adventures each day.

Ruth 2:12

12 May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.”

What better way to share family stories....

I know this is just the beginning blog, and I've never really thought I had that much to share, but this week's events made me decide that a blog is a great place to share family stories. Everyone always says, "You need to write that down!" So, here it is. We are gonna start writin' it down  - startin' tomorrow.

The idea here, is that I can post stories. . . but I want YOU to share your stories, too. Doesn't everyone want to hear the story about my mother's pet chicken?

Good night all,
Dee