pecking order

It seems that chicken farmers have been observing hens for centuries, coming up with all sorts of quotable quotes that help humans relate to chickens. Quotes like: "Too many hens in the henhouse" and "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Fascinated by the primitive, yet sophisticated behaviour of our chickens, we too are discovering a little bit about human nature mirrored in our feathery friends.


We now have six chickens, all of them "rescued" from the animal shelter. The first set (Penny, Patty, and Henrietta) arrived as docile and friendly as hoped for, and Annike quickly became one of the gals. Aside from the time Chicken Patty stole the graham cracker out of her hand, they seem to be getting along just fine.


Enter the second set of chickens... A hen fight broke out within minutes of introducing Dumpling, Cacciatore, and Benedict to the hen house. It was Junior High revisited. Like two cliques of middle schoolers, these ladies pecked and flew at each other. I had to drag Annike out of the coop before she got in the way of flying beaks. They have now reached some sort of agreement not to kill each other, but competition in the house unmasked their aggressive sides, and these girls are downright mean to each other.


It is strange to witness the product of primitive selfishness in our chickens. The established pecking order works so that the first set of chickens get to eat while the others cower in the corner. Our formerly gentle chickens now go on a regular tirade to prove their high rank in the nesting house. The most interesting part to me is that the meanest chicken is now Henrietta. She was once at the bottom of the original pecking order. The one who was picked on most is now doing most of the picking.

Human nature at its ugliest, looks a lot like this. Those who have taken the brunt of someone else's pecking order look for opportunities to pick on others. Any school bully has a history of being bullied. And without God in our lives, we too are stuck treating people the way we have always been treated. The truth is that God created us to be different than the animals, who live only for themselves. He designed us to love and care for others in our lives, and to live in the freedom of forgiveness for those who have treated us poorly in the past. Jesus came to earth especially for those at the bottom of the pecking order. He came to offer them a chance to put off the old way, and choose another way.

"You were taught... to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness." Ephesians 4:22-24

beachcomber

I have heard it said that true art is something you never get tired of looking at. I have every reason to believe that will be the case with my birthday gift:


The artist, Pat Huber, is a dear friend of our family from my growing up years. She saw a photo of Annike playing on the beach, and asked if she could paint it. What a gift it turned out to be! My favorite part is the movement in the painting and the way the light catches on Annike's hair blowing in the wind. Even though I can't see her face, there is no mistaking the child pictured. Thank you, Christian and Mom, for finding this jewel for me! Thank you, Pat, for seeing the artistic beauty in my daughter!

empty boxes

I am a compulsive list-maker. I have lists for everything... a list of groceries, a list of chores that need doing, a list of recipes I might want to try one day, a list of people I would like to write notes to, or email, or call. I have a list of tasks that need doing for our home business, and items I need to buy the next time we go to Costco, and even a list of future projects I want to do when that elusively free day comes along where I have nothing left to do from any of my other lists.

Each item gets an empty box next to it, which I find great satisfaction in coloring in when I finish a task. (Confession: sometimes I even secretly write things down that have already been finished, just so I can color in the box.) There is a rich feeling of accomplishment that comes over me when I look at my list of completed tasks.

The trouble is that for most of my life I have judged my own worth by my accomplishments. It is a common problem. We find it so hard to separate who we are from what we do. Ask any man who has lost his job, any teenager who did not make it on the basketball team, and any mom who has left a career to raise her children.

The Bible says that our worth is found in Christ Jesus. We are not worthy because of the number of productive things we do in a day, or the number of years we went to school, or the number of titles we have earned at work. What makes us worthy is our heart to please God. (Colossians 1:10)

With that in mind, today I am challenged to fore go the list in order to please God by tackling the divine task He has entrusted to me... raising my daughter. This task includes things that are difficult to itemize and check off, like reading stories, having a tea party, pausing to make play dough animals, singing songs, walking out to pick apples and letting her actually do the walking although it will take 20 minutes longer than carrying her. It means that instead of coloring in all 10 boxes next to my daily chores, my list might end up full of empty boxes. Perhaps the presence of empty boxes means I have accomplished so much more of what God wants me to be doing today? My greatest accomplishment today was to nurture the precious child God has entrusted to my care.

"And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father..." Colossians 1:10-12

Sidenote: While Annike is not yet able to physically write out a list, I think that she has inherited my desire to stay organized...







... I had better start training her now that our worth is also not found in how well we can place items in a neat line!

turning two

I never knew that celebrating a two-year-old's birthday could be such fun! Seeing a birthday through the eyes of a small child makes each candle on the cake and piece of tissue paper in the wrapping an exciting new experience. It was important for me, the shopper in the family, to remember this. Annike's birthday was not about the toys she added to her collection, but instead about the celebration of life itself. That often involves the simplest of pleasures...

...like the egg the chickens laid for her!

...like riding on Papa's shoulders at the County fair with an apple in one hand, and a balloon "mousey" in the other.

...like petting the baby animals with both sets of grandparents in tow.

...like a visit from Oma and Opa, and serving them pretend tea.

...like blowing out the candles, or trying to anyway.

...like riding with one of her best little friends on her new tricycle (which was our big gift to her). Sharing the gift makes it so much more fun!

...like stripping down to the bare essentials at the end of the night.


The next day, we had a small "bug" party at the park, complete with ladybug cupcakes and butterfly wings, and of course, Annike's best little buddies.

birthday wishes

Life began at 4:08am on a Friday morning, exactly 2 years ago. You came fast, precious Annike, in just over 2 and a half hours. A peanut sized bundle at 5 pounds, 12 ounces. Blue and not breathing, we waited to hear you cry and were reminded that life is the most humbling of all miracles. What seemed eternal, may only have been minutes before you took your first breath. "It's a Girl!"...SURPRISE! Papa surely had seen a boy on the ultrasound he was not supposed to be looking at. He would never trade you in for you wrapped your tiny fist around his heart that very moment.

I loved you before you entered the world. I fell in love with you that first hour of life you spent wakefully, calmly looking into my eyes. You are well worth every physical pain and heartache it took to get you here.





Your 1st Birthday celebration took place at our Soquel home with families from our Bible study who prayed hard for your existence in this world. These friends were soon to become some of your best.

















It is strange how having too much fun can cause a party to end in tears:


As we celebrate your 2nd birthday today, I have to actively think about what traditions we establish for your birthday. It is easy to make a birthday about the presents, and the anticipation of eating ice cream. But those things say nothing about the gift of your life in the lives of other. We want to celebrate, instead, your unique talents, curiosity for the small wonders around you, and most of all, the relationships we have with those we love.


Oh yeah, and for your birthday today, we wanted to let you wear whatever you wanted (which turned out to be your tu-tu over your kitty pajamas!)

Happy Birthday Annike-Bear!

intercession

Intercession - prayer on behalf of another. It naturally arises from the instinct of the human heart—not merely prompted by affection and interest, but recognizing that God’s relation to man is not merely individual, but social. (blueletterbible.org)

(Praying Hands)


Anything we do on behalf of another, motivated by purely unselfish means, connects us to the heart of God. He designed us for a life on earth that is not merely individual in purpose, but social as well. Our ability to see others, love them, and act with kindness towards them, must be forefront in His design for us. After all, the greatest command is to "Love the Lord your God... and to Love your neighbor as yourself." (Matt 22:36-39)

Intercession is a word I only understand in the core of my being. Putting words to something grasped at the spirit level is a challenge. But the act of true intercession for another puts us at the closest to God's own heart for people as we will ever be. It is the act of praying on behalf of another whole-heartedly in the interests of God Himself, not merely prompted by our own selfish interests. When we are moved by the Spirit of God to intercede we are in our humblest, most unselfish, state. We are relying solely on the mercy of God for another human being. Crying out to Him as if we cared as much about this other person as we do about ourselves. We are in touch with God's heart, and we are powerful in prayer.

Being moved for a loved one who is broken to the point of despair, I find myself on my knees on the behalf of someone else. Crying out, as if it were my own heart that was broken because this person has no strength left to cry out. Perhaps this is one more way that God takes care of His broken children - by giving others strength for them. How comforting to know that God may one day take care of me in this way. That God has taken care of me like this in the past. Out of a power not my own, I am given God's heart, the clarity to ask for Majesty, Justice, Truth, and HOPE.

To pray for another with God's own heart is to glimpse a picture of God's initial intentions for us so long ago when He created the world in perfection. A glimpse of what our world will be like one day.


We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. Romans 8:26

meet the bockers

Meet the feathery additions to the farm: the "Bock-Bocks" (as Annike calls them.)


Their names are still being decided. For now, we will call them Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner. We are open to suggestions, however. Our vegetarian friends need to know we only intend to eat their eggs.


It is hard to know who is more excited: Christian, or Annike? Chickens are all either one of them wants to talk about for the moment. I say, as long as someone else takes care of them, I will be excited too!

Glee, when you are chasing a chicken, looks like this: