Friday, March 20, 2009

Taste & See

For years, I loved the smell of coffee, but didn't like the taste. Eventually, however, my tastes "grew up", and now I love the taste of coffee....at least most coffee. Occasionally, I drink coffee that tastes too weak, too old, or just plain bad! The truth is, I'm not sure if I'm going to like it or not until I take that first drink. Others can tell me it is good, and the aroma can give me a clue, but until I pick up my cup and take a sip, I just don't know.

In our church ladies fellowship, our theme this year is "taste and see that the Lord is good." I am really enjoying our Bible studies on this theme, and will be sharing some of them here.

We have an annual spring ladies brunch, and we are busy preparing for it now. "Taste and See" will be our theme for the brunch as well, complete with vintage kitchen decorations, "recipe card" placecards, and a new church cookbook for each guest.

We have been compiling, typing and proofing our church cookbook for several weeks, and I was finishing it up today. Finally, it's in the mail! The hardest part for me was figuring out the "personal pages" at the beginning of the book. These pages are designed to introduce the book, give information about your church, or just share thoughts.

As I was trying to decide what should go on these pages, I was thinking about our theme of "Taste & See". (This is also the title of the cookbook.) I wrote the following poem in an attempt to sum up our focus for the book, and for the special event where it will be presented. (If you intend to be there, pretend you haven't seen this before! Also, if you plan to purchase a cookbook, please look surprised!)

Taste & See
(an introductory page of our soon-to-be published cookbook)
As you read the recipes contained within this book,
I hope you'll be persuaded to do more than simply look.

For when you see a recipe that whets your appetite
The only way to know if it is truly a delight

Is to gather the ingredients, make measurements precise,
And follow the instructions to preheat, puree, or dice,

Mix or stir, sauté or bake, each step you must complete,
And then at last you can both see and smell your tasty treat.

But you are not quite finished with your chosen recipe,
You'll not know if it's really good unless you taste and see!

And much the same we find it with the Savior that we serve.
We talk about His love and grace, the praise that He deserves.

But it's not enough to hear about the goodness of the Lord,
Or even just to read what's written in His holy Word.

We cannot know God secondhand. Alone we must decide
If we will choose to trust in Him, and in His will abide.

We will not know how sweet He is, or how He satisfies,
And we will not experience His blessings in our lives,

Until we act, believing that He’s all He said He’d be.
To know the goodness of the Lord, we have to "taste and see".

-Niki Lott

"O taste and see that the LORD is good:
blessed is the man that trusteth in him
."
Psalm 34:8

Have you "tasted" God's goodness? Have you tasted it today? We will never be disappointed in the Lord. However, so many times we are satisfied with what someone else has experienced instead of actually "tasting" for ourselves. May each of us truly "taste and see that the Lord is good"!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Not Forgotten

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you know that I have not forgotten my blog....I have just been trying to keep my priorities straight. Between the holidays, wonderful visits with family, sickness, and more, blogging just hasn't been able to be at the top of my list.

I was finding myself sitting up until 12:30 or 1:00 a.m. writing on my blog (which I absolutely love), and then being tired and cranky the next morning. Even my morning coffee didn't always help (can you believe it?!). Finding time to sit and think and write is my biggest challenge. When I am at the computer, Halle wants to be typing with me. As much fun as that is, it isn't very conducive to writing. So, I am trying to rethink and rework my schedule so that I am putting the Lord and my family in their proper place, and putting my writing and music in its proper place.

I am planning to start posting again, not daily, but on a more regular basis. I hope that you'll check back when you can. Thanks for reading.

~Niki

By the way, I've added links to my mom's blog and my sister's blog. They are both wonderful, and I hope you will check them out!