Come have breakfast...

So when they got out on the land,
they see a charcoal fire laid
and a cooked fish lying on it and bread...
Jesus says to them, "Come have breakfast."
None of the disciples dared to inquire of him,
"Who are you?"
knowing that he was the Lord.
Jesus comes and takes the bread
and gives it to them and the fish likewise.
-John 21:1-24

This is one of my favorite set of verses in the Bible.
Jesus making breakfast.
A simple act of love.
God making something...for his friends to eat.

There is something holy...yes, I said holy...about making something for someone to eat. I am not talking about throwing some cardboard box into the microwave and scooping out its contents onto a plate. But when you take the time to think about what you will cook. When you prepare something that was first conceived in your mind and heart for those you love or want to bless. It really is an offering.

Cooking should be rescued today from the frantic hands of over busy lives. The kitchen should once again be sanctified and set up as an altar of worship. A place where time is spent. Where the aromas of slow cooked delights ascend like incense; calming the heart, soothing the troubled mind. The table should be set with a prayerful hum. Each setting is an invitation to share, to commune, to receive.

Cooking is really personal...you handle everything...you touch the meal. I pray that those who fight to remain at home would be hallowed in their home care. I pray that those who are forced or choose to be out of the home...would fully inhabit the home when they are there.

"It takes great artistry to create a home where people will want to talk to each other; where they will want to linger over dinner; where they will want to snuggle up with a quilt and a book on a rainy day instead of escaping to the shopping mall. it takes skill and sensitivity to design ways to buoy, comfort and strengthen the people we love." -Linda Burton "The making of a home".

This isn't woman's work...it's parent work. It's ministry...it's worship.
When was the last time you found a quilt or a blanket that was really, really comfortable and enveloped your son or daughter in it...together? It's about the feel of the blanket chosen...a deeply felt experience. Most memories are packed full of sensation, smell, sounds...a meal can fill the gut or fill the heart and mind. The danger for us parents is when we lose sight of the importance of home and the many nuances of home life that are sacred.

"We need to scrutinize the rush of our activities, because even venerable exertions may be keeping us from becoming and doing what God wants. A packed schedule may be detrimental not only to ourselves, but to those we seek to help. A few years ago our neighbors were drawn to us, but when we talked to them about the Lord, their response was, "We couldn't be Christians; we couldn't live at your pace." They had been attracted to Christ, but the busyness of our lives had scared them from a commitment. -Jean Fleming, "How Busy Is Too Busy?"

I love that Jesus...sat down and cooked a meal..a charcoal fire...not Elijah fire from heaven...PRESTO...kind of cooking but...He cooked fish and bread...in fact the scriptures mention the "means" in which He made the breakfast, it was a charcoal fire.. He took time making a fire and slowly cooking a hearty breakfast for hard working fisherman.

We should worship God in the same way...slowly, with intent, with quality food...in the spirit of Jesus.