A Meditation on I Kings 3:5-12 There's a scene early in Solomon's reign that is so familiar, we take it for granted. God appears to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon and says essentially, "ask me for anything and it's yours."   Solomon could have asked for wealth. He could have asked for a long life, or for his enemies to be handed over. Instead he asks for what the Bible calls "an understanding mind to govern your people, able to discern between good and evil." In Hebrew, Solomon is asking for a "listening heart."  To put is plainly, Solomon is seeking Wisdom.  And, who hasn't heard of "the wisdom of Solomon?" That's Solomon's brand, after all. And God is pleased with Solomon's request, grants it, then promises him wealth and glory and long life as well. In asking, Solomon actually demonstrated some inherent wisdom, not to mention quite a bit of humility, both of which often are found together. Anyway, It's a good sto...

  Buddy the Cat He came to us on a warm day in June, 2016. Our neighbor three doors down had called Debbie, inviting her to come see a recent addition to her rescue cat population. His name was Buddy. Debbie told me she was going to see a rescue cat and I said, “I don’t want a cat.” She said, “I’m just going to see him.” So, Debbie and her mother walked three doors down to see Buddy. When she came back, I knew we were getting a cat. Debbie said he was a beautiful orange tabby cat, who had belonged to an older lady. She had moved to a nursing home and she couldn’t take Buddy. Our neighbor told Debbie Buddy had been placed first in a home with children and dogs, but he didn’t do well. He was scared. She said he needed us. And we needed a cat. This time, we both walked to our neighbors’ house and came home with Buddy. Of course, he was skittish at first, but he quickly discovered we didn’t have any kids or dogs, and we did have a screened back porch which he took to immediately. Buddy...