By Lilly Lewin
You may or may not know that I am not a kitchen person. Oh I love a great looking kitchen, but I’m not the cook or the chef. At our house that is my husband Rob’s job. He was a great cook long before he did his bucket list of going to culinary school. Being in the kitchen and preparing food is easy for him. It’s his art and one of his thinplaces. I’m much more comfortable with brushes and paint!
I often tell the story that our kitchen in our Cincinnati house was so bad, and I detested being in it so much, I turned it into my prayer room so I had a way to function in it. ( I put a map of the world one one wall to pray for the world, post it notes on the windows for folks who needed prayer, and a white board near the sink to add prayer requests)
The kitchen is usually the hub of the home. It’s the heart. It tends to be where folks gather during parties no matter how big or small the kitchen is! And if you are a great cook, it really doesn’t matter the size of the kitchen! Our postage stamp kitchen in our cottage in Napa Valley hosted amazing food thanks to Chef Rob!
The Kitchen used to be centered on the hearth, the fireplace. Everyone cooked meals over the fire. In my parent’s house built before the Civil War in the early 1800’s, the original kitchen was in the basement with a large open fire place that was used to cook over each day. The hearth was the heart of the home.
I was thinking about all this after reading and listening to Psalm 84.
What is the Dwelling Place of God like?
When you imagine the dwelling place of God, what to you picture?
Where is it that you like to go or be to feel closest to God?
Would it be the Kitchen? Would Jesus be cooking and would you be listening to his stories? Would God dwell around the hearth?
Can you picture yourself sitting in a comfy chair acroswhs from Jesus having a cup of coffee or tea or hot chocolate?
Take some time to imagine what the dwelling place of God looks like for you.
What does the dwelling place of God look like for you?
The Dwelling place of God doesn’t have to be far off from you and me. We know that the Spirit dwells in each of us, but I do believe that we can create spaces where we experience more of God’s presence and peace. Places where we can receive nourishment. Places where we can build and cultivate real relationship with Jesus. That’s creating a thinplace for yourself. A place where the veil between heaven and earth is thin and you feel God’s presence.
Places like front porch swings, hammocks, rocking chairs, the bath tub could all be places where you experience a thinplace.
Sitting outside watching the sunset or looking at the moon and stars are also ways to experience this. Did you see the moon this week?
Verse three talks about the sparrow…Even the sparrow has found a nest. A safe place. A place near your altar.
Do you have a spot to be with Jesus that feel like that? What could you do to create one?
What kind of Nest do you need?
What kind of NEST do you need this week? Talk to Jesus about this.
Maybe you aren’t feeling like you have a nest anymore, or your nest is now empty and feels different. Maybe your safe nest has been rocked by illness, or loss. Perhaps you need to take time to notice this. Perhaps you need to make the time to grieve the loss of your “nest’ or the losses around the safety and security of the nest. Let Jesus dwell with you in this loss and grief.
Remember that birds build new nests every year. And around my neighborhood, the squirrels are busy building nests for the winter. What kind of new NEST do you want to build with Jesus in the coming weeks?
TRY THIS:
We all spend a lot of time in our kitchens …washing dishes, making food etc. This week let’s see this as the dwelling place of God…
Take time to listen as you wash dishes or chop vegetables. What does Jesus want you to notice? Who comes to mind as you wash the dishes or as you unload the dish washer? Take time to pray for these people. And make time to call or text them too.
As you stir the food, what is God stirring in you?
If it’s cold where you are and you have a fire in the fireplace, or if you have a fire pit outside where you can go and sit …allow Jesus to talk with you around the hearth.
Take a walk, look for nests in the trees. Allow the nests to remind you that Jesus wants to be with you and provide you a safe refuge and resting place in him.
This week, Dwell with Jesus and enjoy being with him! Jesus is “The God who loves us with out measure and without regret! Father Greg Boyle
PRAY PSALM 84 together:
How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young— a place near your altar,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[c]
5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield,[e] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10 Better is one day in your courtsthan a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,blessed is the one who trusts in you. AMEN
And if you heart is set on Pilgrimage, Join us on Finding Your Thinplace pilgrimage to Iona Scotland, September 1-9, 2025.