You are right. I misread it and misqouted you. This was unfair to you. I'm sorry.
"No, I do not only ask God for things, I spend most of my prayer time praising Him for what He's done in my life and going back over my life and how I can now see Him there every step of the way, when at times I thought I was alone. I spend a lot of time contemplating his word, the history of man, and how awe struck i am at his Genius as an inventor.
Actually, we're not that far apart, here. Indeed, much of what you express above is captured in the simple prayer, "Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end, Amen." I said this numerous times to myself just this afternoon as I was mowing my lawn and weeding. It was a gorgeous day, here in the Midwest. Our tulips are up and I have both a white and a pink crabapple in my back yard which are both blooming.(Unfortunately, even the dandelions are up.) What I don't understand is why its really all that bad to repeat the prayer I gave above. It expresses perfectly my thoughts as I went about my yard work. Besides, as St. Paul reminds, "We do not know how to pray as we ought, so the Holy Spirit Himself makes intercession for us in groanings we find incomprehensible."(Or words to that effect.) The important thing is that in my own limited way, I am offering Him praise.
"Had you ever considered the possibility that for Him to know how a small animal or a bird or insect needs to function, He may have become one, long enough to know it's every need and fear,and it's shortcomings, and how it fits into the species."
Well, its possible. And I catch in a sense what you're saying. The only problem I have is it seems to limit God a bit. Almost like saying He had to become everything in order to know everything. But I don't think this is actually what you are saying. On another level I see it, though. Everything is part of His creation and, hence, is suffused by His Being. Or, at least, it was until the Fall. I will contemplate this thought, further.
Here's one for you. Have you ever thought about what crossed through Mary and Joseph's mind when the finally found Jesus in the Temple? I picture myself in that situation. I've had my kids wander off, before. Certainly, relief comes to mind. But I've often wondered if, somewhere deep within them, they didn't want to really come down hard on Him. You can sort of see it when Mary asks, basically, "How could you do this to us?" Jesus would have been the perfect child. They must have been flabbergasted He would leave them worrying for three days. You've got to think at some point they thought, "Boy, when I find that kid, He won't be able to sit down for days." And then they must have thought, "But how do you spank God?" -)
I sometimes like to just sit and think about the Holy Family at dinner. The perfect love which must have existed among them. The joy the must have felt, simply being in each other's company. Then, I try to create, to the greatest degree possible, that same atmosphere at our own dinner table.
Thank you for sharing these things Alguy. I have read endlessly through scripture seeking little tidbits of this and that. I've read through the intracacies of excavation reports and archeological evidences. I've poured over volume after volume of histories and evidences both of truth and of lies. And simple notions are not lost on me. I still marvel at the same passage you noted - Mary and Joseph finding the boy, Jesus in study 'did you not know I must be about the Father's work'. I'd have wanted to paddle some sense into the child as well till that came out. Or I try to imagine what the rest of the conversation might have been with the little girl or Lazurus when they were raised - a bit of Hawkeye Pierce comes to mind, though it's a bit of an intrusion to me, it somehow makes me laugh to think of him winking and perhaps saying "stop frightening these people and go let them know you're alright. And by the way if you die again you'll never hear the end of it. (wink)"
So involved are these things and life that the simple things are an absolute joy. And I wish there was more time for them than for the tedium. Our time here reaches an end soon, yet my job is far from over. I have yet begun and I have no doubt as messy as things are now, I will soon wish for the simplicity and ease of the debates we have here. The world is so sure of it's errors that it cannot and does not care for the truth. The religious are more prone to this than any other. And I have come to know why the angel in Revelation keeps uttering the word "Woe". As angry as I was when I first examined the lies I was being fed, I have great pitty for those who will find out at judgement - and none for those who led them to that position. Be just with the kids, and keep striving to emulate the master at dinner and everywhere else. Just remember to keep away from the junk that masquerades as truth and you'll have nothing to be shocked at.