What’s in a Name?

Naming your blog is very important because it tells people who you are or what kind of content they can expect.  For me, starting a blog was done somewhat spontaneously. I had thought briefly about it and then mentioned it to my husband, who loved the idea.  I thought about calling it “What’s for Dinner?” since that question is asked at least once a day by each person who lives here, sometimes multiple times if they forget.  

My husband almost immediately upon hearing me say, “I was thinking about starting a blog” responded, “Hey, you could call it O Taste and See”.  I loved the idea and so within thirty minutes I was the proud owner of the domain name “OTasteAndSeeBlog.com“.

Where Does it Come From?

The name comes from Psalm 34:8 which says, “O Taste and See that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusts in Him“. We have kind of made this our “family verse”.  We have been fortunate enough to have “tasted” God’s goodness in many ways and we enjoy sharing those experiences with others.  Once a week, at our Saturday evening dinner, we would recite Psalm 34:1-8 to remind us of God’s great blessings on our family.  

What does it mean? 

That’s a good question.  I have this verse on a plaque in my kitchen and a friend once asked me about it. She was very confused about the idea of “tasting” God.  

The first thing to understand is that the book of Psalms is poetry.  Poetry often speaks in symbolism, and that is the case in this verse. We aren’t being told to actually take a bite out of God, that would be impossible and a little odd.  But what God, through the psalmist David, in this verse is challenging us to do is to experience Him for ourselves and see His goodness.  Tasting has the idea of taking something in completely, using your senses and getting involved, like when we taste food.  It’s like trying a new recipe, most of our senses are involved.  First we have to see it; if it looks appealing, we decide to try it.  Next, as we prepare it we touch and smell and often hear it.  Then comes the tasting…the final test to experience the “goodness”.

It’s the same way with God, and faith.  He wants us to experience Him and know how much He loves us and wants to bless us, IF we are willing to give ourselves to Him completely.  

How does “tasting” the goodness of God relate to food and recipes?

Throughout the Bible, God used food as a metaphor for His goodness and blessing.  He could have created us like animals who simply eat to survive, but instead He made us to enjoy food (and to enjoy lots of different kinds of foods).  Food is for more than simply nourishment, it is also for our enjoyment.  When we sit down together as a family to enjoy a good meal, we are able to physically taste the provisions and blessings of God.

We have tasted the goodness of God in every way – and it is sweet!  O Taste and See Blog is a way of sharing God’s goodness with you by inviting you into our home, sharing the recipes and meals that we enjoy with you and sharing the stories that make them special to us.  

I hope you enjoy visiting with us, and I hope that you too will taste and see that the Lord is Good!