Saturday Soliloquy: Birdsong

It’s very still outside except for the birds tweeting their little heads off. It’s also very humid. The air is heavy and still. My weather widget says it’s 65 degrees, and to expect light rain within the next half-hour. I hope so. Maybe some rain will clear the humidity, although that isn’t always the case.

I love birdsong, even when the little rascals start serenading me between 5-5:30 a.m. I think they perch on the windowsill just above my head and enjoy singing me awake.

A couple of years ago, I looked up the various spring birds here in my corner of PA and tried to memorize what birds sing what melodies. I have the cardinal pegged. It’s a two-note whistle often followed by a series of chirps. We saw a bright red cardinal in a tree near our kitchen window, whistling like crazy. And the female is quieter than the male, but very pretty.

Then there is the robin, of course:

This little guy looks like a juvenal, but he’s already a very good singer!

There are a lot more. I listen to them chirp and sing and call out to each other from all sides of the house. If you love birds, as I do, spend some relaxing time today looking up their songs.

If you love God, as I do, you will be amazed over and over again at the infinite variety these little creatures display with their whistles and chirps. Amazing. And all designed by an amazing Creator.

Catching Up

I haven’t posted here since March 4. That’s a new record of absence for me. I’ve been very sick with bronchitis. Terrible coughing, not much sleep. I think I’ve turned a corner over the last couple of days, so thought I’d stop in here just to let you all know that I haven’t gone to heaven just yet.

I have been watching my stats during my absence, and am quite surprised to see that they’ve been fairly consistent in spite of my long absence. So thankful for that. I’m also thankful for those of you who have contacted me to see if I’ve quit blogging. No. Just taking a little break.

I’m hoping to pick up on my journey through the Psalms tomorrow, and to get back into a normal routine. My house is in a mess, desperately needing a pick-up, dusting, floor-cleaning and bathroom scouring. If it hadn’t been for Terry, there wouldn’t be any clean laundry! And now, he’s coughing and has gone back to bed for today.

Someone recently said that old age is the gift that keeps on giving.

On a much brighter note, it’s the first day of spring. The sky is a lovely blue, with a mild temp of 47 degrees. The down side of that is that we have a wildfire warning until 8 p.m. tonight. Low humidity, lots of dry ground debris from winter winds. I hope no one decides to be stupid with a fire today. Not a good idea to burn debris.

All right. I need to rest. So wearying to write just a little bit 🙂

WordPress Anniversary!

I was notified this morning that today marks 11 years since I registered with WordPress. If I remember correctly, it took me a while after I registered to actually get my blog set up and to start writing.

I want to say thanks to WordPress for offering so many people all around the world the opportunity to write. WordPress, unlike some other platforms out there, has never censored me for expressing my biblical beliefs. I pray that it continues to be so.

I’ve made some new friends out there in cyberspace. We may never meet face-to-face in this life, but we love the same Lord and we’ll have all of eternity to get to know each other better!

Also, thank you to my loyal readers and supporters. Some of you have been with me from the very first post back on April 19, 2012. I especially love it when anyone stops in with a comment, It’s encouraging to know you’re out there!

This is NOT me, but it sure made me smile! Writing has come a long way. Dressing up to do it? Not so much 🙂

Saturday Soliloquy: A Video

My son shared a video with me that has a huge impact on how we see faith and trust in God. I’ve decided to share it with you, and I hope you’ll stay with it to the end.

Sunday Morning Coffee: New Year IN!

If the weather is a harbinger of the New Year, it’s going to be wonderful! Here in my corner of PA, we have heartbreak-blue skies, and a mild temp of 44, rising to 53 for today’s high. For January, that’s more than okay 🙂

Some of my friends are wishing for this:

There was a time I would have wanted lots of snow, but not so much nowadays. I’m happy with clear roads, no icy places. The snow and ice will come soon enough.

I think Sunday is a great day to have New Year’s Day! A perfect day for new beginnings, or old beginnings dusted off and reconfirmed.

Please, Lord, may the churches be full this morning. May Your grace pour down upon us today and every day of the coming year!

Merry Christmas!

I found this painting seven years ago. Still love it. May your Christmas Day be blessed, starting with going to church with family and friends.

An Interlude

Since I had a morning that was, in retrospect, funny, I thought I’d share it with you.

I left the house around 9:10. I had a doctor appointment at 9:30, and then I needed to do some grocery shopping.

Easy, right? Well, not if your grey matter is leaking out of your ears. The last thing on my chore list was groceries, and that’s what I was thinking about. So that’s where I went.

As I was walking across the parking lot, I looked for my list. I always shop with a list. Keeps me from browsing, and I don’t forget stuff. All I forgot, at this point, was that I did NOT grab my list, but left it in a cookbook where it would do the most good.

Right.

So I started my shopping, trying to remember what all I needed, when I suddenly remembered I needed to be at the doctor’s office at 9:30. It was now 9:40. Panic. I rushed to the front with only a few items in my cart, quickly checked out, and got to my appointment by 9:50.

They know me there. I’m a regular. Oh, I forgot to mention that as I rushed out of the grocery store I came across an old friend. “Can’t stop to talk–late for the doc” I said as I flew by. She laughed.

The receptionist looked up as I approached her window. She smiled. “Rough day?” Of course I told her what had happened, and they got me in quickly. But I asked the nurse not to check my blood pressure yet. Let me settle down a bit.

All done, and back to the grocery store. Finished quickly. Calmer now, I drove back home feeling as if I’d remembered most of what I needed. Pulled into the garage, popped the trunk, grabbed a couple of bags. Didn’t know there was a hole in one bag, and out slid a jar of dill pickles before I could even react. What a mess–glass, pickle juice and pickles all OVER the garage floor.

As I entered my kitchen, my daughter-in-law met me, said she’d heard something crash and was everything okay? Told what had happened, and she got the broom and dustpan. We salvaged most of the pickles, but of course had to examine them and rinse them off–didn’t want any little bits of glass in anyone’s stomach!

There were only two things on my list that I had not thought of, and neither of them was vital to the cause.

Seems there was something else that took place, but I forget what it was.

Of course I do.

Fifty-Three Years and Counting!

Fifty-three years ago today we were married in Owatonna, MN, where I went to college. Here’s the same photo I used last year on this day. Using the same one keeps us from looking older 🙂

Here’s my mom with me just before we went up for the ceremony:

And one more, taken just before we were engaged:

We had no idea what would take place over the next 53 years. No one does when they’re young and full of energy and ready to take on the future. As it has turned out, they’ve been mostly good years with some difficulties of life we all have to face. Those difficulties help us grow and keep us trusting the Lord.

We are thankful to still be in love, to still have our faith, to have our four kids and nine grandkids. Life has, over all, been good to to us!

Sunday Morning Coffee: Perfectionism

Perfectionists tend to think of it as a strength. Any strength taken too far becomes a weakness.

I’ve been making sleeping mats out of used plastic bags. These are distributed to the homeless in Pottstown by a gentleman from our church. I enjoy the work, and especially when my back is misbehaving, it’s something I can do as a ministry when I can’t do much else.

My most recent project is one I’d had in mind for some time, and I finally finished it yesterday.

Here’s a picture:

Think of it as modern art. The colorful blobs are flower beds. The grey strip is a walking path. Sandy brown beaches, a lake complete with ducks and a boat, hills, a sunset, and lots of cloudy blue sky.

I’m not satisfied with it, but I’ll refrain from picking it apart. Whoever gets this mat isn’t going to be worried about the flaws 🙂
So why do I say that perfectionism can be a weakness? Well, for one thing, it robs a person of the joy of the journey. When all you can see are the flaws, there’s no satisfaction in the hours and hours of work involved. That’s a weakness.

Perfectionism is a good thing in a lot of ways. We want perfectionism in our medical care; in our mechanics; in food handling, and many other professions. We need to learn to check, double-check, and check again when we’re dispensing medicine, or exercise advice, or child-rearing wisdom, just to name a few things.

But when one is never, ever willing to move forward for fear of being wrong, then nothing is ever accomplished. When we do finish a task and then pick it apart to everyone else, it robs them of whatever pleasure they can receive from it.

You know, the only artist I know of Who makes NO mistakes at all is God. His creation is a daily blessing. Every new little baby is a masterpiece of His creation. We should take great joy in His perfectionism, because He is incapable of making an error. He is all things to all people, able to meet every need and every desire that honors Him.

Doing this mat has been a lesson in humility for me, because I’m not an artist, and this was a difficult task I’d set for myself. Many times I had to pray, “Lord, please keep me patient. Help me not to quit.”

So the mat will go to church with us this morning, and my friend will gladly accept it to be given to someone who is in need.

All things do work together for good when we know that we are working in His will, for His purpose.

The Crow and the Peacock

This is not something I’ve ever done before. This came via my email, and although it doesn’t necessarily count as “Bible study,” the lesson is found all through scriptures. The first verse that came to mind was the one I used yesterday: Philippians 4:11.

https://biggeekdad.com/2016/04/the-crow-and-the-peacock/#.YaP-xI8yk0g.link