Birds of Prey

Last week Bill and I traveled to Topeka, KS for the joint called clergy session.  That meant we were on the road for 6+ hours.  While we were traveling we started noticing a large number of hawks, they were sitting on road signs, fence posts, and in trees.  We also saw several of them flying through the air scanning the ground for their next meal.  We started counting them, but lost track somewhere after 100 individual sightings.  I love watching birds of prey, they seem to glide effortlessly through the air.  They are an important part of the animal kingdom as they eat mice, rats, snakes and other small mammals; and obviously from the number we saw, and how plump many of them were, there are a lot of little critters for them to eat.  As I pondered what this all meant from a faith perspective I was reminded that we have a God who supplies our every need.  We are told in Matthew 6:26, "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?"  We are more valuable because we are God's children, made in His image.  As God's children we are showered with many blessings and some times we store up our treasures.  I believe we need to have a financial cushion for emergencies and to provide for our future, but we  should also share with those in need out of our abundance.  Romans 12:13 tells us, "Share with God's people in need.  Practice hospitality."  I pray this week you will know that your Father cares for you, just as He cares for all his creation.  Then because you know God's care, that you will help those in need by sharing out of what you've been blessed to receive.

Funny moments

I do not own any pets.  First of all I am not home much - in fact I'm on the road alot and I don't feel it is fair to own a pet when I'm not around to care for it.  Second, I am allergic to cats and so they are out of the question for me, much to my husband's dismay.  Third, the kind of dog I want really isn't a house dog or even an in town dog, so the only time I would own a dog would be if I were living in the country and that doesn't seem likely any time soon as a Pastor.  Fortunately where I live now I am surrounded by neighbors who own pets, well maybe it's fortunate - there are some nights when the dogs are barking and I'm trying to sleep that it might not be so fortunate.  Anyway - my closest neighbors have three dogs.  Two duschand's and one black lab.  The duschands are so funny - they act all big and tough, especially the male and yet if I approach them they start back peddling quickly.  Too funny to watch.  Then there is the lab, she is a little over a year old and has finally grown into her giant feet.  She is still all puppy though and has no concept of when to slow down or put on the brakes so she won't literally knock you over.  She is a very loving dog, but she is also somewhat of a criminal.  Let me explain:  her owners have showed up at my door on more than one occasion to ask me if whatever item they happen to be holding in their hands or arms belongs to me.  Their black lab loves to come over to the house and carry off all sorts of things.  She's managed to turn over the huge rock that had the spare house key duct taped to the bottom of it and chew off the duct tape and carry the key and key chain home to show her owners.  She carried off two clay snowman luminaries I had on the front porch.  She chewed 9 different holes in a 100 foot extension cord at Christmas time.  She's carried the grill brush off on more than one occasion.  I have found some of the larger landscaping rocks tumbled out into the middle of the yard.  She is just very curious and very strong.  I had to laugh as I watched her one day from the dining room window.  She came up on the back steps and put her head through the rails to once again reach for the grill brush that hangs from a shelf on the side of the grill.  As I mentioned she's snagged that item before.  As I watched her she got the grill brush in her mouth and tried to pull it through the porch railing.  This time however she didn't have the right angle and so the head and handle of the brush kept getting stuck on the rails.  She would set the brush down on the shelf of the grill, cock her head a little, pick it back up in her mouth and try again with no success.  She tried this 5 times that day.  Each time she'd tilt her head a little further one direction or another but she couldn't quite get that darned ole grill brush through the rails this time.  She finally gave up and as she went down the stairs to leave the back porch she was literally shaking her head side to side as we sometimes do in disbelief.  I had to laugh because I could just imagine her thinking to herself; well darn it, I've done that before, why didn't it work this time?  It will be interesting to see what else she decides to "steal" in the future.  Fortunately the neighbors are always willing to bring back whatever it is she takes.  As I considered how this all related to faith it made me realize how Satan works to steal from us.  He steals our joy, our time, our health, our energy.  Unlike the neighbors black lab though, he won't give up.  He will work at it until he has stolen everything he can to make us feel unworthy and unloved and of no value.  On the flip side of that I have to tell you that Jesus will restore all that the enemy tries to take away.  Just like my neighbors who always try to redeem the acts of their black lab, either by returning or replacing the items their dog steals; Jesus will redeem all the acts of our lives that have caused us to sin.  He will restore us to wholeness as his beloved children.  He replaced the need for punishment for our sins with his death upon the cross... he has overcome death and has defeated Satan.  When we call upon the name of Jesus and claim his love in our lives; when we grow in our faith by putting our trust in Jesus; we will leave the enemy walking away like the neighbor's black lab - shaking his head side to side wondering, why getting under our skin didn't work, it's worked in the past.  We can, through Jesus, defeat the enemy.  Thank you Jesus for your redeeming, restoring work in our lives.          

Glorious Day

My husband Bill travels every week to the two churches he serves about and hour and 45 minutes north of where we live.  To get to them he has to go past a large lake and for the last few weeks he's been calling me to give me updates on the wildlife he sees on the trip.  The last three weeks he's been able to add Eagles to the list of the things he normally tells me - you know deer, coyote, hawk, owl.  Part of the reason for the Eagles is the season.  Right now it is winter and the ice is frozen on the majority of the lake, with a few areas of open water.  Waterfowl are also present on the lake at this time although in reduced numbers because of the cold temps.  Today my husband suggested we take the time to drive to the lake and look around and see if we could spot any eagles.  I was more than ready to take him up on his offer since I love catching a glimpse of these majestic birds and since I'm a amateur photographer as well.  Besides the temperatures were predicted to be in the 40's today and who wouldn't want to be out in the middle of winter on a 40 degree day?!  We live near the Middle Loup in the Sand hills region of Nebraska and Merritt Reservoir was our destination.  On the journey North this morning we spotted several deer and witnessed one doe that cleared a barbed wire fence by at least a good three feet.  That was amazing in and of itself, but then we had our first eagle sighting.  The bird was in a tree near the North Loup River which is approximately half way between our starting point and our final destination.  When we were about 4 miles south of Merritt, Bill pointed to a tree where we had previously spotted a huge nest and guessed that it might be an eagle nest and we were pleasantly surprised to see a pair of eagles, one sitting on the nest and its mate sitting on a branch in the same tree but out far enough to have a good view of all the surroundings.  To say I was excited is an understatement.  Then we came around a curve in the road beside the lake and spotted two more eagles out on the ice.  We had to stop at the trading post and purchase a park permit to get any closer to the water, but it was worth every penny.  Not only did we spot 7 more eagles, but we were able to follow bobcat tracks in the sand, listen to the lake groan and gurgle as the ice heaved several times while we were there due to those warmer temps.  And we got to see an ice jamb phenomenon in one of the bay's.  With the sun hitting the many different jagged edges of ice, it was quite a spectacular view.  We also saw two porcupines in that same bay, just a little further down from us.  We kept our distance, but honestly I'm not sure they were even aware of our presence.  They were just out doing what we were, enjoying some sunshine and fresh air.  We pulled into one of the camping areas and found enough downed wood to start a fire in a fire pit and enjoyed the lunch I had packed.  What a delightful and glorious day for so many reasons.  The most important for me next to spending time with my husband, was seeing God's hand at work.  Every time I am outdoors and look around me I'm am filled with awe at how creative our God is.  He is the one who set the seasons in place when he created the sun and moon and the stars.  He is the one who gave us light when he separated the light from the darkness and called one day and one night.  He is the one who created all the creatures and the plants that we were able to see today.  Thank you Lord for the gifts of sight, hearing, and smell so I could experience the Glorious Day you had in store for me today.