Sometimes it’s the little things that make our day a little brighter, like today’s photo from Facebook which is accompanied by this quote: “True happiness is found in making others happy!” I can vouch for that because whoever posted this post made me happy.
This is a Hawaiian Cardinal from Wikipedia. I hope it makes you happy, too. Enjoy your day.
Some of the things that push my happiness button are music and birds. Here is a combination that will make for a very happy Monday.
If you don’t have plans for the weekend, perhaps you could spend time pondering where you have seen a hairdo like this before. This is an Araripe Manakin, and is considered one of the rarest birds in Brazil and the world. Enjoy your weekend and let me know if he reminds you of anyone.
I wish you a day of rest, peace, and the joy of spotting a cardinal or your own favorite bird. Matthew 6:26 says “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns…” Happy Sunday.
Yesterday I saw a different bird in the yard. It looked almost like a Halloween bird, with its black hood, black wings, and a streak of orange on part of its underbelly. It belongs to the sparrow family and yet I’ve never seen it before. It was my pleasant surprise for the day. It’s always nice to see something different in what can be the sameness of many days. Happy Halloween.
“Birds of a feather flock together”. This is a quote that has been around for years, no, centuries. I take it to mean that the same kind of creature prefers the company of its own kind.
This post is about birds but also about the human experience. This morning I woke up feeling a little unsettled with myself…feeling as though my life is not meeting God’s expectations…and wondering just how I am going to remedy that. It was one of those moments where one feels unworthy for whatever reason; not just in God’s eyes but in the eyes of friends and family.
So, I took my feelings to my “prayer chair” which overlooks a garden containing a bird bath, feeder, flowers, and trees. Within minutes the yard was filled with birds. These were not “birds of a feather”. There was a blue jay and a cardinal sitting together on the fence. There were sparrows and a yellow finch quenching their thirst together. A red-headed woodpecker seemed to be teaching his youngster how to get this job done, when the mom showed up and joined in. Two mourning doves were doing their thing on the garage roof; you know what doves are like, billing and cooing all over the place.
There were two birds I didn’t recognize and had never seen before. They were a brownish yellowy color with a touch of orange or red on the back of their heads, and when they spread their wings to fly their backs were all white. I’ll look them up later.
Now I marveled at all this, especially when the cardinal and blue jay came and rested on my deck railing. I was in awe and wondered out loud why I was being treated to such a spectacular show of nature. It’s over now. There’s not a bird in the yard.
This whole scene helped to lighten my mood but the clincher was this. It was time for my daily devotional and when I opened my Bible, this is what I read in Luke 12:24 “Consider the ravens; they do not sow or reap…yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds.”
Birds of a feather? I was happy to see so many different species of feathers this morning, and happier still to receive the message they brought.
Don’t you just love love in all it’s many forms? Happy Sunday!
One day I said to God,
“Please make me more aware.”
And in that instant,
watched a sparrow eat an insect
in mid-air.
How many of us make a list every day? We list our groceries, things to do, appointments to keep, phone calls to make, etc., etc.
Today I’m making a different list…a list of things that make me smile instantaneously…and here it is:
Birds in the birdbath and at the feeder
Squirrels chasing each other up and down trees and along high wires
A toddler toddling
A baby’s laugh
An elderly couple holding hands
An unexpected hug
Children at play
A good news phone call
The instant flash of a red cardinal
A robin’s plump red breast
That’s only ten but I could go on and on. The best part of making this kind of list is that it makes me smile all over again just thinking about these things.
What gives you a sudden smile? Do you have such a list?
Big fat, fluffy, flakes of falling snow are accumulating all around my field of vision which happens to be in Scarborough, Ontario, Canada. Now this is to be expected in the throes of winter but today is April 6th!
The crocuses and daffodils were beginning to smile their way up through the thawing earth, and have had to postpone their journey…for who knows how long?
Snow shovels and salt pails stored away for the next eight months or so are about to be resurrected. Robins were chirping their spring songs and are now hiding in various tree branches.
I’m very happy that God has a sense of humor but would rather he give me something warmer to laugh about.
The One enthroned in heaven laughs; Psalms 2:4
My Precious Life 