Tag Archives: God

Birds of a Feather

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“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.

 

 

To Tie the Knot or Not

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I just have to write about these recent love stories I have either heard about or experienced first hand; not first hand for me but for someone close to me. This would cover the two recent weddings I wrote about, Barefoot Over the Bridge and The Unexpected Gift. These weddings involved young people in their twenties, two of my granddaughters, in fact. Both were beach weddings; one bride walked barefoot over a bridge and the other stood with her groom on a huge rock in the sea when the tide was out.

However, there is another wedding that I heard about. This is a couple who have been dating for a couple of years, fell in love and got married also just recently. You’re groaning, right? Who needs to hear about another wedding, right? Well this couple happens to be in their twilight years…she’s eighty and he’s eight-four. The bride made her own dress and looked just delightful (I saw a photo). Her groom was in more casual attire as it was a back-yard wedding. There was no mistaking the look of love on his face as he gazed at his beloved during the photo shoot.

And then I heard of a couple who have been married for sixty-four years, he’s in his nineties and she in her eighties. Every night without fail, hubby leans over and kisses his wife goodnight. “He’s been doing this since we got married,” she told me.

And then there are the couples who choose not to marry but have a deep love for each other. They live together in exactly the same way that they would have had they crossed over a bridge, stood on a rock, or taken vows in a back yard garden…or wherever.

Love and commitment are very evident in the lives of all these people, young or old, large weddings or small, and whether they decided to tie the knot or not.

God bless them all.

 

The Balm, Not the Blister

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Why do we say the things we say

that cut to the core of another’s

very essence…their heart and soul.

Why do we do the things we do

that boldly trample another’s

right to civility and compassion?

Why do we perceive an injustice

that was never the intent

of the friend, the sibling, the parent

the child, to whom we credit the deed.

Why not look into ourselves…

be the healer of the hurts.

Why not walk the high road and be

the balm….not the blister.

©Patricia Ann Boyes

Romans 12:18  If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. NIV

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Little Jolt of Happiness

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“Your cholesterol is too high!” This is what my family physician has been telling me for years. My body will not tolerate statin drugs, and dietary and exercise regimens have not worked, so yes, my cholesterol is too high.

“Your cholesterol is too high!” This from my cardiologist in June.

“So I’ve been told,” was my demure reply.

“Dangerously high!” No demureness on his part. “But I can help you.”

I went home with a new plan involving a new drug…a very expensive drug…which needs to be administered by injection twice a month. I learned how to do this in two hours on June 29th, with the help of a nurse who visited me in my home.

After two doses of this new drug, I had my blood work repeated.

“Your cholesterol is really good!” This from my family physician who took time out of his busy schedule to tell his receptionist to relay this news to me yesterday.

The jolt of happiness that went through me more than made up for the jolt of the medicated needle that is responsible for this wonderful turn of events.

My thankfulness extends not only to my doctor and my cardiologist, but to my insurance plan that covers the cost of this drug.

And thanks be to God, the overseer of my life, for this newest little jolt of happiness.

…Give her medicine. Perhaps she can yet be healed.  Jeremiah 51:8 NLT

Praise the Lord, and pass the medication!

 

A Second Cup of Coffee

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If we were having coffee right now I would ask you how your life has been since we last met. You would tell me of a difficult situation you were dealing with, not knowing how to handle it, when without warning it was resolved to the benefit of all concerned.

If we were having tea right now…because you prefer it to coffee…I would tell you how much a recent lunch with friends meant to me…how I still smile thinking of the camaraderie and affection that was more nourishing than the delicious food.

If we were having coffee right now you would share with me how lonely you are after the passing of your loved one…how the days follow each other in meaningless order and the nights hold nothing but darkness and tears.

If we were having coffee right now I would reach across the table and hold your hand as you struggle to contain your grief. And I would say, “Don’t contain it, let it find its way where it will and be thankful you are alive enough to feel it.” And I would feel your pain.

If we were having coffee right now you would listen while I ranted on one of my pet peeves, like the supermarkets putting a sale price on a display of mixed merchandise, from which you choose an item you’re delighted to find at a reduced price until you get to the cashier and find out what you chose wasn’t part of the sale…grrr.

If we were having coffee right now you would tell me again that you need more faith, and I would tell you that God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life…you can believe that.

If we were having coffee right now…or tea because you prefer it to coffee…we would have enjoyed our time together enough to say, “Let’s do this again soon.”

Until then, may all your problems be resolved, may all your friendships be meaningful, may your times of grief have longer intervals, and for my part…thanks for listening. My load is lighter right now because we had coffee together…or tea, because you prefer it.

 

 

Something Borrowed

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I can’t help once again sharing something that touched me from another person’s blog, so I borrowed this from Matthew Ruttan who writes “UP! Your Daily Devotional”. It is from a piece called The Clock is Ticking posted on July 12th.

I want

  • Someone to not feel alone
  • Someone to laugh and mean it
  • Someone to know God has a plan for their life
  • Someone to serve others and help others serve others.
Do you?
Let’s analyse what Matthew is saying here.
First       Someone to not feel alone…..I feel very sad thinking about the loneliness some people endure on a daily basis…especially those who have just lost a loved one.
Second    Someone to laugh and mean it…..laughter can be so superficial sometimes, that it is good to hear someone have a great laugh that comes from their toes and works it’s way up to the face where it can be a joy for all to see and hear.
Third      Someone to know God has a plan for their life…..so many people don’t know this wonderful fact and therefore miss out on the adventure of living in anticipation of “something wonderful is going to happen”.
Fourth    Someone to serve others and help others serve others…..this is a wonderful antidote for mild depression, melancholy, self pity, self-centeredness and boredom.
There is so much rich material out there that tomorrow I just might use another “something borrowed”.

 

 

Be My Guests

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Today we are to “feature a guest” as #everydayinspiration nineteen. Ideally this guest should be one from the participants of these assignments, but I am choosing to invite all readers as my guests, and instead, feature two people from my favorite church in the world, St. Andrew’s Scarborough. (Everyone has their favorite.)

The first is our Pastor Duncan. Wow! This man uplifts me week after week, and has been the inspiration for many of my writing topics, today’s included. Lately he’s been talking about Jonah and how God got his attention by allowing him to spend three days and three nights in the belly of a big fish. Most people think of a whale as being the only fish big enough to swallow a whole man. Now, you’re thinking what’s so inspirational about that? The crux of the story is that Jonah, as a man of God, was supposed to warn the City of Ninevah to change their disobedient ways or their city would be destroyed in forty days. Jonah didn’t want to have anything to do with saving the sinful city and so refused God’s instructions. Hence the time out in the whale’s gut.

So, what’s that got to do with you and me? Only one thing. We are here to uphold God’s will for a perfect world, and if it means going to our own Ninevah to try to instill some sense into those whose intentional or unintentional behavior takes the lives of others, either physically or emotionally, then so be it. Those are our marching orders. I learned on Sunday that I either start to march or face the fate that Jonah did. God, help me!

The second person to uplift me that day was a soloist from our choir. “I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.” The words were sung with strength, clarity, power and joy. Our singer has recently seen the inside of a whale’s gut…that place of dark unknown. Just two weeks ago she spent three days in hospital when some unknown malady robbed her of her speaking voice, let alone singing voice. She could have begged off Sunday’s commitment citing that episode, but despite her visible nervousness, she got up there and inspired the whole congregation. Wow!

So whether you are face to face with a huge fish or waiting for God to reel you in for His own purposes, I’m delighted that you took this time out to be my guests. I hope you had a whale of a time. oops 🙂