Eagle Nest

I'm so excited to share an awesome live cam of an eagle pair's nest in Decorah, Iowa.  I saw the parents change places this morning.  There are three eggs.  It amazes me how carefully they handle the eggs.  I'm told the first one is expected to hatch on or around April 1.  Enjoy watching this marvel of God's creation. 

I tried to embed their code here, but it's not working.  The direct link to it is http://www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles.  

"But those who hope in the LORD
   will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
   they will run and not grow weary,
   they will walk and not be faint."

Isaiah 40:31

Courage

COURAGE

Courage is not the absence of fear,

But the presence of determination.

Courage is shrinking from taking risks,

But forging ahead in spite of the uncertainty.

Courage is trembling like a frightened lamb,

Yet fighting the danger with a lion's heart.

Courage is foreboding the battle of life,

But facing it with a knight's valor.

Courage is suffering from deep hurts,

Yet having the guts to face them and go on.

Courage is not the absence of fear,

But the presence of faith and hope.

© Trudy Den Hoed - published in the 2011 Penned From the Heart.

What does courage mean to you?

In what life circumstance have you needed special courage to move on?

All Creation Praises God

"I'm going out today to look for a robin," I told my husband.  He saw his first robin further south as he was trucking, but I was still craving the sight of one.  So yesterday when the temps rose to the upper 50s, I just had to break free from my winter hibernation.

I looked from side to side as I drove, and I even pulled into a riverside park and walked around, listening, searching.  I heard a meadowlark but didn't see him.  No robin.  I sighed and just soaked up the scenery.  Then my eyes focused on other signs of revival in nature.  Melting snow upriver caused the waters to flood from its sculptured edges, and a lone mallard duck glistened as he swam.  Without any fanfare, praising the God Who created him and gave him life.

I glanced up and spied a squirrel standing like a statute, probably wondering if I was safe or not.  His perked-up ears reminded me of how alert I should be for all the danger surrounding us today, pulling us in, especially how busy we can get caught up in activities and ignore what God has given in His creation to refresh our souls with His faithfulness.

I still had not spied my first robin for this year.  I went ahead and did a bit of shopping, ever vigilant for its sight and sound.  I stopped at the bank drive-through and asked the gal, "Have you seen a robin yet?"  Nope.  Oh well, I guess I might as well head home and hope I see one soon.  I thought how cool it would be if I still saw one before I got home.  I even prayed, "God, will You please show me a robin?"  Then I scolded myself for making such an insignificant request.

About four blocks from home, there he was standing under a bare-branched tree on someone's lawn.  Giddy with excitement, I squealed, "Thank You, God!"  I wiggled a little dance at the steering wheel of my van and sighed with gratitude. 

I saw my first robin yesterday.  I didn't get his picture taken, but he is in the photo memories of my mind under "All Creation Praises God."

What signs of spring refresh your soul?

Spring Follows Winter

“If we had no winter,

the spring would not be so pleasant:

if we did not sometimes taste of adversity,

prosperity would not be so welcome.”

~Anne Bradstreet~

Winter here in the Midwest has overstayed its welcome.  Temperatures well below 0 and snow, snow, snow.  Spirits are sagging.  Will spring ever come?

 

I anticipate the sighting of a robin like an eager child hankering to open a long-awaited gift.  Can I open it NOW?

I yearn for the promising new growth that reminds me that something can look dead and barren, but it's not.  Below the surface, their roots are reaching down to a more solid footing, preparing strength for the spring and summer storms.

Spring and all the new life it brings is appreciated more after winter, especially when the winters have devastated our lives.

How about the seasons in our lives?  Would we be truly grateful for prosperity in our hearts and lives if we never knew what adversity is?  I know I wouldn't.

Yes, I do grumble about this long winter in nature.  Yes, I do grumble about all the winters in my life when there didn't seem to be any sign of life left.  Where are You, God? 

The winters in our lives can be brutal and debilitating, but they are necessary to deepen and strengthen our roots in Christ Jesus.  Through Him, spring and revival will come, all the more refreshing and renewing after a barren winter.  That's a promise.  God's plans for us are for good, not for evil.  The clouds may cover the sun, but the sun is still there.  We may not always "feel" God is with us, but He is.  Faithful and true, He will never, never, never leave us or forsake us.

What is your favorite season?  Why?

Funk is Fear

Sometimes when the writing just won't come, I say "I'm in a funk."  I just don't feel like writing.  I keep procrastinating. 

The dictionary defines "funk" as "a dejected mood," but it also can be "cowering fear; a state of great fright or terror."

Could it be that I get into a dejected mood because of fear?  I'm sure I do.  So what am I afraid of?  Afraid of offending or hurting someone if I speak the Truth.  Afraid that when I speak the Truth, I might not be loving enough. 

The ideas are there, buzzing around in my head, waiting to be released.  Then fear takes over. Someone else can write it better than I can.  I might not say it right.  Perhaps someone will read it differently than I mean it.  And the battle rages on.

The battles are the heaviest when I feel God calls me to write more about how He has freed me from the chains of legalism and abuse.  But in order to do that, I have to dig into the darkness of the past.  I don't like that vulnerable feeling. And sometimes I'm just too tired or too overwhelmed to go there. 

Like Jonah, I fall asleep in the midst of the storm and refuse to listen to God's voice.  So the reality is I am in a funk because I don't want to write what God wants me to write.  I am letting Satan tug on my vulnerable spots of insecurity.  I am refusing to allow God's light to lighten up the darkness and obliterate Satan's lies.  I am stubbornly refusing my precious Savior Who says I can do all things through Him because His grace is sufficient.

As I talk myself through another funk, I picture Jesus with tears rolling down His face as He looks at me.  My child, don't you believe that MY LIGHT is greater than all the darkness?  Don't you trust Me to give you the strength equal to the call? 

I must be the most thankless child in the world.  I want to serve Jesus.  I want to publish His glorious deeds.  Jesus, shine Your glorious and redeeming light into my heart and life.  Please dissipate the darkness and give me the courage necessary to go on in Your Name!

What do you believe God wants you to do, say, or write?

Is fear bogging you down?