The Sign of the Blue Birds

"If you'll sneak up on them and sprinkle some salt on their tails, you can catch 'em".

We had moved to our new home only months before and the girls and their daddy were watching all of the birds in our back yard and the connecting field.

Our 5 year old Daughter # 1, loved birds and the thought of catching one was very intriguing to her. So, out came the salt shaker and the chase was on.

Daughter #1 has always loved blue birds in particular. After their first born arrived almost 11 years before, they were told they had only a 5% chance of having another child. She could hardly believe it when the doctor said they were expecting. As she anxiously walked through their home, contemplating what they had just found out, she couldn't help but wonder if she really was pregnant and if so, would she carry this baby to full term. They hadn't seen blue birds around their home but as she looked out that day, there sat a blue bird...a sign to her that all was well.

Recently they contemplated selling the home they had lived in for almost three decades. They prayed about it; talked about it and still there were doubts. One particular morning, full of doubts, Daughter #1 looked out their French doors and there sat a beautiful blue bird. They hadn't seen blue birds there in a very long time.

As they searched for a new home one in particular seemed to be just what they were looking for. While walking through it, she looked out the big glass doors and there, with the sun shining on it's beautiful wings, sat a blue bird.

They purchased the home and while the carpenters finished up the last bit of work so they could move in, doubts would creep in occasionally. After all, their other home was where they had raised both of their boys.....so many wonderful memories. Walking through their new home and still wondering if this was the right choice, again, there was a blue bird just outside the window.

They moved in about two months ago and just this past week, Daughter #1 said to herself,

"I haven't seen any blue birds lately. I wonder why."

Intending to water their flowers on the deck, she headed to the glass doors. And, you guessed it, two blue birds took flight as she opened the door.

As she and I discussed this via FaceTime this week, we realized that we don't hear God speak verbally, but we hear Him speak within our heart. We don't see God's face, but we do see God. We see Him in many things, including blue birds.
“Who doesn’t know that the Lord does things like that? Ask the dumbest beast—he knows that it is so; ask the birds—they will tell you; or let the earth teach you, or the fish of the sea. For the soul of every living thing is in the hand of God, and the breath of all mankind." Job 12:7-10 (TLB)

Have You Ever Been Wrong?

Have you ever been wrong about something or someone?

I don't think my good friend, Mava Fout, will mind me sharing this.

"We had a new girl in my class today and she's pretty."

"Oh, really, what's her name?"
"It's Mava Iva Jean."

I think this was first or second grade, I can't remember for sure but one thing I was sure of was her name.

" So, Jean is her last name?" my daddy inquired.

"Yep.......Mava Iva Jean, and she's pretty."

"Well, I don't guess I know anyone with the last name of Jean who lives in our area. They must have just moved here. I'll see if I can find out a bit more about them," said my dad, and he would.

My dad was always good about checking out the kids I wanted to be friends with. And, it wasn't just when I was in grade school. I remember one time in particular when I was a junior in high school, he checked out a friend and I was a little embarrassed.

You see, I had met this boy through FFA-FHA regional meeting. We kept in touch for a time afterward and he asked if he could come and take me to a movie. Before I was allowed to go, my daddy drove all the way to Lead Hill, where he lived, and inquired about him and his family. I was given permission to go to the movie with him if we came straight home afterward, which we did.
As it turned out, my daddy did some checking about this Mava Iva Jean and informed me that her name was Mava Jean Ivie and her daddy was a painter.

But........I was so sure I had her name right....

My first opinion of one young man who sat behind me at a basketball game one night wasn't good. He kept pestering me and being quite obnoxious actually. He wasn't someone I thought at the time I wanted to get to know. How wrong I was........this year I will have been married to him 59 years.
How often have you been so very certain about someone that you formed an opinion you weren't willing to change? How often have you missed out on a friendship just because a friend told you something about someone and you believed them without checking it out? Or, your first experience with them wasn't the best.

"A fool does not care whether he understands a thing or not; all he wants to do is show how smart he is." Proverbs 18:2 (GNV)

Was God's Creation Always Good?

The other day Tim Kaine said God saw what He created and it was good. Tim, yes, at one time God saw His creation was good. But, that was before sin entered in. And, He didn't always think what He created was good.

Posting Twice

I don't usually post twice on my Facebook page in one day but I wanted to share this before the news media begins bringing in the results of the voting.

" I feel sure there will be a lot of fraud going on in this election", I said to myself a bit ago " and there will be a lot of disappointed and angry people no matter who wins." Then, I had an ah-ha moment..........

No matter how many predictions in the hours after the polls close; no matter how much fraud; no matter how many hanging chads; no matter how many ballots are lost or how many people voted multiple times....... It doesn't even matter how many people vote illegally because the person that God has chosen to serve as our next POTUS was chosen even before the earth was formed. God has a purpose for ALL things including this election.

Yes, God knew when you and I would be born. He chose who our parents would be. He knew the exact minute we would take our first breath and when we would take our last. And, he knew when the next POTUS would breath their first and last............

I just pray that we can all accept the choice God has made.
Never forget............God is in control of all things.

“Before I shaped you in the womb,
I knew all about you.
Before you saw the light of day,
I had holy plans for you:
A prophet to the nations—
that’s what I had in mind for you.” Jeremiah 1:5 (The Message)

In This Month of Thankfulness

In this month of thankfulness, I'm thankful the election is finally over...... I pray that all of us will try to accept the outcome even though many of our friends and family are not fans of the new President. So, I'm going to put the ugliness and name calling of the election behind me and be thankful for the blessings that I have. I hope others will do the same.

First of all, I'm thankful God gave me the best husband in the world 58 years ago ! Not only a wonderful and godly husband but he is a wonderful father and grandfather. If I could grant wishes, I'd wish that everyone of my friends could have a spouse like mine.

I'm thankful for our home. I'm thankful that, with my husband, we established a Christian home for ourselves and our children. I'm thankful that God has always provided a home for us from our first apartment, to our home in town for 21 years, to our home in Pleasant Valley , where we have lived for nearly 30 years. I believe with all my heart that so goes the home, so goes the nation. I pray that everyone will consider the importance of providing a Christian home for their families. It's never to late................

God blessed us with beautiful daughters and two wonderful sons-in-law who love them unconditionally. Our grandchildren are the loves of our lives. God has blessed us with five wonderful, talented grandchildren, three grandchildren-in-law and all of them are Believers . John Clark (and Ashley), Catelyn Elizabeth (and Luke), Christen Elyse and (Malachi), Joel Cameron and Genna Grace we couldn't be more proud of the people you are. And, most recently, we are thankful for a new g-grandson, now almost four months old. We know God has a wonderful life in store for each of you. And, we pray He will allow your Granddad and I to watch it all unfold.

I am thankful for our friends. We have so many lifelong friends; friends we grew up with and still keep in touch. Friends we have developed through our churches over the years; all the wonderful friends we have made through our children and grandchildren's friends, and finally through the friends I have found on social media;especially through Facebook, where so many of you have been so supportive of my feeble attempts at writing.

I'm thankful for our pastor. He does not compromise the truth of God's word. I'm thankful for his family and for our church family. A person can be a Believer and not be involved in a church. But, we all need the encouragement and fellowship of other believers. And, we need to honor God by following His command of not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together. I encourage all of you who do not have a church home to visit Grandview Baptist Church. There is a place of service there for you.

Yes, God has been very, very good to me. He has blessed me far more than I deserve and I continue to be thankful to Him every day for His faithfulness.

"You’re my God, and I thank you.
O my God, I lift high your praise.
Thank God—he’s so good.
His love never quits!" Psalm 118:29 (The Message)

Please, God, Unite Us

My prayer is that God can bring about a uniting of the division that is now rampant across our country. Both of the top two candidates who were in this race, along with those of the lesser known parties, are all sinners, as are we. The finger pointing; condemnation; hate; ingratitude; disregard for the things that our country was founded on , has brought us where we are today as a nation. We are entering into another "unknown path" just as we did eight years ago with the first black president. 

Now, we are entering an era with a president , who is not a politician, but a businessman. Today, none of us know where the "unknown path" will lead us but I just pray that it leads us back to God.

So, where do we go from here? I think it's up to us as Believers to show forth what we believe to those who are angry, hurt, upset, etc.. at the outcome. Bashing shouldn't be an option of a Believer but it is.........I'm one of those who is guilty of that. We need to all remember it could be the Trump supporters who were on the losing side of the election. It could be the Trump supporters who are angry, hurt, upset, etc. As I have said in some of my postings, God knew before the world was formed who would sit at the desk in the Oval Office in January of 2017. He has a purpose for that person just as He has a purpose of all of us. How 'bout we set out to find what our purpose is now and try to make this world a better place so that unbelievers will see that the heart we profess to have for God and our country are the real thing.

One morning after Jesus spent the night on a mountainside praying to his Father, He came down the next day and chose his twelve disciples. Then He began to teach them,along with a great number of people from Jerusalem. If you read the 6th chapter of Luke, you will find a lot of things we should be doing. One of the things He taught them is something we need to be mindful of today and everyday no matter who or what we are dealing with.

"Do to others as you would have them do to you." Luke 6:31

Hatred in Our World

There is still so much hatred in our world. Thousands of people using their distaste for our president elect to burn, riot and destroy. Are they protesting against the man himself or against the millions who put him in office? I pray that the destruction will cease and those who are protesting will realize that we, the taxpayers, will have to pay for the destruction they are causing.

I am thankful that today we can turn our thoughts away from the election for a while and consider those who are responsible for our freedom.

I see the faces of loved ones on your pages; some returned to join their families and some were lost to a cruel war. I'm thankful for the many years my husband served during peace time with the 142nd Field Artillery. I am thankful he didn't have to see combat on a foreign field but I know he would have gladly gone should the need have arisen.

War is a horrible thing. It's something that has been waged since early times. Genesis 14:14-16 tells that Abram heard a relative had been taken captive, he called 318 men to pursue and attack. They were successful and returned the relative.

What should we do during wartime? First of all, we must pray for our government leaders as well as our military leaders that they will look to God for answers. We need to pray for the safety of our military and for the families they leave behind. We need to pray for those men and women who have returned; some so shattered physically and mentally, they have to live on the streets. And, more than anything, we need to pray for the return of the Lord when there will be no more war.
In God's word, we find the Lord talking to Isaiah about Judah and Jerusalem. The Lord gave Isaiah a promise.

"The Lord will settle international disputes; all the nations will convert their weapons of war into implements of peace. Then at the last all wars will stop and all military training will end." Isaiah 2:4 (TLB)
Let's continue to pray for peace....................
http://www.loc.gov/vets/stories/ex-war-home-release2.html