He Delights in Delighting!

The drive to Greensboro was uneventful.  Beautiful, yes, with all the rolling hills and green pastures teeming with Holstein dairy cows.  But like I said, uneventful.  My husband had to attend a mass property sale out in the middle of nowhere and I was tagging along … relying on “Sexy Mary” to get us there.  She eventually turned us down a road that seemed a little strange, but then again, we didn’t know exactly where we going; so we followed her lead – for several miles.  During this time, I heard a faint Voice say, “Get out your camera.”  For a moment, I didn’t respond … and then I heard it again.  “Get out your camera.”  So I dug around until I found it in the bottom of my purse and placed it in the cup holder next to me.  As we rounded a bend, my husband pointed up in front and said, “Look at the wild hog.”  And as quickly as he had called attention to the sow, he hit the brakes and said, “I had a feeling this would happen.”  We had hit a dead end – a gate was stretching across the road allowing no further access.  He threw the truck in reverse and began backing up looking for a place to turn around when he heard me yell, “STOP!”  Right there out my window were these little fellows.  FIVE of them! 

Their mother had ventured off into the woods when she saw us, and they were just left standing there all alone, the spackled one chewing  on a pine branch and looking at me with such curiosity.  I began jumping up and down as much as one could do with a seat belt and shoulder strap on, breathless, snapping pictures as fast as the shutter would allow. 

The shoats finally wandered on after their mother but not before I had come completely undone at the sight and close proximity of them.  I began beating my legs and laughing while exclaiming, “God is so cool!  God is so cool!”  And it is so true.  God not only delights IN us, He delights in DELIGHTING us! 

We finally turned around and continued under the new directions of Sexy Mary, but the joy continued to bubble up in me.  As we neared out destination, I turned to my husband and said, “Hey, if Dan wants to know why we’re late, tell him God needed to show your wife some pigs.”

Found yourself on a strange road lately?  Best get out your camera.  God might be getting ready to delight you.  He is so incredibly awesome that way.

Just an ordinary moment…

A Cup Overflowing, 101-120

Life is happening all around us.  The sun rises, the sun sets.  Children play, adults hurry.  Dogs bark, crickets chirp.  Grass grows, leaves fall.  As the character in Peaceful Warrier says, “There’s never nothing going on.”  Question is, do we notice?  And if we do, are we surprised by it?  Do we see it as gift?  Brother Steidle-Rast writes, “Our eyes are opened to that surprise character of the world around us the moment we wake up from taking things for granted.  … Bored and boring adults become excited children.”  I’m waking up and therefore counting.  What about you?

#101  infant lizards on window screens

He's literally only about 3 inches long from head to tail.

#102  lunch with my parents complete with peach milkshakes

#103  a red cedar trunk stretching heavenward in praise -- only now have I noticed its sacred dance

#104  a new haircut

#105  a lone female cardinal – we are one

#106  a week’s worth of laundry – it means my man is home and I am no longer alone

#107  musty antique shops and treasures found

#108  impromptu serenades – given by the watch repairman and his wife to just the two of us: “In the Sweet By and By”

#109  self-evaluation

#110  local honey and the way it feels in the mouth ... smooth

#111  early morning sirens signifying help is on the way

#112  unexpected encouragement ... doubled

#113  a fresh teaching about new wine

#114  front row parking at Wal-Mart

#115  little girl in Mama's heals

#116  a dappled morning sky

#117  mysteries beyond my comprehension

#118  curls on a little boy -- always too focused on the hair in his eyes; today I saw the beautiful ringlets

#119  turning the calendar with an Edwardian Lady -- one more way I count

#120  the scent of a lavender sachet infused into lingerie

Just an ordinary moment teeming with pure gift ....

A Cup Overflowing, 81-100

It is written, “That you have not yet died is not sufficient proof that you’re alive.  Aliveness is measured by degrees of awareness.” Could it be that I barely lived my first 50 years due to lack of awareness?  Am I just now waking up?  Heaven forbid I miss the next 50!  Therefore, I count….

#81  dancing with a grandbaby  -- His little body immediately responds to music!  Oh, that my inner self would be so alive…

#82  blood kin – it runs thick

#83  Jerry Rogers’ life

#84  the reality of 2 Corinthians 1:4

#85  high school friends come to Jesus

#86  much needed rest

#87  late night global communication – Relatively speaking, it wasn’t that long ago when a mother would send her child off in a covered wagon or a sea sailing vessel most likely never to see him or her again.  Thankful for technology…

#88  the way a piano string sings – Concerning the musical instruments, David said, “I made [them] for giving praise” 1 Chronicles 23:5. 

#89  saying goodbye

#90  Sunday morning sinus pressure/headache – that the power of Christ may rest (tabernacle) upon me (2 Cor. 12:9)

#91  anointing

#92  little hands making heavenly music

#93  the orchestral sound of cicadas

#94  morning fire emboldening agatized coral  -- Moses ... Elijah ... GLORY

#95  that God delights in showing clemency

#96  the sound of a summer afternoon rain – complete with thunder

#97  a plane landed ... a daddy home

#98  covenant prisms of light falling across my bed – His mercies are new every morning

#99  for the shepherds in my life who feed me with knowledge and understanding

#100  the assurance that God is

Just an ordinary moment full of grace ...

How to Pray for a Grandson

Long before owls were so popular and the image found on anything from notepads to wrapping paper, my daughter-in-love was given this particular bird as a prophetic word.  And it had everything to do with having a baby.  Thus, “Little Hoot” was conceived and born, quite literally.

It should be of no surprise then that when my husband and I attended the Birds of Prey show at Callaway Gardens a few weeks ago that I was truly excited to learn that the featured bird was the owl.  Preliminary reading had already told me that all raptors have three distinguishing characteristics. 

1)      They all have sharp talons

2)      Their beaks are curved and pointed

3)      They are carnivorous

But of the birds of prey, the owls have three characteristics that set them apart from all the other raptors.

1)      Their keen eyesight

2)      Their acute sense of hearing

3)      Their silent flight

Probably the most striking of all his features is his eyes.  It’s what gives him his “wise” appearance.  They are large and forward facing and may account to up to five percent of the creature’s body weight.  If you or I had the same eye to head proportions that owls have, our eyes would be as big as grapefruits!  And because of the excess rod cells in his retina, he can literally see in the dark.  In fact, all an owl needs to see at night is the light from two stars.  And see he does: ten times greater than you or I, with great telescopic vision.  However, unlike human eyes, the owl’s eyes are stationary, therefore he cannot "roll" or move his eyes – in other words, he can only look straight ahead!  To compensate for this, owls are able to turn their heads around approximately 270 degrees, or about three quarters in each direction, giving the appearance that they can turn their heads all the way around.   

But next to their keen eyesight is their tremendous sense of hearing.  The eyes are in the middle of a disk of feathers, which are highly specialized sound conductors. The owl can flex these facial disks, channeling sound waves to the ears to catch even the faintest of sounds.  On top of that, an owl’s ears are asymmetrically placed.  That is, the right external ear canal may be a different shape than the left external ear canal and each could be located higher or lower on the side of the head. The naturalist giving the show suggested we take two empty toilet paper rolls, place each to an ear and point them in different directions.  (I suggest doing this at night when the neighbors have all gone to bed.)  This design enhances hearing depth perception. 

And lastly, the owl’s ability for silent flight sets it apart from all other birds of prey.  Two different feathers were passed around at the demonstration that afternoon.  One was a hawk’s; the other an owl’s.  No doubt the intricate feather structure of the leading edge of the owl’s wings enables him to fly noiselessly.  As air passes over the feathers, the sound wave is minimized and the sound level of the flapping is reduced to almost nothing.  What a great advantage to approaching its prey.  No wonder the great horned owl is called the “tiger of the air”!

So what does all this have to do with praying for my grandson? 

Everything.  Absolutely everything!

That's why, when I heard of the solid trust you have in the Master Jesus and your outpouring of love to all the followers of Jesus, I couldn't stop thanking God for you—every time I prayed, I'd think of you and give thanks. But I do more than thank. I ask—ask the God of our Master, Jesus Christ, the God of glory—to make you intelligent and discerning in knowing him personally, your eyes focused and clear, so that you can see exactly what it is he is calling you to do, grasp the immensity of this glorious way of life he has for his followers, oh, the utter extravagance of his work in us who trust him—endless energy, boundless strength!

Ephesians 1:15-19

Just an ordinary moment…

A Cup Overflowing, 61-80

In The Life of the Beloved, Henri Nouwen writes, “Gratitude is the most fruitful way of deepening your consciousness that you are a divine choice.”  Could it be that God really, REALLY loves me … and you, and therefore chooses us, and that all this gift-giving is just a result of His passionate pursuit of us?  How will you respond to His pursuit? 

#61  personal temperaments -- they allow me to practice self-control

#62  hard seasons -- for they mold and make me

#63  a good, old-fashioned afternoon nap on the porch

#64  castaway bottles that now color my world -- when I awoke these caught my attention and the sight brought me joy.  It was gift in simple form.

#65  love the 2^nd time around – Her birth certificate says 70.  Her heart says 16.

#66  sweaty hugs

#67  answered prayer

#68  identical twin brothers singing in the park

#69  dreams that bring loved ones in faraway places near

#70  a long distanced phone call and a warm familiar voice

#71  patterns of approaching rain on a hot summer day -- as a new bride, my husband taught me how to see falling rain.  I never want to stop looking...

#72  a season of Sunday morning rests

#73  Camp GG 2012 – That stands for Camp Geezer and G-Nan, and I could have written a thousand gifts on this one alone as our grandson came to spend the week with us.  Nothing brings greater joy...

#74  Priceless art

One for Mommy

And one for daddy

#75  numerous facial expressions that absolutely melt this heart of mine

He loves to "swim"

He loves to eat -- especially frozen yogurt with Geezer

He loves bath time and bubbles

#76  saying goodbye to the dead who now live -- a neighbor across the street while I was growing up and 2 days later, a cousin.

#77  Scotland – One of my sons spent 2 weeks there ministering to young boys at a camp.  To read the miracles taking place gave "Holy Ghost" bumps to this mother.

#78  weariness at night -- for it means I have lived the day

#79  moments with the elder son – I love it when he calls and says, "Hey, watcha doin'?"

#80  memories of Camp GG -- sigh

Just an ordinary moment filled with gratitude...