By this all people will know...

I use every resource at my disposal to identify this heron whose image I captured this weekend as he waded in and out of the water and snatched a blue-tipped damsel fly out of the air.

Every bird identification tool I use confirms he's a tricolored heron - from the white plume on his head to his overall contrasting plumage, but that yellow on his chest and abdomen throws me. Every resource I've referenced indicates that plumage should be white, not yellow, yet, he's clearly a tricolored heron.

Years ago, we entered a church where we were warmly greeted by a gentleman wearing a kilt and whose graying hair was fashioned into two long braids that hung down to his waist. It was an introduction to a church and worship service that was foreign to us in many ways.

We recognized elements in this church that were clearly Christian - from the pastor's bible-based message to the music and order of worship, but other characteristics, though not contrary to Scripture, were simply outside our experiences and the Christian worship service mold we knew. 

There are a multitude of differences in the ways we, as those who call ourselves Christians, look and work and live and worship that are outside our individual experiences.  

I pray that my distinctions still point clearly to a life in Christ and the truths of Scripture as I endeavor to hold onto the very words of Jesus in my relationships with others. 

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

John 13:34-35

In all kinds of weather...

...we'll all stick together.

There are no strangers in Gator Nation.

Rain or shine. Win or lose. We wrap arms around those near us, sway and sing - declaring our unity through thick and thin.

And I think of the Body of Christ - the family of God - and how there should be no strangers.

That we wrap our arms around those near us and "in all kinds of weather we'll all stick together."

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. Colossians 3:12-14 ESV

{Photos - Gator Baseball March 2012}