Breathless expectation...

Though there would seem little hope that I'll discover something new and exciting pushing through the bone-dry ground on my daily walks around Pollywog Creek, I haven't stopped looking. I've learned to expect surprises and lessons from nature in my walking times in conversation with God. He never ceases to amaze me with treasures big and small. It might be in the glorious display of sunlight as it streaks through the pine trees or in a tiny insect that I could not see without my camera as it savors the sweet nectar of a common wildflower. Yesterday I was sad to discover that the loggerhead shrike family was no longer living in one of the tall pine trees in our pasture, but as I continued to walk across the clearing, I thought I heard them in a neighbor's overgrown pasture across the road. The baby birds chirped continuously, but all I could see of them was the rustling of the leaves on a small scrub oak near the fence line. It would take me a while to get to them, but I left our pasture in hopes of getting a closer look. The baby birds were startled by my approach, and all four of them scattered out of the scrub oak and onto the limbs of a small pine tree nearby. Sensing danger, they immediately began calling for help. I had seen the adult shrikes flying about and knew they were nearby, but unlike their previous attempts to scare me away, they ignored the cries of their little ones and let me get as close as the fence allowed. For these babies to have flown from the top of the tall pine tree in our pasture to where they were, I knew that the time for leaving the safety and security of the nest was probably very near. Like all good parents, these shrikes were likely giving their babies the opportunity to fend for themselves in the way baby shrikes need to if they are going to mature and thrive in the future. These are the last of the shrike photos - for a while anyway. I promise. It's just that babies are so darn cute - except maybe rattlesnake babies - and the lesson here was just too good to pass up. I, too, have a baby perched out on the very edge of a limb - spreading her wings to fly. This quote from yesterday's My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers pierced my heart when I read it and has resonated with me since...

"To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, not knowing what tomorrow may bring. This is generally expressed with a sigh of sadness, but it should be an expression of breathless expectation."

Emily was offered the congressional internship in DC for the fall. First she flies to Rwanda, then DC. And then? So many uncertainties that in the natural I'd foolishly and vainly want to make certain for my "baby bird" and me, but trusting instead in the certainty of God, I can look not only at today, but at all the days ahead, with "breathless expectation."

Loggerhead Shrikes...

Despite gusty winds and my lack of an adequate zoom, I was able to capture better photos of the four loggerhead shrike fledglings, as well as one of the adults gathering insects for the nest in the pasture yesterday afternoon.

Winter is our normal dry season, but we are experiencing a severe to extreme drought here on Pollywog Creek. The dry ground crunches under our feet as we walk through the pasture and the open field toward the road, and the fire danger is very high all around us.

Only drought resistent vegetation and a few wildflowers and native plants along the banks of the pond and creek are surviving. This lack of normal spring flora is made even more depressing by our reluctance to replace the landscaping we lost in this winter's back to back freezes until the forecast for a wet season comes into view.

In other words, there's not much to look at right now on Pollywog Creek, and we're praying for rain.

Books::free books and a critique...

Our lifegroup finished reading and discussing Unpacking Forgiveness last week, and what an excellent study it was. Most of us came to realize that even as mature Christians we have held onto beliefs about forgiveness that are not Biblical, and that realization challenged and motivated us to dig deeper into the Scriptures for the proper understanding. Unpacking Forgiveness is a book for everyone, especially those of us who don't think we need it. The author of Unpacking Forgiveness, Chris Brauns, is hosting a fantastic Summer Book Blast, with an opportunity to win one of 10 books including a calf-skin ESV Study Bible that retails for $239.99, or 1 of the following:

2 signed copies of Unpacking Forgiveness 2 copies of, What He Must Be if He Wants to Marry My Daughter, by Voddie Baucham, 2 copies of Don’t Waste You Life, by John Piper, 2 copies of What is a Healthy Church?, by Mark Dever, and 2 copies of Worldliness, by C.J. Mahaney.

Don't tell Louis because he just bought one for me at Christmas, but World Magazine is offering a free hardcover ESV Study Bible to new subscribers. (HT - Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds) While I am on the subject of books, Mary DeMuth critiqued a pitch to my work in progress last week. If you are a writer "wannabe", I hope you subscribe to Mary's blogs. Not only is she an excellent writer of fiction and non-fiction, her encouragement and inspiration for other writers is the best.

By the way, did I mention that God willing I am going to Texas in less than two weeks, and that Emily is going to Rwanda this summer and maybe DC in the fall?

Photos - Pollywog Creek the last weekend in April. The second photo is a collage of Loggerhead Shrike (or Butcher Birds). They have a nest with what I think are 4 fledglings atop one of the very tall long-leaf pine trees in the pasture and without a good zoom on my camera, those were the best photos of the babies that I could get. Whenever I ventured close to the tree, one of the adult loggerhead shrikes would swoop down and try to avert my attention from the babies.

Saturday Photo Hunt - Protect(ion)...

After attending a college baseball game earlier this week, I had decided that my entry for this week's theme would include a photo collage of protective baseball gear - batting helmets, chest protectors, leg pads, and even the foul ball net behind home plate. Then this interesting critter wearing his own form of protection wandered through Pollywog Creek... Though it's not my typical colorful offering, I could not resist these photos of a Gopher tortoise (Gopherus polyphemus) - a threatened species in Florida requiring protection. The gopher tortoise (often incorrectly referred to as a gopher turtle) is North America's only native tortoise. Most gopher tortoises live in the dry sandhills of Florida, but they can also be found in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and extreme parts of South Carolina. A face only a mother could love, don't you think? When I discovered him, this gopher tortoise was in the shade of an oak tree at dusk, and because I could not move or touch him, I had to be content with the lack of good light for a quality photo...and by morning he was gone. Hugs and thanks to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "protect(ion)" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is "walking".

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This will come as no surprise to many of you...

...but for the record I'll make it official - I am an air-head.

I've considered lately, with a bit of anxiety I might add, the possibility that I have early onset dementia, but the truth is that my air-headedness is nothing new - and in that I find great relief. I've noticed that my air-headedness is selective. I have the ability to forget to do things that: (a) I REALLY don't want to do, (b) require too many steps to accomplish, (c) are a change in well-established routines, and (d) ONLY have to do with me.

Let me illustrate. If I really, really, really don't want to do something, I will honestly forget to do it. Quite some time ago, I was chosen to be part of the first open-heart surgery team at a hospital where I worked in the intensive care unit. It will please my readers to know, I'm sure, that I was not air-headed as a registered nurse. I took pride in my professionalism and paid close attention to every detail. I loved nursing, my co-workers, and my patients, but I did not love public speaking. When the hospital administration scheduled me to speak to a group of other hospital nurses about my experience as the ICU open-heart recovery nurse, I simply forgot to show up. Honest.

 

And if a task has too many steps and I don't have everything I need on hand to complete them, I often forget to continue. It isn't that I don't want to complete them, I just get bogged down in the middle, other projects and events come along to distract me, I lose valuable components, and then I forget to finish what I started way back when. My illustrations are too numerous to mention.

My friend Jane and I work together to help an elderly widow friend in our community. Once a week we help her get a shower and clean her house. Occasionally we also take her to physical therapy, the doctor's office or hair appointments. Once the schedule has been determined, I have no problem remembering who is doing what when, but if we change it, I'm lost. Just a few weeks ago Jane needed me to take our friend to physical therapy on a day she was scheduled to do so, and I totally forgot. Totally. I'm determined to not let that happen again. I plaster my computer screen with sticky notes the night before and have my google calendar send me an email and special alert message. A last minute change in the schedule for this week meant that today I needed to take our friend to physical therapy and to the doctor's office afterwards for a B-12 shot. I had to laugh when early this morning I read the reminder message I had written last night: "Take JT to PT then to DR to get SHOT." Considering the consequences of getting shot, Casey wondered if the PT might be pointless.

 

Which brings me to my final and most embarrassing air-headed illustration. I truly pay very little attention to myself. I forget when I take medications, when I need to make appointments, how long my contacts have been in (30 days is good), and apparently, which contact lens goes in which eye. Yesterday I had a regularly scheduled 6-month eye appointment during which it was discovered that my distance vision, which has never been good, was so bad that I wouldn't pass a driver's license test, all because sometime over the last 6 months I switched the lenses and began wearing the contact for distance vision on my dominant eye and the contact for near vision on the eye I was supposed to be wearing the distance vision lens.

 

I can explain. I really can, but it's a long story, and though my eye doctor and his staff assured me that I am not the first person to do this, I do wonder if after I left the office they looked at each other and said, "What an air-head!"

Remembering...

After reflecting on the scriptures and message from today's sermon this afternoon, I contemplated the week ahead as I often do - with my calendar journal, weekly schedule, and one of mother's devotionals. Mother annotated her devotionals, recording important events like birthdays, trips, and visits from family and friends, as well as underlining passages that spoke to her in a special way. Mother's method of annotation is one I have adopted with my own devotionals and hope that they will be as meaningful to my family in the future as my mother's devotionals are for me today. As I prepared my schedule for the coming week, I glanced through my mother's devotionals to not only catch a glimpse of her thoughts in years past, but as a reminder of upcoming important family events that I might otherwise overlook. Hardly a day passes that I don't remember and miss my mother, but especially Easter and April 19th - the day my mother died just four days after Easter that year. There are many things that I miss about my mother, but her hugs are at the top of the list. What I would give for a hug from my mother today. *Photo - A portion of the entry for April 19 in one of my mother's devotionals; my grandcat Nicky on the porch cuz he's just so cute; the backyard swing where I reflect, contemplate, read and drink coffee; my ESV Study Bible and sermon notes.

So here's what I've been thinking...

In light of my "tea party" posts both here and on the porch, I've been thinking about the issues that concern me, particularly the use of tax dollars to pay for abortions and the bent towrd socialized medicine that brings with it the increasing possibility of euthanasia and assisted-suicide. These are the issues that most motivate me to be proactive in the political arena - to speak for those (the unborn and the elderly) who cannot speak for themselves. For a variety of reasons, I have chosen to keep political discussions on the porch, but here's what I've been thinking...I'm willing to speak out against the injustices I see in the government, but is my passion and energy misplaced? Kevin DeYoung is doing an excellent and thought-provoking series on "High Places" and his post today on the "Idolotry of Youth" resonated with me on many levels, but particularly in his remarks about the elderly in the church...

"Because we have many internationals in our church, I have become more aware of how little my American culture encourages honor for parents and respect for our elders. Sadly, we see this in too many churches where youth ministry is everything and seniors ministry is practically nothing....We have coddled kids when they should be challenged to do more for themselves, while we have not given enough help to the elderly when they really can’t do as much on their own."

Is that not the injustice that should call me to action - not the misuse of tax dollars, but the use of tithes and gifts to cater to the youth at the expense of the elders? That's what I've been thinking.

*Photo - the fog lifting (!) on Pollywog Creek early this morning.

A week of favorites...

...wildflowers dripping with dew We attended the Ft. Myers Tax Day Tea Party yesterday. If you're interested in photos and commenting on that topic, a link to those photos are on the porch. (EDITED - I probably posted that a bit too quick and edited it to clarify some issue.)

A few more...

...the white mock bishop's weed along the edge of the pond ...the pine tree reflections on the pond's early morning stillness ...the pine tree "crosses" at Easter ...the delightful aroma of jasmine that drifts through the windows of my study and lingers in the heavy morning air

In my morning prayers I've been asking God to show me the Scriptures I need to be meditating on now that the season of lent has passed, and as I wrote today's memory verse in my scripture memory journal, I realized that three of the eight verses I've recorded for this year are from I Peter. I Peter must be where God wants me to sit for a while. Don't you think?

I think I'll begin by listening to the reading and following along with the ESV Online Study Bible (which I highly recommend and you can try for free here) this morning.

What about you? Has God led you to a particular book or passage for study and meditation?

A few springy delights...

...the pure white wild blueberry blossoms in the thickets by the creek ...the bottle-brush under the scrub oaks by the road bursting with red bristles ...the male cardinal singing in the sweetgum tree outside the back porch ...the cottontail rabbit bravely hopping out of the thickets long before dark to munch on the green grass in the shade of the azaleas

In harm's way...

A graduate of the United States Merchant Marine Academy ('05), our oldest son Nick is a licensed merchant mariner and a commissioned officer in the U.S. Navy Reserves. The Somali pirate attacks on the Maersk-Alabama hit home for us, and as the events unfolded, we communicated with Nick often - bringing him up to date on the latest news. The captain and civilian crew and their families were in our constant thoughts and prayers, and it was with tears of great joy that we rejoiced in Captain Phillips' dramatic rescue yesterday afternoon.

During the four years midshipmen are students at Kings Point (the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), they must spend over 300 days at sea on U.S. flag ships completing Sea Year Projects in engineering and navigation before they can sit for their Coast Guard licenses at the end of their senior year and graduate from the Academy. Though it was thankfully not the case, it would not have been surprising to learn that Kings Point cadets - as they are called when they are at sea - were aboard the Maersk-Alabama.

During Nick's sophomore year at Kings Point in the winter of 2002-2003, he spent approximately 100 days at sea on a container ship much like the Maersk-Alabama making voyages between New York, Charleston, and various ports in the Mediterranean Sea. The photos above were taken when we caught up with his ship in Charleston just before Christmas that year. Though port security was tight, we were cleared to tour the ship and briefly observe the logistically challenging tasks of unloading and loading containers. Port security has increased significantly since then, and we would not have that opportunity today.

Captain Phillips and his crew knew the dangers they faced in the hostile waters of the Indian Ocean, and most certainly also knew that many successful pirate attacks have not had positive outcomes. After giving himself up to the pirates in exchange for the safe release of his crew, Captain Phillips must have considered that his own rescue would be nothing short of miraculous. His personal sacrifice makes me think of this verse from John chapter 1...

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

...and I praise God for Captain Phillips, the United States Navy, and this amazing story on Easter Sunday.

Because you ask...

But we paid just a little over $300 for it over a year ago... My Camera And here is a bit more about how I use it... A question and answer

Lent::Easter Sunday - Christ is Risen...

...He is risen indeed!!!

HE IS GOD! He cannot stay dead. HE IS ALIVE. The true Glory of God shines in the world. The Light has won! The Eternal Light! The Bright Morning Star! The Light of the World! ~ Lenten Lights by Noel Piper

Read the rest...

*Photo - Morning sunlight on Pollywog Creek

Saturday Photo Hunt - Triangle...

I spy triangles, can you see them, too? (Move your mouse over the photos for the answers.) Hugs and thanks to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "triangle" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is: purple.

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Lent::Good Friday

This was the darkest day in history. The Son of God himself was killed by people who weren’t satisfied simply to reject him; they couldn’t stand to have him exist. They thought they could put God out of existence. ~ Lenten Lights by Noel Piper

Read the rest...

Gripped by His love and full of thanksgiving...

Emily thinks Pollywog Creek reminds her of the movie "Snow White". It does appear that a ménagerie of animals are peacefully co-existing here. This morning we watched a black snake slither through the mulch of leaves under one of the sweet gum trees, while doves and fox and grey squirrels picked through the leaves and grass for seed that had fallen from the feeders.

Goldfinches, sparrows, and a green painted bunting ate leisurely at the feeders until they were startled by the playful antics of the squirrels as they chased each other up and down and around the trees. Red-bellied woodpeckers, bluejays, and cardinals took their turns at the feeders, while a mockingbird flew in to drink from the bird bath.

Crows cawed from the top of a pine tree in the pasture, and a neighbor's rooster crowed in the distance. Even the peacocks across the creek occasionally added their harsh cry to the dissonant chorus.

A drake and two female muscovy ducks have been visiting the pond, much to my husband's displeasure, and yesterday, a little green heron perched on a cypress knee while the ducks swam nearby. Late in the afternoon last week, a beautiful red and gray fox walked briskly along the edge of the creek. Just as he turned toward the pond, Emily frightened him away. At dusk, rabbits emerge from the thickets along the creek and squeeze through the fence to munch on the winter grass just outside the back door.

It's no secret that the backyard swing is my favorite place to perch in this "Snow White" set of ours. An Easter basket of good books, a cup of coffee, and delightfully cool weather has made it all the more perfect. John Stott's "The Cross of Christ" has been in my book basket for quite some time, but I've been reflecting at length on passages (like the one below) from its pages more this week than most.

"We can stand before (the cross) only with a bowed head and a broken spirit. And there we remain until the Lord Jesus speaks to our hearts his word of pardon and acceptance, and we, gripped by his love and full of thanksgiving, go out into the world to live our lives in his service." (emphasis mine)

Before I grab my book basket and get comfy on the swing outside, I've been using the online ESV Study Bible to study the Scriptures our church provided for us to read every day this week. I need about an hour every morning to listen, read and study these passages online. I'm so amazed at what I am still learning from familiar passages I have read many times over the years. I'm "gripped by his love and full of thanksgiving."

Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding...

Convicted about how I use my time, I created a schedule for myself that I hoped would keep me moving forward in disciplines and projects that are important to me, but as I mentioned a few weeks ago, it was sabotaged from the very beginning. Determined to make it work, I persevered. Some days I accomplished everything on the schedule and some days I barely scratched the surface, but at the end of most days, I was less than satisfied with my progress. I was much more content and productive when life seemed to flow from one event to another without my micro-planning. Yesterday in one of my conversations with God, I heard myself ask Him, "Why is it that even when I ask You to order my steps that I might accomplish the day's tasks that very little happens according to my plans?" Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding!!!!!!! Can you believe I actually said that?

Colorful, messy fun...

If it isn't dirt piles and snake skins, it's food coloring. There's a reason I keep those old worn out and faded tablecloths. For a two year old, I thought he did a great job. I would have been that messy (and more so) all by myself.

What I might have missed...

 Snake skins, watering cans, and little boy fun...
 Tickling the ivories (don't you just love that ballcap)...
 Chris tickling them, too...
 Christy Nockels (check out her website for a free download), Chris Tomlin, Israel Houghton, and Five Great Kids (Anna, Emily, Britt, Cody, Charlie) who let me tag along.

Such goodness I don't deserve. If all the energy I would need for the week had been given to me in one lump sum at the beginning, I was certain that all of mine had been depleted by Wednesday. The rest of the week loomed ahead with greater demands, and I would have welcomed almost any excuse to stay home alone to rest on any given day. I was so wiped out that there is a good chance that I would have given up my Chris Tomlin concert ticket (gasp) if someone had begged me for it and been willing to drive the girls to West Palm. Oh, but what I would have missed.

Lent::Sixth Sunday...

God made very sure that we could understand who he is, what he is like, and what he wants for us and what he wants from us. He did this by sending his Son, Jesus. Now we don’t have just the written Word, we have the Living Word—a real person. When people watched Jesus, they were seeing God. BUT even God himself, God in person, was rejected. People hated him and rejected his message from God. ~ Lenten Lights by Noel Piper

Read the rest... *Photo - Lenten Roses, Centennial Park, Atlanta, Georgia, March 2009

Saturday Photo Hunt - Stripes...

Stars and Stripes... Pinstripes... Fun in the Florida sun stripes... and Pollywog Creek insect stripes. A "stripes" post from Pollywog Creek on the eve of Holy Week would not be complete without this verse from the 53rd chapter of the Book of Isaiah...

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.

Hugs to TNChick, for her gracious hosting of the Saturday Photo Hunt every week. For "stripe" photos from other Photo Hunt participants be sure to click on the Photo Hunter Banner or the Technorati PhotoHunt tag below. The theme for next week's Photo Hunt is: triangle.

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