Learning from the Hummers

 As you may have guessed, we are big hummingbird fans. We have been feeding them, and watching them for many years. Some of you know what I mean. They dart about in mid-air, they hover, they fly backwards, they are so small, yet so capable. And, of course they are beautiful.

But, if you have watched them long, you KNOW that these little beauties fight constantly! This morning, just after sunrise, there were 4 (I think) who were fighting furiously around out feeder.

Yes, in that way they are a LOT like us. Maybe that explains some of their appeal. You see there is PLENTY of sugar-water to be had. We keep the feeder well supplied, and when we left town two weeks back, we made sure there was sufficient hummingbird nectar in the feeder.

Yet despite that there will always be plenty of food--they still fight. We have plenty, even too much, and we still fight. Hummers appear to be greedy--just like...well, you know.

Hummers spend/waste a lot of energy fighting to be next at the feeder. Let me assure you, there is plenty of time throughout the day when the feeder has no hummers present. Patience hummers, patience! Patience humans, patience.

Alas, I do NOT expect the hummers, or the humans to change.

L^rd have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Thanks L^rd for your mercy and grace which we ALL need so desperately.

Overlooking the Obvious

 Remember that back in the spring we found a humming bird nest high in a pine out over the lake. We did our best to enlist someone to come take a photo of it for us. We were not successful and a storm eventually removed the nest. Today, 14 Sept Brenda and I had been sitting on the back porch sipping coffee, chatting, and enjoying the day. I was watching a hummingbird float around the pine limbs just above the porch, and there it was--a hummingbird nest!  Go figure.

I am guessing that it had been there since late spring. It might have even been there when we saw the other one. I recognized it, because I had seen the high-high one a few months back, and so I knew how they looked. That bit of familiarity helped me find the new, much closer nest. I tried to take a photo, but my camera just isn't good enough.

A raccoon had found our hummingbird feeder within reach last night, and so had peeled off two of the little plastic flowers that mark the feeder holes. We saw many hummers coming into where the feeder had been previously, then leave with disappointment clearly evident in their little faces.

But that mini-disaster had caused us to look around and see what ELSE the hummers were doing, and that led to our new discovery. Perhaps the DISASTER of COVID-19 will cause us, and many others to look anew at the things around us and discover a MUCH bigger gift than a diminutive hummingbird nest. Perhaps they will discover G^d, Who was always there all along.

Maybe we can eventually get a photo of this nest. 

What a WEEK, what an Opportunity!

 This week has been a doozy! I found out last week that I would be speaking this week 3 times to professors and 2 times to students...in Guatemala.

One of the FEW great things about COVID distancing is that we are able to go places without leaving home. At 1 PM I spoke with a group of faculty from Clemson. Then 2 hours later, I spoke with a group of students in Guatemala.

The attendance has been impressive. the first day we had over 2000 profs who either were live with us or saw the recording of it. The first day with students had over 600 students show up.

Hmm, that NEVER happens in REAL life.

My translator was excellent. She was doing a super job of capturing the emotion I was attempting to interject. She laughed at my gags and jokes. She was terrific.

Thanks be to G^d for this wonderful opportunity to attempt to influence those profs, who are so very influential in their OWN right, and also get to try to influence young people trying to figure out the world.

I LOVE this mission field. I pray that G^d will get folks excited about following Him, and that He will draw many to himself.

Thank you L^rd!

First day of Fall

Today, at some hour, the earth will tilt so that the sun crosses the equator as our Northern Hemisphere tilts slowly away from the sun. The day and night sunlight and darkness will be equal--hence the name, the Fall equinox. Fall begins and the weather will cool.

The summer has flown by, despite the COVID crazies. We have swam a few times at the lake, fished a good deal, gotten some chores done, and mowed the grass over and over.

Of course ALL time flies by these days. the weeks seem to go by as fast as days used to go by.

The seasons are out reminder that things change, and that we grow older, day by day. Looking back, this is my 70th Fall.  Where have they all gone?

Fall is nice in this part of the USA. It leads into a typically mild winter of short duration which leads to another nice weather of Spring.

Soon the leaves will turn.

"So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom." Ps 90:12

Life Review: Mixing Emotion with Running

 I marvel at how the different aspects of human wellness overlap. Here is true story that illustrates this.

In about 1975 or 76, we were stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station with VQ-4, a US-Ballistic-Missile-Submarine communications squadron. Most days, MCPOC (highest enlisted rank) Roger B and I would meet promptly at noon and run a 10-mile loop around the Air Station. One day I was coming back from a mission with my air crew and we landed at Pax.

One of the Maintenance Officers, Lt. Lance S. met me between the aircraft and the hangar. He chewed me out about something with the aircraft. I was his equal in rank, though he was older and more experienced. But, this time he was wrong. It must have been about 1140 AM when this happened, because I didn't have time to even discuss the situation or defend myself, because I had to meet my friend Roger at noon.

I hurried to the gym and quickly changed clothes, whilst fuming with anger. I told Roger what had happened and neither of us said much. I spent about the first 2-3 miles thinking of exactly HOW I was gonna tell off that jerk, Lance. The next couple of miles, I toned down my upcoming speech to a more reasonable level. The next couple of miles, I toned it down more, and by the time I got back to the shower, I had made the very wise decision to say nothing to the LT. After all, I knew he was wrong, and it really didn't matter all that much.

I was telling an interviewer about this recently. The key lesson for me, in retrospect, was the way that the elements of wellness inter-played. A quick reminder, 4 key elements of wellness are: Relational, Emotional/mental, Physical, and Spiritual.

Running 10 miles is definitely Physical. It obviously had a calming, correcting effect on me Emotionally, and it sure helped my relationship wit Lt. S., and with Roger, and with myself. And there is the spiritual component of "a soft answer turns away wrath..." (Prov 15:1), plus the "be angry and sin not for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of G^d." (James 1:19-20) 

So the next time you decide to "tell someone off" try running 10 miles and then see how you feel!

Life Review: Inventions--or NOT

 Last night Andrew and I laser-sighted in a new scope on a rifle. We did it without ANY commercial products, except a laser pointer I use when I give some talks. I used an old Sears "workmate", which was a table-top clamp for working with wood. I bought in many, many years ago. I added to it some adjustable front feet, padded it with old blue jeans, and added an adjustable strap to hold the gun butt against recoil.

Last night, we mounted the rifle on the fabricated rifle clamp, and pointed it at a big pine about 20 yards away. Andrew took my laser pointer and shined it down the empty barrel--no easy task. I marked the tree with a reflector right where the immobile laser hit it. I then moved the sights so that the cross-hairs were right on the reflector. We shall shoot it soon to see if it worked--but it should.

I love being creative and over the years have fabricated several things. This summer we have experimented with a drinkable ice vest I invented. I discovered, by accident, that activated charcoal clothing absorbs odors. And, I invented an automated loader that places heavy objects on the back of my truck, merely by pulling forward 3 feet.

I invented my first climbing deer stand in about 1975 or 76. Subsequently, I invented another one that works as a movable seat up in a tree. I invented the safety harness I still use when hunting, and another that was built into a set of coveralls.

Most often, I used "junk" that I already have or find somewhere to make these creations. That gives me extra pleasure. I am currently thinking of an irrigation system for my flower beds, and so far I am up to about $40 on it. Commercial systems are very pricey.

G^d is an inventive, creative G^d.  As Kepler said it, "Thinking G^d's thoughts after him."

Thank you L^rd for creatively creating us!

Worshipping from Home

 Like many of you, we have been doing our Sunday AM worship via zoom and from our living room. In these days of COVID sequestration, thanks be to G^d for Zoom. We have been to "live" services on two occasions, once when I had some duty to perform in the service, like communion. In Hebrews 10:25 we are told , "not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near."

Now at the time Hebrews was written, Zoom was in its infancy--just kidding. Obviously they HAD to assemble to worship. I have come to value the "meet together" part in a new way. Worship is NOT simply a sermon.  Worship involves being together. Worship involves praying together. Worship involves communion together.

I miss seeing folks that I don't see except at church meetings. I miss those folks.

If you cannot get out, please enjoy Zoom worhsip. If you can get out, "meet together". There's no true substitute for being with the "Body of Christ".

Blessings,

Day Lilies in August?

 We have been pleasantly surprised to have day lilies reblooming in August. Today is 15 August and we have had over a week of blooms, with more still on the way. As most readers will recognize, day lilies are a May-June flower, not an August one. But, we are grateful.

Here are a couple of examples.

I am not sure why G^d put such beauty in the world, and how so much of humanity agrees as to what is beautiful. I think humanity's general agreement, though not perfect, is a good testimony to G^d's design of humans.

Which b rings up a KEY point.  I do NOT understand WHY G^D did a lot of the things He did, but why would I expect to understand?

A two-Verse Sermon Part III

 Here is the final post on the last two verses of Jude. Here is the last verse,

"25 to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time[a] and now and forever. Amen."

At the time i read this in 2013, I was struck by the reverse description I was expecting,

"to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord..."

Isn't Jesus the Christ our Savior? But this says G^d, our Savior.

Isn't G^d our L^rd? But this says Jesus the Christ our L^rd.

Did Jude get confused?  I don't think so. 

I really thing the Holy Spirit here is helping us grasp, but still not fully understand, the Trinity.  Indeed G^d the Father is our Savior, and Jesus the Christ is really our L^rd--because of the Trinity. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--not 3 G^Ds, but ONE G^d in three Persons.  Yeah, I confess I still don't grasp the Trinity, but I do know the Trinity is our G^d.

So we finish up with these two points, "...be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority...". G^d is totally deserving of all these. Clearly He is Glory, He is Majesty. G^d personifies these two noun-adjectives. He has Dominion and Authority--clearly because He, or rather THEY, spoke the world into existence. And, in fact, they are fully deserving of ALL  glory, majesty, dominion, and authority. There is plenty of Scriptures to back up that idea.

And finally, "...before all time and now and forever. Amen." We always struggle with the Trinity, and we are so locked into time, that we also struggle with the idea of a G^d unbound by time. God was before all--including time itself. He is Present in this present of present time. And He forever will be. And each "He" represents the entire Trinity.

G^d doesn't need many words to preach us a sermon, does They?