What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Friday, June 5, 2020

Friday Fotos After the Rain

I am rejoicing this morning for all the beautiful rain that we got yesterday! We are seeing wonderful results here already in our Still Waters Pond.

Last evening after our weekly family pizza night, I stood on the back deck with my sweet 
daughter-in-law, listening to the frogs singing in the trees, watching the birds flitting back and forth from the trees to the bird feeders and also feeding their babies in the birdhouse...lots of happy activity to see as we chatted about life in general.

Joel 2:21
"Fear not, O land;
Be glad and rejoice,
For the Lord has done marvelous things!"

My first sighting of a Tri-Colored Heron! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tricolored_heron

 Joel 2:23
"Be glad then, you children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God;


For He has given you the former rain faithfully,

And He will cause the rain to come down for you--
 The former rain,
And the latter rain in the first month."

 Not only did we see the Tri-Colored Heron for the first time at Still Waters Pond, but we also saw this Green Heron for the first time!


 It is kind of difficult to see him among the lily pads and mud, but he was very busily pecking his way along, finding perhaps some little minnows, frogs, or other water creatures to feast upon.


 It was exciting to see both of these "new species" enjoying the benefits of the rain that God sent to us.

And then, just as I was sitting down this morning to write this post, I looked out my window and saw this beautiful Great Blue Heron land in the pond, and he began wading around looking for his breakfast.  Amazing what a good rain can do to restore the ponds and provide food for the beautiful creatures that God has placed here. 

Joel 2:25-27
25.  "So I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,
The crawling locust,
the consuming locust,
and the chewing locust.

26.  "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
Who has dealt wondrously with you;
And my people shall NEVER be put to SHAME."


27.  "Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel;
I am the Lord your God
And there is no other.
My people shall NEVER be put to SHAME."

I love that God repeated the words twice: "My people shall never be put to shame."  And yes, I realize that God is speaking to the people of Israel through this Old Testament prophet, but truly He is also speaking to us, His people who are redeemed through His Son, Jesus Christ, into His family.   As we see so many difficult and unpleasant and downright terrible things happening in our land, we, the people of God are often looked upon with scorn and ridicule by those who are attempting to push aside our righteous way of life and government that was originally based upon God's Word and the laws passed down to our forefathers through the Ten Commandments. We have seen people in high places and even people in our own towns and sometimes even within our own extended families trying to shame us for our stance and beliefs.  

But one word of caution here...we who stand for truth and for God, let us be careful lest we fall into the same traps and begin to shame those who are actually united with us.  Not everyone responds to these things in the same way. We each have our own "callings" in life and ways of communicating. I've noticed lately on social media a tendency to "shame" people into fighting back and approving of things that people say and post and proclaim, and then judgment proclaimed if you don't speak out in the same way as others think you should to show your allegiance and faith.  Not everyone is called to be a "prophet". Not everyone is called to stand on the soap box and preach. But we are all called to pray for our leaders, pray for each other, and to love one another.  I would refer us to Romans 12:9-21 as well as to Romans 13:1-14. I will not print it all here as it is too lengthy, but will quote a few key verses that spoke to me:

Romans 12:9
"Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good."

Romans 12:16
"Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. do not be wise in your own opinion."

Romans 12:21
"Do not be overcome by evil,
but overcome evil with good."

Romans 13:8
"Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."

Romans 13:10
"Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."

Romans 13:11-12
11.  "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.
12.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.
Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light."

More than ever during these turbulent times, we must learn to support one another and encourage each other in our walk of faith.  This is not the time to shame or ridicule others for not doing things exactly as we expect them to do them. 

"But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.  
For God did not appoint us to wrath, 
but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, 
we should live together with Him.
Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, 
just as you also are doing."
I Thessalonians 5:8-11
Amen.

Have a blessed and beautiful day, wherever you are!

19 comments:

  1. I'm so happy that you all got that much needed rain, Pamela! I loved your photos of the different herons; the only one I've ever seen is the Blue Heron, so this was truly a treat for me. And yes, maybe now more than any other time in recent history, we need to treat each other with kindness and humility, loving others as Jesus commanded us to do.
    Blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. These two new herons were a treat for me too! What a thrill!! And yes, love is the answer for the world today!!! Amen!!

      Delete
  2. I didn't know herons come in so many different colors! Your recent visitors are beautiful! And my, how welcome is all this rain we are getting!!!

    Quoting you: "Not everyone is called to stand on the soap box and preach. But we are all called to pray for our leaders, pray for each other, and to love one another." This is excellent. We are praying with you for the serious matters that are grabbing attention in the news reports.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was amazed to find these two different herons last night in our pond at the same time, and then that beautiful big one this morning. So thankful for the rain! Yes, we can only pray and ask God to help us each to get through these trying times. He will see us through.

      Delete
  3. All we need is in those scriptures! I love your heron photos! I've never seen the tri-color or the green before. Beautiful. I hope I get to meet Rose someday. I just love her already and am so glad she is in your life and family now!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. God's Word is sharper than any two-edged sword. Let it speak for itself! I was so thrilled to see these herons last night! Rose actually saw them first and called me to them. I love having a "daughter" who loves the things that I love too. She is a very sweet young lady, and we are so blessed to have her in our family.

      Delete
  4. Oh my! What amazing sightings you've had this week! The tri colored is beautiful and it's always a rare treat to see a Green Heron. We saw one at Blue Run a week ago but only got one photo...and not a very good one! Thanks for your encouraging post today. I've had some negative comments on my blog this week and will saw a few words to defend myself tomorrow morning. I know you'll support me! You are such a sweet friend. Enjoy your day!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't know how anyone could find anything negative to say about your posts. You are always very positive and encouraging, and your pictures are a balm to our stressed out souls right now. Just keep being YOU, because you are blessing many with your lovely nature walks pictures as well as the other things that you share. If we want to see more news or stressful commentary, we can watch tv or facebook. This should be a safe place for us to "retreat" for a while. That is partially why I said what I did. Too many are trying to force home points that we already know and don't need to have repeated. We need a safe refuge. God bless you my friend.

      Delete
  5. Good Afternoon, Oh how nice to enjoy pizza night with family and to enjoy the different birds arriving due to your recent rain. I enjoyed both the Bible verses and your pictures. Joining with you in praying for our Country and its leaders. Praying for peace. I wish you a good weekend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Mildred. We need more peace and less stress. I love your photos of lovely places and things you are seeing each day. You are a welcome respite from the harsh realities out there we are all too aware of. Thank you.

      Delete
  6. Pam,once again you have such stunning photos of God's beautiful creation. It's amazing how rains can cause such beauty to burst forth--especially after it has been dry.

    Oh for spiritual rains to come and refresh weary hearts and souls.

    Love and blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Kim, and yes, the rain can be such a blessing to our dry and thirsty land, just as the spiritual rain is needed to restore our dry and thirsty souls. Blessings to you today too.

      Delete
  7. I love seeing the Herons that visit you. How special to three species visit! I also appreciate your words of wisdom, paired with the wisdom of the Bible.Have a wonderful weekend my friend.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ruth. I was amazed to have all of these come at the same time. What a blessing! Thank you for your kind words and thoughtfulness. May you have a blessed and beautiful weekend as well.

      Delete
  8. Lovely rain.. lovely photos. I am glad your pond is filling up nicely and the animals have food and water once again.
    The pictures remind me of the song.. Sometimes When it Rains by Secret Garden an instrumental that is very sad and hauntingly beautiful.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you, Ann. I am so happy to look out and see water in the pond instead of the dry mud. Such a blessing. I've never heard that song before...I will have to look it up. Thank you for visiting.

      Delete
  9. wonderful words of God with beautiful illustration of nature....

    Have a wonderful weekend

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for visiting here today. I would love for you to sign my guestbook and let me know you stopped by. I always enjoy reading your comments and words of encouragement! May you be blessed as you go on your way. Please come back and visit again soon.