Monday Monday~Listen for His Voice

This morning's sunrise...56 degrees, and we are expecting a high of only 68 today! The rest of the week looks like cooler mornings but slightly higher afternoon temperatures, with no rain in sight! Sunny, cool days! That's what we look forward to all year long!! Hooray! Fall has arrived in north central Florida!

This is how the sunrise started:

The sunrise just got prettier each minute...

It was a lovely weekend watching the birds and enjoying peace and quiet and sunshiny days...

Mr. Cardinal seems to be telling Mr. Chickadee that those seeds belong to him!! LOL

I spent some time in my little "sanctuary", a.k.a. "The Secret Garden", yesterday afternoon.  It was so lovely.  We haven't been able to attend church for the past three Sundays and so I just needed some quiet time communing with the Lord in His Sanctuary...and it was nice to have these little visitors reminding me that "This is My Father's World...

1 This is my Father's world,

And to my list'ning ears

All nature sings, and round me rings

The music of the spheres.

This is my Father's world!

I rest me in the thought

Of rocks and trees, of skies and seas--

His hand the wonders wrought.

2 This is my Father's world--

The birds their carols raise,

The morning light, sun shining bright,

Declare its Maker's praise.

This is my Father's world!

He shines in all that's fair;

In the rustling grass I hear Him pass--

He speaks to me ev'rywhere.

3 This is my Father's world--

O let me ne'er forget

That tho' the wrong seems oft so strong,

God is the Ruler yet.

This is my Father's world!

The battle is not done;

Jesus who died shall be satisfied,

And earth and heav'n be one.

Did any of you watch the solar eclipse the other day?  I attempted to, but didn't have the proper set up so just aimed my phone camera toward the sun and took pictures. I was careful not to look at the sun itself.

You can just barely see the red rim around the edge of the sun as the eclipse was starting. I didn't watch for the whole thing...

But I could tell that the Sand Hill Cranes were a little uneasy about the change in the shadows of the skies.  They were lined up on the shore of Still Waters Pond and making their loud noises to the skies:

And they just got louder and louder...

Until finally they lifted up their giant wings and took off into the air, flying across the pond to land on what they considered more familiar ground...

You can barely see them flying in these pictures...

And then they quieted down once they landed.  I do believe the eclipse was affecting their behavior.

Someone else came by for a visit...this neighborhood pretty calico kitty appeared at our back door on the back porch all of a sudden:

Oops, you can see that window needs cleaning...but look at her looking at us with her little tongue hanging out....She's (he?) a beautiful kitty. I don't know if it belongs to anyone or not...she just appears now and then watching the birds in the garden. 

I am tempted to keep her if she keeps coming around...but then again I don't really want that responsibility.  One of our neighbors feeds the neighborhood kitties and this one appears healthy so maybe she has a home but just likes to explore the world around her...

Oh, I  wanted to share one thing that keeps coming back to me.  

In my last post HERE I shared this picture of my hubby with his Doctor at his last appointment.  Some of you remarked how nice it was that the Doctor allowed the picture to be taken. I love also that he has his arm around my hubby, and that he is truly a doctor with what you'd call "good bedside manner".  I mentioned in that post that my hubby was the first patient to receive the procedure in this university teaching hospital that this doctor specializes in. But I keep thinking about what he said to my hubby...He asked him first if he had any idea how many people were in the operating room with him on the day of his procedure. All my hubby knew were the ones he had met, the surgeon, the anesthesiologist and also a nurse anesthetist, and one other attending doctor.  Then the doctor said, "There were over twenty people in that room, and they were all there to be there for you."    That really touched me...I said to the Doctor that I wished I could have had a picture of that!  But it was such an awesome thought to think that those health professionals were all there to be in attendance, to assist, and also to learn and to care for my hubby during that three hour procedure. (yes!)  We both thanked him for sharing that with us. It was comforting to know that he was in such good hands. But more than that, I thought to myself...those were the ones we knew about.  I have a feeling there were others in attendance in that room that even the doctor did not know about...Jesus and ministering angels sent by God to watch over and protect and care for my hubby during that time.  And that is very comforting.

Internet photo

Well, friends, I leave you with these thoughts today. How often does Jesus and/or His angels come alongside us at times when we are not totally aware? 

Psalm 95:1-8
1 Oh come, let us sing to the Lord!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the Lord is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.

6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.

Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 “Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness..."

"If you long for a mind at rest and a heart that cannot harden...

go find a gate that opens wide into a secret garden"

That's where I started out in this post, and that is where I'll end...

Don't let our hearts be hardened...spend time listening for God's voice in the places around us...in nature, and in the messages of comfort He gives us through others who may be totally unaware that they are being a messenger of God to us!  

Listen for His voice today!

(Listen is my One Word for 2023!)

 

Wonders in the Heavens

Total solar eclipse from St. Louis, Aug. 21, 2017. (John Sonderman via Flickr) 
via the Washington Post

So, the total solar eclipse has come and gone...and it was a spectacular sight for those who were in the path and didn't have a cloudy day!  We weren't in the direct path in Florida, and we also had complete cloud coverage totally eclipsing the eclipse! But that didn't stop the sky from getting dark,  and the Sand Hill Cranes started their early morning squawking that they usually do when they are waking up in the morning, dogs started barking, and the crickets started chirping.  I saw some night swallows fly over and all of our little solar outdoor lights came on.  It all felt pretty surreal for a few minutes.

Here I am trying to watch the eclipse:

 And here is what I saw:

It even started to rain so I had to go inside a few times.

This is what I read in my Bible this morning prior to the eclipse:

30.  "And I will show wonders in the heavens and in the earth:

Blood and fire and pillars of smoke.

31.  The SUN shall be turned into darkness,

and the moon into blood,

Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.

32.  And it shall come to pass that whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Joel 2:30-32

The introductory title given in my "New Scofield Study Bible" says that this is describing "The Future Deliverance in the Coming Day of the Lord" and also "The signs preceding the day of the Lord".  

There had been some speculation that this total solar eclipse today could have some spiritual significance...and could even be a sign of the return of the Lord.  It is now several hours since the event took place, and I have not heard of any significant activities that would lead me to believe that this was that signal...however, if one is paying attention to all of the news from around the world in the recent weeks and months, a thoughtful believer might consider that the Lord's return could in fact be imminent.  The signs of the times are certainly becoming more and more apparent every day.  I know that no man knows that day and hour...Jesus said:

"But of that day and hour no one knows, 

not even the angels in heaven,

but My Father only."

Matthew 24:36

But He goes on to say in verses 42-44:

"Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour 

your Lord is coming.

But know this, that if the master of the house 

had known what hour the thief would come,

he would have watched and not allowed 

his house to be broken into.

Therefore, you also be ready, 

for the Son of Man is

coming at an hour you do not expect."

So for me, all of this hype and hoopla over the eclipse was fun and phenomenal, but it also caused me to pause and consider that the Lord's return could be soon...and I want to be ready.  I pray that all of those of my household and friends and loved ones near and far will also be ready.  We fuss and fume over all the crazy stuff that is happening in our country...people on all sides of the spectrum have voiced their opinions out the wazoo...and we want to fight for our rights and for the rights of the downtrodden (or those who think they are downtrodden because they don't like certain things politically or economically) and families are taking up sides and drawing lines in the sand...

and when that day comes when the Lord returns for His chosen bride...what will all these things matter?  I'm not saying they aren't valid issues...but I am saying that there is one thing more important that needs to be settled first...

If the Lord were to suddenly appear in the sky to take us home to glory...would we all be ready to go?  Or would there be some like those Jesus spoke about in the days of Noah:

"But as the days of Noah were,

so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

for as in the days before the flood, 

they were eating and drinking,

marrying and giving in marriage, 

until the day that Noah entered the ark,

and did not know until the flood came and took them all away...

so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."

Matthew 24:37-39

My prayer today is that I am ready to meet my Savior face to face at any moment...and that all of my loved ones and friends are also ready.  There is nothing more important than being sure of our place in heaven...and there is only one way to get there! How do we know if we are ready? 

• By confessing that we are sinners with no hope of saving ourselves, 
• repenting of our sins and 
• accepting the free gift of salvation that is in Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord.  

Today could have been a sign that His return is very near.
Don't put it off until it is too late. 

Tomorrow is not promised to anyone.