Recently Keith’s sister came to visit and we took her to the Butterfly Rainforest at the Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.  We have lived here since before the exhibit even opened and never managed to get there.  When we went in, we saw what we have been missing.
            In the first place you cannot go inside with anything that cannot be closed properly, which means I had to leave my purse behind—it has a snap across the top, but is not sealed with a zipper.  Then you enter one door and cannot open the second until the first door has closed.  When you leave, you go through the same process—through one door, wait, close the door, then through the second door—but with an added precaution:  you check each other over for hitchhikers.  The butterflies will land on you, especially, it seemed from our experience that day, if you have on bright colors or large floral prints.  They will also land on your bare head and arms.  You must walk the paths carefully so as not to trod upon one that has landed there.  You sit on benches only after inspecting them.  But mainly, you just look and look and look, up and over and around.  They are everywhere.
            The colors and patterns are breathtaking.  Scarlet and black, Halloween orange and black, an intricate black and white that looks for all the world like a tatted doily; olive and black, chartreuse and black, emerald green and aqua; pale blue, royal blue, teal and blue violet; solid brown, spotted brown, banded brown, and a brown design that looks like it belongs on the walls of ancient Aztec ruins—and that’s not the half of it.
          Many of these beauties were brought from other places as pupae, and as they hatch are let go every day while the visitors watch.  It was a wonderful couple of hours.  And after I got home I started wondering if there were any butterflies in the Bible.  Well, yes, in a way.
          First of all I found that back in the early days, the butterfly symbolized the resurrection of Jesus and later the resurrection of his saints.  That makes a certain amount of sense.  The caterpillar spins its pupa, which hangs there looking dead for a couple of weeks.  Then suddenly the adult emerges, alive again, or so it appears.
         But it seems to me that the better Biblical image comes from Romans 12:2:    Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.  Just as the caterpillar is transformed into something completely different, we should be too.  I am, in the words of 2 Cor 5:17, “a new creature.”  Those butterflies were beautiful, but when we walked the exhibits in the halls outside their “rainforest,” the pupa on display there were mottled gray-brown and just plain ugly.
          I looked up that word “transformed” and guess what the Greek word is?  Metamorphoo.  I would be surprised if you haven’t heard that in a sermon sometime in your life, but maybe you have never really thought about the change that insect makes from worm to butterfly.  Looking at those beautiful things that morning, and then seeing those ugly pupae hanging by the score really brought the message home to me.  I am not just to change a little bit; I am to change drastically.  That may be difficult for you to comprehend if you were “brought up in the church” as we are prone to say, and have never really done any “big bad sins” as we tend to define them.  Yet it is my obligation to find the things that need changing. 
          I may not read pornography, but I might become insensitive to the sin around me, especially when our culture deems it “appropriate” for television.  I may not steal, but my selfishness can rob others of any time or service they might need from me.  I may not commit idolatry, but I can become so celebrity-conscious that what those people say, do and wear becomes my model instead of Christ.  I may not murder, but I commit character assassination every time I call, text, or post unkind words about another.
          Those butterflies we saw that day were almost too pretty for this sin-sick, ugly world.  That’s what people should be thinking about us.  We are not like the world, and we don’t like the world.  There is a better place coming, a “Butterfly Rainforest” for all those who have transformed their lives to be like their Lord.  Don’t land on the coat of a passerby and allow yourself to be removed from that hope.
 
…put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and…be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and…put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness, Eph 4:22-24.
 
Dene Ward
 

Possums, or more properly “opossums,” can be a nuisance.  They rummage in the garbage, they poke about in the shed, and they ramble into the garden destroying perfectly good melons with a bite or two out of each one.  That is one reason we have dogs, and Magdi, our first Australian cattle dog, did better than any other at solving the problem  For awhile we had to bury one every day; she must have come across some sort of Possumopolis out in the woods.
            One morning Keith found yet another as he was leaving for work, but he was so late he had no time to properly dispose of it.  It was my turn to do the honors.  I have come a long way in 32 years of country life, but I still won’t pick up a dead thing, even with big thick gloves.  So I got the shovel.
            I am glad my neighbors are not close.  I stuck the shovel edge down by the possum and pushed, assuming it would just slide under the offensive creature so I could carry it out to the woods and let nature do the disposal work.  Instead, the shovel just pushed the possum along.  I tried again, and again, and again.   Every time I pushed, the possum moved farther and I wound up following it in a circle around the field.  This possum might as well have been alive it was making such a merry chase.
            Meanwhile Magdi stood to the side.  She looked at me like I was nuts, but she also looked at me like she would really like to have her possum back.  Occasionally she lunged at the possum as I made the circle yet again passing her on the right.  So there I was pushing a dead possum in a circle around the yard with a shovel, while yelling at the dog at regular intervals, like some sort of bizarre ritualistic dance. 
            I stopped, winded and frustrated, and found myself next to the oak tree across the driveway from the well.  The answer struck me, if only I had the energy left.  I pushed the shovel again.  Again it pushed the possum, this time right against the tree and the tree held it there for me as the shovel slid beneath it.  Success! 
            I lifted the shovel--and the possum rolled right off of it.  Somehow I kept from screaming.  Okay, I told myself.  You have learned something.  Possums are heavy and you have to hold the shovel handle tightly so it won’t tip.  I tried again, pushing the possum up against the tree and lifting the shovel, this time ready for the shifting weight.  Now I just had to get it to the woods.  It was a several hundred yard trip, and that possum at the end of the shovel got heavier and heavier. 
            About halfway there I knew I was not going to make it, so rather than let the thing drop in a clearing where there were no trees to push against, I carefully lowered the shovel to the ground.  As much as I hated to, I had to move my hand farther down the handle, closer to the possum so the weight would be easier to manage.  I did, and it was easier, so much easier I could even walk faster without being in danger of losing the possum.
            I was already dressed for Bible class and did not want to traipse into the woods among the briars and brush, so I carefully pulled back on the shovel and slung with all my might. The possum slid off the shovel about five feet into the brush, not much further than the length of the shovel handle.  By then, I was ready to call that a great success, and left it.
            As shocking as it might sound, that is the way we treat God sometimes.  Instead of rushing into His safe and loving embrace, we keep Him at arm’s length.  Like a teenager who is too embarrassed to act like he loves his parents, we are too embarrassed to let our love for God show to those around us.  We don’t want to look too weird, too strange, too “fanatical.” 
            Early Christians were known for their good works.  In fact, that is how they often gave themselves away to their persecutors.  They looked and acted so differently from everyone else.  No one else was kind and forgiving, even when mistreated.  Would our godly behavior give us away under similar circumstances, or would it lump us in with the crowd because our religion has not “contaminated” our lives?
            Even among ourselves we don’t want to say things that might make people look at us askance.  It’s like the old joke where the new convert sits in the pews saying, “Amen,” and “Praise God,” only to have some older member take him aside and say, “Son, we don’t praise God here.”
            God wants us close to Him.  Think about that for a moment.  Our awesome all-powerful Creator wants a relationship with us.  He made an incomprehensible sacrifice to make it possible.  Maybe we need to be shocked with this analogy, so we will wake up.  When we keep Him at arm’s length like something disgusting, we are treating God like a dead possum.
 
Wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost them that draw near unto God through Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them…Draw near to God and He will draw near to you,  Heb 7:25; James 4:8a.
 
Dene Ward

The other morning I headed for the bluebird houses to give them a good cleaning out.  "Before nesting season," I wanted to add, but it was early March already, and as I made my way to the farthest house, a daddy bluebird flitted out and sat on the fence before I could get there.  I put on the brakes immediately.  He was doing his job of trying to distract something he thought of as a predator away from the nest.  Yes, I was indeed too late, and had suspected so already.  Late January would have been much better. 

I headed for the next bluebird house a little more slowly and quietly.  Nothing flew out as I approached, so I carefully unlatched and opened the door and saw what appeared to be a brand new nest, waiting for the Mama and her eggs.  Another too little, too late moment for me.  The third house was the only one we could actually clean an old nest out of, and make ready for a new avian family.  Next year I will do better!

I have watched birds parenting their babies for fifteen years now and it always amazes me.  I have seen cardinals bring their young to the feeder to show them where to eat.  I have seen a mockingbird do the same as that first bluebird I mentioned, flying away from the nest in hopes of distracting me from the eggs, and later the nestlings.  I have seen a hawk teach her babies how to hunt, bringing them back to the nest in the evening with whatever prey they have found, a good week of lessons before the young hawk finally flew away to fend on its own.  I have seen a mama wren teaching her little ones to fly, watching them carefully as they flitted barely a foot off the ground, moving with them around the house until they could finally lift themselves high enough to safety.

All of those small feathered parents have succeeded in their tasks.  The babies eat and grow, learn and practice, and ultimately leave behind an "empty nest" to begin their own lives, to have their own babies, and do the same teaching all over again.

I wonder about some human parents.  Some of us forget that the point of teaching is to work our way out of a job.  If your children still need you to tell them how to behave, how to take care of their personal hygiene, how to handle money, how to get along with others, how to obey the laws of the land and stay out of trouble, when they are approaching thirty, what in the world did you do all those years when you had them as a "captive audience?"  If they cannot leave the nest and survive in the world, something went dreadfully wrong.

Some parents are too sheltering.  It is one thing to hide the ugliness of the world from a little one, it is another to allow a teenager to think everyone is a friend and can be trusted implicitly, even the stranger on the street corner.  If, as I did, you live mainly among your brethren, your children will more than likely be taken advantage of one way or the other because they have not learned that not everyone out there has good intentions.  It's up to you to warn them.

Some parents want so badly to be their child's "friend" that they do not act like the parents they truly need, teaching them responsibility and a good work ethic.  So we continually pick up after them and wait on them like they are royalty, granting every wish their heart desires.  Meanwhile, they never learn how to take care of themselves and, in fact, as adults they do not, wreaking havoc on their physical health, their economic reputations, and their ability to work for a living.  One reason we chose to live in the country is that the chores were not make-work.  Helping their father cut wood, stack it so it would be preserved, and carry it to the wood stove in the house, kept us warm on cold, winter days.  They knew their work mattered.  Do you know how those Bible characters did so well as children?  People in those times raised their children to be responsible over serious matters from the time they could walk.  They were expected to be adults, having families and providing for them by their mid-teens because they were trained to be able to do that by then.  (No. I am not advocating teen marriages.)  We mollycoddle them, then wonder why they are still so immature at 16 and 17!  Meanwhile, we expect them to be able to commit their lives to God at 12, when our culture does not prepare them for such a thing.  That does not mean a particular set of parents can't do it, but how many of those twelve year olds still have to be nagged into doing their Bible lessons and refuse to turn off the video games to do so?  They have no clue what lifetime commitment and devotion mean at all.

Some parents shield their children from the consequences of their mistakes.  We want to "fix" everything for them if we can, but at some point, we need to stop that.  They will grow up thinking they will always get out of the messes they make of their lives unscathed.  Far better to let them suffer a tiny bit on something that may seem earth-shattering at the age of 8 and learn the lesson then, than to let them learn it as they sit across the table from a probation officer, or worse, in a prison cell.  At that point, it may even be impossible for them to learn.

And some parents seem to think that their children should never leave the nest at all.  Oh, they might have their own apartments or even houses, but it had better be close by and we had better see them several times a week!  And many children love it.  They are so used to Mom doing their laundry and cooking their meals they wouldn't want it any other way.  That "empty nest" that so many are afraid of is perfectly normal.  That's why it is so important to keep your marriage strong—one of these days, God meant that it would just be the two of you again, as it was for your parents when you left the nest. 

If we were all birds, I can't help but wonder how many of our children would survive.  How many would never learn to fly and wind up easy pickings for the neighbor's cat, or out here in the country, the coyotes, foxes, bobcats, and snakes?  How many would starve because they never learned how to provide for themselves?  And how long before all birds ceased to exist because all the babies stayed in the nest without forming normal healthy relationships with anyone except Mom and Dad?

I used to tell my piano students that my job was to help them reach the point that they no longer needed me.  That's a hard thing for a parent to even contemplate, but all things being equal, one day we will be gone long before they are.  What will happen to your little birds then?
 
Yea, the stork in the heavens knows her appointed times; and the turtle-dove and the swallow and the crane observe the time of their coming; but my people know not the law of Jehovah, Jer 8:7                                                          
 
Dene Ward

Keith says I have a personality disorder—I think my name is Francis and I was born in Assisi.  Can I help it if the hawk insisted on having a conversation with me this morning?
            I haven’t been out for awhile due to one thing and another, but he must remember me from all the times I went out while he was a baby and spoke to him up in his nest.  So whenever I am outside and he is anywhere nearby, he gives me a shout, and I say hello. 
            I had my trekking poles so I could give Chloe a little bit of exercise.  She is a bit like her mistress, prone to gaining weight at the slightest sniff of food, forget about actually eating it, and she needed a walk.  After our first greeting across the fence from one another, the hawk flew behind me and caught up, still staying in the trees on the other side of the boundary, but a little closer this time.
            I told him he should come on over.  If he wanted to stay safe, we had plenty of trees, plenty of food—he should have known that anyway.  His parents had sat on the tomato fence in our garden, diving for mice, squirrels, rabbits, and other goodies that they took to him for supper every night.  I kept walking and again he flew to catch up, but once again landed on the other side of the fence.
            When we reached the point where the path cut inward to the center of our property, I told him it was time for him to make his decision.  “Come on,” I told him.  “You’ve been here before.  You grew up here.  You know it’s a good place and a safe place.  If you stay over there, who is going to look after you?”
            I waited a minute then turned and headed down the path toward the drive.  His wings flapped behind me like a big rug flapping on a clothesline in the wind.  I turned, only to see he was headed away, deeper into the woods. 
            I suspect I will still hear from him once in awhile and even see him again.  At least until that time when something nabs him and he stops showing up.  It’s a pity.  He would last longer if he stayed close by, but now some neighbor may shoot him just for fun, or he may stray into some other hawk’s territory and lose the fight for it.  That’s what happens when you turn your back because all you can see is restrictions instead of safety, and when all you want to see of the other side of the fence is freedom instead of danger.  Sooner or later, one way or the other, it will be too late to come back.
 
In the fear of Jehovah is strong confidence; and his children shall have a place of refuge. The fear of Jehovah is a fountain of life, that one may depart from the snares of death. Prv 14:26,27.
 
Dene Ward

If you have been with me for awhile,  you will realize that this is an old one.  Chloe turned 14 this past weekend, and her days are obviously numbered, but we can still learn a lesson or two from her.

We have a new puppy.  Chloe is an Australian cattle dog, a companion for our 6 year old Australian.  They are great dogs, playful, loyal, and smart—too smart sometimes for their owners’ good! 
            Magdalene, our older dog, seems to enjoy the little one, even though she did have to growlingly remind her yesterday that her tail was NOT a chew toy.  They both walk with me now, Chloe struggling with her short legs and puppy-plump tummy to keep up, and we look like a parade as we make our morning laps.  Magdi has developed some arthritis in her hips so they sit out after the first two rounds, but Chloe still had excess energy this morning.  She wanted to be with Magdi, but wanted to run too, so she compromised by running circles around the patient older dog, by turns prancing and ripping back and forth, turning on a dime, as that breed is capable of doing, and yipping playfully.  I thought, as I rounded my last bend and came upon this scene that no matter what the scientists tell me about dogs not having emotions, if she did not have it, Chloe was managing a very good impression of pure, unadulterated joy.
            First century Christians had that feeling in spades.  I did a study on joy recently.  Do you know what surprised me?  Not a single time does the New Testament say their joy was caused by the physical things in this life—not their health, their wealth, their careers, their homes, not even the weather—is listed as a cause for their joy at all.  If it’s in there, I missed it.
            What caused their joy?  Hearing the gospel, Acts 13:42; being baptized, 8:39; having a hope, Rom 12:12; being counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Christ, Acts 5:41; being afflicted, 2 Cor 7:4; being persecuted and having their possessions confiscated, Heb 10:32-34; being put to grief through trials, 1 Pet 1:6-9; becoming partakers of the suffering of Christ, 1 Pet 4:12-16—whoa, now!  What’s going on here?  Are these a bunch of masochists or what?
            The problem is that we confuse joy with happiness.  Hap-piness comes because of things that hap-pen, as does un-hap-piness.  Joy is an overriding foundation for how we live our lives.  I may experience moments of unhappiness, but as long as I do not let them overcome my life of joy, I am able to survive with that joy intact.  I may lose my belongings, lose a loved one, contract a serious illness, even face death, and still not lose my joy. 
          All those things that caused joy in the early Christians are based upon having a Savior who has gone through every type of problem I ever will have (Heb 4:15), and more than that, gave up an incomprehensible position (Phil 2:6,7), and separated himself from the Father for the first time in all Eternity (Matt 27:46), all so I could have salvation.  Anything I have to face in this life, no matter how dire, is petty compared to that.  That is why I should only experience moments of grief.  To make a “career” of sadness is to devalue everything He went through for me.  Nothing I have to face is worse than He faced so that I might some day be in a place where joy will reach its full potential.
            Maybe, as Thoreau said in Walden, “the mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation,” but not Christians.  We lead lives of joyful anticipation.
 
Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial among you, which comes upon you to prove you, as though a strange thing happened to you; but insomuch as you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, that at the revelation of his glory also you may rejoice with exceeding joy.   1 Peter 4:12,13
 
Dene Ward

When I was a child, I had the notion that just like I lived in a house all the time, birds lived in nests all the time.  I was an adult before I realized that birds build nests primarily for breeding.  There needs to be a place to lay those eggs, incubate them, and then safely raise the young to maturity.  Sometimes the empty nest is then used for roosting but that is not the main purpose.  Also, the males of some species build nests to attract the female, then never use it, but again, that is not the norm among most species.
            Nests are built almost entirely of natural elements:  twigs, mud, grass, moss, plant fibers, fur, and feathers, for example.  Ruby-throated hummingbirds also use spider webs.  Blue grosbeaks have been known to weave snakeskins into their nests. *Shudder* The builders are limited to things light enough and small enough to carry in their beaks.  The nest must be strong enough to withstand wind and be waterproof against rain, yet large enough for an entire family!  It will take a bird hundreds or perhaps even thousands of back-and-forth trips to complete a nest.  I have seen a couple of hawks build a nest before, flying back and forth and back and forth, and I believe it.
            Birds build several kinds of nests, each species seeming to home in on one specialty.  A platform nest is, as you might guess, large and mainly flat with only a small depression in the middle to hold the eggs and later the baby birds.  A platform nest can be built on the ground, in the water, on cliffs, bridges, and balconies.  The platform gives young birds a "playground" and parents a "landing strip."  Many waterfowl and birds of prey use platform nests.
             A cup nest is a variation of the platform nest, built around a platform which is attached to the sides of trees, or shrubs, or cliffs, or even on the ground.  This is the type of nest most commonly featured in drawings and 75% of all songbirds use it. 
            Probably the simplest type of nest is a ground nest, which is simply a depression scraped out of the ground.  It contains no other materials, and is probably the least safe nest there is.  Killdeer use them, along with another species or two, but apparently not many.
            A cavity nest is a hole, usually excavated in the trunk or limb of a tree.  Bluebirds and woodpeckers are among those who prefer this type of nest.  A small hole leads to a chamber that can be as large as 10 inches across.  It may be the most well-sheltered nest-type there is.  Bluebird boxes obviously mimic this type of nest.
            A pendulous nest looks like a small sack hanging from a tree—or perhaps a scruffy, well-worn sock.  It seems to be the safest from predators because it is attached to the ends of very small branches that large predators cannot safely maneuver.  These nests give their occupants a wild ride whenever the wind blows, though.  They are woven from plant fibers and lined with grass, with a small hole in the side to give parents access to the babies.  Orioles, kinglets, and some tropical birds prefer this type of home.*
            Wrens are noted for their speedy and creative nest-building.  They prefer a cavity nest, but will nest in any type of cavity they can find that is left alone long enough—sometimes as little as one afternoon.  We have found them in old coffee cans that we use for feed—once a day--which leaves them untouched for nearly 24 hours, plenty of time for an industrious wren to lay claim to one.  We have found wrens' nests tucked into the bumper of the truck.  We have found them between an upside down broom brush and the ceiling of the carport.  One time we found one in the rain gutter.  As soon as we saw it and saw that the eggs had not yet been laid, we moved it.  We were not being mean to the bird, but trying to save the future babies from drowning—during nesting season it rains here nearly every afternoon, not just calm drizzles, but gullywashers.
            Through all this I can't help but think of that old saying which, I found out recently in a women's class, many of those under 40 have never heard:  you can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair.
            I hate to say this, but folks, we have become a bit Pharisaical about more than a few things.  One of them is our definition of sin.  A young man told me once that before his conversion he lived a wild life.  Even after several years he still had trouble with temptation.  But some older Christians had told him that if he was tempted at all, he was sinning!  He shouldn't even have a desire to sin.  He said they looked down on him as if he were less a Christian than they simply because he had to overcome more often.  I could say a sharp thing or two about that, like maybe they aren't tempted anymore because the Devil knows he already has them.  But probably what is going on is a failure to understand the meanings of words.  If you don't want to do something, or don't like something, no one can tempt you with it.  If you don't like chocolate, for example, (yes, there are some alien creatures like that out there), no one can tempt you off your diet with a chocolate cake, now can they?  That is pure logic.  So yes, temptation means you want to do something.
            So what does that have to do with birds and their nests?  Thoughts will fly through your mind now and again, perhaps more often in your early walk or during times of stress.  What did you do with that thought?  Did you shoo it away like a wren who is building her nest in a dangerous place?  Or did you sit there and meditate on it, chew on it, run it around in your mind again and again until it "conceived" into a bad fantasy, or bad words, or even a bad action?  In one case the bird flew over your head and you recognized the danger there and refused to think of it again—you were tempted, but temptation is not a sin; it never conceived.  In the other case, you let that bird land long enough to build not just a nest but a downright mansion in your hair—you were tempted and you gave into that temptation and let it become sin in some fashion or the other.
            Please, people, do not mistake temptation for sin.  You will wind up living a miserable life with no hope because the Devil sends those birds out, not just one dove and one raven like Noah, but droves of them every day, trying to steal you from the Lord.  When you realize just how many times you have succeeded in driving out those birds, not giving in to the sin, you will become stronger and stronger and even more determined to drive them away.  How many have you swatted at just today?  See how many sins you have avoided?  Good for you!  Don't let those birds make a nest in your hair.  And don't let someone else tell you that because you are tempted you are less a Christian than they.  In fact, by discouraging "even one of these little ones," I would say that they are the ones who need to worry.
 
But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death. (Jas 1:14-15).
Blessed is the man that endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord promised to them that love him. (Jas 1:12).
 
Dene Ward
 
*All the bird information in this article is from a book called Birds of Florida—Field Guide by Stan Tekiela.  He has many state-specific Field Guides, and if you enjoy watching the birds in your yard, you can probably find one for your state.  They are available online.
 
 

Have you had a child, or perhaps an older relative, do this?  They notice a sore on their arm or leg and they sit there and pick at it over and over until suddenly they hold out the offending appendage and cry, "Look! It's bleeding!!"
            "Of course it's bleeding!" you want to shout back at them.  After all, they are the primary reason for that.
            We are a complaining people, but if something is bothering you, if it nags at you again and again and again, maybe the fault is your own.  Maybe you've sat there picking at it in your mind, over and over, until it finally bleeds.  Now you have something real to worry about.
            I do realize that all anxiety is not quite that simple.  Some of us do have issues in that regard.  But others just can't seem to leave well enough alone.  Nothing suits us until the blood flows.  And that is exactly the basis for all whining and complaining, for if it is truly something serious that is worth discussing and being concerned about, something you can actually fix, then that's what you do—fix it.  And that is far less satisfying to some people than seeing a problem worsen by constantly picking at it.
            We don't just do this to others.  We often do it to ourselves, wondering "what if" until all possibilities have been exhausted and then starting over again.  Pick, pick, pick.
            You know what the vet does when a dog has a sore spot or a surgery incision or something else he is likely to lick and worry at all day?  He puts a plastic cone around the dog's neck, the "cone of shame" some have taken to calling it humorously.  Maybe we need one of those too.  Leave it alone.  If it takes picking at to make it bleed, it probably isn't that serious to begin with.
            Put an imaginary cone around your neck today.  Christ came to give us peace.  We will never have it until we stop all the picking.
 
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honorable, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. The things which ye both learned and received and heard and saw in me, these things do: and the God of peace shall be with you. (Phil 4:8-9).
 
Dene Ward

Keith noticed it first, a dove that sat quiet and almost still on the ground beneath one of the hanging bird feeders.  While other doves and a bevy of cardinals hopped around him pecking at the ground, then flying up and down from the feeder, he barely moved a foot in two hours, and always one small, hesitant hop at a time.  By late evening most of the other birds were gone, finished with their free supper and off to find a good roosting place for the night, but he still sat there.
            By then I was a little worried.  I grabbed the binoculars for a closer look.  He had puffed himself up twice his size as birds will do in the winter to keep warm.  But it was still early September and the humid evening air hovered in the upper 80s.  Suddenly his head popped up, stretching out his neck just a bit, and then immediately back into the folds of feathers around his shoulders.  As I continued to watch I noticed it every five minutes or so.  It almost looked like he had hiccups, but somehow I did not think that was the problem.  Something worse was happening.
            Near dusk he suddenly flew straight up to the feeder itself.  Instead of perching on the outer rung designed for a bird to curl its feet around and be able to lean forward to eat from the small trough that ran around the bottom of the feeder, he flew into the trough itself, hunched down, and leaned against the clear plastic wall of the feeder.  Then he became completely still—no more twitching or bouncing.  I watched until it was too dark to see any longer. 
            The next morning I went out with my pail of birdseed to refill all the feeders around the house.  There beneath the feeder lay the now much smaller body of the dove.  Sometime in the night he had died and fallen off the feeder.  We carefully disposed of the small body for the sake of the other birds and our Chloe just in case it had carried a contagious illness.  It was a sad moment.  I couldn’t help but think, “You weren’t alone, little guy.  We watched you and we cared.”
            We weren’t the only ones watching.  Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father, Matt 10:29.  God notices when every little bird falls to the ground.  And never forget the lesson Jesus draws from that:  But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows, Matt 10:30-31.
            Dying alone has become a metaphor for a purposeless existence. “We’re born alone, we live alone, we die alone,” (Orson Welles).
            It’s used to depict life and death as a beginning and end that you cannot effect one way or the other.  “Don’t expect anyone to stick around.  You were born alone and you will die alone,” (Anonymous).
            It’s used as a desperate pitiful plea for someone to care:  “I just don’t want to die alone, that’s all.  That’s not too much to ask for, is it?  It would be nice to have someone care for me, for who I am, not about my wallet,” (Richard Pryor).
            It’s used to show the meaninglessness of life:  “At the end, we all die alone,” (Anonymous).
            Is it any wonder that skeptics and atheists commit suicide?  None of these things is true for a Christian. 
            For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever… Ps 37:28.
            Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you, Heb 13:5.
            Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go, Josh 1:9.
            Sometimes we can quote passages like these until we are blue in the face, but when the hour of trial comes, any sort of trial, and no one stands with us, we allow the physical eye to fool us into believing we are alone.  We need to learn to see with spiritual eyes like our Lord did:  Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me, John 16:32.  We are the only ones who can take that promise away—when we don’t believe it.  With God a believer is never alone no matter how much vacant space surrounds him.
            If God promised to watch for every fallen bird, He will watch for me.  Even if some day I breathe my last breath in an otherwise empty room, I can know that Someone cares enough to be nearby, watching and waiting to take me home.
 
Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints, Ps 116:15.
And I will gather you to your fathers…2 Chron 34:28.
 
Dene Ward

Did you know there are 336 species of hummingbird in the world?  The United States is home to 16, but Florida to only 3, and two of those, the black-chinned and the rufous, are rarely seen, and then only in the winter.  The ones who visit our feeders are all ruby-throated hummingbirds.  These little rascals are about three inches long and weigh about ¼ ounce.  Everyone loves hummingbirds.  "Widdle buhds," my grandson Judah called them when he was two, and, "Oh, so cute," all the adults say.  Well, guess what?  As a Smithsonian article I once read said, ounce for ounce, hummingbirds are the most vicious creatures on the planet.
            If you have ever watched a hummingbird feeder, you have seen the aggression.  And who can really blame them?  Their wings can beat 80 times a second and their hearts can beat 1000 times a minute.  They must eat every 30 minutes to get enough calories for that high metabolism. They have no down under their feathers, which helps them fly because they are so light, but it does little to keep their tiny bodies warm.   When they sleep at night, they are in danger of dying from starvation or cold, so their tiny bodies go into a state of torpor that slows their heartrate and lowers their body temperature.  And how many calories do they need?  Usually they take in 3-7 calories a day in nectar, which may not sound like much, but when you translate that to something the size of a human it is 155,000 calories a day.  We can easily see why they are so aggressive at feeders—it is literally a matter of life or death.
            They are especially aggressive in early spring when claiming territory.  Females are more aggressive in protecting the walnut-sized nest after she lays their eggs.  Then, as they prepare to migrate in the late summer and early fall they must put on 40% more of their total body weight to survive the trip, often as far south as Central America.  They will fly over the Gulf of Mexico rather than following the shore around it, 18-72 hours of nonstop flying over open water.  No wonder they do not want to share!
            A hummingbird's aggression increases by stages, depending upon the results he gets at each level.  First he will sit off to the side of the feeder, buzzing and chirping and squeaking, gradually increasing volume as the intruder feeds.  After that he will "posture."  He may flare his gorge, spread his wings or his crown, or point his sharp little bill like a sword.  If you see one diving at other birds on the feeder, he has moved on to the third level of aggression.  If you are in the middle of filling the feeder, or simply standing too close by, he may dive at you too.  If the dive does not get rid of the interloper, he will actively chase him away, following him for several yards to make sure he is gone.  And finally, when all else fails, hummingbirds will fight, and fight to the death, using their talons and beaks as deadly weapons.  On occasion ornithologists have actually found two dead hummingbirds, one dead with the other's bill through his body so far that the attacker could not extricate himself and died too.  See what I mean by "vicious?"
            But here is the thing:  hummingbirds are wired that way by their Creator.  It is the only way they can survive.  If somehow you could stand there and say to them, there is plenty for all of you and I promise to keep filling it up, none of them would understand.  It is the bird's job to survive in the ways he has been given and to see any intruder as someone who could cause his or his lady's death.  You simply cannot change the nature of a hummingbird, and no one would expect you too.
            We are not like that.  God expects change from us.  "But that's just the way I am," won't cut it with Him.  He knows who and what you are, and what you can and cannot do, and He has said from time immemorial that He expects us to change.  The word "repent" is found 105 times in the KJV Bible and that doesn't count the various forms of the word like "repentance."  And what does that word mean?  To put it simply, "change."  And it wasn't only the doom-saying prophets and so-called angry God of the Old Testament who said this.  "Except you repent, you shall all likewise perish," said Jesus, not once, but twice (Luke 13:3,5), and in other places as well.
            What did he say to the woman taken in adultery?  "Go your way and sin no more" (John 8:11).  Sounds like a change to me.  In fact, he constantly demanded such complete commitment (change) that many turned and left.  "Let the dead bury the dead."  "Go sell all you have."  "Hate your mother and your father."  Become "a eunuch for the kingdom's sake."  "Take up your cross [crucify yourself] and follow me."  Jesus never coddled anyone into the kingdom.
            So here is our question for the day.  Are you a wild creature who has no sense of right and wrong and therefore, no self-control and no self-determination?  Or are you created in the image of God, a creature who can not only know right from wrong, but can actually choose which one to do?  If you don't know, God does.
 
Or do you despise the riches of His kindness, restraint, and patience, not recognizing that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your hardness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. He will repay each one according to his works  (Rom 2:4-6).
 
Dene Ward

Retirement is a wonderful thing.  No more rushing around every morning, swallowing a quick breakfast whole, throwing on an outfit, and rushing out the door after a quick peck on your wife’s cheek.  At least that’s the way it was for Keith for several decades. 
            Now it’s a leisurely breakfast in your pajamas with a second cup of coffee, and then a third out on the carport, watching the birds swoop down in front of us to the bird feeder, hummingbirds battling over their feeder like tiny pilots in fighter planes, and Chloe sitting next to us, her tail swishing sparkly grains of sand over the concrete. 
           We have a little ritual with her—three or four doggie treats that Keith sails out toward the flower bed one at a time with her tearing after them, sniffing around in the grass until she finds the morsel, then rolling in the dew wet grass in doggy euphoria before returning to her post at our feet, or even under our chairs—the better to garner a belly rub.
            He always throws the treats in the same direction, slightly south of east, and makes the same whistle like a missile falling to the earth, and she has become habituated to the whole routine.  We did not realize how much until one morning he threw it north of east instead of south.  Even though she watched him do it, she still ran southeast and sniffed the ground in ever widening circles, becoming more and more frustrated when she could not find the treat.  Finally he had to get up and walk in the direction he threw it and call her over.  Eventually her nose found it, but you would have thought we had punished her as she dragged herself back without her customary cheerfulness, her tail sagging almost between her legs.  She was not happy again until he had thrown the next treat in the right direction—translation:  the one she expected.
            Have you ever shown a friend a scripture that teaches something obvious, only to have him say, “I can’t see that?”  Have you ever had her read something out loud only to answer your unspoken comment with, “But I don’t believe it that way?”  Almost unbelievable, isn’t it?  Don’t think for a minute that you are immune to the same failing.  What you can see, what you do believe, depends a whole lot on what you are looking for. 
            The worst thing you can do in your Bible study is go searching for something to back up what you already think.  In fact, I often tell brand new classes, “The biggest hindrance to learning is what you think you already know.”  I have had students who were intelligent and sincere look at something everyone else could see but not see it, and nearly every time it is because of some preconceived notion they grew up with or heard somewhere a long time ago and have not been able to let go.  Even something as plain as the nose on their faces.
            What you already know will also raise a stop sign in your learning path.  As soon as you find what you thought was there, you will stop looking, when just a little more study and uninhibited consideration would have shown you something brand new.  The same thing happens when you rely on old notes.  You will never see anything new until you rid yourself of old ideas.  You will never find a deeper understanding if you think you have already dredged as far as you can go.
            Jesus said, “For judgment I came into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind,” John 9:39.  He was not talking to unbelievers.  He was not talking to pagans.  He was talking to people who thought they knew God’s word inside out, who could quote whole books, who kept the law in the minutest detail, proud of how exact they were—even beyond exact—and the fact that they were children of Abraham.  Guess who that translates to today? 
            When was the last time you learned anything new?  Thought any new thoughts?  Discovered any new connections in the scriptures?  When was the last time you changed your mind about something?  Can you see it if it’s thrown in a direction you never thought of before, or are you as blind as those people who were sure they knew what their Messiah would look like and how he would act?  When he came out of left field, they were lost.  How about you?
 
…and if you are sure that you yourself are a guide to the blind, a light to those who are in darkness, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself…? Rom 2:19-21.
 
Dene Ward