Cecily,
Thank you for sharing your musings about your life when you were
younger! It was most interesting!
LOVE AND GOD'S MANY, MANY BLESSINGS,
Reeva Parry.
At 02:07 PM 7/2/2006, Cecily Ballenger mused:
>I like the birds too. When I was young and lived at home on a little farm,
>In the summer, mother would get up early and go pick up the strawberry
>pickers who were all teenage girls from my sister's high school. They would
>arrive at our place about 5:00 a.m. and I would awaken to the sound of their
>arrival as my hbedroom window was open. After they arrived, I would just
>lay there and listen to the birds. There was a ton of them. There is one
>bird that I always recognize, but not sure what it's called. Could be a
>quail, but not sure. I would lay in bed and listen for about three hours.
>There would be an occasional moo from one of our cows, and maybe a car would
>drive by, but because we were on a farm and out in the country, there was
>hardly any city sounds, just the birds and the cows in the early morning.
>Fortunately, where I live now, we have birds too, but I don't hear them
>until I get outside.
>
>Cecily
>
>Behalf Of Reeva Parry
>
>Hi Phil!
>
>First of all, let me say that Mari and I loved this. Here she is.
>
>When I was a little girl, feeling so lost and tormented, the robins
>used to awaken me at about four in the morning. I would lie there for
>hours and listen to their songs and always feel cheered. Since I've
>started my bi-weekly prayer sessions, I have been awakened at the
>same time every morning, to once again revel in the sound of the
>robins and wait for the mourning doves and what I call My Jesus Bird.
>I don't know what kind of bird it is, but I think it's a goldfinch.
>It spills its song into the wind much like someone pouring out a
>glass of water into the air. It fills my heart with joy, and I find
>myself listening for it throughout the day.
>
>I have always thought that birds and other animals know Their
>Creator's Voice and recognize it always. Do they praise? You bet your
>boots they do!
>
>Phil, you are right. People not noticing birds is like people not
>noticing flowers. Flowers regale us every day with their beautiful
>scents, and yet, we pass them by and pay no notice. What would a
>planet be without all the beautiful flowers like lilies, orchids,
>jasmine, lilacs, roses, and all the other flowering trees and shrubs?
>Wouldn't it be grand to live at the center of a flower? Wouldn't it
>be great to wing our way across the sky, perching in tree to tree and
>singing our hearts out with abandon like all the birds of the world?
>
>You know, I used to be afraid of crows because in Spanish literature,
>especially the poems by Federico Garcia-Lorca who wrote about gypsies
>a lot, the crow was the symbol of death, the harbinger of bad things
>to come. But you know what? Crows clean up the planet, and they are
>very, very intelligent. No, their song isn't beautiful, but they are
>so necessary like everything in God's Creation. I love them now. I
>could go on and on, but Miss Reeves desperately wishes I'd quit so
>she can get some iced tea. Keep enjoying the birds, and be sure to
>notice God's Perfume, and we'll all be all right. They are all
>blessings for us.
>
>LOVE IN DADDY JESUS AND GOD'S MANY, MANY BLESSINGS,
>Reeva Parry and Miss Mari Mizrahi.
>
>
>At 01:03 PM 7/1/06 -0600, Phil Scovell sent:
>
> >I don't think I have posted this on here before.
> >
> >Phil.
> >
> >
> >Why God Made The Birds
> >
> >By Phil Scovell
> >
> >
> >
> > This weekend, I wasn't feeling too well physically. It was
> >sort of like the stomach flue or something. Anyhow, I normally
> >seem to get discouraged pretty easily whenever I get sick. Some
> >of it is related to the dozen eye operations I had 41 years ago
> >because I used to wake up sick as a dog and puking my guts up
> >after every operation. So, there's some healing there that needs
> >to be done but fortunately, I've already received a great deal of
> >healing in that area but there is more work to be done.
> >
> > Anyhow, as the day wore on, I got to feeling better. I had
> >been thinking about what I was going to teach on this morning,
> >Sunday, but somehow, and for some reason, I felt my spirit telling
> >me to switch to another topic and that was about birds. I
> >remember at the moment I felt the change, I was walking near the
> >bird cage where Chester, our African Gray Parrot lives, and I
> >heard him chattering and playing around. Parrots of all kinds
> >love to play. They, unlike people like me, have no problem
> >keeping themselves occupied in one way or another. So, as I said,
> >I was walking by his cage and his chattering made me stop and
> >think about him and other birds.
> >
> > When I was a kid, I had a dog named Corky. I've talked
> >about him before in other articles and testimonies. He was a rat
> >terrier and I spent a lot of time with him. I used to always say
> >to him, "Corky, I wish I was a dog." One day my mother heard me
> >say that and she asked why I was saying it. "Because," I replied,
> >"dogs never have to go to school." I have a feeling there was a
> >lot more behind my secret confession but I'll save that for
> >another time.
> >
> > I was reminded of this when walking passed Chester and
> >hearing him playing in his cage. I sort of thought the same thing
> >as when I was a child about being a dog but this time, instead of
> >wishing to be a dog, I thought of being a bird in God's animal
> >kingdom. I heard myself saying in my thoughts, "Lord, why are
> >birds so happy?" I was thinking, why do birds sing, those that
> >are song birds I mean, and why do they chatter and play around and
> >seemed to always be having a good time.
> >
> > Several years ago, I watched a two hour program on a local
> >educational channel which was on birds. They claimed that there
> >were over 600 billion birds on the planet, sounds low to me, and
> >2800 different species.
> >
> > Most of us probably never pay a whole lot of attention to
> >birds but I was thinking, this weekend, what it must be like for
> >all the birds in the world to awaken each morning and start
> >singing and chattering to the Lord. Millions of birds, billions,
> >singing and to whom are they singing? Well, they are for our
> >enjoyment, that's for sure, but what do you bet that God hears
> >them, every one, more than we personally bother taking notice.
> >
> > In the late seventies, we lived in western Colorado. I was
> >an assistant pastor in a small Baptist church at the time. We
> >lived in a brand new house and had one child that was a little
> >less than two years old at the time.
> >
> > One morning, about 5:30 or 6 o'clock, in April, I put on my
> >coat, after making some coffee, and carried my cup out on the
> >patio. the meadowlark has been just about my most favorite song
> >bird for many years. We lived in a very large valley and at the
> >edge of town. In fact, over our back fence you were considered
> >out of the town proper.
> >
> > that chilly mountain morning, as I stood and prayed, I had to
> >stop to admire the thousands of meadowlarks I could hear all
> >across the valley. One came within about 75 feet, or less, of the
> >patio and perched on top of a nearby telephone pole. He sang so
> >loud with all the others, you almost had to cover your ears. I
> >tried singling each songbird out so I could count all those I
> >heard that morning. It was impossible. I've never heard anything
> >like it before or since.
> >
> > As I poured out the small amount of coffee I had left in my
> >cup on the ground and pushed back the patio door, I realized that
> >those birds new more about praying and praising God than I did.
> >
> > This weekend, when I asked the Lord why birds were so happy,
> >He instantly said, "Because they know me." Quickly on the heels
> >of that knowledge, I realized that birds know him as their Creator
> >and so they are happy. Additionally, they know Him as their
> >Provider. You see, I know these things myself, theologically
> >speaking, but the birds know it from experience. More than
> >anything in my life, I want to know God as that which He has
> >created but to do that, you have to experience it. How do you
> >experience God's nature? I personally believe it is accomplished
> >through intimate prayer.
> >
> > Have you ever seen a bird up on a telephone wire muttering to
> >himself and saying, "What a lousy morning this is. The whole day
> >will probably be as lousy as yesterday. That's the way life is
> >for me," you hear him say, "nothing ever goes right for me. I
> >think," he says a little louder and with a little more
> >forcefulness, "I'll just cash it all in right here and now. I'm
> >going to do a swan dive, a perfect header, right off this wire
> >into the ground. I'll snap my little beak, my neck will break,
> >and I'll be dead. I'm sick of life."
> >
> > I hear little sparrows all the time around our house. No,
> >they aren't very pretty birds and they can't carry a tune in a
> >basket. All they do is chatter together. I've noticed though,
> >when I listen closely to their sounds, they seem to be happy. I
> >bet, I just bet you, that they are chattering about the Lord and
> >His goodness and that's why they sound happy. Of course, I could
> >be wrong and they could be belly achers and complainers like we
> >are but somehow I doubt it.
> >
> > "Oh," you say, "birds don't have anything to worry about like
> >me." Oh, really. What about their predators? Cats, squirrels,
> >high voltage power lines, hunters, kids with bee bee rifles just
> >itching for a kill, and a whole host of others that would love to
> >have them for supper?
> >
> > I've never seen a bird sitting up on my house saying, "I hate
> >life. Life just isn't worth living. It ain't rained in days.
> >The worms have gone so deep, I couldn't pull one out of the ground
> >with a pile driver. My stomach hurts I haven't eaten for so long.
> >Not only that, every single freaking bird feeder in the
> >neighborhood has been picked bone dry by them crazy squirrels. I
> >wonder why God made them dumb things any way. All they do is
> >steal my food. Oh, my belly hurts. God must not even care about
> >me. I'm so weak, I can't fly another inch," and with that, his
> >little legs give out, he rolls down the roof, off the edge, and is
> >dead before he hits the ground; dead of a broken heart.
> >
> > Why do you suppose we don't hear birds talking and acting
> >like that? I'll tell you why.
> >
> >Matthew 10:29-31
> >29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
> >shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
> >30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.
> >31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many
> >sparrows.
> >
> > The word for "value" is a rather unusual word. One meaning
> >is that of a boat, a ship really, filled with precious grains,
> >gold and silver, and many other such goods which will be sold in a
> >land far away. The returning sailors will be rich men because
> >they will have sold everything in the ship to those who have no
> >such provisions. Plus, they will fill the same ship with new
> >things from the far away land which they will sell when they get
> >home and make even more money. This describes the Greek meaning
> >of the word for "value" that Jesus used to describe how much he
> >values us.
> >
> > Further more, He makes a comparison. He reminded us that the
> >Father is aware of ever single sparrow that falls to the ground.
> >Sparrows, in those days, were worthless and were sold for a tenth
> >of a penny or a tenth of a day's wages. Oh, so you are thinking
> >that isn't very much value? Remove all the birds in one second
> >of time from our planet and see what effect it has on our
> >ecosystem. In a week, this planet would be in big trouble if god
> >removed all his precious little birds. Jesus says, you are worth
> >more to Him than the sparrows. In fact, he says, He knows exactly
> >the number of the hairs on your head. Admittedly this is
> >considerably fewer on some heads but regardless, God not only
> >knows how many we have, He chooses to keep track of them. Try and
> >figure that one out.
> >
> > So, why did God make the birds? Because they know Him as
> >Creator and Provider. I wonder if you do. I know I do
> >theologically but I don't experientially. I want to experience
> >the truth that the birds know so I can sing and praise God with
> >them every morning. I, too, want to be as happy as they are
> >because they know who they are and they know who their Creator is.
> >
> >Has He Ever Crossed Your Mind?
> >www.SafePlaceFellowship.com
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