A Morning Song from the Meadow

Almost every morning I am greeted by a cheery flute like sound. No, it is not coming from my alarm clock but it wafts up from the meadow outside my window, from a little creature who is our state bird, the “Western Meadowlark”.

Every morning, rain or shine, he sings. The day’s weather might be foggy, frosty, or fine, but still he sings and his song is somehow uplifting to me.

So far I have never been able to see him, but I know from reading about him that he lives in the marshy reeds of the meadow near me. I have seen pictures of him, but have never yet been able to capture him with my own camera.

His daily consistency encourages me. As I listen to his song I often believe he is speaking to me to awaken and enjoy another day that the Lord has made. Whatever the weather, I imagine that I should rejoice and be glad for another day of life!

Thank You God, for giving me this unseen daily visitor who inspires me with his song.  I pray I can do the same for others through this blog post today.  

Western Meadowlark

 

The Western Meadowlark was chosen as the State Bird of Oregon in 1927. It is known for it’s distinctive and beautiful song.
It is truly one of God’s wondrous works.

For more information visit this link: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_meadowlark/id

Listen to a video recording of the Western Meadowlark’s  beautiful song at this link:
youtube=http://youtu.be/lvAUgFb1cLY

2012 in review

THANKS FOR VISITING AND READING THIS BLOG IN 2012!

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

600 people reached the top of Mt. Everest in 2012. This blog got about 1,900 views in 2012. If every person who reached the top of Mt. Everest viewed this blog, it would have taken 3 years to get that many views.

Click here to see the complete report.

Grateful for His Wondrous Works

During this season of thankfulness, I am so grateful for the magnificent, glorious, creation of God in my area of His world—the great Pacific Northwest!

This video “Visit Your Pacific Northwest National Forest “shows the wondrous works of God in the Pacific Northwest. The beauty of the mountains, trees, oceans, rivers, forests, and skies. I hope you enjoy watching it and are blessed as you view His Handiwork.

Marvelous Mary and Her Natural Soaps

Mary Holmes

Meeting Mary Holmes was quite a blessing, tangibly and intangibly.  

I first met Mary via a Facebook post regarding Coconut Oil.  Since I had recently written an article on Coconut Oil titled “The Tree of Life” , Mary’s post about it intrigued me.  
One post led to another and when I learned Mary had her own local natural soap-making business, which was a garage-grown, woman-owned business, I knew I just had to meet her, check out her soaps and find out more.

Upon arriving at her home in Hillsboro, OR. last week ,I was greeted by a very friendly lady who welcomed me in and proceeded to show me all the wonderful things she makes in her “factory”.
Mary not only makes a multitude of various natural bar soaps, but also makes wonderful liquid soaps, lotions and lip balms. She is very knowledgeable about all the different ingredients she uses in her products and what each does.  She has been making soaps for 13 years and has obviously done a lot of research on natural oils and fragrances.    As she proceeded to show me her creations she would also give me samples. I left with my head full of very helpful information and my hands full of various samples to try.  It was the middle of January but it felt like it was Christmas all over again !

Mary makes all her soaps and lotions by hand in small batches and she is always working on coming up with a new recipe that might be helpful for someone’s skin.  Mary’s first soap was created for herself to solve a problem she had with her hands being dry and cracked while she was working as an RN in an Intensive Care Unit.  That product led her to continue trying more ideas for herself and others in hope of coming up with a natural healing solution via soaps and lotions.  She has made soaps and lotions for all kinds of skin problems and every ingredient she puts in her products is good for the skin.

Mary has quite an extensive list of handmade products which she sells online, and at various local shops.  She also makes up delightful gift baskets for all occasions with regular and novelty soaps.
Plus, 10 percent of all her sales is donated to charities supporting children and families worldwide.

I am still trying out some of the samples Mary gave me but I can already say that that I absolutely love love the Lavender Lemon Chamomile Lip Balm!  It is moist, creamy and has the wonderful taste of Lavender Lemon cookies !  Also, her “Bare Naked” soap and lotion which is un-scented and full of all kinds of natural ingredients really meets my skin needs at this time.

I invite you to visit Mary via her web site titled “Holmes Natural Bath and Body Care”  to learn more about Mary and her products and to order them online at http://www.holmesnaturalbathandbody.com

You can also connect to her on Facebook

Mary, in my opinion, is a blessing and truly one of God’s Marvelous works. 

Thank you Mary for all you do to make life better for so many people!

October’s Final Day

Autumn's Bountiful Colors-10-31-11

This is such a beautiful day I thought as I drove towards home after dropping my grandson off at school. 

The sun was shining brightly. The clouds were putting on a wondrous display in the blue sky and the vibrant colors of fall shone all around me  What a wonderful day to be alive!  

It’s the last day of October I thought. Yes, most call this day Halloween but it is more than that.  This is a day the Lord has made.  The world has labeled it “Halloween” but the Lord has given it to be so much more than just a day for tricks or treats.  He has set before me a day full of beauty and color.  What shall I do with it?  I must make a choice I thought, for October 31, 2011 will never be again after today.

My homework is done, I have no immediate plans, the day is laid out before me, a canvas of color to make mine.           I can’t help myself–I decide to enjoy it!  

 As each fall scene came across my path on the drive home,  I stopped to take a photograph of it.  Then, once home I chose to take a walk to further enjoy the day.  This created an opportunity to take some more photographs of colorful displays in my neighborhood.  

The experience was rewarding.  The crunch of colorful leaves under my shoes, the sound of birds chattering in the trees, a leaf covered with dew on the green grass, a bee enjoying his day visiting a lonely dandelion, mushrooms hidden beneath the stairs, summer’s colorful flowers slowly submitting to fall, and colorful fall yard displays all made for a delightful walk.  All this, I thought in one tiny area of my small part of this wide world.  What a treasure I would have missed had I chosen not to participate in all this day beheld.   I didn’t want it to end, but as the sun went into hiding and the clouds turned gray, I realized the time had come to head for home and record the memories.  

The sunshine, marshmallow clouds and trees dressed in their colors of fall on October 31, 2011 may not come again, but the photos I took will  preserve this day for me and others to enjoy whenever we might choose to do so.

If you were not able for some reason to be outside to enjoy this day or if you chose to but didn’t have a camera with you to record it, I hope you will take the time to enjoy my day with me.

Just sit back and take a moment to view the slideshow  Autumn’s Bountiful Colors Web Gallery that captures the wondrous works of God. 

Push the pause button to read the inspirational quotes if you need to.  Take your time and enjoy!  The works of His hands are on display!  Rejoice  and be glad !

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24 (NIV)

Excited about Creation!

I held the book in my hands.  There it was, my creation in print!  Two years ago it was just a thought.  Now, after many days and nights of hard work it was a reality.  I was excited.!          
I wanted to show and tell everyone.   I emailed  my closest friends.  “It’s here !  The book arrived today!” I said.  ” I want to show it to you!  When can we get together so you can see it?”   They shared in my excitement.   “You sound as if you just had a baby!”  one of them replied.  

Actually, the whole process seemed to be quite similar as it is a process of creation.  So much is put into writing a book that it becomes a part of you.  You spend many days thinking, researching, writing and putting it all together. Editing, rewriting, editing until you think you can’t bear to do it anymore.  Then it’s sent to the publisher and you wait and wait for the proof to come which you have to read over and edit again.  Finally that day comes,that it’s done!  The birthing process is over!  Your creation is complete and ready to be shared with the world!

As I thought about this, I wondered if that might be how God feels about each thing He has created.  People, animals, birds, trees, oceans, flowers, etc. they are all the work of His hands.  How pleased He must be when a baby is born or a flower grows and blooms.  I imagine He wants all creation to rejoice.  It’s here!  He shouts when a baby bird is hatched.  Look!  Mama kitty just had her kittens, aren’t they beautiful creations?  Come and see the my power in the ocean I created, listen to it roar, feel its strength.  Aren’t you excited!   Don’t you just love my beautiful trees and majestic mountains?   Look at everything I created !   It is all the work of My hands and wonderfully made.  I want to share it all with you!   

I would think maybe God could feel that way don’t you?  And, probably most especially about His human creations, for He said He created us in His image and that means we are surely even more special. to Him   Yes, each one of us are His workmanship and I am sure He is very pleased with what He created and He wants us to be also.  So, next time you look at yourself in the mirror think upon that.  Or next time you meet another person, look at them as a creation of God and rejoice over His workmanship.  Share in His excitement everyday by taking time to notice and enjoy all of His creation and then praise Him for the great works He has done.  I am sure He will be so glad to have you do that.  Just try it and see! 

Then God looked over all he had made, and He saw that it was very good!  Genesis 1:31 [NLT]

(My devotional book titled “54 Spiritual Blessings in Christ”  will be available soon. )

“Paper or Plastic?”

"JellyFish" from Plastic Bags Washed Ashore Exhibit--PCC

“Paper or Plastic?”
That used to be a frequent question at the checkout, and often still is.  Many of us choose plastic since those little bags with handles hold so much and offer us the ability to carry quite a few, easily, at one time.

Recently, though,  stores have given us the choice of purchasing reusable cloth bags in order to save the environment by not using plastic and saving paper.  However, that presents us with the problem of remembering to bring the bags with us to the store, and so often, because of the busyness of our lives, we choose to ignore environmental good just to keep from adding one more “thing to do” on our list.

I was guilty of this, until Sunday, when I visited the “Washed Ashore” project at PCC Sylvania campus.  A visit to this project, which shows the harmful effects of plastic on sea creatures, changed my thinking about using plastic bags.

Artist Angela Haseltine Pozzi, who headed up this project, said she wanted her life to make a difference, and I believe she is accomplishing that goal by not only using her artistic talents to create beautiful sculptures from garbage but to also tell the world how harmful plastics can be to the life in our seas.  Many of  the amazing sea creatures that God created  are being harmed daily because of plastic !  Plastic pollution is a big problem worldwide and affects over 200 species.  It is killing our seabirds, sea turtles, whales, seals, fish and coral reefs.  Plastic is moving into the food-chain as fish and birds think it is food and ingest it.

I, for one,  was not really aware of all of this until I learned about it while visiting the “Washed Ashore” project.  I will say that this information has now changed my thinking about using plastic bags at the store.  For when I learned how many giant sea turtles die because they eat plastic bags that they think they are jellyfish, I decided I could do something to stop that from happening.  So, from now on, I will carry cloth bags with me when shopping and maybe through doing this I can save at least one turtles life.

I would encourage you to visit the “Washed Ashore” project which is on display at PCC Sylvania campus until June 10th.  This beautiful display of gigantic art carries a powerful message to all of us, to stop and think about what we can do to save all the wondrous works God has created.

For more information follow these links:
Washed Ashore Project:  http://washedashore.org/

PCC Washed Ashore Project: http://news.pcc.edu/2011/04/washed-ashore/

The Greater of Great

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
 ~John Muir

I can only imagine what John Muir, the Scottish born,American Naturalist, who lived a good part of his life in the wilderness, was looking at when he wrote these words.  Perhaps it was one morning when he awoke while working on a sheep ranch in California, or while watching the sun set in the Yosemite valley during one of his exploration trips.  In any event much of John Muir’s life was spent in “studying the inventions of God” as he put it, and I am sure the sun was a big part of that study as he explored the nature that he loved from 1867 until his death in 1914.

The Sun…we long for it on cloudy days when it hides from us, yet when we are driving into its setting brightness at day end we often don’t appreciate it, and with good reason!
Since the sun sometimes seems to become so bright just before it sets, it is often difficult to see anything very far ahead of us and that makes driving hazardous.

This was my experience a couple of days ago when I had enjoyed a beautiful sunny day and began driving home headed west.  The sun in all its bright glory was beginning to descend, outlining the mountains with threads of light and bringing John Muir’s quote to life in my mind.

I love the beautiful sunsets we often have the joy of experiencing here in the Pacific Northwest and, like John Muir, I have often captured their beauty in words or photographs while sitting on a beach or relaxing at home.
However, today, the sunset was not something I was enjoying, as it was inhibiting my driving and even though I had my sun visor down my visibility was so limited I nearly ran a red light!

Thankfully I was able to arrive home safely without any mishaps and I immediately I set out to search for a pair of sunglasses to put in the car for the next time I might have a similar encounter with my sunny friend in the west.   I also decided to do a search online for some facts on this great light, the Sun, which is one of the wondrous works of God.
I invite you to check out these links to see the interesting information I found on the Sun at
“Windows to the Universe”– a site by the National Earth Science Teachers Association and
“Universe Today”–A List of Ten Interesting Facts about the Sun

Then God made two great lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night.
Genesis 1:16 [NKJV]

You might also want to read more about John Muir at:John Muir Biography

Spider! Friend or Foe?

Often that word puts fear into our hearts or automatically causes us to jump and say “Where!”

Last night I saw this in action as my grand-son caught sight of a spider in his room.  
This tall, confident, 17 year old young man instantly turned into a wide-eyed, freaked-out kid as he described seeing a “giant spider” crawling on the window sill next to where he had been sitting.

As he searched for something to do away with this unwelcome visitor to his room, he adamantly related his dislike of spiders, all kinds of spiders, but especially big ones !
 
By the time he returned to his room armed with a can of Raid in one hand and a fly swatter in the other, I am sure the spider had quickly made its escape to a less threatening environment, but just in case he hadn’t, my grand-son liberally sprayed the inside and outside window with a vengeance.  

As I assured my grand-son there could not possibly be any spiders around now for miles away because of the smell of all that spraying he did, I returned to my computer in the next room and began to wonder about the good of spiders. Surely there must be something good about them because, after all, they are God’s creations.

So, putting my homework aside for a moment I decided to do some quick research on spiders because even though I had often been told they were good and shouldn’t be harmed, I had never really studied them nor given them much thought unless I saw one scurrying across my path or spinning a web on my patio

My quick research told me that:

There are at least 30,000 different species of spiders in the world all of which prey on insects–not humans! Well, that’s a #1 good thing about them!

Spiders do away with a large number of disease-carrying and crop-destroying insects.
In fact, if every spider ate just one insect every day for one year, all those insects would weigh
as much as 50 million people. Wow! Second good thing!

Gardeners love them for they weave intricate orb shaped webs that catch plant eating insects.
 
Lawns like them because they keep the tiny insects in them under control.

In fact, spiders are the most important predator of insects in the world, but because of their scary looks they often are not very appreciated, except by birds who love to eat them.

So even though my grand-son might not ever see their worth, they do have a place in this world and are good in many ways.  

If you don’t agree, just ask “Wilbur the Pig” whose best friend was a spider named “Charlotte” !

Master Gardeners: http://cemadera.ucdavis.edu/newsletterfiles/Master_Gardeners_Articles4133.PDF
GardenWeb:  http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/orglawn/msg052209439900.html?6   
Homeowners Column:  http://web.extension.illinois.edu/champaign/homeowners/000819.html
Wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlotte%27s_Web

“Flies, what good are they anyway!”

“God in His wisdom made the fly
And then forgot to tell us why.“
~Ogden Nash, “The Fly”

“Flies, what good are they anyway!”
my friend said as we tried to swat one that kept buzzing around our heads.

“Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good “ I said, quoting Genesis 1:31.  However, even though I always tried to look for good in everything, I secretly had to agree with my friend that flies really didn’t seem to be much good for anything except annoyance and germ spreading.

Later that day, I happened to began thinking about flies again and I decided to see if there was anything good about them.  After all, a creation of God has to have some good, some purpose, some redeeming quality. So, I decided to look up “Flies” in the online search engine to see what they were good for and this is what I found.

I learned that male flies are important pollinators because they dine only on plant nectar and sap which they get ,in part. from early spring wildflowers.  They pollinate as they go and Black flies may even be pollinators of our blueberries. In fact, only bees and some wasps pollinate more plants and flowers than male flies…interesting…I guess those guys do some good after all!

Another good quality I found was that Black flies are a good source of food for other wildlife, like bats, fish, spiders, dragonflies, swallows and crows.  In fact, one crow could eat 16 bushels of them in one year!
Ok, let’s hear it for the crows !  They are some fly catchers !

Also, flies act as scavengers and recyclers by feeding on decaying waste and that is definitely a good thing.

So, I found that flies are indeed beneficial and necessary in the right places or at the right times.  It’s just that when they are being annoying by buzzing around your head or crawling all over your food and perhaps spreading germs, that it’s hard to see any good in them.

The same could be said about all of us at times, I guess.  We all have our good and bad qualities, sometimes the good outweighs the bad or vice versa, yet if we take the time to search for it, good can be found in everything and everyone.

Tip: I also read that flies take off backwards, not sure if that is true but  that might explain how they seem to almost disappear before our eyes or why it is often so hard to swat them.