A Bird In The Hand

In my last post, written on October 7, I wrote: “We still have not turned on our furnace. We just might make it to our goal of not turning it on until October 15. Wednesday night the low is forecasted to dip down to 33 degrees. I’m tempted to turn the furnace on then, but I’m trying to remain strong.” The very next morning, THE VERY NEXT MORNING, I turned on the furnace. So much for remaining strong. I would not have turned on the furnace, but the overnight temperature had dipped to 31 and I was nervous that it was getting cold enough that our pipes might freeze. So I turned the thermostat to 45, telling myself that I was still honoring the spirit of our game, if not the letter, while also preventing the pipes from freezing. EJ noticed that I had turned on the furnace and, after teasing me a bit, suggested I turn it up to 58. A day or two later, I covertly moved it up to 60, hoping EJ wouldn’t notice. He did, but left it there. So, anyway, the game is over. We made it to the morning of October 8.

Years and years ago, I read an article in the Reader’s Digest magazine that was written by a veteran about his experiences as a Vietnam POW. He wrote that when a new prisoner was brought into the prison, they got with him a soon as they could to give him some advice. One piece of advice was that no matter how bad things got, it was important to maintain a sense of humor. They had noticed that whenever a prisoner could no longer laugh, he didn’t survive. I’ve never forgotten that advice. I’ve remembered it through difficult times in my life. I remember it even though we are living through some very difficult times now with high inflation, tragedies such as fires and hurricanes, threats of world wars, and various insanities. I keep track of what is happening in the world, but I also make sure I’m feeding my spirit with things that bring me joy. One major way that feeds my spirit is nature. As the hymn This Is My Father’s World says,

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.

This is my Father’s world, the birds their carols raise,
The morning light, the lily white,
Declare their 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 everywhere.

This is my Father’s world, from the shining courts above,
The Beloved One, His Only Son,
Was giv’n to show God’s love.
This is my Father’s world: why should my heart be sad?
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!
God reigns; let earth be glad!

This is my Father’s world. O let me ne’er forget
That though 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.

Watch on YouTube: This Is My Father’s World

When EJ is at work, we always message each other at 7pm when he has his first break and at 10 pm when he has his longer lunch break. During his lunch break last Thursday night, he messaged me that he and his co-workers were sitting outside and they saw the Northern Lights. So I went outside to watch them. I saw breathtakingly beautiful Northern lights strongly pulsating across the sky, even dark rose-colored ones, which I had never seen before. I watched for a short time but I could hear a rustling of something moving through the forest. There is something unsettling about being alone in the dark, hearing a noise, and not actually seeing what is making it. No doubt it was the deer, raccoons, or possums that I see on my trail camera every night. However, for all I knew, it could have been a bear. A few years ago someone reported at FB that they saw one only a mile away from us. Or it could be a cougar. A neighbor told us he had seen them in the area before. Or maybe it was the Dogman, which legend says roams our very area. Or even Big Foot. Or one of the criminals pouring over our borders. Spooked, I went back into the house.

My friends started sending me vivid photos of the Northern Lights from Michigan (south of Grand Rapids), Wisconsin, and Missouri. So I went back outside, sat on the deck, and watched the beautiful light show in the night sky for a couple of hours. I’ve never seen such awesome Northern Lights. It’s impossible to see such beauty and not think of God. In my mind, I heard “How Great Thou Art” epically thundering:

O Lord my God
When I in awesome wonder
Consider all the works
Thy hands have made,
I see the stars,
I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy pow’r throughout
The universe displayed!

Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!
Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art!

Watch full song on YouTube: How Great Thou Art

In my last post, I told you about the birds that have begun eating seeds from my hand. They perch on the bushes and line the roof of the house to wait for me to replenish the feeders. Every day at least one flies into my hand and most days there are more. The chickadees are the boldest. By now I think that at least two dozen have landed on my hand. One time a nuthatch took a seed. The little titmice fly around me, but they have not yet dared to land. The other day, I took a video of the chickadees. It wasn’t easy holding my phone (camera) with one hand and the seeds in the other:

This morning FIVE chickadees landed on my hand, one by one. EJ watched from inside the house. Later, as we were sipping coffee, I suddenly said to EJ: “I have a theme song.” He queried, “You have a theme song?” “Yes. Do you want to hear it?” Of course, he did. It’s a cheerful song by Michael Kelly Blanchard. I enjoy Michael Kelly Blanchard. He tends to sing stories.

My Theme Song

I’m tempted to combine many videos of chickadees eating from my hand and setting to this song. If I can figure out how.