Honey's Eggs

For the last week or so, little Honey Hummingbird has been flitting to and from her nest, busy as a bee making it just perfect for raising her young (see last post for details). But as of 2 days ago, she has spent considerably more time at home, making me suspect the nest is complete and the time has come to have her babies.


Sure enough, when Honey took a short break from sitting on her nest yesterday morning, I looked and found...


...one sweet little egg! It's only slightly bigger than the eraser of a pencil.




And then today...




...another one!

I've never been much of a bird-watcher, but I am just fascinated with this whole thing going on in our backyard, right outside my window. I am in awe of God's creation and how the One who "fills the heavens and the earth" (Jer. 23:24), Who created the vast universe, would also create such a tiny little creature with delicate wings and movement, and give her instincts and abilities to make this soft little nest, and then fill it with tiny little eggs. It's beautiful. And I thank Him for giving us the opportunity to see it so close!

Taking Up Residence

I was in the living room a few days ago and just happened to look out the window in time to see a sweet little hummingbird hovering around our patio. I did a double-take, because I know these little birds can be fairly elusive, even for those who take great care in placing feeders around their gardens, hoping to catch a glimpse. I have no such feeder, so I wondered what brought this little visitor to my home.



The next day, she came back. Curious as to why this tiny creature would find my patio worthy of a second glance, I investigated. To my amazement, I discovered that she has determined this wire...



...to be an appropriate place to build her nest!



I'm fascinated, but also a little concerned, as the nest is so high off the ground and dangling over concrete. If she lays her eggs and one of the little birds falls out, I'm afraid it won't fare well.


In the meantime, it's been a great learning experience for all of us. I did some research and learned that a female hummingbird will use materials like moss, cotton fluffs, soft plant pieces, dryer lint, and leaf hairs to make her nest nice and soft. She brings these items back to her nest a little at a time, and uses spider webs to glue it all together.




Doesn't it look soft and cozy? It's tedious work, and she'll labor on it about 4 hours a day for 5-7 days before the little nest is complete. Apparently, she'll make about 34 trips for materials per hour!* I can believe it, as our little hummingbird flits to and from her nest at an amazing rate. The boys and I have enjoyed watching her arrive at her nest with a little bit of something in her beak, tuck it into just the right spot, and then jet off to find something else to add to it.



It's only been a few days since she started working on the nest, so I assume it's still under construction. It's been fun to see it take shape. We have a great view!


Here's our little bird working away on her home. The boys have named her "Honey Hummingbird."




Hopefully, we'll have some pictures of eggs to post soon!


*The website where I found my information: http://www.worldofhummingbirds.com/nest.php. Check it out if you'd like to know more about the amazing process of hummingbird nest building! :-)

The Wedding Flower

When Derek and I were married 8 years ago, our delicious wedding cake was adorned with Stargazer Lilies.



As the years have gone by, Derek has given me flowers, which on occasion have included the same striking lily amidst the bouquet.



When we bought our house a couple of years ago it was winter, so all the flower beds were quiet and bare. When Spring came and the ground began to warm up, little green shoots began to sprout from various places in the front flower bed. The previous owner had planted several different varieties of perennials, and since I am not skilled to recognize them by their foliage alone, I watched eagerly to see what they would turn out to be.

Imagine my surprise when one day I checked on the progress of the flowers, and discovered this:



Stargazer lilies! In our own front yard! How neat is that? Our wedding cake flower grows in our very own flower bed. Pretty cool if you ask me. Now if only the cake itself would show up in our refrigerator, that would be fabulous!

Cole, the Graduate

This week was Cole's preschool graduation. Now, I have to admit, I was a little skeptical of the whole thing. I mean, really? A graduation from preschool?

But when I saw my sweet son in his little hat and gown, walking across that stage and shaking the school director's hand, I have to confess I got into it just a little bit.



As I sat there in that moment, I thought ahead to the future. If we end up homeschooling all the way through high school, Cole won't participate in a traditional graduation ceremony again until he works his way through college. That's a long time from now. And yet, I am keenly aware that if in fact the day comes that he does graduate from College, this moment, this moment I am in right now watching my little 4 year old boy holding his "rolled up piece of paper" as he calls it, will feel like yesterday. In a blink of an eye my little boy will be a man, all grown up and ready to face the world. My primary opportunity to influence him, to shape and mold him, to teach him and train him will be over.

How I pray that I will be a good steward of these short years while he is in my care. How I pray that Cole's heart will be turned toward the Lord; that he would learn to love others and serve God with all his heart. That he would trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and serve Him faithfully all his days. And not only for Cole, but for all three of my sons the Lord has entrusted into our care.

It is a massive responsibility, but I am not alone. How thankful I am for a God-fearing husband with whom to partner. And how blessed we are to have parents and grandparents who love the Lord, who pray for us and our children that the legacy of faith would be passed down from generation to generation. And most importantly, we have the Lord, "who is able to keep us from stumbling, and to make us stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy" (Jude 1:24).

Now "to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever" (Jude 1:25).

The Rest of the Story

I figured after sharing Cole's sweet prayer in yesterday's post, I should also share what a mother of 3 boys usually hears during the day:

"Let's play something reckless, Daddy!"

"I'm a T-Rex. Grrr!"

"Can we have a pet snake?"

"Mommy, come look at Max's poop. It's cool!"


Never a dull moment.

Cole's Mother's Day Prayer

"Dear God, thank you for giving me a mommy who cuddles me. Thank you for our food, and thank you for giving us the church. Amen."

Lessons from Grease

Just over a week ago, I grilled some hamburgers on my indoor grill pan. And when I say "some," I mean enough to feed 21 adults and children.

Now, I don't know if you've ever used one of those things before, but if not, let me just save you the trouble. When I was done, the pan was such an awful mess it took 3 of us taking turns at scrubbing to get it to come clean.

And that was just the grill pan. You should have seen the stove. The grease splattered ALL OVER the place. We're talking all over the stove, the wall behind the stove, the utensils that live in a container next to the stove, and well, everything anywhere near the stove, including the floor. So when the party wound down, I got out my handy kitchen cleaner and went to work. After some good scrubbing (and lots of help from my lovely family), we got the kitchen sparkling clean (or so I thought), and I went to bed thinking that was the end of that.

But the next morning when I went in the kitchen, I was greeted by a very unpleasant smell. I realized pretty quickly where it was coming from; the stove.

"Great," I thought. "There's still grease somewhere."

So, I cleaned it all again.

And again.

And again.

I can't tell you how many times I've cleaned that thing and thought the smell must be gone by now only to come back later and find that it still wreaks of smelly grease.

I've removed the control knobs and cleaned behind them. I've cleaned the whole vent-hood-thing-y (whatever it's called), including the vent cover and the fan inside it. I've cleaned the grooves that are hard to get to on the oven door handle. I've wiped down the cabinets. I left out baking soda and vinegar over night to see if that would absorb the smell. I've even pulled the stove completely out from the the wall (thank you, honey!) so I could clean it on all sides.

The smell is still there.

As I've pondered what else to try, I've also wondered if there is a lesson hidden in this whole escapade. I love to find little illustrations in life that go along with what the Bible teaches. Somehow looking for the gold in the dirt, so to speak, makes the chore seem a whole lot more tolerable. You know?

And by prayerful thought and God's grace, I found it! (The lesson, I mean. Not the grease.) You're just dying to know what it is, aren't you? I thought so!

Sin is Like Grease
Ok, so sin is like grease. When grease is first cooking, it smells yummy. Those hamburgers made my mouth water smelling them while they splattered away in the pan. Some of our guests even commented on how good they smelled as they pulled into the driveway. Sin can seem equally yummy. If it wasn't appealing, we wouldn't want to eat it.

Grease Turns Nasty
But when the meat has been eaten, the grease that remains turns nasty. If my hamburger had smelled the way my stove has for the last week, I assure you I would not have eaten that hamburger. The first bites of sin taste good too, but it leaves behind a residue in our hearts. It makes us filthy, smelly, and downright ugly. So how do we get clean?

We Confess; God De-greases
"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." And God's cleaning is far more effective than my bottle of Lysol, because it's the blood of Jesus that "cleanses us from all sin"(I John 1:7 & 9). But did you catch that first part? "If we confess..."

Sin May Be Obvious
Sometimes our sin is obvious to us, and we confess it quickly; like the grease I first saw on the stove right after I cooked the hamburgers. I could see it was dirty, so I cleaned it.

Sin May Be Hidden
But what about the sin we don't realize is there; sin that's stinking up our lives and we don't know where it is hiding? Sin we would confess if we knew about it. Maybe it's because we don't know it is sin, or maybe because we've been doing it so long, we don't "smell" it anymore. As I've been working on making my home smell nice again, I have worried that my nose would get use to the smell before I figured out where it was coming from and think it must be gone when it wasn't. How bad would that be! My house would stink and I wouldn't even know it! I would need a friend, someone who cares about me enough to tell me the truth, to let me know (gently!) that my house didn't smell so good.

Friends Show Us Our Sin
Likewise, we need to have friends in our lives who love us enough to (gently!) tell us when we are sinning. As it says in Hebrews 10:24, "Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds." As we "spur each other on," sometimes that will include (gently!) pointing out the areas that need improvement.

Scripture Shows Us Our Sin
God also shows us our sin through His Word. "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness" (II Timothy 3:16). I know my stove stinks because I've had the privilege of smelling better things. Things that make me go, "Mmmm." I have a reference point, so to speak. If I had never smelled anything good, I may not especially enjoy the aroma wafting from the stove, but I might not know just how bad it is. Likewise, if we want to know what sin is and how badly it makes us stink, we need to read the Bible and "be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect" (Romans 12:2).

The Search Continues
So, the hunt for the grease on my stove continues. I really hope I can find soon. I'd rather not smell it every time I go to the kitchen to prepare a meal. It just isn't very appetizing. But even more, I pray God will show me if there is any grease hiding in my heart. To have a stinky stove is an inconvenience. To have a stinky heart is a hindrance (Hebrews 12:1). So, I join with the Psalmist and pray:

"Search me, Oh God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way." (Psalm 139:24)