There is new life all around us. Nature bursting at the seams with birdsong and lilacs and green grass and fruit blossoms. Shy buds opening slowly, unfurling tender blooms. 
  
 

Tiny herbs lifting fragrant savory green heads toward the sunshine.

  
And a table for two that My Love surprised me with for Mother’s Day.

  
True beauty is not having everything perfect but seeing past the imperfections to the blessings tucked into the bursting life that transforms the brown. It’s in loving the joy tucked into corners of life. Welcoming  happiness into your front door.

  
Painting by the River with your paint loving son.

  
And although you have no idea what you are doing with the water colors, the beautiful mess they make is joy in itself. And you feel like an artist.

  
Real joy is sitting quietly watching these two together.

  
And somehow, I eke up joy in thinking of Kierra’s joy in Heaven. Not the giddy funny type of joy. Not a joy most people recognize as joy. Just a deep deep feeling that mingles with saddens and loneliness and comes out in pure white peace.

  
I wish you a blessed Spring!

I wonder if there are birds in Heaven. I wonder if they are more exotic then any winged one ever spotted in the history of the world. I bet they are.

Tonight we grabbed our bonocs and bird book and a little snack and headed out to do some bird watching. Freeze Out Lake is just a few miles from our house. And yes, it’s named Freeze Out since it quite often freezes solid in the winter.  Shallow acres of water that lie in wide open spaces of  ranch land. Cat tails and marshy areas make it a perfect bird habitat. We’ve been crazy busy the last while with spring clean ups and spring activities and dawn to dark schedules. Bird watching is a super relaxing way to spend a perfect Sunday evening.

I married a very handsome guy who has been bird watching since childhood. He amazes me. I see a flash of fowl and He identifies it before I can even comprehend if it was a hawk or a starling 🙂  and I mean names like Lesser Scoop and Marbeled Godwit and American Avocet. Yeah….I’m lost already and I just got back from a night of watching these amazing creatures.

 Kobe’s friend gave him a little pair of bonoculars and He carries them all around like a little explorer. I should have lived in Montana long enough to know to remember Kobe’s boots when we head out for wild life watching:) I still haven’t discovered the master trick of toughening up a sweet sensitive little boy….so until then we’ll do our best to take it slow and let life teach him that he won’t die from a tiny scraped knee 🙂

  
      Nature is so full of Gods amazing artsy creations! Stephen identified over thirty birds and Kobe and I saw some beautiful creatures we didn’t even know existed.

I think we need to go again real soon…..all those lovely bird songs are enough to soothe any soul! You really need to hear a Western Meadow Lark, see wild Pelicans scoop into the water, watch Blackneck Stilts, like mini Flamingos, stalking their prey and sit quietly in enthrall wander of the Cinnamon Teal’s amazing rich colors all blended into a gorgeous deep coat of feathers. I wish we had given Kobe a middle name of Teal 🙂

When we got home we found a tiny sparrow, lying too quietly in our flower bed under the big living room window. Kobe had to keep going outside in the dusk to check on the ‘poor bird’ .  I thought of all those happy flitting winged creatures over Freezeout Lake tonight and this tiny one lying so cold and broken and it didn’t seem fair. Then I remembered Jesus’ words while He walked on earth among death and coldness and heartache.

“Not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. And the very hairs of your head are numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God then a whole flock of sparrows!” Matthew 10

I love how He said those simple words….”So don’t be afraid.” We don’t need to fear this life or our certain death. Or the glorious return of our Saviour. We don’t need to fear about what will happen in the near or far future. What will happen to mankind when perverse nature rules and violence and sin take the upper hand. What will happen if sickness is not healed and bills do not cease and hearts are still broken. He sees every little and big thing in our life.

We are so valuable to His heart. So very very valuable.

He holds OUR hearts in His scarred hands

our names etched into His palms

“My Saviour holds my treasure

And He will walk with me!”