A HUMMINGBIRD LECTURE! 7/27/14

 
OUR NEIGHBORS across the street, had transformed their front yard into  a garden of color and beauty. One afternoon while sitting on the lawn swing on my front porch, my attention was drawn to a hummingbird that was in it’s very own heaven of color and fragrance, in my neighbors garden. As I watched this tiny bird moving quickly from flower to flower, it all of a sudden changed course and flew across the street right into my yard and planted herself upon a rail right in front of me. My deck had a bench that ran around one end of it which had a support back. Underneath was this rail upon which my visitor sat perched, and began to lecture me!

I WAS SO bewildered because I had never seen a hummingbird do anything quite like that. After she ended her tirade, she flew back to the garden. I watched more intently and again she changed directions and flew back to perch on my rail. This time I tried to talk to her! I asked if she had come a long way to find the garden across the street. She replied, but again I felt she was chastising me. She cocked her tiny head from side to side. She made a couple of tiny turns and then starred at me again. I had to laugh, because it all seemed so absurd! Startled, she flew back to the garden! I continued to watch and she returned one more time. This time she just sat there and then she flew away. Needless to say, for several days after that, I looked for her. She may have returned to the garden, but she never perched on my rail again.

WHENEVER I think of this tiny miracle of life, I am reminded of the story/movie; "The Secret Garden." I know many of you have read stories and have had some experience of your own that almost seem unbelievable, and yet they are real. My question was why did she act like that? Why was she so angry at me? Perhaps she felt threatened by my proximity to her garden. Perhaps she had been planning on making a nest and wanted to do that in secret.

I THINK that God sends these little splashes of joy into our lives to remind us who He is. He is the one that created all things. He is the one that brought the world and all that is in it, into existence. God said let there be, and it was! God’s sense of humor is evident with the fish in the seas; the birds in the air; the flowers and trees; the hills and mountains; the rock walls and rim rocks that circle the hills; the winds; the rains; the snow that fall every so lightly; the changes of the seasons which delight our eyes; the smells that permeate our surroundings and cause us to remember. When God was through indulging Himself through His creation, He saw that everything was good!

THEN HE looked around and saw that He wanted more. So He created animals of all species; babies and full grown. Then His greatest masterpiece of all; man! Again, God looked around and saw that everything was good! Somewhere during or after His creation, a situation happened in heaven and God asked Lucifer to leave with no uncertain terms. During Adam and Eve’s sojourn in the beautiful garden of Eden, that God had created for them, a most disturbing incident took place. Lucifer, now called the serpent confronted Eve with a most disparaging question. "Indeed, has God said; "You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?"

"WE MAY eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden; but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden; neither shall you touch it, lest you die!"  Genesis 3:2-3 Satan deceived Eve and she ate! Eve gave the fruit to Adam and he ate! Sin destroyed the beautiful world that God created for them! Today we endure, in a world that was once perfect! Adam and Eve were put out of the garden and it has never been the same since. Man was created to live on earth forever, but now through Jesus Christ, we can live forever with Him in heaven. Enjoying God’s creation is God’s gift to the world. God’s plan, from the beginning, is still working! How about you? By Jane Ann Crenshaw 7/25/14 (10/24/08)

WHEN THE STORMS COME! 7/20/14

STORMS COME in different forms. They can be rain, wind, snow, hurricanes, tornadoes and even a tsunami. They can also be events that cause major distress, such as a death of a loved one or loss of a job. Circumstances beyond our control can not only cause mental, emotional, but physical discomfort. All family’s experience storms of different kinds, but the one I want to talk about is unusual to say the least.

IN 82, DANNY left for Boise Bible College. In September of 83, Jennifer left for the same college. My brother Lonnie at that time, had begun an extensive renovation of his home to accommodate my mother who was in the difficult stages of Alzheimer. She was coming to spend the holidays with us, and Jennifer was coming home for Thanksgiving. One Sunday evening we pulled into the driveway! Living in the country, it was not unusual to see skunks but this time the skunk was tripping along side our house and disappeared into a 1' square opening just under the south end of our home. We both saw it, and immediately Jim said; "I think we have trouble"! Actually that was not the half of it! With the Thanksgiving holiday just ahead, we prayed that our visitor was just passing through and had no plans to stay. The following Tuesday we left for Idaho to pick up Jennifer from school and my mother who had been staying with my sister Jeri, during the first phase of my brothers renovations.

WHEN WE arrived back home we saw no evidence of our visitor from a few days earlier. A couple of nights after Thanksgiving we went to bed as usual. This night was to be the last night we did anything as usual. No more peace and sugar plums dancing in our heads, for a very long time. Around 2 or 3 am we were awakened with a strange pawing sound in the heating vents under our manufactured home. Immediately, our hearts began pounding in our chests. Jim got up and dressed! I headed towards the bathroom! A nightmare of a storm began and lasted until after spring break; March of 84! We not only battled the difficulties of caring for my mother but standing as sentinels with gun in hand, briquet fires to smoke the enemy out, and many, many sleepless nights.

EVENTUALLY, we had to take my Mother back to my sisters, so we could concentrate on our skunk battle strategy. Poisons to feed them, along with gun in hand, Jim led the final charge and ended the life of the last invader. The final battle of "Skunk Ridge in Sam’s Valley," took place under the north end of our home while being outnumbered 14 to 1! And then, all was quiet on the battlefront. During our time of trouble Jim would not talk! His mind and his strength was on the adversary and not on me. You could say it was our winter of discontent, and I understood! Our home had literally been turned upside down! We had spent so many nights responding to the sounds of scratching. Getting dressed and heading to the bathroom was routine! Watching my mother wandering throughout the house and listening for the enemy, consumed us! The siege of the skunks was almost more than we could bear, especially wearing the noticeable skunk cologne during all those months. We could hardly stand one another! When we found a hospital cleansing product to scour our home with, we were able to clean the house a total of 7 times, from top to bottom, after each skunk bombing. But nothing worked on us!

"I WOULD hasten to my place of refuge. From the stormy wind and tempest." Psalm 55:8 God was my refuge! "The Lord is my light and my salvation Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom shall I dread?" Psalms 27:1-3 Jim trusted in God and was strong! He did what he could! This passage talks about evildoers and adversaries causing us to stumble and fall. The hosts will come upon you and in spite of war all around, you shall have confidence. Yes, we battled a storm which left it scars, but with Christ as our captain, we won the prize for endurance. Praise God!
By Jane Ann Crenshaw (2/2/08) 7-19-14

LET'S ENJOY THE DAY! 7/13/14

THE WINTER of 2007 and 08, we actually felt like we had moved into the land of snow. If I remember rightly, it began in November and never had a chance to melt until long into the end of spring, and early summer. We were fully dressed in a beautiful white frock which gradually turned into slush with tones of ugly brown with streaks of gray and white. Even though many were on their roofs removing a disaster waiting to happen the birds were out looking for their regular restaurant haunts. Some were still open as the owners would refill their feeders twice daily. Others, were apparently closed due to bad weather! I have heard that birds will return daily to the same food supply. I know Jim and I do!

WE NOTICED that the robins that year, were a little more plump than usual, but only to the point that we noticed. Nothing more! Did they know something we didn’t? At the time we had a small tree in the front that had red non-eatable berries. In the back we had a medium size red berry tree, of a different kind. Usually in the spring, we have to clean up these berries because the birds never touched them. Not so this particular season! A good size flock of Robins found our back yard, and it became their winter resort!

THAT YEAR their red/orange chests protruding almost to the ground, were amazing! One Robin took possession of the ground, under the wheelbarrow planter. When other Robins wanted to join him, he became aggressive and chased them away. The snow that had fallen off the roof created little mounds and the birds pecked their way through it to locate the ice berries underneath! Oh how much fun we had watching all the activity in our back yard!

INTERESTINGLY enough, we discovered that while eating the worms we grow in our front yard, the Robins stayed slim and trim. But because the worm café was closed, they were eating only dessert and believe me it was beginning to show. Not only the Robins, but much smaller birds were filling out as they ate right along with them. There is no segregation within the fine feathered friends at the dinner table, unless you are trying to eat off each others plate!

THAT particular winter we enjoyed ourselves while sitting in the warmth of our home, watching the birds pigging out under the berry tree. We were amused and amazed at the nature displayed in our yard. I usually worried a lot about the snow and the problems which caused dangerous situations, but that year the snow brought to the birds, joy, delight and of course berry’s!

THIS YEAR not so much snow, rain or any of the precipitation that is required for a productive growing season. The snow pack was sparse and so the water needed for the lakes to fill our canals, which carry the much needed water to the area’s farm land, is lacking. A drought has come to our area and the local news talks about the controversies as to who should get the water. This year the Indians lay claim to water that has served the surrounding area. Years ago it was to save the sucker fish. But what about the farmers, who feed the many, and those who rely on the water for other irrigation? God says; "Put your trust in me!"

"DO NOT be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink. Look  at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life?" Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day!" Matthew 6:34 Let us enjoy today! Don’t worry about what might happen. Solve what is happening today and don’t borrow from tomorrow. Instead, let’s feast on the berries of life with joy and anticipation. Worrying about tomorrow destroys peace. Praising God when the morning comes, brings peace!
By Jane Ann Crenshaw 7/11/14

GOD SENT A DOVE! 7/6/14

I REMEMBER going to the movie theater years ago and along with the feature there was a documentary about a tumble weed. As Jim ate his popcorn I became engrossed in the story of a lost tumble weed. I squirmed in my seat, as the wind blew this little weed in and out of traffic and all kinds of possible dangers. I was so affected by what was happening on the screen, that I felt joy and also pain. When I think about that tumble weed, I understand why children become so caught up in animated stories and why adults love the computerized games that they play with. It consumes their interest to the point, that it almost becomes real, a part of them! The cartoon, or the thing in their hands takes on a life of its own, that they feel its joy, and even its pain. We are happy when we win and sad when we lose! Isn’t that the way we are?

HOWEVER, we do live in the real world! Playing with paper dolls as we did years ago, or even playing hand held games, it is all make believe! It is not real! Sometimes when we watch the birds around the bird feeder in our yard, it is almost like watching a make believe, animated video. But the birds are real! Are you aware that they are watching us, while we are watching them. We love to watch them and do whatever we can to entice them into our view.

GOD sent a Raven back in the days of Noah! God sent some birds to feed Elijah, as he sat upon the hill during a 3 year drought! God sent a Dove when Jesus was baptized, and one Saturday morning God sent us a Dove also. So unexpected; so bewildering; so sad!

EARLY one Saturday morning I was sitting in my recliner and Scotty, the cat was laying on the floor beside me. All of a sudden we heard a loud thud inside the fireplace chimney wall. Scotty ran to the fireplace to see better and I was in a panic because I could hear the flapping of wings and knew that a bird had fallen down the chimney. Thankfully it was not the season for a fire, but then we seldom ever had a fire! I hollered for Jim and we pondered our next move. Obviously it was our move, because the bird couldn’t seem to find its way out, even after Jim opened the damper. I called several chimney sweeps, but none could come until Monday noon!  What were we to do? I made the appointment and we waited along with intermittent flapping of wings.  

SUNDAY morning I told our story to our church family and everyone had a solution! Only one became a consideration on Monday morning. The flapping of wings were now growing far and few between and I was so sad and worried for this little bird. Finally, I decided to try the lamp trick. I placed a lamp just inside the fireplace and turned it on. Jim fix a secured path from the fireplace to the sliding glass door. It didn’t take long! As soon as our visitor saw the light he went towards it and fell through the damper! Jim helped the little fella to make its way towards the door and followed him outside.

THE DOVE hopped along the sidewalk while Jim went to turn the hose on to give him a drink of water. As I stood there watching in awe, the water coming on, frightened him and he took off into the air as though he had just stopped for a moment and was now on his way, full strength! I cried! Jesus said; "You can buy two sparrows for a penny; yet not a single one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s consent." Matthew 10:29 The sparrow was the smallest and the least valuable of birds. So cheap, yet God is aware of them!

GOD is also aware of you! "The people who live in darkness will see a great light. On those who live in the dark land of death, the light will shine." Matt 6:16 Those in religious ignorance live in darkness. Light means truth! Our world was in darkness when His Word was not available. When His Word became available; light has shown all around us! Christ is the light of the world! Stop flapping your wings and become real!       By Jane Ann Crenshaw 7/5/14