Joy in the Congo

This is a shameless re-post from a blog I follow written by the wife of an Oxford student.  Watch this clip and follow one amazing story of men and women in the Congo creating beauty in the midst of this war-torn country.  

Goodbye

Tonight my phone bit the dust.  It's been trying to die for a while now and I've been willing it to live for at least another month.  But tonight it gave me no say in the matter.  So, as far as I can tell, it is gone for good.

So for everyone who keeps me entertained by talking to me on all my fancy pants apps.... I guess it's back to good old email.  Words with Friends, I'm sorry to say goodbye so abruptly.  Draw Something, now I guess I'll have to play this game on paper with my kids instead of sitting next to each other on the couch.  Instagram, we were friends for such a short time but I really liked you.  And TextPlus, you weren't that amazing anyway.  Skype, I will definitely miss you.

The saddest part about my phone kicking the bucket is that I had not yet uploaded my favorite picture from the day.  I took the boys swimming tonight at a hotel and just to have a little fun (and freak out the kids) I acted like I was going to drive right into the hotel through the front doors.  The picture was of the doors opening as I started to pull the car into the hotel.  OH well... we got a good, long laugh out of it and I'm pretty sure I won't need the picture to remember that!

the Snail

I saw this little guy in my backyard the other day.  And he reminded me a little of God's timing.   

 He's not working on our timetable.  He's really not in a rush.   

But I know He is moving, acting on our behalf.  

I know He is deeply involved in our lives.

And for now, I will hold on to that.   

For from of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who earnestly waits for Him.  Isaiah 64:4

Dawn Chorus

It is 4:00 a.m. when I am awakened by the beautiful sound of songbirds.  My heart leaps and a smile crosses my tired face.  I crawl out of bed to open my window so I can hear in stereo the beautiful songs that have stirred me awake.  The sky is just beginning to fill with light, and the birds take their cue.  It's as if someone has flipped on the switch and the birds begin to sing.  I put on my slippers and tiptoe down the stairs.  My morning has begun and I know that if I want, I can have a front row seat in a concert like no other.  It's raining, so this morning I'll sit inside.  Some mornings I take a blanket and sit in the back garden where it truly feels like I'm in an aviary. Today, I make a cup of tea and open the kitchen doors to get the best sound.  I sip tea from my Union Jack mug and pause to take in the sounds.  The hum of the refrigerator kicks in, diluting what I've come to hear,  so I step outside.  I don't want to miss a minute. There's a female blackbird sitting on the fence responding to a call, a bird is perched on the top of the neighbor's roof belting out his song, five birds take flight overhead.  But most are still hidden away in trees and bushes.  I breathe in deeply.  I know God is here in this moment.  I'm in awe again that the Creator of the universe wants to give me such a personal gift.  The gift of His nearness.  The gift of His attention.  The gift of His love.

Toward the beginning of spring, I told my friend Mandy that I'd been waking up early to a symphony of birds and she told me that it was referred to as the Dawn Chorus.  I was so intrigued by the sheer volume of birds singing so early and so loudly, that I've been doing a little research.  Every morning throughout late winter and spring, these birds are in concert.  But each day, the song is new, not like the one before.  It is original music being played for the first time.  Different birds take center stage on different mornings.   Most mornings they start a little after 4:00 but some mornings I've heard them as early as 3:45.  The chorus is made up of native birds as well as migrating birds from around the Mediterranean and Africa.  It is common for different species to sing their song at different times, though there is no fixed order.  It's also been found that birds perched higher in the trees and birds with larger eyes tend to begin singing first, perhaps related to amount of light perceived.  It is thought that when it becomes light enough to look for food, the singing wanes.  The beautiful notes I'm hearing are actually mating calls and territorial hymns.  To me, they are the songs of creatures well cared for, bringing in the new day with gratefulness to the One who looks after them.

*Listen in for a taste of my spring mornings.....

To hear some of the birds individually, click here.

Some of the most often heard species of birds singing in the Dawn Chorus in the UK are:

Chaffinch

Common Blackbird

European Greenfinch 

European Robin

Dunnock

Willow Warbler

Wren

Carduelis 

Chiffchaff

Song Thrush

Blackcap 

*compliments of Wikipedia

I am learning to take my cue from the birds at such an early hour.  I know these early waking times this spring have been an invitation.  An invitation to know his nearness, to hear his voice to me when it is yet quiet and the busyness of the day has not yet begun.  I read of the Dawn Chorus that,  "It is also true that songs carry much better around dawn and dusk because there is less wind at those times of day, not only is there tranquility, there is also much less background noise (natural and man-made). For these two reasons a typical bird song, it has been calculated, will carry 20 times as well as at noon."  

It does cause me to think and to see the correlation with hearing God's voice.  He's always speaking in some way.  But there are times and ways to hear him more clearly. It's more difficult to hear Him speaking to my heart when there's a lot of background noise.  His voice carries better when the wind and noise are quieter.  I'm more inclined to distinguish the notes.

I love Eugene Peterson's rendition Matthew 6:26-29 (The Message)

25-26 "If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion.  There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.  Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God.  And you count far more to him than birds. 
27-29 "Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch?  All this time and money wasted on fashion-do you think it makes that much difference?  Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers.  They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it?  The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

Careless in the care of God.  This.  Can it be?  To be careless is to be "exhibiting a disposition that is free from cares."  He's saying to my heart that yes, in fact, it can.  But I can only hear it when the background noise has been silenced and the wind is still.  Sometimes I have to go searching for that place, even if it comes at 4 in the morning.