My Morning Walks With God

OH SO FUN!!!




Friday I went out for my morning walk, as usual.
I had just asked the Lord what treasures He had for me today,
and i looked up and right there in the road ahead of me
was a family of raccoons!
There was a mama, (well i guess it was the mama),
and 4 little ones!!

First time ever I had seen babies!

They saw me about the same time i saw them.
Mama stopped, stood up on her back legs,
and started to herd her little group over to the side of the road.
She was watching me the whole time.

I started right away to get my camera out of my back pack.
As I hurried, she hurried, and
they were just starting to go down into
the blackberries into a little hole.

I said "Wait!! I just want to take your picture. I won't hurt you."

But she scurried them down into the hole anyway.

My plea went out again:
"OK. Just come out into the clearing
so I can get your picture."

They were meandering down the slope,
hidden under the blackberries;
I could hear them.
At the bottom was an old, overgrown stream bed.
And then they appeared again.




"There you are" I said.
" OK, now stand still so i can get your picture."

She stopped. Turned around, stood up, and looked over at me.
It was so awesome!!

There she was, just standing there, with her 4 babies around her.

She'd begin to wander off again, and I'd holler again.

She did that 4 times, with me snapping pics as fast as i could.
I do hope they will be clear when you click on therm.

What a fun way to start the morning.
Made me smile the whole day.

What treasures did God share with you today?

Blessings, and raccoon smiles to you!!

Barbara Jean

FOUND!!!!

My sweet fella went over to the store
after his Bible Study this morning,
and found my camera!!!!

Of course it was right in plain sight.
I had walked by it a dozen times,
and did not see it.

What is 'funny', is that I came away
from my quiet time this morning,
thinking,
"Lord, I am confident you will bring it back to me"
and
"Wouldn't it be funny if Scott went over
to the shop and found it."



So, when I heard his key in the back door,
I greeted him with excitement, saying,
"You found my camera didn't you!"

What's really great, is in that moment,
the Lord showed me how when we are lost,
and 'find' Him again, how happy He is.
How excited He is!
(I know that is a whole bigger thing,
but hope you get what I'm saying.)

In Zeph. 3:17,
part of it says.
"He will take great delight in you!
He will quiet you with His love.
He will rejoice over you with singing!"


Thanks for your prayers about my camera.
Blessings on you day.

Barbara Jean

HELP!!!

I cannot find my camera. I may have lost it while on my morning walk on Monday.
Please pray i find it, or someone responds to our lost ad.

Thanks friends.

In the mean time, i will post, but have to show you old pics.

I am very bummed.

blessings,

Barbara jean

My morning walks with God


God is faithful.




I love how God brings something to mind.
Sometimes it's a new thought or idea,
or sometimes it is something you already knew,
but put aside for a bit. (forgot) =0)

And He teaches each of us in the way He knows will
be right for us.
Some take classes, learn Greek, study commentaries.

This is the way He teaches me.

I was memorizing a new verse.
You know, how some bit of a verse is in your mind,
but you do not know it all, or even where it is in the Word?
(I will rejoice over you with singing. is the part i had in my mind))

The verse is Zeph. 3:17
(where on earth is Zephaniah anyway???)

" The Lord your God is with you.
He is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you.
He will quiet you with His love.
He will rejoice over you with singing."



First of all, I would read it, and personalize it.

My Lord, my God, is with me.
He is mighty to save, me!
He will take great delight in me!
He will quiet me with His love.
He will rejoice over me with singing.

Then, I would take each word,
and emphasize it, and think about it,
and pray for it in my life.

For instance, I would say:

My Lord- He is mine. It's a personal relationship.
It's only dependant on me. My choices.
Thank you Lord that you are my
Lord. Help me to chose you in every circumstance.

My Lord- Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
You chose to give up your life for me.
It is a love i cannot comprehend, but I'm so grateful for it.
You are, my Lord.
Help me to love like you do.

My God- The creator of the universe.
Sovereign, all powerful, Faithful...
( you fill in all the amazing characteristics of God).
Help me to remember your sovereignty,
and that I can trust you.

My Lord, my God, is with me.
He is, with me. You are with me! Right now!!!
Every moment of every day.
You never go away, never leave me.
Thank you Lord.

My Lord, my God is with me.
He is along side of. Always there.
You are with me, and I am never alone.
Please heal the loneliness i feel in my heart,
and help me take in all of you.

He is with me.
Just as I am. Me personally.
Thank you Lord.

~~~~~~~

So, you get the idea.
I go through the whole verse like that.

It really makes me stop and ponder
each word God is speaking to me.
It puts deeper meaning into my heart.



Blessings on your day as you study His word.

Barbara Jean

My morning walks with God


When life throws you curves.....



and things seem impossible...

and your not sure what is around the next bend......


Take time....

To be still before Him.....


And you'll see....





He knows the road ahead....

And has made a way for you to go.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He will make your paths straight.."
Proverbs 3:5,6

Blessings as you trust Him this day.

Barbara Jean

Feathered Friends Party

Feathered Friends Party

Time to see everyone's wonderful birds, nests,
cages, and all related bird items.

Now......

Are ya ready for the surprise?

I am giving away a bird nest to one lucky participant!
You can choose one nest up to a $15 value,
or use the credit towards purchasing something else from the gift shop.


Gina at
the shabby chic cottage

is our wonderful hostess!!
Be sure to thank her for this great idea!!

Get on over to check it out,
and be sure to leave a comment
at her place for the drawing.

Just to let you know:

Just to let you know:

I'm joining in on the

Feathered Friends Party

and Gina and I will have a surprise for you!!!
(and you know it will have something to do with bird nests.) =0)

Get on over and check it out,
then join us next Wednesday for some fun.

Blessings on your day.
Barbara Jean

Treasures from the Heart of God

This is a long post,
but so a part of my heart,
I hope you will bear with me
as I share with you.

````````````

I am beyond words with how to communicate
what i am feeling right now..
I have just seen the most incredible video,
but more about that in a minute.

Several months ago, for some reason i do not even remember,
I had the urge to try making my own bird nests.
And since then, as many of you know,
I have enjoyed building one after another, and
delighted in finding an assortment of materials to make them with.
I have loved being able to share with you
what i have learned along the way,
via 2 tutorials on my other blog.

I love being able to put my nests in a variety of unique
containers, which some of you have purchased,
and others have won via giveaways.
Even after all these months, building nests
continues to delight me.

In my search for materials as i walk each day,
and as a result of various posts i have done for special 'theme' days,
my mind and eyes have awakened more to all the beauty around me.

I now take my camera, a note pad, Bible,
and backpack with me each day when I walk.
Through these walks the Lord has been
speaking to my heart about so many things.
And has given me one creative idea after another.

In the middle of all this was a desire to use God's
creation to awaken a sense of curiosity in children,
to learn not only about His creation, but Him.
To share with them how much beauty is around us, and how
He speaks to us if we will only listen.
To use it as a stepping stone to study
the wonderful world around us.

Thus came this series on my walks with God,
and "Treasures from the Heart of God".
Now I am working on memory boxes,
a new project,
which i will tell you about another day.

So, back to my nests, and the amazing thing i saw.
I just made a few new nests, a bit different than i had been making.
One of my friends said they looked like Oriole or hummingbird nests,
so I got on line to see just what these nests look like.
There was interesting information on how they make their nests,
and what they make them from.
That is where is saw the hummingbird video.
An actual video of hummingbirds making their nests,
and one on from the eggs to
flying and leaving the nest.

It is the most amazing thing i have ever seen!
And I realized even more, what a wonder creation really is,
and what an awesome God we have that created it all for us.

My hearts desire is that we instill this
wonder into our children and grandchildren.
My next few posts will be on the
ideas i feel the Lord has given me
toward that desire He has put in my heart.

But for now,
here is the link to the most awesome Hummingbird video.
It is the 3rd video on the page, under
Hummingbird eggs.
Be sure to scroll down after the video and
see all the great photos.
(credit to Travis Hornung and others)

Then, I hope we will all join in to make this
adventure in learning an exciting one for us,
and the young people in our lives.

Blessings,
Barbara Jean

My Walks With God



I have walked for years for exercise.
You know, get those tennies on,
get out there.
Walk that two or three miles,
hot footing it all the way, then get on with your day.
This was my exercise.
No time to dilly dally.
Oh, I did talk to God,
but i was in too much of a hurry to listen.

Now this is what i look like when i walk.
Backpack, camera, note pad, Bible.

Jeans with holes and stains.

This is some of what i see while I'm out for my walks.

ponds and rivers,

beautiful flowers in unexpected places,

unique art surrounded by beauty.



And this is my log.
this is where i sit and ponder.
"Our" special place.

Some mornings, like this morning, I thought,
"I'm just going to walk this morning.
Just get my exercise in and get on with the day.
I have so many things and not enough time to do them all."

Then I thought,
"What if God has some treasure for me to see,
and I don't have my camera?
What if He has something special to say to me,
and i don't' have my note pad?"

Yes, I could still see them, and i might
remember them,
but for me, there is something about a picture,
or notes written down that keep them more fresh in my mind.
Or a bit of a reminder for later.

So, I sat down to write this,
to prepare, to calm myself,
so I can go out with an attitude of expectation,
waiting to see what my Lord has for me.

I want to slow down enough to
see and hear His treasures
for me this day.

Blessings as you 'stroll' with Him.

Barbara Jean

Treasures from the Heart of God

The Other Side of the Road

When i walk each morning I've noticed I mostly look at just one
side of the road on a certain route I walk.

It has lots of interesting things on that side.
A pond, where I see this Egret every morning,
and one day even saw a raccoon washing up for breakfast.

Interesting old buildings...

and beautiful horses that come greet me when i come by.



But I realized this morning i just do not look
at the other side of the road much.
I guess you might say it is actually
"kind of boring".
Big fields, bales of hay, trees in the distance...
Just not much very interesting.
If God had something special for me, I would
totally miss it because i was not looking for it.

So today I looked.
I looked back down the road where i had just walked.
And this is what I saw....

This majestic, huge, old weeping willow tree!!
I have walked past this every day for 2 weeks and never saw it!!

I ventured back to it.....
And looked closely.....

and moved a few hanging branches.....


and this is what i saw.



It was like a little hideaway.
something special, put there just for me for that moment.
A quiet place all my own to ponder.



And it made me wonder....

Do I tend to only look at the interesting things in life?
The obvious? The beautiful?
without seeking out treasures the Lord
might have for me, hidden away,
looking as if nothing special were there at all?

Do I do that at Church, with people?
Only seek out the fun, and interesting people?
Or do i go out of my way to meet new people, who may be quiet,
and feel a bit out of place.
Do I take time to look on the inside to
see what treasure God has placed in them?
Or what need they may have?

In ministry and service, do i only do the fun
and exciting 'up front' jobs?
Or am i willing to serve quietly in the background,
where no on even notices?

And what about God's word?
Do I read it hoping to find some treasure?
Or do I read out of duty and routine?

So now, each morning, before I read, or walk, I ask
God what treasures he has for me that day.
And I'm grateful to the Lord,
that He would show me, through nature,
that i needed to work on this area of my life.

Blessings as you seek God's treasures in your life.

Barbara Jean

PS Thank you all for your kind words,
thoughts, and prayers.
It is only sitting that hurts, and I'm so grateful for that.

So, I am doing my posts in half hour 'sits',
and probably not as many as preciously.
Just too hard to give up seeing
all my friends here in this wonderful land.

blessings and smiles