How To Make A Solid Nest For Life

My Pics bird raven

Sometimes after I drop my wife off at work early in the morning I’ll sit in the car and have breakfast by the river. I was sipping on some delicious cold brew and eating a jelly filled doughnut when this raven (or crow) stopped next to my window.

I am not a superstitious person, but if I were I would have probably chocked on the ‘juice’ inside the pastry I was eating.

Ravens have gotten a bad rap. People associate them with something bad. I read that if you see these black birds circling over your house or just perching themselves on your roof, it means someone’s about to croak. Ok… maybe I went too dark too fast. If nothing else, to many ravens are a sign of bad luck.

But I don’t buy into that sort of thinking. Let’s get positive!

Obviously this bird was on task and flew on top of that fence to catch his breath… it was only twigs in his beak but to a bird that load may have seemed like heavy lumber. I kind of think the bird was in the process of building a solid nest that could withstand wind and weather, a place where later on happy little birdies would be chirping and growing.

This all got me thinking about what it takes for a person to make his/her own solid nest (or a strong way of life) that will last. Of course we could list many ideas, but to honor your time (and mine) I want to go to the core of where we live and just offer 1 relevant insight.

Continue reading

How To Make Rich Forward Steady Progress

I don’t like frogs… never have and probably never will. It’s one of those things, I guess. But this tree critter caught my attention. He was trying to climb a glass wall. By the time I took this pic, it was already a few feet off the ground.

The toe pads on frog’s feet allow it to climb almost anything. On each hexagonal pad there are little ‘cute’ dimples that squirt sticky mucus to a dry surface, making it wet, so the pad can act like a suction cup and the frog can stick to it… I’m thinking Spiderman like (although it’s neither a spider or a man).

The interesting thing about this determined creature is that it would take a couple a steps up and then slide back down some. It happened again and again. Maybe his ‘squirter’ had a leak.

The whole sliding scene reminded me of me, not because my feet are odd looking or because I sound like Kermit The Frog, which I don’t, but because of the times I have felt like I was making little progress, if any. Have you been there?

When we were young, my wife moved the high mountains of New Mexico. We were almost a mile high in altitude and the temperature dipped below zero a few times. One thing we Floridians quickly learned about that kind of weather was not to hang clothes to dry in single digit temperature. T-shirts and underwear became stiff like wood! Try putting those suckers on…

We also learned that the floor would ice over in patches and we needed to be careful where we stepped and how we walked otherwise we would slip and fall.

Maintaining steady progress can be tricky!
If you’re not really into frogs, sorry about the above pic…

Anyways, steady progress in life can be tricky, unexpected twist and turns, people, mistakes we make, and other things can threaten to keep us from making rich forward steady progress.

Psalm 18:32-33 is a perfect word to help us keep moving ahead without losing faith,

“God arms me with strength, and he makes my way perfect. He makes me as sure footed as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.” Psalm 18:32-33

I think of mountain deer I’ve seen on tv that skip, hop, and jump from one jagged rock to another on the edge of a nasty cliff. The deer seem so effortless and crazy accurate as it make their way to the top. God wants to make us like that deer.

God promises to equip/strengthen us so we can climb with confidence. But that deer-like mobility and proficiency will come from Him and Him only.

When we’re about Jesus on a daily basis, the Lord in turn provides us skill, maneuverability (sheesh that’s a long word), and wisdom to adjust and survive what comes. And, like the deer, sometimes we move, sometimes we stand in place for a while, but our eyes are always on safely getting to a higher place.

One more thing, remember that the results of achieving our goals are not as important as the kind of man/woman we are becoming on our journey there.

You and I wish there was an easy paved road to the top but there’s no such ‘animal’.

The road to the goal ahead may be steep but don’t ever give up trying! And don’t ever become like that frog on the window, taking steps but slipping back. You are deer-like! You were designed by God to overcome until you reach your highest purpose.

Thanks for reading and please leave me a message.




How To Dig Out Your Own Great Escape

My Pics Canal

Almost 75 years ago a group of 76 men of the Allied Forces dug a 30 foot deep and 300 foot long tunnel to escape the brutal Stalag Luft III POW Nazi concentration camp. The story was made into a movie called The Great Escape. 

My good friend Laurence Green wrote a book about it called, Great War To Great Escape: The Two Wars Of Flight Lieutenant Bernard ‘Pop’ Green MC. It’s a great read of the ingenuity and tenacity of those men doing all they could to find life and freedom.

Continue reading