Psalm 65:8, 13 The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy. . . . The meadows are covered with flocks and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.
Psalm 104:12 The birds of the sky nest by the waters; they sing among the branches.
Ephesians 5:19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord,
I have a wonderful, excited little bird, a Carolina wren, which sings around my house DAILY since mid-April. Renters in other houses are commenting upon his continual song. He twitters this wonderful, full throat- ed melodic song, usually repeated and repeated, but he brings people out on the decks, listening to his song.
To me he seems to be full of praise, gratitude and thankfulness. But folks are stepping out commenting about how loud he is, how joyful he sounds, and I have the opportunity to explain this has been going on since the middle of April and I believe firmly in my heart this fella is singing his praises and thankfulness to God Almighty. The others pause, and admit with a nod, ‘maybe.’
To me there is no maybe about it. I have lived here full-time since 2014, and this breed does sing in the Spring, always welcomes the new season of growth, but not like this guy. This young, not very attractive brown bird, a Carolina wren, sings and sings and sings!! I have experienced 64 years of Springs, and do not remember ever hearing the praise and worship this guy delivers, every day. And it’s now the very end of June. And he draws others out to see what the song is about. There is nothing quiet about this wonderful guy.
Once in a while, another joins him on my railing and will also sing, but it is primarily just one. He urges me out of my house, to sit on the deck to listen to his gratitude, praise and worship song to our Creator. No one can shake this belief from my mind. This bird is giving excited, happy, loud, and full of beautiful praise. I know God can hear, I hope my neighbors and the other renters identify this is PRAISE, THANKFULNESS, and worship!
Comments are made about his loudness, but he is joyful and seems to be very proud of it. His singing pulls folks from the inside to the outside to see him; and it is another reminder for me to thank God for giving this precious gift of music from a little bird that might weigh 4 ounces! He reminds me of the joy of living and the bountiful gifts from my Creator. Such wonderful songs of praise he sings.
I sing (off key) songs of praise, so this guy has me beat. He is right on every note, every praise. Thank you, God, for this is a gift of ears to hear him singing his songs of worship. He’s a sweet creature you protect and watch over.
Thanks for all ‘mybellaviews’.
Romans 10:9,10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.
Acts 10:39-43 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
Jesus Christ was not just ‘a good man and they hung him on a cross.’ He was a good ‘man’, but not just a man. He took on human form but He was a part of the trinity of God. This, his birth, his life, his deception, the beating, humiliation, scourging, then being hung on the cross, buried in a tomb and the rising from the dead and ascending into heaven. This was God. Jesus was the last great sacrifice.
He sacrificed His own life so all of our sins could be forgiven. This is not a “story, a tale.” This is the means to eternal life IF you believe Jesus is the Son of God, He willingly died for OUR sins as the last sacrifice, He rose from the dead and ASCENDED into heaven, and now lives, seated at the right hand of His father, God the creator. Jesus is alive. In order for any to be saved, you must believe in Him, His death and resurrection and that He still lives. He is your only means to eternal life.
I believe Jesus Christ is God’s one and only Son, sent from heaven to live amongst us, charged to serve them, teach them about God and love, and then out of jealousy and fear, the priests stirred the people enough to demand His death. He died on a cross after horrific suffering, He was buried in a rock hewn tomb, and three days later, He rose from the grave, and then He resurrected to heaven, to again sit at His father’s side. His mission on earth completed.
He came, He lived amongst, and He taught and served and to those who believe in Him, He was the last sacrifice for sin. By His death and resurrection, if we believe this in our hearts, our sins are forgiven and we, too will live eternity in heaven. We have no fear of death and where our eternity will be. We will live with God the Father, His son Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
While researching this, and picking out my scripture verses, I found this article I would like to share. It is written much better than I could, and it is important and precise.
The following is a quote from David J. Stewart, November 2016, from an article entitled, It’s Not Enough to Believe Jesus Died on the Cross for Your Sins.”
‘It is not enough to merely believe that Christ died for one’s sins. Yu must also believe that Jesus was crucified on the cross. You must also believe that He was buried. You must also believe that He raised up physically from the dead three days later. It all must be included in the Gospel.’
(And you must believe it in your heart for salvation).
I do believe in my heart and soul that Jesus died on a cross for me and my sins, He was buried, He rose from the grave, and He was resurrected to heaven. I have been freed by this huge sacrifice. Thank You, Jesus, for Your sacrifice for me and ‘mybellaviews.’
Matt 9:20-22, Luke 8:43-48; Mark 5:25-34 All authors writing of the woman with a bleeding disorder and her faith in touching his clothes and his respect and gentleness with her.
John 4:3-42 Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman at the well and offering her His respect and the way to a fuller life following Him
There is a young woman I know slightly who is doing missionary work on another continent. She is doing her work with a group and she is stationed in a Muslim country. She writes monthly about her experiences, people she is living amongst, and how her work is changing her, how touched she is to be doing this work.
I received another email update today, and today, it was not her work and the people she works with she was talking about, today she talked about how men can intimidate and belittle women, easily leaving them vulnerable and uncomfortable, even if not in direct danger.
She had come back to the US for a couple of weeks, and was returning to her post. While traveling, she had a layover in an airport, and chose to sit alone, not near any other passengers. I think we all tend to do that; leave at least a chair between yourself and another. After a few minutes, a Muslim woman in full dress sat across from her.
There was one gentleman who started harassing her in a European dialect, and two others taunted her in Arabic. The Muslim woman bowed her head and looked very uncomfortable. The missionary woman I received this missive from described how there was an older man who looked indignant and like he wanted to tell these young men to back away, but did not. (Such a negative sign of our times, that there is a fear of doing the ‘right thing.’)
The Muslim woman glanced up and caught the eye of the missionary who nodded, smiled and discreetly patted the empty seat beside her. After a moment, the Muslim woman rose and brought her belongings and joined the missionary woman. They didn’t speak, but both felt the reassurance of the other, and gained the strength of being two women together.
So gentlemen, a couple of questions. What would be your response, or at least what would you LIKE your response to be, seeing this happen in a place where many travelers have gathered, and yet a single, lone woman can be taunted and intimidated? Ok, and if it happened to be a woman you knew and loved, perhaps your mother or sister or some other relative? How about if it were your spouse? How do you feel seeing this behavior toward women, because for sure you have all seen it, as I don’t know many women who have not felt it, and perhaps have had to move elsewhere to escape the discomfort. Would you intervene? Would you go over and tell the bullies to move on? Would you invite the young woman to sit with you until her flight was boarding? Would you try to bury your nose in your newspaper and tell yourself it is not your problem?
The missionary wrote the Muslim woman joined her and she said without saying a word it felt like they had bonded in a sisterhood. I can certainly understand that. There is a sisterhood just being a woman sometimes, because it does occur that women can be abused to a certain degree. Other women understand it because they have felt it a little too. I wonder how most of the other travelers felt or noticed. My acquaintance only mentioned she and the older gentleman attempting any kind of interference, so I am not sure if others were made uncomfortable but were a little fearful to intervene.
But why is it so? Why does it still happen that there are males, (Please notice I am NOT saying MEN) who are bullies? Oh, yay, look at you, you can pick on a lone woman and have her become uncomfortable! Wahoo! That’s a real honorable man–NOT!
Just saying, real men do not treat women in that manner. Bullies do, but I don’t consider bullies men, and certainly I feel no respect. Yes, there have been times I have feared them, as I am also not stupid, but no, there is no respect for a bully.
I am thankful I have a lot of sisterhood in my life…nurses who have and are faced with the challenges of nursing; fellow Christian women sharing our testimonies, love and support to others in our churches and communities, friends supporting and helping during a period of crisis, other mothers and grandmothers helping our families in a myriad of ways, authors who are struggling to get the right words for their stories, and so on. We are female and we have seen and experienced things that sometimes just occur because we are women, and in the midst of a couple of bullies.
I have no idea why God allows this to happen to women. I know He has a high regard for us, and yet it is still common. Please know and understand it is not all or even the majority, but it is frequent. Disgustingly frequent.
I hope that I would have stepped forward and helped another woman in the same circumstance. My faith has strengthened me to support others in His name. I am thankful today I read this and can share on “mybellaviews.”
1 Corinthians 11: 11,12 Nevertheless, in the Lord woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as a woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God.
“Scripture describes the creation of woman with the word ‘made’. God planned and supervised the ‘building’ of the woman with the intent that she would be a ‘helper comparable to the man.’ Unlike the animals, the woman was of the same nature as the man (Gen 2:23) It is a term of function rather than worth. A woman does not lose value as a person by humbly assuming the role of helper. The Women’s Study Bible 2006, Thomas Nelson Publisher, pg 825 within highlighted paragraphs entitled Wives called to be strong and Affirming.
There is a young woman I know slightly who is doing missionary work. She is doing her work with a group and she is stationed in a Muslim country. She writes monthly about how the trip and her work is changing her, and how touched she is to be doing this work. I received another email update today, and today, it was not her work and the people she works with she was talking about, today she talked about how men can intimidate and belittle women easily leaving them vulnerable and uncomfortable, even if not in direct danger.
While traveling, she had a layover in an airport, and chose to sit alone, not near any other passengers. I think we all tend to do that; leave at least a chair between yourself and another. After a few minutes, a Muslim woman if full dress sat across from her, and there was one gentleman who started harassing her in a European dialect, and two others taunted her in Arabic. The woman bowed her head and looked very uncomfortable. The missionary woman I received this missive from stated how there was an older man who looked indignant and like he wanted to tell these young men t back, but did not.
The Muslim woman glanced up and caught the eye of the missionary who nodded, smiled and discreetly patted the empty seat beside her. After a moment, the Muslim woman rose and brought her belongings and joined the other.
It feels like since time began, women have frequently been at the mercy of catcalling, belittling, sometimes verbal as well as physical and emotional abuse from men, yet the bible often sings the praises of a good woman. Wow, big deal, you are male (Please notice I did not say a MAN) so you feel you can abuse and laugh at a female.
So gentlemen, a couple of questions. What would be your response, or at least what would you LIKE your response to be, seeing this happen in a place where many travelers have gathered, and yet a single, lone woman can be taunted and intimidated? Ok, and if it happened to be a woman you knew and loved, perhaps your mother or sister or some other relative? How about if it were your spouse? How do you feel seeing this behavior toward women, because for sure you have all seen it, as I don’t know many women who have not felt it, and perhaps have had to move elsewhere to escape the discomfort. Would you intervene? Would you go over and tell the bullies to move on? Would you invite the young woman to sit with you until her flight was boarding? Would you try to bury your nose in your newspaper and tell yourself it is not your problem?
The missionary wrote the Muslim woman joined her and she said without saying a word it felt like they had bonded in a sisterhood. I can certainly understand that. There is a sisterhood just being a woman sometimes, because it does occur that women can be abused to a certain degree. Other women understand it because they have felt it to some degree, but I wonder how most of the other travelers felt or noticed.
But why is it so? Why does it still happen that there are males, (Please notice I am NOT saying MEN) who are bullies? Oh, yay, look at you, you can pick on a lone woman and have her become uncomfortable! Wahoo!
Just saying, real men do not treat women in that manner. Bullies do, but I don’t consider bullies men, and certainly I feel no respect. Yes, there have been times I have feared them, as I am also not stupid, but no, there is no respect for a bully.
I am thankful I have a lot of sisterhood in my life…nurses who have and are faced with the challenges of nursing; fellow Christian women sharing our testimonies, love and support to others in our churches and communities, friends supporting and helping during a period of crisis, other mothers and grandmothers helping our families in a myriad of ways, authors who are struggling to get the right words for their stories, and so on. We are female and we have seen and experienced things that sometimes just occur because we are women, and in the midst of a couple of bullies.
I have no idea why God allows this to happen to women. I know He has a high regard for us, and yet it is still common. Please know and understand it is not all or even the majority of men who think it amusing to intimidate women, but it is frequent. Disgustingly frequent.
There is a lot of disrespect throughout the world right now. I pray that if I witnessed the same incident, I would have joined the woman, or motioned her to my side also. This was a good example of bonds women forge. Sometimes they are made stronger in a united fighting force, sometimes, by sharing a mutual loss, sometimes by experiencing the same abuse or degradation, or facing the same challenges such as being the sole caregiver or something.
My faith has strengthened me to support others in His name. I am thankful today I read this and now can share on “mybellaviews.”
2 Corinthians 5:17,21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new…..For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
We become new creatures when we believe and accept Christ as our savior. Yikes, is that scary? Yes, it was to me, and I think to many it still is. We get comfortable in our skin, our habits, and our lifestyle. At least for a while. However, there are times we are overwhelmed with life, not making the best decisions, sometimes hurting ourselves with some of our ill-thought-out decisions, maybe hurting others—family, children, friends, and we may know we need a change, but have NO idea of how to start it. Or we fear the change and what that will entail.
I don’t know of anyone who has accepted God and started the walk through life with Him who regrets it. It is so cleansing to be freed of the burdens of self-disgust, hurt, fear, and shame we were carrying, yet that does not always mean we give over our bad habits, shameful, selfish behavior, and so on. At least not immediately.
In one of my devotionals, 365 Moments of Peace for a Woman’s Heart, 2011 by Bethany House Publications, the writer states ‘As you open your heart to him his nature will change your life. You will begin to see things differently and more clearly. Wrong thoughts will be swept away by good thoughts. Your actions will follow as you come to know God, and become more and more like him.’ on page 170, May 31.
But then we find much of our sinful nature we WANT to get rid of. For me it was giving up smoking, not watching soap operas or watching shows with other casual acts of sex, or shows of violence. Those began to disgust me. I turned them off.
My thinking began to change and I was less tolerant of some of the things that are acceptable by society’s standards. I found my moral compass was changing. There is no judgment that others believe in doing things I do not or anything, but there are some areas I have boundaries in and am not willing to cross or even bend them. None of my opinions change the way I feel others should live or walk their life. I can’t judge others; I can only answer for my actions.
You learn more of His way, you experience His love and forgiveness, and you don’t want to be the wretch you know you are.
I am in a constant state of change, and so thankful for how it affects “mybellaviews.”
Hi, I'm Kathy. Welcome to my website!