More Quickly Than We Realize

It's been cloudy and rainy this afternoon, so I spent some time baking, working on a quilt for our little Daniel, and doing some reading. Settling into the rocker with a cup of tea for a few minutes to share a brief excerpt with you from Gladys Taber's Still Cove Journal. It struck my heart's chord today, as I often think about my daughters and still miss them ever-so-much. They celebrated their birthdays this month--35 and 38. The time with them was much too short, as their hubbies took them miles and miles away.  I still miss their chatter, their singing at the piano, and the simple everydayness of their lives, but am glad they're doing what they want in life. I cherish the times that we are able to be together and am thankful for those special occasions.

But back to the excerpt from Still Cove Journal that I want to share with you......

 Gladys is talking about watching some cardinals and other small wildlife, and she comments that....

Nature is full of unanswered questions.... I will never forget the day when I watched a father cardinal stuffing tidbits down the throat of an exhausted mama. I was sure he communicated his feelings to her.

"Presently they will all fly away. They won't jam the nest any more, screaming day and night for food, food, food. There isn't room for them in the nest now anyway."

"I told you it ought to be bigger."

"Next year, next year."

"Besides, I've had enough of egg laying. I want some time to be myself. How do I know who I am?"

When their offspring did fly away, I knew what would happen. The nest would be empty, alright, not a single squawk left. But before long two very nervous cardinals would be back, crossing and recrossing the yard, calling and calling. They would want those brawling youngsters right back in the nest. For all of us on this planet have something in common, and emotions about children seem to be shared by many of earth's inhabitants."

The nest empties more quickly than most of us realize, doesn't it?

What Some Know, But Others Don't

"What believers know that unbelievers don't is that there is an unseen spiritual battle behind all activity under heaven."

~ Andree Seu Peterson, "Beyond the Walls," WORLD Magazine, 5/14/16 

Photo ~ Extreme Storm Manhattan NY, Lisa Bettany via Flickr CC BY-NC-ND-2.0 

Truth Matters ~ Gender Dysphoria

Only truth can set them free.

Sharing an article with you today that brings some scientific light to a damaging cultural meme.


Dr. Paul R. McHugh, the Distinguished Service Professor of Psychiatry at Johns Hopkins University and former psychiatrist–in-chief for Johns Hopkins Hospital, who has studied transgendered people for 40 years, said it is a scientific fact that “transgendered men do not become women, nor do transgendered women become men.“ All... become feminized men or masculinized women, counterfeits or impersonators of the sex with which they ‘identify.’ In that lies their problematic future. 

"In fact, gender dysphoria—the official psychiatric term for feeling oneself to be of the opposite sex—belongs in the family of similarly disordered assumptions about the body, such as anorexia nervosa and body dysmorphic disorder. Its treatment should not be directed at the body as with surgery and hormones any more than one treats obesity-fearing anorexic patients with liposuction. The treatment should strive to correct the false, problematic nature of the assumption and to resolve the psychosocial conflicts provoking it."

~ Dr. Paul R. McHugh, Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme

To Read Dr. McHugh's full report, Transgenderism: A Pathogenic Meme

http://www.thepublicdiscourse.com/2015/06/15145/

The link to read the cnsnews article

Photo ~ Doves, Mikelmania via pixabay CC0 Creative Commons

Keep Silence, O My Soul

If I cannot keep silence over a disappointing soul 

(unless for the sake of that soul's good 

or for the good of others it be necessary to speak), 

then I know nothing of Calvary love.

~ Amy Carmichael

(from her little book If, based on her meditations on 1 Corinthians 13)

Search me, O God, and know my heart;

Try me and know my anxious thoughts;

And see if there be any hurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.

~ Psalm 139:23-24

Growing Up

Our little Anna recently had a birthday. Would have loved to have been with her to celebrate, but distance is no friend to families. We did get a few minutes of facetime with her, though. She proudly told us that now she is four. Four already! I had the awesome privilege of being in the birthing room when she was born and helping her mommy through labor. So glad Elizabeth wanted me to experience that with her. Truly miraculous! What a joy to watch a new little creation being born! We are praying that Anna seeks God early, and that He draws her to Himself.

This photo was taken when Anna and big brother Elijah stayed with us for several days. We had lots of fun trying to get as much packed into those days as we possibly could! Exhausting fun! But then the house turns oh-so-quiet....much too quiet. Until next time.

I made the dress for her while she was here. She picked out the fabric from my stash in the sewing room, and she wanted pockets. A memory dress for her, I hope. It ties at the shoulders, so she should be able to wear it for awhile as she gets taller. Elijah thinks she looks nice in it. I do, too!

If you have grandchildren nearby, you are truly blessed. My sister was telling me a couple of days ago about going to watch her grandson play baseball and cheering him on. "Nanny, can you come and watch me again?"  Ahhhh...what joy some of you have to watch your grandchildren doing their special things and encouraging them on. I hope you relish the time together.