A very good friend of mine, an “old” friend like me, just shared this with me. It is worth sharing here also.
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand. I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. He is ever merciful, and lendeth; and his seed is blessed. (Psalms 37:23-26 KJV)
Mandarin Duck (Aix galericulata) by Dan at Zoo Miami
O Lord GOD, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand, for what god is there in heaven or on earth who can do anything like Your works and Your mighty deeds? (Deuteronomy 3:24 NKJV)
What a beautiful duck. When we look around us, the Lord’s Hand is at work everywhere. Be thankful today for the Lord’s Blessing.
Brown-headed Barbet (Megalaima zeylanica) by Nikhil Devasar
Hang in there, today!
O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him. (Psalms 34:8 KJV)
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. (John 4:13-14 KJV)
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“Come Thou Fount Of Every Blessing” by Sean Fielder
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The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, And He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the LORD upholds him with His hand. I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. (Psalms 37:23-25 NKJV)
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(From an email link)
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Just got a notification from WordPress that today is my Sixth Anniversary here. Wow! Has it really been 6 years? Praise the Lord! Thanks all of you for the visits you have made to the blog. This blog started about 5 months earlier on another service.
Daddy’s Bedtime Bird Stories had some broken links because of a change in Gutenberg’s policy. They do not want links to their articles and photos. Long story short, I fixed them and now they should be okay. I also added photo links since I had to redo all of them. Here are the stories so far. I realized there are many stories yet to be told yet. Stay tuned!
(If you should find any broken links, please leave a comment on that story so it can be fixed. Thanks.)
Then God said, “Let the waters abound with an abundance of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the face of the firmament of the heavens.” (Genesis 1:20 NKJV
What a fantastic video – WOW! It is a bit long, but worth every minute of it.
How can anyone watch these birds flying and not realize they have a fantastic Creator?
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJV)
Nine more Good News Tract pages were added today. There are 31 altogether and they have not only the written text, but also audio.
The is especially one that might interest you more than the others.
I trust you can learn from them and/or use them to encourage others.
and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, (1 Thessalonians 3:2 NKJV)
Below are links to the Various Tracts from Crossway with each having the words and an audio:
My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, And health to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (Proverbs 4:20-23 NKJV)
Nine more Good News Tract pages were added today. There are 31 altogether and they have not only the written text, but also audio.
I trust you can learn from them and/or use them to encourage others.
and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, (1 Thessalonians 3:2 NKJV)
Below are links to the Various Tracts from Crossway with each having the words and an audio:
Good News! Did you know that christianaudio has produced the audio tracts for many of the most popular Crossway tracts? They are free for the taking and free to distribute. In fact, Crossway distributes more than 23 million every year. Written by Max Lucado, Billy Graham, Mark Driscoll, John Piper and others, they have simple and profound truths to help teach the Good News! There are 31 in an easy to download zip file. They are free for the taking in both audio and PDF and able to be shared without restriction.
who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth and makes us wiser than the birds of the heavens?’ (Job 35:11 ESV)
Orni-Theology
Recently.a friend was telling me about a bird that has been singing every night. He said that it begins around 3 AM and continues for hours. He was frustrated by the bird’s behavior. After discussing it, we came to the conclusion that it is a Northern Mockingbird. They have one with a nest in their yard.
We used to have one that had a nest in the bush outside our bedroom window when we lived in south Florida. Whenever the babies were born, our Mockingbird started its “songs in the night.” The songs are pleasant, but in the middle of the night, the urge to throw a pillow out the window sounds tempting.
Northern Mockingbirds are members of the Mimidae – Mockingbirds, Thrashers Family. They are the only Mockingbird in North America and are the state bird in Arkansas, Florida, Mississippi, Tennessee and Texas, and formerly the state bird of South Carolina. They are omnivore, meaning it eats fruits and insects.
The Northern Mockingbird is a medium-sized mimid that has long legs and tail. Both males and females look alike. Its upper parts are colored gray, while its underparts have a white or whitish-gray color. It has parallel wing bars on the half of the wings connected near the white patch giving it a distinctive appearance in flight. The iris is usually a light green-yellow or a yellow, but there have been instances of an orange color. The bill is black with a brownish black appearance at the base. The juvenile appearance is marked by its streaks on its back, distinguished spots and streaks on its chest, and a gray or grayish-green iris. Northern Mockingbirds measure from 8.1 to 11.0 in (20.5 to 28 cm) including a tail almost as long as its body.
Although many species of bird imitate the vocalizations of other birds, the Northern Mockingbird is the best known in North America for doing so. It imitates not only birds, but also other animals and mechanical sounds such as car alarms. As convincing as these imitations may be to humans, they often fail to fool other birds. (Wikipedia with editing)
Northern Mockingbird Viera Wetlands by Lee
What is interesting about the Bible verse above is that the verse has been used many times before, but I have not used the previous verse. Here are the two verses together.
But no one says, ‘Where is God my Maker, Who gives songs in the night, Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth, And makes us wiser than the birds of heaven?’ (Job 35:10-11 NKJV)
God our Maker and the Lord our Savior gives us songs in the night when all is well. Apparently, the Mockingbird is happy or joyful as he sings his songs in the night. We can learn from the songster of the night.
Looking at other verses, what can cause us to not have songs in the night?
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, And in the night His song shall be with me— A prayer to the God of my life. (Psalms 42:8 NKJV)
Are we praying and staying in communication with the Lord? When sin creeps in, the songs stop ringing out.
You shall have a song as in the night when a holy feast is kept, and gladness of heart, as when one sets out to the sound of the flute to go to the mountain of the LORD, to the Rock of Israel. (Isaiah 30:29 ESV)
When we have Communion, our pastor always asks us to make sure our fellowship with the Lord and others is clear. When all is straightened out, then we can have our “feast” (communion) with a clear forgiven spirit.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, (Acts 16:25 ESV)
Even when circumstances are not what we would like are we still “praying and singing hymns to God”?
Why we should sing night or day:
speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, (Ephesians 5:19 NKJV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. (Colossians 3:16-17 NKJV)
In the last blog, the term “Orni-Theology” was introduced. (Orni-theology ~ The Master Carpenter) Since then, an Orni-Theology page has been established. There will be links there to the various articles that will feature some bird or bird characteristics with an application and challenge to principles from the Bible, with verses, that we should be applying to our lives.
Orni-Theology
Also, each article that is of an Orni-Theology category will have this thumbnail attached. (Clicking the thumbnail will take you to the Orni-Theology page)
The Luzan Bleeding-heart above was chosen as our theme bird and I blended a cross with the photo. I can think of many illustrations just using that bird.
Wikipedia says, the Luzon Bleeding-heart (Gallicolumba luzonica) is one of a number of species of ground dove in the genus Gallicolumba that are called “bleeding-hearts”. They get this name from a splash of vivid red colour at the centre of their white breasts. The Luzon Bleeding-heart is the species in which this feature is most pronounced, and on first sight it is hard to believe that the bird has not recently been wounded. A reddish hue that extends down the belly furthers the illusion of blood having run down the bird’s front.
The species is endemic to the island of Luzon, Philippines. They eat seeds, berries and grubs. They are shy and secretive, and very quiet, and rarely leave the ground except when nesting. Unlike the other bleeding-hearts, they usually lay two eggs in each clutch.
The article below by Landry mentions that when the birds display, that the male rushes toward the female, stops, lowers his tail and then “throws his breast upwards so that the vivid blood mark is fully presented frontally.” He then bows and coos.
The application this time has to do with its appearance and behavior. Oh, my, where should I begin?
when your heart is lifted up, and you forget the LORD your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; (Deuteronomy 8:14 NKJV)
That verse could indicate that pride was in control and not the Lord. We know that is not good.
These verses could indicate subjection to the Lord. We look to the Lord with our hearts lifted up, but bow in honor to Him.
My defense is of God, Who saves the upright in heart. (Psalms 7:10 NKJV)
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart— These, O God, You will not despise. (Psalms 51:17 NKJV)
I am sure you could come up with many applications also and Luzan Bleeding-heart will most likely be revisited again.
(This is an idea of how these articles will try to honor our Lord’s Fantastically Created birds and challenge us with our own relationship to Him.)
White-throated Rock Thrush (Monticola gularis) by Peter Ericsson
He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. (Deuteronomy 32:4 KJV)
This week we will look at the different “Rock” birds. Many articles have been written about them, but today we get to see their photos.
Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee. (Deuteronomy 32:18 KJV)
Our Savior is Our Rock and sure foundation. Scripture mentions numerous purposes of rocks: safety, foundations, hiding places, shadow and other references.
Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. (Isaiah 28:16 KJV)
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity. (2 Timothy 2:19 KJV)
And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:4 KJV)
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“Hiding in the Shadow of the Rock” ~ Sung by Dr. Richard Gregory (Used with permission)
And the stork, the heron after her kind, and the lapwing, and the bat. (Leviticus 11:19 KJV)
Herons are a favorite bird species of mine. We see them frequently here in central Florida. One of their characteristics that impress me is their patience. It is common to see them standing almost still except for their neck swaying slowly back and forth.
Oh, that I had the patience like these Storks.
These wait all upon thee; that thou mayest give them their meat in due season. (Psalms 104:27 KJV)
Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. (Psalms 27:14 KJV)
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. (James 1:3 KJV)
Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus 