If I pray hard, do god will give some of his powers to me ?

In the same way our ancestors got varam from god. What mantra i need to chant for this? i don’t need superman powers i only need wisdom so that i could know the correct answers for all the questions.

THE BATTLE AXE: To Do His Will? (01/31/2011)—There are many simple statements of divine will for believers alive to GOD through Jesus Christ: Mankind is commanded to live and multiply (Genesis 1: 28); man is to love GOD (Deuteronomy 6: 4-5); believers are to love one another (John 15: 12; Romans 13: 8); man is to remember (Exodus 20: 8; Deuteronomy 8: 18); man is to forgive (Mark 11: 25); man is to repent of sin (Ezekiel 33: 11); one is to examine oneself (2^nd Corinthians 13: 5); believers are to be clean sexually and spiritually (1^st Thessalonians 4: 3); and man is to preach the gospel (Mark 16: 15). Forced to a limit of only three such statements, perhaps the clearest direction for today is provided from the Scriptures that say men must believe, men must watch, and men must worship (John 6: 27-29; Matthew 26: 41; and Revelation 14: 7).

THE GOLDEN ARROW: Whence then cometh wisdom? and where is the place of understanding? Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept close from the fowls of the air. Destruction and death say, We have heard the fame thereof with our ears. God understandeth the way thereof, and he knoweth the place thereof. For he looketh to the ends of the earth, and seeth under the whole heaven; To make the weight for the winds; and he weigheth the waters by measure. When he made a decree for the rain, and a way for the lightning of the thunder: Then did he see it, and declare it; he prepared it, yea, and searched it out. And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding. (Job 28: 20-28)

*THE DOUBLE DAGGER: Spirit Content? (01/28/2011); Two Wisdoms? (10/12/2010); Holy Guidance? (08/24/2010)

Mature Christian believers hold the idea that wisdom is an aspect of spirit power given from GOD, and is only provided so that believers may carryout and fulfill divine objectives commanded by GOD through holy law, and through ones inner being [i.e., ones human spirit]. In that sense, wisdom cannot be solicited or applied according to anyone’s individual desires. The imparted, indwelling Spirit from GOD (called variously in the Bible the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Prophecy, and the Spirit of Truth) endows one with features vital to sacred study such as awareness of spiritual truth, conviction, faith, hope, joy, reconciliation, and repentance. Physical power also may be supplied through the Holy Ghost as endurance, healing, stamina, and vigor.

Ordinarily, wisdom is to come through the hard work and application of life lessons, and study. While all believers who lack holy wisdom are encouraged to ask for it from GOD (James 1: 5), spiritual gifts are distributed among believers at the discretion of the divine person (1^st Corinthians 12: 7-11). Rightly understood, through the communion that is the church, when my fellow believer possesses a peculiar spirit gift, it is as if I have it also. There is no chant, mantra, or prayer formula to magically obtain true wisdom.

There is far more to be said, correctly understood, and spiritually apprehended. (For example, spiritual gifts are never supplied simply so believers may compete against, disgrace and embarrass others; satisfy lust and passion, “show off;” or take advantage of others. The gifts of GOD are tools so believers may minister to others, continually display humility, and complete their sacred duties.) Even so, I trust this fragment will be useful. Be it unto you according to your faith.

THE BLACK PHOENIX

Washington, DC

*SEE ALSO THESE ENTRIES POSTED PREVIOUSLY AT YAHOO! PULSE

My mom’s sucker tree loaded with plantains.

26Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

²⁷Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

²⁸And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

²⁹And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

³¹Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

³²(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

³³But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

³⁴Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

An example of this goes back to 2005, April 9th. With no pomp and circumstance, on this date, I announced I was phasing out MEAT. I dug into one of my old journals and am happy to bring a part of an entry here with the simple act of copy-and-paste—

“What is wrong with “tree huggers”? From what I see, when people use that term it doesn’t necessarily seem to bring about a cheerful tone. It’s more of a mockery. Here’s my question, why? When we think of tree huggers, do you come up with the image of people shrouded in forest green colors and a head covered in dreads? Is it because their concept of living is so far from our own materialistic world? Or is it because of our cynicism? Are we collectively saying with our daily behavior and distain of tree huggers, “You god damn liberals can’t change the way we live. This is our society, THE society.” 



A lot of you might scoff at what I’m about to share. I’ve only spent a few weeks studying Environmental Science and the last two days contemplating a life change. I dare you to call me a tree hugger. I’ll carry the term proudly and you may mock me or join me or say nothing. The decision I’ve arrived at is a change to my diet: removing meat. I would have groaned a few weeks ago and said– those damn vegetarians, don’t they know we’re carnivorous! But, it’s not as simple as, oh we can’t kill animals– they’re living beings, too! Quite frankly, I’m still an avid meat lover and my taste buds are damning me…. but it’s the impact that the beef industry has on the environment. For every burger we take a bite out of, we consume 11 bathtubs full of water. This water comes from what the cows drink, the water used to grow grain to feed the cows, the water used to grind up the meat in the factories. You think oil’s in trouble? Try fresh water too.



This isn’t something temporary; something I’ll be all gung-ho for the first month and then change back to my habits. I have always thought vegetarians were annoying myself. “God, they won’t eat the chicken I just cooked; now I gotta find something that tastes good AND gives them protein….” or, “those vegetarians don’t appreciate fine cooking and the meaning of real food”… but it’s a way to preserve life on this planet and I’m finally inclined to agree with vegetarians. Giving up meat is a small exchange for the earth and posterity. It’s going to be extremely difficult for me. With my dependence upon meat, quitting meat will be akin to quitting cigarettes (I would imagine)! I’m going to go cold turkey. What I ask of you is please don’t torture me by waving a double quarter-pounder with cheese in my face; you might end up missing a hand. I have yet to tell my family. This will be interesting, my mother doesn’t eat red meat but my dad is red everything. I’m actually only removing red meat for the time being. I’ll only be reducing chicken and fish– I hardly ever have seafood, anyhow. I CANNOT remove dairy from my diet. It is impossible for me at this point. One step at a time, if I fail once.. I’ll still persist. When it becomes a habit and I’m used to it, I’ll move on to no white meat.. then on to dairy. Let’s see where all of this goes. One day I’ll own chickens and a milk-cow. There– I’ll be able to support myself and not the industry.”

Heh, welcome to me, aged 20. Well, well, Haley. It looks like it’s the time for the half-a-decade review. I successfully followed my new set of personal dietary habits for about three years, give or take. I’m told by my boyfriend of nearly 4 years that a part of the reason he (carnivore) liked me (herbivore) was because I had a stance and the ability to follow through…. We both have eaten our words (lexivore) since. Him on the part of loving me even though I really am not that much of a follow-througher. Me on the part that I ATE MEAT again. I do want to say I don’t eat it as much as I did when I was young. This giving up was part- getting the short end of a stick whenever eating over at someone else’s house, part eating out at restaurants that only had Caesar salad as their best vegetarian option, and part being unable to save money and split meals with my boyfriend whom I ended up living with for six months.

Head over to http://farmsanctuary.org/ and sign the petition if you’d like to help reduce cruelty against farm hogs. AND READ THE BOOK!

An example of this goes back to 2005, April 9th. With no pomp and circumstance, on this date, I announced I was phasing out MEAT. I dug into one of my old journals and am happy to bring a part of an entry here with the simple act of copy-and-paste—

“What is wrong with “tree huggers”? From what I see, when people use that term it doesn’t necessarily seem to bring about a cheerful tone. It’s more of a mockery. Here’s my question, why? When we think of tree huggers, do you come up with the image of people shrouded in forest green colors and a head covered in dreads? Is it because their concept of living is so far from our own materialistic world? Or is it because of our cynicism? Are we collectively saying with our daily behavior and distain of tree huggers, “You god damn liberals can’t change the way we live. This is our society, THE society.” 



A lot of you might scoff at what I’m about to share. I’ve only spent a few weeks studying Environmental Science and the last two days contemplating a life change. I dare you to call me a tree hugger. I’ll carry the term proudly and you may mock me or join me or say nothing. The decision I’ve arrived at is a change to my diet: removing meat. I would have groaned a few weeks ago and said– those damn vegetarians, don’t they know we’re carnivorous! But, it’s not as simple as, oh we can’t kill animals– they’re living beings, too! Quite frankly, I’m still an avid meat lover and my taste buds are damning me…. but it’s the impact that the beef industry has on the environment. For every burger we take a bite out of, we consume 11 bathtubs full of water. This water comes from what the cows drink, the water used to grow grain to feed the cows, the water used to grind up the meat in the factories. You think oil’s in trouble? Try fresh water too.



This isn’t something temporary; something I’ll be all gung-ho for the first month and then change back to my habits. I have always thought vegetarians were annoying myself. “God, they won’t eat the chicken I just cooked; now I gotta find something that tastes good AND gives them protein….” or, “those vegetarians don’t appreciate fine cooking and the meaning of real food”… but it’s a way to preserve life on this planet and I’m finally inclined to agree with vegetarians. Giving up meat is a small exchange for the earth and posterity. It’s going to be extremely difficult for me. With my dependence upon meat, quitting meat will be akin to quitting cigarettes (I would imagine)! I’m going to go cold turkey. What I ask of you is please don’t torture me by waving a double quarter-pounder with cheese in my face; you might end up missing a hand. I have yet to tell my family. This will be interesting, my mother doesn’t eat red meat but my dad is red everything. I’m actually only removing red meat for the time being. I’ll only be reducing chicken and fish– I hardly ever have seafood, anyhow. I CANNOT remove dairy from my diet. It is impossible for me at this point. One step at a time, if I fail once.. I’ll still persist. When it becomes a habit and I’m used to it, I’ll move on to no white meat.. then on to dairy. Let’s see where all of this goes. One day I’ll own chickens and a milk-cow. There– I’ll be able to support myself and not the industry.”

Heh, welcome to me, aged 20. Well, well, Haley. It looks like it’s the time for the half-a-decade review. I successfully followed my new set of personal dietary habits for about three years, give or take. I’m told by my boyfriend of nearly 4 years that a part of the reason he (carnivore) liked me (herbivore) was because I had a stance and the ability to follow through…. We both have eaten our words (lexivore) since. Him on the part of loving me even though I really am not that much of a follow-througher. Me on the part that I ATE MEAT again. I do want to say I don’t eat it as much as I did when I was young. This giving up was part- getting the short end of a stick whenever eating over at someone else’s house, part eating out at restaurants that only had Caesar salad as their best vegetarian option, and part being unable to save money and split meals with my boyfriend whom I ended up living with for six months.

Head over to http://farmsanctuary.org/ and sign the petition if you’d like to help reduce cruelty against farm hogs. AND READ THE BOOK!

8 eggs.

[1] Perhaps Mr. Nicholls, the owner of the ‘broken-down old wreck’ of a male goat referred to by Orwell in a letter to Jack Common; see 29.5.39. Peter Davison

She described these farm fresh eggs as “creamy”, which is exactly what they are. After having them I can attest that they are the best eggs I have ever eaten! I still chuckle when I recall our initial discussion about the eggs. She said “Isn’t it amazing that something so good comes out of a chicken’s butt?” Amazing indeed!

As we toured the garden I commented upon her gorgeous strawberry plants to which she replied by yanking out a good handful of runners and sticking them into a pot for me. Strawberries are the one thing AJ’s mom wished our garden had. See how easily some wishes come true?

The final goody Suzanne gave me was a gallon of Atomic Grow™. I have contacted them via email and hope to have a response in order to update this post. For now, I gather that this is an all natural, organic wonder soap, that when sprayed onto all types of plants causes them to do everything they do a whole lot better. The leaves turn greener overnight, the root systems become massive and strong, and insects are repelled. It appears to be a single application, environmentally friendly pesticide and fertilizer. I will take some before and after shots of my garden to document the results.

In addition to the physical objects I obtained in my trade with Suzanne, I gained an incredible introduction into the local permaculture movement as well as a wealth of new activities and ideas in which to participate.

During my visit I mentioned to Suzanne that I would love to go on a foraging expedition, but don’t have enough local plant knowledge to do this properly. She jumped on the idea and offered to suggest this to her good friend Vicki who is a member of the Conradina Chapter of  the Florida Native Plant Society.

As soon as I get my projects under control I want to get out and forage!

Suzanne also turned me onto Eco Growers of East Central Florida:

Eco-Growers of East Central Florida is an informal group of local growers that support and participate in sustainable, environmentally-friendly agriculture and offer an outlet to exchange resources, knowledge, current events, education, and more.

Our group was started to support growers (a grower can be anyone who has a few tomato plants or fruit trees, or maybe a flock of laying hens, or someone with a small working farm) and to help raise community awareness about local food.

Our goal is to promote local, sustainable agriculture in east central Florida and help make the community aware of the opportunities to buy locally grown or produced goods, as well as the environmental and social benefits of buying locally.

The members hold a “Local Flavors” potluck approximately once per month, and Suzanne hopes to hold one at her place soon. Where am I going to find time to do all of this fun stuff?

Since my visit Suzanne and I have also decided to get into the business of raising Ox Beetles. I will try to go into more detail about these delightful insects, and share a couple of photographs in a future post. For now I must get busy in the garden.

Once I finish this post I will compile all of the links and place them in my sidebar.

All in all I would have to rate this a five star day. I returned home both exhausted and exuberated.

The garden greeted me with some spring blooms and a surprise.

Green onion bloom

Chive bloom

Cardinal Air Plant ready to bloom

Does this look familiar? This is the mystery fruit from “Saturday in Review – Spring is Springing”. Things didn’t turn out quite like I expected. This is a passion fruit from a variety of which I do not know the name. My internet research assured me that it would ripen and drop to the ground, from whence I could retrieve it and enjoy it’s sweet goodness; perhaps by infusing into a bottle of vodka. Instead, the thing dried up, split open and released a handful of seeds on wispy parachutes. Oh well…

I saved some of the seeds, although I have no use for them, with a plant for cuttings growing right into my yard. I read that they are difficult to grow from seed and take many years to bloom.

Fortunately the plant I enjoy is mature and produces a constant supply of  blooms to the joy of butterflies and bees alike.

So, that’s my wrap-up of my visit to Funky Chicken Farm. If you live in the area or find yourself passing through, I highly recommend making an appointment and dropping in for a tour. You will find a warm welcome, lots of treasures and an experience to remember.

Thanks Suzanne & Andrew!

Funky Chicken Farm
3510 Hield Rd.
West Melbourne, Fla 32904
Suzanne at 321-505-4066 or at srichmond2@cfl.rr.com

On Wednesday, I was so privileged as to find myself sitting around a large table at Funky Chicken Farm with four fascinating and like-minded individuals: Suzanne and Andrew, Christi and Carol. Funky Chicken Farm is a joint endeavor by Suzanne and Andrew Malone. Andrew is the poultry specialist while Suzanne does the gardening, brewing, bees, worms, herbs, Crusty Man Balm and Tie-Dye shirts. They help each other with all projects, many of which are symbiotic. Don’t ask me what “Crusty Man Balm” is. We talked about so much that this one got overlooked. Hopefully, Suzanne will fill me in and I will describe it in a later post.

Had I known so much would be taking place I would have brought a notepad. Instead, I attempted to absorb as much of the rapid-fire conversation as my feeble mind could contain. I’ll try to break it down into digestible segments. Suzanne and Andrew are as compatible as any two people I’ve met. They both struck me as gregarious, intelligent, easygoing and passionate about their varied interests. These are not people I would expect to find with their noses buried in the TV while the world passes them by. They are busy; busy doing lots of interesting and beneficial things. These are my kind of people! The conversation started with The Growboxes which are featured here and here. The Growbox looks like a Rubbermaid storage bin, but there is much more to it. Suzanne explains it best:

A Growbox is a self watering container that is portable, and contains all the water, air, and nutrients for a plants optimum growth. Great for patios, apartments, and even those in wheelchairs as you can put them on a raised platform. No more bending over! You will participate in making your own Growbox to take home, you will learn the quickest way to make them, you will use power tools and you will get a farm tour of my garden of veggies in over 50 Growboxes. Includes discussion on what to grow, trellis systems, and how many seedlings to grow in each box with a printout. We’ll cover composting, worm culture, and the chicken tour.

The mechanics still remain somewhat of a mystery to me, but upon viewing her garden, there is no doubt as to their effectiveness. I mentioned that I used one of those containers to start plants, but it wasn’t as sophisticated as her setup. Everyone took interest in my mention of initially using my container for raising beetles. Somehow I found myself explaining how there is a community of people who raise beetles and other insects as a hobby; and that I paid the rent one summer by capturing and selling Ox beetles (Strategus antaeus) online. We discussed black lighting and the forum where I met my fellow insect enthusiasts (insectnet.com). Andrew and Carol both found it interesting enough to jot down the website. It’s so refreshing to find people with the same interests.

I asked about their worms and Suzanne offered me some “Worm Tea”, which I learned is a great liquid fertilizer extracted during the process of worm farming. Their offerings so outweighed mine that I felt compelled to reign in my enthusiasm for fear of being a mooch. Next time I will come bearing our wild caught Florida shrimp and trade for some of the things I didn’t get today.

Next I learned that Christi started and moderates a yahoo group called Brevard_CoSeed&CuttingsExchange. Although I am happy to financially support the preservation of heirloom varieties I love her philosophy that plants should not cost money. I didn’t realize that the meeting was also a cutting swap. Now I feel bad for not bringing some cuttings to offer. I have since joined that group and found that Christi is looking for jasmine, which I have aplenty.

Everyone raved about the Brevard Rare Fruit Council until I was thoroughly convinced that I must join. I suggest that anyone who lives in the area should check out the website and take advantage of the benefits offered by this group. I certainly intend to. The topic of edible weeds was raised. If you have read back into my previous postings you may know that I’m a big fan of foraging and would love to be involved in a foraging group. I listed a few wild edibles that I nurture and when prickly pear came up Suzanne mentioned that prickly pear makes great wine. This is when I learned of yet another interesting hobby of theirs. They belong to the SAAZ Homebrew Club.

The SAAZ Homebrew Club in Brevard County Florida is an AHA registered club. We sponsor a national competition every year in September. Social events include our Summer Party, Octoberfest, Pub Crawls and Christmas Party. We encourage and help new members in the art of homebrewing to further our mission of educating and promoting homebrewing and craft beers. We have members who make beer, wine and mead (honey wine) and are happy to share their knowledge. Our normal monthly meetings are at Charlie & Jakes (6300 Wickham RD, Melbourne FL) on the 3rd Sunday of the month at 2pm. Due to the number of special events during the year it’s a good idea to check the calendar, or contact the club president at Prez@saaz.org  if you are interested in attending.

See why this took multiple posts? Actually, any one of the many topics we spanned could justify a post of its own.

To my surprise Carol began extracting small plastic cups and bottles of brown liquid from her bag. I wondered to myself “Is there no end to how interesting these people are?” As she opened a bottle and began pouring out shots she described the cloudy liquid as “Kombucha”. I had never heard of this beverage, but it turns out to be an interesting and tasty form of fermented sweet tea. From the Wikipedia page:

Kombucha is the Western name for sweetened tea or tisane that has been fermented using a macroscopic solid mass of microorganisms called a “kombucha colony”.

First Carol shared a spiced version rich with cinnamon, ginger and apple flavor. This was really good and reminded me of apple cider. Next she gave us a taste of the straight brew. The experience created an image in my mind of sitting around a campfire in New Guinea passing around native brew in a gourd, like you might see on The Discovery Channel. Of course, everyone sat in chairs and had their clothes on. Carol talked about the health benefits attributed to Kombucha and the conversation shifted to a variety of homeopathic  remedies for cancer and diabetes. The entire conversation was stimulating and educational.

Although I occasionally enjoy discussing politics and religion, it was a welcome relief to take part in such a gathering where these topics were never raised. It was as though a group of kindred nature lovers conspired to make the world a better place through acts of kindness, generosity and sustainability. When the shit hits the fan I want to be in this tribe.

After the Kombucha Suzanne offered to take us on a tour of the farm. Again, I wish I had taken notes because the vast number of plants she has was more than enough to overwhelm my memory. Suffice it to say that she has just about everything I do and ten times more. Suzanne showed us the Growboxes as Christi’s son investigated the ripening produce, causing his mother to repeatedly remind him “No picking.” He was a well-behaved child who did his best to maintain his composure in such an exciting place. Once or twice she had to retrieve him as he wandered off to look at chickens, but who could blame him? I had the same urges myself.

Some of Suzanne’s heirloom tomatoes.

I forget what this one is.

The Growboxes.

A selection of herbs. Throughout the tour Suzanne plucked aromatic leaves and offered them up for our olfactory enjoyment.

A robust bunch of celery from Victory Seed Company. Yikes, I think I planted mine in too small of a space!

Once our tour of the garden was complete we continued towards the back of the property to view the portable chicken pens they had built from simple and inexpensive materials.The coop and pens can easily be moved to give the hens frequent access to fresh grass. There is a netting over the top to protect them from birds of prey.

It is obvious that Both Suzanne and Andrew are big fans of creative solutions too. I wish AJ could have been with me; I know he would have been impressed. Anyone interested in these chicken pens can contact Andrew at 321-505-4227.

These are some happy Funky Chickens!

Awww…what a cute little duckling.

Check out my next post for a wrap-up of the day’s events.

On Monday I joined the Yahoo group Fruit Swap of Brevard, and offered a surplus tray of seedlings left over from the garden projects. Because it was  a fruit swap I expected to be offered coconuts, star fruit or citrus of some sort (all of which are wonderful) however, the response I got was a pleasant surprise.

Hi Roxanne,

I am interested!   I buy from Victory Seeds too.   I can trade you some honey or fresh eggs, Atomic Grow.
We are located at Funky Chicken Farm in W. Melb, off Minton, on Hield Rd.

My phone is 321-505-4066 as I will be away from the computer…

Suzanne

Right off the bat I knew this was a cool person and a fun place.

The best organic food is what’s grown closest to you. Use our website to find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies. Want to support this great web site? Shop in our catalog for things you can’t find locally!

Funky Chicken Farm
3510 Hield Rd.
West Melbourne, Fla 32904
Suzanne at 321-505-4066 or at srichmond2@cfl.rr.com

I followed a winding, tree-lined road to a house surrounded by all kinds of stuff going on. I won’t even try to describe it; you’ll just have to go and see for yourself. Within moments of pulling in I was greeted by Suzanne with a jovial smile and a warm handshake. She was accompanied by a woman named Christi, whom she identified as “The moderator”. I didn’t get this at the time, but later I understood what she meant. Christi’s son was having a grand time exploring the place and had already done his share of “touching the chickens”. As soon as the introductions were made another car pulled up and I was introduced to Carol. Carol and Christi recognized each other from Freecycle.org. I believe that Carol knew Suzanne from The Brevard Rare Fruit Society. As I witnessed the threads of this community pull tighter, I decided that it was a community that I wanted to be stitched into.

I had arrived at lunch time and Suzanne invited all of us to join her and her husband, Andrew, on the back porch for lunch. We wove our way through chicken and duck pens, gardening things and all kinds of interesting looking projects to a large table on the back porch.  Along the way I dropped off my plant offerings in the garden, where they were received with enthusiasm by Suzanne. Before she went in to retrieve her food, Suzanne presented me with a bin of seeds in envelopes to pick through. She had already portioned out a variety of heirloom tomato seeds just for me. Everyone gathered around the table and I eagerly sorted through the packets picking out a few from some varieties I didn’t yet have. Just as in my excursion to John Rogers’ property I felt like a student trying to soak up as much information as I could.

These are the seeds I chose:

Suzanne presented us with a beautiful appetizer made with her heirloom tomatoes. I passed, only because I was full from having just eaten; but the dish was beautiful as though prepared in a fine restaurant. Suzanne’s husband, Andrew, emerged and they ate as the conversation rolled.

Cont. in Funky Chicken Farm: Part 2

Feathers.

Poultry. (ok, this doesn’t really belong)

Fowls.

Somehow,despite this action-adventure crazy mind of mine, which thrives on crash-boom-bang, I discovered I enjoy the quiet of bird watching.

Sigh. You read correct. No need to refresh the page.

I remember vaguely (old age does that) in my youth, I had scorned the bird-watchers and fisherman (notice, not men, cos gals could be fisherman too). It was a way way way too quiet (read: DULL) hobby!

Just sitting there. Waiting. Looking. Watching.Waiting. Sitting. Waiting. Watching. Sitting. Waiting. Watching. Sitting.

You get the idea…..

Oh my poor once youthful self. How have I reached a state where I enjoy watching our feathery friends?

Yes, oft in my said childhood I had stared at the swallows as the came home to roost in dusk. I’ve watched from the balcony of my childhood home at older swallows cajoling the youngers ones in flight. (Assumptions of age made by size and the smaller ones really look somewhat shaky–as if as testing out their wings) I’ve imagined what it was like to soar unfrettered, to glide on air currents, to just fly. Doesn’t every kid/adult/person wanna fly (the Superman syndrome)? I did too imagine catching insects, scraping for worms and, the worst, waking up with the sun. See, I was pretty realistic as a kid, it wasn’t all flying and adventures (like books would have you believe), there are daily toilets (ready, aim, FIRE!) and hunting and other birdly stuff to be done! Probably, with all societies, some pecking order too. Mother hen and all.

But how does this translate into spending time feeding mosquitoes on some chilly log, waiting( see above for more detailed description re waiting) and trying to be very silent and sit still (no scratching that bite! no swatting either, blood sacrifices MUST be made) just to catch a glimpse of an avian attraction?

Is fishing next?

-b

Is that how we sometimes are with God?? We sometimes forget where our strength and help comes from.

So let us heed this timely advice from the Bible…

Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.
(Romans 12:3; Galatians 6:3; Philippians 2:3-4 – NLT)

And some warnings about the fate of the proud…

Though the Lord is great, he cares for the humble,
but he keeps his distance from the proud.

God opposes the proud but favours the humble.

For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning.
He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted.

The Lord tears down the house of the proud, but he protects the property of widows.

Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.

Pride ends in humiliation, while humility brings honour.
(Psalm 138:6; James 4:6; Isaiah 2:12; Proverbs 15:25; 16:18; 29:23

So let’s not be like SUPER CHOOK!!

As I was watching, trying to get a nice shot of this mother hen with her brood, I was reminded of a time that Jesus wept over God’s people. He lamented:

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem! … How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings …”

“… and you would not!” (Matthew 23:37, NIV)

Boy, it was hard to get a good shot here.  I’d try and position the camera through the wires, but sometimes I got the wires.  Though, somehow, I do think the wire adds to the picture.

God commands the earth to bring forth the living creature “after his kind” (cattle, creeping thing and beast)

Interesting… the technical order of water followed by land bringing forth life. This is the same order of occurence that the scientists point to in evolution…except….it keeps saying that each were brought forth..”after his kind”…i.e. fish weren’t turning into land mammals.

25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God made the beasts, cattle and creeping thing”after their kind” and saw that it was good.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

The “us” we find out later is God the Father, Jesus the son and the Holy Spirit. They made man in their image and likeness and gave the men dominion over the fish, fowls, cattle and creeping things.

27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.

The God trinity (as it’s referred to) made man in a male and female version

28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

The God trinity blessed them and commanded them to “be fruitful and multiply” and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish, fowls and every moving living thing.

29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat.

The God trinity declares that they have given them every herb bearing seed and every fruit tree yielding seed for meat.

30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so.

And to every beast, fowl and creeping thing wherein is life, he gave every green herb for meat to them.

31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.

God sees this result and declare it “very good” and the evening and morning round out the sixth day.

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God commands that the waters “bring forth abundantly” living, moving creatures and fowls that may fly in the open firmament.

21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.

God creates great whales, and every living creature that moves which the waters brought forth abundantly and winged fowl after their kind and God saw that it was good.

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

God blessed them commanding them to be fruitful and mulitply filling the waters in the seas and fowls in the earth.

23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.

Evening and morning round out the fifth day.

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