Spring Birding Part 2

It is a tradition each Spring to go with my mom and my friend Rox to Magee Marsh Bird Sanctuary on Lake Erie during Spring migration. Birding is huge in our area during Spring migration because of the number of Warbles that come through here and rest along the lake shore before their flight across Lake Erie. The birds actually will wait for the right weather conditions before crossing the lake. In a previous post I wrote that the second week in May is known here as The Biggest Week in American Birding where literally thousands of people flood the area from all over the nation and beyond. Well, we wait until the following weekend each year to avoid the crowds. There may not be as many varieties of Warblers but we still see a lot of birds.

This year we took my young birders with us, SaiVion (9) and Corvieon (12). And it was quite a treat! I honestly don't know how SaiVion made it through church. His excitement level was at high alert from breakfast, through church, and never waned the entire afternoon! Spending time with the boys like this is great stuff. The more we do this the more we start to see a glimpse into how God is shaping them and the interests that are forming in them. SaiVion has such a true love for animals and nature and his passion for art is really developing. He is constantly thinking in terms of drawing and capturing his memories on paper. Corvieon is developing a talent for photography. A friend of ours let him borrow his old digital camera for the day and that opened up a new world for Corvieon. He really has a good eye and had a blast with the camera until the battery died!

We had a good day, saw a lot of birds and the boys learned a lot. The highlight of our day was getting close to an Eagle's nest and seeing both the parent and the youth. It was fun experiencing their first time seeing an Eagle in the wild. And my track record for Eagle-spotting continues to grow. This was my fourth spotting this year!

Gray Catbird

Swallows

Yellow Warbler

Blue Heron

Great Egret

Snowy Egret

We saw both Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets. At first the boys thought the smaller ones were babies but we looked them up in the bird book and learned the differences between the two.

Saved the best for last!

Blessed To Be A Blessing

This morning I find myself thinking about blessings for a number of reasons:

• This is today's topic over at Bernice Hopper's challenge blog, The Art of Practising Gratitude, and I just happen to be the guest blogger today. Be A Blessing Post 
  
• The past few weeks have been very busy but, thankfully, I have spent a lot of time with kids, and kids are a blessing to me. I never felt a "call" to do ministry with children. It's never been a passion of mine. But back in 2005, when God called our church to reach out to the neighborhood surrounding the church, and adopting a public school was the way He was leading us to do this, I got connected with doing what He called us to do. And over the years, as I have tried to be faithful to serving as God has called our church to, these kids have grabbed hold of my heart and God has created a new passion and calling for my life. 
  
• Last weekend I chaperoned 12 kids, ages 7-15, for a weekend at a camp we are associated with called Youth Haven Ranch. It wasn't really an easy weekend. There was petty squabbling in the car, a trip to the ER, not much sleep, and some pouting and pre-teen drama. BUT, in the midst of all that I enjoyed what I always enjoy at camp: watching kids get loved on and told about how much God loves them. A couple of our kids were there as "Leaders in Training" and I was so proud watching them. Just five years ago they were among the first of the little kids we took up to camp, who were loved on by the team leaders, and now they spent the weekend giving themselves over to serving kids. 
  
• When I got home from camp on Sunday, my step-daughter, her husband, and her step-sons were at the house waiting to share part of Mother's Day with me. During their visit, my daughter in Charleston, SC called and it was almost like we were all together. I'm so proud of my beautiful adult daughters and the lives they have made for themselves.
• Working in full time ministry isn't always easy. Working with people isn't easy. There are many times I'm worn-out and worn-down by it. But today, I am reminded of the many blessings God has given me and many of them are a result of being in full time ministry. I am blessed.
  

Art journal pages made for The Art of Practising Gratitude challenge guest blog post:

Wow

"If I could relive my life, I would devote my entire ministry to reaching children for God!"
Dwight L. Moody

Wow...Just wow.