Beauty

Hummingbirds from Heaven

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

My mama loved hummingbirds. In fact, one of her very favorite pastimes was sitting in her recliner and watching as the little cuties dipped, dived, swooped and hovered while sipping the sweet nectar we prepared and put in the bird feeders hanging just outside her window.

She could tell you which little birdies were repeat visitors from previous years and which ones were new to the neighborhood. She could tell you which were the most aggressive and which were a little on the sweeter side like the nectar they enjoyed.

But, for me personally, perhaps the most memorable thing about my mother’s love for hummingbirds is the times when they were absent. I will never forget that day in May 2020. Like pretty much everyone on the planet, the pandemic was taking a toll on my mama, and she wanted nothing more than to see her beloved hummingbirds once again dancing in the air around the feeder. But, for some reason, sans the two that visited a few times that March when the feeder first went up, there had been no little bird visitors that year.

She was so disappointed, and I was disappointed for her. So, on the morning of May 15, 2020, as she sat sleeping in her chair, her face turned towards the window as if she had fallen asleep looking for her little friends, I began to pray and asked God to please send her a hummingbird to brighten her day.

 Sure enough, just a few hours later, as I delivered her some lunch, she was beaming as she excitedly announced she had finally seen a hummer! Was it a coincidence? Absolutely not! That was all our loving Creator. When I told her about my prayer, she sat smiling for hours, a few tears of joy trickling down her cheeks. You could tell she felt His love. I did too

 The birds disappeared again after that day, but I think that, too, was by design, giving Him another chance to show the two of us just how much He really cares about us. Fast forward to July of 2020. Mama had not been feeling good for several days and I was very worried. She had some cold symptoms and, of course, COVID was top of mind. So, as I was outside on my lawn tractor mowing the grass, I began to pray fervently.

I asked God for protection for her, for Billie and the sweet baby we had recently learned she was carrying, for my brother who was fighting cancer, and for me and all my family and friends. The pandemic had been so overwhelming. As I prayed, I also asked God if He could send us a sign that everything was indeed going to be okay. Then, I decided to be even more specific. I still remember the words that came from my heart: “Lord,” I prayed, “please let mom see a hummingbird. When I have asked before, You have always faithfully sent her one, so will you please send at least one more?”

 I came back in the house and honestly forgot about it until the next day when I went into her room to check on her. As I stood in front of her asking what she wanted for breakfast, she began to grin from ear to ear.

 “Oooooh, I forgot to tell you, I saw a hummingbird yesterday. It’s the first one I’ve seen since May,” she said. “It was just the one, but he seemed to really fill up at the feeder and hovered in front of the window for a while.”

 I could hardly speak. This time tears rolled down my face as I told her about my prayer. We both felt Him whispering in our ears, “It’s going to be alright. I’m here.”

Today, the day after we laid her to rest, I still hear those words, “It’s going to be alright. I’m here.”

 I love you, mama.

Just beyond the waves…

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Sometimes it feels like I’m standing heart-deep in the ocean. I see the horizon, the keeper of hope and dreams, in all of its glory. Below it is sparkling waters beckoning me to come in. Above it is a vast expanse of clear blue sky, Heaven’s doorway, it seems.


But just underneath the surface, there is an undertow so strong that it sometimes feels like I can barely stand, much less move forward. I know it is the work of the enemy, life’s antagonist, and yet I still sometimes let it take me under.


What I have to remember is that it doesn’t have to. All I really have to do is breathe in purposefully and deep, take the hand of my Father and face that fear head on, sometimes standing firm, sometimes powering through and sometimes dipping just below the surface and re-emerging in that sweet, glassy calmness that lies just beyond the waves. For our Father knows that once He gets us far enough out, to the point that we can longer touch bottom, to that that place where we are no longer fastened to the world, the undertow has no more power over us.

The horizon, the keeper of hope and dreams, awaits our arrival as the doors of Heaven fling open wide and the glory of God shines for all to see.

Continue reading →

It’s a God Thing!

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Read 1 Corinthians, Chapter 3, this morning before I headed off to work. Verses 16 and 17 hopped off the page.

“Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? God will destroy anyone who destroys this temple. For God’s temple is holy and you are that temple.”

God lives in me! Why in the world do I worry about such trivial things? Perhaps that phrase, “in the world,” is a clue. I must quit thinking so small and acting as if it is all up to me or the people around me. It is a God thing. I am a God thing. I have nothing to fear. Thank You, Jesus. Amen and Ehmen.

Silent Night, Holy Night

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

clockAs I sit in the silence, I’m soothed by the ticking of the grandfather clock in the foyer. It’s a welcomed sound, one that I could hear as often as I’d like, if I just took the time. But, I don’t.

Indeed, this beautiful time piece has been ushering the minutes in and out of my home for more than a decade now and yet I rarely hear its sweet, rhythmic voice simply because I allow the noise of everyday life to drown it out.

I come home and turn on the television. I listen to the radio or talk on the phone. I dial up videos on my computer. I create noise. Any kind of noise. Silence, after all, would mean I was doing nothing, wasting time.

The irony is that silence is far from a waste of time. It’s a most beautiful thing; that time and space in which we get to know ourselves and allow our own hearts to synchronize with that of our sweet, sweet Savior.

Shhhhhhhh. Turn off the television. Turn off the world. Quiet. Can you hear it? Beautiful, peaceful and holy silence. The heartbeat of God. It just doesn’t get any better this side of Heaven.

Amen and Ehmen.

Come to Order

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Writer’s Note: This was originally written in 2017 after I left my fulltime job of almost a quarter of a century and began an almost three-year long journey of working for myself. While I have become pretty skilled at creating order in the home workspace, this pandemic has rocked many of us, making waste of the sense of order we knew. Three months in, many of us have found our way to a new normal, but some I have spoken with recently are still struggling. Don’t be ashamed. It happens to all of us at one time or another. Truthfully, I still struggle with letting my life get out of order at times. Always have, actually, even before the pandemic. If this is you, I hope this post gives you a little hope today.

June 12, 2017

Dear God…

blink

Dear Child,

It’s okay child. I know your brain and emotions are scrambled right now, but I am here and I know your heart. Just breathe. Speak My name when you feel overwhelmed or at a loss. Let’s come up with a schedule together. Something to keep you on track. Do not feel less because you need this. Order is necessary for all of life. Order, in fact, was the second most important ingredient in Creation, second only to love. Can you imagine a world with no order? What if the sun rose only when it felt like it? What if the moon and the stars were random about their appearance and nighttime blanketed the earth at unplanned times? Yes, child, everything must have an order to be successful in the long run. If it was and is important for all of Creation, it is important for you. Let’s start with your daily schedule and then we will continue to work on your schedule for fulfilling your calling and purpose. I am proud of you, child. You have a mission and a calling and I am so pleased that you desire them so. Together, we are unstoppable. You are unstoppable. Don’t ever forget that. And, if you do, just come back into My Presence where I can remind you. I’m always here, day and night, from beginning to end, creating your present and your future with beautiful mixture of love and order.

creation image from internet

The Beautiful Order of Creation…

Genesis, Chapter 1:

1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day.

6 And God said, “Let there be an expanse[a] in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.” 7 And God made[b] the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.[c] And there was evening and there was morning, the second day.

9 And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. 10 God called the dry land Earth,[d] and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good.

11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants[e] yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. 12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. 13 And there was evening and there was morning, the third day.

14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to separate the day from the night. And let them be for signs and for seasons,[f] and for days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. 16 And God made the two great lights—the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night—and the stars. 17 And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, 18 to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. 19 And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.

20 And God said, “Let the waters swarm with swarms of living creatures, and let birds[g] fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens.” 21 So God created the great sea creatures and every living creature that moves, with which the waters swarm, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its 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 birds multiply on the earth.” 23 And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day.

24 And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures according to their kinds—livestock and creeping things and beasts of the earth according to their kinds.” And it was so. 25 And God made the beasts of the earth according to their kinds and the livestock according to their kinds, and everything that creeps on the ground according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

26 Then God said, “Let us make man[h] in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”

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

28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” 29 And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. 30 And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. 31 And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.

Genesis, Chapter 2

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. 3 So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation…

Everybody needs a little laugh…

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Through all that our world and each and everyone of us is going through, through all the scary and sad news, it’s important to remember the things that are most true, i.e. We are loved by a real and awesome God who promises to be with us through the end of time AND we all need to laugh. I hope my next post or two gives you a little chuckle. The following is a true story from Quarantine Life in my home. It’s sometimes scary to be me. 😂

Those who know me KNOW I have an unnatural, but very real fear of opening cans of biscuits etc. So much so that My daughter learned to open them at a very young age, while her grown mama ran in the other room with her hands over her ears.

Fast forward to today as I decide to make my 91 year old mom who lives with me (and thus quarantined with me) her favorite cinnamon rolls. I go in to have her open, but she’s snoring. I decide that it’s time “to just do it.” It takes me 10 minutes to get up the nerve to peel back label. Check on mom again. Still asleep. My heart is literally racing. Read the instructions to “press here with a spoon.” They make it sound so easy. So nonchalant. I get a spoon and lay it on the printed line. I try to cover my ears, but can’t while trying to keep can from rolling away and pressing with a spoon.

What are these biscuit people thinking? I panic and step away. Check on mom. Still asleep. Deciding I can’t let this can defeat me, I went and found the largest beach towel I could find and wrapped it around my head like a mummy heading to the beach. But, aha! It worked and I’m still alive to tell about it. Sure hope mom likes these cinnamon rolls after what I’ve gone through this morning. 😂

Ass But Not Least

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Though they are often the “butt” of many a joke, I have always had a special affection for donkeys. And, Donkey and Cross imageevery year around Easter, that affection grows. Have you ever wondered why Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem oh so many years ago on what we now call Palm Sunday? Why not a strong, valiant horse? A horse worthy to roam the king’s pastures?

This week, in reflecting on that very question, I thought I’d ask God himself. And so, during my God time earlier this week, that is exactly what I did. As I sat quietly with nothing but a Bible, a blank page and a deep affection for The Father, these are the thoughts that came to rest deep in my spirit.

“Child, do you remember the verses in My Word in which I told you that the first will be last and the last shall be first; those that remind you to be a humble servant? My friend, the donkey, is a fitting image of what I expect from my children. Humble, hard-working, peaceful. I don’t need pomp and circumstance from you. I just need a willing, servant’s heart.

I asked for a donkey to ride me into Jerusalem for many reasons, one being to remind all of my childrenpalm sunday that it matters not how the world sees you, but instead how I see you. This donkey, considered one of the least among his kind, was fit for a King. With a servant’s heart and attitude, he escorted me into Jerusalem and into my destiny and this is exactly what I ask of you, dear child—a servant’s heart and attitude that I can use to take me to the people of the world and into my ultimate and eternal destiny. I want ALL of my children with me in eternity. Even one lost grieves my spirit so. Think of those parents who have lost one of their children to drugs, alcohol or depression. Think of the parent whose child has run away, who they’ve lost all contact with. Oh how their heart grieves! Now, multiply that by infinity and that is how I feel about my lost children. My heart is not complete without them. My kingdom is not whole. They are MY children. All of them. No matter what they have done. No matter what they haven’t done. They are MY children and I love them. And, I need you, to help me bring them home. I need you to be like that humble, willing donkey that will take me to my children; to my destiny as Father of All. Go read the story of the Prodigal Son. I will open your eyes to new things, my child. And, go through this day aware of my presence. I’ll be right beside you all the way. It’s going to be a good day, child. A very good day.”

The Legend of the Donkey's CrossThank you, God, for this. Thank you for the donkey and thank you for now giving me a reason to smile when someone calls me one.  Last but not least, thank you for being such a creative Creator. Whether the legend of the cross on my favorite furry friends’ back is true or not, it is quite a beautiful touch. 🙂 Amen and Ehmen

It’s okay to cry…

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

I have tried pretty hard to stay positive this last week, but these last couple of days have seen my emotions catching up to me.

Honestly, I feel a lot like I did after 9/11. The world as we know it is changing and so many things are out of our control. It’s not that I’m wrestling with my faith over this. Quite the contrary. He is my one constant. I know He is in control and I trust Him. But, I can’t hold back the emotions anymore.

Fortunately, I don’t have to, because I also know that, even on days like today when there have been more tears cried than words prayed, the Holy Spirit intercedes on my behalf and Our Father Who Art In Heaven hears.

“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.”—Romans 8:26

Let there be a pandemic of prayer

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

The world is at war, but, for once, the enemy is not one another, but instead a common, albeit unseen, enemy. Out of nowhere, this ninja-like nemesis known as Coronavirus has taken the world by storm, causing panic and pandemonium around the globe.

I don’t know how it has felt for everyone else, but, for me, it’s felt a lot like a rollercoaster ride. And not just any roller coaster, but the kind that has multiple loop the loops for which your stomach leaves your body and isn’t reunited until several minutes after you have disembarked the ride.

One minute, it seemed the media was just blowing things out of proportion as they so See the source imageoften do. After all, headlines still sell newspapers. The next minute, I found myself getting a bit nervous as the media deluge continued and my own credible sources begin to chime in. Finally, I entered full loop the loop mode as the what-ifs of yesterday became the reality of today. Through it all, I have longed to be reunited with my stomach and, more importantly, my faith.

God reminds us time and time again that He is with us and will not forsake us. And I personally believe Him in the deepest reaches of my soul. Yet, here I am still having to fight for personal peace in this incredibly tumultuous time, as my flesh, my humanness is bombarded with second-by-second news reports about an enemy that stalks us unchecked and unscathed by any human defensive. At least for now, there is no cure. There is no medicine to make it better. It is totally out of our control.

All of which reminds me of one of the many news stories that landed in front of my eyes this week. It was an interview with a COVID-19 survivor. He talked about how horrific his fight had been, how close to death he came and how he felt when he was finally properly diagnosed and asked his doctors what should be done next. Their answer was way more alarming than it should be, at least for us Christians. Their answer was simply, “Pray.”

I propose that maybe just maybe that is the lesson to be learned here.

I propose that maybe just maybe that is THE CURE we all long for—the only thing that can properly fight this invisible enemy that knows no geographical borders and cares not one iota about socio-economic status.

God knows that, most of the time–even amongst His own followers—prayer is our last resort; the thing we finally turn to after all other efforts have been exhausted.

However, TODAY I propose that we make it our FIRST resort; our FIRST line of defense. To be sure, we should be safe and do what our leaders are telling us. We should social distance. We should wash our hands. And THEN we should clasp those hands in PRAYER. We have a mighty and loving God who IS in control and who IS indeed moved by prayer.

Heavenly Father, I love you. I cannot lie, this is a scary time and I have let anxiety and fear take hold of me more than once this week. But, today, Father, I finally realized that this could be a living, real-time example of what Your Word declares in Genesis 50:20 and today I speak that very Word against the Corona virus that is threatening our world:

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” –Genesis 50:20

Abba Father, I pray that You help us to see how You use this ordeal to show Your unending love and faithfulness to all of us, even in our stubbornness. I pray that this becomes a globally-uniting experience in which You are glorified; where more and more people return to You or find their way to You for the first time.

And, Abba, help us all to TRUST you; to rest in You, the Omnipotent and Omnipresent One that we are invited to know intimately. Help us to continue holding onto the indisputable fact that You are indeed in control and that nothing, but nothing escapes Your knowing. Help us to remember to always make prayer our first resort and not our last. Help us, Lord, to use this time to draw even closer to You as individuals, as nations and as a world. We are all Your children and I, for one, am so grateful. Give us peace that surpasses all understanding and may You be glorified in all that we do as we fight today’s battle in Your strength and not our own.

Amen and Ehmen.

The Voice

/ Bybrendat / Leave a comment

Whisper of God

It’s in the silence of these four walls, the quietness of my hurting, still soul, that I finally hear Your Voice.

It’s rhythmic and in tune with the beating of my heart and it’s the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. You speak to me, sing to me, patiently. You offer joy in a place I have allowed bitterness and hurt to take root.

You smile though I have done nothing to deserve it. You love though I have been selfish. You stand by me though I have repeatedly abandoned you.

You are God and You deserve my praises. I am forever thankful for your patience and forgiveness and especially that those things transcend all time.

Forever and Ever.

Amen and Ehmen!