Birds of the Kingdom: My Journey with God and Birds

By Mary Lou Hall

Get excited about God as you read Mary Lous sometimes witty, and other times soul-searching devotions.

In her daily writings, Mary Lou intertwines her love of God with her love for birds. Connecting the two are personal stories by herself and others. Be lifted up through Gods Word to you. Find strength and comfort as you go through lifes strugglesjourney with those who have had their share. Let your heart laugh as Mary Lou shares silliness in her life.

Youre not a birder? Thats okay. Feast your eyes on the birds. You will see the many colors and designs of the birds as created by the master artist. Your eyes will take you from the tiny hummingbird to the majestic eagle, and even to a bird with a bill that looks like a spoon.

Let the Holy Spirit speak to your heart as you read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 11, 2015
• ISBN: 9781490882833

Mary Lou Hall

Mary Lou Sedgewick-Hall is an avid birder and travels extensively, photographing her avian friends. She writes for the Baptist Beacon of the Baptist State Convention of Michigan. She received her bachelor’s degree from Liberty University. She enjoys doing volunteer missions work. Mary Lou and her husband, Bill, live in the woods of northern Michigan.

Book preview

Copyright © 2015 Mary Lou Hall.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1 [phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8282-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4908-8283-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015909259

WestBow Press rev. date: 7/27/2015

40643.png

Contents

Acknowledgementi

Chapter 1 - Dorothy

Psalm 5:11-12; 31:7, American Robin

Chapter 2 - Lillian – willing to give all she had!

Romans 5, Baltimore Oriole

Chapter 3 - Dirt, Grime and Mold

John 13:1-17, Black-capped Chickadee

Chapter 4 - Lemon Curd

Luke 14:12-24, Wilson’s Warbler

Chapter 5 - Swallows at Yorktown

Psalm 139, Barn Swallows

Chapter 6 - My Dandelions

Matthew 13:24-30, American Goldfinch

Chapter 7 - They Found Cancer

Philippians 4:4-7, Eastern Bluebird

Chapter 8 - Cookie Cutters

Philippians 1, Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Chapter 9 - Head First

Ephesians 6:10-18, Wood Stork

Chapter 10 – It’s Dead

John 10:10, Northern Cardinal

Chapter 11 - Shh – Be Quiet

Exodus 3, Northern Mockingbird

Chapter 12 - Sing

Psalm 96, Brown Thrasher

Chapter 13 - Laci

Luke 15:11-32, Gray Catbird

Chapter 14 - Go Blue

I John 5:1-5, Blue Jay

Chapter 15 - Terrified!

Matthew 8:24-27, Common Raven

Chapter 16 - Why wasn’t I informed?

Matthew 28:1-10, Greater Flamingo

Chapter 17 - Cotton Candy

Psalm 25:1-5, Roseate Spoonbill

Chapter 18 - More than I Asked For

Luke 5:1-11, American White Pelican

Chapter 19 - I’m Hungry

Revelation 1:1-20, Great Blue Heron

Chapter 20 - My Fleece

Judges 6, Snowy Egret

Chapter 21 - Poison

2 Kings 4:38-41, Osprey

Chapter 22 - Symbol of Freedom

Mark 13:6-8, American Bald Eagle

Chapter 23 - Coins

Luke 15:8-10, Hairy Woodpecker

Chapter 24 - The Nest

Psalm 139, Northern Flicker

Chapter 25 - I Don’t Have a Gun

John 15:1-11, Red-bellied Woodpecker

Chapter 26 - Giants

I Samuel 17, Pileated Woodpecker

Chapter 27 - Wade Out a Little Deeper

Luke 5:1-11, Limpkin

Chapter 28 - Walking on Water

Matthew 14:22-32, American Coot

Chapter 29 - A Beautiful Day

Genesis 37 – 50, Ring-necked Pheasant

Chapter 30 - Reflections

Philippians 2:1-30, Wild Turkey

Chapter 31 - Wise Old Owl

I Kings 3, Barn Owl

Chapter 32 - Dust Bunnies

I Corinthians 3:12, Great Horned Owl

Chapter 33 - Where He Sends

Genesis 12:1-20, Mourning Dove

Chapter 34 - The Wedding

John 2:1-11, Trumpeter Swan

Chapter 35 - The Whistle

Jeremiah 7:23-24, Black-bellied Whistling Duck

Chapter 36 - My Friend

I Samuel 20, Wood Duck

Chapter 37 – Runaway Car

Psalm 139:7-12, Lesser Yellowlegs

Chapter 38 - The Flight Home

I Corinthians 15:50-54, Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Chapter 39 - I’m Home! End of the Watch

Hebrews 9:23-28, White Peacock

Photographic Credits

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Endnotes

This book is a work of non-fiction. Unless otherwise noted, the author and the publisher make no explicit guarantees as to the accuracy of the information contained in this book and in some cases, names of people and places have been altered to protect their privacy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Used by permission. NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered trademarks of Biblica, Inc. Use of either trademark for the offering of goods or services requires the prior written consent of Biblica US, Inc.

Scripture taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. The Living Bible, TLB, and the The Living Bible logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers.

Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition) Copyright © 1992 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)

Scripture taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 2003, 2002, 2000, 1999 by Holman Bible Publishers. All rights reserved.

To

Rhonda Betz-Snider and Shawn Jenkins

You both are an inspiration to me for your relentless pursuit in the awareness of dermatomyositis and Ehlers Danlos Sydrome, diseases affecting both your families. What you have taught me is to never give up.

Acknowledgement

To my dear friend Vera Brown who faithfully read the chapters in this book. Is there a gift called encouragement? She definitely provided that to me during my time of writing.

To those of you out there who provided the subject matter contained herein. Who knew you would one day be included in a book for the world to read?

For all my prayer warriors – you know who you are. Thanks, and to God be the glory because we can go to Him for little things like praying over words in a book that He may be glorified.

For the additional help in photographing the birds, my appreciation goes to my granddaughter, a photo-journalist major at Central Michigan University.

For my husband, Bill. I can’t say enough. He’s stayed with me from the very first mention of birds and writing a book. I’m sure he didn’t know what would lay before him. You’ve allowed me the precious time and solitude it takes to write. You’ve been my captain all the way: driver, bird spotter, and financier and I just say I love you and thanks for keeping the grumbling to yourself. Hang on, we’re off to number two!

To the many bird lovers out there and those desiring to have a closer walk with God, come. Let’s journey together.

To John, Tyler, Rebeka and Teri, my Westbow Press team, I can’t thank you enough for your guidance, encouragement and patience. Teri – thanks for not letting me quit!

Introduction to Birds of the Kingdom

Thank you, Lord

FOR THE BIRDS

"People who won’t settle down, wandering hither and yon, are like restless birds, flitting to and fro" (Proverbs 27:8, MSG).

Does that sound like you? Are you restless? Flitting to and fro? It seemed my life was going at a breakneck speed.

I was the happiest when I journeyed to the creek at the back of the 80-acre farm quietly listening to the sounds of the forest. Squirrels scurried about the leaves, birds chirped, the water trickled across the stones – it was a restful peace. Throughout my life, however, from the farm to the city, I picked up steam. In no short order I was caged like a bird with the things of life, including worries, fears, and most of all stress.

Recently, the Lord spoke to me and gave me two words: stop and wait.

As you read Birds of the Kingdom you will see why those two words are hard for me to carry out. Being busy is when I am the happiest (or so I thought). The Holy Spirit gently reminded me that God created the world in six days and rested. If He needed rest, how much more did I? Would God put so many things on me that my mind and body just couldn’t stop and rest for a while? The answer is no, He wouldn’t and doesn’t! And he won’t you either! I stopped dead in my tracks.

If for me stopping wasn’t hard enough, the second word would be even harder – wait! Patience is definitely not a virtue of mine. Okay, so I’m working on it. I grappled with these two action words. I quickly realized that neither of the words could be misinterpreted.

I wrestled with a very important ministry in my life, but just like a bird trying to get her babies out of the nest, the Holy Spirit kept nudging me until I was willing to say, I let go. It didn’t happen overnight and it was painful, but once I surrendered completely, such a peace came over me. Everything seemed still and quiet, yet everything about me was moving. God was preparing me to leave the nest – to find my place in His world and to leap and take a journey (Psalms 5:1-3. . .Wait for your answer.) He already had the flight pattern outlined—I just needed to understand and follow it. He brought me to a place in my life where all He wanted was me, no works, no ministries, just an intimate, quiet fellowship with the Creator of the Universe.

As always, when we look for Him He is there. Actually, even if we don’t look for Him He is still there! The Holy Spirit shows Himself in many ways. I bought a cup from a thrift store for ten cents. Painted on the cup was this very serene setting - a fisherman in a boat on the water, mountains in the background and land in the foreground. The copyright date - 1989. Twenty-four years later, the Lord would use the Scripture written on that cup to assure me of His calling to stop and wait. In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength (Isaiah 30:15b, NLT).

The waiting began. Before long, I began to notice birds.

A newness of life came into being as my husband and I traversed hills and dales, mountains and deserts, streams and swamps. He gave me a new love to bring a sense of peace and calmness while abiding in Him.

I can’t go back to the nest, but I can share the journey of my life, and others who have touched my life, which is what Birds of the Kingdom is about. He would take me to the new love of birds to teach me the lesson of stop and wait. Ask any bird watcher or birder and he will tell you about the stop and wait, because if you get in a hurry, your trophy bird is gone.

Sometimes I believe I was born to fly. The Lord gave me a special set of wings to fly and soar above and through obstacles along the flight path. But in that self-confidence, storm clouds gathered and tossed me about which caused a change in course. Off course I became prey to the enemy roaring about ready to sweep down for its next meal.

I took the long flight. I got lost on the migration. Only by His tender mercy did I find my way back on course headed in