Random thoughts

First, here is a cool picture that John took this morning - no trick photography here. All of these birds were there at the same time! If you look closely, there are 5. Also, I went out to put some more nectar in our little feeder and while my hands were on the feeder hanger, one tried to eat! It was very cool to be that close to one.



Second, I started reading a book last night called "Ruthless Trust" by Brennan Manning. I am really enjoying it and a couple of quotes just struck me as worthy to repeat.

The first quote is from the foreword by Richard J. Foster:

"When our children were young I would sometimes rise early on a Saturday morning and fix them pancakes for breakfast. It was all great fun - the broken eggs, the spilt milk, the batter and the chatter. They loved pancakes - even my pancakes - and they would wolf them down quickly. I would often watch in astonishment at their greedy eating. Not once did I see either of them slipping a few pancakes under the table, stuffing them in their pockets thinking, "I don't know about Dad. Maybe there won't be any pancakes tomorrow and so I'd better get myself a little stash just in case." Not once did they ask me about the price of eggs or my ability to secure enough milk for tomorrow. No, as far as they were concerned there was an endless supply of pancakes. They lived, you see, in trust.

The second quote is from Chapter 1, pg 15 by Brennan Manning:

Wallowing in shame, remorse, self-hatred, and guilt over real or imagined failings in our past lives betrays a distrust in the love of God. It shows that we have not accepted the acceptance of Jesus Christ and thus have rejected the total sufficiency of his redeeming work. Preoccupation with our past sins, present weaknesses, and character defects gets our emotions churning in self-destructive ways, closes us within the mighty citadel of self, and preempts the presence of a compassionate God.

I thought both were really good and thought-provoking. So far, I recommend the book (but I have only read 2 chapters :).

Have a blessed day!