A Melodious Sonnet

Tuis! …and a Bellbird

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Well, I’ve been writing a good many blog posts in my head, but haven’t managed to get any onto digital paper yet. Perhaps this one will make it there—we’ll see!

Life has been full. Full and wonderful.

My job working with a disabled girl finished at the beginning of November, and aside from a few trips, I’ve been home ever since. Three people in our family have had medical emergencies in that time, one requiring a three-night stay in the hospital (!), so my time home certainly hasn’t been dull! But there have been some beautiful moments, too.

And one I’d like to share with you today is…the tuis!


Two years ago, the New Zealand native flax bush just outside our dining room window bloomed. We had a profusion of birds come through that year to suck the nectar—tui, bellbird, wax eye, sparrow, starling, just to name a few. It lasted for about a month, and it was the most lovely experience to have the birds feeding within a few feet of where we stand at the windows!

A year ago, I was disappointed that the flax bushes didn’t bloom (still don’t know why; do they have a biannual schedule or something?).

But this year, they are blooming again! And for the most part, the tui have been harvesting them. We have seen the occasional starling, sparrow, or bellbird come through, but the tui have been far and away the most common. Sometimes, we’ll get up to three at once out there, but generally only one. If there are two fairly close together, one or both end up fluffing their feathers out and giving the other a good scolding, which in turn generally sends one or the other away in a hurry!

Notice the orange increasing on their heads as the season progressed? That’s when the flowers opened up more, and the pollen was released.

And then I was able to get a couple pictures of a bellbird!

Here’s a picture of two of them fighting about who gets to stay to eat (even their fighting language is musical, though).

It’s been a lovely experience the past month to get to watch these beautiful birds so close-up. This is one time I’m thankful we have great big bushes fairly close to the house!

Faithful in All Seasons

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It was a warm, windy day here when I got back to North Canterbury on Sunday afternoon. Today, rain is coming through in gusts, with a definite chill in the air heralding a southerly wind pushing up from south of New Zealand. Some parts of the island have had snowfall, and though we aren’t supposed to get any due to our low altitude, you can definitely tell from the air that it’s somewhere around! I’m looking forward to tomorrow, when the clouds roll away and I can get a glimpse at the hills and mountains surrounding us—I expect they will be quite beautiful!

It’s amazing how life follows the same patterns weather does—sometimes, things are bleak and shot-through with sorrow, and other times, sunlight comes in on the gentle wings of a breeze, coaxing the daffodils and hyacinths into the full, rich blossom of springtime.

When I went home a week ago, the tree outside my bedroom was a mass of dark greeny-grey branches and twigs. Now, little clusters of light green have sprung from what looked lifeless, and the tree’s branches are suddenly a haze of growth and beauty.

Faithful in All Seasons

These past weeks haven’t been easy, for a variety of reasons, but you know—the Lord is so faithful. Even when I feel like I’m distanced from Him, that I can’t get much out of His Word, He still reaches through and touches me.

I’ve been blessed to be part of a HelloMornings study group for the past two weeks, and one question about a week ago was, what songs do we cling to in hard times? I shared a couple from my “Valley of Hope” playlist—one compiled years ago—and was reminded of just how faithful the Lord has been over the years.

When we walked through losing my brother, He held us up.

When Mom miscarried little ones we were looking forward to meeting, He held our hands—and even provided a rainbow in the sky on our way into the hospital the last time!

When my youngest sister was born, our joy in His goodness overflowed.

When I struggled to give up my idea in preference for what He was asking from me, He gave me the grace to say “yes”.

When a hoped-for journey came to an abrupt end, He gave peace.

Whatever you’re facing, friend, I hope you will keep your hope and trust in the Lord today. No matter what your current weather season is, He will always bring life and hope again!

And, for your enjoyment and perhaps encouragement, here is my “Valley of Hope” playlist.

What songs touch you when you’re walking through hard things? Comment below; I’m always on the lookout for other encouraging ones!

 

Home Again—Temporarily!

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I’ve often pondered what the word “home” means—because I’ve felt at home in many different places over the years!

Born and raised in Michigan, teenage years in New Zealand, longish trips back to the States, a trip to Tasmania, one to Hastings, another to a tiny out-of-the-way place in south Canterbury, weekends at Kaikoura for eight years….

Each time I look at pictures of those places, or go back to them, I feel a certain rest when I get there.

Home Again—Temporarily! 01

These are my mountains. This is my road. These are my people.

Some places have a stronger tug than others, of course. And yet, life continues moving—a steady thread pulling me forward, until I fear that if I take time to look back, I’ll miss out on the now.

A week and a half ago, I came home again, back to my family, back to the green pastures and quiet purplish mountains visible across the winding rivers. And while I know and feel that I’m at home, there’s a restlessness there, too. This transition between being with one family that has become “my” family, and my flesh-and-blood-family is hard sometimes.

Home Again—Temporarily! 02

Because I love them both.

And I’m thankful for this—this grief of what is now past, and this looking ahead to what will be. I don’t know what the next weeks will look like—while things like a permanent job are definitely up in the air, another opportunity has come up in its place.

God has a way of bringing unexpected, sometimes uncomfortable, things into our lives. Lord willing, I’ll be heading away again in about a week’s time to help another family with a daughter who has been unwell for many years. I’m expecting this to be stretching in ways I’ve never dealt with before, but I know I will also learn a lot, and find out again just how good the Lord is and how much we can rest in Him.

But for this week, I’m home. And whatever situation I end up in next, that will become “home” too, so I’m thankful.

God is good.

 

Book Review and Giveaway: Cross Shadow!

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Hello again, friends! Today, I’m bringing another book review your way, this time the second book in a series! I read (and enjoyed) the first, A Cross to Kill, although it ended up being outside my comfort zone in some ways. When I saw that the sequel, Cross Shadow, was available, I told my brother about it—who had also read and enjoyed the first book. He asked to be able to read it, and I agreed, providing he would read and do the review for me. So today, you get to hear his thoughts on the book!

I haven’t had time to read Cross Shadow since I’ve been away from home, but I expect it is as good as the last one—and I’m looking forward to seeing what happens in here, too!

Disclaimer: We were given a free review copy of this book to read, in exchange for our honest thoughts. Some links in this blog post are affiliate links, which support this blog at no added cost to you.

About the Book:

Cross Shadow by Andrew HuffAll journalist Christine Lewis wants is the truth. All pastor John Cross wants is to avoid it.

Former CIA agent turned evangelical pastor John Cross is busy caring for the small community of believers he ministers to in Virginia. Journalist Christine Lewis is busy with the demand for her talents from top news agencies in New York City. Neither has any time left for their relationship, which began eight months before when they paired up to prevent the detonation of a chemical bomb in the nation’s capital.

But when Christine hears that her stepbrother has been arrested for murder in Texas, they team up again to discover the truth about the crime. Untangling a web of conspiracy, the couple finds themselves in the center of another dangerous situation-and in trouble far deeper than they expected.

With an assassin on the loose, a trusted colleague acting as a double agent, and unreliable artificial intelligence connected to mercenaries who have Cross on their hit list, these two may not get out of the Lone Star State alive.

Elijah’s Review:

You would think that after the exposure of the men who were seeking his life at the end of A Cross to Kill that the world would be safe for John Cross to live quietly. But then he finds another threat to his life when his girlfriend’s stepbrother is accused of murdering a coworker. The evidence is incriminating: There is video footage of the crime, threatening text messages on the phone of the murdered man, and a bloody knife with the accused’s fingerprints. Who actually did the deed, and why are some total strangers intent on killing both John and Christine Lewis?

After I read A Cross to Kill I wished I could read Cross Shadow, so when I got the chance I made it through in record time (even for me!). I really appreciated the fact that even though swearing and such profanities were mentioned throughout the book, the words themselves were left totally out. One thing I didn’t enjoy so much, partially due to my views from the Bible on not resisting evil (Matt. 5:39 and others), was the violence portrayed in this book. Don’t get me wrong—I appreciate the emphasis on wishing to keep from taking human life, but I feel that even the violence that is shown here is more than a Christian, in good conscience, should do.

Another thing I liked was the emphasis on following God’s will for your life. Both John and Christine began wondering in the story whether they were doing what God wished them to do, and in the end, they did make the changes they felt God would have them make in their lives.

I can’t say that the rise and fall of the action in the story was a surprise to me. It was pretty similar to the first book. I did find that the little twists the story took were totally unexpected. Some of them were pretty funny, like Christine’s father who used a wide range of nicknames for friends simply because he had a hard time remembering names!

I am intrigued to see what Right Cross has to bring. Huff has many original ideas and you never quite know what he will have you in for before the last page comes!

Buy your own copy here, or . . .

Enter the Giveaway!

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Have you read any mysteries or thrillers lately? What were they?

The Last Four Weeks…

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…I’ve been away from home! And today, I finally have a little time to sit down and say “hello” for a bit!

I’ve had a very full month this past month—I planned to go help a mother after her surgery, but plans got changed (common story at this point, anyone?) and I didn’t go after all. I was very thankful to be able to stay with my family during our lockdown—we made some great memories during that time!

But then, as soon as lockdown was over, plans quickly came together and they were full steam ahead! So I’ve had the privilege of getting to know a family with seven children over this past month, and by now, we’re all good friends.

These Past Four Weeks 01

I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to do a lot more cooking—something I’ve noticed before in situations like this! I’ve found that I don’t cope well when I don’t have a menu to follow (but then, I’m not so surprised at that!), but I’ve also found that I love making things up. Last night, we had a meal inspired by Chow Mein, Cabbage Roll in a Bowl, Egg Roll in a Bowl, and Chicken Noodle Soup for tea. That was yummy, and I had fun figuring out which elements of the four dishes I would use, and which I wouldn’t!

We’ve enjoyed playing a good number of games different weekends. Two of the weekends since I’ve been here, I’ve spent elsewhere—visiting friends either north or south of where I am currently staying. That’s been really good, especially since we haven’t even had the chance to visit for the last few months! I’ve loved being able to reconnect with people like that.

My days are very full, but probably one of my most favorite times is my early morning drive over (I’m staying about 7 min. away at the grandparent’s place). Early into my time here, the sun was rising around 7:30 am—just about the time I was heading over for the day. The family lives in the hill country part of Canterbury, close to but not quite right underneath the mountains. It’s a lovely area—I’ve always loved the hills and mountains, and watching the golden beams of sunshine play along the tops of the mountains is just the most gorgeous sight ever! Often, too, when there’s been a good frost overnight, everything is glistening in the morning light. It’s beautiful.

These Past Four Weeks 02

The days are getting shorter, though—we’re only about 10 or 11 days out from the shortest day from the year—so lately it has been darker and darker when I take off in the morning. Likely, it will probably get to the point where I will be leaving in the dark as well as getting back in the dark, but that’s alright! I can enjoy the sunrise, anyway. It’s a lovely time of day.

In all, I’ve had a good time here. I’ll likely be here for several weeks yet, and I’m looking forward to learning more cooking skills and spending more time with the parents and children. I’ve already read one book (Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt) aloud to them, and I’ve just started reading Star of Light by Patricia St. John out loud as well—that’s been very fun!

What things have you been enjoying doing lately?