Well, today was somewhat of a struggle for me. I found myself preoccupied with unpleasant thoughts and being snappy at the children. I had a wonderful time of prayer and Bible reading, however, which did much to warm and melt my heart. More and more I find that my hope, my trust, my security is in Christ alone. I thank God for my Bible, in which I can find words that never hurt me or disappoint me.
My friend Kathy called as I was finishing up my reading, and I wandered out onto the porch to talk to her. What to my wondering eyes did appear, but a bald eagle sitting majestically in a dead tree on our property!
God has revealed His glory to me so obviously through His creation. My heart bows down and worships the Creator that I love. Each new thing I see causes me to love Him even more. . .especially when I see things that I know only I can see at that moment! I felt as though that eagle was a gift. I called the children to see it, too, and now I share the moment with you as well.
Kathy graciously urged me to get off the phone so I could take some pictures. They aren’t the best of quality because the eagle was so far away. This was the best I could do with my lens. As you can see, the sky was whitish today, not blue.
This next one was unexpectedly delightful, as I did not realize the Baltimore Oriole was above the eagle until I downloaded the pictures to my computer.
I heard this hymn for the first time this weekend and I played it over and over. Rich and I both agreed that the words were so very edifying, encouraging and rich with meaning for believers. A good hymn can lift my soul a little closer to heaven, like this one does. . . .
“Before the throne of God above”
Before the throne of God above
I have a strong, a perfect plea:
a great High Priest, whose name is Love,
who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on his hands,
my name is written on his heart;
I know that while in heaven he stands
no tongue can bid me thence depart.
When Satan tempts me to despair,
and tells me of the guilt within,
upward I look, and see him there
who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died,
my sinful soul is counted free;
for God, the Just, is satisfied
to look on him and pardon me.
Behold him there! the risen Lamb!
My perfect, spotless Righteousness,
the great unchangeable I AM,
the King of glory and of grace!
One with himself, I cannot die;
my soul is purchased by his blood;
my life is hid with Christ on high,
with Christ, my Savior and my God.
Words: Charitie Lees De Chenez 1841-1923)
Yes, a good hymn lifts my soul upwards, as does the Bible, encouragment from the ones I love, and also God’s majestic creation. What sort of things lift your soul when you are feeling a little grumpy?
Good to be Home 
Bald eagles are so majestic — and such a success story for those who are struggling to help the endangered species! These are lovely shots of your visitor.
Wow! What a majestic creature! I’m glad Kathy was so gracious and allowed you to get off the phone and take pictures. 🙂
wow. Maybe it was the Lord reminding you that he will give you wings of eagles….to overcome all struggles- even the small ones- like disappointment or the the gloomy glums. 🙂
@writersblock1117 – I know, wasn’t that nice of her? LOL
what a fabulous gift to you from our Creator!
Wow I would love to see one in my trees! We do see them when we are in Florida in the winter!
WOW, I’ve never seen one in person but I hope to someday.
That’s so amazing…I love the oriole above the eagle…so neat!
WOW~ How amazing!
Love that hymn…Music makes my heart swell with thanksgiving!Like the rest of your friends have said…Amazing sight!
Wow, those are great pictures! I would be soo excited if we’d spot one around here!
That is 1 of my favorite hymns!!
“My name is graven on his hands, my name is written on his heart” …that is my favorite line of the hymn. And that is one of the things that helps me out of the gloomies. My saviour is so mighty and amazing yet he loves and cares for me. I’m but a grain of sand but in his eyes I’m as important as the whole ocean.
The bald eagle is…well, words cannot describe. A couple of weeks ago my children and I saw one at the park near our house being harassed by crows. Last week while out fishing we saw one bald eagle dip into the lake and pull out fish and he or she had a young one tailing behind as if learning the ropes and there was the eagle’s mate waiting for them on the other side of the lake! I love your picture with the oriole sitting above the eagle. God’s creation is truly amazing!
I also love that hymn, it is one of my favorites!
Today was a rough day for me too. What a beautiful hymn. When family gets on my nerves I forget that I need to first go to the Lord , then start deciding on training and disciplinary measures.
one of my all time favorite hymns. We like to sing that one around here too~I think what lifts my spirit in discouraging moments is praise songs, choruses — the Psalms really do encourage me as well — sometimes, it’s just being alone (if that’s possible!) out in nature somewhere — “Seeing” God all around me… feeling small, realizing He is so BIG.Wonderful eagle ! wow. I can’t imagine — another goodness of God in showing His majesty ~ He will renew our strength — like an eagle we will rise up. May He do that for you each day this week as you love on those children of yours:)
What a privilege to have the eagle! The oriole above it really helps understand the majestic size of this regal bird.
What a delight. I’ve never seen a bald eagle in the wild, except for some young ones that were raised and released at a park near our former apartment. I love the photo of the oriole and the eagle. What a rare moment.
Isn’t it great when God blesses us with the beauty of His creation??? Sorry you had a rough day… Pray the Lord ministers to your soul today. His Word is rest to the weary and joy to the heavy-laden!
I often feel God’s gifts through the beauty of his creation. Just on my walk this morning with my good friend we admired the beauty of the light dancing on the water. It reflected pure gold and what else could I feel, but God’s love? I can only imagine the awe of seeing the bald eagle. I don’t know that I could take my eyes away to go get the camera. I think I need to carry my camera closer.
@resolved2worship – This is also for Shanda.Yesterday was one of “those” days for me, too. I had to do a double post. A morning one and then one right before dinner. I went outside while dinner was cooking and asked God to show me something that was beautiful, as I felt I was struggling with wallowing in my own self-pity. I found some beautiful outdoor pictures, and then came inside and realized there were some indoor things blessing me, too! They actually were smacking me in the face, but I couldn’t see them until I prayed.I get excited when I see a chicken hawk up close, here in Oklahoma. I don’t know how I would react if I were ever to set my eyes upon a REAL LIVE EAGLE!!!
I think that is a great picture! You captured it so well. I have to say the answer to your question for me is reading your blog! It’s amazing how much stregnth I can get from reading your blog. You have the perfect way to word things and always post things I love to read! I love it when you post. (And I’m not just saying that either) so thank you!
What an added blessing to see the oriole in your picture! From my perch on the sofa in the playroom, I watched a beautiful pair of yellow finches yesterday.
love that song too – Selah has a pretty arrangement of it i just sang in church a while back.music is a powerful thing – – the words. the sound. it moves us and often causes us to refocus back to what is right and true – – or just lift our spirits and make us smile. one of my kids asked me recently who first thought of music. i told them God… “well it was a wonderful idea,” they answered. I quite agree.
What lifts my heart – it has to be taking time to be still and know that He is God…moments in my tiny garden, just me and Him, and how gracious He is to often flood my mind with Scriputres and the words of hymns that encourage me…what a treasure it is to have some of these hidden in my heart.
These pictures are amazing! I almost commented last night saying something like, “Oh, my word! I cannot believe there are two of them in one tree!” (meaning two eagles…) Well, to explain, I had a horrible headache! and I ended up just not feeling up to commenting and figured it wouldn’t all jumbled up due to my headache anyways so I decided to stop back today and comment…ummmm…so GLAD I waited! I was seeing double last night! No kidding! Wow! The picture looks much different today! Haha! I see that there is actually just 1 eagle along with a little bird at the top! Oh, help! Anyways, the picture is amazing! and I love, love, love that song!!! We sing it almost daily here at our camp! Thank you for sharing! Have a wonderful day!
Wow! I would have told you to go get your camera as well! I like how the sky was all white, your eye goes right to the eagle!!!
This is such a beautiful post and the hymn really touched my heart! Thank you! I always enjoy reading your post ~
It’s interesting.