A Healing Moment

Making Things Easier

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 19:26:00 +0000

There will be no more posts to this blog.

All information has been moved to my new website:
The Nature In Us.

Choose the "motivational - spiritual" category on the left navigation bar for these articles.

Here's the recent posts at the new site:

Seeking Peace

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 00:18:00 +0000

In the wilderness we return to reason and faith. -- Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

Do you ever feel like you're spinning around trying to get into what you want in life and it just stays locked shut?

This isn't what I call a great photo, but it illustrates how we are sometimes determined to have our own way ... when God's got another place for us to feed.

This squirrel on our squirrel-proof feeder had a very frustrating time. View the photo album of this story in pictures.

We'll soon be visiting with business associates in Chattanooga. That's the news for IRS since it's a tax-deductible trip. The great thing is that they are also friends. It's not only wonderful to own your own business, but to have business partners that are friends, is truly great.

On Labor Day I'll be 57. I was raised by my grandparents, but I knew my mother (their daughter) as Jean. She died yesterday. She was like a sister to me since we were both raised by the same parents .. and neither of us had siblings while growing up. My visits with her were always fun since we enjoyed many of the same things.

I guess birthdays and deaths make you reflect a lot. I've been trying for a very long time to dedicate myself to working more on me to find a way around the rheumatoid arthritis. God's mercy and natural remedies have brought me this far for the past 21 years with the disease, but I've sensed the Lord telling me for the past 5 years to switch "careers."

In 1982 I began a home business that God blessed and grew too large for only me, so Randal joined in 1988. I don't seem to be able to separate work and personal time well. I have always been a "do it now" person and enjoy tasks more than taking care of me. Part of my job is to do 17 publications a month (this mailing being 3 of them). That's been my favorite part of work, but I've argued with God enough on this and since this year marks the 25th anniversary of the corporation, it seems quite an appropriate year to let go.

Why does it take us so long? God's patience is unending .. but we miss out on the better that He has for us in delaying. I don't know what all that "better" will be, but I am excited to finally take the turn off the expressway to arrive where ever He is leading.

You can stay in touch with what's going on in my life via my blog, The Nature In Us. Since God, natural health, nature, photography and pets are all a part of who I am, the blog will be posts of things I find of interest on these topics, along with some personal writing. I already have a few articles written that I will be posting.

I know we are all in this together and as I share what God is challenging me with, there are some of you that are walking the path alongside me. That has put many smiles on my face over the years from your emails.

I'll send out a notice when the entire blog is ready and will add your email to the mailing list so you can determine if you want to remain subscribed. As always it will have an unsubscribe link in each posting.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Seeking Peace
by Donna L. Watkins

Catherine Marshall writes, "A king once offered a prize to the artist who could paint the best picture of peace. Many tried, but there were only two the king really liked. One was of a calm lake. It was a perfect mirror for the peaceful towering mountains all around it. Overhead was a blue sky with fluffy white clouds.

The other picture had mountains too. But they were rugged and bare. Above them was an angry sky from which fell rain, and in which lightning played. Down the side of the mountains tumbled a waterfall. This did not look peaceful at all. But when the king looked closely he saw behind the waterfall a tiny bush growing in a crack in the rock. In the bush a mother bird had built her nest. There, in spite of the rush of angry water, she sat on her nest - in perfect peace.

Which picture do you think won the prize? The king chose the second picture. Why? 'Because,' explained the king, 'Peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. Peace means to be in the middle of all these things and still be calm in your heart.'"

Do we pass through each day with a calm heart? Peace is not in the absence of troubles, but in the promise of God's presence in your moments. In Him we can trust and rest like the bird on the nest, knowing that all will be well while the angry world around us keeps flowing.

How about a calm mind? That's my downfall! The power of the mind and thoughts rule the day. Our moods, attitudes and behavior are all determined by what we choose to think about.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God." Matthew 5:9

Are you a peacemaker? Generally we think of that as mending relationships and responding to anger with a soft answer, and forgiving offenses. But what about the battle in the mind? Are you a peacemaker there? Do you win the daily battle with the mind? It will determine your peace, joy and state of health.

Matthew 5:23-24 says, "Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still with him on the way, or he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. I tell you the truth, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny."

Let's take that Scripture inward. Do you settle matters quickly with your negative and condemning thoughts against yourself? Do it "on the way" not later. You can't allow a bad attacking thought to run free rein. It will literally take you into a prison of depression and misery.

Settle it quickly! Because if you don't, your life and health will suffer. In reading "you will not get out until you have paid the last penny" reminds me of how much money we spend trying to find health when so many times, it's found within the strongholds of our mind. The entrenchments we've made with continuous attacks against ourselves and others eat away at our bodies.

If you want some direction, "A More Excellent Way" is a book that relates emotional thoughts and beliefs to specific diseases. There is a ministry that deals with health problems in this manner: Pleasant Valley Church in Thomaston, GA.

Bottom line is to get off your back! The world is tough enough without us condemning ourselves for past failures and not so perfect life choices, but why continue to make the same choice that you're already condemning? Isn't it time to make today the first day of peace and joy by letting the past go. You can't change it, but if you let go of it, God can make it all good if you trust in Him.

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© 1999-2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Only Today

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 13:18:00 +0000

In the wilderness we return to reason and faith. -- Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

We have Monarch caterpillars! I am so thrilled. A couple of years ago I discovered a Monarch that had just emerged from the chrysalis, stretching its wings and warming up for flight. This is the first year we've seen the larva stage of the Monarch in this beautifully colored caterpillar.

Mornings have been beautiful here at Bluebird Cove. So much activity outside our windows and around the porches. Creating a wildlife habitat has added so much joy to our lives and provided more entertainment than a wall full of videos or books.

Last week we visited a Garden Railroad. This beautiful backyard also had a large pond with waterfall and bridge. What a peaceful setting a backyard can be with a bit of effort and focus. View Garden Railroad and Koi Pond.

Since the last issue, I've posted a blog on Hummingbird Moths. God's Creation has so much to teach us and it is such an awesome gift to us. His request for us to "tend the garden" is certainly not work, but a labor of love that flows between Him and us as we experience the wonders of all His creation.

As you read the article below, keep in mind that the Swamp Hibiscus flower, you see in the photo, only lives a day. But in that day it provides nectar for the hummingbirds and butterflies, pollen for the bees, and beauty to the eyes for all those who take a moment to look and see the detail of God's care for us. He knows the number of hairs on our head.

May the wonder of nature fill you to overflowing with love for its Creator!

Donna

Today's Featured Article

Only Today
by Donna L. Watkins

What would life be like if all we had to think about was this day, even this very hour? No other long list of issues and tasks, but only what is before us at this very minute.

Do you know some people who seem to go through life that way? There aren't many .. but they're out there. Those of us who are driven to plan it all out, get it all done, and make it all happen, live life too fast to take much notice of these few that lag behind the pace of the real world. If performance and completed tasks is the way we evaluate (should we say 'judge') the value of people, we will discard these kind of folks as simply lazy.

The nation of Israel was under slavery in Egypt and prayed for deliverance. They surely begged God for help throughout their hard days with the taskmasters. Did they feel God had abandoned them? Do you feel like God has abandoned you during the hard seasons of life? We lament .. "If only I could change my circumstances." It brings a feeling of powerlessness to our lives when we get into situations that we can't control.

Not being able to control our circumstances makes it real evident that we are not living a life of "walking by Faith and not by sight." Each generation is more and more challenged with living by Faith because the world brings about solutions and conveniences for problems we haven't even thought of yet. All of these solutions take many into debt thinking they are needs. The advertising campaigns are powerful and big business seems to be running the show. But that's another topic ... and that's not where I'm going right now.

I always like to know which way to go and when to turn. I like for things to run smoothly and when I hit the proverbial brick wall, I begin to doubt that I'm on the right path. But that's not the way God works. Life doesn't flow happily ever after like in the fairy tales. Adam and Eve had some bad circumstances and life has been that way ever since.

Brick walls are very useful tools for God to mold and shape our lives and character. Character is what allows us to live peaceful and joyful lives knowing that all is well within, regardless of how much of a mess we see without.

The devil keeps trying to deceive us into thinking there's a 'perfect' path out there.

God tells us we are loved and that He watches over us and guides us and there is no direction we can take without Him using the experience for good in our lives, IF we love the Lord. (Romans 8:28) We are called to bring about His purposes on the Earth. That can happen in our good and bad experiences, but mostly seems to happen from bad experiences.

Playgrounds are grand and retreats are necessary, but life is about living it well and as Christians we've been given the tools to do that, but we have to choose to use them.

Most days, it's just about taking one step at a time and focusing on that one instead of looking ahead for the footprints that aren't there yet. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” Matthew 6:34b). Be honest! Doesn't most of your turmoil come from worrying about something that is not part of today? Either the past which is certainly silly since we cannot change it ... or the future, of which we must admit to ourselves we have no control over?

Matthew 6:34a says: "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself." If you're one of those that says, "Well, somebody needs to be thinking about it!" this verse says "somebody" is. Tomorrow will worry about itself. You aren't assigned to the job.

We are to have faith and trust in God. Trust in our Heavenly Papa. That's hard to do when you had earthly parents and others that you trusted in that didn't do what was right for you. And now what? Do you accuse God of being the same? It's so easy for me to forget all about God's love and grumble about what He's not doing for me here and now. And the emphasis is definitely on 'now.'

Did He not say,

I will never leave you nor forsake you?
You are the apple of My eye and you are engraved on the palm of My hand.
I am for you and not against you?

Do we believe these things? What we believe creates the world around us. What we "see" by our attitudes and personalities makes it so. Haven't you ever been with somebody that is so totally negative they don't see the wonder around them. I've stood in gardens and by flowing streams with negative people and there is no peace to be found in them. Their thoughts and words are painting a different world around them than what I see there.

There must be something we believe about "life is hard" that makes it so. What we think is what we create. We're made in the image of God and God created it all with a few words. The words we're speaking to ourselves are also creating things into being. What are they creating in your life?

The Scripture above, "I will never leave you nor forsake you" is prefaced by very important thoughts and followed by empowering words. Let me give it to you in a form that includes, in parentheses, a deeper Greek meaning of the words:

Hebrews 13:5 - "Let your conversation (manner of life, behavior) be without covetousness (without love of money); and be content (to be satisfied) with such things as ye have (the things which are at present around one, namely, one's circumstances): for he hath said, I will never leave thee (never leave you helpless, never let you sink, never neglect you) nor forsake thee (desert, or abandon you in the midst of a hostile circumstance)."

And what follows that?

Hebrews 13:6 - "So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me."

Doesn't it just stir you to the bottom of your soul? We have a place to live where there is no fear. No fear of past failures making today a failure ... no fear of tomorrow because IF we believe and trust God today, our tomorrows will all be taken care of by His hand that has you engraved on it.

Do you really think you can do better than that? Sit back, soak up His Word, relax and take one moment at a time, unwashed by the past or possible future.

Nothing can satisfy the cry of a child of God but the Word of God! Keep it in you in thought, word and deeds. You'll be a whole lot kinder to yourself and those around you.

Archived Articles Here

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The Herbs Place offers several newsletters with topics such as natural health, essential oils, pets, nature, and frugal living. More about newsletters.

Copyright and Reprint Information
© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Hiding Out

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 16:59:00 +0000

In the wilderness we return to reason and faith. -- Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

Are you a gardener? Do you enjoy planting things to see them grow and enjoy their blooms, fragrance or sheer beauty? God has given us amazing gifts in Creation and within each creature or plant lie mysteries to be discovered. I was watching a squirrel the other day. Most people have watched squirrels at one time in their life. When I was a child, my great grandfather took me to a nearby park to feed squirrels. The corner store sold peanuts in a bag that we would purchase on our way there.

Although I grew up in the city, God created me with a place in my innermost being that unites with Creation because in reality we are all one with it. God's balance for us contains everything He created. There is nothing wasted. Doctors have thought that tonsils and the appendix are unnecessary organs, but science discovered that they have an important role in the body, being part of the lymphatic system.

My husband and I often discuss the best way to put a plant into the ground. Nursery tags have instructions, garden books have their own methods, and county extension agents have techniques. While watching one of our squirrels the other day, I thought how wonderful a gardener they are. Our squirrels have planted beautiful sunflowers for us from feeder seeds, and oaks and hickories from nuts. It's obvious by the large number of Chestnut Oaks that emerge each year, that squirrels must be doing something right. They're not watering or fertilizing so how do they get so much to grow so well?

The squirrel digs a hole much bigger and deeper than the nut or seed. To keep it for a later meal, he only needs to get it under ground, so why dig a hole so much larger than the nut? God uses squirrels and other wildlife to plant, so their instincts are not geared only for survival food. The larger space of churned earth for the nut to take root is a need for the young roots and for the absorption of water when it rains.

They also stomp down the earth on top after they have buried it. That's not necessary to store the nut, but for it to take root, the ground needs to be in contact with the sprout that emerges. So, we do the same when we plant because Creation teaches us how to do many things better.

The Bluebird Cove Blog has a new post on Living With Beneficial Paper Wasp. There's a lot we can learn from Paper Wasps about being a devoted mother and sharing community tasks with other women. Reminds me of the days when women would gather at the well and markets for daily fellowship. I think our souls miss that in our task-driven society lifestyles.

We had a wonderful day over in the Blue Ridge and Shenandoah Valley looking at wildflowers, waterfalls, farms, an herb farm, grist mill, and walked a nature trail. View this and other travel albums.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Like this funny squirrel picture? Read the titles people have added for this photo and have a good laugh. Laughter is healing. You can add your own title .

Today's Featured Article

Hiding Out
by Donna L. Watkins

Life's troubles and bad circumstances provide a great reason to climb into a shell to protect yourself. God tells us He will be our protection and that we are not to fear. We can never protect ourselves from problems even if we limit our involvement in life itself. Sin entered into the world and there is, and always will be until the Lord's return, evil around us.

There but for the grace of God, go I. We are all capable of being evil, but praise God, we chose salvation and we are now in Christ. No longer a resident of this world, but a child of the King. We can live within the Kingdom in the midst of all the evil.

We have promises of God that we can apply to life's injustices. Our human minds would like to have God just take away all the pain and sorrow, but that's not the eternal plan. It will be around us always until we depart from this world. Our mission, as Christians, is to show people there is a spiritual realm of safety and peace, above the earthly realm of bad events.

There is a 'hiding place' under the shadow of His wings. When we dwell in the secret place, we have the promises of Psalm 91. Designed within us is the ability to dwell with God here on earth, so that we can experience miraculous protection and provision amidst the horrors of this world. We can hide out with God, or hide out by ourselves by forming a shell of withdrawal around our hearts and souls.

We have a refuge always. It doesn't change all circumstances, but it can change the way you see them and the way you experience them. Isn't it true that those people you know who always talk about how awful life is, and how everything bad happens to them, are the ones that always have the "bad luck" they daily speak over themselves?

Choices, choices! We have them every second of our lives. Every thought we have triggers a physiological and psychological reaction in our bodies. Different chemical (hormones) are released based on our thoughts. When I'm in the garden, I am next to God. After all, He did create a garden and then place man and woman within it to fellowship with Him. Why wouldn't I be thinking grand thoughts and feel love flowing amidst His created beauty?

I used to have many fears when it came to bugs and buzzing things, but when I fell in love with God's Creation, those fears gradually melted away because "there is no fear in love." (1 John 4:18) I began to look at bugs and creepy crawly things as artwork of God. An amazing thing with a purpose of its own that is connected in some way to benefit our lives on earth.

Now I work amidst the flowers with bees buzzing at my ears and flying in my face and I get a warm glow just thinking about being so close to something that I used to fear so much. Learning more about bees has provided some surprising information. If you'd like to know more, here's a site with some facts about bees: ut.essortment.com/beefear_rcph.htm

We miss out on so much of life when we withdraw into ourselves, rather than retreating into the safety that our Father provides for us. We grow as we relate - not isolate. In Him we can heal and move forward. We can find that the pain and torment we experience from attacks against ourselves is often times worse than what we experience in "the real world." We were created for fellowship - with God and with others. Take that step outside and God will carry you through.

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On the blog: http://www.theherbsplace.com/AHMblog/ahm.html
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The Herbs Place offers several newsletters with topics such as natural health, essential oils, pets, nature, and frugal living. More about newsletters.

Copyright and Reprint Information
© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Being Tested

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:31:00 +0000

"Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them." ... Unknown

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

The Bluebird Cove Blog has a new posting on a Non-toxic Approach to Yellow Jackets.

Dragonflies and damselflies are fascinating creatures. Looking at the wings of this dragonfly makes me wonder how he flies through the air with all those "holes" in his wings. See a close-up here.

They appear to be magical creatures darting about, many in such bright metallic colors. Although we put in a very small pond in the backyard, it has provided a habitat that brings in more species of God's creatures. From each one there is a lesson to be learned.

Male dragonflies set up a territory by a body of water and defend it from other male dragonflies. As I watched one a couple of weeks ago, darting about and flighting for its rights to our pond, I thought about how often we dart about defending our own rights. Fighting the battles that God said He would take care of for us. Trusting in a Father we cannot see is not easy for many independent types, but it's a process and skill we all need to learn to find true peace in life.

It seems the longer we take to learn it the more opportunities we have to experience the lessons. I often ask myself why I take the hard way when God provides so much for us when we trust in Him. Why do I think I can do it better than the God that created me ... and the beautiful colorful dragonflies? How silly can ya get!?

I'd rather picture myself like the deer below. He's not wasting time defending his space at the pond. He's simply being satisfied with God's provision of water in our pond. What a peaceful image compared to a darting dragonfly. Deer or dragonfly? Which would you like to be?

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Being Tested
by Donna L. Watkins

The word "test" has never been very popular. All through school we had tests that made us study hard and made us nervous before, during and after we took them. As a Christian we are also tested but we don't like to think of God as somebody that's sending evil our way because it would not be true. God loves us and does us good in all circumstances of life, if we will allow Him to. Many times our free will puts up a wall before the Lord and it is without a doorway into our heart.

Many times in life we will have to fight the enemy daily to keep him from destroying and stealing your dreams and desires. He is a thief and will steal every blessing God sends your way. He'll discourage you to give up praying for your family and he'll take away your calling, purpose and future if you listen to him.

The trials in life offer us tests and the higher the grade we earn, the more wisdom, character, joy and peace we will attain. Tests give you opportunity to continue in your vision even when you're in the middle of disappointments and a lot of opposition. The level of attack often means the level of blessing you will receive if you persevere.

God never takes us beyond what we can bear (I Corinthians 10:13 says, "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

This is testing as permitted and controlled by God to produce sterling character that is a reflection of His own. Consider Malachi 3:3: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver." And this Author Unknown segment from the internet:

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver."

She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy - when I see my image in it."

We learn a lot about God and ourselves when we're in trouble and some lessons are learned no other way. Adversity should draw us closer to Him, but some choose to tun away when they don't have it their way.

Submit your troubles to God and let Him choose the way out and the timing. That means giving up control. That is one of the biggest lessons we all need to learn in life since letting go of control requires us to walk by faith and not by sight.

If you're in the melting spoon, remember that God is closely watching you and is there to provide a way of escape at the right moment and in the process you will become more like Him. That will make people want to be more like you! Isn't that the greatest compliment of life?

Archived Articles Here

Share "A Healing Moment" With a Friend

On the blog: http://www.theherbsplace.com/AHMblog/ahm.html
On the website: http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Quick Links to The Herbs Place

Current Specials
Online Catalog
Products A-Z
Home Business
Women
Men
Children
Pet Health Topics
Essential Oils
Natria Beauty Products
Non-toxic Laundry and Cleaning

More Complimentary Email Newsletters

The Herbs Place offers several newsletters with topics such as natural health, essential oils, pets, nature, and frugal living. More about newsletters.

Copyright and Reprint Information
© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Your Own Civil War

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 17:24:00 +0000

"Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experiences to savor, not to endure. I'm trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them." ... Unknown

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

I spent quite a bit of time smelling this gardenia at Monticello on July 4th. I miss having them in the garden as we did in Alabama. The deer ate the bushes we planted after moving to Virginia. It's such a heavenly scent, I suppose they can't resist munching on it.

Speaking of deer and heavenly scents, this year I had decided to grow Heritage Petunias in a large area thinking it would be impossible for the deer to eat all of them. I was correct, but they nibble daily so the plants aren't able to bloom.

We so enjoy the aroma of those luscious petunias that we've been growing for 7 years. Louise, the wife of the man who created the Butterfly Bench, gave us 8 seedlings and they spread and grew so lush even in the Alabama sun. I've grown them on the deck here and that is where they will need to remain to keep the deer from feasting. Since I tempted them in with the petunias, they've also eaten up a large number of other plants.

So, this morning I had the awful task of pulling all of those petunia plants out. It was a task that grieved me, but it was also sad to see them not being able to bloom for the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. I had enough Hummingbird Salvias to fill in the area, and I knew that it was the right choice. We have a Backyard Wildlife Habitat and our yard is a Monarch Waystation, so I had to do the best thing for all concerned.

In the process I discovered a Box Turtle! That's the second one in the past month. This one was smaller than the first, so I know there are now two in our habitat and the joy of that took away all the sorrow of removing the petunias. I placed him in another area where he could dig under the leaves and when I checked later, that's exactly what he'd done. Box Turtles are becoming less common with all the development and clearing of forests. They can live to be 100 years old.

If you haven't visited Bluebird Cove Blog, the recent posts are on Five-lined Skink and Eastern Gray Tree Frog.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Your Own Civil War
by Donna L. Watkins

Ever feel like you want to surrender and just lay down and die? If you have a civil war going on in your mind, at some point you will feel like giving up. Life can be so frustrating, as Paul writes about in Roman 7:15, "For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate."

Sin is a daily battle and it's one that's fought alone, out of view of friends and family and in the shadows of our mind. We play guilt tapes over and over as the devil whispers, "You'll never be good enough. Give up. Stop trying to be so holy. Nobody else is perfect. Everybody sins. Don't worry about it."

The devil knows Scripture and quotes it well having had thousands of years of practice. Don't let his choice of condemning words take you down. Yes, we have all failed, but God still calls us to be holy. Don't give up! Paul says, "Walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." We make the choice daily - Spirit or flesh? That's why it's so important to be in the Word early in the day. The devil camps at your pillow and is ready to pounce the moment you lift your head.

One problem is to try to conquer it on your own. We like to keep our sins hidden, but the Bible tells us to "confess our sins, one to another." It brings it out into the Light so the devil can't make you think it's only your dark secret. Find a person with mercy and wisdom and share with them. Ask God to deliver you. You work at keeping your thoughts clear and your actions will follow your direction because no action occurs without a thought preceding it.

Some people memorize a Scripture related to their sin issue and that's a good thing to overcome evil with the Word. Another thing I've noticed that works, and takes less concentrated effort when we've got something that jumps around in our brain like soda droplets hitting the air after we've shaken a bottle and opened the top, is to choose a Word that means a lot to you. I mean one word of the Word. Like Jesus, or glory, or freedom, praise, or hallelujah.

A word that resonates with the deepest parts of your soul. One you can repeat over and over while it washes your mind free of the thoughts that turn into sins. The thought is not the sin ... it's choosing to continue thinking it or acting upon it that turns into sin. Don't let the devil fool you by saying that you will never stop thinking about it so you'll never stop sinning.

You only sin when you act upon the thought. Beg God to get the stuff out of you! When you've had thoughts that have controlled you for a long time, you will need God's help in cleaning that mental house. You can't conquer it alone.

Never give up hope! You are not hopeless! Through God's amazing grace He can take the bad and the ugly experiences of your life and use them to make you so much better than you would've been without them. In the economy of the Kingdom, all in your life is redeemed and nothing is ever lost.

Those bad experiences will all be used to make you better. Love Him and let go of the past, whether it's your childhood or yesterday. He will turn the dung into gold if you will let Him.

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Who Are You?

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 13:18:00 +0000

"We will do better in all aspects of life if we learn to "let go" of all we hold so tightly to and realize that control is a myth and striving for it is insanity." Donna L. Watkins

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

We had a grand day off for the 4th of July and the highlight was attending the Naturalization Ceremony at Monticello with Sam Waterston as the keynote speaker. If you enjoy history, architecture, gardens, or you're just patriotic, there was much to photograph.

At this time of year it's such a joy to wander outside to find so much going on in God's Creation. He has made many beautiful things to attract our attention and to bring peace and joy to our weary souls.

God made the Garden and forests and then created us within it so that we would walk in the garden and fellowship with Him. I guess that's why you can't enter a garden or forest without sensing that stillness overcoming your entire being. It doesn't take long before you sense that wonder and awe of the Creator.

As you walk and see and experience, your heart is filled with the knowledge that you were created beautiful also and your mind begins to dream dreams and believe, once again, in your the hopes deepest in your soul.

How long has it been since you've walked with wonder in God's Creation? If it's been too long, schedule a time now!

If you haven't visited my Bluebird Cove Blog to experience a bit of Creation, there are recent segments about Scrawny Tail, a squirrel with a broken tail, Black-winged Damselflies and Five-lined Skinks that often entertain our cat on the screened porch.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Who Are You?
by Donna L. Watkins

We get ourselves into messes in life, many of us working and doing to please somebody that may even be dead and buried. We confuse what we do, or what our title is, or how much money we make, or what kind of car and house we own, or whether we look like a model, etc., with who we are. Do you believe what the Bible says about you ... or what the corporations want you to believe to create you to buy?

Fibromyalgia attacks mostly women and has been linked to a lifestyle of handling too much. Of bearing up under pressures that women were never designed to handle. It's a disease of our busy and demanding world.

Who we are has nothing to do with what we own, look like, or accomplish. In the end, it will only matter that we were pleasing to God and He loves us as He made us. All our quirks and dreams and skills and lack thereof are what we were made to be. We were born with desire and passion for something that God wants to accomplish through us. We already have what it takes!

We sin by wanting to be somebody else. We covet by desiring other people's skills and natural talents. While we are looking over the fence at their grass, God is calling from behind saying this is what I made you to be. I love who you are. You don't have to be anybody else for Me and don't let anybody tell you that you have to be somebody else for them.

Soak yourself in a bath of God's love and walk each day in a holy manner adding character qualities to your life, rather than trinkets on a charm bracelet that will rust and decay.

Don't let disease win the battle. It's a battle in the mind since our brain has so much to do with our physiological health. It controls the hormones and neurotransmitters and body processes, and what we think creates action within the brain.

Some of us have had too many troubles and burdens in life. If we're honest in our looks back, we can see that much of the chaos we created ourselves. We listened to what everybody else and the world told us we had to be and do and have. We made choices that created complicated lives. We were the only ones that believed we "had to do" all those things. We can't change the past ... but what's driving you today?

Maybe our minds can't comprehend a different lifestyle. Maybe we see no way out mentally, but our bodies were not meant to deal with the "super woman" and "super man" requirements of the world. They are not capable of those kinds of demands, so they began to manifest diseases. Maybe our brain unconsciously agrees with them and somewhere there is a bit of peace and joy in having a "good excuse" why we can't "do it all" any more.

Keeping things simple is easier if you are sick. Without ever thinking it or consciously knowing, it would be easy to believe that being ill makes life easier. People don't expect as much. The reason for saying "no" is a qualified and accepted one. Nothing to prove, no shame of not being able to take on yet another task. Your life now appears to be ruled by the disease.

There's a better way .... love yourself, believe in who you are and who you were created to be. Jesus came so that you could have abundant life. That includes joy, peace, contentment and health. You can't lay down your life if you don't have one, but God wants us to walk in our passion and dreams. To be truly us. To know we are really "okay." We don't have to say 'yes' to everybody to be good. Saying 'no' is important if the request does not match with who you are.

Work on being well. Not by pride and a puffed up spirit commanding the body and God to make it so ... but by humility and gratitude for all that God made us to be. Find your real self inside. Find those dreams and hopes and desires you had as a child. Ask God where you got off His path for your life. Why and when did you begin to conform to the image that others desired instead of being who you really are?

When we love ourselves, our bodies will heal and we will be able to love others so they can begin to heal. What the world needs now is love. Then we can lay our lives down in love doing what comes naturally and walking in joy and peace daily. No burdens ... only blessings. Begin to be you! It's okay. God made you to be you! Isn't it sin to try to be everybody else? (Answer: Yes)

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© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

God's Direction

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Wed, 27 Jun 2007 00:57:00 +0000

"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

This bee chose one of our Foxglove plants to snooze on for the night. When I go out in the garden early in the morning before it warms up, I'll find bees snoozing on many blooms. They sometimes snuggle up inside of them. What a great place for a bee to wake up to breakfast!

Do you notice the fuzzy tips of the foxglove bloom? There must be a purpose. Maybe it's to give bees and hummingbirds a brushing. After all they don't carry combs around. God does everything with purpose and I've got a zillion questions when I get to Heaven.

Watching the natural world around us fills me with awe and wonder for the Great God that created it all. He made the grass and flowers and birds and bees and animals and then .... He made us. What a loving God to create the beautiful gift of the natural world just for us to enjoy.

Who can enter a forest or a garden and not sense the presence of God? I believe that God dwells in gardens and forests waiting to meet with us. After all, that was His original design.

Get out there and enjoy His gift. Create a Backyard Habitat for the critters and creatures He will send your way. He watches over the sparrow ... but He may need your hands to help out. If you have a passion to know more about the natural world and creating wildlife habitats, join me as I take the NWF Wildlife University course online. I enrolled a few weeks ago and have been working my way through their courses. I love it.

It is not enough to set aside special places like parks, refuges and sanctuaries for wildlife. These places are critical, and their establishment must continue. But so much land has been, and will continue to be, developed for human uses, that only individual land stewardship will save most of the world’s species from extinction. One backyard at a time.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

God's Direction
by Donna L. Watkins

How about you? Do you ever feel like you're hanging off a cliff? Like the old joke where a man falls off and is hanging by a large root with nothing between him and the ground 100 feet below. He is screaming, "Help! Somebody help me!" God says, "I'll help you! Let go!" There is silence for a moment and the man shouts, "Is there anybody else up there?"

Wouldn't you like to have a fax or email from God with a list of instructions for your life? Directions for the road so you'll know where to make the turns and be sure to arrive at the exact place He wants you to at the correct time? I sure would!

I seem to get hung up in the "Lord, what do you want me to do next?" mode for way too long. Maybe it comes from the perfectionistic background I have (surely it is background - not a current problem). Sometimes we don't make decisions because we're not sure that it's the "right" answer. Nobody likes to make mistakes so we can avoid them by procrastinating and "waiting on the Lord."

I read that the Columbia space shuttle's guidance system only kicks in when it's several miles out in space. Maybe God's guidance system works the same way. It doesn't kick in until you're in motion, which means you've got to get off the launch pad. If you stay frozen waiting for God to "show you" the answer or until you hear His voice for certain, you may not ever get direction.

Many times we have a task before us that we have not done. Maybe it's not the one we'd like to have, so we keep hoping God will change His mind and change life around a bit to fit more of what we picture it to be. God might be saying to you, "You'll hear more from Me after you have done what I've already shown you to do."

Hebrews 11:8 says that "By faith, Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going."

Sometimes we have to just get moving in the direction that God has shown us. If you've ever walked outside at night with a flash light, you know you can only shed light on a small area in front of you. We've forgotten to get the mail before it got dark and had to tromp down the driveway to the mailbox with a flashlight.

You've got to keep the light only a foot or so before your feet. If you shine the light further in the distance, you're likely to trip over something. If we're looking ahead to what we want the picture of life to be without taking the first steps that are at our feet, we are not going to get to where God wants us to go. You won't see beyond the bend in the road until you get there to make the turn.

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:7 that "we walk by faith, not by sight." It's nice to know where we're supposed to be going, but God wants us to trust Him with our lives and He knows we may get overwhelmed with the big picture, so He gives us a few steps at a time.

If we give God a willing heart and trust Him to have the best for our lives, we will begin to care less about what's around the bend, and enjoy what's at our feet. So take those steps that you know to take now and see what God has for you when you get further down the road. You don't need to know it all now.

Don't worry about mistakes. Those with great wisdom know that there is much knowledge in mistakes and they use it for their benefit. As you walk, you will find closed doors, denied access and roadblocks ... but keep in mind that these are as much a part of Divine guidance as a clean and clear path. And you know how rare those clean paths are!

Get up and get moving!

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© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Your Dreams

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 22:55:00 +0000

"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

If I've got energy I like to be moving and doing something with my hands. This time of year I love making the yard look appealing to birds, lizards, toads, butterflies, bees, bugs and so much more. Visitors enjoy the walkway to the front door also.

God just made me to move and my favorite place is amongst plants near and in the woods. After all, we were created to spend our days with God in a garden. Just because sin closed the doors to that garden, doesn't mean we can't create our own to enjoy with God.

It's much too easy to get caught up in our own agenda and forget to say, "Is this the direction you want me to go, Lord?" I have so many ideas that I often forget to ask that question until I hit the proverbial brick wall when it's obvious that's not the right direction.

But even a "closed door" shows God's leading us. That may be the only way He has of telling some of us busy people to stop and reconsider. But in the garden, time stands still and I am all ears to what God has to say to me because all around me is His Creation. His Creative Energy!

When I get weary from garden work, I head for the hammock in the backyard. I can truly relax in a hammock. I like to keep it swinging. I think it reminds me of when my daddy would push me on the swings as a child. I can still hear my voice begging for more. "Push me, Daddy!"

There is something magical about a hammock and since ours was a gift from our friends, The Allreds, it's a very special place to be. And I imagine my Heavenly Daddy swinging me in the hammock now as He talks to me about His love for me. We are each His "one and only" because none of us are alike. We are truly unique and specially loved for who we are.

If you don't think of yourself as special, you better work on that and get into agreement with the Word of God on who you are! :-0

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Your Dreams
by Donna L. Watkins

Do you take time for dreaming? Like this squirrel who knows how to chill out on the cool concrete garden bench, you need time to get away to where the birds gather ... to dream!

Dreams are of God. When you dream you go beyond human limitations and today's realities. You see beyond what you can accomplish and begin to imagine what God can accomplish through you.

Don't expect anybody to give much credence to your dreams. Remember Joseph's brothers who mocked him and even sold him as a slave because they were sick of hearing about his dreams. Those who don't dream will always minimize those who do.

Dreams that stretch you to the point of discomfort are more God than you. He wants to be involved. Actually, a better mindset on it would be that He wants you to be involved in His dream. Sometimes we leave dreams behind because we don't see how WE can make them happen. As usual when it comes to God things, "it's not about me."

What has God allowed you to see? He won't lift you up and plant you in the middle of the dream, and you won't be able to make it happen with your own abilities, so dreaming isn't always comfortable even for the dreamers. The nation of Israel had a dream of getting out of slavery. Don't you imagine as the taskmasters loaded more and more work on them that they pictured being able to walk away from their heavily-laden lives and start over afresh someplace else?

Their dream came true when God sent Moses to deliver them ... but they had to walk through the wilderness to get to their dream. Many of them grumbled and complained and dreamed of the food they had to eat back in Egypt. Their stomachs made their minds willing to give up freedom for a bigger meal. After all the hardships they'd lived with in Egypt, you would've thought they'd have more stamina to make the trip, but human nature wants life easy and memories of "how it used to be" are very altered in our minds from the reality of it all.

To make your dreams come true, you will have to refuse to turn back. You'll need to go the distance and many times with God only revealing one step at a time. Most of the nation of Israel never stopped complaining and they never entered into their dream. It took them 40 years in the desert because they grumbled. It was only a 40-day walk through that wilderness to the Promised Land.

How many times have we allowed grumbling to steal our dreams and visions? How much of our lives have we handed over to be stamped "Not Fulfilled." Regardless of what advertising and the media want you to believe, life isn't handed to you on a silver platter no matter how much money you have. We are here to work our way through, but it can be done in joy and peace and with God's favor upon us. Joseph went through the betrayal by Potiphar's wife and imprisonment, but his dream carried him to be ruler of Egypt. He trusted God to fulfill it but always kept his eyes on it.

Dreams hold the joys of today and the hopes of tomorrow. Protect them and feed them with The Word. Don't set your time table to them. Let God reveal the timing.

The Word For You Today had these three things to remember about dreams:

1) Dreams are specific, not general; personal, not public
2) Dreams are usually outside the realm of the expected
3) Dreams separate winners from losers. Dreamers are always a minority.

What are the dreams that God has shown you? Have you tried to make them happen and given up? Renew them and relive them in your mind, and then let God show you what the step for today is. Not how to make it all happen ... but what needs to be done now.

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© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html

Unconditional Love

noreply@blogger.com (Donna) — Tue, 05 Jun 2007 21:39:00 +0000

"Great men are they who see that spiritual is stronger than any material force, that thoughts rule the world." - Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

How many times have I mentioned if you get anywhere near Central Virginia to be sure to drop by to sit with me on the Butterfly Bench with some herbal tea?

One of the subscribers to this mailing mentioned months back that she was going to get here and she did. Sheila and Ed Shepardson visited with us on June 1st and as you can tell from the photo, we were all smiles. You'll also notice that it was too hot a day for herb tea so we had homemade lemonade made with honey.

What a delight it was to walk around Bluebird Cove with Sheila. Randal thoroughly enjoyed Ed, so we all had a grand time of it. We spent some time at the pond enjoying all the frogs who were more than generous with their poses. And since it was an unusually warm day, we retired to the living room to chat and chuckle.

So ... let this serve as a reminder to you that there's always a welcome sign on the Butterfly Bench. View some of our Bluebird Cove critters that have been visiting and lodging with us.

Bunches of Blessings to You!
Donna

Today's Featured Article

Unconditional Love
by Donna L. Watkins

Do you sometimes find yourself proclaiming gloom and doom over your life? I have a friend that has been having a grand time of life lately and the other day she began "expecting" things to go badly because they had gone so good for quite awhile. Why don't we expect to have a good time of life. Why do we believe those old wives tales about "knocking on wood" and not saying anything or "something will go wrong."

If we expect or fear something is going to soon go wrong with a great situation, do we have any effect on whether it goes sour? If we expect something to happen to change the joy of life into the dreads of life, do we begin looking for it happen? Are we waiting with expectation of evil instead of rejoicing in the delights of our days?

Since every action begins with a thought, how does it affect our lives when we begin thinking that things will go wrong? Do we begin to notice slight imperfections in relationships or circumstances and make a "mountain out of a mole hill?" If we were rejoicing, we would be in mercy mode and slight irritations or bad moments would slide right on by almost unnoticed.

Instead we begin to be in judgment mode because we have actually made a judgment about what our life is going to be like. Will those thoughts begin to seek justification for that judgment? We do like to be correct, don't we? Even to our own hurt.

Thoughts of "this isn't going to last" may be based on a root belief system operating that says, "I don't deserve to be this happy."

Nobody has had a perfect childhood or adult life and I've not met anybody that received perfect unconditional love from parents, siblings, friends, boyfriends or spouses. Relationships are made up of less than perfect people. Only God gives us unconditional love, but again, we may feel that we don't deserve that either. Yes, God is love and He loves everybody, but when you bring it down to just YOU ... do YOU accept His unconditional love or are you living a performance-based lifestyle that says love is based on rules?

Do you read the Bible with God's mercy and love on your mind ... or do you see the law and a God with a gavel ready to judge you for not being all that you think you should be. All that you think you should be based on your interpretation of the Scriptures.

When we put those kinds of burdens on ourselves, we also place them on others around us. We can't give unconditional love if we are not willing to accept His. Galatians 5:14 tells us that the whole law is fulfilled in one word, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." We know from the Parable of the Good Samaritan that everybody is our neighbor. Paul reviewing the 10 Commandments in Romans 13:9 tells us, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."

If we aren't loving ourselves, we're not living the Christian life too well.

Expect good. Allow yourself good. Be good to yourself. Enjoy life. Do things you WANT to do, not only what you HAVE to do. Falling in love with yourself will allow love to flow out to others and your relationships will become rich and fulfilling and you will change lives.

In these days of self-doubt, poor self-esteem and continual spread of doom and gloom in the media, we need to see God's kind of love that says, "You are of value." Let me speak into your heart and say that your thoughts, your desires, your dreams and wants that won't leave you alone are there for a reason. God places passion within us for His purposes. Seek His face and ask Him to direct your steps. Walk in love towards yourself and you will naturally begin to love others. Reach out and accept His unconditional love for you.

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© 2007 Donna L. Watkins

All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins. You may forward or use this copyrighted article on a website if you include the following credit and link:

This article originally published in "A Healing Moment" was reprinted with permission. The Herbs Place provides a free email subscription to "A Healing Moment." Visit the author's website for more articles and other free newsletters available. http://www.theherbsplace.com/ahm.html