Consider the lilies of the field… Matt 6:28

Pelicans, Egrets, and the Unveiled Face: A Lesson from Robbie’s Docks

“And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as though reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.”
— 2 Corinthians 3:18

“…let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”
— Matthew 5:16 (NIV)

My son, Chris and his wife, Tammy, recently returned from visiting Robbie’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida. During a Birthday family gathering, they shared their delightful photos and stories for all of us to enjoy. My granddaughter, currently in the first grade, took a special interest in their travels. Just a few months ago, she and her parents had stood on those very same docks. As we looked at the pictures together, a beautiful mystery sparked my interest. We realized they were looking at the exact same dock—and quite possibly, the exact same bird.

The Great Egret you see at Robbie’s has completely mastered the local system! As the story goes: “The birds at Robbie’s have basically turned freeloading into a highly coordinated, strategic sport. While the pelicans act like rowdy toddlers—squawking, lunging, and trying to swallow your entire hand—that sleek Great Egret just stands there looking incredibly dignified, completely masking the fact that it is actively plotting how to rob your fish bucket the second you look away.”

“The dignified master of the docks at Robbie’s Marina.” Photo by Chris Mar 2026

Lessons from the Great Egret’s Anatomy
Looking at this creature with its pure white plumage, bright orange beak, and jet-black feet, I began to wonder: What might we learn from the design of a Great Egret?

The Pure White Plumage (The Unveiled Face): In Scripture, white symbolizes purity, righteousness, and the light of Christ. When our faces are unveiled in Him, we reflect His glory cleanly against the chaotic background of the world.
The Bright Orange Beak (Speech & Action): The beak is how the bird interacts and feeds. A bright, sharp beak reminds us that our words and daily actions should be seasoned with grace, clarity, and intentional purpose.
The Jet-Black Feet (Grounding in the Mud): Egrets spend their lives wading through muddy waters, yet their feathers stay perfectly clean. Their black legs are anchored in the muck of the earth, but they remain unstained. It is a striking metaphor for living in the world, but not being of the world.

The Pelican vs. The Great Egret
The contrast observed at the docks offers a powerful mirror for human behavior. When the world hands us chaotic situations, do we approach them like the pelicans—squawking, lunging, causing noise, and demanding immediate gratification out of panic or anxiety? Or do we approach them like the Great Egret—projecting a quiet stillness, patience, and composure that commands respect?

What Do Others See When Our Faces Are Unveiled?
What might others see in us and share with family, friends, neighbors, and the larger community when a photo of our face is unveiled? Is it so awesome—so full of peace, integrity, and quiet joy—that they give praise to our Heavenly Father? Or is it so mundane and reactive that it hardly gets a response?

Reflecting the glory of the Lord from one degree of glory to another doesn’t require a dramatic, loud performance. Often, the most profound light we can shine is simply choosing the poise of the egret over the chaos of the pelican. When we do, even a simple family gathering becomes a space where we aren’t just sharing vacation photos—we are passing down a living parable.

What a Mushroom Taught Me About Spiritual Wisdom

For years, I have talked with my six-year-old granddaughter about angels. I’ve told her how they are always with us, walking beside her at school, protecting her, and watching over her as she sleeps at night.

Like many grandparents, I regularly pray for wisdom and guidance. Teaching a young, growing mind how to grasp deep spiritual truths is no small task.

Recently, her dad told me she had been asking him about these unseen guardians. “You can’t see them,” she told him firmly. Then, after a thoughtful pause, she added, “I think they must live in the clouds.”

A Quiet Afternoon in the Garden

A few days ago, she came to visit me. We were sitting together out in the yard, enjoying a quiet moment near our favorite blue and yellow bench.

She was bubbles of excitement, explaining that her class was preparing for a field trip to a mushroom farm. They were studying different fungi so they could learn how to identify them safely in the wild.

Then, she dropped a phrase that completely caught me off guard.

“We are learning about the destroying angel,” she said, her wide eyes serious. She went on to explain that it was a deadly, poisonous mushroom.

The Biblical Echo: The Messenger of Judgment

I was stunned. I had never heard of a fungus called a “destroying angel.”

As she talked about her school science lesson, my mind immediately raced to a completely different context. In the Bible, a destroying angel is a specific heavenly messenger sent to execute God’s ultimate justice and reckoning upon the earth.

Scripture speaks of this profound spiritual reality in a few places:

The First Passover: In Exodus 12:23, the Lord passes through Egypt to strike down wickedness, and Moses warns the families to stay protected by the blood on their doors so that He “will not allow the destroyer to enter your houses to strike you down.”
The Guarded City: In 1 Chronicles 21:15, we read how “God sent an angel to Jerusalem to destroy it,” a visual so terrifying that King David saw the messenger standing between earth and heaven with a drawn sword.
The Gathering of Plagues: Psalm 78:49 describes a historical moment where God unleashed His righteous anger through a literal “band of destroying angels.”

In theology, these messengers are not malicious demons—they are holy, pristine servants of divine truth, operating in perfect purity to carry out an absolute boundary between what is righteous and what is compromise.

Yet here it was in nature: a beautiful, pure white mushroom that looks deceptively innocent but carries a lethal, hidden toxicity if consumed.

A Teaching Moment for Us Both

It was an incredible, humbling moment of alignment. I had prayed for the wisdom to teach her about spiritual realities, and she brought a profound lesson right to my garden bench.

Children remind us that the spiritual world and the physical world are constantly echoing one another. In life, just like in foraging, we have to learn discernment:

The Invisible Good: The true protectors are often unseen, quiet, and found in the most unexpected places.
The Deceptive Danger: Some things that look beautiful, pure, or “angelic” on the surface can actually hold great danger if we don’t know how to truly identify them.

My granddaughter thinks the good angels are hiding in the clouds. But that afternoon, I realized they are also right there in the classroom, giving a little girl the exact words to teach her grandparent a beautiful lesson on faith, judgment, and awareness.

A Story tells a Story

But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of men’s hands. They have mouths, but they do not speak; Eyes they have, but they do not see;
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭115‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The Palmist is contrasting the sovereign, living God who resides in heaven and acts freely—with lifeless, man-made idols crafted from silver and gold.

Which God do we relate to? Human beings were created to reflect the image of the living God. But, “Those who make them (being gods-idols) will be like them, and so will all who trust in them.” (Psalm 115:8)

A Story tells a Story

A Story tells a Story

Have a seat on the blue-yellow bench!

Tell us your story and share,

Some things you are thankful for?

I’m thankful for the quaintness of little yellow butterflies.

Red and blue colored birds

As well as the black and grey birds too.

That seem to come and linger longer.

The new fall flowers and a few winter ones, too.

A message board where I can greet you.

And, you greet me and others on their walks.

I’m ecstatic when a young one stops to squeal,

Learn and share their art with all of us.

Morning coffee and afternoon tea serves as a thermostat, clock and compass, too!

So very thankful for “Hi there” to one and all!

Big smiles and laughter that sounds like chimes

Ringing in the wind of love and community!

I’m now thinking just how thankful I am

For each of you that have paused to greet me.

Both here and there and remembered to share

Your stories and words of gratitude creating magic that happens when we choose to slow down and tell our story.

A Story tells a Story!

Jesus told stories, aka as parables, were his primary way of teaching, using the everyday, elements to reveal profound truths about love, community, and the kingdom of God.

“…The birds and flowers: He famously told people to look at the birds of the air and the lilies of the field, reminding them not to worry and to find peace in how deeply they are cared for. (Matthew 6:26&28)

The ordinary workers: He spoke of farmers scattering seeds, fishermen throwing nets, and women baking bread to explain how a small act of faith can grow into something massive and beautiful. (Luke 8, luke 5, Luke 13)
The outsiders and neighbors: In stories like the Good Samaritan, he challenged people to redefine who their “neighbor” is, showing that love and community are found in showing mercy to whoever is right in front of you.” (Like 10:33-36)” (parts of quote taken from google AI notes)

“…God doesn’t look at things like humans do. Humans see only what is visible to the eyes, but the LORD sees into the heart.”
1 Samuel‬ ‭16‬:‭7‬ ‭CEB‬‬

A Story tells a Story!

Be Anxious for Nothing

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)

“and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (vs 7)

“And, the God of peace will be with you!” What do I do now that I’v followed the Apostle Paul’s directives as stated above? Should I? Reset my thinking? Take a walk. Lift weights? Go on vacation! Take extra vitamins? All might be helpful for various reason but Paul knew to follow up with us as to the next step in “Thought Replacement”. Change your way of thinking and he gives us a list of things to meditate on.

Philippians 4:8 (NKJV)

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

I am finding I’m often in anxiety more often than I think theses day! News on top of news of wars, high cost of about everything, poverty, lack of many needing medical care and more negatives that I care to name.

It’s so refreshing and invigorating to process these steps that have stood the test of time for many that seek help from God and follow the directives. Then;

“And, the God of peace will be with you!”

My prayer for us today we will encourage one another to find this peace.

The Road of Grace

But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I but the grace of God that is with me. 1 Corinthians 15:10 (NRSVUE)

When I read these words of the Apostle Paul, I hear words written just for me; Mercy is woven within the fiber of my soul, and grace finds a resting place—unleashing both the calling and the strength to do my work.

“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews‬ ‭4‬:‭16‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

1 Corinthians 15:10, …”where grace empoweres our labor?” And, Hebrews 4:16…”come boldly to the throne of grace?”

Are you asking about now: where is the throne of grace? Are we looking for mercy for a reason? After we obtain the mercy we need, we receive grace but why?

I, Grace, sit in the middle of your busy place!
Quietness stills the hearing ear and wondering eyes.
Fingers busy searching for answers on devices to no avail.

So I sit in silence.
The roads are clear, but to no avail.
Why, I ask myself, why do I not take the road of grace given to me?

Because I’ve lost the route number and the map to find
“The Throne of Grace.”

Mercy and Grace flow like a peaceful river
When confusion is replaced.

And the lost traveler is welcomed home, enveloped in the embrace of, “oh Jesus I want to come home.”

He replies, now go and do your work as the Apostle Paul did, 👏👏👏

A lamp for our feet and light for our path

Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. (Psalm 119:105 KJV)

Autumn is approaching and my gardens are being guided by the shift. They know the seasons well here in Northern Virginia. After all, they come year after year.

My yearly calendar seems to know the day, date and time. It told me 2026 will be Autumn on, Tuesday, September 22, 2026, at 8:04 p.m. EDT!

I’ve started feeling a seasonal shift in my inner soul, like a fresh season is emerging. Do you?

King Solomon penned these words;

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;…” (Eccles 3:1-3)

And, chapter 3 ends with these words, “Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better, than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion: for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him?”

Rejoice in your own works!

Galatians 6:4: Advises every person to test or examine their own work, leading to satisfaction in themselves rather than by comparing themselves to a neighbor. “But let every one prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another.”

What do you wish for in this changing of season from summer to Autumn?

Taking inventory of wonder

Taking inventory of wonder” is a famous phrase from the poem “Sabbaths – 1979, IV” by American farmer, poet, and environmental activist Wendell Berry. Berry died in Port Royal, Kentucky, on August 31, 2026, at the age of 92.. Following his death, The New York Times noted that Berry’s works had “extolled America’s agrarian past” and that his efforts “championed small family farms and the environment”.Governor of Kentucky Andy Beshear called Berry a “literary giant and a great Kentuckian”.

Taking inventory of wonder:

And, another wonder many of us have often marveled at, as singer and song writer, George Beverly Shea. I found this story from; The Billy Graham Library;

“The year was 1955, and the Billy Graham team had just completed an incredibly influential series of events in Scotland, which saw more than 2.5 million people hear the Gospel, and more than 50,000 give their lives to Christ. This was on the heels of preaching to more than 2 million the previous year in England.

After the close of the weeks-long effort, the team boarded a ship for the return voyage home to the United States. As they crossed the Atlantic, soloist George Beverly Shea (affectionately known as Bev) and his young son Ron, recognized another passenger on the ship—the president of a New York recording company.

Though the man wasn’t a Christian, he curiously asked what went on during their crusades. They had coffee and Bev joyfully shared how people received Christ each night. He finished his explanation with saying, “Oh the wonder of it all!”

That night, George Beverly Shea went back to his cabin, but sleep eluded him. At one point, Bev’s wife woke up and said, “What are you doing up so late?” Bev replied, “I’m just writing a little song.”

The executive quickly took an envelope out of his pocket, wrote those words, and pushed it across the table. He said, “Bev, that sounds like a song: ‘The Wonder of It All.’”

That “song” became the beautiful hymn, “The Wonder of It All.” Lines from, The Wonder of it all;

🎶”There’s the wonder of sunset at evening,
The wonder as sunrise I see;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is the wonder that God loves me.

…There’s the wonder of springtime and harvest,
The sky, the stars, and the sun;
But the wonder of wonders that thrills my soul
Is a wonder that’s just begun.

O, the wonder of it all! The wonder of it all!
Just to think that God loves me.
..”🎶

Taking inventory of wonder:

There is wonder and awe throughout God’s word that enlightens, encourages, inspires, and often leaves us in awe of expectations. Just one that I marvel about. “I (God Himself) will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.” (Acts 2:19)

Taking inventory of wonder:

Taking inventory of wonder: Just to pause this morning and tell you that God loves you! And, God loves me!

Rock and Restore, my rocker

Today’s Scripture

“I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.” (Psalm 145:1–3 (NRSVUE)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭10‬ ‭NKJV‬‬)

Yes, this is my rocking chair! And, yes, I love rocking! And, yes, front porch rocking is my favorite! And, reading my Bible and watching an ocean, the mountains, the garden and listening to the sounds of nature becomes, “Rock and Restore” to my soul!

I would like to share with you one of my favorite types of “Rock and Restore”:

7 BIBLE VERSES TO REMIND us THAT CHOICES HAVE CONSEQUENCES;

Galatians 6:7
Proverbs 14:12
Deuteronomy 30:19
Proverbs 22:8
Romans 6:23
James 1:14–15
Proverbs 1:31

“These seven Bible verses show that every choice has a result. God lets people choose their path, but He also lets them keep what that path brings.

Galatians 6:7

The Verse: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”
The Meaning: You get back what you put out in life.

Proverbs 14:12

The Verse: “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
The Meaning: Things that look good now can turn out very bad later.

Deuteronomy 30:19

The Verse: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
The Meaning: God gives you a clear choice between good and bad results.

Proverbs 22:8

The Verse: “Whoever sows injustice reaps calamity, and the rod of their fury will be destroyed.”
The Meaning: Mean acts bring pain back to the person who did them.

Romans 6:23

The Verse: “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The Meaning: Bad choices pay out trouble, but God gives free life.

James 1:14–15

The Verse: “But each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”
The Meaning: Bad thoughts grow into bad actions, which end in hard results.

Proverbs 1:31

The Verse: “Therefore they will eat the fruit of their way and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.”
The Meaning: People have to live with the final fruit of their own plans.”

Now the book where we find these 7 actions and meaning is Titled, The Bible, and you might find a subtitle to The Bible, study Bible and various versions. You may have one well read by you! Then you surely can comment here and help with understanding even more. You may not have one but this quickens your memory to Grandma or Mother did and it’s packed away. Maybe you can find it and dust it off and read with us. The age dosent matter because the Bible, is God’s Word to us as well as Grandma or us or generations to come. Jesus said;

“Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My Words shall not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)

Read, “Rock and Restore”! Maybe you could join or start a Bible Book group in person, online in a church, home or coffee shoppe.

Maybe start with a prayer for wisdom. Keep in mind wisdom grows. So garden well from the seed of prayer to your next step.

“And yes, you (God) want truth in the most hidden places; you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.” (Psalms‬ ‭51‬:‭6‬ ‭CEB‬)‬

Knock Knock! Whose There?

Jesus said

Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)

Revelation (3:14-20) “And, unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write; These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God;

¹⁵I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

¹⁶So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

¹⁷Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:

¹⁸I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

¹⁹As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.

²⁰Behold, I stand at the door, and knock:…

Jesus is speaking to a church. They know Him. They decided things were so good for them they didn’t need Him.

If there is one thing I understand about studying the Bible it would be I’m not a Biblical Scholar and others know I’m not as well. . Yet, Jesus gave us all such love and understanding making it easy for anyone that has a desire to know Him to be able to read His Word, the Bible, and get to know Him.

As we read about Jesus and hear about him through scholars, Bible footnotes, teachers and share groups we might find ourselves singing, 🎶“I keep falling in love with him, over and over and He gets sweeter and sweeter as the days go by. 🎶 (Sing along link below)

“For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known”. (NKJV 1 Corinthians 13:12.)

We understand we’re not all “scholars” or experts of sort. And, human understanding of life and God is unclear right now. It’s like looking at a reflection in an old, maybe damaged mirror, but the time will come; NLT says it like this:

“Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.”

Knock Knock! Whose there? Open the door and Jesus will come in!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=juQwsskPy6k&ra=m

A story of a girl and her first try with a homespun fishing fly

A little six-year-old girl, after receiving a lesson from her dad, crafted her first fishing fly in the morning. They then set off to the river, which was sweltering and humid. They encountered an elderly couple sitting alone under an old shade tree, with the man holding a fishing rod. He was a seasoned fly fisherman.

Since they appeared to be the only ones there, a conversation ensued. The little girl showed the old man and his wife her meticulously crafted first fly, which gleamed in the sunlight.

Impressed and praising her highly, they thanked her for sharing. It was then time for Dad and daughter to cast their lines. They intended to read the river and wade out a bit into the ideal riffled water, which was moving smoothly.

The old man needed assistance in securing a spot, and Dad and daughter gladly obliged.

“And be kind to one another, tenderhearted,…”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭32‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

2 Corinthians 4:16: Emphasizes the inner self being renewed daily.

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.”
‭

Philippians 4:8: Directs focus toward honorable and pure thoughts.Psalm 51:10: A prayer for a clean heart and a renewed spirit. Ephesians 4:23: Calls for renewal in the spirit of the mind.

“and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,”
‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭23‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

How often do I work on a renewed mind that brings different results? My faithful “Apple Watch” records how many steps I take per day, Exercise! Diet! Time? And, more. It even invites me into a log to record my “state of mind”! Now that’s getting a little personal isn’t it?

I have watched the little girl, wear shirts on being kind, heard about her Pre-School and K classrooms teaching kindness as well as her many wall signs reminding her. Be Kind!

Seems St Paul and a few other Bible authors had this subject on their minds also. Do we?