exchange

my feet are wet with dew.

i woke up this morning to what's become a typical sense of unease. ignoring it, i said 'good morning' to the Lord, boiled water for coffee, and walked the dog as the coffee dripped.

my heart is burdened beyond anything i've known in a long time. trying to push past all the lies that come screaming at me first thing in the morning, i found simple joy in the warmth of the early morning sun on my face. as we rounded the building, i saw a squirrel sitting in a bird bath, birds busy at the feeders above, and i thought to myself, "see how He provides for the birds of the air, for His creatures... isn't He great?"

He's been waking me up around 7:30 consistently for awhile now. it's amazing. i've been quietly praying for Him to reset my internal clock, for more time with Him in the quiet hours of the morning, and He is faithful to answer. i've given up the late night hours when i can really write in exchange for dew and sunshine, provided by, and shared with, the King.

my heart is stirred, longing. it is still burdened and heavy, but a little less so, broken by a glimpse of His face.

my feet are wet with dew.

onward

i've been paid 2 totally different compliments in the past week, completely unsolicited and exactly what my heart needs to hear:

the first one just makes me laugh, which is always nice - it was a very spontaneous, "i didn't think you could get any cooler..."

and the one my heart really needed - "as i watched the movie [pirates 3] i couldn't help but compare keira knightley's character [elizabeth swan] to you... her ferocity, leadership, sheer determination and courage... the way she is drawn to the sea, and how comfortable she is aboard the ship..." there was more, but my heart stopped at the initial comparison. what an amazing thing for my heart to hear from someone i love deeply and whom i admire immensely!

i love it when He does that!

there is more to say, so there may be a part 2, but this is where my heart is resting right now.

curious, isn't it?

of all the things you can't do... which will you do?

-- captain jack sparrow pirates of the caribbean - at world's end

[this is a quote from a tv spot in the jacksonville market. i haven't seen it again to verify the wording - i will when the movie comes out... in the meantime, it's a great quote and way too applicable to my life...]

it seems this may be from a deleted scene, as it wasn't in the movie. still a GREAT quote...

treasure hunt

we went on a treasure hunt the other day... well, at least what i consider a treasure hunt. we were looking for a tracking band that was on a wood stork. the band had been sending out a mortality signal, which means that the wearer of said band was likely dead. since these devices are upwards of $5000 each, there is a pretty good effort made to locate the bands once the mortality signal goes out. all we had to go by were GPS coordinates emitted every 3 days. here are some pictures of the adventure - what a great time!!!





this is where we launched from - that's not fog - it's smoke from all the fires here - currently over 230 wildfires in florida.

dang, where's my rod and reel when i need them???

getting close!!! that's a cypress swamp normally - florida is in extreme drought, hence the wildfires...

ummm... this may be harder than we thought... that grass is 5' tall - and so am i...

found it!!! and it only took us 20 minutes or so... he was calling on the patron saint of lost items... apparently there is no need to bury a statue for this saint...

no, that's not your eyes - it's blurry on purpose - if i let you see the coordinates, i'd have to kill you... now that's a fine piece of technology recovered... and the bird was definitely d-e-a-d dead.

this one's not!!! that's a limpkin... or so i was told by the expert.

sooo beautiful!

wow - such beauty in the midst of hard times - the cypress roots are exposed due to the drought.

bonus!!! that's a bald eagle eyeing us from the top of a palm tree missing it's crown - probably from a hurricane.

reach

virginia tech is selling t-shirts to raise money for the victims' families... there are many needs, including funeral expenses and counseling for the students and faculty.

they are 5 bucks each. the website is http://www.hokiesunited.org.vt.edu/.

i'm not trying to talk you into helping... but i am inviting you to participate in the healing process for this community.