Nature

How To Avoid Armadillo Thinking

/ Bill Jones / 6 Comments
armadillo

armadillo (Photo credit: linsuehoo)

As I walked down from the deck on the back of our house, I noticed a hole under the bottom step. Since we regularly have them as unwanted visitors, and their habits are now familiar, it was clear an armadillo was the culprit. It had spent some time digging to get behind the steps. I don’t know if the critter hoped to find a good hiding place or thought there might be a better food supply available.

I chuckled when I thought about it, because the steps are open on each side. If he had walked two feet over either way, he could have simply gone around and ended up in the same location with a lot less trouble. I wondered if he worked and worked, made it through, and felt a surge of triumph (maybe a fist pump and a YESSSSSS! or a little dance with his front paws in the air like “Rocky” at the top of the steps). Then, he looked around, saw the open sides and slapped his forehead: “Duh! I coulda’ just gone around!” Most likely, that didn’t happen. Most likely, he didn’t learn a thing.

I can fall into the same mode of thinking as that armadillo. A task needs doing and sometimes I take off in the first direction I think of. Often, a little pondering (as I like to say) and looking around would provide an easier solution.

A second problem with the “first thought” approach is that once I get started, it’s hard to stop or change direction. (“I’m gonna do it my way if it kills me!”) That could just be a “man” thing, but I think I’ve seen women operate that way too – so it could be a “human” thing.

So, as we face our next problem, what should we do to avoid “armadillo thinking”?

  1. Take a little time to ponder. Take a little time to pray. Pondering and praying go well together.
  2. Get some guidance – others who have faced the same problem can provide encouragement and sensible advice, and God’s Word is always our best resource.
  3. Choose the direction or method to pursue – inaction rarely solves a problem (although that’s sometimes my first response, it never works). So, with prayer and guidance, we need to choose a course of action and go.
  4. Continue observing progress and be ready to stop or change direction if prudent – as we follow our plan, we can find new information or encounter obstacles. If we need to make changes in our plan, that’s the time to do it.

In closing, we can add one more: If, after awhile, we end up slapping our forehead and saying:”Duh! I coulda just gone around!” – we can chuckle a bit at our oversight, learn from it, and take it with us as we continue to the next step we need to take (or go under or around).

 Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Proverbs 4:26 ESV

Warm Up With God to Start the Day

/ Bill Jones / 8 Comments

Birds Greeting the Sunrise

The picture above shows birds sitting together in the river birch tree in our backyard. This is an everyday sight during winter, as they wait patiently for the sun to come up over the tall pines on the horizon. When the sunshine hits them, they sit still and puff themselves up to expose as much of their body to the warmth as possible. It looks like they want to absorb all they can to warm up after the cold night, and get ready for the day.

Some of the birds stay longer than others, but one by one, they apparently decide they’re ready, and fly down to the feeders or make the flight to the woods to start their day.

It makes me think of our need to warm up and get ready for the day. I’m not referring to temperature, though. I’m writing of our need to start the day by getting close to our Lord and letting Him warm us.

Like the birds, some of us may be able to spend more time doing that than others. I know some who get up early to make sure they have the time before things get busy. Or perhaps some have other activities that they are able to combine with time with God (something that doesn’t interfere with the communication). I’ve heard of others who get through the early morning rush and then grab a cup of coffee and  sit down for Bible Study and prayer.

There are many different ways we can get close to God and prepare for the day. I encourage us all to choose whatever time and method works best for us, and follow the birds example and take a few minutes to bask in His warmth.

Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love, for I have put my trust in You. Show me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul. Psalms 143:8 NIV

Do you have a way you get close to God to start the day?

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God is Glorified, Even as the Garden Fades Away

/ Bill Jones / 3 Comments

         Since it’s the third cold snap of the year and all the flowers except a few mums have faded away, I thought I’d ponder the garden and gardening a bit. I’ve also added a Garden Pictures page with some of the successes this year (check it out!).

          My wife, Sharon, and I usually declare it the “year of the…”, based on whichever plant or flower stands out the most. This year there were multiple choices. Early on, it was the “year of the purple verbena”. It survived the extreme cold last Winter (at least extreme for here) and exploded with blooms at the first hint of Spring. A month later, the peach tree limbs were sagging to the ground from the weight of the fruit, so it was the “year of abundant peaches”.  Then we had two new plants later in the summer – moonflower and devil’s trumpet. Both were covered in huge, brilliant white blooms for several weeks – so it became the “year of the moonflower and devil’s trumpet.” We could call these our successes, but what they really reveal is that it was yet another “year of God’s grace and glory!”

         It’s a wonderful blessing to have the time, space and energy to do a little gardening. I sometimes get frustrated with my efforts to grow certain plants or flowers, and feel guilty when I fall behind in caring for the garden, but overall I stay amazed at God’s creation. What beauty, how intricate the process, what a marvelous variety – all pointing to the goodness and greatness of God.

Two Scriptures come to mind:

“I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase” 1 Corinthians 3:6. Paul was writing about spiritual things, but I consider it applicable to physical work in the garden too – any “success” is from God.

“Consider the lilies, how they grow; they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Luke 12:27. This is Jesus speaking in a passage that encourages us to not be anxious about everyday things. A God who would “clothe” the lilies so beautifully, even though they last a very short time, will certainly care for His Children.

     As we ponder the garden, we can be reminded of our Heavenly Father, who gives us every good and perfect gift from above. (James 1:17). The garden is one of the good gifts and the perfect gift He gave us was His Son, Jesus Christ.

The Patience of Toads

/ Bill Jones / 1 Comment

We often hear about the patience of Job, but have you ever considered the patience of toads?  Our house must be located in prime toad territory because we have a multitude of the little critters that hop out from under bushes and other hiding places each night in search of bugs.  There’s a group that gathers under the light on the carport and another group that fans out across the patio finding the patches where the security light on the power pole shines through the birch tree limbs.  Two of the toads spend the day under the moss roses in a planter on the back porch.  At night they scramble over the edge of the container, plop down on the bricks and hop to any light that is shining through the glass in the back door. 

The toads are not alone in their search for tasty bug treats. The green tree frogs also hang around – literally.  They’re the ones with enlarged pads on their toes that give them the ability to crawl up the side of the house and even stick to the ceiling upside down. 

The tree frogs attach themselves to the glass in our back door and spend the night waiting a short time and moving, waiting a little more and moving – they rarely stay in one spot for more than a minute or two and then impatiently move on in search of better hunting.

But the toads don’t seem to feel the need to do much moving.  A toad can sit for an hour in the exact same location, waiting for a wandering bug to land in the few square inches in front of him that are within range of an outstretched tongue and a quick lunge.  I don’t know how many bugs that a toad can catch in a night but apparently there are enough to make them fat and keep them coming back and sitting patiently night after night.

It’s written in the Bible that God provides for all of his creation – that would include bugs for toads.  While not realizing it, the toads do acknowledge that fact and trust in it by going each night to a good spot, sitting and waiting, and then acting when the opportunity shows itself.

Perhaps we could learn from the toads’ example.  God provides for His children too and gives us blessings and opportunities to serve Him, but we can’t find those while sitting alone in a hiding place.  We must first move closer to the Light, drawing nearer to God by studying His Word, communicating with Him through prayer, and exercising our faith through obedience.  During this process we shouldn’t be rushing about like the tree frogs trying to find what God would have us do.  Instead it requires patience like the waiting toads.  God will lead us in what He wants us to do but the timing will be up to Him.  If we wait patiently and trust in His faithfulness He will give us opportunities and when those are presented, that’s when we must act.  If we wait on God and then follow His purpose and timing, we will receive blessings from above – and they’re guaranteed to be better than those that the toads receive!

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isa 40:31 KJV