CONSIDER THE KATYDID
by Julie Lavender

 

Have you ever seen a walking leaf?

Well, obviously a leaf can’t really walk.

 CONSIDER THE ALLIGATOR

by Julie Lavender

These four-legged reptiles strike almost as much terror in me as a legless, slithering snake or an eight-legged creeping spider or a stinging six-legged critter.

Reptiles and arachnids and insects – oh my!

Yet even though they terrify me and I dislike their defense mechanisms, I find an intriguing and exquisite beauty in each of the aforementioned creations.

CONSIDER THE FIREFLY
by Julie Lavender

A sure sign of a summer evening is the dazzling display of flashing lights at the edge of the woods or in the grassy back yard. The seemingly-synchronous twinkling dots that I see on my after-dark walk with God are throngs of fireflies out on a warm night in search of a mate.

GUEST BLOGGER

My guest today is a new writing friend, Michelle Adserias, who lives in and writes about God's beautiful world in rural Wisconsin. Our hearts and blogs are similar in that we love learning lessons from God's wonderful creations. I've admired her delightful posts on her website, www.godponderings.com, ever since I 'met' her through the Facebook group, Blue Ridge Bible Study Writers. 

Enjoy her words below, and then jump over to godponderings.com and read some of her previous posts, too. You'll be so glad you did!    

Work’s Blessings
by Johanna Daniel

Tonight I sneak into the barn and check on the bat regiment living in the hay mow. About 50-60 of them hang in upside-down clusters from the now defunct hayfork rail. Such strange little creatures… flying rodents with furry bodies and leathery wings. All day long they hang there, in deep, deathlike sleep.  But very soon their  high-pitched squeaks will fill the air. One by one they’ll pop through a little hole at the peak, where barn wall almost meets barn roof.  Each soldier will begin its nightly Battle of the Bugs, honing in on tiny sound targets like a missile, in hopes of curbing its hunger.

CONSIDER THE THISTLE
by Julie Lavender

On my walk with God today, I came around a curve and saw a gorgeous display of flowers ahead. Trouble was, with these contact-encased eyes that don’t see as well as I’d like, it became clear to me that the beauty ahead was indeed the blossoms of thistles.

Though still beautiful to admire, they’re off-limits to bare, human hands or skin for certain. What with the sharp prickles covering the outer edges of the leaves, the flat parts of the leaves, and the stems, too, one touch causes pain and irritation that lasts way longer than the brief encounter!

CONSIDER THE JUNE BEETLE
by Julie Lavender

The month of June brings sightings of June beetles on my walk with God, and this morning’s walk didn’t disappoint.

I love the iridescent and thick, green bodies of the beetles. They look almost like a jeweled-pendant my grandmother might have worn on the lapel of her coat when she dressed exquisitely to go to church … which meant every time she went to church.

CONSIDER THE LAVENDER
by Julie Lavender

My walk with God this week took me to Black Mountain, North Carolina, where I quite deliberately walked past shrubs of lavender plants. The piney floral scent enveloped me and made me smile.

Partial to Purple

You see, I’m kinda partial to the lavender herb (and, quite honestly, anything purple since the day I fell in love with my sweetie and ultimately took his last name).