Just Ducky

Thought I would introduce you to a few of our friendly neighbors...
when we moved in our townhouse here in VA Beach, we had a mommy and daddy Muscovy duck nesting under the tree outside our front door, and there were several eggs in the nest. I was excited to think that we would have baby ducklings waddling around our front yard ( as long as the dog did not get out) but 8 weeks passed and the eggs never hatched so alas, we were duckling-less. However, our street seems to be the place to be when you're a duck, so we have been able to see a dozen or more ducklings grow up this summer as they tend to wander pretty freely from front yard to front yard. I have always been surprised at the apparent fearlessness of these ducks as they don't run away or hide from humans (or dogs!), but I was still surprised when the other night I opened my door to see the 9 ducks in my driveway and they started heading straight for my front door! I am convinced that had I not kept my door shut but for a crack, they would have come right inside. See them standing there on our welcome mat? That white one in front is apparently the ring leader and the most curious one... ya have to admit they are still pretty cute... So anyways, we haven't met many of our human neighbors yet but our feathered friends are quite friendly!

Thoughts

There are several things I could write about today, seeing as we just returned from a family vacation in Mexico, and I am beginning classes again in just a week... but instead I just wanted to share something from my heart and will wait for those other conversations to come later...

Something I have always accepted as truth fairly easily is the goodness of God. I believe that God is fully good and fully love. I believe that God desires the best for me in my life and for everyone who calls him Father. Its sometimes hard to grasp but I believe that God is passionate about me, that He loves me with an all consuming, never-changing, unconditional love that is like no other love we can experience. I believe that God desires me, that He seeks me and is full of affection towards me. I am God's treasured bride and He delights in me.

How amazing is that? How utterly humbling and unbelievable is that? Certainly if God's love towards me was based upon my actions or my thoughts or my desiring after Him, I could not believe these things because I am not worthy. I fall so short. I am marred and broken. Yet God looks at me and sees something beautiful, something desirable, something He longs for. How is this possible? It is His nature. The very nature of God is one that desires relationship. And how blessed am I that God desires a relationship with me, despite my inadequacies, my short comings, my weaknesses, my immaturities, my brokenness. What an amazing God we serve.

I began this post with the intention of posing a challenge to myself and to you based upon the above thoughts... but I changed my mind. If you have read this, be encouraged. Be full of joy and amazement. The Lord desires you, whether you are walking in obedience at the moment or not. It is never too late to turn back, to ask for forgiveness, to admit your weaknesses and claim the pureness of Christ. So clap your hands for joy, kneel before the King in humility, sing praises of hallelujah and thankfulness to the Glorious One. He desires to be in relationship with you. Let that truth guide your next step...