something about birds

A couple months ago I got a job at a bird store. And when I say bird I'm talking about the wild, backyard variety. I sell bird seed, feeders, and all sorts of other bird and yard related things.  A lot of people look at me funny when I tell them where I work because they wonder how I ended up there.  They were hiring, and I needed a part time job. That's pretty much it.  Even though my knowledge of birds was practically non-existent other than being able to identify common birds like cardinals and robins, they still hired me.  It has certainly been a character builder.  Did I ever expect to get a job that required me to lift 50 lb bags of bird seed, and sift through thousands of live meal worms in order to pick out the dead ones?  Nope.  Sure didn't!  It's not so bad.  :)

I don't know how long I will work there, but I do know that God has me there for reasons other than selling bird seed, and making money to help pay the bills.  I want my life and attitude to be a reflection of Christ to those I work with.  There are some tough things going on in the lives of my co-workers right now that are causing them to really seek and question God and I am praying for boldness and opportunities to share the gospel with them. 

I have learned a few things about birds since I started working there, but yesterday I learned something about the bird world that really fascinated me, and I wanted to share it with whoever happens to read my little ol' blog.  :)  We had a customer come in and tell us about a cardinal that was hanging out in her yard.  She described him as having a bald head, bugged out eyes, and just looking altogether sad and pathetic.  My co-worker told her that it sounded like he had mites.  I guess it's common for birds to have mites, but the unfortunate part is that the reason he looks the way he does is probably because he doesn't have a mate. Birds preen with their beaks to rid their feathers of bugs, dirt, etc., but the one place they can't reach by themselves is the top of their head....which is usually done with the help of  their mate.  Isn't it like that for us too?  Whether it be our spouse, a friend, our church family, or spending time in prayer and in the Word, we often need help getting rid of the "mites" in our lives, whatever form they may be in.  I hope that cardinal finds a mate soon.  :) 

Other life happenings this week....

Ryan and I sat down last night and created a prayer list, giving each day of the week a specific category of prayer.  We're looking forward to spending more concentrated time in prayer together each day.  

I turn 28 tomorrow.  I am looking forward to the day off, beautiful birthday weather, a date with my husband, and my parents are coming into town later tomorrow evening!  We'll see if I can get the house cleaned a little before they come, but I was assured that they would still love me even if the house isn't clean. ;) 

Now, for your viewing pleasure I have inserted a photo instead of the video of our surprise performance at Deluxe Republic's acoustic show from last week.  I was going to post a clip of the video but I am too tired to figure it out, and it really wasn't that great anyway.  haha.  we need to practice a bit more.  :)