• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Candidly Christian

Real Women. Real Life. Real Faith.

  • Blog
    • Most Recent
    • The Gospel
    • Faith
    • Prayer
    • Self Worth
    • Anxiety
    • Chronic Pain
    • Marriage
    • Parenting
  • Resources
    • Candid Books
    • Free Resources
    • Recommended Resources
    • Resources For Christian Bloggers
      • Blog Post Checklist
      • Christian Link-Ups
  • Scriptures to Live By
    • Bible Verses for When the Struggle is Real
      • Bible Verses for When You Feel Worthless
      • Scriptures for When Your Heart is Hurting
      • A Scripture To Trust God When You’re Afraid
      • Scriptures for When You Feel Inadequate
      • 3 Scriptures to Find Balance in an Unbalanced World
      • 5 Bible Verses for When You Feel Alone
      • 6 Bible Verses to Read When You Feel Anxious
      • 5 Life Gives You Lemons Verses
    • Scriptures for When You Need Help
      • Scriptures to Help You Overcome Self-Pity
      • Bible Verses to Help You Memorize Scripture
      • 5 Bible Verses to Help You Sleep
    • Scriptures to Live By When You’re Living for Jesus
      • Bible Verses About Hope
      • Bible Verses About God’s Love
      • 5 Bible Verses on Patience
      • Scriptures for the New Year
  • Learn More
    • About Our Ministry
    • Meet The Candid Gals
    • Contact Us
    • Belief Statement
    • The Legal Stuff
  • Get Involved
    • Join Our Prayer Team
    • Join Us For A Candid Anthology
    • Be Our Guest
    • Become a Candid Gal
    • Contact Us
  • Why Jesus?
  • Show Search
Hide Search
Life Lessons from the Birds and Grace & Truth

Life Lessons from the Birds and Grace & Truth

Valerie Riese · June 5, 2020 · 6 Comments

Grandma cut the Christmas ribbon and pulled down the trash bag to reveal yet another 50-pound bag of birdseed. She threw up her arms and squealed “Oh, my goodness! Something I can use!!!”

We buried both of my husband’s grandmothers in April. I just shared with you one of my favorite memories of one of them. The backyard of Grandma’s duplex on the corner city lot looked like a scene from Snow White. She’d even been known to bottle-feed freezing squirrels during the worst of Wisconsin winters.

I didn’t realize how contagious Grandma’s delight for her backyard babies was until I saw a cardinal outside my kitchen window this spring and yelled “Look! It’s a cardinal! He’s so pretty!” I was so loud that I scared the poor thing away even through the closed windows!

So for Mother’s Day, my husband and daughter got me three bird feeders and a birdbath. I placed them all strategically hoping to catch a glimpse of the cardinal every day. 

But he didn’t come. 

Instead, I saw robins, crows, house finches, and a random pigeon. I concluded that I’d scared the pretty birds away and decided not to purchase another bag of birdfeed.

Until the first day the weather warmed up enough to open the windows.

Our yard was alive with bird songs that drowned out the traffic! As I stopped to watch and listen, I noticed yellow finches and chickadees. And the house finches splashed in the water bath like toddlers in a kiddie pool! After a few days, I saw our proud cardinal eating seed off the deck.

Now I run from one window to the other squealing “Look, it’s sooo pretty!!” while my husband and daughter laugh at me. To me, every bird sighting is a gift from my Heavenly Father sent to brighten my day with beauty, song, and memories of Grandma. 

A Lesson in Motivation from the Birds

When I read today’s featured post by Sharon Hazel of  LimitlessHorizon.com, I wondered, what if I’d given up and put it all away? My Mother’s Day gifts given with so much love would have been wasted, and my family left feeling rejected. We would have missed out on so much joy, so many blessings, all because I only wanted to see the prettiest bird. 

And what if the other birds had heard my praise for the cardinal and decided they weren’t good enough? What if the house finch said to himself “I’m not as pretty as the cardinal, and Valerie doesn’t want to see me, so I won’t even use the birdbath?” Or if the yellow finch thought “I’m not as bright as the cardinal, so I’ll just stay quiet in the tree.”

But isn’t this what we sometimes do with the gifts God gives us? We don’t give the underdog a chance. Or the perception that we don’t have as much to offer keeps us at home.

We all have a song to sing, beauty to share, and a contribution to make. Click To Tweet

The Bible says that we all have a song to sing, beauty to share, and a contribution to make. God gave us all gifts to use to glorify and serve Him. Are you missing out because of a perception of inadequacy or your own insistence on only the best and brightest? If you can use a little motivation to step out in faith, then head on over to Bird Song and Other Inspiration.

Life lessons from the birds & our grace and truth weekly link-up

Click Here To Read This Week’s Featured Post
Bird Song and other Inspiration

Sharon, thanks for linking your post up with Grace & Truth. You are more than welcome to grab the “I’ve Been Featured” button for your post so your readers can celebrate with you. You can find it here.

Grab a Badge & Link Back to this Post

You can download the image below and upload it to your site, or use the html code provided to display the Grace & Truth badge on the sidebar of your blog, at the bottom of your post, or on a “link-ups” page. Again, this isn’t required to link-up, but it is required to be featured.

Grace & Truth Link Up

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter
Have you linked up your Christian blog posts with the Grace and Truth link up? I did! Click To Tweet

Let’s Talk About Jesus…

We are putting together an anthology that’s all about putting our faith into words.

Sound interesting?

Click here to find out how you can join us.

Related Posts

  • The Unique Truth About God’s Grace
  • Take Refuge in The Rock
  • 3 Things My Son Teaches Me About Jesus
  • When You’re Not As Okay As You Say You Are
  • How is Your Spiritual Garden Growing?

About Valerie Riese

Valerie is a wife, mother, blogger, and breast cancer survivor. After suffering years of debilitating anxiety, she learned that victory over anxiety comes only through surrender to Jesus. Now Valerie writes to point women to Jesus as co-director of Candidly Christian, and as a freelance devotional writer, proofreader, and editor. You can learn more about Valerie at https://www.valerieriese.com

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Sharon Hazel says

    June 5, 2020 at 6:48 am

    Valerie, beautiful post from the inspiration of God’s creation and happy memories of dear ones. Thank you for featuring my post, that it spoke to you is so encouraging for a new’blogger’.

    Reply
    • Valerie Riese says

      June 5, 2020 at 7:46 am

      It’s my pleasure, Sharon. I sincerely enjoyed your post. Please don’t stop sharing your words. I know it’s hard sometimes, especially as a new blogger, but God has clearly given you a gift to share. If you keep writing, learning, and growing, I know you’ll encourage many women whom you’ll never meet to draw them closer to Jesus. The faith writer’s community is a wonderful, special place, so I hope you’ll interact with us as much as you can. Wishing you the best my friend!

      Reply
  2. Maree dee says

    June 8, 2020 at 10:08 am

    I am so glad you didn’t put away your Mother’s Day gift. It sounds amazing. I love to stop and look at all that God has created, not just the obvious. I do believe we are each uniquely made with gifts to give.

    Reply
    • Valerie Riese says

      June 9, 2020 at 8:58 am

      Thanks, Maree. I’ve learned to be watchful for things in nature and appreciate them as little gifts from God to brighten my day. He is so good and thoughtful!

      Reply
  3. Lisa notes says

    June 8, 2020 at 5:12 pm

    We’re always had bird feeders in our backyard, but this year we put one up in the front yard and I actually see it every day! So I understand your joy. 🙂 Our #1 visitor at it, though, are squirrels. But whatever. They need to eat too. 🙂

    Reply
    • Valerie Riese says

      June 9, 2020 at 9:12 am

      My husband can see a bird building a nest in the front yard this morning! And I think squirrels are fun to watch. It’s crows I could do without!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Let's Get Candid

Let’s Connect

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

  • Spirit Lead Me: 2 Simple Steps For Seeking The Holy Spirit
  • New Eyes & Excessive Worry
  • Jesus and the Woman at the Well
  • 3 Truths I’m Learning About Spiritual Warfare
  • To the One Whose Faith is Hanging on by a Thread

Recent Videos

Weekly LinkUps

Salt and Light Grace and Truth

More Christian Link-Ups

Candid Conversations

Click here to find out more.

Our Most Popular Posts

  • 5 Verses to Help You Overcome Self-Pity
  • 5 Bible Verses for When You Feel Worthless
  • 3 Steps to Overcome Laziness
  • My (winning) Battle with Health Anxiety
  • Confessions of a Woman in Ministry

Support Our Ministry

Christian Books
Prayer Team
Visit Heather's Etsy Shop
Support Candidly Christian
Please note that CandidlyChristian.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
Click here to find out more

Who’s Behind The Scenes?

Heather Hart
Candidly Christian was founded by Heather Hart; an internationally best-selling and award-winning author with a passion for the gospel of Jesus and a heart for women’s ministry. Her goal isn’t to teach women how they can do better, be better, or achieve perfection, it’s to point them to Jesus.

Click here to learn more about Heather Hart and the rest of the Candid Gals.

Posts by Author

Heather Hart
Jaime Hampton
Mariel Davenport
Sarah J Callen
Sheila Schweiger-Rhodes
Sherry Chamblee
Stephanie M. Carter
Valerie Riese
See Your Name Here
Candid Guests

Our Favorite Planner

The Hope Planner
Affiliate Link

Candidly Christian Has Been Featured On…

Grace and Truth Link-Up Christian Blogger Directory

Top Christian Women Blog

© 2016–2022 | Privacy | Home

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT