Barnyard Business…

The mood around the barnyard has been rather sad, as of late, due to the sudden departure of Squagon. Earlier this week, as I sat studying in my office, a thought occurred to me, regarding our guests within the rafters.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe that the arrival of our Twilight Dreamers, as I like to call them, occurred suspiciously around the time of Squagon’s kin disappearing from Acorn Valley!

Right about the time that I sent Brutus to start searching for them, young Squagon began having bad dreams, often waking in tears. The tiny squirrel’s nightmares were the reason I’d gone and sought answers from the Holy Rollin Ravens, if you recall the musical and cryptic song they offered up.

There were a number of nights that I simply slept in the barn, as the squirrel’s night fears began to spread like a sickness through the barn, causing quite a disturbance among the rest of the babe’s. No one was getting much sleep, including myself, what with all the crying and asking for a juice cup!

It seems to me, like, right about that time, we discovered our little guests appearing up in the barn’s rafters. Oddly, as soon as they showed up in our midst… the nightmare’s of each babe, began to subside and fade away. All that is, except for young Squagon, who still continued to suffer within his little dreams, though not as badly as before.

Anyway, I’m still digging into my memories of that time, to seek a number of answers that are yet missing, regarding the connection between Squagon and our little dreamers. Nothing worth knowing is ever that easy, so I’m still studying.

When I say studying, what I really mean is observing. I know little about these small flying creatures, but one of the first discoveries was their sleep schedule…

Why do you think I’ve begun calling them TWILIGHT dreamers? Yup! They are nocturnal, or awake during our sleep time, if that helps. What this means for me… a great deal more coffee than usual, that’s for sure!

I’ve set myself a schedule of observing their activities for several hours each night, while the babe’s are all dreaming… and yes, that’s where I chose the Dreamer portion of describing our guests. Early on in their stay with us, I noticed that these little things are the most active during the time when the babe’s are sleeping.

The strange little creatures spend much of their wakeful hours, busily flying silently overhead of my little ones sleeping hidey holes. What are they doing, you might be wondering? Well, I was wondering the same thing, so I camped myself in the corner of the barn for an entire night, just watching and listening.

Guess what these little things do all night? While they flit to and fro across the barn, occasionally hovering over one babe or another, these little dreamers are singing softly, sometimes even praying tiny little prayers of comfort and rest. In case you were wondering, they are rather quiet, even when they are singing.

I had to put ear phones in and listen through a high powered recording device, just to hear them.

I’ve still so many unanswered questions, as I’m sure you do too, but only time and continued studying will truly uncover all there is to learn. What I can tell you is that I’ve begun getting to know one of these little night flyers. She caught my eye, right from the beginning! I compare her to popcorn, because everyone knows how popcorn in the microwave can make the whole room smell yummy! That is Beatrice!

I’m still getting more familiar with my new friend, so you’ll have to wait until next week to learn more of her, along with her kin. I think that I may have struck gold with Beatrice, as I think she may be the eldest, and possibly the most knowledgeable of the bunch!

While I will be sharing everything I discover, if you have any suggestions or first impressions about all this, I welcome the help!

Ta Ta, for now…

Hmmmmm, Tough Question…

Daily writing prompt
What’s something most people don’t know about you?

I’m being fully honest when I say that I’ve probably told far more about myself on this blog, than most were prepared to read… one of my common self-titles is “the oversharer!”

When I saw this morning’s prompt question, I knew that I’d answered it last year, but I thought it would be fun to tell everyone something new. That is, until I tried thinking of a thing to share.

I’ve hit a wall here, my friends, as I can’t think of anything that I’m willing to offer up. Why, you might ask? Because my transparency stops at the place that holds the things of my deepest hurts and scars. I stopped voicing the things that did not produce goodness, love and God’s healing light.

If you would like to know anything about me that is worthy of sharing with others, I’ve re-opened my archive’s page on this site. Within those dusty old writings is who I Really am, though God is forever molding and reshaping me into that which He sees as beautiful. The place to catch glimpses of that part of me, would be the WordPress Daily Prompt response’s that you currently receive a lot of cookies from… Miss Moody Maelstrom, some might call me!

Oh, while we’re on the subject of cookies, enjoy…

Don’t Confuse Me…

Daily writing prompt
Do lazy days make you feel rested or unproductive?

This is rather confusing to my brain, first being told that it IS a lazy day… and then asking if one feels restful OR unproductive?

I wanna ask Google…

According to Oxford, the definition of lazy is “unwilling to work or use energy.” The example given was, “he was too lazy to cook”, so there’s that!

I suspect that if we go with the ACTUAL definition here, won’t we feel both rested AND unproductive? And, shouldn’t that be what we are aiming for?

Just askin…

Anyway, if you read my regular post this morning, you would already know that my brain is visiting a Nothing Box, today. I borrowed my husband’s box, since he doesn’t use it while he’s busy studying.

And yes, you could call today a LAZY day, so I have every intention of feeling both rested… AND unproductive!

Here, grab a cookie before you go. You didn’t think I would forget that? Not even on a lazy day…

Thursday Thoughts…

I recognize that Thursdays are normally when I write about my thoughts, but just this moment… there aren’t any thoughts. It’s as if I’ve somehow discovered that elusive Nothing Box that men swear by!

It’s rather nice in there… all spacious and peaceful. Metaphorically speaking, my brain’s barn doors are just lazily swinging back and forth, from a soft heavenly breeze.

I’ve been simultaneously reading through the Psalms and the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, for several weeks now. While I’ve read them many times over the years, this has been the first time reading both Old Testament and New, side by side.

I have to say that if you read the Psalms next to the four Gospels… it’s an amazing experience! Reading through passionate poems by David and other Psalmists, and then moving to read through Jesus’ life, I’m seeing the life and holy purpose of Jesus, from those looking toward His coming… to those that watched as He came to earth, fulfilling each and every prophesy foretold.

I don’t know, my bible always has this familiar feel to it, upon first opening it for a re-read… but then I find myself getting lost in it, as if it were a brand new book that I’d never before read. It really is true, you know, the scriptures are God’s living and breathing word! Whenever I pick it up, he’s right there with me… I can feel his presence, as of one sitting close by.

I suppose that today it just feels good dwelling in His presence… and I’m in no hurry to leave.

But, I will walk over to the microwave and reheat my coffee. OOh, and grab a breakfast muffin… mmmmmm!

Feel free to take a muffin, there’s plenty!

Was He Just a Man?

Daily writing prompt
When you think of the word “successful,” who’s the first person that comes to mind and why?

In such a short time upon this earth, He healed, saved, resurrected, taught, and ended it with the sacrifice of his own life to make a way for so many, to this very day!

Whether or not one believes Him to be a mere man… when I think of the word “successful,” I think of Jesus, the son of a carpenter… and yet, so so much more!

Why? Because He showed me… from the moment of his birth, all the way through history itself… to save ME!

Here, my sweet friends, have some cookies…

Wednesday Words…

Sometimes, folks are so busy getting where they’re going, they forget to look up!

Remember to look for the gifts along the journey… I promise you that they are there!

I was all ready to walk the trail I’d found, but Eustace refused to follow me. When I turned around to call him to me, he showed me an entirely different walking trail… it was less than half a block in the opposite direction.

Thanks Eustace… you’re the best!

Tuesday Tinkering…

So, remember how I told you that my brain doors blew open yesterday, while I was taking my trail walk?

I spent the rest of the afternoon, and then even more hours this morning, doing research. I began digging deeper into the story behind our bat thingies that are flying around in the barn. Remember them?

It turns out that there is an entire community of them, roosting in our rafters. When I discovered this… I was inspired!

One by one, each of their little faces and personalities began appear. Quickly, they found their way out of my brain pan, and all the way onto the page, so to speak.

I’ll introduce them to you in the order that I discovered them. Keep in mind that while being cute and adorable, each one of these creatures carries something very valuable within their tiny little frames.

For today, we will simply make introductions, so as to give each of you a chance to make your own initial impressions, without my intrusive input… there will be time for that later.

From first to last, there are ten…

We begin with,

Mother of,

And,

Then there’s,

and her little one,

Next we have,

and his little brother,

Followed by,

and her orphaned cousin,

Tune in next week, as we learn their story, their purpose and the gift carried within each of them.

*P.S. No spoilers will be forthcoming, so don’t even try. As they say, all good things come to those who wait…

Monday Messages…

Guess who made it to a trail this morning?

Yup! With only two intersections to cross, I got there… and two hours later, I’m just sitting down to write.

It was wonderful, I tell you, simply divine! Remember me telling you that I was missing my literary mojo, with this living in no mans land stuff? Well, oh my! I found that sweet spot… just inside of those two hours in the fresh air.

Long story short… my brain doors flew open, somewhere around mile two, and now it’s once again the Willy Wonka Factory in there!

I leave you with a song that should leave you with a visual of how I’m feeling right this moment…

In Him… I am strong!

His…

Daily writing prompt
What principles define how you live?

I highly doubt that I could write anything surprising to most, regarding what principles define my life, or more aptly put… Whose principles!

With that being said, I most certainly have cookies for just such a prompt response…

Dear God…

You are the Sun and I am a seed

You are the Moon and I am the firefly

You are the Gardener and I am the branch

You are the Healer and I am the broken

You are the Giver and I am that which is in need

You the Sculptor and I am that which can be molded.

Dear God,

I love it when someone writes words of love to me, and I just realized that You might really love it, as well. Though I know you are well aware of my feelings, I thought to write them down for you. You’ve shown me who you are, and it has forever changed me!

Now I can see me as You see me…

I am the seed that flourishes in Your garden. Were it not for You, there would be no Son for my soul! I am Your firefly in the night, carrying the light of Your truth throughout the darkness. Willingly, I choose to be Your branch… reaching for the heights, knowing that Your roots are firmly anchoring me to the ground! This child is so very broken, and yet… Your healing hands have made my scars beautiful!

I need You to carry me each day, giving me every breath I take, Lord. You’ve tirelessly worked to soften this lump of hardened clay, masterfully shaping me into the beautiful creature that I am… the way You see me! God, You are all that I want, all that I need, and the one who carries me home to the place You’ve prepared for me.

I love you so very much and thought it was only right that I make mention of it… I mean, nobody should have to assume that someone loves them. Sometimes it’s really important to say a thing out loud, to let another feel the truth of your words. I hope you have a wonderful day, and remember… this girl loves you so!

If you want to write me back, I’ll look for your letter within the book You left for me. It’s just there, resting next to the tree that You planted in my Lobby.

Love Toni