Tag: nature retreat

May Hope Whispers

Trudy Den Hoed28 Comments

“Yet I call this to mind,
and therefore I have hope:
Because of the Lord’s faithful love
we do not perish,
for His mercies never end.
They are new every morning;
great is Your faithfulness!”
Lamentations 3:21-23

“May the GOD OF HOPE
fill you with all joy and peace
as you trust in Him,
so that you may overflow with HOPE
by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Romans 15:13

God’s Plan Is Greater Than Ours

“If we look back on each of our lives, how many times did God have another plan than we did? Seasons of pain and suffering. Times of loss and heartache. Days of darkness where we wondered if God was really with us at all.”

(Over the past couple of months, this 2015 post has been visited often, raising it to the most popular post so far in 2020.)

Nature is a Retreat of Hope

“Adopt the pace of nature.
Her secret is patience.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Thank you to my brother John for these stunning photos.
(🙂 Please respect copyright laws. 🙂)

Meet Desi, a 20 to 25 year old male desert tortoise, recently adopted by John and MJ. Desert tortoises are protected. If someone takes them from the wild or they roam into the city, they cannot be released back into the wild because of disease concerns. These may be adopted by Arizonian residents who create a nurturing habitat for them and are approved.
Desi is traveling through the trumpet vines.
Young Great Horned Owl
Did you know an owl has three eyelids? The upper closes when an owl blinks and the lower closes when he sleeps. John captured the third diagonal eyelid on an immature owl, the nictitating membrane, a thin layer that cleans and protects the surface of the eye.
Immature Cooper’s hawk
Cooper’s hawk
Isn’t this raccoon cute? 🙂
Gadwall Duck Pair

I’m taking a break from posting. I hope to return the first Tuesday in August. Meanwhile, please feel free to email me if you have a prayer request or just want to connect with me. 🙂 (My email is in the right-hand column.)
God bless and strengthen you
through whatever troubles
you are going through!

 

April Hope Whispers

Trudy Den Hoed34 Comments

“For I know the plans
I have for you,”
declares the Lord,
“plans to prosper you
and not to harm you,
plans to give you hope
and a future.”
Jeremiah 29:11

SAFE
by Victory Worship

“You are never far away
Always reaching out to save
My weakness covered by Your strength
And I am found forever safe
I found my fortress in You
And my soul is anchored with You
My resting place is in Your name
Forever safe”

Hope-Breathing Quotes

“I know the world is crazy right now, but I’m so thankful that God knows our names, understands our emotions and is intimately involved with the development of our faith.” ~ Lois Flowers

“Darkness comes. In the middle of it, the future looks blank. The temptation to quit is huge. Don’t. You are in good company… You will argue with yourself that there is no way forward. But with God, nothing is impossible. He has more ropes and ladders and tunnels out of pits than you can conceive. Wait. Pray without ceasing. Hope.” ~ John Piper

“Hope is the silver shaft of sun breaking through the storm-darkened sky, words of comfort in the intensive care unit, the first spring bird perched on a snow-covered twig, and the finish line in sight. It is a rainbow, a song, a loving touch. Hope is knowing God and resting in His love.” ~ NLT Life Application Study Bible: Zephaniah introduction

Nature is a Retreat of Hope

““Be as a bird perched on a
frail branch that she feels
bending beneath her,
still she sings away
all the same,
knowing she has wings.”
Victor Hugo

Thank you to my brother John for these beautiful bird photos.
(🙂 Please respect copyright laws. 🙂)

Black-Necked Stilt
Roadrunner with a Lizard for His Lady
As part of the mating ritual, he carried the lizard from tree to tree and made a cooing sound.
Green Heron
Green Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron
Great Horned Owl

 

March Hope Whispers

Trudy Den Hoed34 Comments

“For wherever I am,
though far away at
the ends of the earth,
I will cry to You for help.
When my heart is faint
and overwhelmed,
lead me to the mighty,
towering Rock of safety.”
Psalm 61:2 TLB

Lead Me to the Rock

“God doesn’t sweep the broken up into a dustpan and discard it. In order to reach the broken in our world, God Himself broke, allowing His own Son to die a broken death on a cross for us. God brings beauty in the broken. God loves the broken. God uses the broken.” ~ Elisa Morgan

“When tragedy makes its unwelcome appearance and we are deaf to everything but the shriek of our own agony – when courage flies out the window and the world seems to be a hostile, menacing place – it is the hour of our Gethsemane. No word, however sincere, offers any comfort or consolation… and yet it may happen in these most desperate trials of our human existence that beyond any rational explanation, we may feel a nail-scarred hand clutching ours.” ~ Brennan Manning

Nature is a Retreat of Hope

“The earth has
music for those
who listen.”
Shakespeare

Thank you to my brother John for these photos.
(🙂 Please respect copyright laws. 🙂)

How are you doing through the virus crisis? Physically? Emotionally? What breathes hope into your heart? Are there any specific prayer requests you have? If you don’t feel comfortable sharing them in the comments, please feel free to email me.