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WINGED THOUGHTS
MILLIONS OF PEOPLE ENJOY birding. It's an activity that delights the eye and inspires the soul. It's a chance to be outdoors and enjoy the beauties as well as the secrets of nature. But it's more, much more. Birding has become for me a spiritual exercise, an acquired habit that reminds me to praise God for the wonder of His creation.
Some years ago on a spring day as only happens in the high plains, I walked across a meadow in Montana right into the middle of hundreds of migrating tanagers. They exploded in flight. Their reddish-orange, sun-yellow shapes startled "my heart in hiding." Like Gerard Manley Hopkins, I "stirred for a bird,—the achieve of; the mastery of the thing!"
For the poet, the soaring falcon evoked God's very presence; from my perspective, he must have felt the purity and joy of the Christ consciousness. Similarly, for many of us the graceful flight of birds can be a mental gust of wind beneath thought. The aerial acrobatics awaken awe and adoration for spiritual realities.
Enjoy 1 free Sentinel article or audio program each month, including content from 1898 to today.
October 20, 2008 issue
View Issue-
LETTERS
with contributions from GERRIE MARX, JAN VAN HOOK, CHERIE NELSON, GRACE CHINASA EZINWA
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God is the only power
KIM SHIPPEY, SENIOR WRITER
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ITEMS OF INTEREST
with contributions from Ashley Gipson, Cathy Lynn Grossman
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Unifying Men, Women, and Nations
BY JANET HORTON
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God's power in my life
BY TAD BLAKE–WEBER
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Hostile takeover, wonderful outcome
BY WILLARD HANZLIK
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Russia's invasion of Georgia—and how prayer can bring peace
NAME REMOVED BY REQUEST
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My way to shine
Emily Odell
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WINGED THOUGHTS
BY JIM BENCIVENGA
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CATCHING CLEAR GLIMPSES OF GOD
SUSANNAH H. SNOWDEN,
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THE TEST THAT EVERYONE WILL PASS
NANCY FISCHER
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LITTLE BLACK BIKE PANTS
JULIE ANNE WARD
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THE PRAYER THAT TRUMPS ECONOMIC POLITICS
CHANNING WALKER
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HIP INJURY HEALED
VICKI TURPEN
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CONTINUED PRAYER BRINGS HEALING
LYNN GREF
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FREE OF DIAGNOSED GOUT
GRAHAME CANDLER