Category Archives: Birds

Healed of Cancer 15 years

Posted in Birds, Cancer, Healing, Holiday, My thoughts, Nations, Nature, Restoration, Testimony Tuesday, Travel by

I’m sitting on the veranda of my daughter’s Mary’s home in Blantyre, Malawi. The trees over the house keep it cool in the heat of the day. The birds are singing. Flowers are blooming. It is a little oasis in the city.

I was so happy to get here to be with Mary and enjoy the warmth after a cold winter back in Ireland. Looking at the garden I’m reminded of my two books about God telling us not to worry, Look at the Birds and Look at the Wildflowers.

This last year I have faced challenges in health and family difficulties. My natural tendency is to worry , get disappointed, tired and depressed. I had forgotten God’s exhortation not to worry which brings anxiety.

Being here away from immediate demands back home I have time to reflect on how God has been faithful to Brendan and I down through the years. in Malawi God is reviving my body and spirit. I read in Psalm 73 v 26
My health may fail and my spirit grow weak
But God remains the strength of my heart.

Today is the fifteenth anniversary of me being diagnosed with fourth stage cancer. Three months later I was totally healed by God. He hasn’t stopped moving mountains and with His power I can do it too. He has helped Brendan and I before and He will do it again.

Psalm 91 encouraged us. I will be with you in trouble, because he acknowledges my name. With long life I will satisfy him. I had forgotten we have an adversary, the devil who is out to kill, rob, steal and destroy. Jesus overcame him on the cross and sent him running. I now resist him and he is fleeing from us.

God is good. He is restoring our fortunes like the water courses in the Negev. The battle belongs to the Lord and he is fighting for me as I trust him and not worry.

I Choose Joy

Posted in Birds, Family, Healing, My thoughts, Nature by

Good morning everyone. This is the day the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it. I will be thankful for the lone bird tweeting outside my window. I will be thankful for food, a warm home and family.

I have had disappointments and sadness. I may have difficulties to face. Things are not working out the way I hoped. But I choose to face the day with God’s care.

A little child awakes and smiles when his mum comes to pick him up from his cot. He will have a messy nappy, need washed and changed. He reaches up to be picked up by his mum.

God reaches down to us and picks us up in his arms. Isaiah 40 says
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;

I am making a choice to be glad today. I am making a choice to walk in joy. If God is for us who can be against us. No eye has seen nor ear heard what God has prepared for those who love him.

His eye is on the sparrow and He watches over me. 🎼🎼🎼

Toronto Airport

Posted in Birds, Canada, Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nations, Travel by

I travelled with my son by car to Toronto airport. There were highways with four or six lanes full with cars, going over bridges and circling around tower blocks. Everyone on the move.

I read in Toronto airport that forty million people pass through this airport every year. I looked around. People with cases were passing focusing to get to their check in desks or flights. Old, young, black, white, brown, women and men fully dressed or scantily covered were there.

People from every nation work in the cafes, shops, at the desks, in security check points and on the aeroplanes.

I arrived at my gate where my flight would soon be leaving for Ireland. I sat down and pondered on this place where so many people meet. Who am I in the midst of this sea of people. Psalm 8 came to mind.

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
4 What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You visit him?
5 For You have made him a little lower than the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
You have put all things under his feet

Gods love overwhelmed me. I felt like the little sparrow in the song His eye is on the sparrow.

Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;

I picked up my bags and found my place on the plane. I traveled home without fear.

Fourteen Years Healed of Cancer

Posted in Birds, Cancer, Healing, My thoughts, Nature, Restoration, Thoughtful Thursday by

On Easter Monday fourteen years ago I was diagnosed with fourth stage bowel cancer. The power of the Blood of the Cross, which I wrote about in my last post, began to work for me. In his mercy God reached down and healed me. My body was clear from cancer in four months with no side effects from treatment, no operation and no further medication.

Psalm 18

9 He parted the heavens and came down;
dark clouds were under his feet.
16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
he drew me out of deep waters.
17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy, (the devil and his demons)
from my foes, who were too strong for me.
18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
but the Lord was my support.

These words describe what happened to me. In the following years my mind was healed from the trauma of life that led to my cancer. Nature and bird song, God’s creation brought healing to my nervous system. I am made whole. I have written my book Look at the Birds. It tells how nature brought comfort to me.

Brendan wrote Staying Alive after my healing from cancer. It tells how God healed me. I had a dream soon after the publication of our book. I was reading it and the pages were red in colour. The Lord was telling me the Blood of Jesus is all over our book. When you read it you will be touched by God’s power. What God has done for me he can do for you. Only believe that Jesus came on earth and through him you can be healed.

Both of these books are available on Kindle and Amazon.

Bird Song

Posted in Birds, Healing, My thoughts, Nature, Restoration by

Listen can you hear the birds this morning? The winter has past. The time for singing of birds has come!

Our son is getting a flight home today. He is staying near the bus station. He heard the birds singing as daylight was rising. He has company for his morning travel.

Neuroscientists have done research on the nervous system. More and more people are suffering from mental stress. There is too much news and information coming at us from the media. Many of us can’t cope.

The resulting distress drives us to the doctor who suggests medication to help bring peace. Or perhaps drive us to drink or other forms of self medication.

The scientists have found that bird song has a calming effect on our nerves. Listening to the birds brings healing to our mind.

Listen for a bird singing these mornings, whether you live in the city or country. A blackbird lives in a small hedge in the front of my daughter’s house in Belfast.

Listening and seeing the birds brought healing to me when I lived in Portaferry. I have written a book called “Look at the Birds.”

If you would like to buy a copy let me know.

Caring for young

Posted in Birds, Family, My thoughts, Nature by

The gulls have reared their young and have gone fishing in the Irish Sea. They are doing what they were born to do.

There are threats from our neighbours. They want to cover over our chimney so the gulls won’t nest there next year. What excitement we would miss.

The behaviour of the mother gull to defend her young has spoken to me this summer. She stood watch over her young for hours, days and weeks until they were fully grown.

She dived down to anyone whom she thought was a threat. As parents do we fiercely attack anything or person that may attack our young? We have spent hours, days, nights, months and years caring for our young; keeping watch, feeding and helping them do what they were born to do.

In the my experience growing up in the country in Ireland, extended family and community helped each other. There were Godly values we adhered to.

Nowadays having a big family is frowned upon. The world offers pills and abortions to get rid of children you didn’t plan for. Doctors get paid extra to sterilise and remove wombs. The parents are left to rear their family themselves. Self control is needed to look after ouοΏΌr young. One can’t be selfish. Is there anyone to help?

Children are for life not just as cuddly babies. They turn into rebellious teenagers who can’t wait to be adult and get away from the ones who reared them.
No wonder some parents are perplexed and in despair.

I take hope in the Word of God. It tells me your work will be rewarded. God who made the heavens and the earth said he would care for me.

Isaiah 45 v 12
I am the one who made the earth and created people to live in it. With my hand I stretched out the heavens. All the millions of stars are at my command.
46 v 3
I created you and cared for you before you were born. I will be your God throughout your lifetime until your hair is white with age.

It is so good to trust in the God who made the heavens and the earth . Even the birds of the air speak to us about him.

Ask the Birds of the Air

Posted in Birds, Healing, My thoughts, Nature by

I continue to distribute my book “Look at the Birds”. If you haven’t got a copy download from Kindle Amazon.co.uk If you are a mobile phone person, having a copy on kindle is easy to access when you have a minute to spare. I can quickly read a book on kindle.

I am encouraged after reading from Job yesterday.

Job 12 v 7

Ask the animals and they will teach you.
Ask the birds of the sky and they will tell you.
Speak to the earth and it will instruct you. Let the fish of the sea speak to you.
For the life of every living thing is in His (The Lord) hand.

Two dolphin have been swimming in Strangford Lough these last few months. They appear near the ferry on the Strangford side.

Their appearance is attracting many visitors. The dolphin are responding to all the attention. They jump and twirl in the water.

My son told me he has noticed the dolphin are attracted by music he plays in his vehicle. My grandchildren are delighted. They get to swim with the dolphins nearby in Strangford Lough.

Visiting Waterfall after Forty Five Years

Posted in Birds, Healing, Holiday, Ireland, My thoughts, Nature, Restoration, Travel by

I heard from a man on Facebook who was telling us that there are rhythm sounds that bring healing. He said there are ancient Christian scriptures that mention about sounds.

I reflected on the idea of sounds bringing healing to one. I agree. It is the sounds of birds singing, waves crashing, the tinkle of a yacht, the call of a curlew, or wind blowing that helped bring me healing in Portaferry.

On the first week of July Belfast empties. People head to Donegal. It is the twelfth fortnight. Holidays are times to unwind, go to the seaside, walk, swim, make sandcastles. Healing and restoring.

Brendan and I took a drive along the Antrim coast. Just outside we stopped at Larne Boating Club harbour. It is a little oasis. The sun was shining. The sea was calm. The grass was green. Birds find the best places to hang out. There were ducks, turnstones gulls and oystercatchers.

I wanted to visit the Glenarriff waterfalls. We visited the falls forty five years ago. Willie Paterson and Hazel took four of us and his two children in his mini car to visit the falls. I remember going there but I hadn’t been back since then.

We arrived back in the late of the evening. When we parked we could hear the movement of water in the river. We walked for the next minutes up along the river. There were three steps of waterfalls. Water was bubbling, crashing, gurgling and flowing down the gorge. Green foliage and ferns cascaded overhead on the banks.

We kept walking up the path built specially to give the best view. The tall full waterfall came into view. We stood in the beauty for long minutes.

God intends that out of our bellies will flow rivers of living water. Let the river of God flow.

That you Willie for that memory from forty five years ago.

Mother Sea Gull still on Duty

Posted in Birds, Motherhood, My thoughts, Nature by

My neighbour told me the sea seagull that nested in my chimney had three chicks. The nest must have been a bit crowded, hence one of the chicks taking time out on my neighbours roof. I heard and saw this chick regularly. It whistled to let the mother know he wasn’t far away. She often stood guard over it and attacked anyone walking on the street below.

I prayed one evening and asked God to allow me to see the chick I rescued from my neighbours fireplace. Later on I saw one of the young standing on a refuse bin . Was it my rescued friend? See photo. It looked strong.

Elizabeth my friend told me she saw the young gull that evening as well. It walked down the middle of the road and halted traffic behind it. It flew up onto a roof afterwards.

She has recounted the story of rescuing the seagull from her fireplace to friends.
One man said he knows of people who don’t rescue a bird from their chimney. The thought of a bird covered in soot flying round their living room deters them from going to the rescue. The RSPB advise not to go near seagulls for fear of bird flu.

The other two young chicks have moved to a rooftop opposite. Their mother stays nearby but is not so aggressive. The young still make their whistling noise to get attention and more food. They must be able to fly a short distance. See below recent photos.

Top picture below chick who has flown the nest. Next picture shows mother to the tight and two other young. Next picture shows one stretching his wings.

Even though I now live far from the seaside I’m still looking at the birds.

Check out my book Look at the Birds on Amazon.

Update on Sea Gulls

Posted in Birds, Motherhood, My thoughts, Nature, Restoration by

Up date on Baby Gulls.

A Sea Gull and two chicks have been on our chimney stack for some weeks now. We have got used to the mother’s calls and flurries overhead when we go to our car. I hear the whistles of her young from my workshop window.

Last week when I returned from shopping, in my neighbours front path a young sea gull was sheltering. It had mottled feathers, a sharp black beak and black feet. It tried to walk away balanced by his broad wings. But it limped. One of its legs was injured. Our neighbour asked advice from the RSPB. There was no answer. Her son lifted the bird and returned it to the mother out his skylight window.

I was visiting my elderly neighbour, Elizabeth on Sunday. I brought her a bunch of sweet pea. I heard she had family visiting on Monday. Brendan has grown sweet pea in our garden after he heard that Elizabeth’s father used to bring her sweet pea every week.

Next day she called Brendan and I to see her display of sweet pea on her piano. She was overwhelmed by the bunch of flowers. She said yesterday was the 72 anniversary of her father’s funeral which left from her home. We did not know that.

While sitting in her living room I heard noises coming from her blocked up fireplace. Elizabeth said she heard a few noises but thought it was movement from our living room. We thought a baby seagull may be behind there.

Her visitor was arriving any minute. What was an eighty three year old lady to do with a bird in her front room fireplace? It was closed up for fifty years! She didn’t relish the thought of soot all over her carpet or a black seabird flying round her room if released.

She waited to ring RSPB after her relatives left. She made a phone call, was through to an answering machine , advising her to beware of bird flu if you touch a seagull. They were noone to help. The machine operated voice advised her to call the RSPA. Again no help .

Next morning Brendan and I came to the rescue. Bird flu or not that bird needed rescued now from the trap. How long was it there? Was it still alive? Psalm 91 v 3 says the Lord releases us from the fowler’s snare. The bird would die if we didn’t help it.

How often does one get trapped in life with no one to help . We can face death. We need to rescue people from traps they can’t get free from.

Brendan opened the cover and there was a timid young chick! I reached down and held it. It had no strength to fly out of my hands. A little bird came to the very room where Elizabeth plays her piano to worship God.

We released it onto the roof again . Seagulls gathered overhead when they saw the young bird! It was lost but now was found.