Becoming a Birder

I never thought that I'd be a birder one day, but here I am sitting on the back swing watching the birds.
We live in the Santa Cruz mountains and although Half Moon Bay had plenty of sea birds it wasn't anything i even thought of doing.
When we moved in I noticed there was a platform feeder outback and thought," Hey, maybe I"ll buy some birdseed and see if anyone visits. "
That was the beginning of what is now one of my passions and another opportunity to see God's handiwork in creation.
I am only an amateur , long time birders are great at hearing a bird sing and snap,! they can tell you what it is in a jiffy..Not me,
I am pretty good at identifying the easy ones :) Like Stellars Jays, and Acorn woodpeckers but when you get to the different finches, sparrows and siskins.. I can get them mixed up.
I love sitting out back and now instead of one platform feeder we have 2 and 4 other feeders and hummingbird feeders.Oh, and there's the suet feeders, no birder who knows their stuff would be without them.

So what kind of birds do we have up here In the Santa Cruz Mountains of California?

Lots and lots of chickadees, juncos, House finches, American finches, Stellars Jays, Acorn woodpeckers, the dreaded Ring Tailed Pigeons that can clean you out of your birdseed in one swoop. Mourning doves, California quail, varied thrush, grosbeaks, spotted towees, California towees, pine siskins, Thompsons warblers are seen frequently.
And there are my favorites the gorgeous Annas and Allens Hummingbirds..Wow such colors and such amazing birds.
I almost forgot, we have a large flock of wild turkeys that regularly visit and got used to eating along with my chickens for awhile..Now that the Moms have had their newest brood they aren't coming quite so close. They are good moms to be sure.
Anyhow, Birding is great therapy and fun..Stellars Jays have eaten out of our hands, Hummingbirds have had epic battles right in front of us..and the squirrels keep us busy trying to out trick them .
Anyhow, Irecommend birding highly..Get a feeder and black oil sunflower seed and be patient, it takes a few weeks for the word to get around your neighborhood that there's a new restaurant in town.It's great for an easy homeschooling science project too. And, if you have squirrels ,get some peanuts and corn..they can share it with the jays and woodpeckers, then everybody is happy.

Happy Birding....Deb

a Mom's view on a youth group night

I'm a Mom youth leader for Jr high.

I am sure in my years of ministry that volunteering for this particular age wouldn't have been my first choice. But because we have 4 kids we've gotten involved in our kids youth groups.

So what do parents want in a youth group these days?

Well ,from a homeschooling mom's perspective we want the youth group to come alongside of us parents and encourage our kids to follow God.

We don't need another organization that thinks they know BETTER than us what to do with our kids.

We just need a safe place where our kids will feel accepted for who they are and learn about Jesus with other peers.

A place to have fun and safe relationships but to be challenged by different personalities and practice acceptance .

To get used to hanging out with kids who have different hobbies, talents, interests and learn to love and appreciate one another. To learn how to stand firm for what they believe in a world that is opposed to Christianity these days.

We want our youth pastors to encourage obedience and love for God's word .

To teach respect and acceptance for other kids in the group.

We want them to teach it by demonstrating their own love and obedience and passion for Jesus. They surely need Godly role models now more than ever.

We want the emphasis to be on the Lord first and His ability to meet their needs in any situation as they study the word together.

It needs to be a fun time with acceptance for all types of kids, shy kids, wacky kids, serious kids, leaders and followers...

It's got to be safe.. we don't want shame , humiliation and we want intervention if we see the kids bullying other kids.

We don't need the kids to hear lots of legalism like you should do this and you should do that.

We want our kids to follow Jesus because they love Him.

We don't want a few that win and lots that lose..we want all the kids to feel like they are winners regardless of how they excel at games or bible memory.

I know as a parent my job is to disciple my kids first and foremost, i can't give that job away.

When I drop my kid off at a youth group..I want to feel that they are having a fun time and growing in their relationships with other kids.

Most importantly, that they are encouraged that they can be leaders for Jesus.This world desperately needs our young people to shine their lights brightly for the Lord.

We need to be growing up workers for the harvest.

I'm happy to say that i have found a youth group like that. And luckily for the most part over the years with my oldest 3 the youth groups have been a positive and growing experience.

No youth group is perfect and honestly I don't always agree with the programs or leaders over the years.

I've had some discussions with why are you doing this or

that.

What I've loved about the youth leaders/pastors I've known is they care about what I as a parent worry about and have to say.

They don't just listen and then ignore me.

They truly consider what my parents heart is worried about.

If you're at a youth group and the pastor isn't interested in your opinion as the

parents ,you're probably not in the right youth group.

It's a tough job to be a youth pastor, they need us parents to pray for them and support them, to help all we can.

Maybe write a note letting them know how much we appreciate them.

They can get calls in the middle of the night by a parent or a teen who is having a rough time.

No, there isn't going to be a perfect youth group because none of us is perfect.

But don't give up looking for one that fits your kid. And that's a clue. because our kids are all different and have different learning styles.

No one youth group is gonna work for all kids.

Keep looking and when you find one see what you can do to make your youth pastors job a little easier..Start with prayer.

And if you don't find one? Pray and ask God if you should start a small group yourself.

What are your thoughts? God Bless, Deb