May Letter

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

Dear Friends,

April has come and gone with much activity happening outside our windows.

Did you view the solar eclipse? We had 95% coverage, but it was surprising to us how bright it still was with 5% of the sun spilling out. God is amazing!

The robins are busy in our clematis (look closely for the mama bird!) and under our deck. We pray every year that all the baby birds and bunnies that live near our home will make it. I have such a soft heart for animals, and sometimes living this close to nature is hard for me as we have witnessed many unfortunate events. This side of heaven, we must be prepared to face beauty and death.

The house sparrows have babies, and sweet little chirps are coming from their house outside our laundry room window.

Speaking of windows, I loved this passage from The Rosemary Tree by Elizabeth Goudge:

“The morning dawned calm and lovely. From her bed Harriet could see the hills beyond the river, the woods and the sky. Like all those who spend much of their life in one room she had come to have an almost personal love for her window. She slept with her curtains drawn back and whenever she woke in the night she looked towards it instantly with eager wonder as to what it had to show her; clouds like galleons crossing the face of the moon, gems of stars set in a pall of blue velvet, Aurora like a golden lamp blazing above the brown rim of a dawn sky.”

“My Voice”

A new poem by Stephanie Nygaard

My voice is silent,
still and preserved
(like a flower whose
bulb is frozen with chill)
as winter pounds forward.
For a mouth that is quiet
has ears to receive and 
a bulb that is mute
can hear the birds sing.

When earth reverberates
life into being
once more, my voice
thaws, buds, and
blossoms, more gracious
for the repose.

If you’ve followed me for any length of time, you know that nature photography is one of my hobbies. I got a cute purple instant camera for my birthday earlier this year to add a little fun to my photographic journey.

Wildlife Sightings

Can you spot the baby bunny ears in the second picture?

I love to look for wondrous signs of God’s handiwork in nature. It sings of a Creator. But the most wondrous thing of all is Jesus dying on the cross for me, washing away all my sin, rising from the grave, and inviting me to enjoy heaven with him for all of eternity (where nature can be enjoyed without the fear of death). Hallelujah!

Have you asked Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and accepted his free gift of salvation?

Come Behold the Wondrous Mystery

(click the title to hear my favorite version of this hymn)

Come, behold the wondrous mystery
In the dawning of the king
He the theme of Heaven's praises
Robed in frail humanity
In our longing, in our darkness
Now, the light of life has come
Look to Christ who condescended
Took on flesh to ransom us

Wishing you a wondrous May,

~Stephanie

P.S. I will be back in a couple of weeks with a special story to celebrate Mother’s Day here in the U.S.