Where Thieves Break Through and Steal

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal...Matthew 6:19

We had two inches of rain, capped by snow that stayed on the grass overnight. The birds were eating energetically before the storm and during the storm. The weather system turned our area cold again, so the birds continued to eat at the feeders.

I keep changing the configuration to reduce squirrel dominance. My latest  consists of hanging feeders from Lowe's, two side by side, a third hanging near the kitchen window.

I took away the squirrel stepstool by taking the finch feeder off the pole and placing it on the basket. "Fooled them again!" I said as I looked over the new layout. Why feed squirrels or birds far from me or squirrels nearby?

This morning I saw the seed can lid off and a lot of empty sunflower seed cases on top of the seeds. "Fooled me again!"

I could not determine where the squirrels pried the handle down from the can, which is essentially the lock - or I left the handle down.

This unrehearsed photo is what I often see in the yard. They know I am bringing seed, want to check up on me, but also like a safe escape route.

People have called me St. Francis, so I created this image, which deeply offended the Fox Valley AA clergy.

The birds definitely welcome me into the backyard. They flutter up to their roosts, but watch what I am doing. They return to feeding within minutes now, and I enjoy that. I can turn around from the computer and see cardinals, goldfinches, and house finches feeding merrily. At the kitchen sink I saw a grackle swoop up to the feeder and land, with no intention of leaving his meal.

Both of the six-foot wide swings bounce with traffic. Birds love to land on the swing, near the feeder, to line up for food and check for their safety.

Yesterday, one goldfinch stayed on the swing looking into the bedroom. I approached. He did not flinch or fly away. I got the message. The feeder was empty and he wanted it filled.

The birds and squirrels perform all day for us, without needing a ton of food. For one thing, I have a yard where there is an abundance of worms, bugs, spiders, seeds, and fruit for them to enjoy.

Pokeberries and elderberries have something in common. Both harbor beneficial insects when blooming and feed birds when fruiting. They also spread easily.

Jessical Walliser has more plans for sharing her insights.

Someone suggested using a beer and detergent combination against rose pests. I countered withAttracting Beneficial Bugs, by Jessica Walliser, a Facebook friend.

Our senior proof-reader is finding that giving away copies of Creation Gardening is quite easy. I just sent more, and regular readers are getting their copies fairly soon now.

There is no doctrinal difference between

1. Creation Gardening, 
2. Thy Strong Word, and the upcoming 
3. Lost Dutchman's Goldmine. 

All three books teach the efficacy of God's Word.

Man has all kinds of bad solutions for the yard. Before chemical fertilizers and pesticides, successful farmers used composted manure and natural cures. In one narrative from The Wormhaven Gardening Book, a farmer gathered his animal manure in a pit, mixed it with soil and plant material, and let the earthworms do the work. When he spread this composted material, the birds gathered to pick up the earthworms and other delights of finished compost.



Since the Bible is not a gardening book, does it not make sense that Creation Gardening is another approach to the ministry of the Word?

Let us look at a few man-made cures for congregations:

• Revivals - the idea is to get people all worked up, emotional, fainting, and repenting. The excitement soon wore off.
• Union churches - Why not get the Calvinists and Lutherans to form union congregations, the way they did in Europe? So little to separate the two! Many LCMS and WELS followed suit by joining the Willowcreek Community Churches organization.
• Pentecostal and charismatic fervor. Those stuffy mainlines gave up the Holy Spirit, miracles, and the Son of God for Lent - and then some. So why not act like we just swallowed the Holy Spirit, feathers and all - speak in tongues, dance around? Pentecostal fervor faded - even in the Assemblies of God - and that is like McDonalds going vegan.
• Entertainment! People want to have fun - that will bring them in. Add popcorn, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks. They ate themselves fat and they never came back! The Community of Joy, which sounded like a house of ill repute - and it was - folded faster than a Hillary 2020 sweatshirt factory. Ten thousand members and Joy collapsed.
• Business methods! Management by Objectives. Ya know, Rev, the church should be run just like a business. Fuller Seminary certainly was, and they got this MBO fever injected into ELCA, WELS, Missouri, even the gangrenous CLC. Every sect that adopted Fuller methods began dying on the spot.

Beautyberries are for the birds - only.