Lightkeeper's Journal

Faith Changes the Impossible...

 

Photography and Article by Norma Beaird

 

Faith Changes the Impossible....
to Possible. Miracles are Real and Divine.

Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

Your survival depends upon your faith in God. Faith is about believing that God is God, that He answers prayer and that miracles are still possible. The world's answers are temporary and cannot offer lasting solutions. Money, power or status cannot guarantee stability. Change is inevitable and even frightening to those without faith. But, when we believe...our faith in the Creator of the Universe makes the impossible.... POSSIBLE. Your true key to success is salvation, prayer and belief. There's not a magical formula, a ten-step process, or a current religious trend that can do what God can do in your life.

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Mark 9:23
Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.

Luke 1:37
For with God nothing shall be impossible.

God is not a trend or a Santa Claus in the sky. He is the Creator of Heaven and Earth. He loves you. He wants to be the stabilizer on life's rocking ship. The world will catapult us into stormy seas and God desires to anchor us in His presence, power and knowledge. His power is a power to change.... and it can change your circumstance, your health, your financial situation or your impossibility. With God, all things are possible. We must first believe in Jesus as our Savior and repent of our sins.

Romans 10:9
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

We are coming to a time in this country (and in the world) where we must learn to depend on God for our survival. The world's political and financial systems have failed us and will continue to fail. Family and friends may be there for you....or.... they may not.

Remember, fear and unbelief will make people behave in strange ways. Fear will drive a sane person crazy and will render them dysfunctional. But, when all else fails, we can cling to our faith in God. We must depend upon God to guide us through these perilous and uncertain days. Jesus still saves, miracles still happen and the promises of God will stand.

Hebrews 11:6
But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

All scriptures are King James Version.

 

 

Copyright 2022, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.

 

Let us Pray

 

Prayer by Curtis Beaird

Photography by Norma Beaird

 

Father, we come before You, this Your day, with thanksgiving and praise. We bow before You with joy and gladness, that we might look away from the tangled and sad mess that is our world, and find Your holy face and celebrate your grace in Jesus Christ.  

We come not to escape the world,

but to confess our need for Your everlasting truth and Your never-ending mercy. 

Father, our vision fails. We are overcome with confusion, fear and anger.  We have lost our way.  We live among a people who have lost their way. 

We pray, oh Lord, that time has not ended, that Your created order is not too broken to mend.  We seek Your healing, Oh Lord. 

We turn away today from the half-truths, manipulations, political charade and unseemly power plays to confess our over-reliance on men and women who can’t find their way in the dark. 

We ask, Oh Lord, that You allow us to hear again, Jesus’ words from the cross, “Forgive them for they know not what they do.” 

Father, Your world stumbles, relying on itself, guessing at the future, while posing as powerful.   

Father, we look to You, not to avoid the world; but, that in these last days, You will pour out Your spirit upon us afresh. 

We look to You in hopes that we may silence the self long enough, that Your Holy Spirit might move us away from our self-seeking and selfish ways. 

That we might find the courage to bring Your light to the dark world, 

that we might find the heart to share Your truth in a world, lost in the same tired ways of greed and fear that has alway been. 

We pray, oh Lord, that You will open our eyes that we might see; and, in seeing, celebrate the joy and gladness that comes from trust in You. 

Father, this day, Your day, we praise Your Holy Name with grateful hearts. 

And now, Oh Lord, because of Your love and grace, we turn strong to meet another day in our broken world, glad that we are Your people who are privileged to serve Your Holy Name. 

For we know Father, that You are good, that Your mercy is everlasting; and, Your truth endures to all generations. 

 

Amen and Amen

 

Grace and peace

 

 

Copyright 2020, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

God Answers Prayer with a Sense of Humor

 

The storm clouds were rolling in behind the pecan trees.  

The clouds were turning dark steel blue and we knew that a gully washer was on the way!  

 

Photography by Curtis Beaird

Story by Norma Beaird

 

About a week ago in church, Curtis had requested prayer for rain.... much needed rain. It had become really dry down here and everyone's allergies were giving them fits. The blooming pecan trees were the main culprits. The next day after we prayed, we got rain. Praise the Lord! Then, my allergies continued to get even worse and I asked Curtis to request prayer for a gully washer (a Southern term for heavy rainstorm).

We needed a heavy rain to wash away all of the pollen, dust and every other airborne particle that wreaks havoc on our sinus passages. Again, God answered prayer.  The picture above shows what happened right before the storm broke loose!  Notice where the storm clouds are - right behind the pecan trees.   

God answers prayer, and this time He did it with a sense of humor!  

It seemed as though He was saying,

"See, I'm going to help you out!" 

 

 

Philippians 4:6

Be careful for nothing;

but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving

let your requests be made known unto God.

 

 

 

Copyright 2016, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Finding Wonder in the New Year

Nineteen Cedar Waxings descended upon Le Avian Cafe.  What a blessing sent from God!  

 

Photography and Article by Norma Beaird

 

In the coming year, let us find wonder in the blessings that surround us.

 Let us find fascination in God's glorious creation, in His birds, His clouds and His universe.

 Let us not forget to enjoy the fragrance of rain and the beauty of spring flowers.

 Whether it's sunshine or cloudy skies, let us treasure the day that the Lord has given to us.

 Even if the sun isn't shining, remember that colors look even more vivid against a gray landscape.  

Let us be grateful for the green grass and for the fallen leaves.

 Let us relish each season, the season of planting and the season of harvest.

 May we learn to appreciate the chill of the winter as much as we celebrate the warmth of the summer.  

 

As we wake up each morning, may the breath that we breathe be overwhelmed by a spirit of thanksgiving.

As we go to bed each night, may we lie down in peace and in an atmosphere of prayer.  

May our life be a candle of hope in a world that is covered in darkness.  

May we experience faith, love and joy as we find grace in a Savior called Jesus.   

 

 

 

Copyright 2016, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

 

Lights on the Water

 

A Montgomery County, Georgia pond nestled in the trees  

 

Lights on the Water

 

Photography and Poem by Norma Beaird

 

In the cabin by the pond,
Looking out the window pane,
the light danced on the water,
on this chilly Georgia day. 

 

She moved back home from up North,
Leaving parties, clothes and cars,
to introduce herself to peace,
the birds, the moon and stars.

 

She found the peace in scripture,
and the faith in quiet prayer,
the freedom in the pine trees,
in the humid Georgia air. 

 

Her thoughts reclaimed in sunlight,
while the truth shined on her soul,
the lights danced on the water,
and the Lord had made her whole.

 

 

Copyright 2015, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Merry Christmas from the Family

 

Left:  Nikko, the Brown-Headed Nuthatch  

Right:  Duke of Soperton,  the Northern Cardinal (Male)

 

Photography and Thoughts by Curtis and Norma Beaird

 

Diego, the Red-Winged Blackbird (Male)

 

Left: Giorgio, the Pine Warbler (Male)  

Right: Beep-Beep, the Carolina Chickadee

 

Ginger, the Tufted Titmouse

 

Pistol, the Downy Woodpecker, enjoying the Christmas feast!

 

The real reason that we joyfully celebrate Christmas is the birth of God's only Son, born of a virgin, in the town of Bethlehem.  His name is Jesus.

We offer a prayer of thanksgiving unto our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.   

Thank you Lord for Your love and Your blessings that we experience every single day of our lives.  Without You, we would be nothing.  We praise You because You are the Messiah, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Prince of Peace.  

We thank you for Your guidance, Your healing, Your provision, Your protection, Your mercy and Your forgiveness.  We glorify You and pray that we can live our lives each day in a spirit of faith, love, kindness, generosity and thanksgiving, spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ and showing Your love to the world.

 

Luke 2: 1 - 14

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree

from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

² (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)

³ And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

⁴ And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea,

unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem;

(because he was of the house and lineage of David:)

⁵ To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

⁶ And so it was, that, while they were there,

the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

⁷ And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes,

and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸ And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,

keeping watch over their flock by night.

⁹ And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them,

and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

¹⁰ And the angel said unto them, Fear not:

for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

¹¹ For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

¹² And this shall be a sign unto you;

Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

¹³ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host

praising God, and saying,

¹⁴ Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

 

Copyright 2013, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

 

If You Need Healing........

  

Isaiah 53:5 

 

But He was wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities:

the chastisement of our peace was upon Him;

and with His stripes we are healed.

 

Photo Copyright 2013, Curtis and Norma Beaird.  All rights reserved.  

Prayer.......The Heart's Deepest Longing

 

Article by Curtis Beaird

Photography by Norma W. Beaird

 

Pray, prayer, praying.   Deep in our soul, we hear it.   A faint voice on the other side of silence calls.  It is a voice that nudges us toward answering; but, we think we must first try to figure out how to pray.  That is a predictable response.   

One of Jesus disciples seeing Him pray said,   

"Lord, teach us to pray...…" Luke 11:1

Our need to talk to God is great.  It is native to us.   An approachable God who cares is assumed within our desire to pray.   Like the genetics that gives us our eye color, our spirit recognizes The Voice.  It is both a familiar and persistent voice.  We recognize the sound as a compelling invitation. 

But, how?   How do I respond?   How do I pray? 

The attractive possibility that the God who spoke the sun, the moon and the stars into existence might hear and respond to us, sends us, unlike the disciple quoted earlier, scrabbling for The Three Keys, The Seven Steps, The Best Method or The Four Secrets of Prayer.

Huh?  Where did all of that come from?  What are all these steps, keys and methods about?  There is a great gulf fixed between something called The Seven Secrets of Prayer and Jesus’ clear response to his disciples simple request, “Lord teach us to pray."

Instead of life-giving prayer......   Instead of the ebb and flow of the living relationship expressed in conversation with God, we’ve hooked our hopes to a method or a system of praying that soon wears thin. 

Unwittingly, we turn prayer, a conversation with God about the core needs of living our lives, into a problem to solve or a system to understand and explain.   A series of convoluted steps replaces Jesus simple beginning, "Our Father which art in heaven."

The Father with the Holy name.  The One with the will and capacity to create the delicate lily, a child’s smile and a kingdom worthy of Heaven, and necessary to earth, can be spoken to. He can be addressed directly.   So, speak to Him.  “Our Father…...”    Instead, we fumble with getting the steps right.    Result?   Our prayer becomes routine.

Our effort to manage the latest prayer method replaces the simple and most basic request, “Give us this day our daily bread.”   While our table may be full, our spirits are famished.   Our need for the bread of life is as great as our need for an improved diet.   Tinkering with a system of prayer focuses our attention away from the God that cares enough about us to know our needs before we ask.”   Result?   Prayer becomes boring. 

Our effort to decode some book on the secrets of prayer leads us to miss the obvious.   There are no secrets.  Jesus’ model, “Forgive us our sins…..”   is about as straight forward as it gets.   Guilt is debilitating and confining.  

The pain pushes us to seek the freedom of forgiveness.  

According to Jesus, four words forms the basic request,

   “Forgive us our sins…..”  

However, if we lose ourselves wandering around in the fog of prayer secrets, we miss the gift we seek  - forgiveness.   Result?   Prayer becomes a doubtful practice. 

The effort involved in fiddling with the Keys to Prayer leads us away from a pair of clear requests that Jesus instructs us to make of God the Father. 

1.  "Lead us not into temptation..…” 

2.  “Deliver us from evil..…” 

Jesus knew temptation and evil were both a demanding presence.   They will rip life apart.  He clearly teaches that we can ask to be lead away from temptation and freely request to be delivered from evil.  If we spend prayer time sorting through a set of prayer keys, we can miss the leading and the deliverance.   The result is simple.   We quit praying.

The best teacher on prayer is Jesus.

Follow His lead and the the response to the request.   “Lord teach us to pray”  is but a few words in length and accessible to all. It sounds like this:

Our Father which art in heaven ........hallowed be Thy Name.

 

Matthew 6: 7 - 13

King James Version

⁷ But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.

⁸ Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.

⁹ After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

¹⁰ Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

¹¹ Give us this day our daily bread.

¹² And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.

¹³ And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

 

Copyright 2013, Curtis Beaird.  All rights reserved. 

Woodpeckers, Cool Hair and Answered Prayer

 

 Photography and Article by:

 Norma W. Beaird

 

When we think about prayer and how God answers prayer requests, we usually don't realize that the Lord cares about the simplest request as much as He cares about the big requests.  In many situations, we think about prayer requests in relation to sickness, passing a test or financial needs. 

So many times, we discount the fact that God cares about every facet of our lives, to include our creativity, our gifts, talents and abilities. 

Curtis and I love bird and nature photography, but we especially love birds.  Since we began photographing these entertaining little creatures, we have discovered a new joy that God places in front of us every single day. 

We're attempting to document as many different species of birds as possible in the state of Georgia.  During the summer, we had a blast photographing the Red-Bellied Woodpecker as he and the Blue Jay took turns making raids on the peanuts.  The Red-Bellied Woodpecker was a common visitor to our yard during the Spring and Summer, but we had seen pictures of a gorgeous Pileated Woodpecker with an amazing red hairdo.  I began to pray for the Lord to send a Pileated Woodpecker for us to photograph for our website. 

To give you some history.........I was raised in a Pentecostal Church and attended a Southern Baptist School from the time I was in first grade until I graduated from high school.  If there was one thing I was taught, it was the power of prayer.  My grandmother was a lady of great faith who firmly believed in prayer.  Her unwavering faith in God, her prayer life and her devotion to the study of the Scriptures resulted in her divine  healing of rheumatoid arthritis.  She prayed to God for her healing, and the Lord miraculously healed her.  Therefore, the prayer of faith was ingrained into me.   There is power in prayer.  This leads me to continue the story about my simple prayer request to see a bird. 

We had really hoped that one of these huge and magnificent Pileated Woodpeckers would show up in one of the pecan trees.  I had prayed and asked God to send us one of these amazing birds.  One cold and cloudy day, I said, "Lord, I wish you would send me a Pileated Woodpecker!"  After I said this, I went back to my computer that sits in front of a window facing some pecan trees in the front yard.  About a minute later (if that long), I saw this huge bird land on the pecan tree.  He was so large that I knew it had to be a Pileated Woodpecker. 

I grabbed the camera, very carefully stepped outside so that I wouldn't startle the bird.  As I stepped outside, I quietly prayed, "Lord, please don't let this bird be scared of me or fly away!"  As I focused the camera, this Pileated Woodpecker literally put on a show for me.  It was absolutely incredible.  It was as though this woodpecker was in a portrait studio.  Not only did we see a Pileated Woodpecker, we saw a female woodpecker  who posed like a paid New York model!  God had answered my prayer!

God cares about our needs and desires......

no matter how big, small or medium-sized the prayer request

Sometimes as Christians, we go through life thinking that the prayer request is too much to ask.  There are times when we think our needs or desires are silly, or that it's too small of a request.  We attempt to "box God in", instead of letting Him be GOD.  The Lord is our Creator.  He is the Creator of things both small and great, the fowl of the air, the fish of the sea.......and us.  There is nothing too difficult for God to do.  No request is too great or too small.  He made us, He loves us and He is God. 

God answers prayer in the most incredible way.  Sometimes He says "Yes", sometimes He says "No" and sometimes He is quiet !  Sometimes He answers immediately and there are times when we must have patience and wait upon the Lord. 

On this particular day, God gave me the desires of my heart within a few seconds and I praise Him for this precious little miracle pecking on the old pecan trees in the front yard.  Not only did we get a picture of a Pileated Woodpecker, we got a picture of a bird with "cool hair".  And, to think that people spend plenty of money on hair color and gel to get woodpecker hair that would rival a lead singer in a rock band!

In King David's Book of Psalms:

Psalm 37:4

Delight thyself also in the Lord:

and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

The Lord loves us and wants to have communication with us, even if it's something as small as a prayer request to see a certain species of bird.   He is the Creator of all things great and small.  He loves us, He loves his Creation and He takes great pleasure in watching His children enjoy this beautiful world that He created.  So, no matter the prayer request, big or small, take it to the Lord in prayer.  He loves you and He cares.

 Philippians 4:6

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

 

 Copyright 2012, Norma W. Beaird.  All rights reserved.