I am sitting here listening to the birds. I’ve got a momma bird on the front porch with four babies in the nest, and a new bird has set up housekeeping on the back porch in the nest that just recently was vacated by four other babies. There have been three different types of birds in those nests this year and I feel like we are running a birdie birthing center.

Wait. Hang on a second. I’ll be right back.

Okay. I’ve just returned from commotion on the front porch, where one of those babies fled the nest and landed on the front step. Which is basically equivalent to wearing a neon sign that reads: FREE CAT FOOD. Because my man knows that I love those little birds, he calmly opened the door and gave it a little nudge to see if it could actually fly, or if it had just been shoved out by its siblings. All it took was the slightest touch and off he flew, gaining some elevation the longer he went until he was just a speck in the sky. Now, at least, if Milo eats him I won’t have to know about it.

Frankly, when I started this post, I didn’t have a single thing to say. I typed in “No Words” as a title because I really didn’t have any. But I stopped and listened and started typing about the first thing that entered my ears, and really, that how to hone your noticing skills.

I’ve become an observer of life. While this is something that comes fairly naturally to me, and I’ve always noticed the world around me, I’ve been trying to be even more intentional about it. There is something interesting happening all the time, and more than that, it keeps me from letting my focus camp out on myself.

There is nothing that will hang you up more than solely focusing on yourself and your mess.

So, stop what you’re doing and listen. Look. See the simple and the profound right in front of you. Having words isn’t always necessary, if you’ll just start noticing the world God’s given you. When you do, your mind and heart will soar like a tiny bird with new wings.

“Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you.” Proverbs 4:25 ESV