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The Parrot Who Talked Too Much — and Outlived Everyone — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —

Most parrots learn a polite “hello” and spend the rest of their lives screaming it at the mailman. But not Puck. Puck was the heavyweight champion of bird banter, the undisputed parrot prodigy, the feathered freak of the dictionary world. By the end of his life, this pint-sized chatterbox had racked up 1,528 words — more than most toddlers, and let’s be honest, more than a few adults whose vocabulary has been whittled down to “dude,” “literally,” and “no worries.”   If you tried to tea

dljbsp

dljbsp in Nature

Life in the Blood Belongs to Jehovah — a Scriptural Consideration —

As the Supreme Lawgiver, Jehovah has consistently conveyed clear laws to his people (Isaiah 33:22). One of the most tender and solemn is his command about blood. Why? Because Jehovah himself says that blood represents life — a gift so sacred it cannot be replaced. “The life of every sort of flesh is its blood” (Leviticus 17:14, NWT).   That truth is not abstract. It touches us in the most vulnerable of places. A waiting room. A hospital bed. The rustle of papers as a doctor explains a

iFun1.0

“No resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” — Isa. 33:24.   Picture the moment: Armageddon ends, silence like the pause after thunder, and then the world exhales. Someone blinks twice, takes off their glasses, realizes they can see every pine needle on a distant hill. Another tosses crutches into the air — they clatter like cymbals on pavement — while wheelchairs roll away, riderless, like shopping carts nobody needs anymore. Hearing aids buzz once, then are flicked into drawers that will nev

dljbsp

dljbsp in Fun!

Guarded Hearts, Pure Devotion — a Scriptural Consideration —

As the Supreme Lawgiver, Jehovah has consistently conveyed clear laws to his people (Isaiah 33:22). Among them are his high moral standards, designed not to restrict us but to preserve our dignity, our joy, and our friendship with Him. “Let marriage be honorable among all, and let the marriage bed be without defilement” (Hebrews 13:4, NWT).   Yet the struggle is real. Desire often comes quietly, uninvited, slipping in through a glance, a memory, or a screen. The apostle Paul used stron

Passengers in the Current — And the God Who Carries Us — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —

We think of blood as red. Red with hemoglobin, red with the iron-rich buses that load oxygen in the gills and carry it faithfully to every waiting cell. That color, that transport, is so much a part of our picture of life that it seems unimaginable without it.   But in the frozen seas around Antarctica swims a creature whose blood doesn’t just run cold — it runs clear. The icefish has no hemoglobin, so no buses to transport the oxygen. Instead, oxygen drifts into the plasma, a molecule

Riding the Invisible Sky — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —

Picture a spider no bigger than a freckle, climbing to the tip of a blade of grass. It pauses, raises its front legs, and releases a thread of silk. The strand doesn’t just float on the breeze. It shivers, stretches, and suddenly carries the spider into the air. The tiny passenger is gone — not just drifting on wind, but sailing on something deeper.   Many who ride the air this way are spiderlings — baby spiders that hatch from a silken egg sac already looking like miniature adults. Do

Learning Without Scars -- a Scriptural Consideration --

The popular idea is: “You’ll learn when you make enough mistakes.” But scripture paints a different picture. Jehovah does not want us bruised and broken before we gain wisdom. He urges us to listen, to be taught, to avoid needless pain.   “By means of your orders I behave with understanding. That is why I hate every false path” (Psalm 119:104, NWT). Here the psalmist didn’t say, I learned by crashing into sin again and again. He said, I learned because I listened to Jehovah’s orde

Black for a Reason — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —

Natural rubber doesn’t begin life as a tough, black tire. It starts much softer—tapped from the slender bark of the Pará rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) as a milky latex. In its raw form, it appears pale—white or creamy—with subtle shades of yellow or brown depending on natural compounds like proteins or resins present in the latex (Rubber Board India).   Look even deeper, and you discover an astonishing truth: the very trees that provide this latex are themselves built from carbon. W

The Strength Within — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 12 of 12

A dozen eggs. The carton is full now. If you’ve followed along, you’ve seen it quietly change — one egg, then two, then three — until today, twelve. Maybe you noticed the count, maybe you didn’t. But here it is, complete. And isn’t that how Jehovah works? What He builds isn’t always loud or obvious — but it is steady, it is sure, and in time, it is whole.   Look closer at the eggs themselves. They appear fragile, as if a careless touch could ruin them. And yet the shell, with its gentl

The Bantam’s Gift — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 11 of 12

Not every chicken is built the same. Some are made for laying — dependable, almost mechanical in their rhythm. A Rhode Island Red or a White Leghorn can fill a carton with eggs faster than you can make an omelet. But ask them to brood? To sit faithfully and bring those eggs to life? Forget it. They’ll wander off the nest, distracted, bored, moving on before the work is done.   Then there’s the bantam hen. She doesn’t lay many eggs, and what she does lay are smaller. But give her a clut

What is it Called?

Scrambling for my phone in the dark to check the latest news or post has unfortunately become a habit in the early hours of my mornings.  This morning squinting, without my glasses I try to make out the notification. Melissa* called about 10:00 pm, no voicemail. Melissa is, I'm gonna say a young sister, though she's just younger than me. She was the cute lil flower girl in my wedding. My pretend daughter that would sit on my lap during the meetings. Now, she's in her 40's,  baptized and out

The Brooding Lesson — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 10 of 12

If you’ve never raised chickens, the word brooding might sound gloomy, like a stormy mood. But in the barnyard, brooding means something tender and remarkable. It’s when a hen, after laying her clutch of eggs, settles herself over them, wings spread, body heat steady, eyes watchful. She gives herself to the task of bringing life forward.   Here’s the part I didn’t know until I first researched it: a hen lays about one egg per day, and she won’t begin brooding until her nest is nearly c

“The Sky Isn’t the End” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 9 of 12

“The Sky Isn’t the End” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ —   For most birds, flight isn’t the finish line. It’s the starting point.   The chick grows. It hatches. It walks. It learns to fly — and we cheer, because that feels like the goal. The summit. The release. But flight is only the beginning of a much greater journey.   Now come migrations. Now come storms. Now come hunger, risk, and the wide unknown.   A bird must learn to trust the wind — to ride t

Beyond the Nest — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 8 of 12

The day comes when the nest is behind them. Wings spread, the young bird glides into a world it has only watched from above. The first moments are clumsy — wingbeats uneven, balance still learning its rhythm. But the sky does not scold; it simply receives the bird, giving it space to try, to adjust, to find its strength.   It’s a truth written into creation: leaving the nest isn’t about perfection — it’s about readiness. A fledgling that hesitates forever will never discover what those

The Waiting Curve — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 7 of 12

In the quiet, a curve begins. The light falls so that part of the eggshell shines while the rest disappears into shadow — smooth, unbroken, but hidden from view. You know the rest of it is there, even though you can’t see it yet. Life works like that.   Chick development follows its own curve — what biologists call an S-curve. It starts slow, almost nothing to notice at first. Then, in the middle, there’s a sudden surge of change — feathers forming, organs finishing, movements beginnin

“Not All Birds Hatch Alike” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 6 of 12

Some are born ready to run.   Others are born needing help.   In the bird world, it’s called the precocial–altricial divide. Precocial (pree-KOH-shul) chicks — like chickens, ducks, and quail — hatch with eyes open, downy feathers, and enough strength to walk within hours. They eat, drink, and explore almost immediately.   But altricial (al-TRISH-ul) birds — like robins, sparrows, and doves — hatch helpless. Eyes closed. Skin bare. Heads wobbling. They can’t regulat

“When the Chick Teaches the Turkey” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 5 of 12

It sounds like the start of a joke.   A chick walks into a brooder full of turkeys…   But it’s not a punchline — it’s poultry science.   On some farms, newly hatched chicks are placed alongside young turkeys to teach them how to live. Turkeys are a little slower to figure things out. They may not instinctively find food or water, and they sometimes need guidance just to respond to their surroundings.   But a chick? A chick comes ready. Curious. Energetic.

And so it Begins...

Just start writing....?   I feel like I'm starting with no real guide, no confidence in the quality.  Someone please give me the arrows to follow. Draw the dotted lines for me to trace.  Show me how to make an A, B, C. Let me perfectly cut it out. Or color in the space and not go outside the lines.   Then you judge it. Will you see where my hand slipped, where I didn't hold the pencil just right?  Of course you will. How could you not?   What if

ChrisW

ChrisW in Musing #1

When Harm Becomes Healing

Sometimes harm feels permanent. A cruel word that echoes for years. A betrayal that steals peace. A loss that leaves the chest hollow and aching.   What if—without erasing the pain—Jehovah could weave the very threads of harm into something good? Joseph saw that happen. “Although you meant to harm me,” he told his brothers, “God intended it to turn out well and to preserve many people alive, as he is doing today.” (Genesis 50:20)   And yet—before the ending was

“Born Independent, Still Protected” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 4 of 12

She doesn’t feed them. She doesn’t have to.   By the time a chick hatches, it’s ready to eat on its own. Everything it needs for those first few days was packed inside the egg — including a yolk sac the size of a marble, drawn into its body just before hatching. That tiny reserve fuels the chick’s first steps into the world. Strong. Capable. Unshaken.   But don’t confuse that independence for abandonment.   The hen doesn’t hover because she’s uninvolved. She’s

“Ready from the Start” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 3 of 12

No fanfare. No rehearsal. Just… go.   That’s the chick’s first experience of life outside the egg. One minute it’s tucked in a fluid-filled shell, surrounded by quiet and warmth. The next, it’s up on its feet — blinking, peeping, and pecking at the ground as if it’s been practicing for weeks.   There’s no training class.   No feeding tutorial.   No “how to breathe air” orientation.   And yet, within hours, this little creature knows how to do eve

“The 21-Day Countdown” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 2 of 12

It’s always 21.   Not 19. Not 24.   Twenty-one days from the time the egg is laid to the moment the shell breaks open. It doesn’t matter if the chick is hatched in a barn, in a forest, or in an incubator under a lightbulb in someone’s basement — the rhythm doesn’t change.   But how does the chick know?   There’s no calendar inside the egg. No alarm clock. No coaching. No voice saying, “It’s time.”   And yet, somewhere deep in that unseen place wh

“Before the Shell” — a Glimpse of Wonder entry™ — The Waiting Curve - Series 1 of 12

An egg is so familiar, it’s easy to forget what it is — and what it isn’t.   It isn’t the beginning.   We say, “life begins inside the egg,” but by the time that egg takes shape, life is already underway. Fertilization doesn’t happen inside the shell. It happens earlier — internally, within the hen. Before a single layer of shell begins to form, a microscopic joining of cells has already set the process in motion.   By the time we ever glimpse the smooth surface of

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