The Sound of His Voice

What a wonderful time we had last week.  My beloved spoiled me with some of my favorite things as we celebrated 28 years of marriage on March 17th.  He let me stop many times and take photos of the wildflowers blooming along the roadside.

It's bluebonnet time in Texas

He let me make a stop at my favorite garden center in Fredericksburg and even purchase some things for my garden.

Wildseed Farms

 He patiently waited for me to take photos of all sorts of things.  Can you see his reflection in the ball, standing by while I am lost in the colors around me?

It's a birdbath!

He spent a day with me taking in the history of the area as we toured the mission trail.

Mission San Jose

Still in use- we could not go inside as they were preparing for a service

Mission Espada

One of the monks living here was quite the gardener

 I did not take a photo of the three men on guitars serenading everyone as they arrived.  They were there for the arrival of wedding guests.

Mission Concepcion

Remember the Alamo

Inside the Alamo courtyard 

He let me wander the King William historic district.

This is a little spot along the river walk that goes through this district 

He took me to the Botanical Gardens.

Rubber ducks in the fountain- what fun!

the orchid house

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Native Texas Trail

Ideas for my container garden

We got back to our Mini to find a family taking photos of "the twins."

He took me to the Mitchell Lake Audubon Center.

American White Pelican

Great Egret

not sure which sandpiper this is

American Coot

Pretty large snapping turtle in a deep hole

Northern Shoveler

new bird for me- Loggerhead Shrike

He took me out to dinner each night for some of my favorite foods.
And he even let me photograph him as we enjoyed dinner at a Thai restuarant.

And as we strolled along the river walk one night, taking it all in, I was reminded again how blessed I am to have a husband who is willing to listen to the sound of his wife's voice.  He hears me when I express what I like and don't like.  He even listens when I tell him which way to turn, even when it goes against his own instincts.  And I have to insert here that this provided a lot of humor to our time in San Antonio because for a change I was not the one constantly getting turned around.  We don't know how it happened, but I was spot on with directional challenges this trip.  (Which felt really good, by the way!)

One of the cds we had with us on this trip was Fernando Ortega's This Bright Hour.  I love that one and it got a lot of play time.  The last song is titled O Thou, In Whose Presence which has a line that got me to thinking: "Dear Shepherd, I hear, and will follow Thy call- I know the sweet sound of Your voice."  I have spent years trying to tune my heart to hear the dear Shepherd's voice.  Sometimes I think I am really just starting to be able to say, "I know the sweet sound of Your voice."  I thought about that a lot as we were driving along.  This morning as I did my daily Bible reading I was caught by the story of King Balak in the book of Numbers.  He was the king who called upon Balaam to curse Israel for him.  Time and time again though, Balaam only delivered blessings to Israel and this was really frustrating King Balak.  He was not hearing what he wanted to hear, while Balaam on the other hand kept saying, "This is the prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of the man whose eyes see clearly, who hears the words of God."  Balaam kept reminding the king that he would only speak what he heard from God and nothing else.  It made me wonder again about how well I listen, especially when I do no hear what I want to hear.

Grace, Peace, and Mercy,
Deb