the honey bird

The Honey Bird.
I have called these little birds the honey birds because they are honey eaters. They love the Grevillea bushes.  Grevillea’s flower most of the year and so honey eaters have a supply of nectar for energy. 

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Washing down the sweetness.

The botanical name for these honey eaters is (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae). . The New Holland Honeyeater is black and white with a yellow patch on their wing and along the edge of their tails. These birds have a small white patch around their ear, white eyes and have small whiskers near their bill. Baby New Holland Honeyeaters look very different and are brown with grey eyes.  The long, curved beak these honeyeaters have are perfect for reaching deep into a flower to get to the sweet nectar inside. 
These honey eaters were dubbed New Holland Honey Eaters by the Dutch explorers who were the first to reach the shores of Australia. 

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Searching.

THE FIRST
Because these little birds were so plentiful and energetic, it was decided to name them after the Dutch homeland; New Holland Honey Eaters.  Phylidonyris novaehollandiae have a history of being the first birds to be named by Europeans.
As I write this article, I am watching one of these birds visiting each Grevillea flower and drinking in the nectar.  A larger bird of the honey-eater family is also working the flowers. The bush itself is aquiver with these birds all intent of feasting on the nectar.
My husband and I get so much pleasure from observing these birds, they have so much character.

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Drinking in the sweetness. Search out the Lord with all the heart God will reward with the sweetness of his presence.

PLEASANT WORDS
There is a verse in Proverbs about honey.  ‘Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.’
I am reminded that God’s Word is like honey,  sweet to the heart and mind and healing to body and soul. God ministers to us through his word and through Jesus the living Word.
Jesus came to bind up the broken hearted, proclaim freedom for captives and release those who feel imprisoned.
Jesus is the honey, the sweetness, the healing to our stressed hearts and minds. We need to reach out and commit to him with all our heart and allow him to turn our lives around. We will taste his sweetness, we will be satisfied just as the honey eaters. We will be energized as are the little birds.  

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sweet water. Jesus said if we drank of him we would never thirst again within ourselves

​THE SWEET LIFE
The little birds have to search for the sweetness; God says, ‘if you search for me you will find me’. Perhaps you think you have searched for God and didn’t find him. You need to search wholeheartedly. Search not with the idea of testing to see if God is there but commit to a real full scale search – you will find God and be rewarded.  Through Jesus his son you will taste the sweetness of life. 

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