Ghia – This Father’s Day, let’s talk about the Arms of God—both leafy green arms and feathered arms.

Hooray, GIA here.

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I'm this week's host of the Creative

Spiritual Journey podcast where Judy and I

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talk about those things that bring us joy.

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For me, I find joy by connecting

with nature, connecting with Jesus

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Christ and our heavenly parents.

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Seasonal living, and all the bits of magic

and wonder I come across while navigating

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this remarkable journey we call life.

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It's June.

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Can you believe it?

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Well, it's actually not June for

me because I'm recording this

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podcast before my trip to Africa.

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If all goes well, I should be flying

home on the day this comes out, but

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let me stick to the topic at hand In

May, I talked about Heavenly Mother for

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Mother's Day, so it seemed appropriate

to talk about Heavenly Father on

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Father's Day, way back in January.

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As I was making a rough podcast

schedule for the coming year, I had

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the thought that I should talk about

the arm of God for Father's Day.

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Honestly, I don't know where

that thought came from.

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The arm of God is not something I have

spent much time thinking or studying

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about, so I wrote it on my schedule,

wondering if I would really use it.

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And As I have said before, it's

almost impossible to differentiate

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between Heavenly Father and

Jesus Christ in scripture,

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which makes talking specifically

about Heavenly Father difficult.

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But we also know that Jesus Christ is

seen as our father if we are born again.

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So please forgive me if while

talking about God, our Father,

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I mingle all male gods together.

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So here's what I've got for Father's Day.

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I was looking into the

arm of God references.

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When lo and behold, I went to hear

my nephew's mission farewell and

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he talked about the arm of God.

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I was amazed.

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His talk was so good.

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I asked for a copy here

is what he said, quote.

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I also want to take a moment to discuss

the image of the arm of the Lord, which

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I have enjoyed thinking about recently.

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One of the reasons I love the Old

Testament is because of all the

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powerful demonstrations of God's

power often symbolized as his arm.

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His arm raised cities to the ground,

parted seas and destroyed armies.

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But amidst all that his arm is capable

of, we are reminded that it is his

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work and his glory to bring to pass the

immortality and eternal life of man.

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the ultimate demonstration of

his power is the atonement.

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His atonement.

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It was prophesied that the Lord God

will proceed to make bear his arm in

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the eyes of all the nations and bring

about his covenants and his gospel unto

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those who are of the House of Israel.

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His arms are the ones that

pulled Peter up from under the

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waves of the Sea of Galilee.

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They're the ones that clasped in

prayer as our savior took upon himself

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the sins of the world in Gethsemane.

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They are the ones that

were nailed to the cross.

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They are the same ones that are always

extended to support us against all

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the fiery darts of the adversary.

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The arm of the Lord's mercy is always

stretched out to those who will take it.

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End quote.

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How beautiful was that?

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And let me remind you, this was

a farewell, not a homecoming.

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Those are amazing words for a young man.

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His talk was so powerful.

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I cried through the whole thing,

so I jokingly told everyone I felt

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like I had just been to a funeral.

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But that is the arm of the Lord.

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Our Father, His arms raised cities.

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His arms hung on the cross and

his arms are held out to us.

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Now you might wonder what

else I could possibly add.

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Well, being who I am, I have two

slightly different ideas about the

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arm of God that I would like to share.

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The first one is in relation to

my most favorite recent discovery

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I mentioned in a previous podcast that

according to Google Maps, I live in close

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proximity to the largest tree in Utah.

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Who knew it's a cottonwood Cottonwoods

typically live around 70 to a hundred

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years, but some in ideal conditions

can live to be two to 400 years old.

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To my knowledge,

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No one knows the age of this tree,

but it has got to be on the high end.

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I love that I get to walk past this tree

almost every day, and I make a conscious

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effort to acknowledge it like a neighbor.

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Well, a couple of months ago, as the

trees in our valley were beginning

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to leaf out, I noticed that while

other cottonwoods were turning

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green, this giant cottonwood wasn't.

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And I'd wondered what this meant.

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Was this tree older and wiser and new,

it was better to wait longer before

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leafing out, or was the tree old and

tired and lacking the energy to leaf out?

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Hmm.

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One afternoon, as I was pondering

this question on my walk, I decided

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to pick a small branch off one of

the trees that was turning green.

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As I looked at it, I realized

that it wasn't green leaves I

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was seeing, but something that

looked more like green seeds.

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This caused me to look closer at the

branches of the giant Cottonwood, And

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I realized that what I had thought

were old brown leftover leaves from

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the previous year were actually a

completely different kind of seed pod.

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And when I was close enough and able to

pull down a branch, I discovered that

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the pods were actually a deep maroon.

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I was so excited as it dawned

on me that cottonwoods must

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have a male and female variety.

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I could hardly wait to

figure out which it was.

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Was my giant neighbor, male or female?

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What do you think?

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Can you take a guess?

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It turns out that the giant

cottonwood tree is male.

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It's male.

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I was so excited to learn this now

with its massive branches that look

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like arms waiting to give me a big hug.

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I think of this as my

Heavenly Father tree.

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It's interesting to note that in a

time when I have been clamoring for

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more connection with Heavenly Mother,

I have been so deeply touched by a

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closer connection with Heavenly Father.

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I.

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Okay.

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That is my arm of God tree experience.

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I have one more thing to share about

the arm of God, and that is as the

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arm of God relates to chickens.

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Yes, you heard me chickens.

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Not the coward or weakling kind of

chicken, but the poultry foul or

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feathered friend kind of chicken.

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Did you know that not only are

chickens very intelligent members

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of the bird family, they're also

affectionate and resourceful creatures.

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Let me share with you a few chicken facts.

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most of these I got from a writer

I love named Sai Montgomery.

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She has several small books about animals

including the soul of an octopus, the

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hummingbird's gift of thyme and turtles,

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and my recent favorite, what

the chicken knows to name a few.

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So did you know chickens are considered

to be a type of reptile, specifically

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descended from a group of dinosaurs

called oppos, which means that according

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to modern scientific classification,

a chicken is related to a crocodile.

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Amazing, don't you think?

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And that's just the beginning.

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Chickens are actually much

smarter than most people think.

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One sign of intelligence is their ability

to recognize themselves in a mirror.

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A lot of birds will attack a mirror

thinking the reflection is a rival.

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Roosters.

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On the other hand, stay neutral, but of

course neutral doesn't prove anything.

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It took a creative scientist

to come up with proof.

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This is how she did it.

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She let a rooster see other chickens

in the cage next door, and then

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played the sound of a predator.

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In this situation, a rooster will make

an alarm call to warn his friends.

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But if the predator call is sounded,

and all the rooster can see is his

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own reflection, he will stay quiet.

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Why send out an alarm when

he's the only one around?

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Smart chicken, don't you think

chickens can also remember the

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past and anticipate the future?

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In a different study, chickens learned

to peck a button for food, but more

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importantly, they learned that by

waiting they could get more food.

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Turns out the chickens waited for

extra food over 90% of the time.

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This takes an intelligent animal.

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The social lives of chickens

are equally impressive.

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Most people assume that when a chicken

is walking around clucking, that it is

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saying something like, I'm a chicken.

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I'm a chicken.

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And until recently, most

scientists would've agreed.

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The reality is chickens communicate

with at least 24 distinct calls

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each with its own meaning.

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There is actually a book

called How to Speak Chicken.

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It also turns out that chickens like

humans value relationships to them.

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These connections are extremely important.

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Researchers have figured out that

chickens can recognize and remember

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over a hundred other chickens.

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I'm sure that's way

better than I could do.

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But chickens also recognize people, and

they have been known to create distinct

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sounds or names for humans they know.

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Listen to these words from Sy Montgomery.

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I acknowledge that chickens

are different from us.

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They experience the

world in different ways.

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We can't imagine.

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They can see polarized light.

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They may hear in a different range.

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They can fly, they can think and

feel, but not always as we do.

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Unlike mammals, their bones are hollow.

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Their bodies filled with air sacks.

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They are creatures made less of flesh than

of air, and yet we share a fundamental

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talent, a need for companionship

and the capacity for affection.

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End quote.

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So did you just learn more about

chickens than you ever wanted to know?

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Are you wondering what my chicken

diatribe could possibly have to do

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with the arm of God and Father's Day?

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The answer is found in D and C 10

65 where it says, for behold, I

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will gather them as a hin gather

with her chickens under her wings.

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Isn't that a beautiful image?

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While the arm of God can raise cities,

part Cs and destroy armies, it can

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also gather us the same way the sweet

soft wings of a hen gathers her chicks.

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I love this image and knowing just

a little bit more about chickens

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makes it that much more powerful.

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In the Book of Mormon Nephi says,

behold, I am encircled about

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eternally in the arms of his love.

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Were those feathered

arms or leafy green arms

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I don't care either way, I'm happy.

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Judy and I know your time is precious

and that you have many choices.

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We love that you have chosen to

walk with us for a few minutes as

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we navigate this journey of life.

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If you like this podcast, will you take

the time right now to share it with a

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friend, share it somewhere on social

media, or leave us a five star rating.

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Your efforts will help the podcast make

a bigger impact in the world and will

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tell Judy and me that you like our show

and give us the motivation to keep going.

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Thank you in advance for your help.

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In closing, let me add the sign of a

truly great father is that his children

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come running into his open arms.

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Are you running?

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I am.

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Namaste,