The Call Note
I can honestly say that I don’t remember a time in my life that I didn’t love birds. It began when I was just a little girl.
I vividly recall the fascination of being outside with my grandmother, watching as she would carefully tear scraps of bread into tiny pieces and then toss them into the air, being mindful to evenly distribute them throughout her yard so “everyone can have some”. To her, the winged wonders were a glorious extension of God, and she was serving Him by feeding them. Early in life, I learned to look for beauty in their being, for grace in their glide, and for a Savior in their song.
The breadcrumbs provided visual imagery of the connection between the ministry of creation with Creator, and as the beautiful birds would come to feed, my heart would feast as well.
So, when God called me to write a book last year, it wasn’t a far stretch that He designed Miss Taken Identity: Come out of the cage and fly into freedom with seven birds to serve as “flight” attendants. To my great delight, the gentle sparrow, graceful swallow, misunderstood goose and magnificent peacock demonstrated how fear, apathy, malice and pride can be used by Satan to entrap us. In addition, the easily-overlooked raven, the easily-distracted magpie and the easily-mistaken mockingbird were examples for depression, comparison and words. As a bonus, the tender turtledove made a cameo appearance as the model for loyalty and single-minded devotion, being compared to Mary Magdalene. As breadcrumbs strewn throughout my grandmother’s yard were used to make a connection for me to the heart of The Father, He used sweet birds scattered throughout the pages of a beautiful book that He penned, all to connect my heart with yours. And I’m so grateful.
I’ve praised God over your testimonies of reading the book. Your victory over strongholds, lies that were exposed—then exchanged—for truth, and the beauty of discovering (or re-discovering) your true identity in Christ. I’ve laughed and I’ve cried right along with you as you’ve shared your heart with me through emails, text messages and social media posts. I’ve been honored and humbled, overwhelmed and positively undone over the work that Holy Spirit is doing in and through you. I gladly give Jesus all the glory and honor and praise, and I declare more to be done in His name! To this very moment, when I know someone is reading the book, I daily whisper your sweet name to Jesus as I pray. And as you celebrate your freedom, you are to me an exquisite illustration of a beautiful bird in flight. Your stories are breadcrumbs scattered among my heart—a glorious extension of the goodness of God that nourishes my soul in deep, deep places.
As a result, and by His design, I begin this blog, aptly and divinely entitled “The Call Note.”
We’re all familiar with the sounds of music made by birds—the songs we hear them sing are comforting, encouraging, inspiring and uplifting. But did you know that there’s another melodic message that birds bring? Yep—it’s a “call”. The difference while slight, is interesting. Songs are generally sung by males and are more complicated, with definite patterns when you listen.
By comparison, a call is simple and short, even at times just one syllable—or note–and are sung by females as well as males. Therefore, a “call note” is a simple message with a distinct purpose used by birds to communicate within their flock.
The different types of calls are as follows:
Alarm Call – to warn the others of predators or other danger
Contact Call – to keep in touch with the flock; to avoid separation or isolation
Flight Call – while in motion or on the go
Begging Call – to signal hunger or the need for assistance
As Father initiated and grew the connection between you and me, He made it very clear that the book is not a “one and done”—He is fashioning us into a flock, and I am positively giddy about it! If this year has taught me anything, it’s just how much we need one another. We can meet right here on “The Call Note” and walk together as The Holy Spirit communicates His purpose with simple messages, always grounded in the truth of Scripture.
It may be an alarm call to remind us though victorious in Jesus, we have a relentless enemy in active pursuit: “Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” - 1 Peter 5:8–CEB. How does a flock guard themselves against a predator? Together!
A contact call will allow us to keep in touch and to share great things about our great God. “We loved you so much that we shared with you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.” – 1 Thessalonians 2:8 –NLT.
Sometimes it will be a flight call – a quick devotion, or word of knowledge, or just a biblical mic drop: “Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.” – Proverbs 18:21-MSG
Finally, you may be like me, hungry for a word from The Word. It’s then we’ll have a begging call: “How He satisfies the souls of thirsty ones and fills the hungry with all that is good! – Psalm 107:9 -TPT
We’ll talk of life lived and lessons learned. Truth from God’s word will be spread around like breadcrumbs—so everyone can have some. Like my sweet grandmother, I sincerely believe I am serving Him by feeding you. I pray we feast together often.
-Love, Loni
