The Great Outdoors!

This morning as I was reading about Abraham
 and studying what the Bible has to say about "HOPE",
a few words jumped off the page at me.
When God talked to  Abraham,
HE TOOK HIM OUTSIDE, 
and said 
"Look up at the sky..."
Genesis 9:22

Those words,
 "HE TOOK HIM OUTSIDE",
made me think of how many times God ministers to me
and restores my soul by taking me outside!

God often calls our attention to things in the world
that He has made and takes care of,
and reminds us to
"Look at the birds of the air;
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they?"
Matthew 6:26

In the book of Job,
God does not explain why Job went through all his troubles,
but in Job chapters 38 and 39,
He simply calls Job's attention to nature.
His language is picturesque...
even mentioning He is the one who
"sets the wild donkeys free"!
Job 39:5

Last night my friend TJ and I went for a walk 
just before the sun set.
"No matter how stressed I am," TJ said,
"I always feel better
 when I get outside and go for a walk."

So maybe you might want to
GO OUTSIDE TODAY
and see what God has to show you!
He said,
"And you will seek Me and find Me,
when you search for Me with all your heart."
Jeremiah 29:13

Maybe, like my friend TJ, you'll find it does you good!

I know it certainly helps me to go outside...

It seems to help me see God in nature,

feel His presence near me,

and remind me of His promises.

Happy Fall!

Thanks for dropping by!

Although I've been marveling at many wonderful Names for God,

I don't have a new one posted this week.

You might find one that meets your need by perusing them all

in my new format at Rock4Today!

Pig Roast Tradition

We had just had a big rain,

and "Flash Flood" warnings had been issued.

My husband and I were going down to the river

to see if it had risen very much

when I saw this sign:

We stopped by the little community church,
and found the Chris Wyatt family hard at work!

The storm had knocked out electricity at their home,
but it didn't keep them from coming down to the church
to prepare the annual feast which they do for the rural community
the third weekend of every September.

As soon as Cindy had the food prepared and packaged in foil,
their son carried it down to be put in the barbecue smoker
where it would cook for a few hours.

...And in it went!
Despite the protective gloves,
with each "offering" placed in the fire,
I think a little hair was singed off Chris's arms!

While the cooking process was under way,
my husband and I made our way on down
the beautiful tree-lined drive to the river.

The Buffalo River was definitely up at Woolum,
and some campfire sites were under water. 

Returning to the pig roast,
we asked if there was anything we could do to help.

"More ICE for the drinks," was the answer.

Stories were swapped
while waiting for the food to be done.

We hadn't been back long
when people started arriving,
bringing their food contributions and lawn chairs.

Logger Gary Dean,
 a "pillar" in the little community church,
 not only helped with the barbecuing,
but also brought some of his wife's cooking.

The church yard quickly began to fill,
with everyone finding a spot to sit...

...Entertainment was provided by a local group
from a neighboring county.

Did you think you were seeing turkey
 instead of pork in some of those photos?
Well, you did!
 Both were served.
Cindy said there were quite a few people
who preferred turkey, so they started fixing both.
Chris said that in previous years they had done
the whole pig on a "spit",
but due to so much waste and increased cost
they had improvised their method of cooking.

And then the food was ready for all to enjoy!
...Two long tables full of it!

Galatians 5:13 says

"...Through LOVE, SERVE one another"

What a contribution this tradition of service is to this small Ozark community!

Many thanks to the Wyatts for starting and carrying on this custom!

Have you checked out my other blog?

You can find it by clicking on Names of God on Rocks!

When you get there, just click on any photo to see that post.

Thanks for stopping by!

"Stubborn Courage"

You may remember last year when I mentioned this mule
in a post I did about a trip to Wyoming.
Mules are known to be a bit stubborn...
But have you ever thought about stubbornness as a good thing?

Earlier this spring I was asked to give a talk
to our Compassionate Friends group,
and the title of my talk was
"STUBBORN COURAGE".

At the time I gave the talk,
I was grieving the affects of cancer
that appeared to be consuming the life of my sister.
A friend of mine had given me a book entitled
"A Tearful Celebration:
Finding God in the Midst of Loss"
by James Means.

Toward the end of the book the author used the term
"STUBBORN COURAGE",
and the words just seemed to jump off the page at me.
I began to write down thoughts about the subject.
Here are a few of them that I shared with our
local Compassionate Friends group.

STUBBORN COURAGE can be a gift from God
to keep us going when we feel like giving up.
It's hanging in there when you don't know
how to handle your feelings,
don't know what to do,
and don't even know how to pray!

STUBBORN COURAGE is a determination
to keep on going even when you feel like God has failed you,
and He hasn't met your expectations.

STUBBORN COURAGE grows my ability to trust God again,
even if He doesn't answer my prayers the way I want.
In the process, He molds my character,
and makes me more understanding of others.

STUBBORN COURAGE helps me to determine to
take control of negative thoughts that would try to get me down.
A counselor friend of mine says,
"You may not be able to control your emotions,
but you CAN control your thoughts,
and your thoughts can change your emotions."
Philippians 4;6-9 tells us not to be anxious,
but to think on good and lovely things,
and then God restores our peace.

STUBBORN COURAGE is putting one foot in front of the other,
trusting God,
muddling through difficulties and challenges,
and then looking back and seeing that God was there all the time!
It was God who dried our tears.
It was God who gave us the strength to go on
when we felt like we could go no further.
It was God who put a friend in our path,
someone to put their arms around us
or give us an encouraging word or smile.
It was God who gave us the courage to HOPE again,
and to DARE TO BELIEVE in His goodness.

Meet my friend Jim Davis,
a cancer survivor,
who lives to encourage
other cancer victims.

In my opinion,
he is someone who exemplifies
STUBBORN COURAGE.

One of his quotes is:
"...Milk the life out of every breath
until the last one comes"!
You can find out more about his story HERE.


Thanks for stopping by!
I hope this post on STUBBORN COURAGE is an encouragement to you.
Many thanks to my husband's cousin,
(and also my friend)
who reminded me of a promise to do this post!
Here it is, Sharon!

Don't forget to check out my Names for God on Rocks
on Rock4Today!

Getting Gruff on Graffiti!

The big granite rock had been defaced!

It changed the climate of my childhood beach!

The "Big Rock" was a well-known and well-loved fixture - 

not only to our family,

 but also to the entire small Canadian community who still live near here.

It was large enough to block the chilly wind that came off the lake,

and to give shelter when hovering around campfires

while roasting marshmallows and hot dogs.

The Canadian lake water was often extremely cold, so after a swim,

 if we didn't have a fire to chase away the chill bumps off our bodies,

 we could climb on the rock to soak up some of its stored up warmth from the sun.

So, recalling these pleasant childhood memories,

it was distressing on our recent visit to find graffiti painted on the rock.

My younger sister suggested a plan for removing it.

Her husband bought us some "Graffiti Remover".

Taking her grandchildren with us,

we went to work!

Her granddaughter tackled the smaller rock.

Her grandson was our "water boy",
bringing us the necessary liquid to do our cleaning.

Little by little we could see our progress.

Breaks were needed for a little skipping of rocks...

...or demonstrating the skill of underwater handstands.

It was hard to keep flip-flops on while doing the stunts!

Back to work...

Great job!
And the kids were ready to head back to Grandma's house!

Maybe we didn't get all the graffiti off,
but we made good memories,
and the partial restoration of the lake scene was worth the hard work!

Thinking about that big rock, reminds me of another ROCK

and a song:

"On Christ the Solid Rock I stand...

All other ground is sinking sand..."

Speaking of  ROCKS,

have you checked out my most recent Rock4Today

which features the Names of God on Rocks?

(Click on the highlighted link above to take you there.)

Skewed Visual Perception!

As the mountains of the Glacier National Park came in sight,
my excitement mounted.

Getting nearer the Park,...
Gary laughed at me when I thought these might be wild horses...
Well, they could have been...
After all, this was Montana...

The views were beautiful...

...Until the clouds began rolling in.

From moment to moment the weather changed...

But that wasn't all...
I discovered something about myself.
At times I have skewed visual perception.
I was certain that we were going downhill instead of uphill!

When no one was behind us, my husband put the truck

 in neutral gear to show me

that we would roll backwards.

So odd!!!

It had happened to me before when we visited
Spearfish Canyon in the Black Hills.
On a recent visit  there Gary did the same thing,
and immediately the truck began to roll backwards.
He reasoned with me,

showing me the streams of water

and lovingly pointed out the fact that the creeks don't run uphill!
This made me feel like I was really losing it!
(Click on the highlighted letters to see a post of our visit
to Spearfish Canyon two years ago)

Maybe it had something to do with the way
 the rock formations were beside the road,
whether they were slanted or straight up and down...
...because this looked uphill to me...

...And this was shortly verified by the sign
which denoted the elevation!

The temperature outside had dropped down to 41* F.
With the wind and rain, it felt REALLY CHILLY!

Coming back down the mountain,
we caught a little glimpse of the Jackson Glacier
between cloud bursts of rain.

This wrong perception on my part
of the uphill/downhill thing
made me think about how easy it is for us
to get a wrong perception of Scripture facts as well.
Fortunately, like my husband, God gently shows us
when we have wrong thinking!
He says in Isaiah 1:18:
"Come now, and let us reason together...
Though your sins are as scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool."

And in Luke Chapter 15 He tells us over and over
how He not only reasons with us,
but looks for us and pursues us.
I'm glad He doesn't let us stay where we are
with our skewed up perceptions and messed up thinking!


And, in case you are worried about me,
please don't!
If I have continued weird symptoms,
I'll go see a doctor and get checked out!


Speaking of checking out something,
have you dropped by Rock4Today lately
to see what Name of God I have posted?

Alumni... Alumnus... Alumna???

According to a popular education site on line:

"We used to have “alumnus” (male singular), “alumni” (male plural), 

“alumna” (female singular) and “alumnae” (female plural)...

Many avoid the whole problem by resorting to the informal abbreviation “alum.”

Well, anyway, I am a graduate from Prairie College,

formerly known as Prairie Bible Institute.

On a recent visit my husband and I were privileged to be given a tour
by Director of Student Development Shannon Weiss.

Old Prairie grads that have not been back to visit for awhile

might enjoy taking the "virtual tour" as seen

through the lens of my camera!

This impressive building
 (which is named after founder L.E. Maxwell)
 immediately caught my eye.

And that is where we met our "Tour Guide".

Many changes had taken place
 with the passing of time
since I was a student.

It was a pleasant surprise to find some things much the same.
...like the dining hall.
 Although it had a new name...

...Inside it looked very familiar...

...Like this verse that remains over
the kitchen doors.

Inside the kitchen
memories swirled in my mind.
I could almost imagine Mr. Geiger
with his white apron,
standing beside one of those large kettles.
stirring up
some of the delicious soups he used to make!

I missed the tabernacle...
Age and deterioration
had forced its retirement and demolition.
But here in the little chapel
I felt a sense of peace,
a place where students could come
and quietly spend time with God.

The stained glass windows added to the atmosphere.

The old dormitories that I used to live in were gone.
How fitting for the new buildings to be named
after two ladies who gave their lives to
teaching music and Bible!

But wait!
Look at the building on  the right...
Could that be the old gymnasium
where I spent countless hours
as a gym teacher?
(Two years as a student teacher,
and one year on staff.)

Yes, I recognize this place!
Many memories... exercise classes... friendships..
intense volleyball games... basketball games...
and sore muscles!!!
Now a profitable thrift store!

The old motto was still there!

Do you recognize this building?

...Or how about this one?
Could that be the old music building?
Or was it "A" Domitory,
where I stayed the year I was on staff?

Programs have changed so much since my graduation!
The addition of flight school and nursing are two of the major changes I noted.
As stated on Prairie's website,
"Prairie is a leading Canadian Christian post-secondary institution
 that integrates applied education, biblical literacy & spiritual formation
 in order to equip students to help address
some of the world’s greatest needs."

I bet you were wondering how many years have gone by 
since I attended this school..
It's been 48 years!
I'm happy to see the changes that have occurred. 
I would have loved to have been in the nursing program...
Well... I think I would have,
 BUT
maybe I wasn't ready then...
My husband has been used by God to build my confidence.
It took him a few years to convince me that I could become a nurse
when I didn't think it was possible.
I had two children and a third on the way when I graduated
from nursing school here in Arkansas!
As it says in Ecclesiastes
God brings about beautiful things in His time!

Do you have unfulfilled goals?
It's never too late to see what God can do!

To check out my other blog, 
CLICK HERE
to take you to "Rock4Today"
featuring the Names of God on Rocks!