DONKEYS for a King?

Last week I was quite amused by our neighbor's donkeys. 

It was hard to tell if they were fighting or playing.

After looking closely at the photographs,
I decided that it was all in fun to them.

They nuzzled each other,
and appeared to be whispering secrets!

As I looked at the photos I had taken,

I thought about when Jesus rode a donkey...

Here it is from Luke Chapter 19 out of The Message:

28-31 After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, you’ll find a colt tethered, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”

32-33 The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, “What are you doing untying the colt?”

34 They said, “His Master needs him.”

35-36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

37-38 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

Blessed is he who comes,
    the king in God’s name!
All’s well in heaven!
    Glory in the high places!

39 Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

40 But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

(That last verse is the one that got me started painting God's names on rocks!)

Did you notice that the donkey had never been ridden?
Jesus the Master who could calm a troubled sea,
could tame an unbroken animal to ride instantly!

(If this photo looks familiar,
you may have looked at my
 Rock4Today with the Names of God on Rocks.)

When Jesus rode that donkey into Jerusalem,
the people were looking for A DELIVERER,
to free them from Roman rule.
Zechariah tells of this in Zechariah 9:9-10 from The Message:

“Shout and cheer, Daughter Zion!

    Raise the roof, Daughter Jerusalem!

Your king is coming!

    a good king who makes all things right,

    a humble king riding a donkey,

    a mere colt of a donkey.

...He will offer peace to the nations,

    a peaceful rule worldwide,

    from the four winds to the seven seas."

Because Jesus did not meet these expectations, 
they quickly turned from praising Him,
and were ready to crucify Him.

But the day they were looking for will come.
 Jesus will reign!

John tells about this in Revelation 5:12-13 NIV

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
    to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
    and honor and glory and praise!”

 Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, saying:

“To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb
    be praise and honor and glory and power,
for ever and ever!”

Candle Lighting Ceremony

It was my privilege to help with this quarter's newsletter for our area's Compassionate Friends.

May I share it with you?

The Compassionate Friends of the Twin Lakes Area

Quarterly Newsletter for October-December 2015

     

The Compassionate Friends Worldwide Candle Lighting unites family and friends around the globe in lighting candles for one hour to honor the memories of the sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren who left too soon. As candles are lit at 7:00 p.m. local time, hundreds of thousands of persons commemorate and honor the memory of all children gone too soon.

Now believed to be the largest mass candle lighting on the globe, the 19th annual Worldwide Candle Lighting, a gift to the bereavement community from The Compassionate Friends, creates a virtual 24-hour wave of light as it moves from time zone to time zone. TCF's WWCL started in the United States in 1997 as a small internet observance, but has since swelled in numbers as word has spread throughout the world of the remembrance. Hundreds of formal candle lighting events are held and thousands of informal candle lightings are conducted in homes as families gather in quiet remembrance of children who have died, but will never be forgotten.

*********************************************

Here's another way a family found to honor their loved one.

You can find this article in its entirety on her blogsite by clicking HERE.

From Jill persenaire Sullivan,

 Author of “While We’re Waiting”

Celebrating When the Guest of Honor is Absent

“Today I went birthday shopping for my daughter.

I went to Hobby Lobby and bought some fun fall decorating items, and even a "JOY" Christmas ornament.  

I found the cutest wooden block that says, "You are loved" ... and I just couldn't pass it up. I love the "present tense-ness" of it.

...That's all I'm going to get her this year, because I really don't know what else she might want.  You see, she'll be turning 24, and I haven't seen her or spoken to her since she was 17.  She was just a teenager then, interested in clothes and boys and American Idol and politics.  (Yes, politics.)

 …But, although my daughter is absent, she is not lost.  And she is not under that headstone.  She is where she was created to be ... I am the one who is out of place.

I can thankfully say that on a day-to-day basis, God has restored my joy and I do not grieve with the intensity that I once did.  But there are still days when the "missing" is enough to bring me to my knees, and birthdays are one of those times.

But God has given us a promise.  Isaiah 25:8 (ESV) says, "He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken."

Death will be swallowed up, the sting of tears will be wiped away, and I will see my Hannah again.  I just have to wait.”

*****************************************************

The Compassionate Friends of the Twin Lakes area wish you

A Joyous Christmas Season!

Monthly Meetings: 1^st Thursday of each month 6 to 8 pm, led by Charlotte Repp, LSW, Bereavement Coordinator

Location:  Hospice of the Ozarks Administrative Building (Behind hospital @ 701 Burnett Drive, Mountain Home, AR 72653)

Phone:  870-508-1789

Compassionate Friends Mission Statement:  “The mission of The Compassionate Friends is to assist families toward the positive resolution of grief following the death of a child of any age and to provide information to help others be supportive.”

NATIONAL ORGANIZATION:                               REGIONAL COORDINATOR (AR):

The Compassionate Friends                                         David and Dana Penn

PO Box 3696                                                                 Phone 870-759-1299

Oak Brook, IL 60522-4696                                          Email:  djdp32@hotmail.com

nationaloffice@compassionatefriends.org

www.compassionatefriends.org

COMPASSIONATE FRIENDS OF THE TWIN LAKES AREA

ADVISORY BOARD:  Esther Hunter and Steve Cushing

STEERING COMMITTEE:  Chapter Leader – Charlotte Repp

Co-Leader/publications – Jacqueline Grafton

Secretary – Jo Cushing

Treasurer – Norma Rollinger

Communications Coordinator – Lavon Lannoo

******************************************

A related post on The Compassionate Friends can be found by clicking

on the highlighted letters above.

Also, drop by Rock4Today sometime to check out

my Names of God on Rocks!

70 years of "Turkey Trot"

It had been several years since my husband
 had been to a "Turkey Trot" festival.

For 70 years the little town of Yellville, Arkansas
has hosted this event.
The smell of funnel cakes was in the air!

Live music...

...Funnel cakes...

Food of many varieties...

... Fried Twinkies!
...and more funnel cakes...

Many hand-made crafts...

...More funnel cakes...

And of course, Arkansas Razorback items!

So what does all this have to do with turkeys?

Well, check out our local newspaper's article on this by

clicking on The Baxter Bulletin!

And if you were looking for a bit more inspiration,

click on Names of God on Rocks!

Thanks for stopping by!

"Sukkot", Wagon Trains, and Thanksgiving!

Last weekend on a trip to the Buffalo National River,
we ran into some old friends from school days!
They were taking their mules down to the river for a drink,
and getting prepared for a covered wagon trip the next day.

They invited us to come watch them take off the next morning.
The sun was barely rising when we headed back to the river.

Some campers were still asleep,
and some had camp fires going, fixing breakfast.
The sun's rays were only beginning to hit the valley.
(Notice the hedge apples on the trees...
If one of them had fallen on their tent,
it probably would have awakened them!)

The crew we came to watch were not quite ready to leave...

...So we went on down to the river to wait,
and enjoyed watching the foggy mist in the early morning sun.

Finally, here they came!
We had been privileged to take a ride in that first wagon awhile back.
(The blog post on that can be found by clicking HERE.)

The wagons crossed at a shallow shoals upstream.
It looked like the trailing supply wagon stayed dry,
even though it had plastic to protect it if the water had been too deep.

The last wagon to come was the mule team...
"Dolly and Molly" were the names of the mules.
They appeared to be distracted,
and so did my husband.

Looking downstream,
I saw quite a little commotion!

The rider did a great job hanging on throughout the performance!

We detained the occupants of that last wagon a bit,
so they hurried to catch up with the group,
planning to camp together overnight before returning the next day.

I think this wagon camping trip has become a yearly tradition.

For some reason, it reminded me of how the Jewish people celebrate

"The Feast of Tabernacles", also called "The Feast of Booths",

or Sukkot, celebrated around this time of year.  

(Click on the colored letters for more information.)

The "Sukkot" was a hut built by the Israelis.

They would live in it for 7 or 8 days,

reminding themselves of when their people camped in the dessert

after their exodus from Egypt.

Moses gave instructions regarding this feast in Deuteronomy 16:14-15:

" You shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, 

your male servant and your female servant,

 the Levite, the sojourner, the fatherless, 

and the widow who are within your towns. 

 For seven days you shall keep the feast to the Lord your God 

at the place that the Lord will choose,

 because the Lord your God will bless you

 in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, 

so that you will be altogether joyful.

This feast also sounds a bit like our Thanksgiving

which we Americans celebrate in November.

Canadians, however, celebrate it in October...

and I believe their holiday is coming up next Monday.

So, HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you Canadians!

I'm still pondering on a Rock4Today,

so give me a little time I'll have a new post!

Eagles and hummingbirds!

This morning as I was driving home from the farm,

I spotted what looked like an eagle sitting on a roof-top!

I pulled off the side of the highway,
and grabbed a shot!

It wasn't very clear,
so I switched lenses,
and walked around to get a closer look.

Cars going by didn't seem to bother him...
But humans?
I guess that's a different story!

You many be tired of my hummingbird posts...
Sorry...
I remain so fascinated by them,
and still have a few hanging around my feeders.
Is this a male or a female?
At any rate, she or he is VERY aggressive...
and a bit chubbier than the male it was picking fights with!

They each had a feeder that they claimed...

...And fights would ensue if they tried to get nectar
from the "wrong" feeder!

One fight must have lasted at least 5 minutes!
Usually it's really hard to catch a good shot of them,
because they are so fast.

 

Their little bodies have been "bulking up"
for their flight further south,
and I guess the added weight slows them down a bit.

They are a good reminder to me

that I, too, can move better when I don't carry too much weight!

Hebrews 12:1-2 says,

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded

 by so great a cloud of witnesses, 

let us lay aside every weight, 

and the sin which so easily ensnares us,

 and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

 looking unto Jesus, 

the author and finisher of our faith, 

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, 

despising the shame, 

and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

James' Names!

James' Name For Himself...

In beginning a Bible study on the 
Book of James
I found it interesting that James calls himself
"A SLAVE OF GOD
and of the Lord Jesus Christ."

...And This is what James calls US!

"Dear Brothers and Sisters"
...TEN TIMES he calls us this 
in FIVE short chapters!

In my last post on Rock4Today,
I also noted that he called us
"God's Prized Possession".
(Click on the highlighted letters to take you to that post.)

These names were taken from 

The Book of James

in the New Living Translation.

I challenge you to do your own study!

I'd love to hear what God shows you!

Thanks for dropping by!

Hummingbirds again...

These little creatures keep me amused.
The clothes pins help show his size.

He used my make-shift clothes line
down on the farm to keep an eye on both feeders,
and would try to keep the nectar all for himself!

Such antics!

And this shot looks like he's "Saying Grace"
before taking a meal.

I just can't help but love those fiesty little hummingbirds!

Thank you, Lord, for making such interesting little creatures!

Actually, I think these are the females!

My apologies to Mrs. Hummingbird and family!

"B and B"

No...

I'm not talking about a "Bed and Breakfast"!

How about "Buffalo River" and "Bible Ladies"?

When my husband and I are down on the farm,

we often think of a few things we need from the small town of Marshall

that is 15 or 20 minutes away.

To get there, we drive through the Buffalo National River area.
With Labor Day only a week and a half away,
I thought the tourist season would still be booming.

...But the number of canoes spotted on the river was down.

While my husband did our shopping
I had a different goal in mind.
I went to visit two very special ladies.
who now live in a retirement home.

For many years they were known as "The Bible Ladies".

They went to many area schools and taught Bible stories and lessons.
"Flannel graph pictures" were used to bring the stories to life.

 

I was surprised to see one of my
"Names of God on Rocks"
sitting on their window sill!

Before they had finished their lunch,
my husband arrived.
Although the school I went to did not allow the Bible classes,
Gary had benefited from their teaching at his school.
In case you're wondering...
Yes, that was quite a few years ago!
Miss Hilda is now 93 years old,
and Miss Jolena is a few years her senior.

Although I love my country,

I can't help but think that our nation would be a much better place

if the Bible was still taught in school!

"How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
    By living according to Your Word.
 I seek You with all my heart;
    do not let me stray from Your commands.
 I have hidden Your Word in my heart
    that I might not sin against You."

Psalm 119:9-11