The "Pumpkin Patch"

The Future Farmers of America
of Ozark Mountain School District
of Saint Joe, Arkansas
are harvesting pumpkins!

My husband and I had driven by this field many times this summer,
and we had made many guesses of what kind of plants were growing there.
It was not until bits of orange started showing up
that we were able to guess what the plants were.
It was a PUMPKIN PATCH!

They are now selling the pumpkins
with the proceeds going towards the school's FFA program.
School Agri teacher Matt Eddings, on right in photo above,
gives much of the credit to the hard work of the members.

Pumpkins can be picked straight from the field,
or picked off harvested ones on the trailer.

FFA members use a "lopper" to cut through the thick stems,
and gladly carry the pumpkins off the field to your vehicle.

Newspaper publicity from The Marshall Mountain Wave helps to get the word out!
Prices range from $3.00 to $6.00 depending on the size.
If you live in the area,
come on down and support these
Future Farmers of America!

If you haven't visited my Names of God on Rocks Blog,

you can find it by clicking HERE.
Today's post features God as a "Whistler"!

My Fig Tree...

A couple of years ago

I bought a little fig tree.

I checked the label to be sure it was hardy enough to survive in our "zone",
and the tag verified that it should tolerate our weather.
[Our Ozarks experience a full measure of each season,
and often the temperatures are quite unpredictable.]

During its first test of Ozark winter,

I thought it had died.

However, I put it in the garage 

and occasionally watered it.

To my surprise when spring came,

 it started putting out green buds.

In my excitement I put it outside a bit too early,

and a late frost set it back quite a little.

As you can see,
it's recovering quite nicely.

It's comeback stirred my mind to look up what the Bible had to say about fig trees.

I was surprised how many times they were mentioned!

The first mention, of course, was of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden 

when they tried to cover their nakedness with fig leaves!

But fig trees were mentioned quite a few more times!

Their presence seemed to indicate a time of relaxation and security.

They not only provided a place of shade from the hot Middle Eastern summer sun,

but also supplied fruit to satisfy their taste buds and replenish their energy.

Jesus talked about fig trees several times.

Maybe it was because I had witnessed my fig tree suddenly putting out green sprouts

 that the verses below seemed to stand out to me.

Jesus told His disciples this parable:

"...Look at the fig tree and all the trees.

When they sprout leaves,

you can see for yourselves

and know that summer is near.

Even so, when you see these things happening,

You know that the kingdom of God is near."

Luke 21:29-31

The coming things that Jesus talked about happening

are mentioned in Matthew 24, in Mark 13, and Luke 21

as He warned us to be ready for "The Day of the Lord".

If you would like to read about the signs of His coming,

click on the highlighted references above.

If you're not sure if you are "ready" for His coming,

Billy Graham has led millions into

finding peace with God,

and you can find those 4 easy steps HERE.

Well, I'm not sure how long I'll have to wait

before I can sit in the shade of my little fig tree

or eat of its delicious fruit,

but I have learned a little about the mention of

fig trees in the Bible!

I'm pondering on a new Name of God to write on Rocks.

I'm not sure it qualifies for a Name...

It's a bit unusual,

but I bet you've heard of it.

Check back later on Rock4Today for a new posting,

and see what you think!

Love those Birds!

I am a birdwatcher!

But first let's get a few things straight...

Do I recognize all the birds in our area?

No, not all of them... but I work at it.

Can I tell which bird it is by listening to its song?

No again...  I'm not very good at it,

but neither of these keep me from enjoying their beauty or their song.

Would it surprise you to know that

God uses the birds to teach me about Himself?

This Baltimore Oriole is my latest bird lesson.
In the past I had bought oriole feeders,
and tried to entice them to come visit me but to no avail.
Then this week, SURPRISE!
One just showed up at my bird feeder,
 which by the way, only contained left over cornbread
and some fatty trimmings off a roast!

I had read that orioles liked oranges,
so decided to put some out..

 The results were amazing!

It was rather cold outside,

so I dawned my orange jacket

and stuck some orange slices in the crevices 

of a large old tree stump on our side yard.

 He boldly came out of the trees
and began enjoying the oranges!
I wondered if the ORANGE jacket had anything
to do with getting his attention!

               I watched him on and off all day,

and felt like his appearance was a special gift to me 

                   from my Heavenly Father.

This inspired a little Bible study on my part, 

and some of what I learned amazed me!

Did you know that after God created the birds,

He talked to them and blessed them?!!

"God blessed them and said, 

'Be fruitful and increase in number'..."

Genesis 1:21-23

Then God made a promise to give every green plant for food to

 "all the beasts of the earth

AND ALL THE BIRDS OF THE AIR

...Everything that has the breath of life in it"

Genesis 1:30

After the flood, God included the birds

when He promised not to flood the whole earth again.

Genesis 9:9-11

God says He provides food for the ravens

when its young cry out to Him.

Job 38:41

Interestingly, it was ravens that God used

to bring food to Elijah.

You can read about this in  1 Kings 17.

And the book of Luke says,

"Consider the ravens;

They do not sow or reap,

they have no storeroom or barn:

yet God feeds them.

And how much more valuable you are than birds!

Luke 12:24

Earlier in that same chapter,

Luke says that not one sparrow is forgotten by God.

He continues, "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows."

Luke 12:6-7

Matthew spends some time driving this point home

in his gospel.  He quotes Jesus saying that if our

Heavenly Father feeds the birds,

we should not worry,

because He certainly knows how to care for us!

Matthew 6:25-34 The Message 

I don't know about you,

but I had a few challenges this week,

and I needed this reminder that

if God loves the birds so much and cares for them,

He will surely take care of me.

And He used a beautiful Baltimore Oriole

to get His point across!

And then he even came back,
and brought his wife with him!

You might also like to check out
a previous post entitled
 "The Power of Orange"!
Or hop on over to
Rock4Today
to check out My Names for God on Rocks!

Joys of Springtime!

No words really necessary!

Joys of new life,

and the birth of another spring!

We have such a marvelous Creator! 

I love to make beautiful spring bouquets!
I'm so glad that God said:

"As long as the earth remains,

there will be planting and harvest,

cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night."

Genesis 8:22
God's guarantee there will always be seasons.
After a dreary winter,
we can always be certain 
SPRING WILL COME!

ADDED BLESSINGS!
The Joy of a spring visit from my younger sister tops it off!

Blood sisters by birth,

and sisters in Christ through second birth!

"God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family

by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ.

This is what he wanted to do,

and it gave him great pleasure."

Ephesians 1:5

".......He did good,

and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons,

filling our hearts with food and gladness."

Acts 14:17 KJV

Jeep trail ride before the spring rains hit!

My husband and I are "Jeep people"!

He had been without one too long,

and we were missing our Jeep adventures.

For months he looked at many, many vehicles,

whether it was on-line, car lots,

or making a fast turn around as he spotted a 

"FOR SALE" sign beside the highway.

Finally he found one that seemed to meet his expectations,
and just in time to be dubbed a Valentine's present!  LOL!

So, before the spring rains came and the Buffalo River
got to high to cross, we went on one of our favorite Jeep trails.

Local people will probably recognize this trail
that leads up to what is called,
"The Nars" by old timers,
or by its proper name -  "The Narrows."
(Click HERE or on above highlighted links to see some web photos)

Old trees...

An old barn...
all on Buffalo National River Park property.
(Click on the link above to see a great place to vacation!)
Buffalo River offers nature lovers so many beautiful places to see,
things to do, trails to hike, waters to canoe or kayak etc.

Then we came to Richland Creek.
My husband's family used to pick cotton in the
fields that lined this creek.

We couldn't tell the depth of the creek,
and decided not to take the Jeep across!
I imagine that creek is really roaring today,
because we have received several inches of rain.

I don't imagine you can spot the elk,
because I didn't have my Canon with me
and only had my smart phone to take the photos.
BUT there are three elk lying in the grass...
I was okay with there being a bit of distance
even if I couldn't get a good photo!

All this landscape will be changing drastically in the next weeks

as buds burst forth with fresh greenery.

I'm so thankful for the heavy rains we have had in the last couple of days,

even if it means we can't cross the river for awhile!

Speaking of "crossing the river",

my heart was saddened by the passing of

Rev. Billy Graham.

I have referred to him and his ministry several times on this blog.

No one made the way of knowing God any plainer.

Did you know that prisoners built the simple wooden coffin

in which he is to be buried?

(Click HERE if you're curious how that came to be.)

Well, I think that's about it for this time.

My latest post on Names of God on Rocks

can be found by clicking HERE.

This week I featured "The Rock of Israel".

Thanks for your visit!

For more Arkansas adventures,

check out my friend Tricia's blog -

Expeditions by Tricia!

Lentil chili, Ezekiel Bread - and SHAMMAH!

It's turned cold again here in the Ozarks,
and cold weather seems to scream
for hot soups, stews, ...or CHILI!

My husband bought some Progresso Lentil Soup,
I tried it...
but I thought it needed a little doctoring,
so I came up with a new recipe.

I'll see if I can remember what all I put in it
so that you can reproduce it if you would like to try it!

Brown 1 pound ground beef
 with chopped onion, peppers and celery.
(I tried dehydrated peppers, and they worked great also.)
Drain off meat fat, and add two 10 oz cans Lentil Soup.
Season to your taste with chili powder, cumin and garlic.
(I used a slightly heaping teaspoon of chili,
probably about 1/3 to 1/2 tsp of cumin,
 a dab of grated garlic, a little salt and red pepper.)
The second time I made it, I left off the red pepper,
and added 1/3 cup chopped canned jalapenos.
Simmer this all together for a half hour or more,
and then YUM, give it a try!
The jalapenos give it a nice zing!

Curiosity had me look up lentils in the Bible.
I knew Ezekiel had eaten lentils.
Maybe you have, too, if you have eaten Ezekiel Bread!

But I didn't know King David ate lentils.
His friend Barzillai brought him some when David
was running from mutiny at the hand of his own son!

King David also had a mighty man named Shammah,
who dared to fight the Philistines when everyone else fled.
It sounds to me like he was defending a field of lentils.
Read it HERE for yourself and see what you think!
It says that the LORD brought about a great victory.
The LORD was there with him 
as he took his stand in that field of lentils.
Everyone else ran out on him,
BUT THE LORD WAS THERE!

I find it very interesting that his name was SHAMMAH,
because that was one of the names for God that I posted
on Rock4Today awhile back.
Shammah means
"The LORD is there".
Surely, The LORD was there with him
in that field of lentils!

So think of that as you put a bite of lentil chili
or Ezekiel bread in your mouth,
and know that the LORD is there with you wherever you are!
He said He would never leave you or forsake you!
Deuteronomy 31:8