Desperation!

Brrrr!
It's so cold outside!

When it's this cold, God's little creatures come hungrily to my bird feeders.

They vie for the opportunity to feast on my sunflower seeds,
not caring who they run off!

This little guy got in a big hurry,

...and nearly had a tumble!

After catching himself,
he was run off by a bigger guy who had already
claimed this feeder for himself!

So he went looking for another feeder,
...But this one, too, was already occupied.

Oooops!  He definitely went for the wrong feeder this time.
This guy was a bully, and put him on the run!

As streets are being cleared,
we are being advised to stay home.
Most churches have cancelled their services for today.

The good thing is,

 Bad weather cannot stop us if we are desperate for time with God.  

We can find Him whether churches are meeting or not.

 He says in His word that He will let us find Him!

"If you look for Me wholeheartedly,

you will find Me.

I will be found by you," says the LORD.

Jeremiah 29:13-14

One of the ways that I seek to know God is through His names.

You can find the results of some of my searching HERE where I paint His name on rocks!

Canada Geese chased by Swans again!

This past weekend while trying to walk off some of  the extra calories

consumed on our Thanksgiving meals,

I was privileged to come upon a unique sight.

Each year when the Canada Geese migrate south
and try to establish residence in our local duck pond,
this scenario seems to happen.

I often hear the commotion as the Canada Geese are being
chased off, then hear and see them as they fly low,
honking loudly as they sail over our house.

But I often don't have time to grab my camera,
and actually witness the scenes as I did this past weekend!

Having chased off the Canada Geese that were near
our side of the duck pond,

the trumpeter swan took off to the other side to finish the job,

routing all the Canada Geese off  "swan territory"...
That is...
until they come back tomorrow!

Last year my neighbor, who has a deck-side view of the pond,

had told me what an interesting sight this was to witness.

At her cuing, I was pleased to capture a few extraordinary shots.

If you missed them, click HERE!

Due to the busyness of Thanksgiving activities,

I didn't visit as many blogger friends posts as usual.

Some of these bloggers have a passion and eye for bird photography,

and can be found at Stewart's "Paying Ready Attention" Photo Gallery.

Are you keeping up with my "Names of God on Rocks"?

My most recent post can be found HERE!

Bird catch of the day!

This past weekend as my husband and I were headed back home
after spending a little time down on the farm,
we were privileged to capture a few photos of this owl.

Gary quickly pulled over on the side of the highway
so I could get a better shot of him.
It was early morning, the sun was trying to wake up,
but as you can tell it was still quite dusky!

I didn't have much time to grab a few shots,
but I was so pleased when the owl turned and looked straight at my camera.
Look at that face!
 And check out the thorn tree he is sitting in!

As if to say, "Okay, you got your pictures,"
he quickly took off in flight.

And that's my Joy4Today that I plan to share

with Stewart M's Wild Bird Gallery this Wednesday,

as well as Jenny Matlock's Alphabe-Thursday!.

Rock4Today featuring the Names of God on Rocks

is also featuring more feathered friends on this week's post.

I love hearing your comments on my posts,

but whether you comment or not,
THANK YOU for stopping by!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Apple Bobbing - Well Almost!

I only have a few apples left hanging on my tree,
but have found it quite intriguing to watch the cardinals
as they peck away at the swinging apples!

Click on over to Rock4Today to see my latest "Names of God on Rocks",

or

Click on Bird Gallery to enjoy birding photography from around the world

hosted by Stewart M.

Thanks for your visit!

A Tribute to Earl William Hedlund, Scrabble Player Extraordinaire!

The Ozarks lost an extraordinarily great Scrabble player this past week...

My brother-in-law Earl was an exceptional Scrabble player.
At the age of 93, he was still at the top of his game!

Some of his favorite challengers were relatives,
Donna and Walter Klassen from Canada.

 

Ordinarily a quiet person,
a great challenger (like Walter, above)
seemed to bring out a more sanguine side of Earl's personality.

Earl and his wife Alice (my sister),
became marriage partners on New Year's Day, 1966.
Scrabble partnership followed!
Together they have faced many challenges.
Alice has addressed one of these challenges in her blog,
"Unexpected Journey in 2011".

I'm not sure how long this link will be up,

but a brief synopsis of Earl's life with a few of the ways

that he has been used of God,

is posted HERE!

My Rock4Today post featuring The Names of God on Rocks

is dedicated to my sister Alice.

Click on the highlighted letters to take you there!

Thanks for dropping by!

My Tribute

One of the definitions for "Tribute" from  Websters Dictionary says:

"Something given or contributed voluntarily as due or deserved; 

a gift or service showing respect, gratitude, or affection."

This past week I lost a special family member.

Time at the hospital,

family coming in,

funeral arrangements...

all these are so important,

and blogging had to be placed on the "back burner".

So,

check back later 

for a special tribute post!

Thanks for stopping by!

( In case you wondered,

Rock4Today

 featuring the Names of God on Rocks,

has also been put on hold for a few days.)

Railroad Crossing... and Crossroads Opportunity!

One foggy morning last week as were down on the farm,

...we headed to breakfast with some family friends.

After breakfast, as we stopped at the local store,
 looked across the street...

...and happened to see that the historic train depot was open.

Mayor Henley, who has spearheaded the restoration project,
just happened to be there,

...and was happy to give us a tour,

...and even demonstrated how some of the articles
 were used long ago when the railroad was the lifeline of the community.

Comparing some of the photos from its construction,
to its restoration,
it was evident that Mayor Henley has done a great job
in preserving this part of a small town's history.

The day passed swiftly,
and it was almost time for Saturday night church.

Across the road from the church,
a small sign on a metal gate caught my attention!

Besides the railroads,
community churches used to be the heartbeat of small town America.
Attendance has dwindled,
and now only a faithful few are found in the pews.

On November 7th, Billy Graham will celebrate his 95th birthday.

He is concerned for the future of America,

and says,

"Our country is turning away from what made it so great"

and

"Our country is in need of a great spiritual awakening."

To counteract this problem, 

he has developed a massive effort to reach people

across the United States and Canada

with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

This endeavor is scheduled to begin on the night of his birthday,

and is called the "My Hope America" project.

Although he has been famous in the past for mass evangelism,

this time he focuses on the power of personal relationships.

He urges Christians to invite guests into their homes

to share the gospel and learn about Jesus.

My husband and I are making preparations to be a part of this effort.

If you, too, are interested in being a part of this crossroads opportunity,
 click HERE to find out how you can be involved!

Thanks for visiting!

I'll have another post up soon on Rock4Today,

featuring the Names of God painted on rocks.

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