Meet Max!

About two months ago I had my yearly check up with my family doctor...

He informed me that my latest bone density test showed

that I had osteopenia,

and the part of my body showing the lowest bone density

was my forearms.

He prescribed more exercise, 

and recommended weights and walking.

My daughter Crystal is an Occupational Therapist.

"You need a dog," she said.

"It will give you and Daddy companionship

as well as exercise."

My husband had taken a strong liking to 

Crystal's large sized Labradoodle named Buddy,

but we decided we needed a smaller size.

MEET MAX!

Our grandson seemed quite delighted
with the new addition to the family!

Max is supposed to be a mid-sized Labradoodle,
but if he grows as big as his paws indicate,
he may be a little larger than we anticipated!

So, here we go...
I'm not sure if he'll be teaching me,
or I'll be training him...
but we'll see what new adventures lie ahead!

Already I am learning that I am not very patient.

"For ye have need of patience,

that, after ye have done the will of God,

ye might receive the promise."

Hebrews10:36

(By the way, we've only had Max for 11 days,

and I can already tell a difference

in the strength of my forearms

due to his stubbornness on the leash!)

"Joy4Today" has been on sabbatical!

Yes...

I've been taking a break 

from blogging,

and guess it's time 

I got back into it!

In case you wonder what I've been doing,

the photos below depict some of it!

I had a total knee revision in November 2019,
which slowed me down for awhile.
Riding a 4 wheeler was one thing I could do
that brought me great enjoyment.

Instead of just photographing my feathered friends...

...I started painting them!
The bluebird above was one of my first attempts.

The cardinal is one of my latest paintings,
and now has found a new home with 
one of my good friends.
I guess you can tell it was painted on a rock.
I

The chickadees went to my youngest daughter.

The hairy woodpeckers were a birthday gift to
a friend.

The red headed woodpecker will be going
to a friend who has had these birds for regular visitors
in her back yard. 

I've enjoyed the pileated woodpeckers that have been

quite regular visitors at my suet feeder,

so tried painting them on floor tiles.

They seem to be favorites.
I've done 5 of them so far!

I've even done some work on wood,
 accenting it with wood burning.
It's been a great way to pass the time while recuperating!

My "Joy in the Mourning" book is still available by ebook
from Friesen Press or Amazon if you'd like to
read my journey from grief to joy after losing
three siblings in an auto accident that happened
in front of me on the way to my father's funeral.

Thank you for honoring me with your visit!
My other blog -  Rock4Today
should be posting some new painted rocks
with Names of God on Rocks sometime soon!

Sincerely,

Esther Joy

(Previous post on 2/3/19 removed,
and replaced with this post on 6/6/19)

The Throne Room of God

What does the Throne of God look like?

The Bible gives word pictures, but these 

images are far beyond my power to recreate in art.

When checking on Google I found many attempts

of artists to capture the glory of God on His throne.

You can view some of them HERE!

SO...

since I am not the best artist,

let's just look at some of the "Word Pictures"

found in the Holy Scriptures
and I'll throw in a couple of my photos!

God said,

"Heaven is my throne,

and earth is my footstool..."

Isaiah 66:1 and Acts 7:49

Jacob saw a stairway or ladder reaching to heaven in his dream,
with God at the top and angels ascending and descending.
Was this God on His throne?
Genesis 28:10-22 - Jacob called it
"An Awesome Place", 
"The House of God",
 and "The Gate of Heaven".

Isaiah said he had a vision of the LORD on His throne,
"High and lifted up,
and the train of His robe filled the temple".
As far as I can tell, Isaiah is the only one in the Bible who mentions
seraphims, angel beings with 6 wings who flew around the Throne of God.
Isaiah 6

Ezekiel was a man who said
"the heavens were opened to him,
and he had visions of God".
He speaks of
"the likeness of a throne
in appearance like a sapphire stone",
and mentions fire, brightness,
and a rainbow round the throne.
Ezekiel 1

Then there was John, the Beloved Disciple, 
who wrote the Book of Revelation.
John says in Revelation 4 that he saw
"a door open in heaven".
He saw a throne, 
 One sitting on the throne, and
"A Rainbow around the Throne".
From the Throne there proceeded
"Lightnings, thundering and voices."
He describes a
"Sea of glass in front of the Throne."
Maybe that sea of glass is the
"pure river of water of life"
that flows from the Throne!
(Revelation 22:1)

As I study about God's Throne,
how Majestic and Holy He is,
it amazes me that He invites me to
"Come boldly" to His Throne of Grace,
so that we may
"Obtain mercy and find grace"
to help in our time of need.
Hebrews 4:16


Whether you need prayer,
or know of someone who needs prayer,
let's go to God's throne
to find the mercy and grace that is needed!

(I hope to begin some posts soon
about Biblical characters who saw the glory of God,
how it affected them,
and how it can help us.)

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