Friday Photos

 This is one of my favorite kayaking photos.  We had a nice trip and were just about to pull our boats out of the water.  I turned around and knew I had to snap this photo.  I think it was the reflections that so struck me.

How Marvelous is Our God!

"I will speak of the glorious honour of Thy majesty, 

and of Thy wondrous works."

"His work is honourable and glorious: 

and His righteousness endureth for ever."

Psalms 145:5, 111:3

This was our sunrise this morning as Ellie and I took our morning walk.

Caps on the Keys

Picture courtesy of Canva.com

Our family has recently been taking online typing tests to judge our accuracy and speed. (This is just for fun.) Our children grew up on computer keyboards and never experienced the joys of typing on a manual typewriter in a typing class.

Glen and I both shared stories with them about the old manual typewriters and the strength required to press down those keys, especially the ones that used the little finger.  We also told them how the teacher would often make the class put metal caps over the keys, so we couldn’t see what letter we were typing.  We were supposed to have already memorized the keyboard, but this helped give us incentive if we had not.

As we were having this discussion with our daughters, I was struck by the similarity of the parenthetical statement in 2 Corinthians 5:7, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.”

Paul also addresses this in Romans 1:17, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’ ". Paul is referring to Habakkuk 2:4, “Behold, his souls which is lifted up in not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith.”

The Lord expects His children to live by faith.  Faith in what?  No, faith in Whom.  Faith in Him.  He wants us to experience  His life, in and through us, by faith.  This is a lesson we can only learn in this world, in these bodies of flesh.  Our world screams at us things that are contrary to the will and way of the Lord.  Our bodies tell us things that are not true, for they only respond and react to what the senses tell them.  Our flesh shouts to us that there is never enough…never enough supply, never enough strength, never enough…anything.  The world tells us our God is not real, He does not supply abundantly, He can’t love us because He doesn’t exist.

When our teacher put the caps on our typewriter keys, we had to type, believing which finger should and could type which letter or symbol.  The more we did the exercise, the more confident we became that we could type without looking at the keys.  The more confident we were, the better we typed.

In this world, the Lord often has the “caps on our keys,” as it were.  He wants us to believe what He says is true without having to see it with our eyes, hear it with our ears, or touch it with our hands.  Faith is how our relationship with God works, and He wants us to be well-schooled in its use. 

Then the day will come when our bodies, “this corruptible, shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Corinthians 15:54.)

So let us look forward to those opportunities the Lord places in our path to type a perfect letter, even with steel caps on.  The lessons learned here, which can only be learned in this setting, will reap great rewards.

 

“But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory 

through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

1 Corinthians 15:57

 

Friday Photos

 

Ellie’s Job and My Job

Experts tell us that dogs need a “job” to do.  Now, that doesn’t mean that Ellie needs to begin clocking in at the hospital. As sweet as she is, I doubt she would make a very good Labor & Delivery nurse.

There are jobs that are “professional roles” for dogs, such as service animals, Police dogs, and search-and-rescue dogs.  There are dogs that participate in sporting activities, such as agility trials, and “nose” work (beagles would be very well-suited for this type of work).  However, most of our pet dogs also need jobs to do.

So why does Ellie need a job?  Primarily, to give her days fulfillment, prevent boredom, provide mental stimulation, and foster a deeper bond with her humans.

Now, I would never expect Ellie to vacuum the floor (though she will eat any edible items she finds) or wash dishes (she does have a particularly long tongue, which could help with that job!).  However, I can ask her to put her toys in the designated basket for them.  I can ask her to play tug of war with me. (This usually involves a “chase” through the house first and ends with me throwing the toy across the room, so it is a good “job” and good exercise for us both.) I can ask her to sit on command and expect her to do so.  I try to set up a series of jumps for her in the house once a week and take her through the course, using lots of her favorite treats as rewards.  As a beagle, she is a natural jumper, and it is so fun to watch her sail over the jumps with ease.  She was particularly skilled at finding a special turtle in the bushes. Jobs give dogs a purpose and more of a sense of “belonging to the pack”.

But Ellie isn't the only one who needs a job; we do, too!  Having retired nine months ago, I find that a strange sentence to write. 

What I mean, though, is that we need jobs to do in God’s economy.  There are things he has for us - each one of us - to do that can only be best fulfilled by us.  This doesn’t mean that we all should be preachers, pastors, or song leaders.  It doesn’t mean we have to be a Sunday School teacher or sing in the choir.  The Lord may call us to fill one of those roles, but for most believers, He has something else in mind.  He wants us to “bloom where we are planted” (to quote Saint Francis de Sales, later popularized by Mary Engelbreit).  That is, to be living testimonies of Him in whatever garden He has placed us.

Perhaps we can’t preach, but we could visit nursing homes and read books to the residents there.  If we love to sing, we could do that as well.  If we love to cook, we could bake something special for someone we know who would be encouraged by it.  Sometimes our “job” may just be giving a sincere smile to someone who looks like they need it.

We also have one “job” we are all called to do everywhere, at all times — that is to pray.  We can pray for people as we encounter them, such as the cashier at the grocery store or a person we pass on the sidewalk while walking our dog. The person in front of us, or behind us, in traffic.  Everyone we encounter is a person who needs prayer.  Everyone!  A chance interaction with a young couple at the Home Improvement store may lead to a lifetime of praying for that family.

If we had any glimpse of the wonderful things which could be accomplished through the simplest and shortest of prayers, we would try our very best to fulfill the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “Pray without ceasing.”

Whatever the job is the Lord leads us to do, let us do it heartily and faithfully unto the Lord, and one day we will surely hear these words…

“Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things:

enter thou into the joy of the Lord.”  

Matthew 25:21

Friday Photos

 

One day, Glen and I were out walking near a coffee shop we liked to visit.  Cascading across a fence, were the blossoms of this flower.  We were both struck by the beauty of these deep orange flowers.

Ellie's Interview

Yesterday, Ellie and I had a nice experience at the schoolyard where we walk each evening.

We had walked around the front of the school and were heading toward the playgrounds in the back when we encountered three young brothers.  We have seen and spoken to these young gentlemen before, but this was the first time they got to meet Ellie close up.

They had so many questions!

BOYS: "Why does she smell the ground so much?" ME: "Because she is a hunting dog, a scent hound, and smelling is how they find what they need to hunt."

BOYS: "Does she get baths?" ME: "Yes, but beagles need oil on their fur, so they don't need to be bathed too often. She gets a bath about once a month, unless she rolls around in something stinky. " (Ellie then rolls in the grass to illustrate my point). 

BOYS:  "Why does she roll around in the grass like that?"  ME:  "I think it feels good to her.  I think it scratches her back.  She loves to do it."

BOYS: "Does she like to be petted?"  ME: "She loves to be scratched under her chin, and she loves to have her shoulders rubbed.  She doesn't like to have her back scratched or petted much.  And she does NOT like to be petted on the top of her head."

BOYS: "Where did you get her?"  ME: "From a wonderful breeder in Louisiana." (Then I had to explain to the youngest what and where Louisiana was.  When I told him it was next to Mississippi, he understood because he said they had gone to the beach in Mississippi once.)

BOYS: "When will she have puppies?"  ME: "NEVER!"  The boys didn't pursue that thought, and I'm glad because I didn't want to explain why she would never have puppies.

BOYS: "Where does she sleep?"  ME: "She has a bed in one of our bedrooms, but most of the time she sleeps with us. OLDEST BOY: "No, that's too crowded."  ME:

"Actually, I love it.  She comes and snuggles close to me, and then she snuggles just a tiny bit more.  I find it very comforting."

BOYS: "What does she eat?"  ME: "She eats dog food and a little bit of chicken to give her extra protein."

The boys asked other questions, which I can't remember, but we had a nice time together discussing Ellie and her care.  I relay this experience because we never know what seeds we plant in the hearts and minds of children by being kind and responsive to them.  I didn't share the Lord with them, but I formed a platform of mutual respect and communication that may well give them the opportunity to do so another time.  And I believe, Ellie now has three more admirers. 

Choices in Pain

(First published January 4, 2016

Everyone at some point experiences pain.  

 If we are not currently in pain, we undoubtedly know someone who is.  If we do not personally know someone in pain, we know that someone somewhere is currently in pain.

 Pain is such a complex thing and often hard to define.  Pain can be throbbing, stabbing, sharp, dull, squeezing, radiating, and more.

Pain can be defined in many ways, as a disease, as an injury, as a disorder, or as a sensation. Regardless of the particular definition we use to define it, we know one thing for sure: pain hurts.

Pain also protects.  The pain we feel as our hand gets too near the stove protects us from further damage.  The pain from an injury keeps us from continuing on, which could cause even more damage, and leads us to seek rest and treatment.

Pain can strengthen.  Ask any weight lifter why they suffer through sometimes painful workouts, and they will tell you that the minute muscle damage increases, strength increases as the muscle repairs itself.  It reminds me of when our son was in Marine Corps basic training, we came across a Marine Corps poster which said, "Pain is weakness leaving the body."  

Pain can lead to wisdom.  When we hiked our first section hike of the Appalachian Trail, we underestimated the trail and overestimated our abilities to deal with the unexpected. Because of that, and for reasons outside of our control, we experienced some painful situations.  That particular pain caused us to plan more carefully the next time.  The experience also taught us that we can accomplish much more than we initially thought possible.

Pain can be a great motivator.  It motivates us to remove ourselves from whatever is causing the pain, or to remove the source of the pain from ourselves.  It motivates us to do those things that will keep the pain from recurring.

Pain also leads; it leads us to a choice.  We can either concentrate on ourselves, our pain, and our situation, or we can choose to direct our thoughts toward others.  

So, we are back where we started. We are all either hurting, know someone who is hurting, or we know that someone somewhere is hurting.

In our pain, we can choose to "bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ," (Galatians 6:2) by praying for others in pain.  Or as the Apostle James said:

". . .pray one for another, that ye may be healed.  The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."  James 5:16

 Praying for others when we find ourselves in pain is not an easy thing to do, yet it follows the pattern the Lord Jesus Christ gave us.  As He was nailed to the cross, He prayed for the Father's forgiveness for others.

Praying for others, instead of focusing on ourselves, gives more purpose to our pain.  Indeed, in our easily distracted world, it may be that pain is one of the ways we can become focused on the needs and pains of others, instead of on ourselves.

So in those times we are in pain, of any kind, let us choose to pray for others who are in pain and seek the Lord's comfort for them.

"Pray without ceasing."

1 Thessalonians 5:17

Apologies

 I apologize for not writing in a while.  Thankfully, I have not been ill, but very busy on two different projects.

The first of those projects is our fourth children's book in the "Ellie & Percival" series.  If you are not familiar with our children's book series, they are about our five-year-old beagle, Ellie, and her Box Turtle friend, Percival. Ellie looks for Percival every day, and Percival seems to enjoy Ellie's visits.   In these books, Percival and, later, Harvey the rabbit, try to teach Ellie, through the events of her life, how greatly the Lord works in our lives. 

Ellie

Percival

  

The new book, "Everyone Loves Ellie", is based on a true story.  When Ellie was a puppy, she had a reaction to one of her immunizations and had to go to the Emergency Animal Hospital. In this story, Sally and Ellie's friends devise a plan to make her feel better, but they're unsure how to execute it.  That is, until they get help in a very unexpected way.  While in the hospital, Ellie meets Harvey, a rabbit, who shares some important truths with her.   

The first book, "Greens for Percival," introduces Ellie and Percival, the Man and the Lady (my husband and I), and Percival.  The part of the book depicting the beginning of the relationship between Ellie and Percival happened as described in the book.  

In "Greens for Percival," we also meet Callie, whom Ellie calls "the mean cat" until the second book.  We also meet Jack the cat, the coolest cat in the neighborhood!   The meeting in the book between Ellie and Jack, as unusual as it could be for a meeting between a dog and a cat, happened exactly as it was depicted. While Jack may be the coolest cat in the neighborhood, Max is the quietest.

In the second book, "Finally Friends," we find Ellie and Callie settling their differences with the help of Percival and Jack.  Ellie, with some encouragement, learns to forgive and realizes things aren't always as they seem. With the help of Jack and Max, she helps Callie find a home.  

In the third book, we meet Sally.  Sally is our daughter's dog and Ellie's real-life (and fictional) best friend.  This book is based on a true story of two young girls praying for something that seems impossible...snow along the Gulf Coast on Christmas Day.  And yes, it did indeed snow on Christmas Day.  In this book, the girls are represented by Ellie and Sally.

The only animal that is truly fictional is the rabbit, Harvey, who shares a room with Ellie at the Animal Hospital.

The second project, which I just finished today, is a Family Christmas Journal.  Glen gave me a Christmas journal thirty years ago, and I still enjoy reading the entries today.  This journal is formatted to enable planning before the season begins, recording activities and occurrences during the season, and reflecting on what should stay the same and what should change in the future. I find it enjoyable to re-read the entries in my journal and relive those days of Christmas when our children were small. I am looking forward to sharing this journal with others and using it for my own family.

All books are available on Amazon.com.  The Christmas Journal has gone to publishing, but may not be available until next week.

I am also considering creating a daily devotional for women, but I am not sure what direction I will pursue with this concept.

I hope to be back to writing this next week, especially sharing with you "all things Ellie."  

Frannie Davis

Friday Photo - The Prince of Peace

This picture was taken during a backpacking trip in Virginia. I loved how Glen was positioned between those two mounds of rock, steadily, step by step, climbing up and over the mountain.

A surprising thing to many who begin backpacking is that it is almost always a series of ups and downs. Up one elevation, down into a valley, and up again, over and over and over.   This is such a representation of our lives.  Things are going great, but then something stirs things up.  Then things go great again.  Thankfully, for those of us who know the Lord Jesus, we can find peace not in our surroundings or our situations, but in our Savior, who is the Prince of Peace.

Not a Friday Photo

 Today is my birthday, and to celebrate, I am posting one of my favorite birthday photos.

This picture was taken the morning of my 60th birthday. Our family spent the week at the beach, including our two oldest grandchildren. 

The morning of my birthday, I sat on the deck with a cup of coffee and watched the sunrise.  My grandson, Jack, came out to share this special moment with me, and I reflected on how great the Lord has blessed me through the years.  This is one of my most precious memories, not because of the beautiful sunrise, but because it was shared just between Jack and me.  Jack is a young man now and I love being with him just as much, perhaps even more, than I did then.

   

My morning coffee

My birthday buddy.

             

        

Friday Photos - "And He shall direct thy paths."

This picture is from one of our backpacking trips.  We were hiking on the Appalachian Trail from Three Forks, in Georgia.  We went northbound as far as time would allow, and returned to camp along the creek at Three Forks.  The next day, we went southbound to the summit of Springer Mountain.  Along the way, we came to this spot where the sun was shining down on the trail.  I think we have all had moments in our lives when the Lord so "directed our path" that it seemed as if a bright heavenly light was shining on it. 

"In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3:6 

 

A Smile on the Wind

 A Sweet Olive tree, or osmanthus fragrans (literally meaning "flower fragrant"), is a broadleaf, evergreen shrub.

I have had a Sweet Olive tree in my yard almost all my life.  

As a young girl, there was one outside my bedroom window, and I loved to open the windows wide so I could inhale the lovely fragrance.  

Five years after we moved into our house, someone gave me a Sweet Olive tree, and it has grown well.  It produces its sweet-smelling flowers multiple times a year, which always takes me to my childhood home in my mind.

There is an interesting thing about these tiny blossoms, though.  Sometimes you can smell them hundreds of feet away, but you may not smell them in your own backyard.  When Glen, Ellie, and I are out walking, the smell will stop me in my tracks.  I want to breathe in as much of the aroma as possible before taking another step.  The scent calms me, soothes me, and almost always makes me smile. It is a smile on the wind. I find it an excellent example of the Lord to send me a scent to bless my heart, from someone else's yard.

There are times in our lives when something we have done, perhaps without even realizing it, becomes a blessing to someone.  The simplest of these is probably the smile.  Smiling at someone, especially if they don't expect it, can have a profound impact on a person.  Sometimes it can change their whole outlook on the day.  Maybe it encourages them to smile at the next person they encounter.  A smile portrays kindness, cheerfulness, and friendship.  When coming in contact with a person, even briefly, what better thing can we impart to them than kindness, cheerfulness, and friendship?

As we go through our days, we can send the sweetness of our smiles to everyone. May our smiles, like the smell of the Sweet Olive tree, bring smiles to faces and joy to hearts.

For His merciful kindness is great toward us: 

And the truth of the LORD endureth for ever. 

Praise ye the LORD. 

Psalm 117:2

A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance: 

Proverbs 15:13

A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: 

and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

Proverbs 18:24

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x

God Always Has a Purpose

When I was a little girl, about six or so, my father had an accident at work. He was a Marine Engineer and worked on the engines of tugboats. He had been cleaning a part of an engine, and the rag in his hand got pulled into the machine. It also pulled his finger into the machine.

I didn't know this at the time; all I knew was that a suitcase had been packed for me, and my aunt was coming to pick me up to spend the night. I didn't mind that, my Aunt Flossie's and Uncle Poppy's house was my favorite place to be.

When I returned home, my father had a large bandage on the middle finger of his left hand. But the bandage wasn't as long as his finger had been. He had lost almost half of that finger to the machine.

I can still see my dad, after all the bandages were off, and the finger healed, sitting and holding a plastic ball. He would squeeze it over and over again. I didn't understand it then, but I do now.

This month, I had surgery on the very same finger of the very same hand as my dad. I, too, am doing hand exercises to regain my strength. I want to be able to do the things I love to do without asking for help. My dad was consistent with his exercises because he wanted to be able to play the guitar again. That hand was the hand he used to fret the chords.

Having tried three times to learn to play the guitar  (and been interrupted each time by a different hand surgery), I don't know how he learned to make those chords with half his finger missing. I had trouble with them, and I have a whole finger! But he did, and he kept on playing his guitar for the rest of his life. The exercises, for both him and me, bring pain. Daddy knew, as well as I, that with the pain would come healing, strength, and flexibility. It is a price that must be paid for something better.

In this life, we often face painful situations. Some we know are coming, like my surgery. Some we don't expect, like a machine chopping off part of my dad's finger. Either way, if we know and trust the Lord Jesus, we can rest in the fact that there is a greater purpose for our pain.  

At some point, in the midst of our pain, or even later in life, we share with someone else in a painful situation to encourage them, strengthen them, and help them move further along the road to wellness. For me, remembering my father's journey more than sixty years ago has helped encourage me to be faithful in my exercises.  

We never know when the Lord is planning to use something that has happened to us to bring forth great things in others. But we can always know His heart for us is love. Eternally, His heart will be love for us. He is now, and He will always be, working "all things together for good to them that love God" (Romans 8:28).

"To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:"

Colossians 1:27

Friday Photos

This picture was taken at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama.  I think what I liked most about it was the contrast between the blue water and the clean, white feathers of the duck.

 

Only God and People...

(I received the final clearance from my surgeon, and I am "cleared without restrictions" on my hand! So, I am back on the keyboard.  I will have to admit that a couple of keystrokes remind me I had hand surgery two weeks ago!)

I'd like to share with you an experience I had with Ellie a few days ago that sent my morning on a downward turn.

I was sitting in my chair in the room where I write. Each morning, I sit in that chair, drink my coffee, eat breakfast, read the Bible, and plan my day.  

Ellie, as usual, was sitting in her bed in front of the window, watching the world go by. I had only had one sip of coffee (which is not sufficient to wake me up) when Ellie, staring out the window, became a Tasmanian devil! She was barking and twisting and turning in reaction to whatever was outside the window. (Most likely, a cat.) Then she headed off to the Living Room to watch the movement of the offending animal from the window in there.  

In the midst of her demon possession, she knocked over the table by my chair. My coffee cup was emptied onto the top of the table, causing a sea of coffee, in which the sand impression of Sparrow's pawprint sat. (Sparrow was our previous beagle, which we had for 13 years.) 

In her quick departure, Ellie also caused the table to tilt slightly, so that the sea of coffee now cascaded into a basket by my chair, where I kept a blanket and various items.  The blanket, my blood pressure cuff, and my guitar workbooks were now splattered with coffee.

I headed to the Living Room with purpose.  Ellie was looking out the window, presumably for the demon that seemed to have possessed her. I expressed my displeasure with her actions very plainly to her.  I don't know that I have ever spoken to Ellie in that manner before.

I returned to my chair to clean up the spilled coffee. After I cleaned up the mess on, around, and underneath the table, I went looking for Ellie.

She wasn't sitting in her bed in front of the window (the scene of the crime).  She wasn't with Glen.  She wasn't in the Den, her second favorite spot to sit and hang out.  I found her stretched out on the Living Room floor, looking extremely pitiful.  I took her to the room where the incident occurred (which I affectionately call "the Mountain Room"), and I actually had to carry her.  I set her in my lap and tried to convince her that I wasn't going to kill her.  After a while, I went to the kitchen to replace my spilled coffee, and as is her usual protocol, she followed me. I made her do some commands she learned as a puppy as an excuse to give her a treat.  Then she followed me back to the Mountain Room, climbed into her bed, and took a nap. Too much excitement for one morning, I guess.

Meanwhile, I sat in my chair, looking at the world outside the window, reminding myself of one of my favorite sayings,

"Only God and people are eternal; everything else is just stuff."

I guess by "people," I mean dogs, too.  Ellie is much more important than anything she might have damaged during her escapade.  Even more important than Sparrow's pawprint. (I know Sparrow would heartily agree with that.) She is a living, breathing creature with thoughts and feelings, and...life.  Everything else on that table was stuff.

After her nap, Ellie continued to act sad, and I wanted to remedy that. I wanted to reassure her just how much she was loved. Ellie has a habit: if she wants to play tug-of-war with us, she brings one of her toys and lays it at our feet.  This is the invitation for us to chase her and play the game she loves so much. I asked her to bring me a toy, and she didn't respond.  I tried again, and again, no response. 

Then I decided to try a different tactic.  I went to the Den, grabbed her favorite toy —a stuffed mallard —and went into the Mountain Room, where I dropped it at her feet. She looked up at me in what I interpreted to be disbelief.  She knew exactly what I was saying to her with that toy, and we had a nice game of tug-of-war, after which she sat in my lap for a long while.

This experience with Ellie taught me several things.  First, creatures, human and otherwise, are often much more sensitive than we imagine, and we do well to seek the Lord's guidance in our interactions with them.

Next, it reinforces to me that even when our Lord needs to correct us about something in our lives, He does it out of love for us.  He is in the process of conforming us to the image of His dear Son, and sometimes that "conforming" isn't exactly comforting to us.  But it is always for our best. Just as Ellie needed correction, I sometimes need correction too.

Most importantly, this reminded me that when the Lord does have to correct us or redirect us, His heart never changes toward us.  He is always abundant, pure, love toward us.  He is always for us. And He is showing us that each moment, if we open our eyes to see and believe. Ellie thought the offer of a game was too good to be true (Yes, I know I am assuming what she is thinking, but it works for me here), but it wasn't.  I absolutely wanted to play with her, just as our heavenly Father desires fellowship with us. 

"My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of His correction: For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."

Proverbs 3:11,12