Friday Photos

This photo is not of excellent quality, nor is it a flattering photo of me, but it represents a humorous event in our lives.

For several years, Glen and I backpacked sections of the Appalachian Trail.  On this particular hike, we were hiking in Virginia.  Part of the hike included a section where feral ponies had been brought in to eat the vegetation.  Due to the prevalence of hikers in this area, the ponies have become very accustomed to humans.  They will even come up to you to either get food or to lick the salt off your arms and legs.

I love the beauty and power of large animals, but I must admit that I have never been comfortable around them. I think this stems from watching my brother get bitten by a very large dog when I was a little girl.

So, back to the picture.  We had hiked all day and were ready to set up our tent for the night in a spot nestled in the curve of the trail.  We could see the southbound trail, but not the northbound trail. Before we set up our tent, we decided to have a cup of coffee.  I sat down on a large rock to enjoy my cup, and I had only taken a couple of sips when Glen shouted, "Look, honey!  The ponies!"

The ponies had come down the northbound trail, and before I could even look up, one was right next to me. Before I could move, it started to lick my neck.  I jumped off that rock as if I were spring-loaded.  In the process, I spilled my coffee all over my leg.  Not to miss an opportunity for something tasty, the pony started licking the coffee off my leg.  I wanted to shoo the pony away, especially since his friends were starting to follow him into our campsite. Glen wanted a picture, and I didn't mind, as long as he hurried about it!  After a couple of snapshots, he gently encouraged the ponies to leave.  Realizing they would get nothing else to eat or lick, they went their way.

While uncomfortable at the time, this was one of the most humorous events of that hike, perhaps of all our hikes.

This was the "second take," and I tried to look like I was enjoying it.

I think he was wondering if he could open the backpack!

All Things Ellie Tuesday

Ellie, being a beagle, is a scent hound. 

It is said that beagles have approximately 225 million olfactory receptors, compared to humans' 5 million.  Additionally, they possess a larger olfactory lobe in the brain, enabling them to detect scents at incredibly low concentrations, approximately 10,000 times more sensitive than humans.

This explains what happened Sunday morning.

When we are leaving Ellie alone in the house for a while, we always like to leave her a treat.  Usually, I scatter this on the floor so she has to use those wonderful olfactory receptors to find all her treats.  This is good stimulation for her and keeps her occupied long enough for us to get in the car.

We were preparing to leave for church Sunday morning, and I had placed her bowl with her treats on the counter, along with her dental chew.

This is what I saw when I came back to the kitchen:

I especially loved the sideways look.  I have seen Ellie in action enough, trying to steal food, to know that her long tongue can reach out and capture things I would have thought impossible.

Fortunately, she only had a couple more minutes to wait until everything in the bowl was hers to enjoy!

A Tray of Lasagna

When my youngest daughter says she is going to make a dessert, I know two things about it before I even hear what it is.  I know it will be absolutely delicious and absolutely beautiful. Baking, however, is not just an art; it is science. 

Measurements have to be precise. In fact, the best way to measure ingredients when baking is by weighing them. But if you are going to use measuring cups, it must be a “good measure”.  This means there can be no air pockets in the ingredients, and the ingredients must be level with the brim of the cup, without excess. Too much or too little of an ingredient will change the consistency, texture, and taste of the final product.

Our Lord used this phrase, “good measure,” regarding our giving to others and receiving of good things ourselves:

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give unto your bosom.  For with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again,” (Luke 6:38.)

Often, when I read this verse, my mind skips over the word “Give” and flies to the part about receiving.  I think the Lord may have been addressing that attitude as He tells us that “with the same measure that ye mete withal, it shall be measured to you again.” 

If we have trusted in the Lord Jesus, then as we trust Him, He will supply all we need, when we need it, in every situation.  We need not worry about the venue of the supply, He will take care of those details. And His “measure” is always a “good measure,” in fact, a perfect measure.  

Glen and I have seen that in our lives over and over again, and it started from the very beginning our our marriage. I had just graduated from my nursing program, and Glen was still in college. Once, we unexpectedly came to the end of our budget before we reached the end of the week.  We sat down and prayed together, asking the Lord would supply. We told no one about our need.

Within a day, friends called us and asked us to dinner.  And my Mother called. She said a church social she had been preparing for had been canceled.  She had made a large salad and a pan of lasagna.  She knew she and my Dad could not eat it all, and asked if we would come and get it.  We hung up laughing.  Did we want my mother’s lasagna? Uh, YES!  And her salad was legendary.  We had food for the whole week!  The Lord had abundantly provided.

This was an event we often recalled in our marriage.  It bolstered our faith in other times of need.  While we thanked our mothers’ hands for making the food, we knew this provision was from our heavenly Father.

“Now unto him that is able to do 

exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, 

according to the power that worketh in us,

Unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen,” 

 (Ephesians 3:20,21).

Unseen, Yet Always Working

 

This morning, as is our habit, Ellie and I went outside for a walk.  This always begins with going into the backyard and looking for Percival, the box turtle who lives on our property.  More specifically, who lives behind our kayaks.

If we don't see him immediately when we go there, I will lightly tap on the kayaks and call his name to let him know we are there with his breakfast.  Then I listen.  Often, I can hear him moving to one end or the other. (Box turtles can't move backwards, so sometimes it takes him a minute or two to get to the end of the kayaks.)

Ellie had been sniffing at both ends and even along the ground where the kayaks rest.  I knew from the way she was acting that he was there, but she wasn't going to be satisfied until she could see him.

I could hear him moving, so I knew we would see him soon, but Ellie stood at the end of the kayaks looking between them. Her head turned from one side to the next as if she didn't understand why she didn't see him yet.  Then, finally, he reached the end, and we both could clearly see him.  He walked toward us and was rewarded with his daily food.

This reminded me so much of our walk with the Lord.  We know, by our experience, but more by His Word, that He is involved in every minute of our lives.  Yet, like Ellie, we are perplexed as to why we don't see Him moving in obvious ways.  Or sometimes, we are perplexed as to why we don't see Him moving in the ways we desired or expected.  And yet, He is there.  He is always there.  He is always working in our lives, our circumstances, and even in our spirits to conform us to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.

So many times, we don't see or hear this working, and we must simply believe it by faith.  Sometimes our "outward man" hurts, feels weak, or, as the Scriptures concisely describe, "perisheth".  Yet, that same verse continues to say, "...yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Corinthians 4:17).

As we go through our days and face moments that prompt us to turn our heads in question, as Ellie did, we must make a conscious choice to turn our faces toward our Lord.  As we choose to trust Him by faith, that He is indeed working in every aspect of our lives, we will growingly be aware that the Lord "effectually worketh also in you that believe" (1 Thessalonians 2:13).

"According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue..."

2 Peter 1:3