Animals

Bought another goat!


I bought another goat this year through World Vision. This is a wonderful gift. You have heard it takes a village to raise a child, well these goats can raise a small village. Well, okay a family anyway. They use the milk to make cheese and they also use the manure to fertilize their crops. The goats can also provide income for the family by being able to sell extra dairy products and produce at market. You can donate in someone else’s name and they will get a card in the mail notifying them of the gift, which is pretty cool!

I have donated to World Vision for many years…..there are other wonderful organizations out there who are doing great work also, Compassion International and also Heifer International are some others you can check out who also participate in the animal donation program.

Of course the skeptic in me rises up and wonders if my goat really gets there, or if there is a goat at all, or if my money actually goes where it says it goes. I see the cute little picture of a smiling child with an adorable baby goat and I hope and pray that a few seconds after the photo, the goat is snatched away and…..well, never mind……You can ease your mind by checking out the accreditation’s on all the websites and you can also view all of your donations online. I encourage you to do your own research.

I always feel that if you donate your money to a reputable organization, the blessing will come back to you.

So where’s my goat? I did an online search and found someone else who was asking the same question. He actually did a documentary that chronicles his journey to Zambia to track down his charitable goat. See the website here.

I have a warm fuzzy about buying this goat and I pray it is a blessing wherever it goes.

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”  Luke 6:38

God’s Blueprint

Eagles in falling snow, h.d. wallpapers

Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents.
It was loaned to you by your children.
Kenyan Proverb

“If you placed all the pieces of a watch into a shoebox and shook it for ten minutes, do you believe it would shake into a functioning watch? Of course not. What if you shook it for a year? Would a functioning watch then come out of the box? Say you were able to shake it for five billion years; would you then have a functioning watch? There is no possible way for that to happen. And if it couldn’t happen by chance to something relatively simple like a watch, it most certainly couldn’t happen by chance to our magnificently complex universe.” One Heartbeat Away, your journey into eternity by Mark Cahill

How did we get here?
What happens after we take that last breath?
What is the purpose of all this?

The Bible provides the answers and in his book, One Heartbeat Away, Mark Cahill lays it all out in a wonderfully systematic and logical way in light of what Scripture and our own universe actually tells us. Our Creator has left so many clues behind in nature itself; we have only to open our minds and hearts to see them. God has left us a blueprint to find Him in everything we see around us, and yet so many times we seek other explanations and alternatives that are grounded in theory and speculation, but not proof.

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this book…..

 “Does the hawk take flight by your wisdom
and spread its wings toward the south?
 Does the eagle soar at your command
and build its nest on high?
 It dwells on a cliff and stays there at night;
a rocky crag is its stronghold.
 From there it looks for food;
its eyes detect it from afar.” GOD 
Job 39:26-29
 
Continuing the gratitude count today……..snow flakes gathered on pine branches, suns rays slanting through pines, more rain in the desert, exhilaration of the trail and the view from the top, crunch of frozen leaves underfoot, nature moments that catch your breath, jumping fish in a still lake, seeing so many bald eagles in Alaska I didn’t know where to aim the camera….. recognizing God’s footprints in everything I see, knowing that same God wants to know me…..#549-559

holy experience

A bit of poetry today……

The Peace of Wild Things
When despair for the world grows in me
and I wake in the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children’s lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting with their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
— Wendell Berry
 Praise him, sun and moon,
Praise him, all you shining stars.
Praise him, you highest heavens
and you waters above the skies.
Let them praise the name of the LORD,
for he commanded and they were created. Psalm 148:3-5

God speaks…..


Continuing along the lines of yesterday……

The clouds and thunderstorms have been so magnificent lately I seemed to be stuck on the theme of nature and finding God’s power in it. In reading parts of Job this morning, I was struck again by the immense and beauty and perfection of God and His creation.

Elihu speaks to Job:

“He loads the clouds with moisture; He scatters His lightning through them. At His direction they swirl around over the face of the whole earth to do whatever He commands them. He brings the clouds to punish men, or to water the earth with His love….Listen to this Job; stop and consider God’s wonders.” Job 37:11-14

Imagine Job, who had suffered more than any man on earth. His losses were incomprehensible. Then he had to sit and listen to his friend rattle on about God’s mighty attributes, as he was scraping his terrible sores with pottery shards. Job could have given Elihu the speech himself, being the righteous man that he was. Job was a man that had a great relationship with God, although he had to wonder where God was at that point….but then God shocks them both with showing up!

God talks, Job listens:

“Then the Lord answered Job out of the storm, He said: Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me. Where were you when I laid the earths foundation? Tell me if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!” Job 38:1-5

God is not beyond using a little sarcasm to prove His point here, can you hear it behind the words?

Nearly every argument on the problem of pain appears somewhere in the book of Job, but the arguing never seems to help poor Job. He is suffering a crisis of relationship more than a crisis of intellectual doubt. Through it all, Job steadfastly refuses to turn his back on God. He has only one request: to hear from God in person. He wants an explanation right from the source.

At last Job gets his wish. God answers Job with a speech often quoted for its majesty and beauty. In a touch of sweet irony, God makes His entrance just as Elihu is explaining why Job cannot expect a direct answer from God. Job has saved a long list of questions, but it is God who asks the questions, not Job…..brushing aside 35 Chapters worth of debates on the problem of pain, God plunges instead into a dazzling poem on the wonders of the natural world.

Astonishingly, the question of suffering itself does not even come up in God’s speech. Yet somehow Job seems satisfied–humiliated actually.
(Taken from Student Bible Commentary notes, by Philip Yancey and Tim Stafford)

“I know that You can do all things; no plan of Yours can be thwarted…..Surely I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me to know.” And then I love how this ends, “After Job had prayed for his friends, the Lord made him prosperous again and and gave him twice as much as he had before.” Job 42:2,3,10

God is not immune to our suffering. He is there in the midst of it, even when it seems He is nowhere to be found.

Lost Sheep

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:11

I am always looking up facts about sheep because the more I read the Bible, the more I see that there are endless illustrations about sheep, shepherds, lambs, pastures, and sheep gates. It goes on and on. The latest fact I learned was that the Shepherd sometimes breaks the legs of the lambs. At first that sounded cruel, well it still does, but then I found out why they did it. It was to make it easier to carry the lambs on their shoulders in order to keep them safe from predators.

I can’t eat lamb. I tried it once and didn’t like it. Probably because I was envisioning a little face like this in my mind. I can’t eat veal for the same reason. But my main point was, (and I do have one somewhere) is that sometimes God allows certain things to happen in order to put us in a safer place. And sometimes after repeated warnings, He lets us wander in the wilderness for a bit so that He can teach us a valuable lesson, but it hurts Him to do this.

I can remember times in my life when I have felt, so scared, so surrounded, so vulnerable. This life can be a scary place, and sometimes we do feel totally alone. Vulnerable to the shadows of night, aware that unless help comes we are finished. Everything becomes distorted…requests become harsh demands and all fingers are pointing at you. Mercy is nowhere to be found. But never fear. Your Shepherd has counted and found that you are missing, and even now he is bounding up the path, staff at the ready.

Feel his strong arms lift you into safety today as you nestle in the warmth of His love, hammering hearts of panic slow and rest in His own strong heart’s rhythm. Know that whatever happens, you remain in His safe place.

Bird funerals

Photo from Wikipedia

I found a dead baby bird as I left work last night. I hate finding those. I always want to blame the careless mother. But that’s not quite fair, after all maybe she had nothing to do with it. It was lying in the middle of the sidewalk, right on the path. I didn’t want anyone to step on it so I took a napkin out of my purse and layed it under a tree nearby out of sight. I did it because all life is sacred, even a little baby bird.

My Grandmother once gave my parakeet Peppy a funeral. We left it in her care when we went on vacation and it died. She was very upset, so upset that she saved it for me! She lovingly rolled it up in a papertowel and laid it in a green plastic strawberry basket. Maybe I get my bird obsession from her.

But God cares about them too, after all…..”Are not five sparrows sold for two cents? Yet not one of them is forgotten before God.” Luke 12:6

All of life is sacred. I was thinking about this on the way to work this morning. Why is it that so many professionals recommend counseling before marriage (a very good idea) but not require it before bringing another eternal soul into this world?

Just wondering.

Grateful for a God who loves life….


I am counting my blessings today because whatever happens in the world, in Washington, in our lives….God is still on the throne! So today I celebrate life, and our God who loves life too.


Ever notice how perfect strangers will crowd around a newborn or new baby animal with Ooohhs and Ahhhs? All divisions are melted away when we gather around a life that is new, vulnerable, that needs protection….only the most disburbed and hardened soul could not soften a bit at images such as these…..

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. John 10:10


“And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” Genesis 1:24,25

“He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.” Isaiah 40:11
I am thankful today for all things new and wonderful, as I continue counting I am focusing today on what is good: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true#248, whatever is noble#249, whatever is right#250, whatever is pure#251, whatever is lovely#252, whatever is admirable#253—if anything is excellent#254 or praiseworthy#255—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Also thankful for flowers in spring#256, newborn babies#257, all baby animals#258, the hope of a new day#259 and all the promise and wonder that comes with spring#260!

If you want a dose of extreme cuteness see this movie, it’s been out a long time but worth watching with your little ones, and yes there is a happy ending!

Continue counting with Ann, myself and others….
holy experience

Napoleon saves kittens….

Sometimes the animals give us lessons on love and sacrifice…….English Bulldogs are notoriously bad swimmers. With a giant head and chest compared to a lighter tail end, they have a tendency to go bottoms up in the water. It’s hard to keep that head up above the waves when it’s the largest part of your body!

Most owners are very aware of this problem, and will take care to see that their dogs have a good life vest on if they’re going to be boating or there’s a chance the bulldog could end up in some deep water without someone right at hand to save them if they look like they’re starting to struggle.

Because of the breeds history of poor swimming ability, this morning’s news came as a bit of a shock to me! Napoleon, an obedient and well behaved two year old white English Bulldog in Michigan abruptly left his master’s side yesterday and raced out across a road and into a nearby lake.

Napoleon’s owner met him in the driveway as the bulldog came back up out of the lake dragging something in his mouth. It looked like a burlap sack, and Napoleon appeared determined to drag it up from the shore and back to his master’s side.

It was then that Napoleon’s owner heard the meowing and realized that there were abandoned kittens inside the bag! Six kittens in total, although two of them didn’t survive and the remaining four were in bad shape. Napoleon’s mom cared for the survivor’s for the next two weeks until they could be taken in to the city pet adoption center and found new homes.

Napoleon got a much deserved hero’s welcome at the adoption center as crowds gathered to praise the brave bulldog and cuddle the rescued kittens.

I was looking for something else entirely on “Google” but I couldn’t resist posting this story. Animals, part of God’s wonderful creation, sometimes give us glimpses into His own character….love, sacrifice, loyalty, self-denial. I think back to the way it must have been when He first set Adam and Eve into their perfect home. Everyone co-existing happily, everyone eating plants, even the lions and tigers. Wow, hard to imagine.

I have tried to give up meat, so far no luck. Had some last night as a matter of fact, but I am still looking forward to that day in the future when….

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, but dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD. Isaiah 65:25

Go here for an interesting article on a scientist’s perspective on how a lion could eat straw like an ox.