Don't Step on the Alligator

I am a native "Texan" and love to visit the great outdoors in Texas. Fortunately, I live in a state that has over 130 parks spread across the great state. I recently made a visit to the Brazos Bend State Park, near Houston, Texas. The park is a diverse combination of wetlands, marshes, lakes, prairies, and live oak forests. I took over 700 photographs during my visit! This park is a nature preserve with over 300 species of birds and animals, and is home to over 1000 American alligators! I don't recommend taking your pets with you to this park. This is not a park for the squeamish. I was only five or ten minutes into my hike when I spotted what looked like a couple of logs on the side of the trail. As I got closer I could see that it was actually a couple of alligators lounging at the edge of the trail.

I quickly realized that I should have read the warning sign at the start of the trail. Fortunately I had taken a picture of the sign. I quickly went back through the pictures on my digital camera and read the "rules of engagement" for alligators! The rules stated that you need to stay at least 30 feet from any alligator, or risk getting attacked! Great advice, but it's kind of difficult to stay 30 foot away from the alligator that is at the edge of a 6 foot wide trail, with a swamp on one side and a lake on the other side! I looked around for a big stick but there were none to be found (I'm sure that all the sticks had already been picked up by other cautious hikers)! I took a deep breath and started walking slowly, on the opposite side of the trail. I wanted to stay as far away from the alligators as I could, however I didn't want to get too close to the marsh on the other side of the trail. The alligators remained motionless although their eyes were open and seemed to follow me as I quietly walked by. These two alligators were only the first of hundreds of alligators that I saw during my three hour hike. It was like one of the kids puzzles where you try to see if you can spot all the animals in a photo. You could stop at almost any place on the trail and pick out six or seven alligators sunning on the bank or camouflaged by the green algae floating in the water.

I almost stepped on the biggest alligator that I saw during my hike. I was walking quietly trying to get closer to a Snowy Egret. The egret kept moving along the edge of a slough searching for its next meal. Occasionally I would glance at the ground to see where I was walking. I guess I was focused too intently on getting a picture of the Egret, because the next time I looked down at the ground I realized that I had walked within a couple feet of the biggest alligator I had seen that day! I immediately froze as my eyes met his. He was staring at me, probably just daring me to take another step. I slowly backed up and out of his "personal space". I decided that I needed to maintain a more frequent monitoring of the big picture if I was to exit the park safely!

In life's journey we sometime have too narrow of a focus. We only seeing the trials and problems at hand. We fail to keep the "big picture" of life in focus, just as I was too focused on getting a picture of the Snowy Egret and failed to see the alligator in my path. It's our human nature to dwell on the negative things. It's also easy to get overwhelmed by these negative thoughts.

The prophet Elisha's servant was very disturbed one morning when he woke up and saw that their city was surrounded by the Syrian horseman and chariots. The servant was so focused on the Syrian army that he did not see God's horses and chariots of fire on the mountains behind the Syrians. It wasn't until Elisha prayed for him, that he was able to see the "big picture", including God's army.

So, the next time you feel overwhelmed by life's trials and problems, just take a time out and try to look at the big picture. Think about where God has brought you from and where he has promised to take you too.

In Philippians 4:8 Paul admonishes us to think upon things that are: "true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report. He further tells us that when we think of these thing, that the God of peace will be with you!

Enduring the Training!

   There are furry little masked animals in the woods behind my house. These animals are rarely seen during the daytime. I didn’t even know that they inhabited the woods behind my house until I set up a game camera that detects motion and take pictures in the dark. After retrieving the pictures from the camera a couple of times, I was surprised to see several raccoons eating the corn that I put out for the deer. I was even more surprised to see the deer and raccoons eating at the same time! The raccoons are smart animals. When the corn on the ground was all gone they would climb up a tree and lean over and touch the deer feeder mechanism to get it to drop a few more kernels of corn on the ground (see picture below). After discovering how my deer feeder was going empty so quickly, I moved the feeder to a more open area, away from any trees.

   Raccoons typically weigh from 15 to 20 pounds. They are most well known for their habit of washing their food before eating it. Scientists still disagree on why they do this. Raccoons eat a variety of foods including: fish, insects, worms, plants, fruits, and nuts. They are nocturnal, eating mostly at night, and rarely venture out during daylight hours.

   I was out in the woods early one morning, just after daylight, and saw a mother raccoon with a very young raccoon stumbling along trying to keep up with her. I’m sure that they were just ending a long night of hunting and foraging for food, and were really tired and ready to go to sleep. It may have even been the youngster’s first time to go out foraging with its mom! The mom then must have decided that it was time for a climbing lesson. The mom scampered up a slender tree and gave out some grunting sounds; evidently telling its youngster to follow her. The young raccoon was giving out some twittering, bird like, sounds, probably telling its mother that it was ready for bed and didn’t want to go through a climbing lesson. It took a couple of minutes for the young raccoon to laboriously climb up to where it mother was, only to see its mom scamper over to another tree. The youngster wouldn’t move for a few minutes, but finally heeded its mom’s calls and again followed her path, at times slipping and almost falling several times before catching up with her. After ten minutes of this activity they finally ended up high in an oak tree where they curled up together on a limb and went to sleep.

   As I was walking through the woods this morning, I passed by the area where I observed the raccoon climbing lesson. I started thinking about the lesson. The mother could have taken a very easy ground path and then climbed straight up the oak tree to their sleeping place, however she chose to take a very difficult and challenging path for the young raccoon. She was persistent, and patient, in getting her young one through the challenging path, knowing that the training it was receiving was beneficial. In our spiritual life we often go through situations that are uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but Paul tells us in Hebrews 12 that: “you must submit to and endure correction for discipline, God is dealing with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not train and correct and discipline… for the time being no discipline brings joy, but seems grievous and painful, but afterwards it yields a peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it”.

So the next time God takes you through one of life’s difficult training exercises, just remember, keep following God and you will end up resting securely in his arms!

Note: Scripture reference is from the Amplified Bible

Equipped for Work

    One day I walked out on my backyard deck and was surprised to see a large vulture perched on my deck railing. It quickly flew off when it saw me.  I was curious as to why the vulture was in my backyard! After some investigation, I discovered a small dead rat on the ground, evidently killed by the rat bait that I put out. I was surprised that the vulture could locate something as small as the dead rat! I got rid of the dead rat quickly so as to not attract any more vultures.  

 

   Having taken some close-up pictures of the American Black Vulture and the Turkey Vulture, I have always been fascinated by the vulture family. They perform the important task of scavenging the carcasses of dead animals and they are uniquely equipped for the work they do.  The vultures can weigh over five pounds, but with their large wings, they are the best adapted land birds for soaring. Thankfully they do not have vocal cords; I could only imagine how loud a five pound bird could be! They have a keen sense of smell that allows them to pick up the scent of a dead animal from over a mile away. They roost in community groups of over a hundred vultures but go off alone for foraging. The vultures have some strange habits. I have observed the vultures, still at their morning roost, standing with their wings spread out for several minutes at a time. Scientists think that maybe they are allowing the sun to burn off the bacteria from their feathers. I think they are just trying to warm up after a cold night!  Can you imagine what Texas countryside would be like without the vultures eating our “road kill”? Thankfully the vulture has few natural predators and is in no danger of extinction. 

    God went to great lengths to equip the vulture for their life of scavenging. God went to even greater lengths to equip the Christian for living, working, and surviving life on planet Earth!  In Psalms 139, David says that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. The apostle Paul gives us instructions on how to equip ourselves for the Christian life.

In Ephesians 4, Paul tells us that we are given grace and then he tells us that God gave us: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip us to do God’s work. You need to make sure that you are attending a church and receiving the teachings and exhortations from these people.  

In II Timothy 3, Paul tells us that:”All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”  Many people read the Bible every day. Make sure that you read the Bible on a regular basis and God will speak to you through his Word!

In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us to put on God’s armor of truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God; so that we may be able to resist evil.

Make sure that you are “fully equipped” by God and you will have a great time living on planet Earth!

Scripture references are from the “New Living Translation” of the Bible

Are You Ready for Change?

    As I was taking my daily walk in the woods this morning I came across numerous fallen trees. Evidently the strong wind of the past few days had taken its toll on the trees. I came across a large limb, over 12 inches in diameter that had fallen on my trail. When falling, it also took down multiple other trees in the area, completely blocking my trail. I would have preferred to remove the trees and kept to my original trail but was forced to change the trail’s original path and go around the massive blockage.

   Having to change the path because of the fallen trees started me thinking about changes in our lives. There is an old saying that “change is inevitable”, or in plain English, it is impossible to avoid change. How we deal with these changes is a reflection of our character. Many people do not like change. Some people fight strongly against the changes that come to their lives. Sometimes these changes are for good and at other times the changes are not good.

   In the Bible, Genesis 12 tells us about a man who went through a lot of changes. After living around family and friends in the same area for 75 years, God told Abram to pack up everything and start moving to a location that God would reveal later. Can you imagine the response from Abram’s family, friends, and his wife, when he announced his plans to move? And if that wasn’t enough change, a few years later God told the 100 year old Abram that his 90 year old wife, Sarah, was going to have a child! The Bible says that Sarah laughed at the unbelievable statement! I’m sure that she has a lot of additional comments that the Bible didn’t record!

   I Samuel 16 records the accounts of another person who experienced a lot of changes in their life. David was just a simple sheep herder until the prophet appeared and anointed him to be king over all of Israel. David was not actually crowned to be king until some time later. Can you imagine David going back to sheep herding, knowing that someday he was going to be king over all of Israel? It must have seemed like a dream. More changes came to David’s life a short time later. David slew the giant, Goliath, and was put over all of Israel’s men of war. David went through a lot more changes, even running for his life, before finally being crowned king of Israel.

    The Bible is full of stories of God’s mighty anointed men and the radical changes they experience in their lives. If you are praying for God’s anointing or a great move of God in your life, then be prepare for change. It will come!

Thorns and Briars

     I love walking in the outdoors, enjoying the natural creations of God. There are so many beautiful plants to behold. Every where I travel around the world, I discover new plants that I have never seen before. One of my favorite places to visit is the Wilhelma Botanical Gardens in Germany, which contain over 6000 species and varieties of plants! I love most of the plant species, however, there is one group that I do not like to run into; it’s the thorns and briers.

     Thorns and briars have been around since the time of Genesis. Because of Adam’s sin, God said that Adam would have to eat of the ground. Genesis 3 also tells us that God cursed the ground and said that it would bring forth “thorns and thistles”. Adam had to deal with them in his time and we are still fighting against them today!

     I recall my dad telling me a story about the briers. He had just received a brand new hunting jacket and was out in the woods deer hunting. He was walking through a really thick area and had snagged his new jacket on a brier. He was carefully working to free his jacket, without damaging it, when he heard a grunt behind him. He turned around just in time to see mother hog charging at him. Knowing the ferocity of a mother hog with little ones, he quickly found a tree to climb, leaving portions of his new jacket on the briar!

     It is almost impossible to get rid of the briars. They spring up all over my backyard. I cut them back to the ground and they keep coming back. I have noticed something unique about the briars. They go through a change sometimes during their early life. When the briars first start growing, they appear to be like many other types of “friendly” vines. The young briars are soft and pliable. Their “stickers” are soft and bend easily. If one didn’t know better they might be tempted to just let the briar vine grow. The young briar is not a threat to anyone, but sometimes during its life it goes through a transformation. The briars stem and stickers become very hard and will snag any clothes that come close to them or scratch any bare skin that touches it, and dead briers becomes even more brittle and painful!

     There are things that Satan brings into our spiritual lives that are similar to the thorns and briars. At first these things seem innocuous and insignificant. We usually notice them in our lives but don’t bother to address them, because they are so small; but as time goes on they can transform into something very dangerous to our spiritual lives. Sometimes these are temptations that we think we can control, but they grow until they are controlling us and cause us to sin. Other times they are just small deceptive things we say, that over time cause us to tell multiple lies.

     In my early career I had a friend at work that started to get involved with a girl, just to “help her out”. I warned him that he should only help from a distance, but he would not listen to me. In the end she became an enormous problem that he could not get rid of. When he finally forced her to move out of his apartment, she returned to throw rocks through his windows and almost got him fired from him job by her hundreds of phone calls to his company. He thought that he could keep the situation under control, but it ended up controlling him!

     So the next time you hear that inner voice telling you that you should not do something, obey God’s voice, do what is right, and you will not be entangled by the thorns and briars of Satan!

It Never Rains in the Amazon Jungle

    One of my life’s goals was to visit to the Amazon Jungle. I have watched many National Geographic TV specials on the Amazon and wanted to witness its beauty first hand. About ten years ago I decide to take my dream trip to the Amazon. I first started looking for jungle lodges in Brazil. I wanted to find the most remote and biodiverse region available.   I settled on a lodge in Peru that was 90 miles from the nearest city by boat, and that nearest city could only be accessed by air.  I stayed at the Tahuayo Lodge that is adjacent to the 800,000 acre Tamshiyacu-Tahuayo Communal Reserve. 

The area was an absolute paradise for nature lovers. The reserve supports 14 species of primates and over 500 species of birds!  It was truly amazing to experience the jungle first hand. I learned so many things that you could never learn from just watching a TV show on the jungle. The primary rain forest trees were almost one hundred feet in height, or as tall as a 10 story building! Only a small amount of light was able to filter through the trees and down to the ground. 

Because of the low light, my photography was limited to several hours before and after the noon time, when the sun was almost directly overhead.  It was not uncommon to hear a group of monkeys coming toward you, hear them directly overhead, and then hear them moving off into the distance, without ever catching a glimpse of them. The thick jungle forest also acted like a great insulator. With Peru located near the equator the days at the lodge were in the mid 90’s but entering the forest was just like walking into an air conditioned room. The temperature under the jungle canopy was 10-15 degrees cooler than in the open areas exposed to the sun! I had the most amazing jungle experience when it started to rain. I was in one of the thick jungle areas. I started to feel a light mist falling through the jungle canopy. After walking for half an hour we arrive at an open area, with no trees overhead, and was shocked to see that it was raining heavily! There was no rain reaching the jungle floor because it was being almost totally absorbed by the jungle canopy!  I was told that the “jungle mist” would continue for several days after a hard rain. 

     Just as the thick jungle canopy provides protection from the heavy rain, so does living in the “kingdom of God” provide a shield for us. In several New Testament scriptures Jesus admonishes us to “seek ye first the kingdom of God”. In the “Lords Prayer” where Jesus gives us an example on how to pray, the first request we are to make is “thy kingdom come”. In Romans 14:17, Paul provides a description for the “kingdom of God”. Paul says: “the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost”. In plain English, Paul is saying that the “kingdom of God” is not about getting to eat what we want or do the things we want, but that the “kingdom of God” is about having a peace and joy on our heart!   So, even thought we might not have all the physical things we want in life, and we may be going through tribulations, we can still have the peace and joy that is promised to those who are in his kingdom!

Temporary Blindness

     I woke up several times during the night and heard raindrops on my roof. After getting up this morning, I was surprised to look out the window and see that the skies were completely clear! After getting dressed I decided to go out and sit on my back deck, for my morning prayer. As I opened the door I was greeted by a surreal view! It was as if everything has disappeared. My usual view, overlooking a canyon, was totally obscured by a thick fog. I could only see for a few yards. A flock of birds flying over the canyon had to make an abrupt maneuver, as they were about to fly directly into my house.

     Occasionally we encounter the same thick fog while driving. It can appear very quickly. You are driving 65mph down the road at night time when suddenly your visibility goes down to almost zero. You grip the steering wheel and you brake hard, hoping you can slow down before you run into something. It’s as if you were temporarily blinded! You then creep along cautiously at a snail’s pace straining your eyes to see the road or the car in front of you.

     In our spiritual lives we normally get directions from various sources, including the Holy Spirit, the Bible, preachers, and teachers. We seek God’s direction and guidance for decisions we make. We also seek direction from God during times of conflict. Events can occur in an instant that totally overwhelm us. All it takes is a phone call, a doctor’s report, or a text message. Our life can be turned upside down and we don’t know where to turn. We pray and we sometimes don’t get an answer. It’s as if we have run into the fog and we don’t know which way to turn.

     So what do we do when we are overcome by this “spiritual blindness”? The solution is very similar to our “fog” experience. You get a firm grip on God and you don’t let go. Keep up your daily prayer time, even if you feel that your prayers are bouncing off the ceiling. Don’t allow anything to stop you from praying. You may need to stop some of the non-important things you are doing and focus on reestablishing your communications with God. Move slowly and cautiously. Give God an opportunity to speak to you. Also, make sure that there is not anything in your life that would keep God from talking to you. I John 2:11 tells us that “whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and… does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him”. I Peter 3:7 instructs us men to: “give honour unto the wife… that your prayers be not hindered”. You will usually get your answer in a few days, although sometimes it takes longer. God does not always give us an answer to every question or request we have for him. If after fervently seeking God, you do not get an answer; then proceed cautiously with your gut feeling.

     Just remember, when you are driving down life’s highways and are blinded by the “spiritual fog”, strive to stay on the path. Soon the fog will lift and you will again be able to see the path clearly!

Change in Central Texas

     Well, our Texas weather is certainly living up to its reputation! In Texas we say: “if you don’t like the weather just wait a few hours and it will change”! On Monday of this week it was a nice winter day with partly cloudy skies and a high in the mid 50’s. I spent the day at a friend’s house, building on a tree house for his son’s birthday. On Tuesday a new cold front blew in and our high was about 30 degrees and it snowed all day long. I think everybody in town was calling each other talking about the snow! This was the heaviest and longest period of snow that I have ever experience in Texas. The snow flakes were enormous. I was in my office trying to focus on a conference call. I had already warned the others that I may get distracted by watching the falling snow outside my window. My office is on the second floor of our house and I have a bird feeder just outside the window.

There were no birds or wildlife stirring, except for my faithful squirrel that I talked about on my February 9 blog, “Enduring the Rain”. Just as he was eating berries in the rain, he jumped up and started eating the sunflower seeds in my bird feeder. Undeterred by the snow flakes falling on and around him, he fed for some time. He didn’t appeared to be bothered by me snapping a few pictures of him, I guess it was because he had gotten accustomed to my cat jumping up to watch him on numerous occasions. Well, on Wednesday our Texas weather reputation continued. I woke up to clear skies and sun streaming over the horizon and quickly melting the snow from yesterday.

     Changes in our lives are just about as consistent as our changing Texas weather. Sometimes these changes are for good and sometimes they are bad. At times we wonder why the bad things are happening to us, when we are living for God. Matthew 5 tells us that God: “sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust”. God allows certain event in our lives to correct us and make us better. In Hebrews 12, Paul tells us that “for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”. Proverbs 3 tells us to: “despise not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his corrections”. Just as good parents correct and discipline their children, so God also does to those who follow him. So be ready for change and consider yourself fortunate to have a God, who knows your future, and who corrects and prepares you for a successful tomorrow!

Enduring The Rain

     This has been one of Central Texas’s coldest and wettest winters in years. This morning was no exception to this trend with temperatures in the 40’s and a steady rain. I was in my warm house sitting on the couch reading a book. I was surprised to see a squirrel scurrying about just outside my window. The squirrel was feeding on the ripe yaupon berries. Evidently the squirrel was really hungry, to get out in the cold rain. I quickly grabbed my camera and started taking some pictures. I am accustomed to seeing the squirrels with their beautiful fur and long bushy tails. Unfortunately this squirrel in the rain didn’t look to healthy. Its wet fur was sticking together and its tail looked like a wet mop! The squirrel was holding its tail above its head, like an umbrella, but the rain drops were still dripping in its face. Every few minutes it would shake itself to try to get rid of the water. I saw another squirrel come out for a few seconds and then quickly went back under the cover of a big tree limb. The first squirrel was still feeding 15 minutes later, when I left to answer a phone call.

    Sometimes we do things that we are not comfortable doing. Just as the hunger was driving the squirrel to feed in the rain, situations in our lives can drive us to get our of our comfort zone and take drastic actions. The Bible has many examples of people taking drastic actions, and examples of God responding to their drastic actions. The city of Samaria was under siege by the Syrians. The people were running out of food. The four lepers, who begged at the gate of the city, were evidently faring even worse. The lepers finally decided to take drastic action and started for the camp of the Syrians, hoping to get fed. II Kings 7 tells us that God caused their footsteps to be amplified and sound like an enormous army marching towards the Syrians. The Syrians fled in panic and left all their spoils for the lepers and the rest of the people of Samaria, saving the city from starvation.
     So, the next time you are faced with some of life’s obstacles, just remember that with a determined mind and God’s help, miracles will happen!

The Brave Tamandua

     I stayed at the Chan Chich Lodge in Belize, several years ago. I liked the lodge because it had numerous marked jungle trails that I could hike on at my leisure, without a guide. One afternoon I was quietly walking alone on the Loggers Trail when I spotted a movement in the trees. As I got closer I saw that it was a small Tamandua, a member of the anteater family. It was busy scurrying around, hunting for ants and termites under the bark of a dead tree.

The Tamandua have prehensile tails, like monkeys, which allows them to use their tail for holding on. Lucky for me they have poor eyesight and I was able to observe it for quite some time without being spotted. After taking numerous photographs I finally decided to see what it would do if it saw me. I expected it to quickly retreat into the jungle maze. I made a big movement which it quickly noticed. Although it was only about the size of a medium size house cat, the Tamandua immediately took up a defensive posture and started hissing at me.

 It grasped the tree with its tail and hind feet and began waving its forearms and long claws at me, as if ready to fight! I snapped a few more photographs and then slowly backed away, letting it feel that it had scared me off. I admired its bravery, standing up to something much larger than itself. I don’t think that I would have been as brave as the Tamandua if I was suddenly faced with something much larger than me, such as an elephant.

     The brave actions of the little Tamandua in the jungle started me thinking about our human reaction to facing the “giants” of our lives. I do think it is our human nature to be afraid, when faced with something that could do us harm, but God tells us many times, not to be afraid. Just because we are Christians, does not mean that we will not face any evil or threatening situations in our lives; but, God has promised that he will be with us, and will never forsake us. In Deuteronomy 20, God instructs his people: “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee”. Fear does not come from God, as II Timothy, chapter one, points out: “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind”. The phrase “fear not” appears over 60 time in the Bible! So, the next time you face one of the “giants” in your life, just remember that “God is with you” and be brave as the little Tamandua in the tree!

Caring for the Sick

     Having been sick for a week after Christmas, I missed my daily hikes in the woods. Sitting around the house I had a lot of time for thinking and meditation. I started thinking about the animals in the woods: What do they do when they are sick? Who takes care of them when they are sick or injured? Who insures that they have adequate food? I recently saw a coyote walking down the trail on three legs, after apparently injuring his foot. I wonder if he recovered sufficiently to hunt again. I saw a buck dear with most of his vision blocked by some sort of rope and cloth caught in his horns. I wonder if he was able to free himself before being caught by some predator. While working in my back yard I recently head a fawn bleating. I walked to the edge of my deck, overlooking the woods, and watched for a few minutes. A young deer came tearing across an opening with a coyote in hot pursuit, not more than 20 yards behind him. I could hear them crashing through the brush for several minutes. I wonder if the fawn survived the attack.



     There are many animal rescue organizations that help rehabilitate injured animals that are captured, but what about the rest of injured animals in the woods? I decided to check the Bible to see what God has to say about caring for animals and nature.
     I was surprised at the number of scriptures that talk about nature. Evidently God really cares for the things of nature. Matthew talks about two sparrows being sold for a farthing, or ¼ a penny, but mentions that not one of them shall fall to the ground without God’s knowledge or consent. (Matt 10:29). Matthew also challenges us to: “behold the fowls of the air, who don’t sow, reap, or gather into barns; yet our heavenly Father feeds them (Matt 6:26).

Matthew also tells us to consider the lilies of the field, how: “they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you that even Solomon is all his glory was not arrayed like one of these”.

       It was reassuring to see multiple scriptures telling us of our heavenly Father’s knowledge and concern for nature. What was really exciting, was to see the comparisons in several of the scriptures, about how much more God is knowledgeable and caring of us. Matthew 6:30 says: “if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you”. Luke talks about God being aware of every sparrow falling to the ground and then tells us: “but even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows”.
     So the next time you are sick or lonely, just remember, God is watching over you and is just as near as a whispered prayer!

Ice Flowers

    There are some very unique creations in nature that are only seen by a few fortunate people. I was recently privileged to see one of these creations. I took a walk in the woods during our first freeze of this winter. I saw what looked like Kleenex tissues spread across the ground. Upon close observation I realized that it was not tissues but “ice flowers” or as some call them “frost flowers”. I quickly returned to my house to get my camera to capture the unique moment.

These unique creations can only be observed once a year at the first freeze, and they disappear as soon at the temperature rises above freezing. Some years they do not appear at all. These flowers are very delicate and a breath of hot air is all it takes to make them to disappear.












     “Ice flowers” are created by a rare and difficult to observe phenomena. At the first freeze, sap still exists in the stems of certain plants, such as the common “rag week” in central Texas. As the sap starts to freeze it expands and creates long cracks along the plant’s stem. The sap is then extruded out of these cracks, and immediately freezes on contact with the cold air. As the sap continues to extrude out the crack, it forms ribbons or petals that are similar to flowers.

    Observing the fragile “ice flowers”, that only last for a couple of hours, reminds me of the writings of James, who compares our life to a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away (James 4:14). Time can seem to pass by slowly, especially when we are sick are going through rough times. We sometimes feel that we have lived for an extremely long time on earth, but compared to an eternity in heaven, our time spent on earth will be very short. Live your life on earth for God and you will enjoy a long eternity in heaven!

Alone in the Woods

    After a big steak lunch today, I decided that I had to get outside and get some exercise and fresh air. It was a very cold, dreary, and heavily overcast day. It looked like it could start raining any minute. It was so overcast that at 4pm it looked like it was already starting to get dark. Not surprisingly, I did not see any other people on the trails. The wind was calm and there was an almost eerie silence in

the woods. The birds were very quite. I only heard a couple of chirps, once or twice. The only wildlife I saw was a brief glimpse of a rabbit as it ran off in the underbrush. I can almost always find some kind of bird, animal, or bug to watch; but it was as if all life had ceased. I sat down on a fallen tree for fifteen minutes and still saw nothing! After an hour I finally gave up on spotting any wildlife and came back to the house.

      Back in the warmth of the house I started thinking about my eventless walk in the woods. Our spiritual walk sometimes parallels my lonely walk in the woods today. There are times in our spiritual life when we don’t see or hear any evidence of God’s work in our lives. We pray and don’t get an answer. We wonder if God is still aware that we are alive. The holiday season can be a particularly lonely time. We can feel as if we are all alone, as I did in the woods today. Actually I knew that there were numerous quantities of birds and wildlife in the woods, even though I did not hear or see any of them. That is the way it is with God. We go through times when we do not see or feel God working in our lives, but we need to remind ourselves that God is always with us regardless of what we feel or experience. If you experience times of loneliness during this holiday season, just remember, God is with you and will never leave you!

Hiding From our Problems

   There is a friendly lizard that hangs out in my backyard in a large cedar tree. He blends in perfectly with the bark on the cedar tree. On almost any afternoon I can go by the tree and spot him somewhere on or around the tree, looking for his next meal. You may ask “what is a friendly lizard”? Well, most of the lizards that I see run off as soon as I get near them, but for some reason this particular lizard does not seem to be afraid of me. I have photographed him several times, from a distance of only a couple of feet! He seems to enjoy getting his picture taken!

      As the weather turned colder this fall, I started seeing him in the early mornings, hiding under the bark of the cedar tree. Although his head was hidden under the bark, the rest of his body was fully exposed. I’m sure that he felt secure, not realizing that most of his body was totally exposed to any predators that might fly by. I was hoping that he wasn’t going to try to hibernate, with his head covered by the cedar bark. Fortunately, just before our first hard freeze, he disappeared, hopefully in a much more secure place.
At times we humans get overwhelmed and take the ostrich approach and try to “hide our heads in the sand”, or “under the bark” as in the lizards case. Sometimes we are hiding from the things we know we need to do and other times we are hiding from God. Hiding from, ignoring, or procrastinating about issues in our lives never makes things better. The quicker we address the issues in our lives, the better off we are. Trying to ignore or hide from God is a totally futile effort. In Jeremiah 23:24 the Lord asks: “can any man hide himself in the secret places that I shall not see him?” and then tells is that the Lord fills the heaven and earth.
      Sometimes our hidings or procrastinations can bring disastrous results. Jonah did not want to follow God’s directions and ended up in the belly of the whale! In the end, Jonah finally obeyed God’s directions. We will all be much better off if we do not hide from our problems. Its time to face reality and pull our heads out of the sand and out from under the cedar tree bark! In Psalms 27:5 David tells us that: “For in the time of trouble he (God) shall hide me in his pavilion”. The only hiding we need to do is allowing God to hide us and take care of us!

Staying Alert!

I love the outdoors and God has blessed me with a house that backs up to a wooded area. I usually take a walk in the woods every morning. I have cleared a lot of trails in the woods, and usually keep them raked of rustling leaves so I can walk silently and observe all the creatures that God has created. If you spend any time in the outdoors, you have probably heard the animals making all types of noises. Almost all types of animals have some way of communicating with each other. As I was walking in the woods this morning, I detected an angry chattering from a squirrel. The closer I got, the more squirrels joined in the fussing. They were clearly very disturbed by something. Sometimes you hear two squirrels chasing each other and barking, but this was clearly more than two squirrels and they were very upset. I slowed my walk and quietly continued down the winding trail. I paused as I stepped around a corner, and saw what the squirrels were upset about. Sitting in the middle of the trail, and staring up at a bunch of squirrels was a very disgusted fox! Fortunately for the squirrels, at least one of them was alert and saw the hungry fox before he could pounce on one of them. By the time I arrived every animal within 100 yards was alerted to the hungry fox. All the squirrels lived to eat again the next day! The fox went off hungry, his plans for a tasty meal spoiled by an alert squirrel!

  The Bible talks about the “little foxes that spoil the vines.” Foxes are one of the smaller predators in the outdoors, but they can still cause a lot of havoc. Just as the small foxes cause havoc for the wildlife, there are many small things that can spoil the “vines of our lives.” We need to be alert and vigilant for the “foxes” that come after us. Evil temptations can overtake us if we are not careful. In I Thessalonians 5 Paul talks about the “end times” and warns us to “watch and be sober”.

At times our fellow Christians get so busy that they may not see or hear the “fox” coming. As Christians we need to also watch out for our fellow Christians, just as the first squirrel that spied the fox and warned the other squirrels. Ezekiel 33 talks about the “watchman” whose job is to warn the people of danger and reminds the watchman that he will be held accountable if he see “danger” and fails to warn the people. Live for God and stay alert to the dangers in your spiritual life!

Landmarks

    I received a lot of lessons from my dad while hunting in the great outdoors. When I was younger we didn't have all the modern GPS navigation aids. More than once, while in the outdoors, I found myself walking in circles and ending up where I started. This behavior causes quite a disturbing feeling. Dad taught me to navigate by using existing landmarks, pointing out various unique trees and terrain along the trail. Seeing one of these landmarks was a reassuring feeing when I was uncertain if I was still going the right direction. One particular area we hunted in was a very large and heavily wooded area, with no fences and few unique landmarks. Fortunately, this area was close to a road with an old wooden bridge. Cars traveling over this bridge made a distinctive noise. My dad taught me this simple lesson for navigating back home when lost in this area: "Just stop and wait until you hear a car going over the old wooden bridge, then turn until the bridge is on your left and walk straight forward." I sometimes had to wait a while for the next car to cross over the bridge, but the technique worked every time!

    To successfully navigate through our complex spiritual existence, we need to set up or identify some “landmarks” in our lives. Seeing these familiar landmarks assures us that we are still on the correct spiritual path. The Bible points out many of these “landmarks” that we should have established in our lives, such as daily prayer, fasting, witnessing, and regular reading of the Word. Losing sight of one of these “landmarks” helps us realize that we are straying off our spiritual path and need to take action to get back on track. One personal “landmark” that I set in my life at an early age was regarding church attendance. If I started questioning in my mind whether or not I should go to church, that was an immediate sign to me that I was backsliding and needed some immediate attention to get back on track.

    If we don’t have enough of the spiritual landmarks in our lives, we can get lost and not know what path to take to get back on track. Even when we have the landmarks, we can still stray off the path and get lost. It is usually frightening and disturbing when we come to the realization that we have a problem in our life, and we have no idea what to do to fix the problem. When this happens while driving a car, we usually stop the car, get out and ask someone where we are and how to get to our destination. When this happens on the spiritual side, we need to pause and go to someone for direction, or go directly to God for help. In Matthew 17:16 the disciples could not heal a certain man. They then came to Jesus and asked why, and Jesus told them that some challenges take much prayer and fasting to see success. Make sure you setup and follow the landmarks in your life, to keep you on the correct path!