Blog Posts
Aging
God's Faithfulness, Lessons from Nature
|Ever wish you could age like your dog? As Mandy (now close to eleven – seventy-seven in “people years”) grows older, we can’t help but notice her slightly swayed back, the grey hairs in her otherwise black and tan muzzle and the sagging tummy. Her days of chewing on forbidden things have past. But Mandy…
Autumn
Lessons from Nature
|After a long, hot summer that kept the leaves green well into October, Autumn finally arrived. The trees wore reds from crimson to cherry, golds from saffron to mustard, oranges from apricot to pumpkin; the green of their youth forgotten. Leaves turned to brown, the wind blew, the once colorful petals flutter to the ground;…
Perseverance
Lessons from Nature
|In her yellow and white polka-dot overalls, I watched as eleven-month-old Janie attempted her first steps. Tentative but determined, she let go of the square, oak coffee table, took one step… “plop;” her little bottom hit the dark blue carpet. Barely pausing, she reached for the table, pulled herself up and tried again …and again…
Baby Skunks
Faith, Lessons from Nature
|“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…” (Hebrews 12:2, New American Standard Bible) One morning Ellen* opened her front door to find two baby skunks on her lawn. Frightened, with tails raised the youngsters nervously backed away. Of course, backing up they were unable to see where they were going. They…
God is Faithful
God's Faithfulness, Lessons from Nature
|“God is faithful, who has called you into fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9) The dog* had waited ten years for the return of his master, hour after hour, day after day, week after week, year after year. Part of me believes such selfless, patient, loving devotion is impossible… but…
Shamed by a Dog
Lessons from Nature
|“‘… only believe.’” (Mark 5:36, New American Standard Bible) I read a story about a dog* who would follow his master to the train station each morning and wait at the station for his return. Sadly, one day the man died at work. The dog sat waiting at the station for his master’s return ……
Two Working Together
Lessons from Nature
|“Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.” Ecclesiastes 4:9 (NASB) The speaker shared how much weight a draft horse can pull, comparing the amount one can pull to the weight two can pull. Surprised, I later googled “weight a draft horse can pull.” The online article* compared the…
An Appointed Time for Everything
Lessons from Nature
|“There is an appointed time for everything, And there is a time for every event under heaven…” Ecclesiastes 3:1 NASB Autumn. Each time the wind blows, dying gold-brown leaves flutter like snowflakes to the ground. Next will be bare brown trees; from a distance, they’ll look like a man with a thinning crew-cut. But there was brilliance.…
Chasing Squirrels
Lessons from Nature
|“…Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad…. Seek His face continually.” Psalm 105:3b-4b With a full belly and the taste of her favorite dogie treats still on her tongue Lucy steps out onto the deck to survey the yard and adjacent woods. Standing perfectly still, ears erect she scrupulously studies the…
Sinkholes
Lessons from Nature
|“‘ Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded…