Category: Amazing Creations

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Music, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Humor on The Way to The Convent

I have posted this twice, but it seems to get stuck in the cloud? First I posted it too soon and took it down. Then I re-posted and Bob could only see it by paging through the posts. So here is my final attempt at rock humor!

Driving to a Convent Meeting was accidentally loaded earlier and was then taken down. Hopefully with a new title this will load a-okay on the day I desired it to go up.

I take a couple of freeways to get to meetings at the Convent of the Transfiguration. One interchange passes a landscape supply center. Passing there a couple weeks ago their sign read: “Changing the world, one stone at a time.”

I was laughing out loud as I merged with traffic. You might remember the song I like entitled “One Less Stone” by Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir? The lyrics say that when I praise Jesus there is one less stone that needs to cry out. This episode occurred on the way to Jerusalem, often called the Triumphal Entry.

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” 40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” Luke 19:39-40 NIV

So yes, by praise we are changing the world one stone at a time. I also was reminded of the stone that was supposed to seal the grave of Jesus. The women on the way to the tomb …

they asked each other, “Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb? Mark 16:3 NIV

One Gospel says the angel rolled it away, or an earthquake. What if Jesus himself rolled it away? Jesus changed the world with the one stone rolled away, meaning by his resurrection and ascension he changed the world with that one stone. Of course, it might have been the angels. As we know from later accounts Jesus can walk through walls! He can likely walk through huge stones, also.

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! John 20:19-20 NLT

What stone can you change today? You do not need to be a big strong landscaper to change the world! Just praise God each hour. It is a good discipline for each of us to participate in.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Beagle, Challenge, Faith, Focus, Humor, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Thanks, Yield

Summertime

Not liking the humidity this summer, we still need to walk this feisty beagle 4 times a day. The only time she will pee in the yard on her own is if she did not go out the night before because of thunder and is desperate in the morning. Then we simply tie her out early as her only option. Maybe we should get hard heart-ed and make this a new practice!

I was complaining to my neighbor about having to walk this dog. Then I began to notice the evening sky. I would have missed these sights had I not taken Lucky outdoors.

“The Lord wraps himself in light as with a garment; he stretches out the heavens like a tent.” – Psalm 104:2

The snapdragons have kept me entertained as the other plants bloom and wane. This guy was an extremely busy bee!

He is in
He is out
Exploring for more bounty
Take a rest little fellow!!

Year before last I bought a Mallow shrub. It did not survive the winter. Sadly, I could not locate teh receipt to return it for a refund. Last autumn, I bought another mallow and kept the receipt just in case. It survived the winter and is starting to amuse us with saucer-sized flowers. What a strange delight.

Enjoy your summer, whatever the weather where you abide! Keep your eyes open for those treasures in plain sight!!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Just do it, Listen, Nature, Obedience, Surrender, Yield

In The Quiet

The doe enters the yard with her twins, fawns still bearing their white spots. One is curious and inquisitive. The other stays close to mama.

I scan the two yards next to us. The rabbits are not to be seen. I proceed with my meditation and prayer time. I glance up half an hour later. Two lumps of brown in the distance. No, not mole hills. Binoculars reveal my large rabbit friends. So silent, just grazing. They too, listen to the gravel crunching on the roadway. No threat there. Just noise.

These creatures of the quiet draw my heart and mind. Where does that doe hide two long-legged babies? How does she corral that inquisitive one?

Where do those rabbits live when I cannot see them? Is there a clutch of bunnies some place? When will they be old enough to graze? Will I get to view them, also?

Lord, I want to be your woman of the quiet. Help me to sense every signal of Yours as to my activities and terms of stillness. Your call to me from Isaiah 30 is always life giving.

In returning and rest I am saved, in quietness and trust is my strength
In the presence of the Lord there is joy forevermore
Rejoice, rejoice in the Lord oh my soul.

Are you drawn to the quiet? How do you get there? Do you return to the quiet when things get hectic around you?

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord Acts 3:19 NIV

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Focus, Just do it, Listen, Music, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Thanks

Delighted to Find This!

I do not even remember how I came across this! I listened this morning for the first time to a discussion about an old hymn and then the actual singing of the hymn. I found it to be a most delightful YouTube video. It was also early morning on a cloudless day as I listened. This only heightened my awareness of the light. I hope you like it, also! Luke Powell gives a very nice discussion of how the author Walter Chalmers Smith weaves the theme of God and light throughout the hymn. I had never thought of God and light quite that way before. At the end the he plays and sings the hymn.

Immortal, invisible, God only wise! Yes, the describes the song of my soul, too!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Music, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Surrender, Thanks, Worship

Cooking in Summer

I have been cooking every time I step outdoors. Twenty minutes of working in the garden and I am soaked as if God decided to baste me!

Did I show you the rose? Last year the deer kept eating the new shrub almost to the ground. I was not even certain it would survive the winter after that abuse. Yet here it was blooming large and glorious! And oh, the fragrance of an old fashioned tea rose.

“I come to the garden alone, while the dew is still on the roses”

This photo was from June 17 and it is a good thing I took a photo, because the next morning it was gone. Deer bit it off. Unbelievable!! None of the subsequent flowers were as large or as fragrant as that first one. So Bob had the idea we protect the shrub with berry netting. I put up the netting and refreshed the bars of Irish Spring soap. They were deterred! Next I noticed Japanese Beetles eating the flowers. I sprayed like crazy and removed any bugs I saw.

A week or 2 later, I noticed there was hole torn in the netting, perhaps by deer teeth?!? Bob and I spent just about 20 minutes the other evening replacing the berry netting around the rose bush.

You can see where the Japanese beetles have eaten leaves. I cut the remaining flowers and brought them indoors. By the time I came in the house every stitch of clothing was soaked. I am not exaggerating!

The same day, earlier in the day, I began cooking. We had visited the Country Market. I went to work making green beans and ham with potatoes. That required more than one boiling pot! My neighbor had commented, “Them’s some good beans!” so of course, I felt compelled to make him some more. Plus the price was down to .99 pound for fresh green beans!

I went on to cook the spaghetti squash. I am a diabetic married to a man who loves spaghetti. Well the sauce isn’t too bad but the carbs in spaghetti are not good for me. Spaghetti squash gives me a nice alternative!

half an empty squash shell
spaghetti sauce shreds – enough here for 3 servings

I usually freeze the squash into servings for myself. Having just made fresh pesto sauce I am certain we will be feasting on this soon!

Yes, I have been cooking in more ways than one! Hope you are finding ways to remain cool or at least cool off when you have been basted out of doors!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Art, Cooking, Faith, Humor, Praise, Special Event, Thanks

Art Museum Adventure

This month we finally made it to the Cincinnati Art Museum. Bob wanted to see the exhibit “Farm to Table.” Such a catchy contemporary title, don’t you think? It featured food in works of art and as the museum says, “The exhibition showcases over sixty paintings and sculptures, including the work of Claude Monet, Eva Gonzalès, Victor Gilbert, Paul Gauguin, Jules Dalou, and Vincent van Gogh, artists who examined the nation’s unique relationship with food. The bounty of France’s agriculture and the skill of its chefs had long helped to define its strength and position on the international stage. ” For more details click on the link below.

https://www.cincinnatiartmuseum.org/art/exhibitions/farm-to-table/

The painting above was huge. The features on the faces of the sheep enchanted both Bob and me.

Here is the description of another painting.

We studied the painting and discovered many unusual details such as the man with his hand on the bottom of a woman. What caught my attention the most was the woman along the back wall. Is she crocheting or knitting?

I find the detail almost unimaginable. How did they paint these?

We finally decided she is likely knitting and holding her needles in continental fashion. Obviously, she was relaxed and enjoying her work in the midst of the hubbub!

I give thanks to God for those talented enough to paint these amazing descriptions of daily life. To me, some of them actually looked as accurate as photographs.

“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” – 1 Peter 4:10

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” – Philippians 4:8

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Art, Faith, Listen, Music, Praise, Prayer, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Perspective

All glass. That photo above is made of glass and spaces. I find that difficult to comprehend. The Imagine Museum in St. Petersburg, Florida did not give us an explanation of how they created this.

Looking at the same piece, here you can see the glass fibers. Also notice the tunnel that goes through it. There were eight pieces, block-like that were placed side by side. From the end you could look through the tunnel.

The blue and brown rectangle to the left is another display. I do believe this is art. I just cannot fathom how they created it!

We saw a similar creation at the Cincinnati Art Museum once.

These are Native American symbols. There was a fan gently moving air over the display. The piece was as large as a wall! When the air moved there was a soft tinkling sound. Images with shadows, tube with light and space, all intriguing and beyond my understanding.

How my perspective on life has changed in almost 75 years of living! This I once thought I knew and understood when taken in different perspectives and experiences over time have changed dramatically.

What I do know for certain is that love and compassion are needed every place on earth. We are given the power to live in love through the Holy Spirit who inhabits those who embrace the death and resurrection of Christ. Others have learned love and compassion from other sources and I cannot comment on that. I just know we all need grace, love and compassion, a willingness for others to understand and accept us. God, give us eyes to see like You see, a heart to love like You love us! Unreservedly, grace-filled, unconditional love.

Look again at the images in this post. What do you see this time that you missed at the last glance? Perhaps it time to also look at others in the same way. We think we know people, but many times we miss their essence with our preconceived ideas of who they are. Those same people might be someone lovely we have missed altogether!

We are known intimately by God and loved.

"Not because of who I am, but because of what You've done,
Not because of what I've done, But because of who You are!"
Such wisdom in those words. God help us to live in such a way to bring honor to You.
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Memories, Nature, Praise, Rest, Thanks, Traveling

Under The Sea

I just love the underside of the ocean surface. Here is an an example why!

When we traveled to Cozumel many years ago I could have sat and just watched the underside of the waves for hours. Of course, I could not hold my breath that long, though the snorkel certainly helped! I was mesmerized by the sight.

How many other things upon the earth have we never seen or contemplated? What fascinates you?

Have you ridden in a plane recently? Bob caught this photo of the clouds for me when we recently flew to New Mexico. I was thinking of the underside of the waves and wanted to compare the water of the ocean and the water in the sky visually.

rmdutina

How wonderful our Creative God made all things!!

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 1 Timothy 6:7 NIV

rmdutina

Even on days when the ocean is dark and seems foreboding, God is with us. The One who spoke to waves and winds can still command our lives.

In his hand are the depths of the earth;
    the heights of the mountains are his also.
5 The sea is his, for he made it,
    and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

6 O come, let us worship and bow down;
    let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! Psalm 95:4-6 NRSVUE

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Faith, Family, Memories, Music, Nature, Praise, Prayer, Rest, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Surrender, Trust

Parents Love Song

When I was mourning my mother recently, nothing seemed to comfort me. Then I heard this song rolling through my soul. The first version I heard was done by Willie Nelson. He almost nailed it. It amazes me where comfort can come from!

Then I found what was likely their version from December 1951.

With someone like you, a pal good and true
I'd like to leave it all behind and go and find
Some place that's known to God alone
Just a spot to call our own
We'll Find perfect peace, where joys never cease
Out there beneath a kindly sky
We'll build a sweet little nest somewhere in the west
And let the rest of the world go by

As I listened repeatedly to the song, I realized that my sister has a sweet little nest, somewhere out in the west. She spends June into September there! And we have been privileged to stay there a time or two!

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Matthew 5:4 NRSVUE

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Humor, Nature, Rest

How Do You Sleep?

Have you ever said,”I am so tired I could sleep standing up?” Sperm whales actually DO sleep vertically. I’ve seen it before on TV, but I am never bored by the scene.

Here is a link

Why Do Sperm Whales Sleep Vertically?

The same website says, “In a nutshell, it’s so that they can float near the surface and stay alert to potential predators. Sleeping vertically means they can breathe when needed and quite literally keep one eye open whilst they sleep!“

The Americas narrated by Tom Hanks has been entertaining and fascinating us. If you have not seen it yet, this is a show certainly worth your time!

Praying your sleep is restful and hopefully horizontal!

I will both lie down and sleep in peace,
    for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety. Psalm 4:8 NRSVUE