Category: Amazing Creations

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Challenge, Faith, Illness and Health, Just do it, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Book entitled The Lost

The quote below is from a novel I read recently. The wisdom of the LORD seems to show up in so many places!

The battle’s in here.’ Sunni tapped a finger against Jonah’s temple as he pushed himself upright on the bench. ‘Pain’s just your body’s way of telling you something’s wrong. It’s how you deal with it that matters.’ It was just hard to believe that when it hurt so much.

The Lost by Simon Beckett

The novelist knows that our biggest battle is between our ears. Whether it is bodily pain or the facts of life. Struggling with physical pain can be especially difficult. We can get lost in the facts and rumors and dismal dashing of hopes. What does the New Testament say about that?

 … for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 NRSV

We have the power to take every one of our thoughts captive to obey Christ. Are we using that power to His glory and for our well-being? Yes, it is a big job, but we are given what we need to accomplish it.

In my experience if I am willing to use the weapons given me to take every thought captive to obey Christ the experience can be like falling dominoes (or that series that Dan likes so much where one action causes other actions., Gabe somebody?)

Nope, I found it!

Wikipedia says: “Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor.

Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadgets performing simple tasks in indirect, convoluted ways. The cartoons led to the expression “Rube Goldberg machines” to describe similar gadgets and processes.”

I take a negative or disquieting thought into the Light of Christ. Jesus, the Spirit of Truth, shines His light upon the thought. It can no longer hold darkness of untruth. That makes a whole sequence of things predicated upon that thought to come to the Light of Christ and be made captive unto Him. My thoughts change as each is taken captive. Maybe oversimplification, but I hope you get the idea.

Here is a Rube Goldberg video to illustrate how things can pass.

So what thought holds you captive? Are you willing to take it captive through the weapons of warfare you have been given? Do you want to see the sequence it controls fall to the LORD?

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Memories, Traveling

Ruckus!

If you play the video and close your eyes you might get a sample of what we heard on this walk! Not chickens, but what were we hearing? Such a ruckus and we could not identify it. Another couple of hikers walking past us and seeing our confusion set us straight with one word. Frogs! We knew right away they were not our typical tree frogs – spring peepers.

We heard them long before we saw them! Jumping and calling, chuckling and beating the water with their legs. (I’ve never wanted to eat them but wondered how they would cook up for frog legs? Maybe not large enough but muscular for certain.) I hope the lady frogs were impressed. I thought they were just silly looking and sounding. Yep! they made me laugh. When I loaded this to YouTube I laughed again.

The naturalist was not certain. Bob found them on line with his phone. She gave a booklet “Amphibians of Ohio” and there they were. Enjoy!

The video was taken by r m dutina

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth

Oh Boy!

now to catch up from being away and breaking the writing rhythm!

Okay – all the charges are entered and the checking account is balanced. Got groceries. Took dog to vet for kennel cough vaccine and as the tech called it Lucky’s “Mani – Pedi!” Oi! Saw my new internist and I really like him. We are going to change some meds and reduce some other ones, so please pray for me as my body adjusts!

The next couple days are booked for me. It will be fun, but on the run and no naps.

No, I have not downloaded or edited my vacation photos yet. But I might as well throw in a few, huh?

Rock face at street corner on the way to Ash Cave. I love the tree shadow lines on the rocks.

I have not gotten accomplished in selfie photos. Below I took one and when I looked at it I told Bob, “Now smile!” and took it again.

Who are these white haired folks?

I will have to ask Ellie for lessons. She is a pro!!

We are not rigid about stopping on the way to any destination when we see something unusual we want to photograph. I saw this young sycamore tree. Bob on the other hand saw this tree growing inside a silo! He stopped and turned around for that shot. I do not have his picture yet.

Ye,s we drove as far around the silo as we could go to make certain it was actually IN the silo! Short of puling into the farmyard, yep, it was growing in there!

I am feeling guilty about not walking very far today! But Lucky still gets two walks today, so maybe I can make up for the lack of steps compared to hiking in a State Park. More Vegetables! More steps! Fewer sweets of any kind!! And Lean HARD upon my LORD.

Last but not least the stream that runs in along and through Old Man’s Cave.

LORD I praise You for times of refreshing.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

Acts 3:19-20 NIV
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Spiritual discipline, Spiritual growth, Traveling

One Saturday Afternoon, Two Trees

January 28 was a sunny lovely day. Bob asked where I wanted to go for a drive. I told him back to the park where we had seen a redwood tree. We were just in California in October and I was rather stunned that this gorgeous tree we saw in a Hamilton County Park was called a redwood. So we headed off for Withrow Nature Preserve, one of the great parks of Hamilton County.

Now all the foliage was gone. Just a few spangles that resemble seed.

Reminded me of millet we used to hang in the parakeet’s cage!

The tree itself was just as grand as my first sight of it!

We had fun trying photos at various angles. Finally, we were so focused that a young park ranger decided to stop and talk with us about why we were so interested in this tree. We were amused chatting with him.

Do you remember my many references to Ephesians 3?

that He would give you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being firmly rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19 LSB

Look at the base of this tremendous tree. Can you imagine YOU being firmly rooted and grounded in love just as this tree is rooted and grounded in soil?

Hold firm to Christ our Lord! May your roots go deep into His love!

That very same day we continued our drive and wound up at a street along the Ohio River called Steamboat Drive. Over a potholed road you get to an Ohio River overlook. Here is one view from there.

As we walked further to the right I could see a tree on the edge of the precarious drop to the river bank. Could not quite catch it in the photo, but I could see where the soil had eroded from the roots in one area and there was daylight coming through.

8-10 foot drop to below
Between the roots there was daylight

NOT you. Not firmly and deeply rooted, not secure in the love of Christ!

So choose today how you will grow your roots. I printed out the Ephesians passage and put it on bathroom counter. Then I got it wet and ink ran. So I printed it again and put it in a plastic recipe card cover. Do whatever it takes for you to get your head around the Ephesians passage and get your heart active in doing what Paul said to do.

The opening photo for this blog was the last photo at Withrow Nature Preserve. I think the spangle of clouds was for your benefit! It is a wonderful image of God’s Love for us!!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Writing Life

Chatting with a Bot

When I was looking for a career in 1968 I was directed to take data entry classes. We did “keypunch cards” and verification for computers that were the size of most offices. I never learned how to write computer language and really was not interested to learn, though my boss wanted me to learn. To this day I am not afraid of my computer, iPhone, tablet or other devices. Especially since kids these days say, “just start pushing the buttons until you get the result you want.” Ha! There is a new item available to the public.

I do not pretend to understand most of the technological leaps we are making, but this one caught my attention. It said you could ask it to write a poem or a term paper and it would. Schools are worried but not caught off guard. What??!?

Have you ever been online with a question and the site asked if you would like an online chat? Then you likely have had interaction with a ‘chatbot.’ According to Wikipedia, “Chatbot is a software application used to conduct an online conversation via text in lieu of providing direct contact with a live human agent.”

There is a new computer ability that was released for free online called ChatGPT. It is causing quite a stir in the world. It was released November 30, 2022 by a company called OpenAI. (A I is artificial intelligence.)

This system is notable for ‘its detailed responses and articulate answers across many domains of knowledge. “It has the ability,” according to Wikipedia “to write and debug computer programs; to compose music, teleplays, fairy tales, and student essays; to answer test questions (sometimes, depending on the test, at a level above the average human test-taker); to write poetry and song lyrics; to emulate a Linux system; to simulate an entire chat room; to play games like tic-tac-toe; and to simulate an ATM.”

I tried to sign up so I could ask it to write a poem based on a few thoughts I had. Then I wanted to compare its creation to one of my poems. Since every news agency seems to be reporting on ChatGPT the system is too busy to accept new free accounts right now. That is okay. Not certain I want to give them my information or find out how the bot would do with my ideas! Open AI does collect data.

Wikipedia reports that “ChatGPT was met in December 2022 with generally positive reviews; The New York Times labeled it “the best artificial intelligence chatbot ever released to the general public.” Samantha Lock of The Guardian noted that it was able to generate “impressively detailed” and “human-like” text. Technology writer Dan Gillmor used ChatGPT on a student assignment, and found its generated text was on par with what a good student would deliver and opined that “academia has some very serious issues to confront.”

Oh my! Will there be any original human creativity left after the AI world finishes with us? I pray so. I wonder how extensive their knowledge base is of the Christian religion and how access to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit changes human creation? God save us all! And LORD, please help me keep writing to glorify Your name!

Is this beyond the Babel of the Scripture? God knows and time will tell.

 Now the whole world had one language and a common speech. 2 As people moved eastward they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

3 They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

5 But the Lord came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The Lord said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

8 So the Lord scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city. 9 That is why it was called Babel —because there the Lord confused the language of the whole world. From there the Lord scattered them over the face of the whole earth.

Genesis 11:1-9 NIV

Yikes what happens when A I starts talking for us? It already talks to us. God knows and I believe He is in charge!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Humor, Memories, Traveling

While in Ireland

We spent our first night at Glendalough. At the bottom of this blog is a short film to introduce you to the area. After breakfast we went for a walk around the neighboring area. We saw these sheep in the graveyard.

Cracked me up, as if they were hiding and on a mission!
One strange sheering job!

When we returned to the inn one of the employees asked if we enjoyed our walk. I told her how amused I was by the sheep in the graveyard. She told the bartender, “Better call Mr. Mc Creary! His sheep got loose again!” Now where better to get a tasty treat than on the loose in early morning at the graveyard?

Cracked me up! Guess those sheep were sneaking around and on a mission – not to get caught! The Irish mark their sheep with paint, thus the pink and blue marks on the wool!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Poetry, Traveling

Some January Poetry

Winter © Molly Lin Dutina 23-1-8

Gloomy grays and browns
Grass looks winter burned
Clouds packed solid black
but wait!
The sycamores are all spangled
With seed balls moving in breeze
Winter in southwestern Ohio
I grasp at any sign of hope and 
Future joy in the next season.

Another ride on a winter afternoon brought this.

Gray Clouds Roof © Molly Lin Dutina 23-1- 18

Corn field stubble alternates
Ivory and beige, ivory and beige, in rows
As we speed past on highway
January wind rattles barn walls
Livestock not to be seen from my window
As gray clouds roof each farm

Can you imagine this? Would you be able to praise like this? We read in Daniel 3:16, 19 and on that the King wanted absolutely obedience to himself. “King Nebuchadnezzar was so filled with rage against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego that his face was distorted. He ordered the furnace heated up seven times more than was customary, and ordered some of the strongest guards in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and to throw them into the furnace of blazing fire. So the men were bound, still wearing their tunics, their trousers, their hats, and their other garments, and they were thrown into the furnace of blazing fire.” While in this furnace the men began to praise God, knowing that He was more powerful than the king ever thought about being. Here is a portion of their praise.

“Bless the Lord, all rain and dew;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
65 Bless the Lord, all you winds;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
66 Bless the Lord, fire and heat;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
67 Bless the Lord, winter cold and summer heat;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
68 Bless the Lord, dews and falling snow;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
69 Bless the Lord, ice and cold;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.
70 Bless the Lord, frosts and snows;
    sing praise to him and highly exalt him forever.

Daniel 3:64-70 NRSV

They were eventually saved from the fire. This reading comes up often in the Daily Office and Canticles of from the Book of Common Prayer. There are times I wish my current church would use those to remind us of God’s power and glory! As you drive about this winter remember that all the seasons and elements are called to praise the Lord. We are, too!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Memories, Nature

Oh Weird

Every spring I look forward to hearing the Spring Peepers in the local wooded wetlands. Then I am certain that though it might feel cold, spring is certainly on the way! We have had tremendous rain here lately. Today, January 17th, I stepped outside to walk the dog to the mailbox. I almost could not believe my ears!

The Spring Peepers are singing. My favorite thumbnail sized amphibian! Climate change is messing up our ‘predictable’ weather things. The daffodils have sent up 3 inch tall leaves. The ones out back, just planted last autumn, already have 3 bulbs with 1 inch leaves. Forecast is 61 degrees today. My neighbor says, “Next week we will be freezing. The earth is just trying to fool us!”

I remember when I first moved to the San Francisco bay area I was so unhappy. They had poinsettias planted out of doors and climbing up walls. The daffodils bloomed in January and February. I remember thinking, “This is just WRONG!”

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Cooking, Faith, Family, Humor, Thanks

Humor and Thanks, God

So here is (not the best photo) of Brody. My daughter’s family adopted this VERY long legged hound. He has enormous eyes and legs that look just too long for his body. He hangs around the kitchen all the time hoping for a morsel to drop his way. He is tall enough to grab things off the counter.

Another Brody snapshot.

During Advent he was hanging around the kitchen while my daughter and Grandaughter began to prepare the family favorite coffee cake for Christmas morning feasting. Someone hit the wrong button an the Kitchenaid mixer. This is Brody, the dark hound dog, after the flour was flying!

Brody, black and brown dog, battered and ready for frying?

Forget footprints in the sand, Sparky (dog #2) above left foot prints in the flour.

Enjoy!!

 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Music, Poetry, Thanks

When the Forecast was BIG STORM

If you can, play this song while you read the poem. As I wrote I heard this melody, not for the first time. I really like it. Yes, our Redeemer helps His creation.

A Big Storm, Possible Blizzard Predicted © Molly Lin Dutina 2022

When my bladder wakes me
I must check outside
2:45 AM the blizzard made drifts
Inches high along the sliding glass door
Windows framed in ice at their rims
Daybreak shows leaves
As they tumble over the snow-pack
Streets have one lane cleared
Snow removal men made a plow pass
Spreading salt in their wake
"No sense doing anything else,"
Weatherman told us, 
“It is just going to blow all over the place today”

The wild birds are grateful for the full feeders
Little birds welcome red-bellied woodpeckers
Big beaks are able to loosen frozen seeds
Below zero temperatures 
Wind chills double digits below zero
Make us all bundle up
Hurry outdoors for a moment and then back in

Jack Frost is not merely painting today
He will likely destroy flesh if it
Lingers out of doors
Mourning dove not moving 
Out bedroom window as I dress
Mourning dove wing feather
Ruffles in the wind
Or did it move?
Same mourning dove not moving out kitchen window
Is mourning dove dying in bitter cold?
Should I bundle up and get the shoe box
From the garage and bring it in to thaw in garage?

I am about convinced to get boots, hat, coat, scarf, gloves
My breakfast hurriedly eaten
Errand of mercy or folly
Help that helpless bird
And I notice it has moved a few inches up the garden hill
I watch with bated breath
Will it live without my help?

Suddenly it flies off into the trees!
How do they survive this frigid weather?
Even the fur covered dog is unhappy
And yet, those feathered birds
Both large and small
Are out there all day and all night
Temperature last night was all the way up to 4 degrees
Dog and I together with all my winter wear
Likely could not have survived it.

Father, Your wonders of creation continue
And continue
And continue again to amaze me!