Motorcycle Flat!

Well, Dave got a flat on his way home from work on Friday. Thankfully, it was pretty close to home. His rear tire went flat. He had to sort of "power walk" it the rest of the way home.

He picked up a screw. Why there was a screw on the road, who knows? We have had van flats, too, from screws.

Over the weekend, he got the back tire off. His back brake had started to scrape a bit, too, so this provided an opportunity to look at that, too. It is way too early for his brake to be so worn, so we don't know what would make it wear so fast. The pads are pretty much gone and even the rotor may need to be replaced. We hope not.



His motorcycle is so low that Elias had to get big rocks to put under it to get it high enough to get the jack under it.










The front wheel is braced with rocks to keep the front tire from turning.




The poor guys were working in the sun. He did not think about moving it into the shade first! So, I took pity on them. While Dave went up to the RV for a minute, I had Elias help me rig something up to provide shade. Dave helped us finish it up when he came back down.

There was actually a bit of a breeze, but you couldn't appreciate it when in the direct sun.



He is taking the wheel into a local shop so that it can be balanced. The tire is not that worn, so we are hoping the bead was not damaged and that we can save it. We are also hoping that the rotor is OK. He is not so sure.

With gas prices, we are dependent upon his taking his bike to work. Yet, if we need a new tire and rotor, this is going to wipe us out. Actually, I don't know how much a rotor is. I am hoping we have enough to get another one, if it is needed. Any way you look at it, Yahweh God will provide.

Of course, right now, it would sure be nice if He provided for me to get MY bike fixed. I miss riding, plus the three of us can take two bikes cheaper than we can take the van anywhere. Besides, the bikes are a whole lot more FUN!!!

It also would not hurt to have a back up bike when things like this happen. Although, Dave on a Virago 535 looks a bit odd. He really needs a bigger bike than that!

Rocks & Fossils!

We have LOTS of fossils on our property. I don't have a lot of pictures, yet. Or I don't have them all sorted. However, here are a few of the interesting types of fossils we find.




We don't know what this one is. It reminds us of the tunnels carved out by some kind of worm.



This is a bunch of tiny shells and coral all pressed together.







This is a piece of coral.




We don't know what this is exactly, either.





We also have some nautiloids. I really need to get some pictures!

Grasshopper Up Close & Personal!

(MT & TW for survivors.)

I finally found a grasshopper the other day who would let me get closs enough to get some pictures! I cropped them down and blew them up for an "up close & personal" look.



He was resting away on a rock down by the creek.







Isn't this a face only a mother could love?? *smile*












This is a close up of the wing.






This is the hind leg.









This is the main body.






This is the front leg and foot.









This is the middle leg and foot.



















MT and TW for survivors.

A Little Note & an Answer to Prayer!

I debated on whether or not to put this on here, but I decided to go ahead, while keeping the names of the others involved private.

Awhile back, Dave cried out to the Lord on his way to work. Sometimes our living situation and our inability to make any real headway causes us to fight discouragement. He asked for God to show him something that indicated His love for us.

That day someone gave him a sealed envelope. Later, when he got a chance to open it, he found a check and note. On the note was written the following message. The emphasis is theirs.

"Dave and Abigail, it was put on our hearts to do this. We are trusting it was God's leading and that you will be encouraged and give Him praise for He loves you and desires to show you. He will provide."

When he read it, he was floored. He wanted to thank them and tell them how timely it was, but he could not get hold of them. Later that evening, he "happened" to bump into them at the grocery store. They told him that it was something that God put on their hearts to do that morning. Do you want to know what time it was???? It was right about the same time Dave was praying! They had NO way of knowing what he was praying in that moment, or that he so needed the encouragement.

Yahweh God does hear our heart when we cry out to Him. He does love us. He actually shows us His love in a million different ways, every day, if we will just open our hearts to see it. Sometimes, though, we really need something a little more blatant. Dave asked for it...and he got it.

I hope this encourages someone else today!

Our Oven is Fixed!

Yay!!! Our warranty on the microwave/convection oven said that we had to bring it in to a service place or pay for someone to come out. So, I called to find out the location of the closest place, dreading how far away it probably is and the gas involved. The gentleman told me that we had in home coverage. I challenged him on it and he double checked. Yep, they would send someone out...for free!

Well, I thought, OK...but we will see. I was just waiting to see if the technician would tell me I owed for the visit. I just found it hard to believe that the warranty is different than is what is stated in our booklet.

Today, the technician came out and fixed it. We now have our microwave/convection oven back and we do not owe anything. I even mentioned my surprise to the technician about the visit being covered. Woohoo!!

The first thing our son did was ask to make biscuits. Pop'ems! I told him he could. Yippee!!

Can you tell that I am HAPPY about this??? *laughing*

Popcorn Makers & Disappointment!

Grrrrrr! Well, I am going to vent here, so be forewarned! *laughing*

We LOVE popcorn. It is our favorite snack. We are not crazy about the high fat, microwave in a bag kind, which is also very expensive. We like to be able to adjust the fat content, salt content, get good flavor and save money. (Did I mention that we LOVE popcorn??)

Back in May of 2006, we saw this marvelous looking popcorn popper at Lowe's. It was a bit pricey, but it looked like it would work well for us. It is by Cuisinart. It was the Easy Pop CPM-800. Since we live in a very tiny RV, the diameter size was very appealing. The similar type of poppers we had seen were much wider in the base. Here is a picture of it:




We were able to add less oil and still get great popcorn. It was a wee bit soggy at times, but we did not mind too much since it helped the salt we put on it to cling. You could not pop more than one batch in a row as it would get too hot, but overall, it worked pretty good for us. Then it up and quit on us. (Did I mention that we LOVE popcorn?)

Well, Cuisinart sent us a new one...for $10 bucks and the cost of shipping the old one back. We did not really think we should have to pay anything since it was their product gone bad. However, we figured if it was one replacement, we would just do it, after all, it was still cheaper than the $50 it cost us originally.

Well, that scenario repeated itself twice more, only those times it was actually something on the plate that broke that kept it from snapping onto the base fully. So, we were actually out another $20 plus double shipping. The money was adding up.

We figured we were OK, though, since the one they sent us at the end of January of this year is a newer model that obviously had been improved. The design was much better, so we figured our "problems" were over! NOT!




The plate on this newer model has to be plugged into the base unit perfectly. You cannot see to line the prongs up. We did pretty well with it for quite a while. Then we had difficulty getting it to line up. It did not take much of a push and snap, it broke. Something inside the base where the plates plugs into it broke off.

So, here we go again. They sent us another one...for another $10 plus. What we typically did was to send the old one back in the box the new one came in. Well, getting down to the post office is not so easy when you live in the country and gas is so high. We did not have a chance to mail off the broken one when the new one we got also broke...same way. We had only used it maybe 4 times?

This time I told Dave that he could call...I was done with it. He had a lengthy call with Cuisinart, even talking to the supervisor. No go. They wanted the old ones back...both of them, at our expense. THEN, they would either send us another one (which is going to have the same design defect) or they would mail us a coupon for half our original cost on a Cuisinart product.

Naturally, Dave thought that was ridiculous and I agree. We told them that we would tell everyone we know about this...including on the blog. They did not care. So, here you go folks!

I would NOT recommend Cuisinart. Their popcorn makers are cheaply made in China and their warranty is not very good.

The idea is a great one! The popcorn it makes is good! The quality is the pits.

Bible Translations & Healthy Eating!

I just had to share this link with you all. It is the most common sense thing I have read about bible translations in a long time.

Bible Translations

Personally, although I do have my favorites (typically ones that use the Hebrew names in them), I like to read from several different ones. I like the different ways that things are worded. It sometimes helps me to understand more deeply what is written.

Of course, the best translation in the world won't do you any good if you don't read it! I hope you have one and are reading it. If you don't understand what you are reading, find one that you can! Ask a pastor for help. Find someone who does understand who can help you and who can answer your questions.

We must feed our bodies with good food and exercise them to be healthy and strong. In the same way, we must feed our spirits and minds with good "food" and exercise them to help them be healthy and strong in our faith and in our heart connection with our heavenly Abba/Father.

I confess that I don't read it nearly as much as I probably should. No, I don't think there is a set amount of time that should be spent on it. However, I notice another corollary to the physical body. If I don't eat, I start to grow weak and I don't feel well. If I don't read my bible...if I don't feed my spirit and soul from Yahweh God's Word...my faith starts to grow weak and I don't feel very well in my spirit and soul.

I also need to spend time listening as I read it...listening to what the Ruach HaKodesh/Holy Spirit is telling me through His Written Word. I also need to listen to what He is telling me from His Spirit to mine throughout the day, even when I am not reading. Building and strengthening that heart connection is so key to my walk through this life. It is key to my faith. It is key to the love between Yahweh and me.

The Forever Creek Crossing & Stuff!

Lately, Dave has been working on the creek crossing. It is hard without a backhoe of some sort. He has to manually dig it out. Of course, all it takes is one good, hard rain and a lot of work is washed away. I really feel for him. He keeps trying to get something done, but no matter how hard he tries, something always prevents it from getting done. I know that he is frustrated. It seems like he will never get it all done. It would be nice to be able to drive up to our RV, especially when there is rain and lightning!

A friend of ours went to visit Jamestown. He said that it didn't look like pioneering would really be all that bad. We agreed with him...IF you did not ALSO have to work away from home five days a week. The pioneers had all day every day to build what they needed. If Dave had that, he could get a lot done.

He really only has one day a week to work on anything. With an hour commute each way, he does not have much time left in the evenings, even if he has the energy. When he has to work late, which happens quite a bit, it cuts into that little bit of evening time. When he has to work some Saturdays, well, that is gone, too!

I wonder how much of what we do in this life is futile. How much do we focus on the temporal things of this world and miss what is really important. This life is just a temporary state. The eternal, the permanent, is yet to come. The really important, the spiritual, goes way beyond what we can see and experience here in this life.

We do not want to be tied down to things. We made the mistake of bringing a lot of stuff out here with us. We should have left it behind. Now, we are weeding through our stuff to get rid of everything we can. That is very OK with me. I don't require much.

The one thing I really would like to have is a room built off of the RV. It would be nice to have a bedroom and some privacy. However, Yahweh God has gotten us this far with three of us in this tiny RV. He will continue to do so. It has been over two and a half years.

We choose to keep trusting Him and loving Him, knowing that we do not do so in vain. He is trustworthy, regardless of the struggles we have. He never promised that all things would work out for us. What He promised is eternal life with Him, a cross and to never leave us or forsake us.

High Winds, Leaky Roofs & Torn Tarps!

We had really high winds Sunday night. It tore the tarp on our roof, which still leaks. We really need to clean and seal the roof, but that requires a few days of good weather when Dave is off work. In the meantime, we have the ongoing expense of replacing the tarp. We would also like to actually put a wooden roof over our RV roof, but that takes time and manpower, neither of which we have.

The tarp covering our laundry room also needs to be replaced. It is wet in there again. Of course, the best solution is to finish the laundry room. It is one of those things that really needs to be finished once it is started, though. It is one and half stories high and difficult to cover with a tarp, especially given the high winds we seem to keep having off and on. We cannot leave it exposed to the weather once it is started.

So, that, too, requires enough days of good weather and time off work. With extra manpower we could get it done much faster, but everyone is either unavailable, or physically unable, to help. Whenever Dave does take off work, the weather switches around on us! It either gets so hot it sucks the life out of you, or it rains. Such is life.

So, we will just keep on tarping both the RV and the laundry room for now and pray that the wind, the weather and our budget hold up. What fun!

If anyone out there is thinking of living on their land in an RV, make sure you have enough money to pull it off. Of course, if you are like us, you may not have a choice. In that case, do the best you can and trust Yahweh God for the rest. That is all we can do.

I am reminded that we do not live for this life. If we did...forget it! No, we live for Him. This is but a shadow of what is to come. Now we see through a glass darkly. Reality is in the spiritual realm. That is where real life is. That is what we look forward to.

In the meantime, it is our desire to be able to connect with people and encourage them. It does get frustrating when it seems like we have to spend so much time just trying to maintain the ability to live in this little RV. We would much rather be spending our time with people.

We will choose to keep trusting in Him. We know that He really is leading us and guiding us, no matter what things look like! He refining us. Our faith is much stronger now, even in our frustrations, than it was when we first got here! *smile*

A Micro/Convection Oven & Warranties!

Well, life goes on. Friday night I made something in the convection oven. Saturday morning it had no power. Nothing. Nada. Zip. We switched outlooks and tried everything. Still nothing. It is less than a year old and, thankfully, still on warranty.

I called today to find out where the closest service center was so we could drop it off. Our book tells us that we have to do that or pay for someone to come out. Well...surprise! The gentleman on the phone insisted that we DO have a warranty that includes someone coming out. I even pointed out what our book says. He double checked it and insisted we have the coverage.

Yay!!! So, we should get a call within 24 hours from the company that takes care of it.

What a blessing, as we really don't have the gas money to take it in anywhere far. I would be very surprised if the closest center is less than an hour away from us, if there is even one that close! That might seem like a small thing to most people, but to us it is pretty big! We are very grateful.

Musings on Music!

I have been thinking about music more lately, especially after accidentally discovering some old songs on the internet that I used to listen to. My musical tastes are pretty broad. There are some styles of music I don't like, but not many. Of course, some of the styles that I don't like I am not sure that I would even put in the category of music. *smile* However, that is a discussion for another day.

Today's music is definitely unlike the some of the older stuff. I look at classical and how indepth it is with all the layers upon layers of notes and instrumentations. What we mostly seem to have today is very simple by comparison. Yet, even in its simplicity, it can move the heart and carry us away beyond this mere earth.

I have shared a video about Keith Green. His music has always touched my heart deeply. It has challenge me, convicted me and motivated me. What I want to share with you today, however, is from a different focus.

There was a time in my life where I was barely surviving. Only my closest friends knew anything about it...and even they knew only the surface of what was really going on. To everyone else I tried to put on a brave face. It is nothing short of a miracle of Yahweh God that I survived.

During that period, music really helped to get me through...music I listened to, music I sang, music I wrote, music I played. Within that music, there were some key songs that really spoke to my heart...songs that I clung to...songs that gave me hope. They helped me to get through day by day. This is one of them.

I am putting up two versions. One is a live recording. The other is a video someone made using the recorded version. When I hear this song it takes me back to another time and tears come to my eyes for He has brought me from that place.

For those who recognize the name of the band and think...oh, way too rocky...let me tell you that this is one of their mellow songs.

You can either follow the links, or listen/watch here.
White Heart - Desert Rose Live



Desert Rose off album with video



Desert Rose lyrics

Keith Green - Younger!

I ran across this and just had to share it. Earlier I shared a video which was the story of Keith Green. You can find that here:

Keith Green Story

This is a video of him at the age of 11 on the "I've Got a Secret" show. The link is here:
Keith Green - I've Got a Secret

Or you can watch it here:

Birds on the Wing & Beauty in Ugliness!

These were a bit difficult to capture and are not the best, but I thought others might enjoy them anyway. If you click on the pictures they will enlarge. Your back space will take you back to the blog. The one large bird we most see on the wing here is the Turkey Vulture.

Now, the Turkey Vulture is one pretty ugly bird...although there may be some who disagree. It is very ungainly...and not very smart, either.

Here is a link to see what they look like.
http://www.fotosearch.com/photos-images/turkey-vulture.html

When they are on the wing, though, they are absolutely beautiful! They are so graceful. I keep hoping to see some close enough to get better pics. They sometimes just look like they are floating on air.















I find it interesting that something so ungainly, so unattractive can be so beautiful when it is lifted up in the air.

Isn't that a lot like people? Some people are very unattractive in their physical appearance. They are very ungainly in their personalities, or they lack social graces. Yet, when they are lifted up on the Holy Spirit and moving in His grace, they are very beautiful.

We tend to look on the outward appearance; but Yahweh God sees the heart. We need to ask Him for His eyes so that we can see the hearts of people, rather than the outward appearance only.

He makes all things beautiful. ALL things. There is no one who is ugly or ungainly in His eyes. He delights in using the very people that the world looks down on to do some of His greatest work!

Oh, if we would only have the hearts and eyes to see it! I hope that you have eyes to see the beauty in the people around you...no matter how unattractive or ungainly they may look on the outside.

Doe in the Park!

Elias and I got to go meet a fellow homeschooling family in a park by the river. We had a very enjoyable time. He got to play with the boys and I got to visit with Sara, the mom! It was SO nice to be able to do that.

While we were there, Sara noticed a doe across the road from the park. I was able to get a few pics of her before she disappeared. She spent quite some time grazing there. We were hoping she would not try to cross the road.

Sadly, there are a lot of deer who get hit on the road along the river.



Thankfully, she did eventually go back into the woods. I got to watch her turn and go back in, fading into the trees, as if she had never been there.


These are pictures of that doe.

Home Birth & Life Decisions!

My grandson was born at home. My middle son (his uncle) was, too. It was the easiest and best birth of the three I had. I wanted my first one at home, but got talked out of it. With my last one, we could not afford it and I was much older. My hospital experience with the first was not good...for him or me. With the last one it was pretty good. Things had really changed over the course of 19 years!

One thing I regret with both my first and last was them breaking my water. That threw me into hard labor...fast. My labor with my middle son was barely noticeable. Well, that is a bit of an understatement, but it was NOTHING like the other two. In fact, the first stage of labor I barely felt at all. The second stage was not very long at all before he came out. It was difficult getting him out, but the whole thing overall was very manageable, unlike the other two.

If I had remembered the first one, I would not have opted for breaking water with the last one. The thing is, my doctor had to go out of town for one day. I was afraid that would be the day I went into labor and I did NOT want some doctor I had no relationship with to attend the birth of my son. So, I opted to go in and have labor induced. I had a choice between Friday and Monday. I opted for Friday. I have wondered, if I had opted for Monday instead, if I might have gone into labor naturally. Oh, well. No way to tell now.

There can be many decisions we make in life that we later question. Would it have made a difference? I don't know. It really does not matter now. He is here and he is healthy!

There is one decision, though, that I have made that I do not wonder about. That is the decision to serve Yahweh God. Although I have struggled with doubts now and then, it has always been shortlived. I have never regretted choosing to love and serve Him...choosing to be adopted into His family. He has proven Himself faithful to me over and over, even when I could not see it at the time. He has brought me through some really tough things in life...things I just could not have survived without His help.

Yep, I think home birth, if you can do it, is great. I also think spiritual birth into Yahweh's family is great. With natural birth, we cannot always plan the day or time or place; but with spiritual birth, it can be whenever and wherever you choose, so long as it is before death.

From our little RV on the Hillside to you wherever you are...I hope that you are a part of Yahweh's family. If you are not, I hope that you will give it serious consideration. The blessings that come in that relationship are incredible. His love is incomparable.

The flip side of that love is His judgment. Because of His great love for us He cannot allow the wrong things we do to go unpunished...and all of us have done wrong things. That is why He sent His Son, Yeshua, to take that punishment for those who come into His family. If you accept Yahweh and His Son, you will be a part of His family forever...into eternity.

Think about it...seriously...won't you? He loves you so much and wants you in His family. It does not matter who you are or what you have done. If you want to accept Him as your Creator and the Lord of your life, He is ready with open arms for you.

Beautiful Blue Butterflies!

I love the colors of these butterflies. They are very striking with a radically different coloration on the underside.


A friend thought they might be "Painted Ladies", but a search on the net shows otherwise. In trying to identify this one, I believe it is the butterfly shown here:

http://www.carolinanature.com/butterflies/rsp.html

Official name: Limenitis arthemis astyanax

Pics of a Swallowtail Butterfly!

I love swallowtails. They are so beautiful. Although Dave says that there are just as many butterflies this year as last, so far, I don't think so. I hope that more come later in the season. I hope you enjoy these pictures.

Brown Butterfly Pics!

I don't know what kind of butterfly this is.










I was only able to get pictures of the underside through our window.












This last picture my show a tiny bit of the upper side. It is difficult to tell.

Ant feast & Sticky Feet!

There are some things that, to me, are just dumb ideas. Carpeting in a cooking area and/or bathroom is one of them. What is worse is carpeting in an RV cooking area or bathroom. Our carpeting has been a bane for me. Grrrr!

Personally, I think carpeting in an RV at all is just not too smart. I guess if you have one of those really big ones and lots of space to get the dirt off before you step into the carpet it is not too bad. However, in a tiny one like we have??? Nope!! Dumb idea!!

I mean...think about it...really! What is a little RV for??? Camping!!! What do you do when you are camping?? Get out in the dirt!! We are basically "camping" on our land. Trying to keep the carpet clean is a joke. Ever try to vacuum a small space with a full size vacuum? I have tried the little ones. They are even more work and do not pick up very well.

But it gets worse! Tonight I was filling a honey container and accidently dropped it. Yep...there is carpet in the cooking area aka kitchen. So, now we have some honey soaked in. I wiped it up as best I could, but hey, it is not like wiping up a floor. I could not get it all out. Great! Just what we need...an ant feast and sticky feet!

I guess honey in carpet is kind of like having a bad attitude. If you don't completely clean up the honey, you get sticky feet...and maybe some pesky ants or other critters you don't want. If you don't completely rid yourself of a bad attitude, it will keep sticking to you and bring unpleasant results.

Well, tomorrow I will have to wet the carpet a bit and try and draw out the honey. What fun! Not! But such is life at times. There are up times and down times. You know that they say: It does no good to cry over spilled milk...or in this case...spilled honey!

From our sticky little RV on the hillside to you in your home, I hope that your attitudes are good ones and that your carpet is not sticky! *smile*

Birds Are Gone! :-(

Well, yesterday, when I went to take pictures, one of the babies flew out of the nest. I had to carefully chase it down and put it back in the nest. This is a picture of the three birds that stayed in the nest:









This is a picture of the birds after I got the wandering one back in. It is covered with webbing, etc.:









My son went into the tarp shed this morning and one of the babies flew out of the nest again and went to where we could not rescue it. I got a picture of the three remaining birds:










Later, when my son went in, they were all gone. I guess it was time for them to leave the nest and fly on their own. I am no expert, but they did not seem ready to me. Hopefully, they are out there and doing well.












I know it seems silly, but I will miss them.

Our Birds!

Our little birds grew so fast! Here is a picture from July 7th!









This is from July 9th:

Bug Bites Update!

Well...the bugs around here just love me. At one point, Dave counted around 60 bites. It makes it very difficult to do anything after dark. Our creek crossing is still not crossable. That means a bit of a walk up the driveway surrounded by hungry bugs who just want to feast! Blech!

I have tried different things to take care of the itching and to try to prevent the bites. I figured I would share what I have tried in case it helps someone else.

For some reason, I seem to be extra allergic to bug bites. They tend to get big and red and some of them get kind of swollen. Two years ago, I had read about Vicks VapoRub working pretty well on itching. I tried it and it did help a lot.

This year, we added a product Dave had gotten from Kroger last year for sunburn and general healing. It is called Aloe Vera Gel Relieving with Lidocaine and Menthol by Kroger. I notice that both Vicks and the Aloe Vera Gel have Menthol. I think that is a key ingredient for the itching. I am sure it probably did not hurt to have the numbing effect of the Lidocaine!

This summer I have used quite a bit of the Aloe Vera. I have found that it worked really well. I benefited from the healing that comes from the Aloe Vera, the numbing of the Lidocaine and the anti-itching of the menthol!

I also had someone suggest something called After Bite. It is kind of like a pen filled with a type of medicinal ammonia. It worked really well for the one who recommended it. It is supposed to make the bites heal faster, but it did not seem to do that for me. But then, I do react a whole lot more strongly to the bites, so ordinary measures may not work as well for me.

To keep the bugs off I have been using something I bought a couple of years ago. I read about it in the same place that I read about the Vicks. It is called Buzz Away. The active ingredient is 5% Citronella Oil. When used diligently, it does seem to help, albeit not perfectly. A lot depends upon making sure I reapply it often enough. Unfortunately, I did not think about using it until it was too late. I was caught by surprise.

I am also trying something else that was just suggested to me. It is called Natrapel Plus. It uses 5% Citronella oil plus something called Geraniol. Both Buzz Away and Natrapel Plus have assorted other ingredients, too. Both are all natural. Neither contains any poisons. It is too soon to tell if it working. It does seem to help.

5th Grandchild Arrives!

I got a call from my oldest yesterday! It was so nice to hear from him and get a chance to talk with him for a bit. He was out grocery shopping with his oldest child...my granddaughter Arriana. I even got to talk to her for a few minutes, too.

Our newest member of the family made his arrival to the outside world yesterday morning! This child, as yet unnamed, is my third grandson and fifth grandchild! He and his mom are doing well.

So, now I am the proud grandmother of three grandsons and two granddaughters!

Arriana is happy to be the big sister again and is ready to help her momma take care of this little one. The youngest, however, is a bit hesitant about this new arrival. Having an infant in person is not quite like the pictures of infants that his momma was showing him! LOL!

More Bird Pictures!

Our baby birds are growing. They are much cuter now!

What Comes Next?

There are many who believe that this life is all we have. But that is not what the Designer/Creator says in His book. He says there is a life after this one. He also tells me there are two places you can spend that "life". One is wonderful. The other is awful. One is beyond anything we can comprehend in beauty and love. The other is beyond anything we can comprehend in pain and ugliness.

I heard the other day of people who have died and they did NOT witness the "light" experience that so many have seen. They experienced something totally different. Check out this interview. At the six minute mark, this guy talks about the people he has met who have had death experiences that were not good.




If you don't see the picture, the link is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydZ9JfzYxJY

I hope you listened with your heart open to the truth. As long as you still have breath...you still have a chance to hear, to learn, to make a choice. Our Designer/Creator does NOT want anyone to make the choice to go to the awful place. He wants us to be with Him in His love and beauty forever. It is all there in His book...the Bible. Check that out, too!

From our little RV on the hillside to you...PLEASE consider eternity! Please consider where you will spend it. There is nothing in this life as important as that. This will all pass away. It will be gone...replaced with something even better. But not everyone will experience that something better.

Thoughts on Life!

I have been thinking of a few things lately. The world we live in is so incredible...so precise! There are so many things in this world that have such complexity that if you remove even one part of them they would cease to work...cease to function!

When the cell was first discovered it was thought to be very simple...extremely simple. Now we know that it is extremely complex. We are always discovering new things about how the not so "simple" cell really works. It is like a mini-factory with all of its exacting processes.

Think of it. We look at a building and know that someone had to design it. Buildings don't just suddenly, or even slowly, appear. They have to be designed and built by someone.

This universe, this planet, even a microscopic cell is so much more complex than a building could ever be. So, it begs the question...who designed this universe? Someone had to clearly design it. Who?

My bible tells me who designed it and who created it. But even more than that, it also tells me why it is in the condition that it is in. It tells me why there is evil marring this beautiful world...why there is ugliness in the midst of the beauty. I really encourage everyone out there to read it for yourself.

The best part about it is that it also tells me what this Designer/Creator is doing to fix the problem of the evil that is in the midst of His beautiful creation. There is an answer for it. He is doing it now and He will one day bring it to completion. There will come a time when evil will be no more.

From our little RV on the hillside to you, wherever you are...I hope that you are all seriously looking at where you will be after you face death. No one escapes death. It will come...to us all.

A Rabbit & Closed Hearts!

We see rabbits on our property. Catching them in a picture, however, is pretty hard to do as they run away so quickly. The other day, we got out of the van and Dave spotted one. We slowly crept up on it and managed to get some pictures.

In this first one you see the overall scene. The rabbit is sitting in the brush at the far end of the black culvert pipe and slightly to the right of it.






I took the rest of the pictures and cropped them so that you can see the rabbit close up. Most were a bit blurry, but here a couple that were not.


This was as close as we could get before it took off lickety split! That rabbit did not understand that we meant it no harm.






I wonder if we sometimes miss the fact that God, too, means us no harm. How many of us have been raised with a warped view of who God really is and what His true nature is.

How close do we let Yahweh God get to us before we run off lickety split? Do we allow Him to come close to our hearts? Or do we run away, just like that rabbit?

I have to think about my own life. How close do I really allow God to get to me? I know that He is there and can come as close as He wants. However, I also know that He will not force Himself upon me.

It says in Revelation that Yeshua/Jesus is knocking on the door of our hearts. It is talking about believers...about the children of God. It is not talking about those who do not know Him. How many times has He knocked on the door of my heart and I ran from Him? Or I kept the door locked tight?