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Welcome! |
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I had an interesting encounter with a rattlesnake yesterday.
Yup! That booger was at least two feet long with three or
four rattles. He was slithering across our back yard.
I went in the house and grabbed a four foot long grabber thing
(for reaching things that are up high) to try to catch it and to
throw it down into the wash behind our yard.
The darn grabber thing wouldn't grab the rattler. He slithered into our turkey enclosure and under the doghouse that was now the turkey house. So..... what was I to do? I tried to block the turkeys from going along the sides of the turkey house and took a rake handle and rattled it around under the house. I couldn't get everywhere underneath so I banged around inside the house. My husband had a melanoma removed from his shin and was not to lift anything heavier than ten pounds. We had to wait until our neighbor got home so he could lift up one side of the turkey house. I didn't see the snake underneath but I didn't have a clear view, either. A search of the Internet said turkeys can kill a rattlesnake and could eat it. So, I removed the barriers and hoped that all would come out well. So far, so good. When I told my youngest son about my adventure he ordered me an "official" snake grabber tool. I need to put a sign up outside telling the snakes that we are closed until after it arrives. While I'm at it I should put up a sign saying no pigeons allowed at our bird feeders. When we lived in California I considered pigeons to be "sky rats" because they were everywhere. When we moved to Arizona I found out that the doves were our new sky rats. A house down the street puts out food that draws pigeons. I noticed lately that we are starting to get more pigeons around our feeders. Darn! My little kitten brothers are getting bigger rather quickly. They are almost the size of my 14 year old cat, Sweetie. Sweetie is still growling at the boys. I hope she gets friendly with them soon. They are so loving and sweet (when they aren't wrestling with each other). Goober likes to play fetch with his favorite toy and with my caramel hard candies. He jumps up into my lap and wants me to throw them for him to fetch. He runs around so much he starts panting. We are expecting a lot of rain today and tomorrow from tropical storms Raymond and Priscilla. We aren't in danger of our house flooding but, when a lot of water falls, we can get stuck here until it drains off the roads. It doesn't take very long because we are uphill in the foothills of the Superstition Mountain. In this case gravity is our friend. I often say, "Gravity is not our friend." I've found that the ground sucks harder now that I'm older, trying to get me to fall. Plus, the ground is farther away than it used to be. It feels like, when I fall (fortunately that isn't very often), I fall farther. When I have to bend over to pick something up the ground feels a lot farther away. It's funny how that works. |
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Sometimes the Bible study was started in the welcome message. Each Bible study has a link to that week's welcome. Did you know I was blogging before there was such a thing as a blog? Did you miss last week? Here it is. |
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"Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the
slaughter: because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did
not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I
delighted not." Is 65:12 |
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chapter 65 God is talking to the rebellious people who "walketh in a way
that was not good, after their own thoughts" (vs
2), "provoketh me (God) to anger continually"
(vs 3), and (most importantly) "which say,
stand by thyself, come not near to me: for I am holier than thou"
(vs 5). People who are atheists are telling God that they are holier than He is. They believe that they are the most important thing in the world. They don't have a clue how wrong they are! To not believe that God is real, that heaven and hell are not real places, is the biggest mistake they can ever make. Our verse says, "when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake ye did not hear," which tells me that God has reached out to every single person in one way or another. Let's look at another example: "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. "For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. "Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things. "Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." Rom 1:18-25 Creation, itself, proves there is a God. It is mankind, given free will by God, that has decided to ignore the facts and to raise themselves to the status of God. That is a bad thing multiplied by a thousand when you take into consideration that they are also making that decision for their descendants: "Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments." Ex 20:5-6 It is up to us to keep trying to convince those stubbon people to open their minds and to "taste and see that the Lord is good". Ps 34:8 |
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Did you miss last week? Here it is. The old Bible studies can be found using any of the three links below.
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Eagle head pictures
courtesy of
Sue Woosley
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