Chris Loehmer Kincaid's Blog, page 125
March 13, 2016
Ask, Seek, Knock
7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7: 7-14, NIV)
At the beginning of Lent, I chose the passages from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to share each Sunday until Easter. I divvied up all of the verses to fit into the six weeks of Sundays, but just now, reading these lines – well, Jesus packs so much punch into these words that I am left wordless. Or not. I could type pages telling what these words mean to me, the pictures that come before my eyes.
Of course, there truly is nothing more that I can add. You need to read only what Jesus has to say and put it into your heart. You need to live His words, and not just these, but everything that He has to say.
Lord, God, Heavenly Father, thank You so much for sending Your Son Jesus to live among us. Help us to see that He still lives and is still with us. Amen.
The ground looks like it is ready for flowers. Are we ready for Jesus?
9 “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! 12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it. (Matthew 7: 7-14, NIV)
At the beginning of Lent, I chose the passages from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount to share each Sunday until Easter. I divvied up all of the verses to fit into the six weeks of Sundays, but just now, reading these lines – well, Jesus packs so much punch into these words that I am left wordless. Or not. I could type pages telling what these words mean to me, the pictures that come before my eyes.
Of course, there truly is nothing more that I can add. You need to read only what Jesus has to say and put it into your heart. You need to live His words, and not just these, but everything that He has to say.
Lord, God, Heavenly Father, thank You so much for sending Your Son Jesus to live among us. Help us to see that He still lives and is still with us. Amen.
The ground looks like it is ready for flowers. Are we ready for Jesus? 
March 11, 2016
Ready to Work Out
We've been talking at work about all starting to work out, maybe train for a 5K or even a "mudder". A co-worker and I think we should each build obstacle courses in our backyards and take turns running them. And if any of you are friends with me on Facebook you may have seen a hideous video of me doing some plank moves at work.
It must just be that time of year where we think we should get in shape. Or at least a shape other than a couch potato.
I happened upon one of my old photo albums, and thought it was time to do some more scanning and archiving of those old prints. Interesting how I ran across my kids doing their own workouts.
Nick and Val scaling their swing set in the backyard.
Nick wheeling up the driveway.
Val trying out a pair of cross country skis.
Val with her bike helmet and knee and elbow pads. If you've ever met this girl, you know she needs more padding than that. Her arms and legs still look like bruised bananas most the time.
It must just be that time of year where we think we should get in shape. Or at least a shape other than a couch potato.
I happened upon one of my old photo albums, and thought it was time to do some more scanning and archiving of those old prints. Interesting how I ran across my kids doing their own workouts.
Nick and Val scaling their swing set in the backyard.
Nick wheeling up the driveway.
Val trying out a pair of cross country skis.
Val with her bike helmet and knee and elbow pads. If you've ever met this girl, you know she needs more padding than that. Her arms and legs still look like bruised bananas most the time.
March 9, 2016
And My Life Flashed Before Me
Ever have that feeling of your life flashing before you just before something bad is about to happen? Welcome to my world.
Yesterday, I ran to church over my lunch hour to hang some lights. Our women’s group is helping to host our church’s annual Easter Dinner for the community and we wanted to draw more attention to our sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Someone had suggested we hang Christmas lights around the sign and someone else offered a string of Easter lights. I volunteered to deliver them to the church, but well, something got messed up and the lights never made it to church. Which made me feel guilty, so I decided to just sneak over on my break and hang them myself.
Because my husband is a head usher, we have a key to the church, so even though our secretary doesn’t have a set schedule, I knew I could get in when I needed to. The door was locked and the building empty when I arrived shortly after noon.
Using my husband’s key, I went through the door by the offices and let it click shut behind me. I was locked in the dark unoccupied building. And it is a large old church, by the way.
I walked into the sanctuary and down the side aisle to the narthex at the far end. Day light came through the windows, but I know this building well enough that I could have felt my way to my destination in pitch black.
I pulled the string of lights out of their bag, found a box of tacks and started tacking the lights around the edge of the poster. Until I couldn’t reach the top of the bulletin board. I quickly dragged over the metal folding chair from next to the usher’s pew.
With the string of lights in one hand and a thumb tack in the other, I stepped up on the chair. And immediately lost my balance.
That’s when my life flashed before me. Or at least a long string of thoughts.
What am I going to do if I fall over the back of this chair which is the way I am heading? I will crash head-first into the floor. I am in this dark building alone. But from where I fall, unless I am knocked unconscious, I should be able to reach up to my purse on the table where I had laid the other string of lights. My cellphone is in my purse. But who would I call? The church is locked. Who would be able to get in here without breaking down the doors? But hold it, a friend at work is an organist at our church. She has a key. I can call her at work. I am set, when I fall and break a bone and can’t get out of here on my own.
But just like that, as all those thoughts came to a close and I had a plan, I was able to correct the angle of my fall, and instead of falling at all, I was able to jump off the chair and land, somewhat ungracefully, on my feet.
Amazing, but with heart pounding, I still had to hang the rest of the lights and get back to work on time. I don’t wear a watch and there was no clock in the narthex. I reached for my cell phone in my purse. It remained dark no matter which side button I pushed. The battery was completely dead. Completely. So much for my plan of calling that co-worker with the church key.
Was it all serendipity? Or was God protecting me in His house?
Yesterday, I ran to church over my lunch hour to hang some lights. Our women’s group is helping to host our church’s annual Easter Dinner for the community and we wanted to draw more attention to our sign-up sheet in the Narthex. Someone had suggested we hang Christmas lights around the sign and someone else offered a string of Easter lights. I volunteered to deliver them to the church, but well, something got messed up and the lights never made it to church. Which made me feel guilty, so I decided to just sneak over on my break and hang them myself.
Because my husband is a head usher, we have a key to the church, so even though our secretary doesn’t have a set schedule, I knew I could get in when I needed to. The door was locked and the building empty when I arrived shortly after noon.
Using my husband’s key, I went through the door by the offices and let it click shut behind me. I was locked in the dark unoccupied building. And it is a large old church, by the way.
I walked into the sanctuary and down the side aisle to the narthex at the far end. Day light came through the windows, but I know this building well enough that I could have felt my way to my destination in pitch black.
I pulled the string of lights out of their bag, found a box of tacks and started tacking the lights around the edge of the poster. Until I couldn’t reach the top of the bulletin board. I quickly dragged over the metal folding chair from next to the usher’s pew.
With the string of lights in one hand and a thumb tack in the other, I stepped up on the chair. And immediately lost my balance.
That’s when my life flashed before me. Or at least a long string of thoughts.
What am I going to do if I fall over the back of this chair which is the way I am heading? I will crash head-first into the floor. I am in this dark building alone. But from where I fall, unless I am knocked unconscious, I should be able to reach up to my purse on the table where I had laid the other string of lights. My cellphone is in my purse. But who would I call? The church is locked. Who would be able to get in here without breaking down the doors? But hold it, a friend at work is an organist at our church. She has a key. I can call her at work. I am set, when I fall and break a bone and can’t get out of here on my own.
But just like that, as all those thoughts came to a close and I had a plan, I was able to correct the angle of my fall, and instead of falling at all, I was able to jump off the chair and land, somewhat ungracefully, on my feet.
Amazing, but with heart pounding, I still had to hang the rest of the lights and get back to work on time. I don’t wear a watch and there was no clock in the narthex. I reached for my cell phone in my purse. It remained dark no matter which side button I pushed. The battery was completely dead. Completely. So much for my plan of calling that co-worker with the church key.
Was it all serendipity? Or was God protecting me in His house?
March 6, 2016
Judging Others
“Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:1-6, NIV)
This is a tough passage to comment on, because it rings so close to home. Don’t we all judge others and not just some of the time, but all of the time. We don’t think that someone should get the job because we think they don’t have the proper education. We don’t think someone should have children because we think they aren’t good enough. We don’t want someone waiting on us at Kwik Trip because we don’t like how they look or how they talk. We don’t want to sit next to someone on the bus because we don’t like how they smell. We do it all the time. If we would just look in the mirror, we would see that we are the ones without the proper education, we are the ones that aren’t good enough. We look odd, we talk different, we smell funny. We have no right to judge.
Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, but Christians are usually the ones judging. My daughter and I just talked about this yesterday. This is why she doesn’t go to church or believe in organized religion. Which makes me sad and causes me a great deal of worry, but I see where she’s coming from.
Lord, help us to see the world with loving eyes, to see all people as equals. Remind us that You are the only Judge and Your opinion is the only one that counts. Amen
The kettle where I will plant some flowers in the spring is looking good, or at least it was when I took this picture a couple years ago. In reality, there is still a quite of bit of snow out there. But I am living in the prayerful expectancy of spring.
“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
“Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.” (Matthew 7:1-6, NIV)
This is a tough passage to comment on, because it rings so close to home. Don’t we all judge others and not just some of the time, but all of the time. We don’t think that someone should get the job because we think they don’t have the proper education. We don’t think someone should have children because we think they aren’t good enough. We don’t want someone waiting on us at Kwik Trip because we don’t like how they look or how they talk. We don’t want to sit next to someone on the bus because we don’t like how they smell. We do it all the time. If we would just look in the mirror, we would see that we are the ones without the proper education, we are the ones that aren’t good enough. We look odd, we talk different, we smell funny. We have no right to judge.
Unfortunately, and I hate to say this, but Christians are usually the ones judging. My daughter and I just talked about this yesterday. This is why she doesn’t go to church or believe in organized religion. Which makes me sad and causes me a great deal of worry, but I see where she’s coming from.
Lord, help us to see the world with loving eyes, to see all people as equals. Remind us that You are the only Judge and Your opinion is the only one that counts. Amen
The kettle where I will plant some flowers in the spring is looking good, or at least it was when I took this picture a couple years ago. In reality, there is still a quite of bit of snow out there. But I am living in the prayerful expectancy of spring. March 4, 2016
The Journey of Six Years
I just missed an anniversary. The first of this month it had been six years since I started this blog. Actually I remember that the very first post was the end of February, but it was so lame – something about “this is a test, this is only a test” – and a few years ago I deleted it concerned that someone would stumble upon it and think that all of my writing was so mind-numbing. And perhaps a lot of it is still that appalling. Yet I keep plugging away. I have shared my life story here, from childhood to job travails to travels across country and around the world. I’ve written about my pets, my family and some of my friends. I dedicated my Sunday posts to Bible lessons and other inspirations.
It was a learning experience at the beginning. I didn’t know how to attach pictures or links and I didn’t give the earlier posts titles. I started out with an average of four readers per post, am now up to 40 or so. The most read post still remains, “Are you a sea lion or a seal?” with over five thousand views. I have no idea why, as the next most read trails at just over 400 views. I’ve tried different marketing approaches but it remains a mystery to me.
In June 2012 I started a second blog, “writing what i can when i can”, to help me be accountable to my writing goals. It hasn’t got the following of “The Dino Chronicles”, but it was never intended to. The latest change in my blogs is that I have added ads to the bottom of each post. I tried to keep them unobtrusive and I hope that no one is offended by them. I thought I would just see what happens there. Is there any money to be made by blogging? None yet.
But I shouldn’t bore you with facts and figures and findings. I just want to thank everyone who has been following my blogs. I hope that you don’t feel reading them is a waste of your time. I hope that once in a while I’ve taught you something or have made you laugh or even tear up. I hope that you continue to follow my story.
Thanks again and have a great weekend.
Dino remains my inspiration, whether when writing this blogor just when getting out of bed in the morning.
Last boring facts. I've written 1013 posts here and 276 on the other blog!
Isn't that amazing, Dino?
March 2, 2016
Again I say, "Do Not Worry"
Did you read this blog on Sunday? Did I read it?
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (from Matthew 6, NIV)
So what state of worry did I have myself worked up to this morning?
A week and a half ago we bought a new mattress. They only deliver on certain days, so we scheduled to have it delivered yesterday during my lunch hour. I have been fretting the whole entire last two weeks about being able to get off of work today for the full hour from noon to one as that was when I told them I would be home. I work with a great group of women who are all willing to work together to be sure that we can get away when we need to, yet I still fretted.
I fretted because they didn’t call Monday to confirm. Not that they said they would, I just thought they should. I fretted about being home alone when they came and doing something dumb so they would think I was just a dumb woman. I have no idea what that would possibly be, but I still fretted about it. I fretted about our icy front step and that they would slip and fall. I fretted that they wouldn’t bring the right mattress. I fretted about my hardwood floors getting full of mud and snow from their shoes, as if my dog and cats don’t mess up the floors enough. And I mostly fretted that they wouldn’t show up in that noon to one window.
The whole time those verses from the book of Matthew were completely gone from my head. Why can’t I practice what I preach?
The mattress showed up on time, the two delivery boys set it up without incident. It was a long day – much needed Bible Study at seven a.m. and the church ladies at six p.m. with eight hours of work in between - but I finally got the bed back together, with freshly washed sheets, hours before going to bed.
Woke up this morning without a backache for the first time in months. Will still have to work on the headache.
Dino on the old bed, looking rather dour.
Dino on the new bed looking all happy again. And one more of his momma's worries put to rest as Dino can jump the few extra inches up to the new mattress.
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear…. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (from Matthew 6, NIV)
So what state of worry did I have myself worked up to this morning?
A week and a half ago we bought a new mattress. They only deliver on certain days, so we scheduled to have it delivered yesterday during my lunch hour. I have been fretting the whole entire last two weeks about being able to get off of work today for the full hour from noon to one as that was when I told them I would be home. I work with a great group of women who are all willing to work together to be sure that we can get away when we need to, yet I still fretted.
I fretted because they didn’t call Monday to confirm. Not that they said they would, I just thought they should. I fretted about being home alone when they came and doing something dumb so they would think I was just a dumb woman. I have no idea what that would possibly be, but I still fretted about it. I fretted about our icy front step and that they would slip and fall. I fretted that they wouldn’t bring the right mattress. I fretted about my hardwood floors getting full of mud and snow from their shoes, as if my dog and cats don’t mess up the floors enough. And I mostly fretted that they wouldn’t show up in that noon to one window.
The whole time those verses from the book of Matthew were completely gone from my head. Why can’t I practice what I preach?
The mattress showed up on time, the two delivery boys set it up without incident. It was a long day – much needed Bible Study at seven a.m. and the church ladies at six p.m. with eight hours of work in between - but I finally got the bed back together, with freshly washed sheets, hours before going to bed.
Woke up this morning without a backache for the first time in months. Will still have to work on the headache.
Dino on the old bed, looking rather dour.
Dino on the new bed looking all happy again. And one more of his momma's worries put to rest as Dino can jump the few extra inches up to the new mattress.
February 28, 2016
Do Not Worry
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 25-31, NIV)
Every Sunday during Lent, I’ve been sharing Jesus’s beautiful words from The Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. Aren’t these some of the most beautiful words ever written? Words will all need to take to heart. I surely cannot remember a time in my life when worrying solved any problems. Can you?
Lord, God, settle our hearts and minds so that we can rest in Your peace, knowing that You have all things taken care of. Amen.
No flowers yet...
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?
“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6: 25-31, NIV)
Every Sunday during Lent, I’ve been sharing Jesus’s beautiful words from The Sermon on the Mount in the book of Matthew. Aren’t these some of the most beautiful words ever written? Words will all need to take to heart. I surely cannot remember a time in my life when worrying solved any problems. Can you?
Lord, God, settle our hearts and minds so that we can rest in Your peace, knowing that You have all things taken care of. Amen.
No flowers yet...February 26, 2016
Putting Frustration into Perspective
Last week Tuesday I gave a presentation to my local chapter of certified medical assistants. I really wanted to tell them all about and show them pictures of Kenya, but to get CEU credit, I had to tailor it to fit the health care field in America. So the topic was “Poverty in America and Its Effects on Health”. Denise, my partner in crime on the trip to Kenya last fall, is going to give the same presentation with me tomorrow for the state CMAs. We are tying the many examples of poverty we witnessed in Kenya into our talk.
In preparation for both presentations I had printed off not only the outline of the talk, but several pages of highlighted articles off of the internet to use as reference. When I started setting up last Tuesday’s talk I could not find any of those papers in any of the stuff I had taken along. I didn’t sweat it, I could wing it. I would find the papers at home that night and slap myself upside the head.
Alas. The papers weren’t anywhere to be found at my house. Or in any of my bags or my car or anywhere else that I have traversed in the last ten days. Not a problem, right? Because I surely saved my work on the computer and can just print off more pages for the talk tomorrow. No, of course, I did not do that.
I spent all of last night searching the house and both my computers one more time, but to no avail. I even went online to find those articles again and start from scratch. That was an exhausting search which ended nearly as quickly as it began. In frustration.
It’s not like I don’t have enough good and accurate information for this talk on Saturday. I still do have the complete outline and the powerpoint. It’s just - argh – you know – one of those things that makes you think are losing your mind. Or at least makes you want to just punch something.
As I started writing this rant, this is what came up as my scrolling desktop picture on my laptop.
This is on the grounds of Southern Cross Academy at the SIDP at Maai Mahiu. I’ve written about this school many times. This foundation was supposed to be where a community center was going to be, but funds and volunteers to build it petered out. I just needed that picture to put it all back into perspective.
Maybe our talk tomorrow won’t have all the bells and whistles I would like, but it not only has a foundation, it has walls, a roof, and windows. Or at least I hope that’s what the attendees think. And if they don’t like it, well, if our presentation has a door, they can go out it.
In preparation for both presentations I had printed off not only the outline of the talk, but several pages of highlighted articles off of the internet to use as reference. When I started setting up last Tuesday’s talk I could not find any of those papers in any of the stuff I had taken along. I didn’t sweat it, I could wing it. I would find the papers at home that night and slap myself upside the head.
Alas. The papers weren’t anywhere to be found at my house. Or in any of my bags or my car or anywhere else that I have traversed in the last ten days. Not a problem, right? Because I surely saved my work on the computer and can just print off more pages for the talk tomorrow. No, of course, I did not do that.
I spent all of last night searching the house and both my computers one more time, but to no avail. I even went online to find those articles again and start from scratch. That was an exhausting search which ended nearly as quickly as it began. In frustration.
It’s not like I don’t have enough good and accurate information for this talk on Saturday. I still do have the complete outline and the powerpoint. It’s just - argh – you know – one of those things that makes you think are losing your mind. Or at least makes you want to just punch something.
As I started writing this rant, this is what came up as my scrolling desktop picture on my laptop.
This is on the grounds of Southern Cross Academy at the SIDP at Maai Mahiu. I’ve written about this school many times. This foundation was supposed to be where a community center was going to be, but funds and volunteers to build it petered out. I just needed that picture to put it all back into perspective.
Maybe our talk tomorrow won’t have all the bells and whistles I would like, but it not only has a foundation, it has walls, a roof, and windows. Or at least I hope that’s what the attendees think. And if they don’t like it, well, if our presentation has a door, they can go out it.
February 24, 2016
Wildlife Wednesday - Topi
I first met the Topi on safari in 2006. Before that, I don’t know if I knew they existed. Of course, I should admit I don’t think that I knew half the animals of East Africa existed until then and I’m pretty sure I thought that there was only one type of antelope. No, I take that back, I knew there was an impala, and that’s just coz Mom owned a Chevrolet impala when I was a kid (it was a white boat of a car and was replaced in the mid-1970s by an AMC matador – now that car brings back memories, but I digress).
The topi is a medium-sized antelope with a deep red-brown coat and distinct black patches on the face, the upper forelegs, and on the hips and thighs. His tan legs make it look like he is wearing stockings. He is a beautiful creature.
Although not quite as large as his relative the hartebeest, the topi has a similar body shape. The female topi is usually lighter in color than the male. Both sexes have thick, heavily ringed horns that are about 21 inches long.
The topi is a picky eater, eating only grass. If they have access to plenty of green grass, they can go without water for long periods of time.
They are extroverted and even mingle outside of their species, such as with wildebeest and zebras, which we witnessed a lot. Sometimes it was hard to tell if the topis knew just what herd they belonged to.
God gave the mother-to-be topi a wonderful gift. The females can actually delay giving birth if they sense immediate danger. Of course, when us human mothers are close to going into labor it is only our male partners who are in danger – and that would be from incurring our wrath when the cool rag they put on our forehead is not the right temperature or they are not applying the right amount of pressure on our aching lower back or they tell us we are doing fine when we are trying to push what feels like a fully-inflated basketball out of our bottom.
The topi is a medium-sized antelope with a deep red-brown coat and distinct black patches on the face, the upper forelegs, and on the hips and thighs. His tan legs make it look like he is wearing stockings. He is a beautiful creature.
Although not quite as large as his relative the hartebeest, the topi has a similar body shape. The female topi is usually lighter in color than the male. Both sexes have thick, heavily ringed horns that are about 21 inches long.The topi is a picky eater, eating only grass. If they have access to plenty of green grass, they can go without water for long periods of time.
They are extroverted and even mingle outside of their species, such as with wildebeest and zebras, which we witnessed a lot. Sometimes it was hard to tell if the topis knew just what herd they belonged to. 
God gave the mother-to-be topi a wonderful gift. The females can actually delay giving birth if they sense immediate danger. Of course, when us human mothers are close to going into labor it is only our male partners who are in danger – and that would be from incurring our wrath when the cool rag they put on our forehead is not the right temperature or they are not applying the right amount of pressure on our aching lower back or they tell us we are doing fine when we are trying to push what feels like a fully-inflated basketball out of our bottom. 
February 21, 2016
Give to Everyone
“When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:16-24, New International Version)
I look around my modest house, I look at my closet full of clothes (many from the second-hand store), I look at my cupboards full of food, and I think I have got so much. God has blessed me more than I deserve. I need to give some of this away to the poor. Why do I have so much stuff and live in such a big house? What master am I really serving? God or money?
Lord, God, thank you for all that you have given me, so many good and gracious things, and thank you most of all for sending Jesus into my life. Help me to serve the poor and share all that I have, including the Good News of salvation. In Jesus name, Amen
The snow is receding from the flower pot - well not yet this year, as this picture is from a few years ago.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” (from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6:16-24, New International Version)
I look around my modest house, I look at my closet full of clothes (many from the second-hand store), I look at my cupboards full of food, and I think I have got so much. God has blessed me more than I deserve. I need to give some of this away to the poor. Why do I have so much stuff and live in such a big house? What master am I really serving? God or money?
Lord, God, thank you for all that you have given me, so many good and gracious things, and thank you most of all for sending Jesus into my life. Help me to serve the poor and share all that I have, including the Good News of salvation. In Jesus name, Amen
The snow is receding from the flower pot - well not yet this year, as this picture is from a few years ago. 
