Note from Dave on his poem: “Now and then I post poems. This is an old one, an early publication–in fact, I used to keep track of poems published and, on my old list, this was number eight. It was published in a journal called Hellas many years ago. And it ‘really happened.’ I came home from teaching one day, saw the cat as described in the poem, and wrote the poem in one sitting (a thing that doesn’t happen very often for me).”
Here’s the poem:
(This is indeed Dave’s kitty, but not on the day of her wispy concert!)
Cat and Mandolin
My cat (a tortoise-shell, white underneath)
Lies sleepily, stretched out upon a sheaf
Of music I laid by my mandolin
Upon a table. Sunlight pouring in
The window makes her drowsy as she rests,
Notes of an old composer by her breast.
Her tail disturbs the silence lazily,
Brushing the mandolin, and sending free
Desultory notes into the languid air
Of afternoon—a lyric to compare
With that one Coleridge heard the wind-harp troll,
But far superior: The Oversoul
That moves creative thought with touches warm
Is incarnated better in this form.
“As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who maketh all” (Ecclesiastes 11:5).
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit ” (John 3:8).
Looking for a sweet story to watch during the holidays? Is there anybody who doesn’t love a story about undying love and loyalty?
Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, is an Americanized and modernized version of the true story of Dr. Ueno, who was a professor at the University of Tokyo a century ago.
Hachiko with the Ueno family (Public Domain)
Although the movie depicts Hachi as a pup found at a railroad station, in reality, Hachi (“Hachiko”) was a Akita Inu puppy born on a farm in 1923 and adopted by Hidesaburo Ueno, who was a professor of agriculture.
Uneo’s faithful dog accompanied him to the Shibuya train station every day and then hung around town until his owner returned on the evening train.
Workers loved him and shared scraps from their lunches with him.
Hachiko waiting every day for his master
Sadly, one day when Ueno was only fifty-one, he suffered a brain hemorrhage and died suddenly. Hachiko, with no way of understanding what had happened, continued waiting at the train station for his beloved master to return . . . every day for nine years, until he died (autopsy reported terminal cancer) on March 8, 1935!
His faithfulness in keeping vigil inspired the entire town, and when he died, his remains were brought into the train station for photos before being his body was preserved and placed in the National Science Museum of Japan in Tokyo.
A bronze statue was placed at Shibuya train station where Hachiko waited so patiently. In modern times, the entrance closest to this statue has been renamed “The Hachiko Entrance/Exit”, and there is now a “Hachiko Line!” Another statue is at Ueno’s gravesite in Aoyama Cemetery, Minato, Tokyo, where his ashes rest beside his master’s.
On March 8, 2015, to commemorate the 90th anniversary of Ueno’s death and 80th anniversary of Hachiko’s, a statue of the professor and his beloved dog reuniting was placed outside the University of Tokyo’s agriculture department.
2009 adaptation, G-rated, 8.1 on IMDb
True, there are no bad guys in the movie, no explosives or wars or street fights. What the movie depicts isn’t hair-raising or spell binding, and so the movie has gotten some criticism, but I think the extremely high rating on IMDb reflects how people really feel. It’s sweet. It’s about love and loyalty. It’s about faith and trust. It’s about waiting patiently for your loved one to return. It’s about undying hope, which I also have. Do you? Not in the return of a mortal, but in the return of Jesus Christ, who rose from the dead and promised to come again. And, despite what the critics say, I believe He will!
“He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:7-11 ESV).
I keep thinking I’ve just seen “the best” movie, and then another one pops up!
Ruby to the rescue dog
CR: Courtesy of Dan O’Neil
Rescued by Ruby is a TV-G, 7.1 (IMDb), 2022 video telling the totally wonderful and pretty miraculous story of the only shelter rescue pup in history to become a K-9 police dog.
The details (especially the plot twist at the end)—though seemingly “too good to be true”—are absolutely and verifiably correct.
Ruby to the rescue dog
CR: Courtesy of Dan O’Neil
So, I won’t spoil the ending, but I’ll tell you about Ruby, who was named the “2018 Search and Rescue American Hero Dog,” and her owner, Rhode Island State Trooper Dan O’Neil.
Ruby to the rescue dog
CR: Courtesy of Dan O’Neil
Ruby was (still is) an Australian shepherd and border collie mix (two of the world’s smartest dogs). Besides being incredibly intelligent, she was a total mess due to her unstable home life during her first eight months.
“Bear” who played the part of Ruby in the Netflix movie
She chewed, dug holes, and was so rambunctious and unruly that Ruby was adopted from but returned to the Rhode Island Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals five times! Patricia Inman, who worked as a volunteer at the shelter, had such a heart for Ruby that she kept working with her, hoping she would be adopted by someone who could handle her.
Grant Guston as Dan O’Neil in Rescued by Ruby
Meanwhile, just before she was doomed to be euthanized as “unadoptable,” Officer Dan O’Neil, who had long dreamed of being part of the K-9 police unit but didn’t have the money to buy an expensive dog, decided to take her on.
As Dan explained in an interview with Today magazine, “Sometimes I’d look at other members of the K-9 unit with their respective high-priced K-9s bred for police work and say, ‘How did I get this disaster?’ It wasn’t easy, but I wanted my dream to come true, so I had to make it work.”
And work he did!! (In fact, so did his wife!!)
Watch the movie, and invite your kids or grandkids to share it with you! It’s all about learning to persevere, to love, to trust, to never give up. And, the wonderful rewards of hanging in there. (Guess that’s good for parents too! 🙂 )
Of course, you may end up getting interested in rescuing a shelter dog from watching. As Louise DuArt (one of the executive producers) shared with People magazine, “Our hope, our prayer honestly, is that people see the movie and they will go out, and they will adopt a shelter dog.” You never know . . . you might get a real Ruby out of the deal!
“Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days.” Ecclesiastes 11:1
P.S.—If you’re interested in learning more, the Netflix movie is based on a short story from Squire Rushnell’s book Dogwinks: True Godwink Stories of Dogs and the Blessings They Bring. As of now, Dan and Ruby have been partners for eleven years and have had several successful missions. In fact, Ruby sniffed out evidence that led to the conviction and incarceration of two murderers.
My daughter recommended this documentary, and it’s fascinating, educational, and provocative. I will never look at a sea creature the same way again!
My Octopus Teacher is a 2020 Netflix original documentary. TV-G; an hour and a half long; rated 8.1 on IMDb. It was the winner of the Best Documentary Feature at the 2021 Academy Awards (along with 14 other nominations and 11 wins).
It’s based on nearly a year’s research (then ten years in the making) by filmmaker Craig Foster, who explored daily the cold, underwater kelp forest near False Bay in South Africa. Why? He started by looking for inspiration but ended with an obsession. He discovered and befriended an octopus!
That’s right. A common, female octopus. An eight-limbed member of the mollusc order, which also includes clams and oysters . . . a soft-tissued, spineless creature that can ooze into a small crack under a rock rather like a blob of jelly.
But, octopuses (not “octopi,” just in case you were wondering) are not mindless blobs of jelly. They have excellent vision and complex nervous systems. They can use tools, solve problems, and engage in play! I read of one octopus being kept for research who was so clever he would escape from his aquarium at night, break into the nearby fish tank, steal fish, and then return to his own aquarium, even remembering to close the top again! It wasn’t until the scientists installed a night camera that they figured out what was happening!
I remember being on an Italian cruise in the Mediterranean once where the ship’s most prized buffet evening showcased octopus. Neither Alan nor I liked it, but each time another freshly prepared octopus came out, there was a perceptible rush back to the buffet line for more. In Asia, Alan’s sister was served a bowl of soup with tiny octopuses swimming around in it. Janice said she gave it back, unable to stomach the idea of eating something still swimming, but I know it’s a delicacy in some countries.
After watching My Octopus Teacher, I will never make the mistake of assuming octopuses are unthinking or unworthy of respect! The little female that developed a friendship with Craig would reach out a tentative limb to feel his finger (and taste it—they also taste with the [up to 2000] independently operating suckers on the downside of their limbs).
In one scene near the end, she comes over and wraps herself around his chest as if to give him a hug and express a sense of pleasure over his being there.
Colossal Octopus Pierre Denys de Montfort. (Public Domain)
I have to confess, I’ve had a rather archaic view of octopuses based on novels like Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, where Captain Nemo’s submarine is attacked by a gargantuan octopus.
In truth, most octopuses are small. The largest scientifically documented octopus was about the size of an adult male human (156 pounds), although rumor has it that giant Pacific octopuses exist weighing up to 600 pounds with arms 30 feet long.
Female octopus tending her hundreds of thousands of eggs. (Wiki Commons) File:Enteroctopus dofleini to spawn
Sadly (to me) octopuses are short-lived (about one year). The male dies after inseminating the female, and the female dies after brooding and hatching the massive number of eggs given her.
But there’s a brilliance in their design and abilities! They can change colors to camouflage themselves, and their soft-tissue bodies can contort and stretch so that even large octopuses can escape into a crack no bigger than an inch wide, making it hard for predators to catch them. They can expel ink when frightened and in flight. They can think and plot and deceive to catch their prey . . . or hide from their predators. Do you know what this picture is about? Why not watch My Octopus Teacher for the underwater trip of your life? If you’re anything like me, it will change the way you think about sea creatures . . . maybe all creatures!
“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures” (James 1:18).
I’ve always known them as “tree toads,” but actually they are frogs. They’re cousins to the spring peepers that fill swamps with their chorus of high-pitched notes in rapid succession while congregated in cool northern ponds only recently released from winter ice. The tree frogs begin their song somewhat later in the year when spring is more advanced. When the trees are clothed again with fresh new leaves, tree frogs ascend their arboreal dwellings and the woods resound with their calls, which continue through the summer.
Highly adaptive, any type of foliage seems to suffice, as long as it provides protective cover and concealment. Quite adept at blending in, they can readily change their coloration to match their surroundings, a gray tree frog climbing the trunk of a maple tree can become a green tree frog if perched midst the leaves of a grapevine. I’ve always found them to be interesting little critters and delight when I find one in my garden. Good acrobats and somewhat unpredictable, they can be rather surprising, even startling if they come sailing out of the foliage when you aren’t expecting it. I’ve even known them to sneak into dwellings where they can surprise you, especially if suddenly a tiny little arm and hand, complete with articulated fingers, comes reaching out from behind something. If you are not thinking “tree frog” your mind can immediately conjure up all sorts of beasties from other planets and stuff. Ask me how I know.
Tree frog blending in with his sandy environment
If they find a place they like, they tend to stay there for the season. I once had a houseplant that grew too large and ungainly for indoors and so I took it outside and fashioned a hanging planter for it where, sure enough, a tree frog took up residency. The watering regimen involved a bucket of water being dumped unceremoniously on the planter a couple of times a week. Every time, the little frog would come wallowing up through the flood to sit on the edge of the planter until the tide went out. The plant was happy, the frog was happy, and I was happy. It worked.
Tree Frog peeking out from dead foliage
Just because they want to be hidden amongst leaves does not mean they do not want to be heard. For no bigger than they are, they can be surprisingly loud. And they sometimes seem to delight in finding creative ways to be even louder. The best example of this I can recall was a little green fellow that climbed up the pole to the old farm bell. Now, this bell, a genuine call-’em-in-from-the-field cast iron clanger, was originally designed to be attached to a 4″ by 4″ wooden post, of which it has worn out quite a few during its first hundred years, but for the last forty or so years it’s been bolted to a section of steel pipe. By the time you consider the bell yoke and the bell, the whole contraption is up there quite a distance, about six cubits and a span, give or take a smidgen. Yes, I could measure it more exactly but I don’t want to. That is close enough for our purpose.
Anyway, the little tree frog climbed the pole and, once up inside the bell, used it as an amphibian amplifier. He was loud! Sounded like the biggest tree frog around. He had my vote for it anyway. Quite pleased with his new voice, he kept right on singing and the more he practiced the better he became at it. Naturally, given his height and volume, I called him “Goliath.” He put on quite a show.
Now, a skinny steel pipe and a rusty old bell with a frog in it aren’t too intimidating, even if they are loud, but if you back away from it a bit and imagine that same height, give or take a smidgen, filled up with a giant warrior, toting a big spear and a sword, drawing ever closer, pulling out all the stops on every intimidation factor, you gain a greater respect for David as he ran forward, toward the adversary, secure in his faith in the One he trusted. It wasn’t his faith but rather the One his faith was in that accomplished the victory. Two of David’s psalms deal with this battle: Psalm 8 and Psalm 144 consider the greatness of God in the heavens, His greatness in the earth, David’s praise and prayer of thanksgiving to his Mighty One who strengthened him, and the vanity and falseness of those opposed to Him and His rule, His absolute dominion in heaven and earth.
Goliath was covered in brass, a helmet of brass, and a coat of mail of brass and greaves of brass. Brass represents judgment and Goliath was top-heavy with the stuff, he was really asking for it when he crossed that valley to loudly give his challenge. Old Goliath, preachers have gotten a lot of mileage out of him over the years, and he has tromped his way across many a Sunday School flannelgraph. Bet he never figured on being compared to a tree frog.
“Blessed be the Lord my strength which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight: My goodness, and my fortress; my high tower, and my deliverer; my shield, and he in whom I trust” (Psalm 144:1-2).
—Written by Brian Pinckney, whose long life of loving nature provides him with a lifetime of stories too! Thank you, Brian, for both the story and the photos!
Not every bear is as scary as Scar (of yesterday’s Apostle Island fame), but let me tell you a happier true story about a very friendly bear who ended up in a London Zoo!
Henry Colbourn, Archives of Canada
It all started back in 1914 when a tenderhearted veterinarian was recruited in Canada to help tend horses during World War 1. Lieutenant Harry Colebourn got out at a train stop on his way to officer training to stretch his legs and “just happened” to see a trapper with a little bear cub on a leash, looking for somebody who might buy the cub for $20.
Colebourn felt sorry for the young cub, so he bought her, and she became his pet. He named her “Winnipeg” for his hometown, but the little she-bear soon became known as “Winnie” for short.
Colebourn tried to return her to the wild when he thought she was old enough to take care of herself, but she was much too fast and too smart to be left behind!
The military wasn’t quite built to accommodate pet bears, so what could Colebourn do?
This PG story is way too cute for me to ruin by telling you everything, but I will divulge that Winnie crossed the ocean to England with her “mother” (Lt. Colebourn).
If you have children or grandchildren—especially any who treasure A.A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh stories, then I think you’d love this movie!
Because, Winnie is the real bear behind the books!
How did Winnie get to England? How did she get to the London Zoo? How did Christopher Robin find her? It’s all there!
“A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5).
“Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:31).
Jon’s family visited for spring break last week, and we had a wonderful time!
Despite the chilly weather, we hiked somewhere fun every day!
We enjoyed the trails at Rosy Mound Park along the Lake Michigan shoreline, had a picnic, and the girls climbed trees.
But, the trail was pretty icy, so Alan and I left the slippery climbs (and 360 icy steps) to Jon, Gerlinde, and their agile little billy goats. We didn’t want to take any chances on falling!
We also went hiking at Hoffmaster Park after a lovely (cold) picnic. Again, the woods was beautiful and the day bright and clear, but when the paths got steep and icy, Alan and I headed back home.
Of course, we took walks through our own woods too, treasuring the sites and sounds of spring awakening as the snows receded.
In less than a week, we went from snowshoeing to searching for pussy willows and crocuses.
The geese returned, and there have been constant squabbles over which couple has first dibs on which nesting site on the waterfront. Don’t you love spring?
Pileated woodpecker at Huff Park, Grand Rapids, Michigan
We also went in search of the pileated woodpecker who’s making a home high up in an old snag at Huff Park, where there is a perfectly flat boardwalk through the marsh and a nicely paved 1-mile path through the woods.
Ideal place to walk. One of our favorites! (The playground equipment is pretty rad too!)
Holes drilled by pileated woodpeckers at Hoffmaster Park, Muskegon, Michigan
If I was going to fall flat on my face, you’d think it would have happened while hiking along the icy dunes or through the woods, but no. I was being extremely careful anytime I recognized danger.
It was while not paying attention on our very familiar, smooth, ice-free trail around the marsh at Huff Park.
At other venues, I had been fastidiously holding Alan’s arm for extra safety and support, but at Huff Park, I felt completely secure and was looking all around, taking photos here and there, talking, laughing, and enjoying the grandkids, when all of a sudden one of the children came bouncing up to join us from the side. Blindsided, down I went. I mean, face down! Not only did I hit both wrists and my right knee, I cracked the lens guard on my camera and hit my face so hard I got a bloody nose!
Girls finding the first crocuses of the spring!
How in the world? For the past 45 years I’ve had kids running in front of me, but this time I was just wobbly enough (from my hip replacement last fall) that I couldn’t catch myself and restabilize before making a swan-dive faceplant!
And, what is my moral from this not quite Aesopian fable?
Never take chances or have any fun? No, that can’t be right!
How about: “Be careful so you don’t slip on the ice!” ?? Well, that’s getting a little closer . . .
“Look before you leap!”??
“Watch where you’re going!”? Even deer trip each other up every once in a while!
I think for me, the answer is to remember that I’m never so strong that falling is impossible, so I need to keep hanging on to the arm of my beloved.
“Who is this that comes up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?” (Song of Solomon 8:5)
“A man’s pride shall bring him low: but honour shall uphold the humble in spirit.” (Proverbs 29:23)
P.S.—To my amazement, it seems I haven’t sustained any serious injuries and even my camera works fine! So here’s another lesson—one I’ve learned many times: “The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27). Thank you, Father!
So many jokes! I hope you don’t mind if I share a few.
It hasn’t just been humans who’ve struggled with a lack of exercise!
Who says dogs can’t pray?
Don’t you wonder what this little fellow (and his dog?) are hoping for?
Here is a prayer for all of us during this season of Covid sorrows and frustrations: “Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!” (Psalm 4:2).
We watched a beautifully done documentary entitled Think Like An Animal, Season 56, Episode 7. It is one of 210 episodes from a series ongoing since 1960, rated 8.4 on IMDb. As they explain, the program features “cutting edge scientists and the fascinating creatures they’re studying . . . explores exciting new research and dispels old myths about how animals think. By providing a glimpse into the inner world of animals and challenging conventional wisdom this documentary raises important questions about how we think about and treat our fellow creatures.”
Cheetah by James Temple. Wikipedia
If I understood the message correctly, their theory is that humans are just one more animal, and that although we think we’re more clever, in many ways, our abilities pale in the light of what animals can accomplish. Think of tiny butterflies migrating thousands of miles, and mighty whales finding their way through the vast pathways of the oceans . . . kangaroos that can jump 30 feet into the air, cheetahs that run 70 mph, falcons the dive at 242 mph, and ants that can carry up to 50 times their body weight. In a lot of ways, humans are inferior.
It’s true that humans can be classified as mammals biologically, but that doesn’t mean we’re just one step further along than apes in some great evolutionary chain. We may have similarities in our DNA coding and be made from the same raw materials, but that speaks to me of one creator who used similar processes to create.
Michelangelo’s Pieta
Michelangelo used marble to sculpt both the Pieta and the statue of Moses. Each is beautiful, and each speaks of a common creator, but they are completely separate works.
Moses, by Michelangelo
As I look at creation, I can’t believe that humans are simply one among many and just the next step up from apes. Humans are in a class of their own concerning their intellectual abilities. What other species writes books? Develops myriad musical instruments and composes operas, builds skyscrapers and flies to outer space? Animals can do amazing things that we cannot by natural instinct, but we have learned by intellect and ingenuity to do more than most animals can do. We can build machines that run faster and dive deeper, that jump higher and carry heavier loads, that can calculate distance and not simply find our way home, but our way to the moon.
Used by permission of my oldest brother, Rob (who doesn’t agree with my conclusions but is gracious enough to let me use his photos!)
I know elephants grieve their lost relatives, and my brother saw an elephant in Thailand who could paint a picture of a rose, but no other species can reproduce a Rembrandt or has built an art museum. We have schools of fish, but no universities with buildings and campuses where sharks gather to discuss the philosophy of fishing.
Sure, chimps can make a tool to get ants out of a bottle, but they don’t create factories to manufacture computers.
Do you want to think like an animal? Who among the entire creation of animals will organize daring rescue missions to save people they’ve never known who live on the other side of the world? Only humans. I want to think like a human. Study animals? For sure! Learn from animals? When I can! But, I want to reason, create, write, read, and build as only humans can do. I am not a monkey; I am a human. Made in the image of God. Created to create, to worship, and to fellowship. To be redeemed, to love, and to live forever. I wouldn’t trade places with any other being in the animal kingdom. Would you?
Psalm 8 (English Standard Version)
O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 Out of the mouth of babies and infants, you have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?
5 Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings[b] and crowned him with glory and honor. 6 You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet, 7 all sheep and oxen, and also the beasts of the field, 8 the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
(Credits: The top photo is mine, taken at John Ball Zoo, but the other photos of chimps are from the internet.)
It doesn’t cost to receive love, but it can cost a great deal to give it. Are you giving up anything to express your love for Christ this Lenten season? Today is Ash Wednesday and the first day of Lent. Ash Wednesday is a time to fast, pray, and repent of personal sins . . . to “repent and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Lent is forty days of preparation before celebrating the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. I didn’t grow up in a religious home, and when I did become a Christian, I wasn’t nurtured in a church tradition that celebrated Lent, so participating in the Lenten season wasn’t on my “Church Calendar” or my spiritual radar.
However, several of my children developed an interest in celebrating Lent as adults and inspired me to join in, but when I counted up the days, I noticed that Ash Wednesday is actually 46 days before Easter Sunday. “That is because,” I was informed by Catholic friends “you can’t fast on a feast day, and Sundays are feast days.” So, for those of you who like the idea of sacrificing something during Lent as a small “thank you gift” to Jesus, who gave Himself as a sacrifice for us, you can take one day off each week. That may sound wimpy and petty, but as one who’s been giving things up for Lent, I’ve discovered it’s much easier to give up some favored aspect of life for six weeks (for six days a week with a day of rest each time before gearing up again) than it is to deny yourself something you love for forty straight days.
If you’re new to the practice of celebrating Lent, you may wonder what to give up. I’m giving up desserts this year because I love them and tend to eat desserts any time they’re offered, whether or not I’m hungry. Therefore, although desserts aren’t “sinful” per se, I am often tempted to overeat desserts, so I am denying myself this pleasure as a much needed self-discipline to curb my appetite for something which is not ideal for me. I’ve never had a drink, so giving up alcohol wouldn’t really be “giving up” anything for me, but if you tend to be a social drinker, that might be an excellent choice. If you’re interested, why not pray about it and ask God what He thinks? As you pray and repent over your sins, the Holy Spirit may point to exactly what would be the perfect Lenten sacrifice. What’s an area of your life where you tend to overindulge yourself? Video games? TV? Social media?
But, Lent doesn’t have to be about giving up; it can be about adding to. Are there spiritual practices that you’ve never started or neglect? What about committing to meditate your way through one chapter of the Bible every day, or praying daily, or taking a few minutes each day to write an encouraging note or text to a friend? What about memorizing 40 Bible verses in 40 days, or faithfully starting an exercise routine, or going for a daily walk? Are there things in your life you should be doing but neglect? God calls us to love him with everything—not just our head and heart, but “thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength” (Mark 12:30). Spiritual fitness and physical fitness are both a part of loving God with our entirety!
As I was out walking our lane, I saw this bloody, heart-shaped deer print in the snow. It looked like a Valentine surrounded by fallen tears, and I’ve been thinking ever since about the high cost of love. In the Garden of Eden, after Satan deceived Eve and tempted her to sin, God said that someone coming from Eve (Jesus, the Messiah) would crush Satan’s head but that Satan would bruise his heel (Genesis 3:15). In fact, the death of Jesus Christ for us did crush Satan’s ability to dominate our lives, but the nails driven through Jesus’s feet during his crucifixion would have bruised his feet and left blood-stained footprints on the cross.
God so loved us that he gave his son to die for us. Jesus, His Son, so loved us that he drank the bitter cup of death for us. His blood cleanses us from all sins! “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18). May we be washed clean by the blood of the Lamb of God, born to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29).
If you are not yet a follower of Jesus, would you “repent and believe in the gospel” today? “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9).
If you are a believer, would you consider following in Christ’s blood-stained footsteps today? “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). We have freely received eternal life through the high cost of God’s love. What can we freely give as a small love gift back to Him this Lenten season?
Summer Setting 