Creatures Great and Small - Holding Down the Doormat

The Thousand Word Project - Cat Tales

 

Cats can do aerobics in their sleep like this. :-) 

Creatures Great and Small - Seeking the Winter Sun

 

Java - taken Feb. 2021

Tennessee Memories - August In Tennessee

 

Turtle

Pansy

Heavenly Blue Morning Glories

Summertime Memories

Summertime

Strawberries and lemonade,
Naps on hammocks in the shade;
Jumping in the swimming hole,
Sleeping with a fishing pole;
Lightning bugs and thunder storms,
Starry nights and muggy morns;
Crickets, ants, and garden rows,
The fragrance of a golden rose;
Parking lots to burn your feet,
Baking cars that burn your seat;
Watermelons, burgers too,
Sweaty clothes - PeeeeUuu!

Mary Stephens

Hollyhocks

Wood sorrel (oxalis), Maidenhair fern, something? :-)

Cottontail rabbit baby

Strawberries

Mocking bird, Queen Anne's lace

Trumpet vine

Temple Grandin Talking About Autism

Temple Grandin, the lady famous for being one of the first diagnosed with autism and then going on to become a well-educated, functioning, contributing person, talks here about autism and things that can be done to help children who have it. As a person who is highly artistic and also suffers from an anxiety disorder, I feel very strongly about art and hands on creative things being removed from school curriculum. I also hope this gives someone a better understanding about helping children and adults with autism and related disorders.

God allows some things for reasons that we do not understand. Through history, many of the great artists and highly skilled people in special areas such as mathematics, linguistics, music, technology, and other things have been or are somewhere on the autism spectrum. Helping children with autism find the things they are good at and helping them increase those skills is very important. For Christian parents, you may help them find that one thing or those few things that they can do that will be truly productive to God's glory and give them a sense of being useful in this life. This is important for everyone.

Also, as a side note, I agree with Ms. Grandin that it is wrong to breed animals for food or our enjoyment in such a way that they suffer or have problems. Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man regardeth the life of his beast: but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.

I do not remember there being any profanity or using of God's name in vain in this video. If I have missed something I apologize. Please leave a comment.

I have no control over ads or suggested videos.

Thoughts from the Past – A Bold Foe

Photo from my grandpa's collection, I assume taken in a zoo.

Jan. 3, 2006 [edited 2020]

A Bold Foe

Over the weekend we had a guest - a fellow believer from California. Last night we showed him one of our lion documentaries (The Lions of Etosha, filmed by Des and Jen Bartlett). In discussing the hunting habits of lions they showed two different sequences in which the lions, in the process of their hunt, did not even bother to hide themselves. They boldly approached the prey in plain sight. Half of the strategy was to panic the prey by their very presence. The prey knew they were being hunted and could see all or at least part of the lions. The fear factor in this panicked the prey into going exactly where the lions wanted them to go so that they could catch one to devour.

I was again reminded that this is one of the tactics of our adversary the devil who is also described as a devouring lion. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Sometimes the devil, or his minions, will actually hunt for the saints, as it were, in our plain sight. There is no hiding of the fact that they are there to devour. The idea is much as the lion's - they desire to panic us into bolting directly into their trap.

It is amazingly easy to be panicked by this tactic, but the Lord has not left us helpless. He has told us what to do. The passage continues, Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. 1 Peter 5:9 Steadfast resistance in the faith is the key. Unlike the helpless prey of the real lions, if we in faith steadfastly resist being panicked we can overcome the devil and his servants.

We read in Proverbs 28:1, ...the righteous are bold as a lion. We are righteous through Jesus Christ, Who is the lion of the tribe of Juda (Rev. 5:5). Another section of the video showed a confrontation between two male "stray lions" (lions not belonging to a pride), and the two big males of the pride. At first, the lone lion from the pride ran from the intruders, but when his friend - his brother - came to support him he turned around and confronted the intruders.

There is strength in the support of our fellow saints, but ultimately our support is Christ, the lion of Juda Himself. With Him no spiritual predator can overcome us. Our confidence and faith must be in Him, not ourselves. We must resist the urge to panic when the roaring devil shows himself.

Ephesians 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

---------------

First published here in July 2011.
This post was written for my old blog in 2006. The guest we had that January is now my husband. :-)

Creatures Great and Small - The Little Red Hen

Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! 

Creatures Great and Small - Freeloaders

These stray cats in New Mexico were being fed by my in-laws' neighbor. :-)

Creatures Great and Small - Fuzzy Face

Cookie

Feathers

Shadow

Guest Post - Thoughts On Losing A Pet

Stealth in his bed.

My Texas brother and his wife lost one of their kitty cats last weekend after a shortish illness. It was very sad. They did not recognize the symptoms that he had until it was too late to save his little life and he died from what was likely a bacterial infection.

My brother, Mike, wrote about it on his Facebook page, and he gave me permission to share it with my readers here. I found it thought provoking as well as encouraging.

-------------------------

by Mike Van Nattan

So this week we lost one of our kitty's. His name was Stealth and he more than lived up to that name. His ability to walk around without you knowing he was there, or hopping up on the counters without a sound hoping you didn't notice long enough for him to get a few sniffs of whatever was there.

But most importantly, we lost a buddy and a friend. He was the cat that pushed us to move, to get out more, and be more adventurous. The more we took him out, the more he wanted. Being on the water was so natural for him. He was part of the reason we came up with the idea that is now RV Fishing Adventures.

The experience of his death really hit home for me though. I've had a lot of critters through the years, cats, dogs, hamsters, gerbils... but though most of them have died while I owned them, I was never present at the exact moment they died. In this case, I was actually there when his little heart stopped and felt his warm body start to cool down while I sat there and cried.

Then as I sat there, it suddenly hit me why this was so traumatic for me: There is no "hope" in this death. It's all over. He's gone **forever**. His death was a stark picture of what eternal death is like and as having been a Christian since a child, this was a foreign concept for me!

The Bible doesn't promise us anything in regards to animals. A lot of people like to think their critters go to heaven, but this just isn't in the Bible. For me, I've been a Christian most of my life. It seems I've always had a hope for things above. When my grandpa and grandma died, it wasn't death, it was translation. I knew I would see them again someday. There was hope and therefore comfort in their passing. This is what the Bible teaches us for those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for their salvation.

But for animals, there are no promises of another life. For animals there is no hope. They are just gone. This is likely the most disconcerting thing about the passing of our late "Stealth Kitty". I will never see him again. There will be no more early morning sessions of him trying to crawl on me while I'm sleeping. There will be no more sleeping in the recliner with a "heating blanket" on my chest. No more nose bumps by a cold nose when you were least expecting it. All of him is gone. Never more to return.

Except the memories. We do have many memories made with the little goober. The pictures here show just a tiny little bit. But we really are glad we did so much recording through the few years we had him.

So why all the depressed talk? Because to me this is a sobering reminder of why I believe in Christ Jesus. Why I believe for those creatures who have souls that there is an afterlife. And why I believe it is so important to know Christ and believe that Christ saves sinners like me.

Yet, not just that, but also that those who do not believe will not simply disappear like my cat, but will go on living eternal death. The Bible teaches that the soul of man doesn't cease to exist. It goes on in either eternal life, or eternal death. The choice is ours to make.

If you're reading this and this bothers you, I encourage you to grab a Bible and read the Gospel of John. The whole thing. Yeah, it's long, but an hour or two of your time is worth it compared to a million years of anguish.

When you get to John 20:31, you'll need to make a decision about what you believe. The verse says: "But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name." If you can't believe what is written in the book of John, then you too will have no hope of eternal life.

But for those of you who do believe John 20:31, you have an hope that will surely endure. One that will be fulfilled one day. For your loved ones that believe there is an awesome promise of being reunited with them. In fact, there is some indication they are watching us go through our lives.

I pray this is useful to even one person today.

-------------------------

Psalm 92:4 For thou, LORD, hast made me glad through thy work: I will triumph in the works of thy hands. 

My comment: We may have a lot of gladness and pleasure through the works of God's hands in the creation of animals for our enjoyment. But, let's not forget that people are not like animals. When we die we do not cease to exist. We go to heaven or to hell. There is no in-between or alternative place. This is why Today is the day of salvation if you are not born again.

2 Corinthians 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.) 

Stealth on the kayak.

Stealth with his buddies, Shadow the Kayak Cat, and my brother, Mike.

Just for Fun - Rules for Cats with A House to Run

The photos here are of "Mischief," a cat my brother owned when my family lived in Tennessee.

I do not know who the original author of this is. I have made some additions and edits. Enjoy! :-)

-------------------

Rules for cats who have a house to run.

I.  DOORS:  Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get door opened, stand on hind legs and scratch with fore-paws while meowing pathetically. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and halfway out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold or hot weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season. Swinging doors are to be avoided at all costs.

II.  CHAIRS AND RUGS:  If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good. When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so that it is as long as the human's bare foot.

III.  BATHROOMS: Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything -- just sit and stare.

IV.  HAMPERING:  If one of your humans is engaged in some absorbing activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping", otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering":
  a) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted. Be sure to shriek piteously since humans love to feel guilty.
  b) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.
  c) For knitting projects or paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible, or at least the most important part. Pretend to doze, but every so often reach out and slap the pencil or knitting needles. The worker may try to distract you; ignore it. Remember, the aim is to hamper work. Embroidery and needlepoint projects make great hammocks in spite of what the humans may tell you.
 d) For people paying bills (monthly activity) or working on income taxes or Christmas cards (annual activity), keep in mind the aim -- to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on.  When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time.
 e) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. They love to jump.
 f) When your human is working on a computer try to walk in front of the screen as often as possible. Lie down on the keyboard if you can.
 g) Walk across jig saw puzzles when your feet are damp so as to track as many pieces away from the project as possible. Lie down and roll on it too. Locating the pieces gives the human needed exercise.

 h) If your human sews, hide behind the sewing machine and make grabs at the project as it comes towards you while she/he is sewing. Also, find a nice soft spot in the sewing room on fabric that collects lint easily, then lie there as often as possible so as to cover it with as much cat hair as possible. Leave a fun hairball surprise in a place your human didn't think you could reach.

[Note: This was the basket of clean rags, and she wasn't actually allowed to go outside. :-)  ]

 i) Go outside and role in the dust or get your paws all muddy, then ask to come back inside. Go and lie in a laundry basket of clean clothes or walk across the kitchen counter. Best of all, sneak up between the sheets on the master bed. This makes extra work for your humans which they love.

V.  WALKING: As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially: on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning. This will help their coordination skills.

VI.  BEDTIME: Always sleep on the human at night so s/he cannot move around.

Creatures Great and Small - Winter Friends

Matthew 10:29-31 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows. 

Sparrow

White tail deer

Chickadee

Meanwhile Elsewhere - The Elephants that Came to Dinner

Psalms 104:24  O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches.

Just for Fun - The Water Bucket

Here's a short but fun video for you to enjoy. :-)

Summer Memories

Summertime

Strawberries and lemonade,
Naps on hammocks in the shade;
Jumping in the swimming hole,
Sleeping with a fishing pole;
Lightening bugs and thunder storms,
Starry nights and muggy morns;
Crickets, ants, and garden rows,
The fragrance of a golden rose;
Parking lots to burn your feet,
Baking cars that burn your seat;
Watermelons, burgers too,
Sweaty clothes - PeeeeUuu!

- by Mary Stephens

Cottontail Bunny

Roane County, Tennessee

Feel Good Friday - A Dog Changes the Life of A Boy with Autism

A touching story about how a dog changed the life of a boy with autism.  God has placed many things in nature that will help us with life.  Sometimes we fail to realize the extent of that.

Creatures Great and Small - An Unusual Adventure with A Snail

I realize this is not my usual sort of photo blog, but how often do you see a snail "doing his daily business" (as my grandpa would have called it)?  We have a lot of snails where we live in Texas, especially in damp times of the year.  This one was on our sliding glass door several years ago and I took a series of pictures, which happened to catch him doing a little....er, housekeeping.  I thought it was very interesting to see a snail from the underside.

A snail upon my windowpane,

Doing his business in the rain,

Boring and ugly though he be,

This - a very strange sight to see.

-MES

Here he is squishing himself back up inside of his shell.

Creatures Great and Small - Meet Some Neighbors

Both of these picture were taken in the shrubs by our front door.

Green Anole

Armadillo