Friday, October 26, 2012

~NATURAL PHENOMENON OF THE DAY


 
"Then God said, 'Let the earth produce every sort of animal...small animals that scurry along the ground, and wild animals [and reptiles that can run on water]'.  And that is what happened."
~ Genesis 1:24 (altered a bit by me, of course) ☺ ~

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My little sister got married this past Saturday, and sometime during the wedding or preceding festivities, I picked up a nasty virus--don't know if it was the flu, but it would seem so to me (based upon the symptoms I have experienced in previous years, along with the outcome I received on this flu assessment test).  I got my flu shot nine days before I came down with said virus--a bit short of the fourteen days it supposedly takes to develop full immunity.  Bah!  I had an edgy feeling that I was getting my shot a bit late this year.

At first I thought I had come down with a cold as a result of being outside for over 6 hours on a very chilly October night (as both the ceremony and reception were al fresco).  I'm very glad there were plenty of electric heaters under which I was able to hover; otherwise, I might have had to scamper home before everything had wrapped up (thereby missing the exit the newlyweds made by running through handheld sparklers).

The nice lady who administered my shot at my local Kroger pharmacy and I discussed flu-shot timing.  I asked her if I got the flu shot as soon as it became available if it would be effective throughout the entire flu season, and she said it would.  For the past several years, I have been waiting until mid-October or so to get my shot, but I plan to get vaccinated as soon as I can from here on out--I think that's usually at the end of September.  I'm wondering if the vaccine lessened the severity and duration of my flu bout, not that it wasn't a very unhappy and trying experience for me indeed (I know, I know, let the violins start playing). 

I feel I also may have benefited from taking some Emergen-C Immune+ FormulaAnd, I must give kudos to Gabriel the cat, who curled up next to me and kept me company.  I only wish I could find something to relieve the terrible sore throat I always get when I have the flu--it's the worst part of the whole deal for me by far--even worse than all of the congestion my nose and lungs accumulate (and if you think any of this is funny, believe me, it's "snot" ☺.
 
Anywho, as I was lying in bed in the middle of the night, convalescing and unable to sleep, I started to channel-surf, and I happened upon Animal Planet.  Lo and behold, they were running a segment about a reptile that has been dubbed the "Jesus Christ Lizard," due to its ability to run on water.  Now, can said lizard walk on water?  I don't believe so, but that's not a super-important distinction, or at least I believe one could overlook it with a wink and a nod in such a case as this.

Here are some videos of this Lordly lizard (not to be sacrilegious, mind you) in action.  Now, all I want to see him do is multiply loaves and fishes and turn water into wine ☺.

   




*Is it not a bit ironic that in the video above, our running reptile is being pursued by a serpent, of all things?!  I think not ;)
 


 






*In the video above, we find out that this type of lizard also plays dead and then comes back to life.  Now, this isn't a perfect parallel to Christ's life, as we all know that Jesus really, truly died before being raised from the dead, but I can't help but mention it ;)
 




There are some who might find the following photo that I came across to be very amusing, and some might turn up their noses at it, and some might  be offended by it, but I've decided to post it, as I'm in the first category--no disrespect intended!


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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

~ROOTS & WINGS


 
"He told them another parable: 'The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.'"
Matthew 13:31-32
 
 
 
 
"God made all kinds of trees grow from the ground, trees beautiful to look at and good to eat. The Tree-of-Life was in the middle of the garden, also the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil."
Genesis 2:9
 
"This is the family tree of the human race: When God created the human race, he made it godlike, with a nature akin to God."
Genesis 5:1
 
"You're a tree replanted in Eden, bearing fresh fruit every month, Never dropping a leaf, always in blossom."
Psalm 1:3
 
"I'm an olive tree, growing green in God's house. I trusted in the generous mercy of God then and now."
Psalm 52:8
 
"You're blessed when you meet Lady Wisdom, when you make friends with Madame Insight....She's the very Tree of Life to those who embrace her. Hold her tight - and be blessed!"
Proverbs 3:13, 18
 
"A life devoted to things is a dead life, a stump; a God-shaped life is a flourishing tree."
Proverbs 11:28
 
"The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he who wins souls is wise."
Proverbs 11:30
 
"All the trees of the field will recognize that I, God, made the great tree small and the small tree great, made the green tree turn dry and the dry tree sprout green branches. I, God, said it - and I did it."
Ezekiel 17:24
 
"I will make a fresh start with Israel. He'll burst into bloom like a crocus in the spring. He'll put down deep oak tree roots, he'll become a forest of oaks! He'll become splendid - like a giant sequoia, his fragrance like a grove
of cedars!...I am like a luxuriant fruit tree. Everything you need is to be found in me." 
Hosea 14:5, 6, 8c,d
 
"God arranged for a broad-leafed tree to spring up. It grew over Jonah to cool him off and get him out of his angry sulk. Jonah was pleased and enjoyed the shade. Life was looking up."
Jonah 4:6
 
"Each man will sit under his own shade tree, each woman in safety will tend her own garden. God-of-the-Angel-Armies says so, and he means what he says."
Micah 4:4
 
"Has anything in your fields - vine, fig tree, pomegranate, olive tree - failed to flourish? From now on you can count on a blessing."
Haggai 2:19
 
"If you grow a healthy tree, you'll pick healthy fruit. If you grow a diseased tree, you'll pick worm-eaten fruit. The fruit tells you about the tree."
Matthew 12:33
 
"Every tree that wasn't planted by my Father in heaven will be pulled up by its roots."
Matthew 15:13
 
"The apostles said to the LORD, 'Increase our faith!'  He replied, 'If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and planted in the sea,' and it will obey you.'"
Luke 17:5-6
 
    "Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town.  There was a man there named Zacchaeus...He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowds.  So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore tree beside the road, so he could watch from there.  When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. 'Zacchaeus!' he said. 'Quick, come down! For I must be a guest in your home today.'  Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy."
Luke 19:1-6
 
    "He told them a story. 'Look at a fig tree. Any tree for that matter.  When the leaves begin to show, one look tells you that summer is right around the corner.  The same here - when you see these things happen, you know God's kingdom is about here."
Luke 21:29-31
 
    "When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, he said of him, 'Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false.'  'How do you know me?' Nathanael asked. Jesus answered, 'I saw you while you were still under the fig tree before Philip called you.'  Then Nathanael declared, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel.'  Jesus said, 'You believe because I told you I saw you under the fig tree. You shall see greater things than that.'"
John 1:47-50
 
"These prophets, along with the covenant God made with your ancestors, are your family tree."
Acts 3:25
 
"Behind and underneath all this there is a holy, God-planted, God-tended root."
Romans 11:16a
 
 "If the root is holy, so are the branches."
Romans 11:16b
 
"There's the root of our ancestor Jesse, breaking through the earth and growing tree tall, Tall enough for everyone everywhere to see and take hope!  Oh! May the God of green hope fill you up with joy, fill you up with peace, so that your believing lives, filled with the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit, will brim over with hope!"
Romans 15:12-13
 
"Are your ears awake? Listen. Listen to the Wind Words, the Spirit blowing through the churches. I'm about to call each conqueror to dinner. I'm spreading a banquet of Tree-of-Life fruit, a supper plucked from God's orchard."
Revelation 2:7
 
"The Tree of Life was planted on each side of the River, producing twelve kinds of fruit, a ripe fruit each month. The leaves of the Tree are for healing the nations."
Revelation 22:2
 
"How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they'll walk through the gates to the City."
Revelation 22:14
 
*Image reblogged
 
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Sunday, October 7, 2012

~AWWWW FOR THE DAY ☺


 
 
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Monday, October 1, 2012

~"REFLECTION" FOR THE DAY


 
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"You may be unable to see blessings in the midst of your trouble.  But let's remember that not everything is clear in this sometimes dim and dark world.  As the apostle Paul reminds us, assessing life on planet earth is like staring into a flea-market mirror (see 1 Corinthians 13:12).  The mirror is in decent condition, but the silver is chipping at the edges and the cloudy glass offers a darkened, hazy reflection.  One day, however, we will see clearly and understand all things.  The mystery of faith is that we are not able to achieve that full understanding while on earth, but we can know without a doubt that God 'makes all things beautiful in His time' (Ecclesiastes 3:11).  Oh, Lord, bless us abundantly with the sweet fruit of perseverence!"
 
 
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