Good Friday - La via Dolorosa

So, how do I begin today?

To convey a thought that means so much to me as a Christian...In the Gospels of the Bible our Messiah was betrayed,taken captive,tortured and later crucified. I know it doesn't make sense to many people that a faith that teaches us to "Love our neighbors as Ourselves"would put upon one man all of the sins that our imaginations can bring into reality.

In and of myself I might not be able to answer your questions in a manner that brings  understanding for you but I do want to share the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the World.




Down the Vía Dolorosa in Jerusalem that day The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street But the crowd pressed in to see The Man condemned to die on Calvary 

He was bleeding from a beating, there were stripes upon His back And He wore a crown of thorns upon His head And He bore with every step The scorn of those who cried out for His death 

Down the Vía Dolorosa called the Way of Suffering Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King, But He chose to walk that road out of His love For you and me. 
Down the Vía Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary. 

Por la Vía Dolorosa, triste día en Jerusalém Los soldados le abran paso a Jesús. Más la gente se acercaba, Para ver al que llevaba aquella cruz.

Por la Vнa Dolorosa, que es la via del dolor Como oveja vino Cristo, Rey y Seсor, Y fue Йl quien quiso ir por su amor por ti y por mн. Por la Vнa Dolorosa al Calvario y a morir. 

The blood that would cleanse the souls of all men Made it's way through the heart of Jerusalem.

Down the Vнa Dolorosa called the way of suffering Like a lamb came the Messiah, Christ the King 
But He chose to walk that road out of His love for you and me 
Down the Vнa Dolorosa, all the way to Calvary...

                                                         Thought for Today... 
Mark 15:16-20
16. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, Praetorium;and they call together the whole band.
17. And they clothed him with purple,and platted a crown of thorns,and put it about his head.
18. And began to salute him,Hail,King of the Jews!
19. And they smote him on the head with a reed,and did spit upon him,and bowing their knees worshipped him.
20.And when they had mocked him,they took off the purple from him,and put his own clothes on him,and led him out to crucify him... 

Sometimes my thoughts may not seem complete...smooth transitions,or what you might add aren't transparent. The only thing I will say is "I was able to spark a thought in you for maybe a moment."

God will use even the smallest suggestion of faith to meet a need for someone else....

There are different Gospel accounts that all share the Life of our Lord.All of them telling how He was born,lived,died and was raised to testify of his Father before ascending into heaven to sit at his righthand.

Would you be able to do what Jesus did? Today, as you reflect on the pain that Jesus chose to endure to provide a lost world a better way - give reverence and praise to His Holy name.

Have a Blessed Day!

Palm Sunday Praise - Hosanna to the King of Kings!

Today,Palm Sunday, begins the High Holy week for those who call Jesus  Master, Savior and Lord...And maybe those who  are seeking to change their life, watching us who believe.

We may not get life perfect in our own situations but we know who can help make day to day existence a little easier when we follow the guidelines.

                                                                    Luke 19:28-44

                        New International Version (NIV) Jesus Comes to Jerusalem as King


28. After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of          his disciples, saying to them,
30.“Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one          has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
32. Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.
33. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34. They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35. They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.
36. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a] “Peace in heaven and glory in the            highest!”
39. Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40. “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41. As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
42. and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it        is hidden from your eyes.
43. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and              encircle you and hem you in on every side.
44. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

                                    Hosanna to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

                                                               Have a Blessed Day!

Brazil Mission Outreach

Pastor Scott Jones passing out Bibles at a Church Service 2017

I'm up early again...Working on some Paleo recipes to take to our Brazil Potluck and Auction at church today.

Our Pastor Scott Jones and his  wife Margaret  go to share the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ with the people there...

The outreach of our ministry through them is to -

1. Speak to teenagers who've had to make their home on the street...getting involved in prostitution and drugs. Connections are made to enable them to pursue a different life if they choose to do so.

 2. The purchase of hygiene kits for Elementary School aged children and delivered to the classrooms by Pastor Scott and Margaret.

3. As pictured above Pastor Scott extends a hand of Christian Fellowship after preaching the message of the Cross and  distributing Bibles written in Portuguese to those who made a decision to accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. 

This Mission work has been laid upon the heart of Pastor Scott and Margaret because they have seen the need. As the church where they Pastor  here in the United States we have become apart of  enabling them to pursue God's Mission spoken of in Mark 16:15...


New International Version -  Mark 16:15

He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.

If you should want to become apart of this Mission too, please write a comment and let me know. I will give you the information necessary when you provide your contact information... it can remain private or published in part.

Have A Blessed Day!

Our Trip from Wheatland, WY. to Hot Springs, SD

Views I wanted to remember from our trip from Wheatland, Wyoming to Hot Springs,South Dakota.
The log ,steel roofed abode, second picture from the bottom left,looks like someone trying to renovate for a possible future rehabitation...it gives me a vision for a resettlement anyway.

Some of the homes we saw had better days in their pasts. Days that the homes probably held new life, struggles and trials of everyday events but Celebrations and Successes weren't without consideration either for they too are apart of most everyone's journey...

As  passers-by in Lusk, Wyoming we were met with small town ambiance. The first building in the downtown area,top right gave us a menu of the businesses available to fulfill our needs. We took a left by that building onto the main thouroughfare through town and headed up highway 18 to our next destination Hot Springs,South Dakota.

I don't know if you've ever had the pleasure to travel out west but being a Mid-Westerner I find the change in landscape and atmosphere very appealing. Personal history or memories also have a way of  drawing us back to help us further explore the things we didn't get to experience before. Having foreknowledge of the area can help us focus in order to make use of our short time traversing to the already planned events.

Corey and I spent a little time before sundown heading out from Hot Springs to Custer to check our route for the Buffalo Round-up the early morning of September 29,2017.

I've already written about our visit to the Round-up and to the Sportsman's supply stores Cabela's and Scheel's. However, I still have some pictures and thoughts to share of a few other sidetrips we made in the Hills...I'll be working on getting those together for future moments to share.

Time to wish you, Have a Great Day!

Shed Hunting in the Pasture Setting

Yesterday was cool and breezy but Sadie and I were up for some Tine collecting after our trip to the Marsh to see what was sitting on the water. Sadie was free to wander to a  point. Due to her coloration she was blending into the background as you can see in the last picture on the righthand - Sadie was being stealthy in following her nose so I  did a vocal check. She raised her head to acknowledge my request for location and went back to sniffing the new scents.😉

My focus when I shed hunt now, to remember from year to year, are the in situ pictures. I believe I can fall back on them for continued education.

Upon driving back into the pasture...I had deja vu. Top left picture shows the first shed that came into view. The second picture from the left is just before I pulled the antler out of the grass.Years earlier I had sighted a shed in the same location from the opposite side of the field,of course that would be a well traveled corridor, one of the first places to look. In a setting such as pastures or tall grasses there isn't any doubt where the deer hooves cut from generation to generation,many intersecting paths.

The second picture from the right on the top row following down the rightside shows the second antler I came across from a distance. On the approach to uncover my prize I saw the exposed 4 1/2 inches of G2 and 5inches of G3; G4 and G5 weren't perceptible until I was standing right above the shed. It wasn't long until I hand pulled away the cover from last year's grass growth and put it in the pickup along with the first find of the morning.

If you follow the pictures from the second one down the leftside of my collage you will see the findings of the third and last antler yesterday. Being a bone collector for so many years has helped in knowing what to look for...if  the landscape doesn't look the same as you remember - Check-IT- Out!
The last antler was probably one I had seen before and was relocated by an animal. It had chew marks, but the condition wasn't cracked or dry. This year I took a picture of the location so I can check next year to see if it'll be in the same spot.

I need to get back outside to finish this year's Timber Life shed hunt 2018...will let you know if I find anything else.

Until then, Have a Great Day!

Saturday Afternoon Timber Walk

Last Saturday afternoon was a great day to be out in the Timber. Our dog Sadie and I were out rambling around to see what we could see.

Upon our entering the timber proper we displaced a group of deer basking in the warm rays of the sun. They ran further to the east of us only to doubleback  as Sadie and I took our time searching every inch for tines or signs of what could be passing our way.

Pictured above is one young buck who didn't really want to give up his spot that he vacated when we so rudely interrupted. It was awesome to see him come full bore towards us without seeing  us off to his leftside. As he stopped to test the wind blowing into his face...He turned his head a few times and then focused on our direction as he flicked his tongue to catch scent particles.

Sadie has been winning the shed antler finders award here at Timber Life this year. Everytime we take a walk she comes pulling her prize in front of me. This was the third antler she's located and the second on our walk on Saturday. All of them had been gnawed to one degree or another.

 

 We started out scouring every inch but as we walked further our attention only hit was was evidently visible...I was the one to find a couple of old bones lying exposed ontop of the leaf debris. The bone in the bottom picture was shining in the sun from a distance which caught my eye, definitely has chew marks on the righthand edge.

Walking further Sadie and came across a few turkey feathers while we surveyed the ground. I had to encourage Sadie to "please wait to disturb the feathers" until I could get a picture of them. This was the largest group we found, otherwise it was singletons either on the ground or protruding from different positions close to the ground, sticking out of fallen trees.

I hope you enjoyed seeing some of what was going on during our ramble in the Timber...our Life if you will.Thanks for stopping by...

Here's wishing you Have a Great Day!