STAY IN THE LIGHT

Even though it’s been getting darker and darker on our evening walks, our dog, Ruby, doesn’t seem to care, she just loves going for walks.

Enjoying illuminated trees at night

Recently, I’ve noticed things changing.  As soon as it starts to get dark, the song birds stop singing and settle in their nest; the squirrels, who seemed to be everywhere just a few weeks ago, suddenly disappeared up the trees and nestled in for the night. There are also less people out and about.

Once all seems quiet, creatures of the dark start to wake up. First, the predators start to prowl over the area. Owls will suddenly appear, perched overhead looking for a tasty morsel. Foxes will constantly be on the move looking for their next prey. Then, as the night grows on, the scavengers slowly creep out from their holes. Raccoons and possums waddle around looking for any scraps that may have been left behind.

One similarity about the creatures of the dark is that they stay in the shadows and on the fringe of any light. As Ruby and I walk in the dark, these creatures start to creep near us. When we get near an area of light, the creatures fall back and keep their distance, but as soon as we enter the darkness, the prowl begins again.

John 8:12 Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”

BEAUTY IN THE VARIETY

Photo Credit: Renee Leigh Bailey

Ah, fall has arrived, which means the leaves are changing and bringing about some of the most spectacular colors of the year.

If you’ve been anywhere near a park or even a cluster of a few trees over the past couple weeks, you may have noticed people out with their cameras. Some may be taking high school senior pictures, wedding engagement or family photos, or just trying to capture the beauty of Creation. One thing’s for certain, they’re all taking advantage of the beautiful colors. The variety of trees and shrubs is what brings out the various colors - the evergreens hold onto their deep green foliage,  oaks slowly turn from their summer green to a dull brown as the fall progresses, birch leaves quickly turn yellow before releasing them early in the season, and maples (my favorite of all) have a variation of yellow, orange, and red.

Photo Credit; Jon Quijano

Photo Credit: Renee Leigh Bailey

As the season progresses the leaves disappear and only a skeleton of trunks and branches remain, making it hard to tell the difference between them.

Revelations 7:9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…

Photo Credit: Me and Minnesota's North Shore

REJOICE AND BE GLAD

There was a tug on my fishing line, so I let some out to allow the fish to devour the entire night crawler.  After a few seconds, I reeled up the slack in the line and then set the hook…

A month ago, my oldest son and I made plans for a fall fishing trip. As we coordinated our schedules, we reminisced of a fall fishing trip several years previous where we absolutely hammered the walleyes. You could say, we had visions of walleyes dancing in our head. My son expressed that he hoped we’d catch a few hogs (aka big, fat walleyes).

I headed north from home and my son headed west from his college town - it was a two-hour drive for each of us to meet. We got the boat ready and launched it into the water and through a narrow river leading out to the lake. As we came around the final bend in the river, we began to feel the blustery cold wind. The weather forecast was wrong!  Instead of the predicted light breeze, it was more of a harsh 20 mph wind. However, we came to fish, and fish we did.

We fished with the wind, across the wind, and against the wind. We tried several different techniques and bait…nothing was biting. As we continued to fish our way down the lake, the wind was finally started to let up. Suddenly it happened, there was a tug on my fishing line. It didn’t feel big, but it was something. As I reeled in, the anticipation was growing, and when the time was right, I lifted my catch out of the water…it was a pair of pliers. To be exact, they were hook-out pliers, the ones used to remove hooks from deep in a fish’s mouth. It was better than nothing, and I even took a picture since it could’ve been the only thing we caught for the day. We continued to fish and eventually my son caught a nice walleye; not the “hog” of our dreams, but still nice. Unfortunately, that was the only walleye of the weekend. We didn’t let that stop us - we caught several perch, sunfish, many bass, and a crayfish…yes, a crayfish.

We didn’t get exactly what we came for, but we sure had a good time creating memories.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.

HOW WE GET THERE

It’s very inspiring and humbling for me when someone sends a picture of themselves wearing their Timber of Faith hat while out and about.

Recently, a lifelong family friend, Desi, sent a picture of her husband wearing their hat in Springfield, Missouri. Desi grew up in the upper Midwest. We spent a lot of time together in our youth because our parents were best friends, which gave us the opportunity to become friends. I think it’s safe to say, Desi never pictured herself living in Springfield, MO.

Over the years Desi has lived on the west coast on two separate occasions. During the second occasion, she met her husband, Jake, whom has been an incredible blessing in her life (pretty sure she never pictured that happening either). Their path seemed to be heading exactly where they wanted when all of the sudden, like for many of us, the path changed. The thing I admire most about their situation is they used that opportunity to become closer to God, which inadvertently brings them closer together. Even though they’re still on course for their life together, the steps taken may not be ones they planned.

 

A happy model

Proverbs 16:9 In the hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.