I spotted these four little ducklings as I was on one of my walks. They couldn’t be much more than a few days old.
I pray that they survive on this lake. There are plenty of predators around like herons, turtles, large geese, muskrats and hawks. I have read that anything larger than them may attack.
Mom (the female mallard) is always close by. She will need to be brave and tough.
I Pray that our heavenly Father will feed and take care of these ducklings.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. (Matt. 6:26)
Every couple weeks or so I like to walk along the Mississippi River on this trail. In this photo I am looking back from where I just walked.
Usually the trail is rugged, but here the way is flat and easier walking. But as you can see, you have to watch where you are going or you will tumble into the river. I walked along this path for a while, and then when the trail ended I took a sharp right up to another broader trail.
Here we are on the broader trail, or it is more like a road. In fact, I often see workers drive on this road.
Looking to the left, you see the river again through this jungle of trees.
Here is a rare sight this early in the spring. So lovely! All of these beautiful sights are God’s special gifts for me to enjoy.
Here the trail winds around these trees; and though the way is darker, I know that God is still with me. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for He is with me.”
Here the path is quite narrow. “Narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”
The path suddenly turns green. It’s beautiful here. “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.”
Up the path and to the left I viewed this red-winged black bird in the swamp.
I have often wondered why this clump of grass always grows taller in this area. Perhaps there is something or somebody buried there that makes the ground more fertile. This reminds me of where we used to live in Delano, Minnesota. We had this corn field and there were places where the corn would grow almost twice as tall as the other corn. One fall day my dad decided that before plowing he would burn the field because he had let it get so overgrown with weeds. Well, it happened that after the weeds had burned off, the ground just kept burning and burning. We discovered that the earth was full of peat soil, and peat burns. So all you farmers, before you decide to burn your field make sure you don’t have peat or you will have a mess, and the good peat will be burned up and good for nothing,
For some reason I really like this photo. I have often past by this small tree next to that old telephone pole with the old spikes, and I usually always see little birds like these resting on the branches—without a care in the world. Oh, look at the birds. They have no worries. I wish I were as worry free as the birds.
Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Matthew 6:26.
As you can see, this is a very crooked tree. And notice that it is in the swamp.
A leaning tree.
This tree is not so raggedy, but it is bent over. It is also in a low area next to the swamp.
A very crooked tree.
This tree is a mess! And it is totally in the swamp. A swamp tree.
A very tall and straight group of trees.
Now here is a very lovely group of tree. Very majestic looking. And they are no where near a swamp.
Tall trees.
Notice that these tall trees are nowhere near a swamp. They were planted above the swamp.
Crooked and tall trees
In this picture, notice that the trees on the left are on lower ground and they are crooked and bent over. But the rest of the tree are on higher ground and they are straight and strong.
I was wondering if we can learn something from these trees. The Psalmist in Psalm 1:3 tells us that the righteous man will be like a tree that is firmly planted by streams of water. But it doesn’t say that he is planted in the water, but by the water. Those who are planted in the water get too much water. Are there some Christians that get too much water? I think a Christian that spends all of his time reading the bible and going to church, but has no ministry, he may end up like a crooked tree. He is getting too much nourishment–more than his body can handle. Just a thought.
There is something interesting or perhaps strange about these trees in the low lands and swamps. I’m not sure what kind of tree they are. I will just call they swamp trees. They almost look deformed and crooked or twisted.
This is the puzzle I’m working on: Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany
Yes, I remember vividly when doing a jigsaw puzzle saved me from going crazy. It is probably my best hobby. In this post I want to write about my hobbies and the value of hobbies.
I just started this new Personal Blog a few days ago and I have big plans for it—something I’ve been thinking of doing for a while now. A typical blog focuses on one main subject. But this personal blog is much more inclusive. It will cover everything I am interested in and want to write about—that is, everything that I feel will be interesting to my audience—to you. Here is a list of categories I am planning to write on.
My Life Story (with ten sub-categories)
My Salvation Story
My Work
Church life
Singleness
My Devotional Life
My Writing
My Hobbies
My Books (promotional)
Books I’m Reading (short summaries)
Political Interests
Bible Prophecy (mainly why I am interested it the subject)
Sermon Notes
Critical Issues (problem issues that are a particulate interest to me)
So far, I have been writing on my writing style and also on my interest in politics. I will probably write more on these topics down the line, but I don’t want to get stuck on any one topic for very long. I will change now to the topic of hobbies…
How the Jigsaw Saved Me
I remember the day well. My wife of six years announced that she wanted a divorce, and she demanded that I leave the house—and our four children. I won’t go into the details, but the memory of it was that I was devastated and almost in shock. I knew we were not communicating, but I really didn’t see divorce coming.
When I moved out, the only thing I took with me was a card table, a chair and my favorite puzzle. I left everything else with her. After all she had the kids. And I knew that I didn’t need stuff. But I had to have something to keep me sane—besides prayer. So, I sat at that card table and prayed and cried, and put together that puzzle. I couldn’t sleep and I didn’t want to think too hard about my situation, lest I become bitter. So I did the puzzle. God gave it to me to calm me down—to save me from going crazy.
What is a Hobby?
I looked up “hobby” on my computer thesaurus. It gave me these words: diversion, relaxation, pastime, sideline, leisure pursuit. That’s a start, but we can add a lot more to it. It’s something that’s fun for us. As I mentioned above, for me it was something that calmed me down and kept me from overthinking my situation, and from getting bitter and thinking vengeful thoughts. It really helped me to pray. Because when we pray it requires that we say to God, okay I give up. I will leave everything to you. I can’t do anything about it anyway. She had made up her mind and I knew it.
You know, since my divorce (thirty years ago) I have continued to do puzzles. I’m doing one right now, a 2000 piecer (pictured above). I’ve been at it for a long time. I do it a little every day. I try to get at least two or three pieces together a day. Did I tell you it was a hard puzzle?
One of the things a jigsaw puzzle will do for you is give you a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence. As you see the puzzle coming together day after day you will actually feel your poor life come together. And this is also true of other hobbies. I like to do wood working. I haven’t done it for a while, but I have been able to make a few pieces of furniture. So much fun. And the joy is in seeing it come together.
I suppose you could also consider watching TV and movies a hobby. But you have to be careful that they don’t become an obsession and a huge waste of time. Anything you do as a hobby (to relax and for fun) has its limits and purpose. We should never allow it to take over our life so that we find that we are using it to escape daily responsibilities. TV I think can especially do that. If we allow it, it can become an idol.
Stephen Nielsen 