The Water Ceremony

The Water Ceremony

There is a beautiful tradition still being observed in some Native American communities today which sanctifies the union of a bride and groom. Because water signifies life, a 2 spouted vase is designed for this purpose and made by the groom‘s parents.

Then the groom, along with his parents and all his relatives go to the bride's house to present the vase.

Water is poured into the wedding vase, and the vase is given to the bride who drinks from one side of the vase, turns it around, and gives it to the groom, who then drinks from the opposite side. This ceremony symbolizes unity.

The wedding vase is treasured and displayed at a prominent place of honor in their new home to remind the couple throughout their married life that they are one.

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother: and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be as one flesh. Genesis 2:24

Rosies, Posies and Meadowfoam

Rose

Rose

Meadowfoam

Chasing Wildflowers...

The desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly. Isaiah 35:1,2

Fields of Poppies, Lancaster, CA

Cottonwood Canyon, CA

Tidy Tips, Goldfields and Filarees
Baby Blue Eyes at Shell Creek, CA

Thistle Sage

Thistle Sage, Lupines, and Desert Dandelions at Cottonwood Canyon, CA

Interior Goldenbush, Carrizo Plains, CA

Poppies at Lancaster, CA

Beetle on Cream Cup

Baby Blue Eyes and Tidy Tips at Shell Creek, CA
Blue Lupines at Table Mountain, Oroville, CA

Crashing Waves

Half Moon Bay Click on picture to bring the waves in.

A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, "Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?"

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. Mark 4:37-39

Master, the tempest is raging!
The billows are tossing high!
The sky is o'ershadow with blackness
No shelter or help is nigh
Carest Thou not that we perish?
How canst Thou lie asleep
When each moment so madly is threatening
A grave in the angry deep?

Master, with anguish of spirit
I bow in my grief today
The depths of my sad heart are troubled
Oh, waken and save, I pray!
Torrents of sin and of anguish
Sweep o’er my sinking soul
And I perish! I perish! dear Master
Oh, hasten, and take control.

-- Mary Baker

Who Am I...#3

1. I was captured by "bandits" and lived as a knight in a castle for 11 months.
2. I helped a girl escape in a pickled fish barrel and then married her.
3. I discovered that salvation is a gift.
4. I wrote "Ein' Feste Burg" based on Psalms 46.
5. My understanding of 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 is literal, not symbolic.

Who am I ?

The Perfect Gift

Thou shalt bring forth a Son. Luke 1:31











No room for them in the inn. Luke 2:7

Glory to God in the highest. Luke 2:14

The shepherds find Mary and Joseph and the Babe. Luke 2:16













The dedication. Luke 2:22-29








Where is He for we have seen His star. Matthew 2:2









They fell down and worshipped Him. Matthew 2:11














He is not here: for He is risen. Matthew 28:6















I will come again. John 14:3

For God so loved the world

That He gave His only begotten Son

That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish

But have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Santa Rosa SDA Church LIVE NATIVITY

Fall Colors

Nature glows in all her splendor.

Let the trees of the forest rustle with praise before the Lord!
1 Chronicles 16:33

The Busy Squirrel

Watch my hands...

Sunshine Melody

The Kneeling King

Among the many ancient treasures of statues and monuments in the Assyrian room at the British Museum we stumbled upon a 7 foot black limestone excavated by the late Henry Layard in 1845, just a year after the Great Disappointment. It had been found in the ruins of the palace of Shalmaneser lll near the city of Nineveh, an ancient capital of the Assyrian empire situated on the Tigris River in northern Iraq.

The Black Obelisk of Shalmaneser lll contained panels displaying the Assyrian king's exploits. Biblicial Archaelogy consider this to be one of the most important discovery because one of the panels show the Hebrew king, Jehu, bringing gifts and kneeling at Shalmaneser's feet. The inscription above the scene, written in Assyrian cuneiform, reads:

"The tribute of Jehu, son of Omri, silver, gold, bowls of gold, chalices of gold, cups of gold, vases of gold, lead, a sceptre for the king, and spear-shafts, I have received"

The story of Jehu can be found in the Bible... 2 Kings 9 and 10

Who Am I...#2

Hint #1 My name means "Yahweh is He" in Hebrew.

Hint #2 I am mentioned on an ancient stone monument discovered in the ruins of a palace near Nineveh.

Hint #3 I abolished the worship of Baal but maintained the worship of the golden calves erected by Jeroboam.

Hint #4 I was annointed king by a young man who quickly opened the door and fled.

Hint #5 I am noted for my furious chariot driving.

Who am I?

Type your answer in the comment box before you look it up. Do not peek. The correct answer will be in my next post.

Ptolemy's Decree

I enjoy visiting museums and the London British Museum is an all time favorite. One of the finest treasures here in the museum is a black basalt stone which a French officer from Napoleon's army discovered in 1799 at Rosetta (today named Rashid) on the west bank of the Nile Delta in Egypt. It is three feet nine inches long, two feet four inches wide, and eleven inches thick.

Carved about 200 years before the birth of Christ, the Rosetta Stone contains writing in three languages, sacred (hieroglyphics) , native (demotic), and Greek. Scholars were able to read the lowest which was the Greek, but none could decipher the hieroglyphics. Hieroglyphics is a writing system made up of small pictures that was used originally in ancient Egypt for religious texts. Hieroglyphic writing died out in Egypt in the fourth century AD. Over time the knowledge of how to read hieroglyphs was lost.

One day, in 1808, an 18 year old student, Jean-Francois Champollion, happened to examine the Rosetta Stone and was stunned to notice that each script on the stone recorded the same passage. Champollion could read both Greek and Coptic, and was able to figure out what the seven Demotic signs in Coptic were. By looking at how these signs were used in Coptic, he was able to study their corresponding symbols in hieroglyphics.

His work was based on the following:

1. The Egyptian Coptic script was the descendant of the ancient language of the pharaohs.
2. Hieroglyphs were used as ideograms (pictures representing a concept or thing) and phonograms (pictures representing sounds).
3. Hieroglyphs enclosed in a cartouche (an oval shape encircling a group of hieroglyphs) were phonetic transcriptions of the Pharaoh's names.

Find Ptolemy's name on the Rosetta Stone

After 14 years of study, Champollion concluded his work and the exciting result was announced in 1822. The inscription on the Rosetta Stone was a decree from thirteen-year-old Ptolemy V, on the first anniversary of his coronation. Recorded on March 27, 196 B.C., it describes various taxes and instructions to erect statues in temples.

Text of Rosetta Stone, Excerpts in English

"In the reign of the new king who was Lord of the diadems, great in glory, the stabilizer of Egypt, and also pious in matters relating to the gods, superior to his adversaries, rectifier of the life of men....

THE DECREE: The high priests and prophets, and those who enter the inner shrine in order to robe the gods, and those who wear the hawk's wing...being assembled in the temple in Memphis this day, declared:

'Since King Ptolemy...has concentrated to the temples revenues both of silver and of grain, and has generously undergone many expenses in order to lead Egypt to prosperity and to establish the temples... the gods have rewarded him with health, victory, power...'"

The translation of the Rosetta Stone opened a whole new world in Egyptology. No longer was the ancient language of the pharaohs a mystery.

Is the Word of God a mystery to you? "When he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth." John 16:13

Faces of Spring

Calendula

Bumble Bee

Bearded Iris..Lady Friend

Lily of the Valley

Listen , O heavens, and I will speak
Hear, O earth, the words of My mouth
Let My teaching fall like rain
And My words descend like dew
Like showers on new grass
Like abundant rain on tender plants.
Deut. 32:1,2 (NIV)

My Calendar is Bigger Than Yours

I am homeschooling a 7 year old girl second grade. Her name is Esli. Many of you know her through my previous posts. Homeschooling can be so much fun.















Teacher: When is your birthday?

Student: November 26

Teacher: What day is November 26 on?

Student: (Looking closely at the calendar) Hmm. It's on Monday. But on my calendar at home it's on Sunday.

Teacher: Is your calendar at home this year's calendar?

Student: Yes.

Teacher: Then it should also be on Monday.

Student: No no, my birthday on my calendar is on a different day because my calendar at home is bigger than yours.....( sigh )...it is SO hard to teach teachers.


Can YOU repeat all 66 books of the Bible by memory?

Who Am I... #1

Born in 1674, at Southampton, England, I grew up in the home of “non-Comformists” during the time when the Church of England persecuted Dissenters and Independents. My father was jailed twice at this time of persecution. I learned Latin at the age of five, Greek at nine, French at eleven and Hebrew at thirteen. I had a propensity for rhyme and would inadvertently drive my parents to distraction with my verses.

Once I was caught with my eyes open during prayer. I earnestly explained to my father that "A little mouse for want of stairs ran up a rope to say its prayers." Enough was enough and my father set out to punish me. I cried in despair and pleaded, "O father, do some pity take And I will no more verses make."

I am recognized as the "Father of English Hymnody" for I have been credited with over 600 hymns.

Who am I?

Hint: Hymn #163
..............................................................

Alas! and did my Savior bleed And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head For such a worm as I?

Thy body slain, sweet Jesus, Thine—And bathed in its own blood—
While the firm mark of wrath divine, His Soul in anguish stood.

Was it for crimes that I had done He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown! And love beyond degree!

Well might the sun in darkness hide And shut his glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker died, For man the creature’s sin.

Thus might I hide my blushing face While His dear cross appears,
Dissolve my heart in thankfulness, And melt my eyes to tears.

But drops of grief can ne’er repay The debt of love I owe:
Here, Lord, I give my self away’Tis all that I can do.

San Francisco Welcomes Queen Mary 2

It was Super Bowl Sunday, February 4, 2007, but the crowds weren't interested in football. They had come to see the Queen. Queen Mary 2, the largest and grandest ocean cruise liner ever built, was making its maiden voyage to San Francisco. The ship is 280 feet longer than the Transamerica Pyramid is high. Weighing at 151,000 tons, it is 1,132 feet long and is 23 stories tall. It is the largest vessel to sail San Francisco Bay. It is so big is will not fit through the Panama Canal. Because the San Francisco Bay is affected by strong winds, treacherous currents and changing tides, docking the ship this size is complicated. The ship would arrive at the ebb current of 4 knots.

When I saw and felt the intensity of excitement in the people's faces and realized how many hours they had patiently been waiting just to see Queen Mary 2, ( besides the fact that they didn't even miss Super Bowl), I began to understand how much this event meant to them. It was an experience that helped me to become more aware of Christ's soon return. How much does Jesus' second coming mean to us as Christians? Are we happy and excited about it? Will we care if we miss the "super bowl"? What are we doing to prepare for His coming? Will we be ready and waiting and spreading the good news of this special event as these people did for Queen Mary 2 ? Questions like these went through my mind as I sat on the green slope with my camera and binoculars . We were of one accord...happy and patiently waiting and watching for the Queen Mary to arrive.

The long anticipated day was somewhat hazy. Thankfully, the fog had not yet rolled in. As we looked out into the horizon we could see a grey form of a ship in the distance approaching. With unprecedented fanfare, helicopters,sailboats, yachts and other small crafts accompanied the enormous ship as it came closer and closer. A fireboat, sending fountains of water high into the air, escorted the regal Queen Mary 2 into San Francisco Bay. All eyes were glued on the ship as if it would evaporate if they so much as to blink. Then we heard it. The Queen's 1400 pound steam-driven whistle, obtained from the original Queen Mary, sounded 2 long blasts. Thousands of well-wishers on shore cheered. Traffic came to a stand still as the magnificent ocean liner sailed beneath the Golden Gate Bridge.

Someday soon, we shall see a small gray cloud far in the horizon. Jesus, the King of Kings, is coming! With unprecedented fanfare, He will be escorted by thousands upon thousands of angels. All eyes will be glued to that wonderful event. All eyes will see Jesus. With a mighty blast, the trumpets shall sound. And with one voice we shall say, "Lo, this is our God. We have waited for Him, and He will save us...we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." Isaiah 25 : 9 What a day that will be! Let us all be ready!

Owie

Sunshine has an "owie". Ever since the pretty yellow Canary came to live with us 10 years ago, he has been a source of pure delight to us all. He loves to sing. And we enjoy immensely his beautiful repertoire of songs.

One day we found him hanging helplessly upside down from his perch. His injured leg shriveled up like a dead stick waiting to be plucked. We prayed for him and two days later Sunshine was hopping around like a normal healthy bird. God had performed an awesome miracle. He cares for the little birds. Matthew 10:29

And now, 2 years later, Sunshine is again in need of your prayers. A little tumor has formed on his leg causing it to swell and tighten the plastic band on his ankle which in turn began to act as a tourniquet.

After praying for Sunshine we decided to do some "surgery". We dipped a nail clipper and a tweezer in rubbing alcohol and carefully cut off little by little the yellow band that was constricting blood circulation. Poor little Sunshine. He struggled desperately to free himself from the painful procedure.

I need a REAL doctor!

At long last, after 2 excruciating hours, the remainder of the band fell off. Very gently, we cleaned his bruised leg with alcohol, swathed it with Neosporin and wrapped it in clean white gauze. Then we prayed again for Sunshine and placed him back in his cage. The Lord healed him before and He will heal him again, if it is His will.


UPDATE: February 18, 2007 After 6 weeks of silence and still standing on one leg, Sunshine is singing again! PRAISE THE LORD!

Ohhhhhhhhhh !

Teacher: Do you practice?
Esli: I must practice?
Teacher: Yes.
Esli: Everyday?
Teacher: Yes, everyday.
Esli: Everyday, everyday??
Teacher: Yes, everyday except Sabbath.
Esli: Ohhhhhhhhhhh.........(gasps)....until Jesus comes?
.....................................................................

Esli: What is it called?
Teacher: Treble Clef
Esli: I know why.
Teacher: Why?
Esli: Because it's always in trouble.

Teacher: Ohhhhhhhhh !

Home on the Range

O give me a home where the buffalo roam
Where the deer and the antelope play
Where seldom is heard a discouraging word
And the sky is not cloudy all day
poem by Dr. Brewster Higley, 1876

In 1888, Pierce Cunningham settled in the valley of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and called his homestead in the new frontier the Flying U Ranch.

His log cabin, constructed of lodgepole pines, was built in the Appalachian"dogtrot" style which consisted of 2 large rooms joined by a covered breezeway or porch. Corners of the cabin were either saddle notched or squared fastened with thick wooden spikes. Cracks between the logs were filled in with dirt mortar. The roof was covered with sod and the floor was dirt packed.

It was here at the 160 acre ranch on Flat Creek that Pierce Cunningham and his wife, Margaret, made their home, raised their family and cultivated hay. Life on the ranch was hard. Harsh severe winters brought heavy snow that piled high on the low sod roof. In 1893 two suspected horse thieves were shot and killed at the cabin by an angry posse....a group of 16 men heavily armed on saddle horses. The cabin was later used as a barn and then a smithy.

I'm but a stranger here, Heaven is my home
Earth is a desert dread, Heaven is my home
Danger and sorrow stand Round me on every hand
Heaven is my fatherland, Heaven is my home
Thomas R. Taylor

Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it. Ps. 127:1