Tag Archives: animals

Raccoon Saturday

20 Saturday Jun 2015

Posted by in Animals, Children, Christianity, Devotional, Life, Raising The Mug

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It was a Saturday like any other………… or not.

So get the picture ……… Our oldest daughter, maybe thirteen at the time, walked out the front door of our house onto the front porch with our two small dogs in tow. She noticed one of the dogs looked to the right towards the other end of the porch; she in turn glanced that way. There was a raccoon on the porch that immediately approached her. So she ran away from the house screaming to the dogs, “Run for your life!”

Everyone knows that it’s odd for a wild raccoon to be out during the middle of the day and even more odd for them not to be frightened by people and dogs.

Jane and I, along with our youngest daughter, were cleaning out the garage. I don’t recall who, but one of us had a leaf blower, clearing old leaves from the garage. Amid the noise of the machine, daughter number one came running around the corner from the front yard screaming at the top of her lungs. Right behind her was the raccoon.

It was strange that the raccoon wasn’t afraid of people or dogs, but a leaf blower? That was a bad sign. We could only assume one thing ……… rabies.

raccoon

photo courtesy of Valerie Sauve – flickr.com


We rushed all the kids inside and called animal control. They asked us to make sure the raccoon didn’t escape …………… really? Buh, wuh …… zactly how was we ‘posed to do dat?

My son and I grabbed some rakes and tried to trap the animal in the bushes. Have you ever heard a raccoon growl? It’s a little unnerving ……… especially when you’re pretty sure the animal is rabid.

In the end, a local sheriff’s deputy arrived and disposed of the animal. Whew! Thank you James Brown! No really………… the deputy’s name was James Brown……

James Brown

photo courtesy of Kill Gil – flickr.com

 Genesis 9:2 (NIV)

2 The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands.

The Bible has very little to say about wildlife. Obviously the primary focus of scripture is God’s relationship with man, not animals.  This particular verse was part of God’s covenant with Noah. After the flood, God placed a fear of man in all of the wild beasts.

So ……… question – does this mean that between the time of Adam and Noah, animals and men were friends?

Very interesting thought ……. don’t you agree?

I hope your day is filled with excitement and joy, but no abnormal encounters with animals.

Fill a mug, fill it high, guzzle it down, start again!

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com

The World Is Dancing!

31 Sunday May 2015

Posted by in Christianity, Devotional, Life, People, Raising The Mug

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Yesterday was sort of a long day. Packing stuff up in boxes ………. moving them to a storage facility. Remind me next time I’m born not to accumulate so much junk.

I could sit here and complain or ……….. I could dance.

You see, I believe God is a happy god who rejoices over his creation. And his creation rejoices over its maker. That is ….. most of his creation………… man tends to stand outside the party much of the time. But that is not how God intended it to be. He wants us to dance!

Psalm 98

A psalm.

1 Sing to the Lord a new song,
    for he has done marvelous things;
his right hand and his holy arm
    have worked salvation for him.
2 The Lord has made his salvation known
    and revealed his righteousness to the nations.
3 He has remembered his love
    and his faithfulness to Israel;
all the ends of the earth have seen
    the salvation of our God.

4 Shout for joy to the Lord, all the earth,
    burst into jubilant song with music;
5 make music to the Lord with the harp,
    with the harp and the sound of singing,
6 with trumpets and the blast of the ram’s horn—
    shout for joy before the Lord, the King.

7 Let the sea resound, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it.
8 Let the rivers clap their hands,
    let the mountains sing together for joy;
9 let them sing before the Lord,
    for he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
    and the peoples with equity.

While this particular psalm doesn’t mention dancing, I think it is implied. Other psalms like 149 and 150 do specifically use the word.

What you read in Psalm 98 is the joyfulness of creation: the earth shouting for joy, the sea roaring, the rivers clapping their hands, and the mountains singing. What a marvelous image, all that has been created giving praise to the Creator.

The world is dancing all around us. So today, I say let’s lay aside whatever is preventing us from moving and keeping us off our feet. Let’s join in the dance!

Mugs up!!

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com

Photos courtesy of orangedonkey.net and pinterest.dancing animals

Ahh! Snakes!!

07 Thursday May 2015

Posted by in Animals, Christianity, Devotional, Life, People, Raising The Mug

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black snakeFBAs the weather warms up, so do the reptiles. My father did NOT like snakes. Neither did his father. Neither does my wife. For that matter, most people don’t like snakes. I grew up with the same sentiment but I’ve learned to appreciate them over the years.

The only poisonous snakes we have in North Georgia are pygmy rattlers, timber rattlers, or copperheads. I’ve come close enough to all of them but have never been bitten ………. so far. My wife and I passed a timber rattler on the road in our neighborhood a few years ago. I didn’t want it to get killed, so I pulled over, got out of the car, and tried to coax it out of the road. No matter what I tried, it wouldn’t move. It never coiled up, shook its tail, or struck at me; it was completely docile. I finally had to give up since I was unwilling to risk actually picking it up. My wiser partner would not permit such foolishness – Billy The Exterminator I am not……….

On the other hand, I came across a pygmy rattlesnake once.  It was a lot more aggressive. I guess it had to make up for its lack of size with extra spunk, since they only grow to about 20 inches long. The sound of its rattles surprised me; they were so small that it sounded like a flying bug buzzing by.

Genesis 3:14-15 (NASB)

14 The Lord God said to the serpent, …….

15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel.”

Genesis says that God deliberately put enmity between the serpent and the woman. I’m not going to lie ……… I had to look that word up to make sure I knew its exact meaning:

en·mi·ty – the state or feeling of being actively opposed or hostile to someone or something.

It comes from the Latin word inimicus which means ………… can you guess? …………. enemy.

Besides the obvious definition, Google dictionary defines a snake as a treacherous or deceitful person.

In one regard, our relationship with God is the same as that of humans with snakes. According to Paul in Romans 5:6-11 and Colossians 1, we were all hostile, treacherous, and deceitful enemies of God ……… irreconcilable enemies of God. Yet through his power, mercy, and grace, God has reconciled what was irreconcilable. We have been given a place in his kingdom, not because we deserve it, but because he loves us.

Colossians 1:21-22 (ESV)

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, ……

Can you imagine having a warm, loving relationship with a snake? Probably not. But in a spiritual sense, you were once a snake, destined to be hated and despised. We all were …….. when we were enemies of God. Now when we come into his house, we are welcomed as sons and daughters, no longer enemies.

Mugs up! Thanks to a forgiving God, we can all experience a loving relationship with each other and with him.

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com

What’s Blue And Yellow With A Powerful Bite?

26 Thursday Mar 2015

Posted by in Animals, Christianity, Devotional, Life, Raising The Mug

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Blue Macaw 2w

Kiwi – from The Key West Grill, Myrtle Beach SC

While on vacation in Myrtle Beach SC last September, my family ate lunch at The Key West Grill, a restaurant with a cleverly decorated pirate theme. All of the ornaments and furnishings were articles you might find on a pirate ship or some Caribbean seashore.

Upon entering the restaurant, we were greeted by this fellow, a beautiful blue and yellow macaw named Kiwi. He is free to roam the restaurant wherever he chooses but he mostly stays on his perch. One of the hostesses asked if we wanted to hold him. I thought it would be fun, so I volunteered. He has a powerful beak as I discovered the hard way. In his curiosity to investigate me, he managed to leave a few bruises on my shoulder. Other than that, he was very friendly. So friendly, in fact, that when it came time to leave, the employees had to coax him off my shoulder with crackers. The food from the kitchen was excellent also, by the way.

Something God put inside me created a deep appreciation for birds. I love the colors of their feathers, their patterns of flight, their morning songs, the curious ways that they interact. Given the opportunity, I could sit around and watch them all day. The vast number of species alone is enough to make one draw their breath.

Mankind is proud of his achievements, yet with all of his inspiration and human genius, all of his skill of design and construction, all of his striving for fulfillment in the realm of technological advancement, he has never created anything that closely compares to the beauty and intricacy of a bird. You needn’t look any further for proof of God’s existence……..

Psalm 104:10-13 (ESV)

10 You make springs gush forth in the valleys;
    they flow between the hills;
11 they give drink to every beast of the field;
    the wild donkeys quench their thirst.
12 Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
    they sing among the branches.
13 From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
    the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

I give thanks today for all of God’s creations, but especially the winged variety.

Mugs up!

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com

All Creatures of Our King

11 Wednesday Feb 2015

Posted by in Animals, Christianity, Devotional, Life

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Grant's Gazelle, Ostrich, and Plains Zebra at the Woodland Park

Photo courtesy of David Conger – flickr.com

Zebras and Ostriches hang out together, each compensating for the other.  Ostriches have “amazing eye-sight”, but don’t hear or smell too well.  Zebras can’t  see well, but their smell and hearing are “keen”.  With combined powers, predators can be smelt, heard and seen. speakzeasy.wordpress

Ostriches generally live together in groups of about ten, led by a dominant male and a dominant female. The dominant male defends the territory. His warning call is loud and deep. From far away, it can be mistaken for a lion’s roar. During breeding season, the dominant male performs a ritualized courtship dance by shaking his wings and tail feathers. If the main hen is impressed, the two will mate. The other hens in the group may also mate with the dominant male or with other lesser males. Then the dominant male scratches out a shallow pit in the dirt to create a nest. The dominant female will lay around 7-10 eggs in the center of the nest, and the other females place their eggs to the outside. The communal nest may have as many as 60 eggs in it! – See more at: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/ostrich/#sthash.rqvMshGq.dpuf

Zebras have very good hearing and eyesight, which helps them stay clear of predators such as lions, hyenas, and cheetahs. It also helps that they can run 56 km/h (35 mph) and pack a powerful kick. If one zebra spots a predator, it lets out a sharp two-syllable call. The young and female zebras run, while the males trail behind to defend them. If one is attacked, others circle around to help protect it from predators. – See more at: http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/plains-zebra/#sthash.DD3qMk49.dpuf

So, what’s my point?

Isaiah 43:20-21 (NASB)

20 “The beasts of the field will glorify Me,
The jackals and the ostriches,
Because I have given waters in the wilderness
And rivers in the desert,
To give drink to My chosen people.
21 “The people whom I formed for Myself
Will declare My praise. 

Isaiah used the word glorify in verse 20 to describe the actions of “beasts of the field” in their relationship to God. He mentions ostriches; I assume zebras would be included. The idea of wild animals glorifying God may seem strange but what may be even more strange is to consider how they glorify God. What do you think? How does an animal glorify God?

In my uneducated opinion, I think the answer is ………….. by being themselves. They honor God most when they fulfill the role for which he created them. God made all things according to his will to serve his good purpose. When animals by nature, live as God intended, it fulfills his design for their lives and brings glory to his name.

Verse 21 indicates the same thing for humans, “The people whom I formed for Myself will declare My praise.” When men and women live as God created them to live, it also brings glory to his name. Just as animals have been given specific roles in nature, man has been given a specific role. Part of God’s design for each person is to seek and know the One who formed them. By knowing the Creator, they gain a better understanding of themselves and what it is that they were created to be.

The ostrich knows his role; the zebra knows his. Do you know yours?

My coffee is good and hot, my mug is full. Here’s to a great day of knowing and praising my Creator.

Special thanks to Speakzeasy for the inspiration!

All verse quotes courtesy of biblegateway.com