Miriam, my dear, I can so relate.

Miriam and brother Aaron, the older ones in the family, were ticked at baby brother Moses. To be sure, he's all grown up now and the leader of their nation. And he has been the catalyst in getting them out of Egyptian slavery. God got his attention one day, gave him a mission, and Moses accomplished it. That certainly is commendable. He has done all sorts of wonderful things for their people. And he loves God. But you know, there's something younger brother has done recently that makes older sister question his ability to lead.

"He went and married a Cushite woman. A Cushite! Someone who has just tagged along with our people, but really isn't one of us. How could he do this? You know, other people have heard God's voice besides Moses. Hasn't He spoken to us too, Aaron? I'm sure God must be displeased with Moses for marrying that woman. One of us should take over leadership. I bet God feels the same way we do."

Aaron and Miriam quietly began criticizing Moses behind his back. But Someone had Moses' back. God heard the grumbling, and was not thrilled with their attitude.

"Moses, Miriam, Aaron, come meet with Me at the tent. . . Miriam and Aaron, come closer to me. You know, I sometimes choose a person to be a prophet, to tell others messages from me. And when I do that, it is through a vision or a dream at night. That's how they hear My voice. But it's completely different with Moses. With Moses, we speak face to face. He hears me directly, not in mysterious sayings. So tell me Miriam and Aaron, why aren't you afraid to criticize My servant, this man I have a very close relationship with?"

No answer.

Well,the Lord, having a father's heart for us, was angry at His two children. He left them angry and when Aaron looked over at his sister, her skin was white with leprosy. Moses asked the Lord to heal her. Guess what His answer was? "If her father had spit in her face, wouldn't she be humiliated for a few days afterward?" So Miriam camped away from her people a short distance for 7 days. Then her skin was okay and she returned.

Miriam dear, I can so relate. Here's what I do that's uncomfortably like you. I look at someone in authority or higher responsibility and see something wrong, or something I think is wrong, and get critical. Then, to make matters worse, I am convinced God is right with me on this one. He's agreeing with me, in my imagination. I'm thinking God is opposed to the other guy, but in reality, He is opposed to my self-righteous judging of someone I'm not responsible for. Ouch.

Raccoons, a Cat, and Tulips

Another beautiful Sunday morning. There are pink and yellow tulips outside my corner window. It's in this spot I can see the neighbor's cat, who is very pregnant, walk slowly through our yard.

I'm not sure, but it seems she is interested in the crawl space under our spa room floor. Maybe she wants to birth her babies there? I'll be surprised if she does; I believe it already has tenants - raccoons. We don't know for sure if there are raccoons under there, but I certainly heard a ferocious animal quarrel coming from under the floor boards a few months ago, and since we occasionally spy raccoons in our yard, I think that's who is sleeping under our house.

This is very gross, but there is another reason for us to think "raccoons". Up on the roof, outside Patrick's bedroom window, we occasionally find a rather large animal dropping. You can't really call it a "dropping" because it definitely is more than a mere drop. Enough description. It must be from an animal of some size. Please don't tell me it's a human up there. Raccoons I can take; peeping Toms who like to go potty on my roof - not so much.

Crow brains

I wonder about the lives of crows. Ever since I heard they can live up to 50 years, I became interested in what goes on in their minds! There's got to be something going on in those small brains to survive for 50 years. Do they each have their own personality?

I had a pet parakeet once. That bird had personality. He would sit on the side of my bath tub and enjoy the show! Ha ha. He would fly onto my head, grab my hair and hang upside down, looking at his reflection in my glasses. Really!

You may wonder how he got around so freely in our home? We let him fly around freely, back in the day when I guess I wasn't so concerned with droppings. Ewwww! Sounds unbelievable now, but we allowed it. Of course, he didn't do his business constantly and often I was around him close enough to clean up after him. Nevertheless, the Department of Sanitation would NOT be pleased.

Back to crows. I'm convinced all birds have their own personality. We just aren't allowed the privilege of being intimate with them since they are wild, and don't need our companionship. If they COULD talk so we understood, what would they say? "Hey Oscar! See that guy down there walking his dog? Can you hit him on that bald spot? Five points!"

The end.

To be chosen by a horse . . .

Would that not be special? Especially for a young girl who has believed lies about her self worth. Skunk has chosen my daughter, complete with going to her when she calls, following her across the corral, and nuzzling her leg and side when being brushed. The equine therapist says Skunk is an aloof horse, sometimes bossy, not real social. Skunk chose a girl who has been aloof, not real social, and in need of a friend. A horse is honest. They don't put on airs, or pretend to like a person.

Well, Skunk is going to be a mom soon. She's due this month and is "heavy with child"! I asked Carole (the horse woman and clinical director), if Ashley can be present when Skunk gives birth. Carole said the mares usually like to have their babies when no one is around. She might go out in the morning and find a new foal. So what she told me is that if she finds Skunk having already delivered, she will make sure Ashley is the first girl out there to pet the babe and enjoy the moment. Isn't that cool?

We so long for the approval of people. But isn't it worth gold to have the approval of an honest animal, who sees not our shortcomings, our big nose or thick waist? They see inside, as God does.

Teases and Creamses

Showers and Breezes
Curtains a sway;
Teases and creamses
A warm spring day

Tulips, and robins
Sweet songs and sweet scents
I care not, I ask not, where the snow went.

Come sit for awhile on my porch in the eve
We’ll drink teases and creamses and laugh in the breeze

Dare I say that word? OBEDIENCE

If you are like me, the word obedience does not have a joyful ring to it. How often is the word used in a sentence that brings something pleasant to mind? But,if I think Biblically, or rather believe the Bible, it is something that is to result in being blessed.

I've had a taste of that blessing on occasion... usually when I am walking in submission to the Lord in some area of my life - I mean a specific area. Example? In the last 4 months I have made a choice to abstain from some things in my life that had way too much control over me. Actually, this was more involved than a mere choice - it has required support from other people, literature to read, steps to take. Here it is: I joined a 12-step program. (No, I'm not an alcoholic). I have chosen abstaining from trigger foods that have become an addiction to me. The blessing? I am walking on air. There is hope in heart for walking free from the bondage of those trigger foods. It makes me feel better about myself. I'm actually losing weight (which is a nice by-product of breaking the addiction). So this is a positive - by obeying God's directive to not let anything have control over me.

There has been another way I've seen the blessing of obedience and the lesson came to me through a non-human being. The non-human? My dog, Kippie. I tell you, having a dog has done wonders for me. Here's the latest. I so want Kip to be able to go outside with us when we work in the yard, or swing on the swing. But we have no fence. Putting her on a leash is okay, but she really can't follow us around and sniff at new things. It's just a drag for her to be chained up (maybe like I've been with food?) Here's what has struck me. I, her owner, deeply desire to bless her with freedom to run around. But I can't do that as long as she won't mind me, coming when I call. She is getting better. Saturday she was out in the yard with us for a good 45 minutes. But then she started wandering off too far and not coming when I would call - so back in the house she went. She lost her freedom.

Don't you think that's how God looks at us? If we will just stay within the boundaries He has set for us, we will experience all kinds of wonderful freedoms we don't realize are waiting for us.

Obedience really is meant to be a blessing. It's when I ignore it that it looks like a chain. The chain is around me when I don't obey. I deceptively think the chain is waiting for me when I obey. That's not true! Obedience gives me wings.

Immortal Words

In Border's the other day I found a book on sale called, "Immortal Words, History's Most Memorable Quotations and the Stories Behind Them". It is surprising how old some of our current day quotations are. Seriously. Here are some phrases I bet you've heard used at least once in recent memory:

Familiarity breeds contempt.
A man should practice what he preaches, but a man should also preach what he practices.
God loves to help him who strives to help himself.
It is quality rather than quantity that matters.
One good turn deserves another.
Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Do as we say, not as we do.
Face the facts.
See one and you've seen them all.
We must eat to live, not live to eat.

Wonder when these were first uttered? Each quote is assigned a time span, based on the life of their author. In exact order:

620-560 BC, Aesop
551-479 BC, Confucious
525-456 BC, Aeschylus
4-65 AD, Seneca, the Younger
66 AD, Petronius
155/160-222/230 AD, Tertullian
1313-1371 AD, Boccaccio
1473-1543 AD, Copernicus
1577-1640 AD, Robert Burton
1622-1673 AD, Moliere

But the one that surprised me the most is the second oldest listed in the book:

"Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime." Lao-Tzu, 600 BC

I was sure this quote was first made by Republicans.

The Baby-Talk Club and Coo Coo Dee Coo

While walking Kip today I got a chuckle remembering several things from my childhood. One was the Baby-talk Club. My friend, Michelle Macy, and I decided to start a club for ourselves and the aim was to learn what baby babbling meant in adult talk. We came up with some ideas for different sounds and thought it was a good idea, and fun. By the next day we had forgotten about it.

Michelle was an interesting friend. She probably is a brain surgeon today -- I don't know, I just have a feeling about that. She was intelligent and creative and probably was the leader in our duo. She lived across the street from us and a little to the right. In her back yard was a large willow tree and a rescued pigeon, named Coo Coo Dee Coo. Also in her backyard on occasion was her brother Bruce. I did NOT like Bruce. He scared me. I liked Coo Coo Dee Coo -- and the willow tree.

Also, in her back yard, was a grape vine of succulent, purple grapes -- the kind you squeeze between two fingers and the skin remains behind while you plop the delicious innards into your waiting mouth. Mmmmmm. So good. I believe they may be called Concord grapes and Welches must have all the vines nowadays because I've not seen one since then.