The Everlasting Arms

Tell me, octopus, I begs

Is those arms or is they legs?

I marvel at the octopus;

If I were thou, I'd call me us.

Ogden Nash

Our little friend Ella asked me to paint a purple octopus on her face, and that's exactly what I did. After carefully checking it out, she decided she liked it, even though I only painted five arms. Though only 3, she can tell you that an octopus squirts ink. She loves me to read her "The Rainbow Fish" book, where a wise octopus lives in a cave under the sea. My third picture is a page from that book that slightly scares her. An octopus is one of God's most amazing creatures. They are best known for their amazing defense techniques. They can change color and texture to blend in with anything. They can even make stripes on their body. If they lose an arm, they will regrow it, so their arms are everlasting. Oh, and they have three hearts. They are very smart and capable of learning. The staff at Washington D.C.'s National Aquarium will tell you they have personalities, a sense of humor, and are capable of being bored, so they have to entertain them as if they were smart, spoiled children. They will open screw top jars and child proof caps. Well, If I had eight arms, maybe I could, too! Perhaps I should get one as a pet to open all my medicine bottles! They can also distinguish shapes and colors and use tools. They love to play. The staff at the aquarium gives them Mr. Potato Heads, and they spend lots of time making faces on them. One octopus put a shell on his own head and glided along with his new hat on. They have no bones in their bodies, and can squeeze through the tiniest holes and cracks. They can also maneuver out of their tanks even when they are held down by 40 pounds of concrete blocks. All those arms have a lot of force. Once out, they visit the tanks of smaller fish, and snack on them. And here I thought that babysitting a three year old was a challange!

"The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms." Deut. 33:27

Fountain Of Life

"A kind heart is a fountain of gladness, making everything in it's vicinity freshen into smiles"

Washington Irving

These are some fountains that enchanted me this year. I love fountains, and hope to see and take pictures of more during the year. The second and third pictures are a small fountain and a larger replica. The balls on the pedestal were covered with a thin layer of water and constantly spinning. The book of Proverbs likens many things to fountains. From Proverbs 10,13,14,16,&18: The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life...The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life...The fear of The Lord is a fountain of life...Understanding is a fountain of life to those who have it...The words of a wise man's mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook. Fountains constantly renew their water and appear to be living and cleansing. The same is true for us when we follow God. We are cleansed and renewed every day and we have the promise of everlasting life. My bible commentary talked about the the long sought after fountain of youth, and it has truly been right in front of our eyes all this time in the person of Jesus, who renews all things, makes all things new, and gives us living water.

"How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life..." Psalm 36:7

The Eye Of A Needle

"Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God." Matthew 19:24

The picture above kind of gives this bible verse new meaning. These are nine camels actually walking through the eye of a regular sewing needle. And the man who made this happen has become very rich indeed. Welcome to the world of Willard Wigan, 52, a micro sculpter whose home is England. In grade school, Willard's teacher humiliated him in front of the class on a regular basis. She said he was an example of failure and would never amount to anything. At home, he would hide in the shed and feel as small as the ants he watched. He made them a home, furniture, and a carousel out of wood splinters. This would make them feel important. This was the beginning of everything. The things he makes are so small, you can't see them with the naked eye, only with magnification. The other picture is an owl in the eye of a needle. No, I didn't see these things in person, I took the photos from our newspaper. Willard paints with the hair of a dead fly. He has trained himself to go into a meditative state when he works, slowing his pulse to work between heartbeats. If he breathes too deeply, it will destroy the art. He once inhaled a finished piece. Prince Charles and Elton John have his pieces. A tycoon bought 70 of them for $22 million. The Queen of Egland has given him an award. I wonder whatever became of Wllard's teacher?

"Do not show partiallity in judging; hear both small and great alike. Do not be afraid of any man, for judgement belongs to God." Deut. 1:17

Our Master's Voice

A couple days ago, in really frigid weather, we happened to drive by this scene. A cute little dog waiting patiently in front of his home to be let in. He sat nicely and let me snap his picture. I hope he didn't have to wait too long. For some reason it reminded me of the painting called "His Master's Voice". This was the symbol for the RCA recording company, shown here in my second picture. Here's the story behind it. The dog is a fox terrior named Nipper, because he loved to nip at people's heels and shoes. He belonged to Mark Barraud. When Mark died, his brother Francis inherited Nipper, a cylinder phonograph, and a few recordings of Mark's voice. When Mark would play these recordings, the little dog would sit faithfully in front of the phonograph with his head cocked, listening to the voice of his deceased master. In fact, the painting was origionally called "His Late Master's Voice", and is still worded as such on many of the origional RCA labels. But it was later decided by the company to be too depressing for the buying public's tastes, so they took out the "late" part. I think that Nipper would be an even better symbol for Christians. We could take quite a few cues from dogs in our Christian walk. A dog is loyal to his master and loves him no matter what. Dogs let everyone know who their master is and will protect him to the death. They can't wait to spend time with him. All this, and they don't really expect any reward other than to please their master and get maybe a pat on the head. I think I'm not doing too bad if I can sit for a while with my head tilted like Nipper's, be still, and listen for what God wants me to know.

"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:27

Forget Me Not

"There is a time for everything and a season for every activity under Heaven: a time to search and a time to give up." Ecc. 3:1-6


Driving behind this car, I spotted a bumper sticker that interested me. We drove closer so I could read it. And then I knew I had my post for today. I may not be losing my mind, but I am losing things and forgetting things more and more lately. Some examples:

1. Walking around the house doing chores and drinking a glass of water, I suddenly lost the glass. Looking in every room yielded nothing. Later that evening, I spotted the glass still half full of water on a shelf in the linen closet.

2. I frequently walk into a room to do something, and when I get there, forget why I went.

3. The other night, as we were sitting on the couch, we heard the cell phone ringing. Rushing around, we couldn't track it down. I finally called it and let it ring till it was found in a coat pocket in the closet. In this case, I had lost something and didn't even know it until it alerted me.

4.Getting a pot out of the kitchen cabinet, I saw there was a small teddy bear in it! Good thing I was alert there, or we would have had teddy bear soup for dinner. I'm hoping this wasn't me. Perhaps one of the three year old girls who come over; they do so get a giggle out of confusing the old folks!

Forgetfulness can at times be a good thing. When we forget pain, bad dreams, etc. And here's the best kind of forgetfulness. When we ask forgivness, God not only forgives, but forgets as well! Hebrews 8;12 "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." But here's something God never forgets: anything we do for him. Nothing we do for God is forgotten by him. Hebrews 6:10 "God is not unjust. He will not forget your work and the love you have shown him..." Forgetting and remembering; I'm getting pretty bad at it. Good thing God's got it covered.

My Eye Was On The Sparrow

I sing because I'm happy,

I sing because I'm free,

For His eye is on the sparrow,

And I know He watches me.

While driving along today, I spot movement in a bare tree. It is frigid, below 25 degrees, so what could all the commotion be? I'll just take out my zoom lens camera and see what's up. Lovely song sparrows, all puffed up from the cold! It was too cold for them to sing, but some kind person had provided them with enough food to keep them hopping. When spring comes, listen for the many sweet tunes of this cheery little bird, who will sit outside your door and sing his heart out.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. and even the very hairs of your head are numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows." Matthew 10:29-31

A Taxing Situation

Let me tell you how it will be;
There's one for you, ninteen for me.
'Cause I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street.
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold, I'll tax the heat.
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
'Cause I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.

How many of you remember this song by the Beatles? The late George Harrison wrote it. Taxes in England were so bad for wealthy people that many celebrities moved to the states to avoid them. But why am I writing about taxes now? Because of these pictures I took today. We were out running errands and passed a local tax preparing service. Their symbol is The Statue Of Liberty, and to my horror, this is what I saw. They had a man standing out on the edge of the highway dressed up as Lady Liberty, dancing around, waving, and trying to entice people into their business. Nothing wrong with that, except for the weather. It was absolutly freezing, under 25 degrees, with a cutting wind. The poor man had on a costume appearing to be made out of only a sheet over his jeans, as he danced around to keep warm. He had a scarf around his nose and mouth, and sunglasses on to try and cover most of his face. Behind him was the tax place with Lady Liberty on the roof. It was so cold that she had partly deflated, leaving her with a broken arm. In bible times, tax collectors were lumped together with sinners, pagans, and prostitues! They were trying to make a decent living, but were just hated, probably much more than today. I believe that many of them were extremly crooked back then. Luke 19 tells us about Zacchaeus, who was a wealthy chief tax collector. He wanted to see Jesus very badly. Being too short to see above the crowd, he climbed up a tree to get a good look. Jesus rewarded him by staying at his house. Zacchaeus then offered to give half his possesions to the poor, and pay back those he had cheated four times over. This is what just the presence of Jesus did to him.


"Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment, but also because of concience." Romans 13:5