very large fall log with a hole through the center with a small boy peeking through from the other side Jeremiah 29:13 NIV You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

Where is the Treasure?

Effigy Mounds National Monument, Harpers Ferry, Ia Jeremiah 29:13 NIV You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. For over 1000 years, people have been searching for the lost silver of Egil Skallagrímsson. A Viking, born in Iceland, Egil was a warrior, farmer, poet, and berserker.  According to Histories…

petroglyphs at Petrified National Forest, AZ Luke 19:39-40 ISV Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus, Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet. He replied, I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!

The Stones Are Speaking

Petroglyphs at the Petrified Forest National Park, AZ Luke 19:39-40 ISV Some of the Pharisees in the crowd told Jesus, “Teacher, tell your disciples to be quiet.” He replied, “I tell you, if they were quiet, the stones would cry out!” There are tens of thousands of petroglyphs at the Petrified Forest National Park, AZ….

Hosea 10:12 GNT Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you. pumpkin patch in the foreground cornfield in the middle ground and Smith Rock State Park in the background

It Runs Like a Deere

Smith Rock Ranch, Terrebonne, OR Hosea 10:12 GNT Plow new ground for yourselves, plant righteousness, and reap the blessings that your devotion to me will produce. It is time for you to turn to me, your Lord, and I will come and pour out blessings upon you. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “The plow is the most…

a wooden cross in a wooded cemetery Matthew 16:24 GNT Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.

Pick Up & Carry

Camp Polk Cemetery, Sisters, OR Matthew 16:24 GNT Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow me.” It’s an exciting time for my oldest grandson as he prepares for his first day of preschool. His dutiful parents are collecting…

1 Corinthians 16:14 GNT Do all your work in love. Woman wearing flannel with long braids plants a tree near a running stream

Work with Love

Deschutes Land Trust, Camp Sherman, OR 1 Corinthians 16:14 GNT Do all your work in love. I have often said, “I don’t have a lot of money, but you can have my time, my hair, and my blood!” Donating my hair to Locks of Love, donating blood, walking for MS or ALS, volunteering at the…

a pair of new eyeglasses John 9:25 GNT One thing I do know, I was blind, and now I see.

Able to See

John 9:25 GNT  One thing I do know, I was blind, and now I see. Ahhhh…. The feeling of new glasses. That crisp clean vision that you didn’t realize you were missing until you put on those brand-new glasses.  My sister tells of putting on her glasses for the very first time as a child,…

Isaiah 43:2 GNT When you pass through fire, you will not be burned; the hard trials that come will not hurt you. Wildfire burns brightly in the night

Happy Birthday Smokey

Columbia River Gorge, Washington looking to Oregon Isaiah 43:2 GNT When you pass through fire, you will not be burned;     the hard trials that come will not hurt you. Smokey Bear has been on a mission of wildfire prevention since 1944. As a part of the WWII war effort following Pearl Harbor, the Forest…

dark ponderosa pine forest with sunshine clearing in the distance John 20:27 GNT Stop doubting and believe.

Big Foot Doesn’t Believe

Willamette National Forest, OR John 20:27 GNT Stop doubting and believe. I have a sticker that reads, “Bigfoot doesn’t believe in you either.” It’s been a long-standing joke in my family to keep your eyes open for Big Foot if we leave our high desert and travel over the mountain passes to the valley.  According…

gecko in leafy habitat Proverbs 18:24 ESV A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Sticky Fingers

Liam the Lizard (aka Gecko) Proverbs 18:24 ESV A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. Liam the Lizard (actually a gecko) came to live at our house at the request of my son. I was impressed by the tiny creature’s abilities, and…

Living Room Bullfighter

Living Room Bullfighter

My dad’s painting purchased in Spain, painted with a knife Proverbs 15:1 NIV A gentle answer turns away wrath,     but a harsh word stirs up anger. “I HATE YOU!” I regretted screaming those words at my mother before the screen door ever closed behind me. I had no reason to be that angry with…