Thursday, September 25, 2014

What It Means To Believe

by Cecil Paxton

Many Christians have difficulty receiving from God because they do not understand what it means to believe. Most Christians think that believing is something that they choose to do through their choices. In other words, if they choose to believe something then they are believing.

However, true believing is more than a choice. The choices we make in life are the beginning of the process of believing. In fact, you can choose to believe the doctrine of your church but under the pressure of life’s problems live other beliefs from your heart.

In Acts 8:37 after seeing some water the eunuch questioned Phillip and said “what hinders me from being baptized?” Phillip did not say “just repeat this prayer after me.” Instead he said, “If you believe with all of your heart you may.”

True believing involves identifying with the promise instead of the problem. To identify with something means to become the same with something to the place that you become it and live it. The eunuch said with all of his heart, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." And the next thing you know he is in the water being baptized.

Cecil has this new teaching available to help you understand what it means to believe so that receiving from God will come easier instead of being difficult.

Downloadable MP3
Audio CD


Children's Cereals: Sugar by the Pound

The Environmental Working Group's analysis of more than 1,500 cereals, including more than 180 children’s cereals, shows that a child who eats a bowl a day for a year ends up consuming 10 pounds of sugar.

A single serving can contain nearly as much sugar as three Chips Ahoy! cookies, and more than two Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies. And because the serving sizes listed on many cereal boxes are unrealistically small, even sugar-conscious consumers are eating even more than they realize.

To top it all off, 11 of the 13 most heavily sugared children’s cereals feature marketing claims like “Good Source of Fiber” that suggest misleadingly that the products are healthful.

So how do you navigate the cereal aisle to find the least sugary products? Check these lists to see which have the most and the least sugar before you head to the store.


Step Away From The Leaf Blower


by Heather Holm

As fall approaches, the leaf blowers have already started up in our neighborhood. I could … tell you how important leaves are in the garden as a natural mulch and how they contribute to the organic matter in the soil. It’s what leaf blowers are designed to do that troubles me.

Remember the Three Little Pigs story? The big bad wolf (insert leaf blower) says “I’ll huff and I’ll puff till I blow your house down”.

Leaves provide habitat for so many organisms during the different stages of their lifecycles. Without a good layer of leaf litter left on the ground, we are severing so many of the connections in the food and plant web in our ecosystems. Leaves provide much-needed protection from cold temperatures during the winter months, as well as the fluctuating freeze-thaw cycles.

You'll be surprised at how many organisms rely upon leaf litter:  Read Heather's article.



Cynophobia – The Fear of Dogs

by Dr. Jane Bicks

Many Americans know this kind of fear, though fewer know the technical term for it, and even fewer are ever formally diagnosed.

Animal-based phobias are the most common type of fears. A recent study put the number of US citizens suffering from a fear of dogs at well over 60 million people.

Fortunately, it’s a condition that can be overcome. To learn more about cynophobia, check out the latest from Dr. Jane. In this post, she explores the ins and outs of this all-too-common fear.

Read Dr. Jane’s post now

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Renovate Your Mind

by Clint Byars

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed (changed, transfigured) by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God." Romans 12:2

No amount of physical effort can produce spiritual transformation. Your spirit doesn’t grow, it’s either righteous and made one with God or it’s not. What needs to happen is that we begin to think, feel and act in agreement with the condition of our spirit so the rest of our being experiences transformation.

If you want changes in your life, they come through renewing your mind, not behavior modification. Renewing your mind persuades your heart of the truth and as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.

You will think about, feel and then do what you believe in your heart, so take the time to persuade your heart of Kingdom truth. Tend the garden of your heart so you’re yielded to the influence of God rather than focused on the way of the world or the world’s system. You can preach external, behavioral, specific, cultural issue focused messages or you can go after people’s hearts by preaching spiritual truth rather than carnal failure.

• Everything God has for us, every spiritual gift within us is worked out of us by grace through faith
• Faith accesses grace and faith works by love
• Faith is a response to what Jesus has done
• So do you know what Jesus has done? (see the Renew Your Mind posts to discover what He has done in believers)

Any attempt to earn or qualify through physical effort nullifies (renders ineffective) grace.

"I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Galatians 2:21 NASB

Note From Donna:
This teaching series has really clarified and opened my heart to see and understand the "how-to" of renewing my mind.  These are actually notes from the 3-part video series.  You can read through the rest of the notes and be better prepared for the video teaching which is below them.  This is the link to do it.  You will be totally blessed if you sink your mind into it and not just skim the surface of the words. 

Copyright and Reprint Information - All photos remain the property of Donna L. Watkins, but may be used with proper credit and link back to the website, TheNature InUs.com. Articles written by Donna L. Watkins can be reprinted with proper credit and link back to the website, TheNatureInUs.com.

Monday, September 15, 2014

The Nature In Us Newsletter - 9/15/14

  The Nature In Us Newsletter - 9/15/14 
  by Donna L. Watkins  



Hello Dear Friends!

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Donna & Randal - Cliff Walk - Newport, RI
Date:  9/9/99
Always looking back to photos from the past.  They bring smiles to my face and a wonder to my heart that I've been blessed to travel as much as I have.  Fortunately I found a husband who was willing to travel also, even though he'd never done any of it unless it was with a school group.

I grew up loving to travel.  Don't know where the delight came from since we never took family vacations, but my dad would go to Ocean City, MD every year for deep sea fishing and when I got to age 11, he would take me along.  My mother always said her vacation was having us gone.  She was one of those old-fashioned housewives who did everything, so not having to cook on schedule she felt like she was on vacation.

When I got into my 20's dad and I would plan trips together.  He definitely had a travel bug too, so I guess it was in him, although he only ever took that one vacation week annually.  He even traveled with me from Atlanta down through Mexico towns all the way to Acapulco in my newly purchased car.  I was living in Atlanta at that time.  Those Mexico roads had no side rails and they were winding mountain roads.  Crazy!

This spot in Newport, Rhode Island, was really special.  I love rocky coastal views of the ocean (like in Maine).  There were beautiful homes along the streets above this spot.  We had been visiting with a friend, so it was nice that she could join us and guide us around the town.  I love seagulls also.  I like New England, but wouldn't want to live there due to the long winters.
View Newport, RI Photos.
View Boston, MA Photos.
View Plymouth, MA - Plymouth Rock and Seacoast Area.
View New Haven, CT - Yale University & Lighthouse Point.

Randal's Parents - Jo and Ray
Randal left for Oklahoma City on Saturday.  Not what you'd call a fun trip.  He will be helping his brother move their parents to a long-term care place rather than the assisted living arrangement they have now. His dad has gone into Hospice care.

His dad's been totally blind for the past few months and that has been very difficult on him.  Seems he headed downhill shortly thereafter.  He's 88.  It's certainly been hard on Randal's mom since they depended on each other for various things. His Dad has been placed under Hospice care.  Our son lives in Oklahoma City also and has grown very close to his grandparents, so it's a difficult time for all.  I'd appreciate your prayers if the Holy Spirit brings them to mind.  Thanks!

We took an overnight trip for Labor Day weekend to Hampton (2.5 hours).  Had a few nature trails to hike but it turned out pretty hot and I'm not fond of the sun, although it seems that the areas of my skin that had lost pigment (condition called vitiligo) are beginning to fill in a polka dot of pigment at a time.  I've been expecting healing.  For 38 years I've had to avoid the sun due to the dermatologist informing me along with a bunch of reading materials that I was open for instant skin cancer since I had no pigment to offer any protection. 

I lived that way, considering cloudy days a real blessing, until not long ago.  Living in Virginia hasn't had the blazing sun we had in Alabama and Georgia and with a shaded yard with only patches of sunlight I've been boldly stepping out.  I am light-skinned so it isn't as noticeable as it is on darker-skinned people unless I tan.  So it's a toss up between my vanity and my love of the outdoors.  But now, I see I am in the process of healing and am very excited.

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James River Bridge - Seagulls on Each Lamp Post
When we got to the turnoff for our first stop in Hampton, VA, we went the wrong direction and headed over the James River Bridge before realizing we were going south instead of north.  The drive across the bridge was nice.  When completed in 1928, the 4.5-mile (7 km) bridge was the longest bridge in the world over water.

On the way back I noticed that there were seagulls on the top of the light posts.  It was really funny to see.  Each lamp had one seagull as if it was standing guard in a lighthouse or something.  I wonder if they sleep there in winter since the warmth from the lights would make it a bit more cozy than many places.  The enlarged view of the photo shows them lined up on both sides of the bridge.

When we finally arrived at Grandview Nature Preserve it was hot.  We'd been there before in January 2007, but this was not the entrance we used.  This one was super sunny and bare of any shade.  The trail had no view of the wetlands due to tall marsh grasses.  I couldn't find anything on Google about another entrance or a closed entrance.  People were hitting the trail with beach attire, coolers and chairs.

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This Little Piggie Went to the Beach
The most interesting thing we saw was this party of three coming out as we came into the trail.  One lady barely had a bikini staying with her and a man followed behind along with two dogs ... uh! ... one dog and one pig.  I did a double take.  It was really funny.  The pig just followed along behind the dog.  So cute!  We didn't get too far before we turned around for the car. The heat had me moving at a snail's pace and I couldn't breathe.  I added the few photos I took to the original album of our first trip. View Grandview Nature Preserve Photos.

There was a stream on the side of the street we parked on ... more mud than running water, and Randal's eye noticed a bunch of crabs coming out of the mud and running up a hill.  I assumed they were Mud Crabs which we had seen before in SC.  I did get a picture but the video of mud crabs in SC is much better.

The special highlight of the day was getting to ride a horse on a restored 1920's carousel.  It was indoors with air conditioning ... so it was hard not to linger after the ride was over.  You can see how delighted I was about being on one of the carousel horses.

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Donna Riding Carousel Horse
View Entire Album 
When I was a young child, we would go to Hershey Amusement Park (what it was called in the 50's).  My mom wouldn't ride anything but the carousel and she sat in one of those benches like you see in the photo while Daddy and I went up and down.  It was a very special memory to be able to do this.

The historical info on the carousel is very interesting ... if you have a sweet carousel memory of your own.  This carousel was built near Philadelphia which was not far from where I lived growing up, so that made it even more special.  I have put a lot of info on the photo titles.  Also in the Carousel Park was a 400th City of Hampton Anniversary Commemorative Area with monuments.  View Carousel Park and Carousel Photos.

We visited a couple more places but I will share that information and photo links in the next newsletter.  It takes me some time to get all the historical data in the photo captions.

Every year during summer we have an issue with fruit flies since we bring in a lot of fruit to this house in bulk quantities, so the fruit flies don't get a chance to vacation elsewhere.  I can handle about 20 of them and after that they begin to get on other stuff, like the plate of food I have ready to take to the screened porch, but left on the counter till I get my herbs.  In a split second they will find anything that has fruit. 

So ... we use a simple approach to limiting populations with vinegar.  We tried it with white vinegar and it doesn't work much at all.  Read the article:  Make a Apple Cider Vinegar Trap for Fruit Flies.  We also use a small marinated artichoke hearts jar with a few small holes punched in the lid, again big enough for them to get through but not come back out.  That works rather well and we can keep it for next year all ready to go.

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Young Male Deer With Uneven Antlers
More Deer Photos

We have deer on our property all day long.  Sometimes they will be resting in the back woods and sometimes foraging amongst our garden plants in the front.  They like the water from the pond out back and also the area where we throw our fruit and veggie scraps, so they are one of many that check out the "salad bar" daily. 

This young guy is easy to recognize since he's got such short antlers on one side of his head.  I'd seen some before that weren't quite as tall, but not like this where it's less than half as tall as the other side.  They're all cute though. 

It's such a blessing to be able to be surrounded by God's creatures as I spend as much time on outdoor activities that I can since I love the screened porch.  I do all my computer work out there and reading and writing and playing with the cat.  The best part is watching all that is going on around me on the attached deck and in the back woods and bird feeders.  If you build it (no matter how small) they will come.  Even an apartment balcony can attract many species of birds and pollinators. Get information on how to attract them in your area of the country: Free Pollinator Friendly Planting Guides.

Crocheted Cap Made By Christina
One of my birthday gifts was from my friend, Christina, in Texas.  She's real artsy and makes jewelry, does wall murals and paintings on canvas, and all kinds of crocheted things which includes the owl cap you see in the photo.

I think it's absolutely adorable and a fun thing to wear.  My husband asked if I was going to wear it "out and about" and I said, "What a hoot that will be" (pun intended).  Reminds me of the poem about when you get old and wear purple and red together.

It will certainly be fun to wear in the winter to keep me warmer.  Did you know that a lot of the heat from our bodies escapes from a small area on the head?  That's why they wore nightcaps when going to bed in the olden days.  (See this article.)

Donna in Crocheted Cap
Made by Christina for Birthday
Our son wanted to see me wearing this, so my sweet husband took a photo of me with it on.  It feels really comfortable and I can tell it will be a nice addition to my winter days.  By the way, the painting next to me is one that was done by Christina.  Take a look at her Etsy website.  Maybe you can buy some early Christmas gifts.

Have you ever wondered why some of your emails end up in people's spam folders or are marked as junk when they come into a person's desktop email?  Somebody shared a web link where you can check to see if your email address has ever been 'pwned.'  I checked mine and found it had been pwned on two sites out there in cyberland. The email address and my password were taken on both.  That means I need to change my password and if I've used the same password on other websites, those need to be changed also.  Maybe you want to check to see if your email address has been pwned.

It seems I've graduated from my admonition from God to "trust and rest." I had been hearing that for over a year and it took most of that year to realize that I didn't really trust anybody in my life and to gain a concept of what trusting really meant. I came to realize that it was a foreign concept to me.  I shared about that in my blog post, Do You Really Trust God?

My new "assignment" is to focus on expecting good from God.  To truly begin to grasp how worthy I am in Christ so that I can begin to live the life of abundance that Christ said He came to give us.  We are so performance-motivated from the time we're young children, we "earn" things by being good and we get punished by being bad.  School, work, laws, and even relationships enforce this concept.  So, it's easy to see why it's so hard to understand unconditional love with a mind that's established in performance.

Source:  shoutitforlife.com
I've been meditating on I Cor. 2:9:  "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."  The imagination can go wild soaking this up.  It's not about material things but just that the God of the Universe loves us so much he has stored up things for us when we are in a love relationship with Him.  

Most folks don't go on to the next verse after quoting this ... but verse 10 says that "God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searches all things, yea, the deep things of God.Jesus told His disciples that when He left He would send the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.  He is the one who teaches us all things (John 14:26).

It's so important to take time to be tuned into God.  He is always speaking to us through His Spirit, but we allow our minds to be busy with day-to-day stuff and don't take time to be still and know what He is saying. We worry about things in the future and the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit will tell us of things to come, so we can know the future and be at peace with life.

I like the way the Amplified Bible puts it:  "But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. He will honor and glorify Me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you."  (John 16:13-14)

May your days be blessed with His still small voice and your circumstances fade into nothing compared to being loved by God.

Have a blessed time with the Lord this week.
Donna


P.S. Anything in here that might help somebody you know?
Here's a link to the online version of this newsletter:  
http://www.thenatureinus.com/2014/09/the-nature-in-us-newsletter-91514.html

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Posts Since Last Newsletter

Our Life in Him
 
Swimming Safety for Dogs (Video)
 
Bad Choices Lead to Toxic Thinking
 
Duckweed - There Are Some Benefits
 
The Nature In Us Newsletter - 9/1/14 (DLW)
 
Previous Posts You May Have Missed

Do You Really Trust God? (DLW)

Backyard Buzz—Beyond the Honeybee

Monarch Waystation in Mall

Jogging With Your Dog (Video)

Overcoming Trouble

Slugs - Give Them a Chance to Steal Your Heart

Can We Control Emotions and Feelings?

Lyme Disease - An Emerging Pet Problem

The Nature In Us Newsletter - 8/15/14 (DLW)

Seeing The Word Alive In Me  (DLW)

Living Near Trees Reduces Stress

Composting Cardboard

Baffling Behaviors of Pets

Newsletter - 8/1/14  (DLW)

God Wants YOU Well

Sodas and Fructose Dangers

Water Striders In Our Pond  (DLW)

God Is Not Mad At You

Alternative Therapies for Pet Joint Problems

Worm Composting

Newsletter - 7/15/14  (DLW)

Prozac for Pets Grows in Popularity

God's Kind of Love

Benefits Of The Black Gum Tree

Christian Mockingbirds (DLW)


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© All photos unless otherwise noted are the property of Donna L. Watkins and cannot be displayed without approval. 

Monday, September 8, 2014

Our Life in Him

by Andrew Wommack

John 15:4 "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me."

This is a profound truth, that is the key to bearing fruit, but it is so easy to forget. Because the fruit is borne on the branch, it is easy to credit the branch with the fruit, when it is the vine that drew the life from the earth and channeled it through the branch.

Likewise, since we are the branch through which the life of God flows, we sometimes think that it is our own holiness that produces the fruit. The moment we think that way, we are no longer abiding (trusting in; clinging to) in the vine and we will become fruitless if we persist in this mind set.

This is actually a great relief if the believer understands this and applies it properly. It puts all the responsibility on Jesus. Our only responsibility is to respond to His ability. In the same way that you have never seen a branch travailing to bring forth fruit, so all we have to do is labor to enter into His rest (trust and depend) and completely trust Jesus as our source (Heb. 4:11). If we abide in Him, fruit will come naturally.

It's our faith in what Jesus did for us that saved us, and our faith has to continue to be in Christ, not in ourselves. Our holiness, righteousness, and justification are gifts that we receive in our spirits through Jesus.

Just like the life of a root is found in the soil, or a branch in the vine, or a fish in the sea, so the believer's true life is found in the union with Christ.

Visit Andrew's website.
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Swimming Safety for Dogs (Video)

by Dr. Sarah

The term ‘doggy paddle’ wasn’t coined because dogs like to stay on the shore. Just because some canines have an instinctive grasp of how to swim doesn’t mean that they always know how to do so safely.

In this episode of Pet Talk, Dr. Sarah reveals how you and your dog can enjoy time in the pool, at the local watering hole or at the beach. This veterinarian points out commonly overlooked safeguards and simple strategies to protect your canine during splish-splash playtime. Watch this fun and informative video now ...


Bad Choices Lead to Toxic Thinking

Written by Dr. Caroline Leaf

According to Deuteronomy 30:19, God has given us the power to choose life or death. How does this play out in our brains and bodies?

We must realize that God created us in His Image (Genesis 1:26). We were created to operate in perfection (Matthew 5:48, Ecclesiastes 7:29) or as some scientists have said, we are ‘wired for love’. Good choices enables to us to operate in the perfection God created us. That is actually our natural state. This is the ‘life zone’.

If we make bad choices we move into the ‘death zone’. This is actually unnatural. God did not create us to operate this way. The proteins that we build in our brains as result of bad choices, which leads to toxic thinking, are actually not normal. The body treats these proteins as foreign invaders leading to inflammation and eventually disease.

How do we make good choices? It starts by implanting God’s Word in our minds or souls. According James 1:21 ‘The Implanted Word’ saves our souls. As we sow the seed of God’s Word (1 Peter 1:23) our minds are renewed (Romans 12:1,2) resulting in good proteins being built in our brains leading to good mental and physical health. We are then able to make good choices, think healthy thoughts and move into the ‘life zone’.

I have developed the online 21 day brain detox program to help you eliminate the toxic thinking resulting from bad choices and establish healthy thinking by making good choices.  Go to 21daybraindetox for further information.

Watch my TV Show for more details on Bad Choices Lead to Toxic Thinking.


Duckweed - There Are Some Benefits

© Donna L. Watkins
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Green Frog Swimming in Duckweed
By Carole Sevilla Brown

Duckweed reproduces quite quickly, and provides shelter for fish and other aquatic organisms. While some Duckweed is a very good thing to provide food and shelter for the wildlife in your pond, if it covers the entire surface it will prevent oxygen from getting to other plants and wildlife, so if you have too much Duckweed you’ll want to scoop some out of your wildlife pond and add it to your compost pile.

Duckweed is high in nutrients and thus is an excellent source of food for many different species of wildlife. Not surprisingly, many ducks eat Duckweed (hence its name). But Duckweed is also eaten by turtles, fish, beaver, and many insects. Read the entire article for more beneficial tips.


Monday, September 1, 2014

The Nature In Us Newsletter - 9/1/14

  The Nature In Us Newsletter - 9/1/14 
  by Donna L. Watkins  



Hello Dear Friends!

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Donna at Mepkin Abbey Sitting On a Carving Of
Mary & Joseph Traveling to Bethlehem
View Photos of Mepkin Abbey & Grounds
I recently came across this photo and could feel the instant peace of this place. In December 2007 I took a week at Mepkin Abbey in Moncks Corner, SC, as a retreat.  There wasn't a scheduled day other than to appear for meals.  You were on your own to wander and roam about on over 3,000 acres of preserved land.

The experience was very special and definitely different.  I had no background in the Catholic religion but the setting was awesome. Part of the day honored the Lord with contemplative silence (you weren't supposed to talk at all) so to say it was a peaceful place is an understatement. No radios, televisions or internet. With thousands of acres of lovely gardens, ponds, woodlands along the Cooper River, there was much to explore in the natural world.  It is definitely removed from the "real" world.  Read my "Journal of Mepkin Abbey"View Photos of Mepkin Abbey & Grounds.

Randal Looking For The Letterbox in the Ivy
A couple of years ago, we began a fun activity called "Letterboxing." It's an intriguing pastime combining navigational skills and rubber stamp journals with a "treasure hunt" type of outdoor quest.  You look for locations near you, or near where you will be traveling, so you can locate the "letterbox" (any type of container hidden somewhere with clues on how to find it).

My favorite website directory of clues to find letterboxes is Atlas Quest.  It has the most options or listings. Begin on the About Us page to see if this activity fits with you and your family.  Then search for letterboxes near your home.

We decided to take an easy one since it was along the way of our task list when we went to town.  This one began with this statement:  "... the legendary bagelry that has become a Charlottesville institution ..."  Anybody living here would know this is Bodo's Bagels, but there was also an address and photo in the listing since there are several locations.

The directions on where to find it were:  "Pull into the parking lot and park in the last spot on the right facing the fence. As you step out of you driver's seat take notice of the double trunk tree in front of you at the edge of the woods just a few steps ahead. At the base of that tree, nestled in the ivy behind it, you will find a box dedicated to the two most important women in my life."

Here's another site that has a directory of places.  Some will be duplicates of Atlas Quest, but you may find some that are not listed on Atlas Quest.

 
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 Young Blue Jay Still Filling in Natural Coloring 
More Blue Jay Photos
We've still got plenty of young birds around.  Another batch of Cardinals, five young Grackles, Red-headed Woodpeckers that don't get a red head until they're adults, and some Blue Jays that are still getting their full markings in.  The young ones are so curious and sometimes a bit too brave.

We'll soon be seeing the Ruby-crowned Kinglets coming through on migration. They were all over our pyracantha bushes the year we had cottony scale.  Check out the picture of a Ruby-crowned Kinglet eating cottony scale.  Sure don't like thinking of migration since that means winter isn't far off.

We've had a lot of baby skinks also.  The species we have is the Five-Lined Skink.  The young ones have a bright blue tail and black shiny back with five (5) lines on it.  The adults don't look anything like the young ones.  They turn brown with the stripes barely noticeable.  When the males are mating, their heads are bright orange.

We love our lizards and I enjoy watching them sunbath in various places around the property.  One of them being on top of a concrete pig that sits right outside the screened porch where my chaise is.  I don't know if there's more than one that uses this perch position to survey the land beyond for bugs but I enjoy seeing them there.  They watch for movement and then dart out so fast to get it. 

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Eastern Fence Lizard Shedding Skin
More Lizard Photos

One day as we were eating lunch I noticed an Eastern Fence Lizard on the deck that looked rather strange.  I got the binoculars so I could look without getting closer and saw that it was shedding an old skin for a new one that had grown underneath it.

Snakes do this also since they grow and their bodies need a new "shell" to hold that growth.  This one looked pretty embarrassed when I went out to the deck to take some photos.  It looks like a female since they are gray with black markings, whereas the males are more brown with brilliant blue-green markings on the size behind the front legs.

Here's some good news for zoos:  Bjarke Ingels’s ‘zootopia’ reverses the role of captor and captive to let animals roam free, while humans are hidden from view.  His plan for the Givskud “Zootopia”, a 1960s zoological park in southern Denmark, is a world where animals roam free, liberated from cages and tanks, while visitors observe them hidden from view, buried beneath the ground or obscured inside piles of logs.

A 300-acre stage set wilderness in which the roaming  beasts should never even know you are there, carefully concealed behind the scenes.  How awesome is that?  I'm not able to find much good about zoos.  I know they keep animals from going extinct, but then they also have all the rest of the animals living in such unnatural environments.  It's so sad to see how many live on concrete.  You can see the sadness in their eyes.  Read more about Denmark's Cage-free Zoo.

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Squeek, Our Kitty - 18 Years Old
More Digital Photos of Our Cats
Photos of Our Cats Before Digital Camera
Many of you have asked now and then how our cat, Squeek, is doing.  Years back she went through a 21-day period where she wouldn't eat so I had to get water in her with a syringe and food in her by putting it on a knife and scraping it off on her tongue.  Fortunately she would swallow and she took the many herbal formulas in capsule that I was stuffing down her.  She's a gentle kitty and a really good cat.  Although the vet said she would die if I took her off the IV she had her on to bring her home, she lived.  It didn't matter to me because having her die in a lonely cage in a vet's office is certainly not what I'd call a great alternative.

Squeek turned 18 in July.  That's real good for an FIV cat (the feline version of HIV in humans).  She's still a playful little kitty.  She loves strings and ropes.  Forget the usual kitty toys.  In this picture she had her eyes on the string that was attached to my pocket camera that you could put around your wrist to make sure you didn't drop it.  She began playing right after I snapped this photo.

We listened to a message by Greg Mohr (Charis Bible College Healing School) this week that was especially encouraging and motivating.  Sometimes we seem to know everything there is to know about a subject in the Bible (healing, provision, peace, forgiveness) and yet it's only knowledge in our minds, facts we've logged away.  If it's not been implanted in our hearts, we cannot operate from those beliefs.  The Bible tells us in Proverbs 4:23:

"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."  (KJV)

"Above all else guard your hearts, for everything you do flows from it."  (NIV)
"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life."  (NLT)


The heart is where our spirit and soul rest and as we know when we accept Jesus as Lord His spirit is downloaded into our spirit and we have access to everything that Jesus has promised ... BUT! our soul (mind, will and emotions) still have their own agenda/memories. They have to be "renewed" to line up with the spirit.  We were made to live out of our spirits and to communicate with God from our spirits, just as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.

Jesus is always willing to heal and help us ... He is the same today, yesterday and forever and in Matthew 8:2-3 He told a man with leprosy that He was willing to heal him.  The man had knelt before Him and said, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean."  And Jesus was willing as He always is.  We just need to be willing to receive what has already been deposited in our spirit account.  

God says we already have it since Christ died for these promises and He's not going to go back to the Cross again for each person. So, it's not a matter of asking God to heal you ... it's a matter of believing that He's already done all that He has promised you in the Word.  

The "faith movement" has been under attack for a long time with people speaking words from the Bible thinking that the more they say it the sooner it will come to pass.  Saying it's so, when it isn't so, doesn't make it so.  We have to believe in our hearts.  That's where meditating on the Word comes in.  We do that to renew our minds and get what we "know" into our actual "knower" (heart) that rules our lives.

Well, I began to tell you about Greg's message, What Are You Submitting To? ... it's a great one.  I think you should watch it yourself.  It begins with praise and worship, but if you want to view only his message you can position the bar at the 54:00 minute mark and he will be speaking. The content showing on the page is for his new book ... not the message he's speaking.

I am doing better every week and it's exciting to see what the Word can accomplish.  When this newsletter goes out, we will be near the coast of Virginia for an overnight getaway.  My birthday is this week so I always like "make a memory" gift rather than more stuff.  Lots of trail time, beach boardwalking, visiting a fort, lighthouse and a historical farm with lots of animals.  I'll be taking loads of photos, so you'll be able to see it all in another newsletter.

Spend time with the Lord daily just sitting before Him.  Picture yourself at His throne adoring and praising Him.  If the whole day has gone by and you've not had intimate time with Him ... you can lose some sleep to do so.  After all, haven't you lost sleep to see a good movie?  You can lose a bit of sleep to spend time with the God who created the Universe just for you to enjoy.

Have a blessed time with the Lord this week.
Donna


P.S. Anything in here that might help somebody you know?
Here's a link to the online version of this newsletter:  
http://www.thenatureinus.com/2014/09/the-nature-in-us-newsletter-9114.html

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