Birthday Campout

A week ago we celebrated the 5th birthday of one of my granddaughters. Look at her as she blows out the candles on her camp theme cake. She has come a long way in 5 years. She began life with a few challenges, but by the grace of God has overcome many of them. I marvel at her and what God has allowed and is behind the scenes working out, even now. In celebrating, we had a cookout and camped one night in the driveway. For awhile we also had tents pitched in the front yard where I photographed three of my four grandchildren playing.

Actually, three grown men (two daddies and a poppa) and only two little girls spent the night in my son-in-law’s pop-up camper (the set-up can be seen in the attached image). It was also a cool May night for Tennessee and sleeping bags and blankets were handy. Nevertheless, we heard things not normally heard. We saw things not often seen. Before one of my grandsons went into the house to bed, we saw smores (marshmellow-graham cracker like sandwiches with the marshmellows heated in a campfire on a stick) carefully wiped on a sweater. The image is worth savoring. What a mess and what a wonderful memory! We had a lot of fun.

Now, given the fact that my five year old granddaughter has come a long way in her journey, I look back also over the past 5 or 6 six years of my journey and think about where I have been physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually and who has come along side me, my children and their families, the changes and growth of my church, my lunch discussion group, my own health issue, those at work who have left the workplace and whom I miss seeing on a daily basis, an adoption, the places I’ve been, my walking buddies, the struggles of my parents, and of course all my grandchildren.

I think we all should celebrate the spiritual growth we have made. Her birthday was cause of all this reflection. In my mind the change has been significant. It hasn’t always been fun, and I have to admit that at times it has been a bit scary. Yet, everything that has happened has helped me to become a bit more mindful of family and friends and the connectedness of all God’s work, and to see Him more clearly working in and through all of life. He is my blessing.

I suppose He understands it all better than I do.

Luke 2.40 – Jesus grew in wisdom and statute and in favor with God and man.

Romans 12.2 – Allow God to transform you.

Galatians 5.22-23 - Grow in the Lord.

A Zip-Line, Ghosts and Monsters

Recently on a trip to Florida, to visit my son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren, I laid-down in one of the children’s twin beds, my wife in the other and my granddaughter, almost 5 between us on a cot. Now my granddaughter is a pretty brave girl for the most part. On this same visit, she, without coaching, took a zip-line that began 5 feet above her feet over a distance of 50 to 60 feet. She was fearless and even grinned during most of this feat. Her grip never wavered. I was impressed.

So, I in one bed, and my granddaughter on the cot, she brings up the dreaded possibility of ghosts and monsters coming into the room sometime during the night and getting us. We leave the closet light on and the door to the closet open.

But, that doesn’t totally erase the fear she has. And we discuss the possibilities. She doesn’t relent. She is convinced ghosts are real and could “get us.” She wants to get in bed with me. I don’t want to start that. The bed barely contains me.

I suggest she hold my hand. She takes my hand and begins to hold it tight. She tells me she is still afraid. There is no proving to her or convincing her that ghosts and monsters are not real.

I give up that debate and take a new tack. If they are real I am thinking, then, why not tell her we can scare them away. Turn the tables on them, but to do that we must have a plan to scare them. “How?” She asks. I tell her, “When one shows up, we will just yell real loud at it. We will do it together. That should frighten the ghost or monster! She objects, “Well, daddy will not like that. He won’t want us to yell real loud.” My response, “If a ghost or a monster comes and we scare it, your daddy won’t mind. He wouldn’t want us to be ‘gotten.’ Besides, I will take the blame for all the noise.”

And so we have a plan. She is relieved. Her little hand grips mine ever-so-much. The moment is magic and not long later she falls asleep.

I have sold her an anti-elephant whistle. You know, a whistle you can blow to keep elephants away so you aren’t trampled. There are no elephants within miles of my son’s home, not even a zoo. So I am thinking, “We will never have to implement this plan.”

On second thought, I really have no sure way of knowing that ghosts and monsters do not exist. And I don’t really know that my plan to scare them instead of them scaring us would work. OK, an anti-elephant whistle this wasn’t.

She and I both have faith in my plan, and we both get a good night’s rest. She has faith in me.

The conversation brought three scriptures come to mind:

Mark 6.49 – They thought he was a ghost.

Mark 9.24 – Give me more faith.

Mark 10.13-16 – The kingdom belongs to those who are like children.

Sandhill Cranes

A few weeks ago, I spent nearly a week at my son’s residence. Behind his home there is a storm-water wetland that is also home to a pair of sandhill cranes. When I arrived the cranes were tending a nest of two, large nearly brown eggs. The eggs were somewhat speckled. I took a few photos of the cranes taking turns sitting on the eggs and standing guard. I patiently waited behind some pines and felt marvelous that I was able to actually see and photograph the eggs when the male and female traded duties so as to be able to stretch their legs, feed and provide front-line security. Later I learned that the pair had been on the nest for nearly 30-days and in the world of sandhill cranes, colts typically emerge at around 31-days. I kept returning to the scene over the next few days and witnessed the first colt to hatch. What an event. The baby crane wobbled, and cuddled against the female in the nest. The male spent more time near the nest and area crows began to spend more time peering down from the nearby pines. As the single crane I saw gets older he or she will learn to feed on insects, frogs and fish by himself or herself and will learn to fly. He will stay with the adult pair for nearly year before he will find his or her own wetland to occupy. They are territorial creatures and once they find a mate, they will mate for life and raise young colts together.




See for yourself in the images I captured the beauty I found in nature that week when my two grandchildren took their naps, nearby in their beds. God takes care of the young and helpless by giving them loving parents, who provide security, food and training.


Luke 13.34 – Allow God to protect, feed and nurture you.