Flowers in My Garden…

Spring has come to Corgi Country, and so many of my flowers are blooming… This Easter Lily always blooms just about Easter time and reminds me of Christ’s pure heart that was broken for ME… to pay for my sins… AND that He rose again to give me the promise of life forever with Him.

I have three different rose bushes…

One is this small, but frilly white rose that came back from being a dead looking branch when we didn’t have water for those 9 months last year. It reminds me of the life that can come into a person who feels all withered and dry and then turns to Jesus who gives the “Water of Life,” freely to those who come to Him and ask for it.

Another is this hardy pink rose that is still in a bud… A promise of life and beauty to come.

And the last is my “Friendship Rose.” This one is both red and white, and reminds me of Jesus friendship with me and how the red of his blood washed me white as snow in God’s eyes.

My white irises are also blooming, and I just noticed tonight, that my purple ones are opening up. The purple reminds me that the color of a King’s robe was purple, and that I have a wonderful and loving King that has chosen me to be a part of the Bride of Christ. 

There is NO WAY that I see myself as a princess or royalty of any kind, but the Bible says that’s the way He sees me... and YOU if you’ve accepted Him as your Savior and Lord! Isn’t that amazing?

Our Lilacs are in bloom as well, and their sweet perfume fills the air around the front yard with their fragrance, like the Bible talks about heaven having a sweet fragrance, and that is something I really look forward to!

These Bible Verses aren’t about flowers, but spoke to my heart this week so I thought I would share them with you…

John 16:33 In this world you shall have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world.”

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

Late "Tuesday’s Show & Tail"

I’m behind in lots of areas lately, but I thought maybe better late than never, so I’m posting this today, Wednesday instead of yesterday. I’ve really missed doing Tuesday’s Show & Tail the past few weeks. I love sharing in this meme that Angela over at West Virginia Treasures hosts each week. I’ve made several new friends, and gotten to read about some interesting animal stories and pets they’ve seen or lived with!

Angela’s idea is to allow people to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known or just pics of animals with stories to tell. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines.

As many of you already know. we life on 5 acres of land that is surrounded on three sides by BLM (Federal Bureau of Land Management) land. Several of the large ranchers in the area lease a lot of this land each year to run cattle on. It’s a win-win situation because the ranchers get their cattle fattened up and the land doesn’t get to overgrown to badly which is a bad thing during fire season.  These pictures were taken from our side pasture toward the south.

There are many kinds of endangered animals out there, too, that the cattle don’t bother, while other clearing methods would cause problems for. We just have to be sure that our fences are secure so that we don’t end up having the cattle in our hay pastures.

These cattle are fairly wild and take off if anyone comes anywhere near them. They have old fashioned cattle round-ups on horseback each year to catch them. My old camera wasn’t powerful enough to zoom and let me be able to catch some pictures of them, though we’ve tried several times, but my new one FINALLY let us get some fairly good pics before they finally split off over the hill behind us.  

Thank you, God, for my new camera!!!!

Young Women of Virtue… Abigail

I have been following an amazing young teenage woman that has a LOT of Godly wisdom. Her name is Abigail, and her blog is called, “Young Women of Virtue.” This is her header...


I just finished reading a blog post of hers that I wish every young woman would get a chance to read. This would also be great for a person who teaches young women (teens) to teach to their class. The name of the post is “Role Models: Hollywood or Rebekah and Abigail." Here is an excerpt of this post, showing one of the Bible verses she uses…

Proverbs 31:30 "Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the LORD, she shall be praised." Today, I looked up the definition of favor in the strong's exhaustive concordance, it translates as follows: grace, charm, elegance, and strangely enough, acceptance. How interesting. So, the bible clearly tells us that seeking after "acceptance" is deceitful. That's worth saying again! Wanting to be accepted or popular is deceitful!

This young woman tells it the way God’s Word does, and I HIGHLY recommend this post!

P.S. My grand-nephew, Brady, is home from the hospital. The tests for Cystic Fibrosis and for that deep Pulmonary virus, RSV came back negative. He will have to go down to UCLA for Neurological tests to see what is causing the seizures. Praise God that the tests have all been negative, and please continue to pray that it was the fever that caused the rest of his problems. My niece is so glad to be home. We thank you all so much for your prayers for Brady and his family!


This is the second of her children that has had some serious problems. One of her daughters (6 years old) has Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum, which translates to a piece of her brain isn't developed or isn't there. This is truly a MIRACLE CHILD that has been through a lot, but God's grace has brought her MUCH farther than the Doctor's ever gave hope for! She can walk and talk, and is attending regular classes at this time with just a little extra help... This is through God's touch and the unending hard work of her mother and grandmother (my sister). This is a picture of her when she was going through a LOT of pain. She was around 2 years old, and was already praying beautiful prayers!

"Tuesday’s Show & Tail" Email Pics & Prayer Request

Hurray! Time for the 23rd Segment of Angela's "Tuesday’s Show & Tail." This meme is hosted every week by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures, and it is always a lot of fun to see all the interesting posts of the people who join in! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known or just pics of animals with stories to tell. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines.


I got these pics in an email that a friend sent and I thought each one had such a story to tell in itself. I wanted to share these stories with you… and then I noticed that the Lord seemed to also tell me something through the "random" way they had been ordered in the email! Sooo... you can look at the story each picture tells, or share with me the lesson God showed me through each picture, or BOTH!

Even if we are like a dirty old street mutt, God will come down to our level to love us…


He says that he wants to protect us with his wings over us like a hen does for her babies… even when it looks like we don't belong.


Sometimes, life seems to be running away with us and we have no control,


But by prayer and the Sacrifice of Praise, God can take control of the situation...


He will go with us as we travel down life’s roadway, because He LOVES us!



And He wants us to learn to love and treat others, the way WE want to be treated…


Then, we need have no fear for He will take care of us


No matter how small or insignificant we feel, He is bigger and has it under HIS control!

P.S. My Grandnephew, Brady (less than 1 year old) has been in the hospital with pneumonia, asthma, and has been having multiple seizures for several days now. Please pray for him and his family... my niece is so tired and stressed... This pic was taken on the way to the hospital and he had a high fever...

I Believe...

I received this in an email today, and thought it had the most beautiful message, so I decided to share it with all of you...

A Birth Certificate shows that we were born
A Death Certificate shows that we died
Pictures show that we lived!
Have a seat .. Relax . . . And read this slowly... I Believe....
That just because two people argue,
It doesn't mean they don't love each other.
And just because they don't argue,
It doesn't mean they do love each other.

I Believe...
That we don't have to change friends if
We understand that friends change.

I Believe....
That no matter how good a friend is,
they're going to hurt you every once in a while
and you must forgive them for that.

I Believe...
That true friendship continues to grow,
even over the longest distance.
Same goes for true love.

I Believe...
That you can do something in an instant
That will give you heartache for life.

I Believe....
That it's taking me a long time
To become the person I want to be.

I Believe...
That you should always leave loved ones with Loving words.
It may be the last time you see them.

I Believe....
That you can keep going
long after you think you can't.

I Believe....
That we are responsible for what We do,
no matter how we feel.

I Believe...
That either you control your attitude
or it controls you.

I Believe...
That heroes are the people
who do what has to be done
when it needs to be done,
regardless of the consequences.

I Believe....
That my best friend and I
can do anything or nothing
and have the best time.

I Believe....
That sometimes the people you expect to kick you when you're down
will be the ones to help you get back up.

I Believe...
That sometimes when I'm angry
I have the right to be angry,
But that doesn't give me the right to be cruel.

I Believe....
That maturity has more to do with
what types of experiences you've had
And what you've learned from them
and less to do with how many birthdays you've celebrated.

I Believe....
That it isn't always enough, to be forgiven by others.
Sometimes, you have to learn to forgive yourself.

I Believe...
That no matter how bad your heart is broken
the world doesn't stop for your grief.

I Believe....
That our background and circumstances
may have influenced who we are,
But, we are responsible for who we become.

I Believe...
That you shouldn't be so eager
to find out a secret.
It could change your life Forever.

I Believe....
Two people can look at the exact same thing
and see something totally different.

I Believe...
That your life can be changed
in a matter of Hours by people
who don't even know you.

I Believe....
That even when you think you have no more to give,
When a friend cries out to you -
you will find the strength to help.

I Believe...
That credentials on the wall
do not make you a decent human being.

I Believe...
That the people you care about most in life
are taken from you too soon.

'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything;
They just make the most of everything they have.

'Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass --
it's about learning how to dance in the rain.'
~ Unknown

Angels fly because they take themselves lightly...

Our Sweet Little Weasel...

Hurray! Time for another "Tuesday’s Show & Tail." This meme is hosted every week by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures, and it is always a lot of fun to see all the interesting posts of the people who join in! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines.


This week, I thought I’d share a few words about a little dog we had for several years. We called her Weasel because she was a little Chihuahua/Doxie that was a light cream color with dark points on her nose, and tail, and she always sat up like a little weasel. My son, J., found her when we were walking home from his school when he was in the 2nd or 3rd grade.

The school was on the outside edge of town and we would walk through the edge of the hills behind the houses for several blocks until we came to our street and then down to our house, about 4 blocks down from the hills.

One day, as we walked, this tiny pup (probably about 5-6 months old and really skinny) crawled out from under a bush on her little belly. She wiggled and wagged her little tail, still crawling, and just begged us with her little eyes to “please love me… I’m hungry and scared and need someone to love me…”

All my sons have been very compassionate about animals, but J. more than any of the others, and he was hooked from the minute he laid eyes on her. No WAY was I leaving that little thing, so I told him that he could have her. He took care of her and fed her up, and she was his, heart and soul for the 5 or 6 years that she was with us.


She ended up contracting Valley Fever (this area is bad for that for all of us who live here in this lower part of the San Joaquin Valley) and her little lungs filled with the fungus. We had to make that most difficult of all decisions for our sweet little Weasel. We still miss her when ever we think of her, but were blessed with the love we shared during her short little life.

Our Golden Tuffy…

It’s Tuesday again and time for another "Tuesday’s Show & Tail." This meme is hosted every week by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures, and it is always a lot of fun to see all the interesting posts of the people who join in! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines.

I had a couple of ideas about a couple of other horses we’ve had, but found I’ll have to find their pics and get them scanned before I can share them with you, so today, I’ll tell you about my son’s horse that we have out here now. We call him Tuffy, though he has a really long fancy registered name, which my son forgets half the time, because he’s known him as “Tuffy” for many years.


One of our dear friends, Tom Cain, bred and raised some of the top line quarter horses in California for many years. Tom was a friend of my Dad for many years and they’d met up at Fess Reynold’s place, where Tom worked in the 50’s (when those 8MM films were taken that I shared a few weeks back.) He lived about 5 miles from where we live now, and had 5 stud horses and about 30 mares. Over the past 20 years or so, Tom and my son, Mick (Little Bear’s Dad) got to be really close, and Tom taught Mick a great deal about training horses. This is a portrait of Tom’s life that I did last year, just after he passed away. The original is 12 x 14 and it is done in graphite (pencil).



Tom was getting quite elderly and couldn’t do as much as he used to, so Mick helped him a lot and was able to learn so much from him. Tom raised some of the most beautiful horses, but they were priced in a range that was WAY out of our league, so even though Mick longed for one, he never expected to ever be able to afford one.



About 16 years ago or so, Tom sold Tuffy (after Mick had helped green break him) to a woman that wanted a beautiful horse to train for Dressage work. They started him on that, and then she sold him and the next people wanted him to learn to do Quarter Horse Western Riding work. This confused Tuffy and, as with most ALL horses, if you ASK and show them what you want, they will do anything for you, but if you try to force them and they don’t understand, they start to fight back!


This is what happened to Tuffy, and eventually, no one could do anything with him, so his price dropped down to $2500 (about a quarter of what he originally sold for). Tom got him back, about 8 or 9 years ago, and made arrangements with Mick to take payments, and this beautiful golden boy came to be owned by my proud son.


Mick worked with Tuffy patiently for a long time, and he could ride him and do most anything with him, but then when his job required him to move a couple of years ago, he brought Tuffy here. He isn’t sure if he will ever be able to afford to keep him where he lives now, but he also doesn’t want him to go to anyone who isn’t VERY experienced and willing to gain his trust, because you still can't move fast around his head, etc., so right now, he is being a good companion horse to my Cory.


Tuffy is 21 years old now, but is still a gorgeous horse… one of those palominos that sheds out in the spring as bright gold as a a newly minted gold coin. His winter coat, which he is in now, is a slightly dappled dark cream color.

The Center of Sin…

My husband was talking to me the other day about something that the Lord had shown him… maybe for a future sermon. He said that it had become clear to him that “I” was the center or starting place sin. You might have already thought of this, but I hadn't thought of it in exactly that way.


The very beginning of sin was when Lucifer, chose to put himself first... above God. Isaiah 14:12-14 (NKJV) tells us about it…

The Fall of Lucifer
12 “ How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
13 For you have said in your heart:
‘ I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’


He put himself above everything else… “I will…” and this is what he lead Eve to do too! He is the Father of Lies, and he told her that she would become as wise as God… She took it from there and put herself above what God had told her. “I” became the center of her focus instead of keeping her focus on God.



Isn’t this the center of ALL sin? We sin whenever we put “I” (ourselves) in front and don’t keep God in the center of our lives… I’ve been thinking about it and so far I haven’t found a sin that doesn’t come from a person putting himself ahead of God or what God asks him to do… like put others first before what we want…


I think this is something I need to think long and hard about until it becomes a part of me… It is MY job to “Seek first the Kingdom of God and HIS righteousness…”and not what "I" want...

Pretty Boy Showing Off

I'm a bit late, but it is time for another "Tuesday’s Show & Tail." This meme is hosted every week by Angela over at West Virginia Treasures, and it is always a lot of fun to see all the interesting posts of the people who join in! It is a meme to share about past or present pets or furry friends we’ve known. If you’d like to join, here is the link to the Guidelines.


Last week several people were showing and talking about Peacocks, and so I looked through several of our old films and found this short video of our Peacock, Pretty Boy. When my Dad would say, “Pretty Boy, show us your tail…” this peacock would fan out his tail for everyone to see how beautiful he was.


I’m so sorry that these films are in such bad shape. They are around 50 years old (give or take 3 years) because I was still living in Frazier Park and we moved to Taft in 1959. I mentioned in my last Show & Tail, that we gave him, along with our other peacocks and peahens to Fess Reynolds when we moved. He was shot by a hunter several years later.

He was a beautiful bird! One thing happened though, during the time we had him and the others, which made me believe that my Dad was a “Superman Mind Reader!” I had locked the peacocks up in the chicken coop one day while my sister and I played out in the big fenced lot at the back of our property, and forgot to let them out. They weren’t supposed to be locked up.


When my Daddy got home from work and found them, he took me out to that yard and asked me how they had gotten locked up, and I told him that my sister had done it. He got really ticked and I got a “lickin!” I KNEW that he hadn’t been home and was convinced from that time on that he would ALWAYS know if I did something bad, so I’d better not EVER lie to him again! Many years later, I asked him how he had known that it was me. He didn’t even remember the incident, but said that it was probably because my sister was only 3 years old, while I was 5 and the door to the chicken coop was to hard for her to have closed!