WINTER BLUES BUSTER ROADTRIP

We actually took this roadtrip Sunday morning, but I haven’t been able to slow down long enough to get these pictures posted until now. I have deliberately been keeping my pace quick and staying busy to keep my mind from worrying about my daughter and my grandson. I know Elohim is more capable of safe-guarding them and looking to their best interests in this whole mess, but I also know that if my thoughts are given free rein I will drive myself crazy with worry and concern. So I just don’t slow down long enough to ‘go there’ …

Anyway, I had had enough of being cooped up with the rainy weather, so as soon as I noticed the lull in the showers I said, “Let’s go revisit that road in St. Helens!” Hubs asked me to be more specific, so I described the area and road in mind, and he told me where we’d come out at the drive’s end, and off we went ;-)

I packed a quick lunch, grabbed some bottles of tea, and snagged the camera on the way out the door: we always go off track while road-tripping and veer from our original plans and I wanted to be prepared to capture unexpected photo opportunities.

Sure enough, when we reached St. Helens and turned onto the road I wanted to revisit, we ended up taking the loooooooooooooooong way home through Jewell and backtracking from Astoria. It was a nice long drive that freed my spirit and cleared my thoughts, replacing them with signs of evidence of approaching Spring along the roadway, and the sight of the huge Elk herd in Jewell – with the albino elk cow in residence :-D

So we pulled over and I snapped a few pics. I hope you enjoy them too:

The Elk are out today!

This is a fairly large herd ... and very docile. I counted 111.

The albino Elk. I believe it is a cow, I've never seen antlers on it. I don’t know if she has calved or not, there is no evidence of light colored calves in the herd.

A bull ...

A second bull.

A third bull.

A fourth bull.

A fifth bull. If there are more, we couldn't spot them.

The albino and regular Roosevelt colored Elk.

I'm glad the Elk put in a show toady. Even though I’m pretty used to seeing Elk now, they always excite me when I see ‘em again.

Down the road a heartbeat, we saw the rest of the herd!

Hubs counted 63 in this field – that makes a total of 174 Elk between the 2 fields which actually run together behind the Reserve Office.

This field must be the Bachelor pasture because ALL the bulls in this herd had large racks of horns where the other antlers in the previous field are much smaller … meaning they are just coming into their “teen years” and not fully mature yet, and probably why they are free to mingle with the cows.

These Elk are not afraid of humans at all. Of course there is no hunting allowed on the Reserve. They look scruffy because they are getting ready to shed their winter coat; when the heavy fur drops off, they are very sleek and look very majestic and baeutiful.

The bulls didn't even rise to the challenging bugling Hubs did to arouse their ire ...

... just looked up then and went right back to munching grass.

These bulls didn't even blink an eye or twitch a muscle.

Thursday Bible Study - MATTHEW 15

THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW ~ Chapter 15

Then the Pharisees and scribes came up to Yeshua from Jerusalem and asked, ‘Why do Your disciples violate the traditions of our forefathers? For they do not wash their hands before they eat their meal.’ He answered them, “Why do you, yourselves, violate the commandments of Elohei by your traditions? For Elohei said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ (Exodus 20:12), and ‘He who curses his father or mother must be put to death’ (Exodus 21:17). But you say that you do not have to honor your father or mother if you give as an excuse, ‘What I have that might be of help to you, I have dedicated to Elohei’. You have thus by your traditions made worthless the commandments of Elohei. You hypocrites! Isaiah spoke about you when he said, ‘This people honor Me with their lips but their heart is far from Me.’ And their worship is to no purpose, for they teach doctrines that are only commandments of men’ (Isaiah 29:13).

Now, calling the people to Him, He said, “Listen, and take heed! It is not what goes into a man’s mouth that defiles him, but what comes out of it.” His disciples then came to Him and said, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees took offense at what You just said?’ He answered, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted shall be rooted up. Leave them alone. They are only blind leaders of the blind. If one blind man leads another, they will both fall into the ditch.” Simon (Peter) then said to Him, ‘Explain this teaching to us.’ He answered, “Don’t you – even you – understand? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and then on until it is eliminated? But whatever comes out of the mouth, that comes from the heart, and that defiles a person. Wicked thoughts, murder, adultery, depravity, theft, falsehood, cursing … these come out of the heart. Such things as these defile a man, whereas eating a meal with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

Yeshua now went away, going back into the districts of Tyre and Sidon. And there was a Cannanite woman from there who came to Him and said, ‘Take pity on me, Adonai, Son of David! My daughter has a demon, and is very miserable.’  But He did not answer her. His disciples said to Him, ‘Send her away, for she keeps on crying after us.’ In reply, He said, “I was not sent to anyone but to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” But she came and fell down before Him pleading, ‘Adonai! Help me!’ He answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, ‘True, Adonai, and yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.’ Then Yeshua answered, “O woman, your faith is great! You shall have what you want.” And from that moment her daughter was healed.

Yeshua then went further away from there, going back toward the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up into a mountain and sat down there. Great crowds of people came, bringing with them the lame, the blind, the deaf, the crippled and many others. They laid them at His feet and He healed them. As the people noted that the dumb now talked, the lame walked, and the blind could see, they marveled and praised the God of Israel. Then Yeshua called His disciples together and said, “I feel pity for the crowd which has been with Me 3 days with nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them home fasting, for fear they might faint on the way.” But His disciples said to Him, ‘Where can we get enough bread here in the wilderness to satisfy so great a crowd?’ “How many loaves do we have?” Yeshua asked. They replied, ‘Seven, and a few small fishes.’ He then ordered the people to sit down on the ground. And he took the 7 loaves and the fishes and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples, and His disciples handed them out to the people. Everyone ate and was satisfied. And when they took up the leftovers, they had 7 baskets full. 4000 men were fed, besides women and children. Then He dismissed the crowd, got into a boat, and came to the place called Magadan.

**Matthew 14: https://jeastofeden.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-gospel-according-to-matthew-chapter.html