Guadalupe River State Park, Spring Branch, Texas
So Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I hereby put you in charge of the whole land of Egypt.” Then Pharaoh took his signet ring from his finger and put it on Joseph’s finger. He dressed him in robes of fine linen and put a gold chain around his neck. He had him ride in a chariot as his second-in-command, and men shouted before him, “Make way!” Thus he put him in charge of the whole land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “I am Pharaoh, but without your word no one will lift hand or foot in all Egypt. ~ Genesis 41:41-44 Do you know what I immediately thought of upon reading these verses? King Xerxes honoring Mordecai in the book of Esther – about 1100 years later. And so the adage goes – ‘The more things change, the more they stay the same’. I wonder how Joseph felt about all these things being thrust upon him. Was he humbled by it? Embarrassed? Did he feel he earned it as a servant of the Most Holy God? Did he make the correlation of his dreams to this moment? Was he terrified at the responsibility? Was he terrified of doing something to offend Pharaoh? I know I would not have responded as Joseph. I would’ve been Moses declaring I was in no way suited for the task God had given me. The thought that God was going ahead and alongside me, probably wouldn’t have crossed my mind. I know this, because I’ve lived it. How often do we forget that we can do anything when He’s for us? Especially when He’s the one presenting the task(s) He requires of us? “We are…created…to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) “With man it is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.” (Mark 10:27)
Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!
Don’t you find it fascinating that people all over America celebrate an Irish holiday? I’d venture a guess that at least 90% don’t even know why. Which percentage do you fall into? And probably more than that don’t realize that it’s to celebrate him introducing Christianity to Ireland and the conversion of countless Irish souls.
I fear St Patrick would be very heartbroken to see how he’s remembered in America.
Today actually commemorates his death – in 461AD. And he wasn’t even Irish! He was British, captured at age 15 by Irish raiders and kept captive for six years until his escape back into Britain – a walk of over 200 miles. Still, he became the primary patron saint of Ireland. He went into the priesthood (schooling took 15 years), and believed he was called to return to Ireland, not only to help out the Christians there, but to convert the Irish to Christianity. He spent forty years in ministry to Ireland. Because he was familiar with the Irish language and culture, he chose to incorporate their traditions into his lessons instead of trying to eradicate the native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross to create what is now called a Celtic cross, so that it would seem more natural to the Irish.
The celebration began, not in Ireland, but in Boston, when the first parade was held in 1737 by Irish immigrants. The first “official” parade was held in New York in 1766, and Ireland’s first parade was in a town called Waterford in 1903. Dublin joined in in 1931.
If you’d like to learn about the true Ireland side of this holiday, I suggest a visit to
http://www.irelands-hidden-gems.com/st-patricks-day.html
Donning our green (my t-shirt, Blaine’s backpack), we set out to hike the north side of the Park. Although the trailhead was only a short distance from our campground, there was no way to get to it save one road that went way out and around, making it a 15-mile drive. Unless, of course, we’d like to remove our shoes and socks and hike across the rapids in the river we visited the other day. It was easier to just drive. We’ve attempted bare-footed river crossings in the past. It’s not as easy as you’d think. Those rounded pesky rocks have a tendency to be very uncomfortable under the feet. So we drove.
It was very cloudy today, but warm. The 10+ mile hike wasn’t particularly difficult, but there were a few interesting things along the way – including, but not limited to – a field of cactus, several hunting blinds (yes, within State Park boundaries) and the historic Bauer House. One day, they’ll restore it, but for now, it’s just a dilapidated building with a fence and ‘No Trespassing’ signs. There were also several sightings of the Guadeloupe River.
We had to manually open the gate to get in.
Around these parts, they talk a lot about this endangered, but coming back bird.
Isn’t it pretty?
They’d collect the rocks from the fields so they could plant, but then repurpose the rocks
to make low fences to keep the cows in place.
Too dry I guess.
This is all I’ve found.
Not sure I’d even call it a fungus, but it’s as close as I could get. : )
Just know that it’s bigger than it looks. : )
This one looked like it would produce a really nice picture.
Maybe if we had a professional camera . . .
They’re eye goggles.
Presumably from those who chose to swim in the river and lost them??
It took them a while.
We got back to the Jeep just in time for the sun to begin popping out here and there. : )
Now that we’re back home for the evening, let me tell you a short tale.
All this week, we’ve had neighbors across the street from us. There’s a small airstream, and next to them in a different site is one of those tiny teardrop trailers. (Bear with me, I need to set the scene.) In the airstream, lives an older couple with two large dogs. In the teardrop, lives a single young man with a young German Shepherd. In all the time we’ve been home, the three dogs have been tied up. (Continue bearing with me, I think you’ll enjoy the end of the tale.) Every time anything . . . and I do mean anything . . . comes down the street (from either direction) or moves within his purview, the German Shepherd goes ballistic, barking frantically and tugging as hard as he can on his leash. Now mind you it does indeed sound more like a friendly ‘hello pay attention to me’ kind of bark, rather than a scary, snarling ‘get away from me before I rip you apart’ bark, but still. Many heads have turned, including ours. And you can tell those who’ve passed by before, because they’re already looking that way even before the dog acknowledges their presence. And at times, you can barely hear the people admonishing it unsuccessfully to be quiet. But mostly, they do nothing.
The other dogs don’t often join in, but do so on occasion.
On one of those occasions, Blaine happened to be outside. This is what he heard, “Now you know, Daddy told you if you keep barking, he’s not taking you for a walk.”
I kid you not. Unless Blaine was. But I don’t think so, he sounded pretty sincere and incredulous when he relayed the information to me.
I was going to insert a not-so-nice intellectual assessment here, but after thinking about it, I realized Jesus wouldn’t approve. So I’ll let you draw your own conclusions.
Thankfully, they leave tomorrow.