Highlands Hammock State Park, Sebring, Florida
“In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written: ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah, for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’” (Micah 5:2) ~ Matthew 2:5-6 Do you know when God’s prophet, Micah wrote this? 700 years before the Magi came! Did you know that there were actually two Bethlehem’s at this time? One, Bethlehem of Zebulun, was only 6 miles northwest of Nazareth. Bethlehem in Judea is roughly 80 miles south of Nazareth. So what’s the difference? Several things. First of all, 700 years ago, Micah was very specific in his recording of where the Messiah was to come from, so it was imperative that Jesus be born in Bethlehem of Judea as proof of Who He Is. Second, the one in Judea is the city of King David. It was imperative that Jesus come from the line of David because of God’s promise to him (II Samuel 7:16). But why did Joseph and Mary choose to leave right at the end of her pregnancy? Because at the time, Israel was under Roman rule, and as Luke 2:1 tells us, Caesar Augustus ordered everyone to return to their place of origin to be counted for a census. How perfect God’s timing is! How unfailing His Promises! How far would you have to travel if our President suddenly required us to return to the place of our ancestor’s origins? Do you even know? Blaine and I would be heading for Europe – to any number of countries. 😊
Hidden amongst the towering pines and palms, and ground-hugging saw palmettos, small twiggy saplings from long ago orange groves refuse to give up their place to the wild.
One of the things we love most about this place is that you can just be walking along on the swampy trails and suddenly your nostrils will be filled with one of the most aromatic scents God created. Orange blossoms! You can’t help but stop, close your eyes, take deep breaths and relax! But the best scent? Baking bread! Of course, our two favorite scents would have to be food related. 😊
Early this morning, we walked around in the fog on a trail close to our campsite. We saw deer before we began, but after that, it was just saw palmettos and dew-drenched spider webs.
But after lunch? We finally found a snake! We’d been looking ever since we arrived but this was our first sighting. And it’s our last day. Thank You, Father!
We continued walking after spotting the snake.
They filled it with cement.
Not sure why it looks like tile.
We stopped by to visit the snake again on our way back and Blaine decided it would be a good idea to ‘play’ with it.
It was a great last day, biking and hiking around this beautiful Park one last time!