Kentucky Horse Park Campground, Lexington, Kentucky
All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. ~ Proverbs 15:15
This morning found me unrested and a bit off-kilter. I wouldn’t say unhappy, nor would I say depressed. Maybe something in between? So just why am I feeling this way? Well, waking several times during the night to various sounds is what left me unrested. And Blaine has a full-blown cold now, so he wasn’t available to inject jovial comments and actions into my morning. And I miss my family and friends already. And last night, I discovered that after all the research I’d done for things to do and see in Kentucky, everything I’d found was an hour or more away.
And so, the devil was having a gleeful time this morning messing with my attitude.
But I put a stop to it, when I began thinking about spiritual things. In the Bible, Philippians 4:8 says, ….whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.
And so, I began thinking about our grandson Alex’s salvation and baptism that happened this month, and the note we wrote to him, and the t-shirt we bought him, and the various analogies about growing up in the Lord we could’ve used. And the devil tried to shove me down a path of second-thoughts and regrets – “Maybe we should’ve told him …….”. But I didn’t let those thoughts take root. Instead, I got out my laptop and began blogging. Presenting those short analogies on “paper” and posting them for all the world to see, and leaving them all in God’s Hands to present them to the people who may need to read and apply them in some way, because As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts . . . . so is My Word that goes out from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. ~ Isaiah 55:9 & 11.
1. Under Construction. This is the t-shirt we bought that had a large dump truck on it and was printed on a bright construction-worker orange shirt, and it uses Jeremiah 29:11 – ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for your welfare and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.’
2. There is sooooo much God wants to share with you! It’s all very exciting! Begin by crawling, then take baby steps, then walk, then, before you know it, you’ll be running! You are embarking on your own journey, your own race so to speak. And just like a marathon runner trains, you need to train as well, preparing to run your life-time race. And as you run your race, there will be people all along the way cheering you on! And most importantly, He will be with you always! (this is part of what we shared in Alex’s note and taken from Matthew 28:20b – And behold I am with you always, to the end of the age. And I Corinthians 9:24-25 – Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. And from Hebrews 12:1 – Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.)
3. Back to the construction theme because this is what the Lord brought first and foremost to mind this morning. Once we are brought into the family of God by accepting the cost and joy of discipleship because of choosing to follow Jesus Christ and accept His sacrifice for our sins, the foundation is laid. And that foundation can never be destroyed or taken away. The way we choose to build upon that foundation throughout our lives, determines the strength of the structure. If it’s built well, it will withstand the storms of life, if not, when the storms come, it will be torn down. If the structure is well-maintained and cared for, it will remain strong and viable. If it’s not, it will begin to weather and fall into disrepair and eventually crumble. We’ve seen this example played out in real life many times. The centuries-old homes that have been taken care of and are still standing and in good ‘health’. And the old barns that have not been cared for that are full of holes and weeds and slowly collapsing to the ground. According to the grace of God given to me (Paul), like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw – each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as (one escaping) through fire. ~ I Corinthians 3:12-15 And Matthew 7:24 – ‘Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.
And that concludes the lesson for today. 😊
May you seek Him and call upon Him each day as you do battle with the world and the one who has been allowed to temporarily rule the world. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. ~ Ephesians 6:12
Today was laundry and blogging day, and rest for Blaine. (By the end of the day, he was feeling much better! PTL!!) We took a walk around part of the Park. And there was a lot of activity around us today. People watching has never been so interesting!
On our left, we have the over-the-top pet lover. I happened a glance out our bathroom window and there she was, lying in the dog pen with her two dogs. Or at least I thought it was two dogs. It turned out to be three. What I originally believed to be a pillow or dog bed, turned out to be a white dog. A bit later, Blaine informed me that the guy was out there too, but he was sitting. I don’t have a picture of him. . . .
Then there’s the really interesting ladies across the street. From the looks of their site, it seems they’ve been here for a while. Yesterday, we saw a woman and three dogs – two large brown ones (think chocolate lab-ish) and another brown and white small terrier. And Blaine heard her yell into her fifth-wheel, “Mom!” (with two syllables, like when you call someone), but we never saw anyone else. Until today. They’re from Oklahoma and have “Indian” plates on their little red sports car, but don’t seem to have the Indian skin tone. There’s also a loud pick-up truck (and a small horse trailer), because they can’t pull that trailer with a sports car, and we know it’s loud because they started it up this morning at 6am. Today’s sighting brought a red-headed woman. At first we thought we were mistaken about the hair color from yesterday, but then the blonde appeared. And now we have an additional large brown and black brindle dog (think german shepherd-ish) and another little brown and white terrier type (Different dog. Different markings) and two black and white short-haired cats that climb the screen door and drop in and out through the little opening in the door (that’s actually kinda cute to watch). And none of the pets are ever on leashes, but all are well-behaved. But wait! There’s more! A woman with long straight black hair showed up this afternoon with a cat carrier that appeared to have a kitten inside (think tabby). They (people and pets) were all very interesting to watch. But what we can’t fathom is how all those people (including a mom we’ve not seen, although Blaine thinks she’s the red-head) and animals are staying inside that trailer. 😊
And I’m not finished yet.
Caty-cornered to our right lives a man so inebriated this afternoon that Blaine had to run out and help him up off the ground. Apparently, the couple had been out bourbon tasting (you know bourbon’s a big deal in Kentucky, right? I think there’s as many bourbon distilleries around here as there are wineries everywhere else). Anyway, he had waaaaay to many tastes. Just as Blaine was preparing to lift, a golf cart full of Park workers showed up and they grabbed the guy’s other arm. Blaine said he heard the foreman tell his Hispanic workers, “Mucho whiskey.” As they walked away. Wife was mucho humiliated and embarrassed. And I didn’t take a picture, even though he was down long enough I could have.
And then there was the setting up of Christmas lights all around us! It seems that beginning November 14th (our son’s 35th birthday, if you can believe it – – because we can’t!), there’s going to be a drive through light show here. There’s some interesting ones, like Star Wars and several horse-themed ones, like a life-sized horse race (think Kentucky Derby).
If they’re going outside, I think Elsa maybe really will be Frozen! : )
I think that’s all the excitement for today. That’s enough for our first day on the road, and we didn’t even go anywhere!