Dead Horse Ranch State Park, Cottonwood, Arizona
My son, if your heart is wise, then my heart will be glad; my inmost being will rejoice when your lips speak what is right. ~ Proverbs 23:15-16
Scat.
Just the mention of that simple four-letter word brings ugly, disgusting thoughts to our minds.
Butterflies.
The mention of that word does just the opposite. I mean, who doesn’t love butterflies? Who doesn’t smile(at least inwardly)whenever they see one? They’re beautiful, graceful, harmless. . .
Our lives before and after Jesus Christ are much like these examples.
Sin (whether in thought, word and/or deed) makes us just as ugly and disgusting as scat. It brings about God’s just punishment and wrath. Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them. ~ John 3:36
It causes believers to suffer a loss of fellowship with Him. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear. ~ Isaiah 59:2 And John tells us, If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another (meaning God and us), and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin. ~ I John 1:6-7
And there is separation for all eternity in store for non-believers. He will come with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, bringing judgment on those who don’t know God and on those who refuse to obey the Good News of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power. ~ II Thessalonians 1:8-9
If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. ~ Revelation 20:15
But once we’ve accepted the saving grace and power of Jesus Christ and make Him our Lord and Savior, we are transformed before God! Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! ~ II Corinthians 5:17. And as we continue to grow as Christians, we are to become more and more like Jesus (in thought, word and deed), and therefore more and more beautiful. And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, Who is the Spirit. ~ II Corinthians 3:18. And, Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. ~ II Corinthians 4:16
The decision is ours to make – scat or butterflies. Which would you rather be?
Today’s journey took us on a 7-mile hike within the Dead Horse Ranch boundary. And even though we began before 8am this morning, we were dragging from the heat by time our three-hour tour was done. We saw some beauty along the way, for which we were grateful as it made it more bearable.
This is another place we can see from just about anywhere around here – – like Mt Humphreys. : )
Too bad the other kinds aren’t in full bloom yet. : (
They’re actually a brighter red when you see them in person. At least, that’s what our eyes see. : )
Their color hovered between royal blue and purple and when sunlight hit them just right, they glowed!
Unfortunately, many of our pictures today were just guesses,
because it was so bright, we could barely see our screens. : (
It’s a wonderfully intricate flower that God created!
So marvelous!
It’s great to have the time to stop and really look at what God created just for us!
The petals are like satin, and there’s all kinds of stuff going on inside! And this is just one example!
There are millions more!
We took a break here for a couple of minutes.
And we came to the conclusion that spending time in the Arizona heat should be enough to convince a person that they don’t want to spend an eternity in hell. You probably think I’m exaggerating for dramatic effect (I’ve been known to do that from time to time. 😊), but I kid you not, by the time we were near the end, my remaining water supply was just below the simmering point. And it was gross to drink, but I needed the water.
That’s the building we came across.
My arms felt like they were cooking! BTW – that’s Rattlesnake Canyon I’m looking at.
And so, here’s some more scat/butterfly references – –
The longer I hiked the more my thoughts were wont to turn to negative things.
My fingers were swollen like sausages. In fact, I don’t think they’ve been that swollen since following my dog bite surgery more than 15 years ago.
There were flies buzzing around my face, which was probably an indication of my body shriveling up and imminent death. (okay, so that’s a bit of an exaggeration).
I was cursing my neglect to wear my wide-brimmed hat, and my choice to wear dark jean shorts rather than my khakis, as well as the fact that we didn’t leave two hours earlier.
And I was actually missing air conditioning! That’s astounding, because in my past, I never much cared for it, except in dire circumstances. Well, I guess circumstances are pretty dire!
But!
We saw some beautiful and unexpected things today! That’s God! He always provides beauty amongst the ashes! Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ~ Philippians 4:8
And so,
It was these words that kept me going, kept me acknowledging the beauty around us – – despite the heat. 😊
And one last note for today – –
Blaine read a headline that said, “Many Wendy’s locations are running out of beef”. So our question is . . . .
You know what’s coming, right?
Where’s the beef!! LOL!!