Inspiration Through Creation: The Black Squirrel

Wherever you find trees you will also find a bushy tail critter known as the squirrel. Some are gray, some are black, some are red, and there are some that even fly. Some other animals that are in the squirrel family are: chipmunks, woodchucks, and prairie dogs.

It is in the early spring when you will see the trees inundated with squirrels. This is due in part because the buried nuts are beginning to sprout so they rely on the buds of trees for food. And my guess would also be that the food they stored for winter has pretty much been eaten by spring.

Though the squirrel is small in body size, they have large eyes with excellent vision. It makes you kind of wonder than why they choose to run out in the street when cars are driving by. Perhaps they find enjoyment in the game of dodge the tires.

One of the more unique of these critters is the black squirrel. I actually caught a glimpse of my first one just a couple of weeks ago. They are most common in the Midwest, the Northern states and in Ontario. So where do the black squirrels originate from? The gray mating pairs may produce black offspring and so obviously mixed litters are common.

Though the black squirrel is common, their overall rarity (1 in 10,000)has some small towns and colleges taking pride in their local population of these unique animals by holding festivals in their honor. The black squirrel can even be found as an official or unofficial mascot for some colleges.

1. Haverford College in Pennsylvania has the black squirrel as their official mascot for the athletic teams.

2. Kent State University in Ohio holds a black squirrel festival and uses the black squirrel as the imprint for the Kent State University Press.

3. Sarah Lawrence College in Westchester County, New York carries the black squirrel as their unofficial mascot and their bookstore sells plush squirrels.

So if you are bored and looking for something fun to do and your small town or neighborhood has a large population of black squirrels, you can celebrate these unique critters by holding a festival in their honor.

The black squirrel, truly unique, and certainly one of God's creation.

Grumbling,Mumbling,Stumbling

"It was a sweet feeling. All the work I put in was for that moment. I pictured it playing out that way. It was the best ending I could think of as far as the whole story." -- Cain Velasquez,the new Ultimate Fighting Champion,spoke this after defeating the sport's biggest star in only 4 minutes and 12 seconds.

I am not in the habit of using quotes from fighters and especially from a sport I have no interest in, but I love this quote. How many times have we ever felt of wanting that story book ending, or a story book life? Those of us who are believers in Christ already know we have a story book ending to our lives,one that's eternal. But how about that middle part of each of our stories?

I am sure we all want to succeed in every facet of our lives, and we know that God wants that for our lives as well, but it's what gets in the way of our story from becoming a victorious one: our grumbling and complaining.

How many times have we ever felt like God was short changing us? Or that things aren't going our way, so we must do something because God has no clue as to what He is doing in our life and we feel we can do it better? Now we all know what happens when we do take matters into our own hands and not trust God; we make a mess of it!

I am now finishing up my first year of non-grumbling and complaining. Or should I say, succeeding at trying to make a conscious effort not to complain. I used to be a habitual grumbler and complainer, even when trusting God in certain situations I still found myself complaining. But then I realized that grumbling and complaining is just really accusing God of mismanaging your life.

What is quickly becoming one of my favorite books is Power in Praise
by Merlin Carothers. Here is his take on this subject:

"We can't change ourselves from unbelieving grumblers to thankful, cheerful believers. God has to do the changing. We must decide to stop complaining and start thanking and praising God, it is God's power that works the transformation.
Our job is to keep our eyes on Jesus and thank God for what He is able to do."

I think one of the biggest things we can do when we feel like God is short changing us is to: start loving God more than life itself, and love the person that God has made you to be. And remind yourself of this:

Psalm 139:14:

"I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made,
Marvelous are Your works,
And that my soul knows very well."

Inspiration Through Creation:The SeaLion

One of my all-time favorites at the zoo are the sea lions.I love the way these characters can hamm it up for spectators and bark for attention from the trainers.
Four years ago I got to spend some time at the zoo behind the scenes with these amazing creatures and their trainers and of course, I had a blast. They truly are one the most intelligent animals of God's creation.

The sea lions are one of 7 species of pinnipeds. And how can you tell a sea lion apart from the others? By the presence of: ear flaps, long front flippers,and they can walk on all four flippers on land. Along with their dog-like bark, these fellas teeth will eventually turn black. But no need to fear Mr.Dentist or Miss Hygienist! Whether they are in the wild or in captivity, these flippered felines teeth turn black due to a normal, healthy bacteria.

These guys love swimming and can seal their nose shut and swim underwater for up to 15 minutes. Wish I could do that!

The California Sea Lions are the most intelligent of this species and are so easily trained that you will find them at most any zoo you visit. And some are even used by the U.S. Navy:

The Navy trains and uses them to detect underwater land mines and for equipment recovery. Since these animals can swim silently underwater they are used in the Persian Gulf. They are trained to swim behind an enemy diver who may be approaching a ship, can attach a clamp(which is connected to a rope)and attach it to the enemy's leg in seconds without the diver ever knowing the clamp is attached to his leg.

Hmmm, perhaps these guys are the "real" Navy Seals.

The sea lions, another one of God's amazing creation.

A Major Miner Miracle

I am sure by now you have heard of the amazing rescue of the 33 miners in Chile who were trapped underground for a record 69 days beginning on August 5. The whole world watched diligently and many people prayed for a successful rescue.

Once the rescue officially began with the miners being successfully pulled up from underground individually,one rescue operator had commented that these men were "extraordinary lucky". And of course the media ran with those two words as far as the eye can see. But here are the facts to dispute that these men were "extraordinary lucky" but were a part of something far greater:

1. The miners were trapped a half-mile underground. If you were to take the Empire State building and stack a second Empire State building atop of it, that is as close to being how far these men actually were underground.

2. The safety shaft that these miners were trapped in held enough food to survive for 48 hours. They rationed this food to last 17 days before anyone was able to make contact with them. The first hole drilled to reach the men was the size of a grapefruit,the hole was then used to send down water and nutrition gels.

3. There were 700,000 pounds of rock between them and the earth's surface. The rescuers drilled 3 individual holes through this rock for 24 hours straight in shifts, and this went on for 52 days. Each hole had to be drilled with such precision in order to avoid any further collapse in any open spaces around the men.

4. The men were rescued on the 69th day of being underground in a dark and dusty, humid climate. Each man was raised individually by riding inside a capsule.

If this was all by extraordinary luck then that is one giant magic rabbit's foot someone was carrying!

This rescue operation will forever be a part of history and perhaps these lyrics to the worship song Might To Save should always accompany this piece of history:

Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is mighty to save
He is mighty to save

Lessons Learned From a Dog Named Hachiko

You may want keep a box of kleenex close by when reading this one.

After waiting a few months on Netflix it was finally "my turn" to watch the film
Hachiko starring Richard Gere. It is an adaptation (and a good one) of the true story of a dog who faithfully waited for his master who wasn't coming home. I will part ways with the Hollywood version and give you the real story:

Hachiko was an Akita mix and was born in Odate, Japan in 1923. The dog was 2 months old when he was given to Professor Uyeno in Tokyo. The two of them would become inseparable as the Professor obviously showed great love and affection towards the dog. Living in a small village in Tokyo, the Professor took the train at the Shibuya station to Imperial University everyday. Hachiko would accompany his master to the station everyday and would then return later to the station and wait for his master's return.

This went on consistently for two straight years and the local townspeople had taken notice of this amazing loyalty. And despite the fact Hachiko was only two years old, the bond between him and his master was strong.

Then one day the Professor did not return. He became ill and passed away at the University. Hachiko remained vigil in hopes of his master's return as he would return to the station everyday at 5 pm and wait. He would faithfully do this for the next nine years.

I would be remiss if I didn't ask you to stop for a moment to think about this: Hachiko went to the station everyday for nine years to wait for his master.

At times Hachiko would not return home for days at a stretch. You would find him at the station just waiting.

On March 8, 1935 Hachiko died at the very spot he waited each day for 9 years. The local townspeople erected a bronze statue in his honor at the Shibuya train station.

Today that statue is one of the largest tourist attractions in Tokyo.

This story is billed as one that represents: loyalty, faithfulness, and unconditional love. You do not have to necessarily be spiritual to relate to any of these character traits. If any of us want to be successful at our job, in our home, in our relationships, we need these characteristics within us.

A few days later and still pondering this story (I just cannot get this story out of my head), I began to also wonder this about Hachiko:

The dog was still young when his master died, so why didn't he have a short vigil and just go on being a dog and do the things that dogs enjoy doing?

Perhaps it was the unconditional love that he had received from his master, and so he chose to remain loyal and faithful and wait for his return.