Thomas Trock

Mountain Cathedrals: The Outdoors From a Different Perspective

Nature

Christmas

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins. So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, “God with us.” Matthew 1:21-23 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. Now there …

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Elk Bones – Dust to Dust

Then the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground. He breathed the breath of life into the man’s nostrils, and the man became a living person. – Genesis 2:7 NLT By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” – Genesis 3:19 NLT When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. – Romans 5:12 NLT For all creation is …

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Mountain Treasures IV – Maple Trees and Hidden Treasure

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” – 1 Samuel 16:7 “For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. – 2 Chronicles 16:9 Not too long ago a couple of good friends came over to our home and helped cut a large …

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Acorns and Oak Trees

A time to be born and a time to die. A time to plant and a time to harvest. – Ecclesiastes 3:2 NLT Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. … “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. – John 12:24, 27 NIV Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and …

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Frogs III – Rescue from the Pit

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. Psalm 103:1-5 NIV knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. – 1 Peter 1:18-19 Some of my earliest memories in …

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Whales

And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. Genesis 1:21 KJV Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know.  Jeremiah 33:3 Most of you know that despite living their entire lives in water, whales are not classified as fish, but as mammals. Whale sightings are a bit unusual for someone who lives in the inland mountains, so managing to get a picture …

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Praying Mantis I – Egg Casing

O LORD, what a variety of things you have made! In wisdom you have made them all. The earth is full of your creatures. Psalm 104:24 NLT Some years ago, I went to our county extension service and obtained plans to build a bat box. I was tired of the mosquitoes which plagued our backyard each summer, and since I’m not much for spraying poisons, I thought I’d try a more natural solution to knock down the evening insect population. If you know anything about bat boxes, they need to be elevated about 12 feet or more to keep predators …

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Evening Grosbeak

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Romans 8:19-21 There is something very special which takes place whenever I have the privilege of touching a wild animal. It is beyond words. Most of the times when this happens, I have no chance of getting a picture, but on rare occasions …

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Moose III – Moose Snoot

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8 NLT As I’ve mentioned before, trail cams can be a lot of fun. When I hike back to where I have my camera hidden in the trees, I’m always excited about discovering what animal may have been captured on film. By far, most of the animals in pictures taken with my trail cam appear to have no idea the camera is even there. (There is one unfortunate exception to this – the day a bear …

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Old Bones

By the sweat of your brow will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return. Genesis 3:19 NLT One of the reasons I never tire of hiking in the mountains is I never know what I may find. When I do stumble across interesting things from the past, I call them treasures (See Mountain Treasures, Treasure Hunt). Not long ago, Cosmos, our newfound yellow lab from the animal shelter, and I came across two freshly shed antlers. This made an …

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Snow Vole

For You have been a strength to the poor, A strength to the needy in his distress, A refuge from the storm,   Isaiah 25:4 This is still one of my favorite posts from winter. I hope you enjoy it too. Whilst hiking a short time ago, I came across the above pictured vole. He was doing his best to ride out a snowstorm that swirled around him, but it appeared to me he might be on the losing side of things. About two feet of ice and snow were under him. The top crust of ice that he was huddled …

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Mountain Cathedrals II

Your mercy, O LORD, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the great mountains; Your judgments are a great deep; O LORD, You preserve man and beast. How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures. For with You is the fountain of life; In Your light we see light.  Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You, And …

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Chipmunk

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God. God has united you with Christ Jesus. For …

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Fawns, Does, and Summertime

For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. Romans 8:19-21 NLT  Summertime near our house can be an amazing experience. When I look out to our backyard, I never know what I might see wandering through or staring back at me. There used to be an old apple tree in the timber behind the spot …

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Bob Bennett, Bullet Holes, and Beer Bottles

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.     1 Peter 2:9 Recently my wife and I had the privilege of meeting Bob Bennett. He’s the one who wrote the song Mountain Cathedrals. We got to spend a few minutes with him between sets as he led worship at a church not too far from our home. Bob spoke of his respect for his earthly father and sang of his love for his heavenly Father. …

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Fern Pattern

but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD   Numbers 14:21 When I take the time to look around on my hikes, I almost always see something I haven’t seen before. Patterns of the most intricate kind abound in the woods and mountains as the above picture of ferns illustrates. Ferns are non-flowering plants. Instead of flowers, ferns produce spores – lots of them. It is estimated that one fern can produce spores numbering into the billions during its lifetime. The spores are usually formed on the underside of the fronds, or …

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The Recyclers II

All go to one place: all are from the dust, and all return to dust. Ecclesiastes 3:20 Each spring a bit of a unique sight occurs for a short time around the forests and meadows where I live, especially if there are some old leaves from last fall still visible on the ground. Earthworms come out at night and pull old leaves and debris into and around their burrows. Sometimes there can be several piles of leaves one or two inches high across the forest floor. As the soil warms up after a long winter, the worms are starting to …

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Home Again Home Again

And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let …

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Endurance and Encouragement II

Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus   Romans 15:5 Amplified Bible (AMP) As I mentioned last week, the Lord often allows me to see some interesting sights when I am outside. I had been working a while on one end of my ditch, and when I returned to the other, I saw this yearling doe resting on the grass. From where she positioned herself, it appeared she was checking to see if I had my lines straight and level for my …

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Frogs I – Endurance and Encouragement I

Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus   Romans 15:5Amplified Bible (AMP) When I’m outdoors, I often see some rather interesting things. Not always spectacular, perhaps, but remarkable nonetheless. At least to me. We had a lot of snow this winter, and water from the snowmelt above us was trying to make its way into our home. So I commenced to digging a ditch to divert the extra water. Not glamorous work, but it did get me outside. There was still some …

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A New Thing

Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43:19 Have you ever noticed – when there is snow on the ground in the spring – that there is often a circle of open area around plants where there is no snow? I had my suspicions when I observed this recently, but I admit I had to do a bit of research to make sure. From what I’ve seen, and the best I could find out, the …

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Anchor Ice

By the breath of God ice is given, And the broad waters are frozen.  Job 37:10 NLT Most of us know water in three forms – solid (ice), liquid (water), and gas (vapor). And most of us know that ice floats, at least under normal conditions. Simply put, that is because hydrogen bonds that form as water freezes are less dense (more space between the atoms of hydrogen) than in liquid water. Water is sort of unique in that way. Most everything else, when it freezes, becomes more dense, and in turn, would sink if placed in a solution of …

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Unity

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! Psalm 133:1 Just ask the animals, and they will teach you. Ask the birds of the sky, and they will tell you. Job 12:7 For as long as I can remember, interactions between animals have always fascinated me. When I see various critters near each other, I can watch them for a long time and not grow tired of seeing what transpires. I often find myself wondering what the animals are thinking when they look at each other from close range. I wonder if that …

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Be Still and Know

Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world. Psalm 46:10  NLT If you live in snow country, have you ever noticed just how quiet evenings can be during the winter months compared to other seasons? Where I live, there is a stillness in the air during winter sunsets which is quite different from any other time of year. I might hear a coyote or an owl, but not too often. And maybe a wolf if I’m out a little further. But that’s usually the extent of …

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