Jewel # 341 (Dec. 4, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

The Frisky Marten

“Who knows not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?

In whose hand is the soul of every living thing.”

(Job 12:9-10)

There are countless beautiful and interesting animals living in the wild, rarely seen because much of their activity is at night or they live in places difficult to reach.

One of these is the marten, living in much of Canada, Alaska and other parts of the United States.  Sometimes it is incorrectly referred to as a sable or fisher-marten, but it is somewhat different than these, although closely related.  This animal’s soft fur is usually greyish-brown above and lighter below.  In past years, hunters trapped them in winter months, when their fur is at its best quality, but this hunting is generally no longer permitted.

The marten is a slim, fur-covered mammal, about two feet long and looks similar to a weasel.  It has a rather pointed face, with large ears and large, alert eyes—provisions of the Creator to enable it to identify sounds quickly and see well when hunting at night.  

It is mostly at home in trees where it can keep up with the liveliest squirrel or chipmunk.  Part of its tree-food comes from birds’ eggs and small birds taken from nests, but it finds other food on the ground as well.  This includes almost all small animals, such as squirrels and mice, snakes and ground birds.  It has a “sweet tooth” and is not afraid to rob a bee-hive, since its thick fur protects it from bee stings.  Unlike the fisher-marten, it will not go into deep water but does catch frogs and fish near the shore.

In late spring, the mother usually gives birth to two or three young in a den, usually made in a hollow log or a tree.  The young are born with a light covering of soft fur and are extremely tiny, weighing only an ounce or so, but they are fully grown in three months.  While growing, they are frisky and full of pep, having harmless fights among themselves.  Later that energy is spent in continual hunting for food or fighting other animals.

Though martens are rarely seen by people, they are always see by their Creator who reminds us in Jeremiah 23:24, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?”  And this Creator, the Lord God, whose eyes are always on them, is the One who provides for them as well, for He cares for all His creatures.  How thankful we should be that He is also watching over each of us.  The Bible assures us of this: “The ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his goings” (Proverbs 5:21).

Is He pleased when He sees the ways of your life each day?          

Love you all - Grandpa

Jewel # 340 (Nov. 24, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I 

Make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

Ever See a Reindeer?

“Thus saith the Lord . . . I have made the earth, 

the man and the beast that are upon the ground.”

(Jeremiah 27:4-5)

Reindeer, closely related to caribou, were once wild animals in the northern parts of Scandinavia, Siberia, Greenland, Europe and Alaska.  However over the years many have been tamed by Eskimos and others who raise them in great herds.

Fully grown they are about six feet long and about four feet high at the shoulders.  Both males and females develop huge, sharp pointed antlers that are seldom used except when males are fighting each other.

Large numbers are still in the northern areas of Canada, Alaska, Greenland and other northern lands of the world.  Many are tamed by people who lead them in big herds from one area to another as seasons change.  The herdsmen lead great herds to the seacoast areas in spring where they feed on lichen (called reindeer moss) through the summer, putting on weight for cold winter months when they return inland.

An impressive sight on these treks is watching a herd swim across a wide river or lake.  All that shows above the water are their necks, heads and antlers.  An onlooker might wonder how they get across without tangling antlers with each other, but the Creator has His eyes on them and guides them safely across.

What do the herdsmen do with the reindeer?  They milk them daily, enjoy meals of reindeer meat, and use them to pull sledges.  Their furs are also used to make parkas (warm coats with attached hoods).  The people in those lands would hardly dare to venture outdoors in severe weather without parkas.  Mattresses are also made of their skin stuffed with their thick warm hairs.  Also, their skins are made into warm, comfortable mukluks (boots) for the tender feet of babies and young children, as well as adults.

The antlers of reindeer are made into handy tools.  Parts of them are also also carved into decorative items, as well as dolls and other toys for children.

It is such a task for the people of those countries to supervise these huge herds, and with access now to more modern ways of living, many wonder how long the present practices will continue.  Quite likely, before long, much of it will be discontinued, and the reindeer will just be left to care for themselves in the wild.  But we can be sure of the Creator’s kind and watchfulness eyes on them, whether cared for by people or allowed to return to the wild “on their own.”

If the tender thoughts of a kind Creator can be directed to the wild and tamed beasts, how much more is His love directed to us?  He tells us in the Bible: “I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31:3).

Have you ever thanked Him for His great love?

Love you all - Grandpa  

Jewel # 339 (Nov. 10, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear Grandchildren

The Lacewing Fly

“The glory of the Lord shall endure forever: 

the Lord shall rejoice in His works.”

(Psalm 104:31)

Only about one-half inch long, the lacewing is a pretty little fly with transparent wings in pale shades of green.  It is a real friend to farmers.

When laying eggs, the female first deposits a spot of “glue” on a branch or stem of a bush.  Then, before this spot of glue hardens, she flips her tail upward, producing a long, thread-like stalk.  The stalk quickly becomes tough and hard, and she repeats this process time after time.  Then she places an egg on the top of each stalk, spacing them far enough apart so they will not eat each other when they hatch, because they are vicious, hungry little larvae. 

In about a week, the larva appears.  Cutting its way out of the egg, it slides down the smooth stalk, using its tail as a brake.   The mother fly has arranged her nest of eggs close to where aphids are feeding on a plant.  These aphids become food for the larva for about two weeks; then it is ready for a change.  Attaching itself to the underside of a leaf, it spins a thread of white silk, wrapping itself in a cocoon where it will undergo a 12-day change.  

While in the cocoon, the larva develops specially designed cutting jaws.   Using these, it slices around  the top of its cocoon, leaving a small section as a hinge and an anchor post.  Pushing the lid open, it crawls out and spins another thread on which it dangles from the anchor.  Soon its veins fill with blood, the wings dry, and it has become a full grown lacewing fly.  Now it returns to what it does best—eating aphids for the rest of its life.  As it eats away, it becomes a friend to farmers by helping protect their crops from these harmful pests.

It is interesting to see how the mother lacewing makes such careful preparations for her young: first by making the eggs look like part of a plant, and then by placing them where they will immediately find food when they come out of the eggs.  This is another example of how God has given instincts to His creatures so they may fill their part in His total plan of creation.

God’s ways with you and me are far more important than with these insects.  He has given us a conscience to remind us that we are sinners and need a Saviour.  In addition, He has given us hearts and minds capable of receiving this loving Saviour, and it is through Him and His death on the cross that we can enter heaven.  He tells us, “the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

Have you accepted this wonderful gift?

Love you all - Grandpa  

Jewel # 338 (October 26, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

Mice and More Mice

“God giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.”

(Acts 17:25)

Have you ever found a nest of five or six baby mice?  They are so tiny and cute!  Maybe you wondered what to do with them, knowing that if allowed to live they would become very troublesome.  If you disposed of them, the mother mouse, who scampered away when you discovered her nest, would miss them for only a little while, because soon there would be more babies to take their place.

Mice give birth around five to ten times a year and average six to eight babies born each time!  The babies grow so fast that when the  females are about two months old, they begin raising families of their own,  So the mouse population can increase very quickly.  If all these mice survived, within a year’s time there would be thousands of mice, starting with the original pair.  Thankfully, this never happens because most of them do not live long.

There are many kinds of mice, but most of us have seen only the little gray house mice, and they can be a real nuisance.  But they are interesting little fellows, with their black shiny eyes, long whiskers, long, narrow snouts, round ears and long tails.  They may live as long as a year in a hidden corner of an attic or basement.  But we realize how much damage they can cause, our main concern is to get rid of them.

Still, they are God’s creatures, and He has provided them with the ability to survive in spite of many enemies.  We know that when the world and its inhabitants were formed by the Creator, all were at peace with one another.  But the sin of Adam and Eve spoiled that perfection and brought hostility and bloodshed among various creatures.  Ever since, mice have been the prey of cats, dogs, snakes, owls, hawks, coyotes and many others.  They have survived through the centuries only because God has given them much skill and enabled them to bear many offspring.

Not all mice are destructive.  Some wild ones are important to the maintenance of wild areas.  Although seldom seen, because they are nocturnal, there is scarcely a square foot of the deserts and sagebrush areas of North America that they do not visit every night.

Although mice may not be visible to us, because they are mostly creatures of the night, they are never hidden from the One who created them.  He keeps them under His watchful eye at all times.  He says, “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?” (Jeremiah 23:24).  Isn’t it nice to know He is watching over these little mice as well as over each one of us?

Love you all - Grandpa       

Jewel # 337 (October 19, 2018)

Steelhead Trout

"And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear grandchildren

A Sportsman’s Fish

“Jesus  . . . saw . . .  Peter, and Andrew . . . casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

And He saith unto them, Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.”

(Matthew 4:18-19)

Standing on the banks of a cool stream with a strong current or fishing from drift boats, sports fishermen hope to catch a few steelhead trout to take home for eating.  But many of the fishermen get a thrill out of just catching these fighters and immediately releasing them back into the water.

Steelhead trout, a relative of the salmon, weigh from 3 to 20 pounds and are found mostly in oceanside streams from California to Alaska.  Steelheads are actually rainbow trout but are called steelheads because they change to a steely-blue colour during their migrations from freshwater to saltwater.

Steelhead trout, a relative of the salmon, weigh from 3 to 20 pounds and are found mostly in ocean side streams from California to Alaska. Steel heads are actually rainbow trout but are called steelheads because they change to a steely-blue colour during their migrations from freshwater to saltwater.

Travel to the ocean is usually in the spring, and their return, after three years in salt water, is in the fall.  In these migrations, some will travel 200 miles or more in a river, but no one knows how far they travel in the ocean.  As they work their way upstream, mates are selected and together they return to the same spawning area where they hatched.  No one can understand how they pick the right stream after being gone so long, but it is a God given instinct that works without fail.

However, since many rivers and streams now have dams that steelhead trout cannot get past, hatcheries are used to hatch great quantities of eggs taken from migrating females.  The fingerlings are placed in suitable mountain streams in the spring soon after hatching. 

Mature steel heads have smaller scales and shorter heads than salmon.  They are beautiful fish, dark blue-gray along the back from the top of the mouth to and including the large upright tail.  There is a light pink band just below the blue-gray on the body and on the lower fin.  Between the lower fin and the pink band on the body is another olive-colured band.  The entire underside is plain white. This colouring pattern is almost identical to some salmon.

Others are silvery with tints of gray and pink. Some adults also have tan backs spotted with small brown circles atop the pink middle stripe.  They all will give a fisherman a long, hard fight when hooked.

In the opening Bible verse, what do you think the Lord Jesus meant when He told those two fishermen that He would make them fishers of men?  He was promising to use them to bring the gospel to many people to save them for heaven, by telling them of God’s love in sending Him to be the Saviour of sinners.  And Peter and Andrew did that faithfully.

Are you a “fisher of men”?  You are if you have told others about our blessed Saviour and His love for them.

Love you all - Grandpa      

Jewel # 336 (October 10, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17) 

To my dear grandchildren

Mice and More Mice  

“Be ye glad and rejoice forever in that which I create” (Isaiah 65:18).

There are many kinds of wild mice which can be found in the mountains, in fields and woodlands, in swamps, near streams and in deserts.  The short-tailed field mouse, also called a vole, is one of these.  It is only about five inches long, including its stubby tail.  It lives underground in damp meadows.  It can be a real nuisance when it eats the seeds of newly planted wheat and later devours the mature wheat heads.  The mouse also gets into barns and storage bins.  Some farmers keep several cats around to catch these pests.

The white-footed or deer mouse is six to eight inches long and has large ears, bright eyes and gray fur, but white belly fur and feet.  This mouse is not so destructive since most of its food is seeds of wild plants, nuts and berries.  But it can cause problems in orchards by eating tender tree bark and roots.  It makes its nest outdoors, storing food for winter and carefully cleaning every bit of it before storing it away.

The grasshopper mouse is about the same size as the house mouse but looks fatter.  This one is unusual in that it is a meat eater rather than a plant eater.  It is helpful to people by feeding mainly on grasshoppers and other insects, including scorpions.  It also eats worms and almost any little animal it can overpower, even other grasshopper mice.

The outdoor pocket mouse, though tiny, has a long tail with a brush on the end, enabling it to jump three or four feet into the air.  After filling its cheek pouches with food, it scampers off to its nest, packing the food away and rushing back for more.  It wisely covers the openings to its runways while absent.  Although wild, if caught and held gently, this little fellow acts like a pet and likes being stroked with a finger.

Two other interesting mice are the Japanese waltzing mouse that hops around in circles for no apparent reason, and the singing mouse, which chirps a wide range of notes, but not in a melodious way.

All of these mice are closely related, but the Creator has made each a distinct variety.  How do you think they learned all these interesting ways?  They did not need to learn them because they are God-given instincts, passed on from generation to generation. The Bible tells us that God feds all His creatures: “The eyes of all wait upon Thee; and Thou givest them their food in due season” (Psalm 145:15).  He also provides the food for you and for me by wisely sending the necessary sunshine and rain for plants to thrive—the source of everything we eat.  

Before you eat your meals do you stop to thank Him for your food? 

Love you all - Grandpa    

Jewel # 335 (October 2, 2018)

“And they shall be Mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I

make up MY JEWELS.”

(Malachi 3:17)

To my dear Grandchildren

About Salamanders

"God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind. . . . And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:24-25).

Salamanders are closely related to lizards.  To maintain the moisture in their skins, most are found near ponds, streams or marshy places.  However, some in the tropics live high in treetops where they get moisture from cup-shaped leaves that hold water from frequent rains.

In size, they range from one inch to five feet long, and in colours, from orange-red to very dark brown or black or with mottled skins of mixed colours.  All salamanders’ legs are short, but their tails are usually almost as long as the rest of their bodies.

The Creator has given all salamanders large eyes with good vision, as well as long tongues that can flash out so quickly that, even if watching closely, you likely would miss the action.  It is not necessary for them to chase the millipedes, flies and other insects that they eat.  Salamanders wait perfectly still on a rock or other bare surface until a victim comes by, and then they capture it with a flick of their tongues.

While some species give birth to their young, most salamanders hatch from eggs.  The eggs have been laid at the side of a stream or pond, and after hatching, the young live on insects that come near them.  When grown, they Iive in nearby brush or grass or go into burrows or under a pile of moist leaves.

Some salamanders have very flat bodies, allowing them to squeeze between tight leaves of moisture-retaining plants.  These have been provided by the Creator with webbed front and back feet, enabling them to cling to the smooth, wet foliage. Their tails can wrap around tree branches, which also helps them when looking for food.

An unusual feature God has given salamanders is their ability to grow new tails, legs and other body parts when they are torn off.  Also, like a chameleon, they can change the colour of their skins to match the rocks or soil around them.

These interesting creatures are seldom seen because they hunt mostly at night.  They destroy great quantities of insects and pests that would otherwise be eating farm crops, fruits and other products.  This may be one reason for their present place in God’s creation.

Did you ever stop to think that God has a definite reason and place for you in His creation too?  The Bible tells us this: “Every person has his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that” 

(1 Corinthians 7:7).  “As every man has received the gift, even so use the same gift one to another, as good managers” (1 Peter 4:10).  The Lord Jesus will show you how to use your gift to please Him if you will ask Him. 

Love you all - Grandpa