Goofing Around in the Pool

TA-DA!

@ The Lake with Galyne

The Slawson's have been spending a lot of time at the beach

this summer and it has rained almost everyday so we haven't been to the lake as much we like. But we tried to beat the rain as much as possible. This particular Saturday was rainy but we went anyway. 

Right after we went tubing it started raining on us and we all had to run for cover. We were all gathering up our things to take to the kitchen when catastrophy struck, and no it wasn't lightning. We had gone over the drill just an hour earlier. I had instructed the girls on what to take to the kitchen if it started raining, the electronics. I made them repeat it back to me twice. I also made them tell me what they should not take to the kitchen: coolers, life jackets, and towels. Well, it started raining and we gathered up our things. I didn't see Sam's iPad on the dock and Samantha was already in the kitchen so I assumed she got her iPad. I grabbed the towel that was left in the lounge chair and headed up. That's when it happened. I saw the iPad fly through the air, drop in the lake and sink to the bottom. Jessica and Samantha thought that since they were busy taking the coolers, life jackets, and towels to the kitchen they should wrap the iPad in a towel to keep it dry. Luckily we had insurance on the iPad. I called Best Buy and they said we could only claim it on insurance if we actually brought in the iPad to the store. Samantha took it like big girl. We couldn't retrieve it because the the lake was too deep under the dock. The next day, Branden tried to dive down with his snorkeling gear but no luck. The next week, Clint found someone with scuba gear and it took him all of about one minute to find it and bring it up! I took it to Best Buy and they gave us a new one! I love happy endings!

Owl

It's rained for several days straight. We've gotten about eight inches since this rain began. We finally got a break from the rain so we took the opportunity to go to the lake. On our way we saw an owl sitting on a fence post hunting food. I was lucky to have the camera with me and got a picture before it flew away.

"We are all visionaries, 
and what we see is our soul in things."
 Henry Amiel

I can always find what I'm looking for on the internet!

Below is a great commentary on owls in the Bible.

http://ww2.netnitco.net/~legend01/owl.htm

Because he is a solitary night bird, the owl has come to represent the forsaken. Job in his affliction calls himself "a companion to owls" (Job 30:29). He has been abandoned by the light and makes a fearful noise because of his sufferings. The solitary bird is assumed to be lonely and Job longs for the companionship of God which he once enjoyed.

The forsaken Christ says, "I am like an owl of the desert" (Psa 102:6 NKJV). He has been abandoned by the Father, the crowds, and even his disciples. This psalm often bears the caption: "A prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed, & pours out his sighing before the Lord." Adam Clarke calls it, "The prayer of the captives in Babylon when ...they were almost worn out with oppression, cruelty, & distress."

The owl is associated with ruins - places that have been utterly abandoned and are unfit for human habitation. The complete ruin of the cities of Israel's enemies is emphasized by the following statements: "the owl and the raven shall dwell in it (Isa 34:11 NKJV); it shall be an habitation of dragons and a court for owls" (Isa 34:13); "the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation" (Jer 50: 39). 

Since the owl is a bird of ill omen, its voice among the ruins warns future generations that herein lies the wrath of God. Micah, forseeing the punishment of Israel, says, "Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stripped and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, and mourning as the owls" (Micah 1:8).

Christianity saw in the owl a symbol of Christ, who came to those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death (Luke 1:79). This is the case with owls in pictures of the Passion. Early mystics believed the owl had a luminous substance in its eyes which dissolved the darkness, giving it excellent night vision. In the same way, the light of Christ was said to dissolve the darkness of this world and give a pure and good direction. The Christ-owl may be found with the cross on its breast or head.