Road trip observations

I had the blessing of being able to go back to Springdale this past weekend to meet with my Thursday evening Bible study group(to which I always look forward and enjoy) and to spend some time with Merilyn, Sarah, and the Maltese babies, Chloe and Mollie. I always look forward to seeing my family and enjoy being together, even if it is just a short time. I didn't get to see Blake this time, but Sarah tells me he is doing well. Merilyn and Sarah are doing well. Merilyn seems to have worked through her back pain issue OK. I wish everyone could see those little Maltese dogs and how they act with each other. Chloe, Sarah's baby, is 3 years old and Mollie, Merilyn's baby, is just over 6 months old. When Sarah brings Chloe over for a visit, Mollie is just beside herself with excitement. She constantly picks at Chloe, trying to get her to play. Chloe does play with her quite a bit but Chloe like to stop and rest every once in a while. Mollie doesn't. Many times when we take them outside they will romp and run all over the front yard. Chloe used to be able to catch Mollie when they were running and push her somehow so Mollie would lose her feet and go tumbling through the grass. Chloe can't do that anymore because Mollie is just as fast as she is. It makes Chloe mad. In the house they will have what we call "Doggie Olympics" where they will rip and tear through the house chasing each other. The funniest thing is that they both have figured out where to stop and wait on the other so they can do an ambush. It's great fun to watch them.
Driving back and forth from Ennis to Springdale the past month or so has brought some interesting sights. Back around the first of November, I counted 5 deer that had been hit and killed. A few weeks ago, I count 7 coyotes dead on the freeway. On that same trip, I saw a black bear dead on the side of the road near the Bobby Hopper tunnel on I-540 in northwest Arkansas. On the trip this weekend, I saw what seemed to be dozens of red-tail hawks and other members of the raptor family of birds along the freeways. They are majestic looking as they sit in the trees and other structures on the side of the freeway. Unfortunately, I saw one or two that had swooped down in front of a vehicle and met their demise. It's always interesting to see all the sights while on a cross country drive. By the way, most of the time I see live deer and other animals, too.
We had an excellent day at church yesterday. Attendance and contributions continue to increase, slowly but surely. Everyone seems to have a loving, serving, joyful spirit. In the evening, we had a Christmas fellowship with great food, singing and I read a Christmas poem that one of the ladies requested. It was a wonderful day. I hope yours was good, too.

Although they are too long for me to put the quotations here, I would like to suggest some readings as we approach Christmas. Starting today and for the next week or so, I will give you a passage each day that I write so you can enjoy again the wonderful story of the Son of God coming to Earth to be born as Jesus. The passage for today is Luke 1:1-25. Enjoy the reading and have a great day!