Picture of the Day

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest,
cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. Genesis 8:22

Blog Action Day 08'

Today is Blog Action Day....In case you are wandering what that is, allow me to fill you in.

It is an annual online effort to get as many people as possible talking about one crucial issue in hopes of inspiring an action and bringing about change. Last year it centered around the environment and this year poverty is the big issue that people will discuss.

The last time I checked, over 12,000 bloggers have registered to participate. It is estimated that over 9 million people will read the posts.

I can probably safely say, that if you have an internet connection, and can read this blog, then you, like me, also have electricity, a home to stay in, food, clothing, etc.(all the modern day comforts) -then we are probably not too much affected by poverty.

However, there are millions of people who go to sleep every night hungry, who do not know where their next morsel of food will come from, or if it will even be the next day, let alone a solid roof over their head, or clothing.

I recently read a comment, in a letter from Compassion International, that said this:

EVERY THREE SECONDS POVERTY KILLS A CHILD- EVERY THREE SECONDS!!

That statistic blows my mind!! Especially when I hear things like one of our presidential candidates, this past week spent tens of thousands of dollars in a weeks time in just one television market in one city. Think of how many people that money could feed in a third world country.

For $32 dollars a month, through Compassion, you can provide a child,not only food, but a Christ centered, ministry, that teaches the children about having a personal relationship with Jesus, and what a change He can bring into their lives.

If you are interested in making a difference in the life of a poverty stricken child, whether that be to learn more about the ministry of Compassion , or if you are ready to sponsor a child,I urge you to click here.

You won't be dissapointed.

A Day in the Life of a Mexican Resort Iguana

We had a surprise when we spent our first day on the resort here in Mazatlan, Mexico.

We were greeted by IGUANAS, of all colors and sizes!

They are EVERYWHERE. I have found that even though they are reptiles, they don't bother me nearly as bad as snakes. I have not had to beat any to death yet with a bar bell! :) I usually just sit and stare at them in amazement , feeling like we have signed up for a week at Jurassic Park.

So after observing them , I thought I'd give you all an idea of a typical day in the life of a Mexican Resort Iguana.....

At least one that I've seen, started off his morning , by climbing to the highest point he could find and spent a little quiet time, worshiping , his Creator...... If you look closely you can see an iguana sitting on top of the building. Yes, climbing is not a problem for them.

After morning quiet time, they head on over to the poolside outdoor restaurant, which by the way, is named after them. It didn't take us long to figure out why it is their namesake.


While they are waiting on food, they try to blend in with the rest of the vacationers.

This ones favorite pastime was sunbathing, by the pool, ON A CHAIR. "Excuse me sir, Is this chair beside you taken?"

Once lunch is served, some "kind"people like this one, feed the iguanas. In case you are wandering ,Travis still has all his fingers! Iguanas do have razor sharp teeth, but they take the food out of your hands as gently as when feeding a dog. They like eating things like lettuce, french fries and tomatoes as seen below.....

But one of their all time favorites, is bread. Every day, at about 3pm, a older gentleman named Earl comes, walking to the grassy area, behind the pool, with a clear plastic bag of Bread. It is quite a sight. As he comes across the grass, the iguanas start coming from everywhere, shrubs, trees, etc. He is like the Pied Piper of iguanas. He always gets a small plastic table from poolside, to sit on, and proceeds to feed the "herd". He breaks the bread sharing it with all the iguanas and any birds that might come into the area.

Not only does Earl feed the iguanas, he actually pets them and rubs /pats them like they were a dog or cat. And you can tell, when watching them, that they LOVE it. If they have any loose skin, being shed from the spiny things on their back, he pulls them off as well. The iguanas sit perfectly still as Earl shows them his affection. Earl told us he has been doing this for quite awhile. He has a video on You Tube, from 2 years ago, in which he is feeding 17 Iguanas , all gathered around him. You can search for Earl the Iguana Man, on You Tube, if you are interested in viewing.

After their feeding and massages, they go back to normal iguana mischief.

Here one is,trying to decide what she would look like in Gretchen's sarong-wrap-thing, that was hanging on the back of her chair. "Do you think I would look good in pink?"

They also like to suprise people by sneaking up between them and eavesdropping on their conversations. I can only imagine the stories they could tell if they could talk!

Actually they are very well behaved, and do not bother people or steal things or anything. Once you get used to the initial shock that they live here and are pretty much everywhere, it is not really that big of a deal. As long as the ground does not start shaking....from an approaching T-REX, I'm cool with our new found friends.