Hello All,

About a week ago I went exploring on the back roads in the mountains near where I live. While exploring, I came across these beauties and they let me get pretty close to them for a few good camera shots. It was a fun day and the Lord showed me a great amount of sights. I always enjoy a ride in the mountains or out in the country. It's very relaxing, and I never know what I'll get to see. There was a little bit of snow on the ground up there, and that made everything all the more prettier.  

One of my wife's favorite Bible verses is Psalm 18:33 - He makes my feet like hinds’ feet, And sets me upon my high places.

One of mine is Psalm 42:1 - As the deer pants for the water brooks, So my soul pants for You, O God.

I find it amazing all the examples God uses in creation to remind us of His Word.

I hope You're having a good year so far. Don't forget to go outside and explore all the things God has made...even if its just in your own backyard.

In Christ,

Kevin-

Hello to you all!

I'm a little late getting these pictures that I took of the eclipse on here, but I hope you enjoy them. I didn't get outside in time to get  a picture of the full moon before the eclipse, but I was still happy with what I got. I used my Canon EOS 50D, and my 100-400mm lens for these shots. And I remembered to cut my image stabilizer off while using my tripod. Thank you all for stopping by and checking these out. I hope you were able to see the real thing as it happened on January 20th. It was quite spectacular.

Click on the images to enlarge them-

Don't forget to get outside and enjoy the things the Lord has made. Even if its just in your own backyard!

In Christ,

Kevin-

The hike started out pretty easy. It was nice to have some alone time with the Lord and enjoy the visuals of the sides of the mountain and trees covered in ice and snow. As I went further up, the mountain got steeper and the snow got deeper. My legs really started to burn. I had to stop to catch my breath more than usual. There were a few times that I thought about turning around. But I hate quitting!

Whenever I quit something, I feel defeated. It’s the thought of knowing that I gave up, and I really despise that feeling. I don’t want this mountain or any mountain to beat me whether it be a literal mountain or life challenges like my job, staying in God’s Word, or my marriage. I don’t want to quit!

Sometimes the paths in this life are really hard. But when the trails get steep and the snow gets deep, we need to pray for God to give us guidance and strength to keep going, to keep moving, keep our eyes on His wonders, and never give up.

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
-1 Corinthians 16:13

Thank you for stopping by and staying a while. It’s cold outside but don’t let it stop you from getting outdoors and seeing the things the Lord has made, even if it’s just in your own back yard.

In Christ,

Kevin-

Hello Everyone,
Here are a few memories I thought I’d share from my 2018. It was a good year of spending valuable time with my wife and son and other family members. It was also a good year of exploring nature and God’s word. I hope you enjoy these memories as much as I do. Click on the small tabs to expand the pictures.

January- Fun spending time with our son

February- Orlando and Tampa,Florida

March- Micah got to help his Granddad a bit and I got to meet Dr. David Jeremiah

April- Easter Sunday, walks in the park, and Micah’s dedication to the Lord

May- Lots of good times in the outdoors

June- My wife arranged for me to meet my favorite marine artist Guy Harvey at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA. My cousin Ellen and her husband can to see me in the OBX of North Carolina as they made a trip around the country.

July- Went to Kentucky and saw the Ark Encounter! Very exciting! Later in the month we went to Luray Caverns in VA.

August- More outdoor fun, my wife and I got to see Wynonna in concert. Micah got a haircut from his Granddad, and got to attend his very first baseball game. Unfortunately, this was the month I lost my little Treasure.

September- Beach time, fun on a farm, and preparation of the boat for Hurricane Florence.

October- Amazing sunsets, hiking with my boy, and fun at Bush Gardens for Micah as he got to meet some of his favorite Sesame Street Characters.

November- Micah’s first barber shop haircut, fun fighting at a marriage conference, and Branson, MO.

December- Christmas with family, Micah’s first visit from Santa, and creation where I work.

God is good and provides for us all. Even in ways we cannot see. I hope you had a great year. Don’t forget to get outside and enjoy the things the Lord has made. Even if it’s just in your own back yard!

In Christ,

Kevin-

Hello there!
It’s been a few months since I’ve had time to sit down and write. I ran into someone in a restaurant who reads my blog a few nights ago and she gave me encouragement by telling me how much she enjoys it. So I thought, well it has been a right good while, so here I am catching up and sharing some thoughts that have been on my mind for quite some time.

Occasionally we all go through times of questioning things in our life. Things that seem to drag us down. Those questions leave us with more questions for God.
Questions like...
What is my purpose in this life?
Am I doing what I’m supposed to be doing right now?
Am I doing all I can do to serve God right now and for my remaining years?
Am I helping others enough?
Did I do the right thing by making this decision or commitment?
Should I have done that?
Why didn’t I speak Truth in love at that perfect moment?
Am I forgiving enough?
Will I ever get to get back to using the gifts and talents God has given me?
Am I a good enough leader and father?
Am I visiting my parents enough while they’re still in this life?
What am I to do with the time I have left?

Then the questions for God...
God, why am I angry so often?
God, am I truly yours?
Why am I having such a dry spell getting back into your Word?
God, are you hearing my prayers?

All these questions can lead us onto a tremendously uncertain path of doubt. But I believe it’s not only the questions. I believe it’s someone that seems to not be talked about enough these days... the devil. When we get on a wrong path he is quick to whisper directions that seem solid to us for a while, but end up leading us to an area of dead ends or deep waters far away from the Savior.
This time of year (especially), with the days being shorter and darker we tend to fall into a period of depression as well, making it easier to get on a wrong path.

God on the other hand puts us on a path that we don’t always understand. Though we can’t always see where it leads, we need to trust Him on the way to the destination that’s His will. This is certainly not easy. I know for myself here lately, it has caused me to ask so many questions like a child asking “why” after every answer. My dad has told me so many times looking back on his life that he wondered many times what God was doing in his circumstances, but later could see clearly what He was doing the whole time. Dad always referred to it as God leading him through different doors.

Tonight I’m praying for answers to my many questions and I want to trust my Heavenly Father to lead me on the paths unfamiliar to me.
I hope you will pray for God to lead you as well by giving your whole life to Jesus Christ and letting His will be done in your life for His glory.

Don’t forget to get outside and enjoy the things the Lord has made, even if it’s only in your own backyard.

In Christ,
Kevin-

Well, Hello to you all.

Tonight I am sad writing this.

Today I lost a dear friend and companion of 28 years. My Lil' Buddy, "Treasure" has passed away. I don't know what to say really except that I am so very thankful to God for the time He allowed me to have him in my life. I am also thankful for my wife who loved him dearly and took him in like her own.
Treasure was a spark of joy all the time. He was always so happy to see me and Jen  come in the door from work or a trip, bobbing his head up and down, chirping, and dancing side to side on his perch. He was just the best for therapy, always making me laugh with his getting into everything and wanting to climb all over me. It was so good to have him during many tough times in my life.
I got Treasure from a little pet store in Virginia Beach, VA when I was 16 years old. I'm 44 now. It will be a big adjustment not having him around and hearing him whistle and cracking seeds open with his beak. I know and trust that God will ease the pain of this loss using time as His tool.
A short while ago tonight my nearly 2 year old son was looking at Treasures cage and then looking back at me as if he were asking me where Treasure was. That was tough. Well, I just wanted to share some thoughts and pictures of him from over the years.
God is good all the time and we should be thankful always with Him sharing His creations with us. Treasure was certainly a part of His creation I won't forget.

We had us a good run.

Good night and God bless.

Kevin-

Remember when you were a kid and you had all those dreams of things you wanted to become and later on things you thought you’d become. Then as you got older and God directed your path, you started noticing that there were things you thought that you’d never become because it might not be Gods plan and will for you. I grew up admiring my dad. I used to watch him in the garage fix and build things. Sometimes when I’m lucky, I still get to do just that when we visit my mom and dad in Eastern North Carolina.
I love watching my dad create things with wood. I love watching him figure things out and come up with solutions, answers, and fixes for things that seem to be unfixable.

Dad was not only good at fixing and building things, but he was and still is a comforter with his words. In my entire life there has never been a time that I couldn’t talk to him and not feel better, calmed down, and/or reassured. From the time I was very little, Dad always had answers to my questions about God and the Bible. If he didn’t immediately know then he would say “let’s find out” and he would get his Bible and his Strong’s Concordance, and we would sit down together until we found what we needed to know.

Dad always made time to take me fishing. He taught me boathandling and how to navigate from the earliest time that I believe I could understand it. He showed me how to read the waves, tides, and currents. He gave me a love for the outdoors and instilled in me that it is all created by God. He taught me how to dive and spear fish. He taught me about my southern heritage and to always be kind to folks. “The Lord created everyone” he would say, “and you don’t know who will be touched by you for Him”. He used to say “A big mouth never made a big man” and he would explain that our speech needs to give glory to God.

So going back to the beginning, one thing that I began to think a few years ago was that I would never become a dad myself. Nearly two years ago God changed that. Actually, at the moment I'm a Da-da. I will never be the man that my dad is. I will never come close. But I will continually strive to be like him because he continually shows me Christ through himself and his love for family.
Dad is "Granddad" now. He loves all of his grandchildren (my son and my sister's children) in a way that I can't describe. My hope is that I'll be able to pass on much of what Dad taught and teaches me to my own son. I hope that I will always have time to take my son fishing like Dad did for me. He is a blessing that I will always be thankful to my Father in Heaven for.

Love you Dad!

Hello all!

One day back a couple of months ago, I was hiking a small section of the Appalachian Trail along the Blue Ridge Parkway. I remember it being a cold and very windy day.  Somewhere along the way I came across a local resident of the four footed kind. A smelly little fellow aka... a skunk! I could smell him long before I got to him so I know someone or something before me didn't fair to good. When I saw him I snapped a few pictures (at a very safe distance) using my 100-400mm wildlife lens. Then I walked WAY around him giving him the path and plenty of room. Skunks are a beautiful animal on the outside, but boy do they stink on the inside!
Here recently I've thought about how sometimes my attitude can really stink about certain things. Every day (especially after waking up in the morning) I examine myself to see if I'm pleasing the Lord with my life and attitude. Many times I honestly have to tell myself no and work on  getting back on track. I know that selfishness is the culprit more times than not, and I ask God to help me battle it daily.
The devil whispers in our ears constantly that we deserve this or that, and that we need to get ours. And if we don't keep a check on our hearts and ask the Holy Spirit to protect us, we can find our attitude beginning to stink real quick. When our attitude stinks, we find people walking WAY around us just like I did with that skunk.  I want people to see Christ in me and not feel like they have to keep their distance from me.

Be a blessing, not a stinker.

Isn't it neat to see all the lessons that we can learn about life just by observing and enjoying God's creation. The weather finally seems to be warming up so go outside and enjoy the things that the Lord has made, even if it's just in your own backyard!

In Christ,

Kevin-

Hello All!

Not very long ago my wife brought up the subject of sun dogs. "What are they, what causes them, and what do they mean?" she asked. I answered her questions as best as I knew how,  that they were light reflecting from the sun off of ice crystals in the sky, and that they are often early indicators of bad weather to come. Then she asked me another question, "why does it seem like we are seeing them all the time?" I chuckled and told her that there was a lot of bad weather coming.
Unfortunately I was right. Where we live has experienced snow, freezing rain, and back and forth warm and cold temperatures causing (it would seem) the animals and plants to be quite confused ( I saw a Black Bear and cub in mid February up near the Blue Ridge Parkway a couple of weeks ago). The Outer Banks of North Carolina have been pummeled with high winds and flooding the last few days.

After my wife and I had that discussion, it got me thinking a bit deeper about sundogs. When you look at one (or two depending on the conditions in the sky) it can appear to be two suns, and sometimes three because of the light reflecting on the ice crystals on one or both sides of the sun. So, obviously things are not always what they seem, and that got me thinking about our old adversary the devil. How many times does he look like something he's not?

2 Corinthians 11:14 says that Satan transforms himself into an angel of light. We know however that he is the father of lies John 8:44.

This is how he deceives people by tempting us with things that are dishonoring to God but making the temptations look like pleasure and truth. We should always be on our guard and examine things that are presented to us in life with discernment whether they are from God who loves us or from the devil who hates God and wants to trick us into turning away from the Father our Creator in order to follow the evil one to our destruction. We as Christians experience this constantly as we are continually under attack by the devil who wants to trip us up and destroy our witness and testimony.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
-John 10:10

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
-James 4:7

I hope you are all well, and as spring is quickly approaching that you'll get outside and explore the things that God has made!

In Christ,

Kevin-

A few days ago I was driving home from work in the late afternoon and decided to stop at Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge. I was only there about a half an hour and I was able to get some waterfowl pictures. It was a fairly breezy day out of the northeast. The sun was low and off to the side so the lighting wasn’t great, but I was happy overall with the pictures I got in the amount of time that I had.
I couldn't help but think about the fifth day of creation when God made all the winged birds after their kinds. This particular day I got a good dose of the duck kind!

I wanted to share some photos from this half hour that God blessed me with. If you’re a duck hunter or you just love ducks in general then I hope you will enjoy these.

Even though the weather is getting cold, there is still plenty to see and enjoy in God's creation outside, so go outdoors and explore even if it's just in your own backyard.

In Christ,

Kevin