Stephen De La Vega

  The Scorpion Weed, also known as phacelia hastata, or Silverleaf Phacelia. I’m not a plant buff – not even in the slightest – but I’ve seen these plants in the wild. They boast pretty clusters of purple blooms 1 to 2 feet above the ground. The image above was captured a month ago, in late Fall, so the stems and blooms have died off. But the plant itself is perennial so it retains life, and it returns to vibrancy in the Spring. I spotted this Silverleaf where it can be easily trampled but it is a survivor, nonetheless. I expect it will endure the snow and flourish again after the winter. It even defends itself against human predators. Like poison oak, its hairy flowers, seed pods, and stems are equipped with rash-inducing oils. So, if we don’t respect this plant when we see it, we might respect it later if we touch it. Many of us respect life in nature, but not all of us. Many of us respect human life, but not all of us.   This post is Episode 6 of an 8-episode series about...

  (image borrowed from my 1 st blog post: Even on Garbage Day, God Loves Us )   Finally! The episode where we talk about:   Rainbows There may be rain. Dark clouds may come. But God made rainbows to call attention to His promise. Did you know that the only planet in our solar system where rainbows appear is Earth? That means rainbows only appear on the planet that endured a worldwide flood. Another amazing fact is that we can never touch the rainbows we see, or interrupt them, or dismantle them. Rainbows are in God’s hands, not ours. We can’t change God’s promise. These two facts are extensions of God’s compassion. Why did God create the rainbow phenomena and what is His promise?   This post is Episode 5 of an 8-episode series about boarding and deboarding Noah’s Ark. If you’re visiting this series for the first time, you should start at Episode 1: The Story of Our Lives . Otherwise, sit back and experience Episode 5 .     Episode 5: ...

  Floodwaters subdued the earth for months. Before the Flood came, God gave Noah detailed instructions to build the ark. He told him when to board. He allowed his family to join him. He even closed the door. Then Noah waited… No water. The ark didn’t move. When would the water come? And how long would Noah and his family be on the ark? God didn’t tell them. He told them how long it would rain – for 40 days and 40 nights – but that’s all they knew. Seven days after God shut the door, floodwaters finally came. 40 days later the storm ended. They floated. How long would it be before they would see land? The highest mountain top was 23 feet below the surface.   What did they do while they waited? Care for the animals? Certainly. I think they also meditated on God’s words and prayed. And they must have worshiped, because that’s the first thing Noah did after deboarding the ark.   This post is Episode 4 of an 8-episode series about boarding and deboarding Noah’s ...