Barnabas Award #4 & #5.

Hello everyone!  Wow, getting so close to Christmas and I’m sure everyone is likely very busy right now.  For Muffin and I it isn’t such a busy time so we are going to do awards this week and get caught up once again.  We are way behind right now with some of these and that’s terrible, we apologize for that!  Today is the Barnabas Award which I was given by Ryan and Mrs. Holliman.  Thank you both so very much for thinking of me for this award!!  It is really an honor indeed!  Don’t forget, if you have some time right now, to check out these 2 great blogs!  I am doing both these awards together since the questions are so similar, however I will be doing different questions from both.  I will start with Ryan since he nominated me first.

Barnabas Award

The award rules:

  1. Thank the person who nominated you, and share their blog.
  2. Think of five bloggers that encourage and inspire you and nominate them.
  3. List five things about yourself and answer the five questions asked.
  4. Lastly, ask your nominees five questions. Why five? Because five the number that signifies grace.

Five Things About Steve:

  1. He’s not a very talkative person until you get to know him a bit better.
  2. He likes to collect…a lot of different things.
  3. He does strange things sometimes.
  4. He has worked with the National Audubon Society and the Canadian Wildlife Service doing many different bird and mammal studies.
  5. He would love to live in a Nice warm place!

Five Things About Muffin:

  1. Her birthday is coming up January 10.
  2. She likes to eat…including her human’s food.
  3. She likes to sleep a lot in winter.
  4. She doesn’t sleep as much in summer.
  5. She also would like to be in a warm place!

Questions From Ryan:

  1. Which song picks you up the minute you hear it?  “Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee”, Especially sung by a choir.
  2. In your short time on this Earth who has been your biggest inspiration?  I think I have answered this before, that would be my dad.
  3. Who is your biggest encourager blog wise?  Oh wow, that is a tough question to answer since there are so many.   Thank you to all of you for encouraging me throughout my blogging journey!  Meow, Meow!  Muffin agrees and thanks everyone also!
  4. How do you see yourself as being an encouragement to others?  Just by bringing a smile to others and providing content and pics on my blog that will help to do that and give people a place to relax for a while.
  5. When was the last time someone gave you words of encouragement?  Today, from several of my followers leaving such wonderful comments!

Questions From Mrs. Holliman:

  1. Who in your life is your biggest encourager?  This is a little different than the one above but still very hard to pick just one person since there are so many from family to friends!
  2. What is one of your favorite Bible verses about encouragement?  “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest.” Joshua 1:9
  3. Who was your greatest encourager when you first accepted Christ?  My parents.
  4. How do you encourage someone else?  See number 4 above.
  5. When you are down, what encourages you to get back up and keep pressing on?  Meow!! Yep, Muffin certainly helps with that, even if it means giving me sore feet!

Well, since this is Christmas and people are busy I won’t specifically nominate anyone, but if you would like this award, go ahead and claim it and answer any five questions above.  Thank you all so much for reading, I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas!

Steve and Muffin.

© 2019 Steve McLeod.

Nature’s Art #11.

Frost covered pine trees

Hi everyone!  I hope you are enjoying your Monday and that it’s not too much of a mad rush for you with Christmas only 2 days away.  It can get that way sometimes, but hopefully you will be able to find some time to relax and just enjoy yourself a bit today.  Muffin and I are just relaxing.  But then, that’s mostly what we have been doing the last 12 weeks, so no change there.  At least I can play with Muffin more now and she certainly enjoys that.  She was really missing our usual playtime.  So was I.  It’s nice to sit here and enjoy my morning coffee and chat just a bit.

And, of course, share a few more pics of art in nature…

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Sometimes simple can be very nice.  A little grouping of small fern leaves, white pine cone, moss, and pine needles caught my attention one day.IMG_8725

This is the base of a white pine tree about 40 inches (1 meter) across.  A small cavity, different kinds of moss and the ever present pine needles make for an interesting scene.

That’s our pick of pics for today’s art in nature.  I hope you have time to slow down a bit and enjoy all the beauty around you.  It’s not even necessary to go outside to find it either.  Have a Happy Monday everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

© 2019 Steve McLeod.