August 16 Hodgepodge

Wednesday again, and time for the Hodgepodge with Joyce and friends at From This Side of the Pond.  Head on over and get the questions, answer them on your own blog and then go back to Joyce's and link up!

The photos today will all be from Nevada, and most were taken by my husband or by my daughter or son-in-law.   Please do click on the scenic photos to enlarge them.  The smaller size simply cannot do this scenery justice.

 Here are this week's questions:
 
1. Do your actions match your words? Elaborate.  

I hope that they do.  More importantly, I want for my actions to line up with God's Word.  James 1 tells us,

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.
"For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:
"For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was.
"But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed."  (James 1:22-25)

2. Sick as a dog, go to the dogs, dog days of summer, dog tired, it's a dog's life, every dog has its day, can't teach an old dog new tricks...now doggone it which saying could most recently be applied to your life?

 Dog tired would be one.  A combination of jet lag, altitude, a red-eye flight, and just plain general busyness -- I'm starting to feel a bit better, though.  Still, I fell asleep while praying this morning and woke up over an hour later!

  Dog days of summer fits too.  It's not bad here, but out West, temps were between 95º and 100º every day.  No humidity, so it didn't feel quite as awful as it does here on a hot day, but still ... We discovered handmade neck coolers on this trip.   

Can't teach an old dog new tricks seems apropos also.  There is so much to all of this estate stuff, and most of it is out of my comfort zone.

3. Your favorite book featuring a dog in the storyline? What makes it a favorite?

Oh boy, that's a tough one.  As a pre-teen I loved all those tear-jerker dog and horse stories like Old Yeller, Where the Red Fern Grows, and many more.  Nowadays (I had to really think about this one) I guess I would say the Mitford books by Jan Karon.  Father Tim's dog, Barnabas, is a true friend and an integral part of the story line.  These are favorite books of mine because I can revisit them in stressful times and just feel refreshed by a visit to Mitford.

4. What's something you hope to one day have the confidence to do?

Start an Etsy shop.

5. August 16th is National Tell a Joke Day. So tell us a joke.

You know, I just don't feel in a very jokey mood.  Nothing is striking me funny right now.

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

Just trying to get my thoughts together as to blog posts I hope to do this month.  I have several in mind, it's just getting my thoughts organized and doing the work.  And of course there are a zillion other thoughts in my head right now -- grocery list and menus, estate tasks, appointments for this week, church activities and pastoral search, friends going through difficulties, Sunday School lesson prep, homemaking tasks, and much more.