Tigers on the loose in Hampstead!

While sitting on my deck at dusk today, I was visited by several mosquitoes. I finally saw one land on my arm and thought it looked different than your average mosquito but I didn't think much of it. But after a few more landed on me, and I had a chance to really look at them, I noticed they were black and white. That was definitely unusual so I googled them and discovered that this was my visitor...













Asian Tiger Mosquito

Asian tiger mosquitoes were first found in North America in a shipment of used tires at the port of Houston in 1985. Thank you, Texas!

They carry diseases like every other mosquito. "Evidently, mutated strains of the Chikungunya virus are being directly transmitted through tiger mosquitoes particularly well and in such a way that another dispersal of the disease in regions with the Asian tiger mosquito is feared." Yippee! But I don't think I got bit. Will definitely be using bug spray regularly from now on.

Just thought my blog audience of two should know what killed me if found dead.

Would you like frogs with that?

Yesterday I saw the cutest little frog board book. It must have been written by a local author because google doesn't have a picture of it. I debated about buying it. Now I wish I had.

I am reading this book by John Ortberg, one of my favorite authors. In today's chapter he uses the story of the plague of frogs. Go figure. Pharaoh has an entire labor union of slaves, the Israelites, at his disposal. When he has finally had enough frogs in his cereal, in his bed, in his chariot, and in his bath, he asks Moses to remove them. Moses says, "You name the time." Pharaoh replies, "Tomorrow."

WHAT??!! Crazy, isn't it? Why wouldn't Pharaoh say, "Immediately!"

Ortberg puts it, "Pharaoh has learned - he can live with frogs. He can tolerate a frog-saturated life. It's not great. There's not much joy in it. But he can survive. He prefers it to the change that would be required by surrendering to Yahweh. 'I'll try another night with the frogs.' "

The most dangerous word is "tomorrow." We choose to stay with the frogs because we aren't willing to submit to God's presence available to us right here, right now.

"Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts...but encourage one another daily, as long as it is called 'today.' " Hebrews 3:7-8, 13

Am about to go on a hike. I'll let you know if I see a frog.