Hello, everybody! I hope you’re enjoying hearing about my brother’s adventures in Israel. Today was a big day for them. After breakfast at Pilgerhaus, they went to the ancient city of Capernaum, where Jesus spent a lot of time. He also met his closest friends there and asked them to come with Him on a big adventure. Here’s a picture of what people have found to be what’s left of the old town.
Don’t let the old stones fool you, though. In it’s time, this was quite a city! Here’s the Synagogue that Jesus spoke at. Even now, it still looks fancy to me!
This is what’s left of Peter’s mother-in-law’s house. One day, she was sick, and Jesus healed her, and she got up and made a nice dinner for everyone. I think we would all want to do something nice for Jesus if we would stop and think about how kind He has been to us.
Look how pretty the Sea of Galilee is! I think Jesus is someone all the fishermen want to be friends with because otherwise I don’t think they would have wanted to leave such a nice place!
The Sea of Galilee at Capernaum
Here is the Church of the Twelve Apostles. This is Fancy Central!
Even the outside of the Church is fancy. Here’s what God put on the grounds!
A Peacock the Church of the Twelve Apostles
I think my tail is big! This peacock could clear our coffee table with one swoosh!
This is the entrance to Peter’s Primacy. My computer is being silly: it thinks I mean Peter’s Primates or Peter’s Pharmacy, but I am going with what my brother sent me.
This is the place where Jesus cooked a nice little barbecue breakfast for the Disciples. We could stop right there with that story and I’d be happy, but it gets even better. First, the Disciples had been out fishing all night and hadn’t caught a thing. Then, Jesus told them where to cast their nets, and they brought in 153 fish! That’s probably all the different kinds of fish in the world! I know my brother was happy when he and Jody and Steve caught 70 crappie on Jody’s birthday.
Even more important than the barbecue is that this is where Jesus asked Peter three times, and Peter answered three times that he loved Jesus. I’ve never been to obedience school, but maybe it’s something like that: after Peter had denied Jesus three times, Jesus just wanted to make sure that Peter had broken that bad habit, so that he could do all the great things that Jesus was preparing for him to do.
My brother and the group had lunch – fish from the Sea of Galilee! – and then went to Magdala, which I think is the hometown of Mary Magdalen. Just in the last few years, they have uncovered a Synagogue and other parts of the town that date back to Jesus’ time. That is so exciting!
There is a nice church right on the Sea of Galilee in Magdala. Look how the altar and the pulpits look like a little boat!
If you go downstairs, there is another chapel with a really pretty picture. It’s right at my eye level, too! It tells the story of the lady who thought, if I can just touch the hem of His garment, I’ll be healed. And she was! Can you see her finger touching Jesus’ garment? I would have loved to have been right there!
The group then took a boat out on the Sea of Galilee. It reminded me of our boat in Washington!
On the Sea of Galilee
And speaking of boat rides, the Yenzer Resort and Spa is the best! I’ll bid you a good evening with this great movie of Abe and me being treated to a float trip!
Hello everyone! Here’s what my brother sent me about his adventures last Saturday in Israel. They said goodbye to their hotel in Samaria and headed west to the Israel College of the Bible. Here is a picture of their pretty sign:
I think I have pretty good eyes, but I didn’t notice at first that the tree is made up of all the names of Jesus, in English, Hebrew, and Arabic. Wow, that’s a lot of names! And, just like that tree, my brother said that the Bible College does a whole lot more good work than you would think if you just looked at their little office in a couple of floors of an office building in a busy suburb of Tel Aviv.
This sweet young lady is an Arab Christian named Celeste. She helps put all the College’s resources and video shows out onto the World Wide Web. I sure hope she comes to Tulsa some day, so I can meet her!
Did you know that before people had books and even before they had telephones, they used to read from rolls? When I first came to live with my brother, I ate a whole Bible, and I’ve eaten part of a roll of paper towels, but I never knew that the two went together! This is a very special roll, though. It is what is called the Torah and was copied by hand in Europe in the 1700s. When the Jewish people started being treated really badly back before that big war, they tried to save these rolls and get them out of Germany and Europe. This is one of those! Wow. That is so special, I wouldn’t try to eat it. In fact, I would volunteer to turn the wooden rolls with my teeth if I ever got to see it.
My brother and the group then went to the Mediterranean Sea, to a place called Caesarea Maritima. It was built by King Herod as a resort for Pontius Pilate. You’ve heard of them, haven’t you? I don’t think the people liked either of them very much and I can see why. I usually only try to bark at thunderstorms, but in their case, I might make an exception. Here is an amphitheater, and I wouldn’t even have to bark too loud, because of what they call the acoustics. Dr. Jim (in the blue shirt) explains how the sound works, while Ben introduces Rev. Tony, who plays the part of the Apostle Paul. Bravo!
The Apostle Paul
Underneath the stage are the dressing rooms and the orchestra pit, just like theaters today.
This big piece of rock is called a sarcophagus. It is like a coffin. Wow, I bet the pallbearers had to work out a bunch!
Can you guess what this is? It’s the world’s first toilets! Right there in Caesarea Maritima! There was flowing water underneath. I think I’ll just stick with the big white punchbowl in our bathroom!
Did you wonder where the water came from? Well, this big bridge is actually a water bridge, called an aqueduct. It brought fresh water from a long ways away, down to the beach.
I’ll bet this horse would have liked that fresh water.
My brother said that there were a couple of regattas going on while they were by the sea. I know our friends from the Yacht Club would have had a good time!
Looking Westward at Caesarea Maritima
After lunch, my brother and the group went up to the top of Mount Carmel. I was glad to know that it isn’t where they make that candy: it makes the roof of my mouth stick to my tongue! This Carmel means “vineyard of God”. Much nicer! Here is a church on the top of the mountain.
A very famous event happened here. This is where the prophet Elisha showed the prophets of Baal that God was boss! If you remember the story, Elisha built an altar and then had them drench it with a whole lot of water. Then, he prayed, and God sent fire down from Heaven and lit the wood like nobody’s business! I know my brother wished that Elisha was at our house a few months ago when he left our pellet smoker out in the rain and it fried its little computer brain! He had a salad that night and I didn’t get any treats.
Well, enough about that. Here’s a pretty picture from the top of Mount Carmel.
Their next stop was the Sea of Galilee. You’ve heard of it, I’m sure. It’s where Jesus and his disciples fished and preached and healed people. Well, my brother and his friends were fortunate to get to stay five nights right on the shore!
The View at Pilgerhaus
I think I would have spent the whole time thinking, this is where Jesus walked, or ate, or walked on the water. My one time trying to walk on the water at the Hoffmans swimming pool did not end well, and as a Retriever I can really appreciate how Jesus retrieved Peter from the sea, like a professional.
the Fountain at Pilgerhaus
Well, I know we both miss each other, but I’m glad my brother is having such a good time. I am, too! Cheers!
Hello! My brother has asked me to make a blog of his journeys in Israel while he is gone. I am having a nice vacation myself at the Yenzers’ with their two Golden Retrievers, Abe and Beckham. My brother dropped me off on May 25th and took an airplane with his friends Jim and Diane and a lot of nice people from First Presbyterian Church. They went through Dallas/Fort Worth and Miami, then took a very long flight to Tel Aviv. My brother says I’m a really good traveler, but I might have asked the pilot to make a bathroom stop on the way!
Here is the group going through what they call “Customs”. I think that is where they learn the customs of the country before they let them in. That’s probably a good idea. I know that I had to learn that we don’t drink out of the pool at the World War II Memorial in Washington, so something like this might have saved a lot of trouble!
They stayed the first two nights in Samaria. I don’t know if they got to meet the lady who gave Jesus a drink at the well, but they sure do have nice sunrises there!
The next morning, they went to Shiloh. It sure has a lot of history! Here’s a picture of a floor at an old church.
At first I thought that the dogs in Shiloh needed to be better housebroken, but my brother said that this floor is 3,000 years old. That’s in people years, so that’s 21,000 dog years. Wow, I guess those floors look pretty good, all things considered!
There were people finding old things in the earth, kind of like Dr Jones from Indiana. I’m pretty good at digging, so I might be able to help – unless they needed any bones they found to remain uneaten!
Archeology in Samaria
Take a look at all the things they have uncovered! They are also trying to find the site where the Lord parked his Tabernacle. How exciting!
After Shiloh, my brother and his friends went up on top of a hill called Elon More. I’m not sure if it’s related to the fellow who makes electric cars. There’s a big valley that was a big highway before they had cars, so maybe it runs in the family.
The Oak and the View at Elon More
The group had lunch at a winery in Samaria. It is run by some Jewish people who are Orthodontists, or something like that. I guess there are verses in the Bible saying that vineyards will return to Samaria, so they are taking the Lord at His word, which is something I always try to do, too! Anyway, my brother said that both the lunch and the wine were very good!
Do you remember that I said something about the Tabernacle? Well, the gentlemen who owns the hotel has built a full-size model of it. It looks very fancy! The curtains were even made by a lady in Sri Lanka, who made them according to what the Bible said and then didn’t charge the hotel anything for them. Nice!
I think Abe and Beckham are interested in the trip. I keep telling them details and they haven’t fallen asleep yet!
Hello, everybody! I have missed talking with you all. We have had a great Spring in Tulsa and Washington. I have a lot of adventures and treasures to tell you about. In the meantime, though, my brother is in Israel! I think it is even farther away than the Winstonian Republics! Anyway, he has asked me to tell you about his adventures. I think he thought I might need something to do while he is gone, but I am staying with our nice friends the Yenzers, and there is always something fun to do! Here are Abe, Beckham and me.
As you can see, we’re having a great time! Anyway, my brother will be sending me pictures from Israel and my job for the next couple of weeks is to let all you all know how he is doing.
Hi, everyone! I hope your year was as fun as ours. Here’s what we did in 2021.
We started the year on our boat in Washington. My brother and I both fell asleep while it was still 2020. At midnight of 2021, some of our neighbors started honking their boat horns, so we got up and wished everybody a Happy New Year! It was even more exciting than when we switch from Daylight Spending to Daylight Saving time!
As much as I love the boat, it sure is nice to have a backyard again when we get back home. It’s so fun to play the “Let me in, I need to go out again” game. Well, one of us thinks so anyway.
On Ash Wednesday we got a bunch of snow! I love to run and run and run in it, and then run some more! My brother did not seem quite so enthused, but he got his exercise shoveling the whole driveway and parking area while I supervised.
Then, Spring started peeking out. I love Spring, too! Even the homes we walk by every morning looked like we were in a new place.
On Easter, I got to chase bunnies on our early morning walk before my brother went to church. I don’t know how bunny rabbits got into the Bible and the Easter story but I’m sure glad they did, because they’re a lot of fun!
At the very end of April, we headed back to Washington. We celebrated my niece’s birthday on May 1st and then the Yacht Club had their Flag Raising on May 2nd. It’s the official start of the boating season and everyone gets decked out in their Spring boating finery! I even got a new bandana!
My brother had been the Vice Commodore the past couple of years and he was the Chaplain this year, so he got to give a little prayer at the start of the festivities. Fun!
When we traveled back home to Tulsa, we stopped in the Smoky Mountains and stayed with our friends Tripp the Airedale and Mike.
They live on Lake Douglas and it is very scenic, even if it isn’t named after my brother! Duke, the Bush’s Baked Bean dog, lives on the other side of the lake, just over a mountain. I hope to meet him some day.
We didn’t get to stop at the Bass Professional pyramid in Memphis, though, because the bridge where Arkansas and Tennessee shake hands broke. That made me sad to think about, but they have since patched it up. One of my favorite parts about getting home is that we get to go to the car wash!
Before we knew it, it was Memorial Day, so my brother and I went around to five cemeteries with flowers and flags. They sure are pretty! I’m always very careful to be respectful: I don’t check my P-mail while we’re there and definitely don’t “Reply All”!
My brother and our Tulsa friend Mike went to Kentucky on the Bourbon Trail in June. I guess they use Bourbon bottles instead of good intentions as pavement in Kentucky. They visited seven distilleries and tried a lot of Bourbon drinks. I think I’ll just stick with the big white punch bowl in the bathroom! Anyway, they had a really good time, although my brother said he missed me. I got to stay with our friends the Yenzer’s and they really treated me nice!
On the Fourth of July, my brother told me that I was now the Prime Rib Minister of the Winstonian Republics! I was so honored! Once I find out where they are, maybe we can all meet there and I’ll show you around!
Do you remember all the snow I told you about? Well, the sad thing is that all the cold made the peaches a little nervous, so most of them decided to wait until next year to be born. I know my brother was sad, because he loves to go to the orchard several times during the summer, especially with our Tulsa friend Mike, but we had a nice time there and I got to walk around and sniff all the trees. And once again, I did not “Reply All”!
On Labor Day weekend, we drove back to the District. We even got to take the boat out for a little cruise! Our friend Guy captained, with the help of our friend Scott. It was a great time!
We were there on that 9-11 day. Everyone’s always a little quiet then, and I think I may know why, even though it makes me sad if I’m right. Do you know how everyone just rushes from nine to eleven without stopping to say ten? I think maybe 10 people died on that day. I hope I’m wrong because that would be very sad, but it might be like when my brother turns the page in a magazine really quickly if there’s a picture of a snake. Anyway, the Pentagon-shaped building lit up a big spotlight. It looked like it was going up all the way to Heaven!
My brother and his friends Al and Alan got their band together and played one evening. It was fun, and our other friend Mike sang with them some, too.
Wow, I just realized that we have a lot of friends named Mike! I haven’t even mentioned yet our friends Mike and Susan, who are my Godniece Betsy’s parents! My brother got to have dinner with them this summer, up in Bartlesville, which I think is close to where the Pioneer Lady lives.
When we got back to Tulsa, my brother and I got to go to two Halloween parties. The first one was on my brother’s birthday at our friends Kristin and Steve’s. They’re the folks who took in the little black cat that made her home on our porch last Summer. I even got to take a swim in their pool, although it came as a surprise to everyone, even me!
Then, on Halloween, our friends Ed and Rachel hosted another party. My brother and I went as a lion and a lion tamer to both of them. He called us “Tame and Tamer”. Can you guess who is which?
Our cousins Susie and Mark are always so nice to invite my brother over for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. And, I always get some great leftovers! They’re even better than what I find on our morning walks!
My niece and nephew-in-law came to visit us before Thanksgiving! Their visit was way too short but we had such a fun time! Then, our friend Mike with Tripp came to visit us, too. It is always so fun to have visitors stay with us!
As we started decorating the house for Christmas, our friends Mike from Tulsa and Jan brought me a great present!
I am so honored that the Baby Jesus is a Golden Retriever and I am trying to live up to the example. My brother took the little Christ Pup – I mean Child – to church for a blessing!
Then, as we got closer to Christmas, I had a big surprise! My brother had gone to the health club and I had just settled down for a long winter’s nap.
Before I knew it, look who paid a visit!
Santa Claus gave me a nice pat and Mrs Claus took the picture. I’m so glad they came to visit me early so they could spend more time with all the good girls and boys on Christmas Eve!
My brother drove us around and we looked at the Christmas lights one evening. They are beautiful! Our friend Jody and his brother have a Christmas light business, and now I guess some lady named Ellie Dee is starting to make a name for herself! It seems like every time I looked at some lights, my brother said, “Those are Ellie Dee’s.” Some of them are really spicy on my eyes!
It looks like we’re getting a new truck this coming year! My brother has made a reservation for us to get an F150 Lightning. It sounds fast! And bright. I’m glad he didn’t order one called a Thunder: that would make me bark!
Anyway, my brother says the Lightning is kind of like me: it can run on anything! I think he sounds like Forrest Gump’s friend when he tells me it can run on coal power, nuclear power, natural gas power, wind power, water power, steam power, sun power, oil power, even trash power! I think we’ll get along fine. Now that I know its diet, I sure hope it comes already housebroken!
Well, my brother and I are looking forward to some great new adventures in the Year of Our Lord 14,154 – that’s 2022 in dog years! We sure hope to see you then!
Hello! I hope you are having a great Sunday. While my brother’s at Church, I wanted to tell you about our trip to the peach orchard. It was fun! Here was one sad thing: do you remember the big snow storm we had last February? Well, even though I had a great time …
… all of the cold air froze the peach trees and they only got about 1/10th of their normal crop this summer. I know if I only found 1/10th of the treasures on our morning walks, I’d be sad!
Here we are at the beginning of our visit.
There were so many trees, I didn’t know where to start! And, don’t worry: I didn’t check p-mail or Reply All! I was on vacation!
Every once in a while, I did have to stop and do a little Whiskey Tango dance:
And, here are the fruits of our labors, I guess you could say.
We had a great time. My brother said that they had more Peachtrees than Atlanta! I have no idea what he’s talking about sometimes!
Our friend Jim says that peaches are God’s candy. I know my brother sure agrees!
Hello! I hope you are getting to walk outside on these early mornings. My brother and I were walking in the neighborhood the other morning and saw Rosie, a friend of mine. She said that people are always looking at their phones and reading their e-mail. She decided that she probably spent the same amount of time sniffing around and reading her “tree-mail”!
As for me, I spend a whole lot of time checking “p-mail”. By the way, I always “Reply All”!
Someone said that these are the “Dog Days of Summer”. That’s very nice of them! It must be why I’m finding more delicious treats on our early morning walks. Did you know someone left an entire three-layer chocolate cake in the bushes down by the Coney Islander? That was a treat! Or, it would have been had I been able to convince my brother that I was just searching for a rabbit. Once he saw that it was a cake, the party was over! Oh well: I’m trying to watch my weight a little these days anyway.
For a more dietetic treat, I found a baseball! It was a long way from the Ball Park. Somebody must have had a great at-bat! If you know who hit it and they would like it back, please tell them that I still have it. I even “autographed” it for them by chewing on it. But don’t worry: I didn’t “Reply All”!
During the Dog Days of Summer, we are very fortunate to have the little brook that comes out of the ground and runs down 38th Street. If we come home that way on our walks, I always take a refreshing dip!
And, for a special Sunday treat, let me tell you about what I found this morning! Once I got it, I went into full Retriever Mode and headed back home. My brother could only see a little of the package peeking out of my mouth. He thought it was a Dorito’s bag – and he just went to the eye doctor! Anyway, before he knew what happened, I had eaten the entire package!
Well, if these are the Dog Days of Summer, I’d say it’s worth the extra heat! With the baseball and the package of hot dogs, I feel like I’m living in a Field of Dreams! I hope you think you are, too!
I may not know what the bass are professionals at, but I’m sure glad they built their store! At this time of year, it is so nice to go to an outdoor-looking place that is cool inside!
We started outside by the pond. It was fun saying hello to the birds, but I was ready for some cool air!
Ahh! Here are the bass and some other fish in what I suppose is their Board Room. I sure hope they keep voting for air conditioning!
They have two magic rooms that get you from one floor to the other. My brother and I like this one the best. The door says, “Far more important than the gun is a soundly tutored knowledge of field manners and tactics as between dog and man.” – Nash Buckingham
You can say that again! Between the two of us, I think my brother and I have manners and tactics covered!
Do you know that song that says, “The cattle are standing like statues”? Well, I didn’t see any cows, but all these deer were really good at it. I tried my best to get them to move, but they are well-trained Deer Professionals! I bet they kick their feet up and have a big bowl of water every night when they get home!
This is my favorite part of the Professional Bass Store. They have three aisles devoted to smelly fish bait! Wow, I could stay there all day! I keep on hinting to my brother that they would make great snacks for me but he hasn’t taken the bait yet!
Well, I hope that you get to stay cool today – and that everything you smell makes you smile!
We had a very exciting time last week, and I am really getting to put my management skills to work! It all started week before last, when we had a big wind storm. Everything was fine until that Tuesday, when a huge limb decided to come down in the back yard. Wow, they sure look a lot smaller when they’re up in the tree!
My brother had just come back from the gym, and he didn’t even notice it until after he fixed my dinner and looked out the kitchen window. I thought it was kind of a big thing not to notice, but then he doesn’t often see my toys until he steps on them, so I guess it’s understandable.
We called Greg and his team and they came last Monday and cleaned everything up for us. Here they are taking another big branch down – and saving our shamrock plant in the process! Please be patient during the first few seconds of the video: my brother is still learning how to edit them.
They brought a machine named Chipper and he was amazing! I bet he could eat a whole branch even faster than I can eat a whole pizza! His poop bags must be huge!
Well, I guess all my managing skills as Prime Rib Minister of the Winstonian Republics sure came in handy supervising the tree team. Even so, I was ready for a nap when they left!
My brother says that he heard once, “The Lord doesn’t call the equipped, he equips the called.” I think that’s my story. Has that ever happened to you? And I’m also thankful that Greg and his team were equipped when we called them! That’s really fun how that works out!
Well, we had a surprise the other morning! I got us up early to go walking because I just had this feeling that there was some treasure outside. Sure enough, when we opened the front door, there was a little kitty cat on our front porch chair!
I was worried that she had lost her Momma because she was very little. I was very interested in her giving her a home, but my brother said that we could not let Kitty stay. Now here’s the funny part: he’s the one who gave her a little plate of milk. Ha ha! That’s probably like an engraved invitation to get her to stay!
Sure enough, the little kitty pretty much made that chair her home for four days. Even when my brother put the milk way out on the fringes of our yard, she’d always come back to her chair! Here I am waiting for her return:
Do you remember when we took down the old fence? Well, she did venture out to the side yard one afternoon to check out the old fence pieces. Wow, I really wanted to meet her!
I dug and dug and dug but the fence was still there. That’s when my brother decided that she needed a home that would let her drink milk in peace. And that’s when our friends Kristin and Steve come in. They decided that she could live at their house. Well, I think Kristin did most of the deciding, but Steve held the Willett box that my brother brought back from the Bourbon Trail, so I think that was a help. As they drove off with “Miss Kitty” in it, I felt a little sad, but I will say that it’s nice to not have to bark all the time: for some reason I thought that was important while she was on the porch.
As you can see, I still look for her. My brother insists that he is not toasting her departure here, but he does seem happier than me about it. He told me that I was a good boy for looking out for her: that I could be her Marshall Dillon. I have no idea what he’s talking about! Besides, I already have the title of Prime Rib Minister. But, I guess there’s always time for me to be a Marshall, too!
Well, I hope that you have a good time looking out for whoever the Lord has appointed you to be Marshall Dillon to today. And, here’s something I’ve learned: you can actually bark less getting the job done than you think you can!
