"LOST AND FOUND" EXPEDITION!

 

LOST AND FOUND DEPARTMENT

Have you ever lost something, and then, have to make a trip to the "Lost and Found" department of a business or park?  I certainly have---lots!

Hotel Del Coronado-lost Canon camera in California

Hiking stick in Shawnee National Forest in Illinois

Hiking stick in Redwoods National Forest in California

My iphone at Dead Horse State Park in Utah

Hiking stick at Buffalo National River in Arkansas

Branson Boat Ride-lost prescription sunglasses in Missouri

Life jacket at a Branson Water Park in Missouri

Special book of my husband's at Missouri airport

Winter cap that I lost while hiking in the Ozarks

Favorite sweater that I left at a restaurant somewhere Out West

Debit card provided by my medical insurance company

Monogrammed jacket that I left at a family member's home

Monogrammed Yeti travel mug that I left at a family members home(see below)

Lost car at a gigantic parking "field" at NASCAR track in Kansas

Purse and wallet that I left at an out of town home I was visiting

Lost my toddler's shoes, because I absent-mindedly hid them in the oven, when doing a quick clean up, for an unexpected visitor to my kitchen 

Lost my toddler's sneakers, when I accidentally left them at a cousin's house we were visiting (the funny thing about this incident, is that the very generous cousin returned them to my grandparent's house, stuffed with twenty dollar bills!)   Toddler's father joked, if we had known that was going to happen, we could have left his much larger cowboy boots, instead of tiny sneakers!)

Lost sunglasses that fell into the lake

Lost glove while scuba diving in Monterey Bay

Lost camera tripod

Lost homework that blew into the lake

Lost diamond ring at some still-unknown location

Travel mug that I left at a relative's house in California

Lost pearl ear ring down a sink at a hotel

Lost cloth diaper, accidentally flushed down the toilet (this was 50 years ago, when cloth diapers were still in use)

Flip phone that I left in car of a relative in California

Lost my car in a large parking lot, until a sympathetic stranger suggested hitting the panic button on the remote key to make the horn honk

Lost a twenty dollar bill out of my pocket while riding a two-person bicycle in Ponca, Arkansas

Lost an important reservation slip that blew out of my pocket while riding a motorcycle

Something that has helped me tremendously in finding lost items, is a tip given to me by a hard-core motorcycle rider, at a Christian Motorcycle Association meeting, over 30 years ago.  He shared with the group that he had just learned about "God's Telephone Number".  Of course, we were all intrigued to know what he meant.  He said another biker had told him about Jeremiah 33:3 that says, "Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know."  So, I started calling on God, asking Him to show me great and mighty things I did not know---like where the lost item was!!  And God answered those prayers so often, that I found I was praying very often about lost "things".  Then I was convicted about how often I was praying for lost "things", and how seldom I prayed for lost "people".  So I made a vow that every time I prayed to God about a lost item, I would also pray the name of a person I knew who was "lost", in that they had not accepted the forgiveness Jesus made available to them, through his death on the cross.   This magnet in my kitchen keeps the verse foremost in my mind:

NEEDLESS TO SAY, I HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF LOSING THINGS!  However, sometimes losing something, is the only way to receive something better:

When you see this photo of a burned tree, do you think "all is lost" for the future of this forest?

Yet, did you know that without fire, this beautiful grove of sequoia trees would not be possible? 

That is because the tiny little seed of the sequoia tree ( as shown in photo below) will not germinate, unless there is fire!

And did you know that if a giant sequoia tree had not "given up its life", this massive sculpture of Paul Bunyon could not have been created?

One of the memory verses for my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) deals with the concept of "Lost and Found".  Matthew 10:39 says "He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it."   It is the New Testament version of a "Lost and Found" verse!

My history with the phrase "Lost and Found" caused me to stop and take a photograph,
of the sign I passed, outside a church I saw in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina,  that said "Lost and Found" Church.   I "tongue in cheek" thought, "So THIS is where all those lost items can be found, that I have misplaced over a lifetime !  (Note:  OD stands for Ocean Drive, and not implying that this is an "odd church"!)

So even though I have lost many things, there is one "thing" it is good for me to lose---my tendency to want to control my life choices, versus allowing God to control my life choices.  When I choose the latter, it gives me "MILES OF SMILES" Tricia

Note: In our First Place 4 Health Bible study, called A Better Way, the translation used for Matthew 10:39 says, "If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it."  (NLT) However, with my career background being in Foods and Nutrition, every time I read that translation, my mind went down the thinking-about-food "rabbit hole" (see photo below).  Therefore, I looked for a different translation that did not have the word "cling" in it, and learned the Jeremiah Study Bible version. 

ARBOR DAY FARM EXPEDITION!

One definition of the word arbor is "a leafy, shady recess formed by tree branches and shrubs."  With that in mind, this photo could illustrate an arbor, with a paved path passing through it.    If you want to see multiple examples of arbors, I would encourage you to visit Arbor Day Farm (www.ArborDayFarm.org).

On road trips out west, I have repeatedly driven by the sign in Nebraska City (www.nebraskacity.com), pointing to the Arbor Day Farm, and the Lied Lodge at Arbor Day Farm.  In 2023, I finally had the opportunity to stop and explore the property on my return trip between California and Arkansas.  To be clear, this is not a hotel for people who have told fibs, or "lied".  If that were the case, there would never, ever be any vacancies, because everyone has told some sort of lie during their lifetime!  Rather, it was named after Ernst F. Lied, a successful Omaha automobile dealer who made millions by investing in Las Vegas real estate.  He established the private, nonprofit Lied Foundation Trust, in 1972, and today the Lied name has come to symbolize philanthropic generosity nationwide.  

Instead of a place for liars, Lied Lodge, is a place for those who support conservation.  It is located on the 260-acre Arbor Day Farm (www.ArborDayFarm.org).  Every dime the travelers spend here, goes toward the foundation's mission of planting, nurturing, and celebrating trees.  The lodge has 140 guest rooms, including two suites.  The decor in the rooms is nature-inspired, with the views throughout being scenic and soothing.

The different types of wood used in the interior are all identified, as is the wood used in the guest room decor.  The Timber Dining Room is made from butternut trees.

The upper section of the two-story lobby is made from pecan .  

One can enjoy the ambiance of a fireplace on either the lobby level, or the lower level.

      

The lofty lobby is a perfect space to highlight these beautiful chandeliers:

The souvenir items in the gift shop utilize wood and sustainable materials, as opposed to the items one usually sees in a hotel gift shop:

Wherever your eye looks, one sees creative use of wood in the decor, such as these stackable wood chairs seen in the Conference room. 

Each chair is a work of excellent wood craftsmanship.

Although Arbor Day is a secular holiday, there is no denying that trees are indeed "The Gift of God".  

The Lied Lodge has a sustainable type of heating and cooling system, called biomass. The biomass used here, utilizes wood chips sourced from old wooden shipping pallets.     Guests can take a self-guided tour of the plant, which is open until 7 pm every day.  In addition to that tour,  the Fuelwood Energy Plant Gallery is a walk-through interactive exhibit, to learn about the process of turning trees into energy.

Some visitors have described their visit to Lied Lodge, as having a "camp" feeling.  It could be that singing campfire songs and sitting around an outdoor firepit enhances those feelings! The shrub-like planting between the firepit and the taller trees in the background is a 16-acre hazelnut grove.  It is an experimental plot where researchers are trying to develop a hybrid hazelnut variety that can adapt to a variety of harsh environmental conditions.  Hazelnuts are a good crop to study, because they are eaten by both wildlife and humans. 

Likewise, outdoor dining and picnicking can be enjoyed on the spacious upper porch at the Lied Lodge.

The white house that can be seen across the lawn and within the adjacent woods, is the original home of the Morton Family.  It was here in 1872 that the idea for the first Arbor Day began.  It was started as a way to encourage people everywhere to plant trees.  On the very first Arbor Day. nearly one million trees were planted in Nebraska.  The Morton home is now part of the Arbor Lodge State Historical Park and Mansion, and is under the direction of the Arbor Day Foundation.  It consists of 72 acres and includes the 52-room historic mansion (designed to look like the White House in Washington, D.C.).  Also one can visit an arboretum, Italian terraced garden, log cabin, carriage house, walking trails, plus more than 200 varieties of lilacs. It is possible to follow trails and sidewalks from Lied Lodge over to the state historical park.  J. Sterling Morton came to Nebraska City in 1855.  He and his wife, Caroline, were lovers of nature, and Morton served as Secretary of Agriculture under President Grover Cleveland's administration.  It was in 1872 that he was instrumental in establishing the annual tree planting day, Arbor Day.  The name for the Morton Salt Company, also relates to a descendant of the same family.

A VARIETY of walkways are available, and most are wheelchair accessible.

One of the connecting trails between the Lied Lodge and the historic Morton mansion, has many types of surfaces, and passes through a variety of habitats.

 

This boardwalk goes through a wetlands area,and using the provided hand rail, the rail would even be suitable for guiding a blind person.  The photo below with the railing,  is the image I am using for one of my First Place 4 Health (www.FirstPlace4Health.com) memory verses, that says, "We walk by faith, not by sight." from 2 Corinthians 5:7. 

Another Scripture verse that came to mind as I was strolling through this forest, was Isaiah 61:3 that says, "They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD, to display His splendor."  The "oaks of righteousness" phrase, is a metaphor for living in a way, that pleases God.

This visit to the Nebraska City Arbor Day Farm, increased my desire to live my life so I can be counted among the "Oaks of Righteousness", and it gave me MILES OF SMLES!  Tricia