Land Of Many Springs

One of the great joy's of blogging I've found is in sharing the unique and special things about where I call home with the rest of the world.

The area where I live is known mostly for being a hunting, fishing, floating, camping/hiking destination. During the spring it's turkey season, summertime around here is all about the river. When the chilly winds of winter begin to blow the town is overrun with people dressed in camouflage who are looking to bag that big buck! In the winter months the local people rest up!

I'm not much of a hunter, but what I do enjoy is seeing the abundant wildlife practically everywhere you go around here. The deer are somewhat tame and will sometimes just stand there next to the road allowing you to get a good look at them as you drive up . The other day I saw two hen turkeys scurry across the road in front of me with their collective brood of about 10-15 in tow. The spring hatch-lings, they were beautiful in their tan colored juvenile feathers!

Perhaps the predominant characteristic of the area I live in is the abundance of naturally occurring springs. The water they provide is literally the "life blood" that freely flows throughout this part of the state. Their cool blue effusion's and the underground waterways that they represent are a precious resource that's value cannot be overstated.

Now that I've said my little speech we can get on to the good stuff...

This is Greer Spring

Pictured here is the much celebrated and often photographed upper outlet which join's together with the water from the lower outlet and flows into the Eleven Point River more than doubling it's size! It's the second largest spring in the Ozarks, second only to Big Spring which is located in Carter County, Mo.

Originally the spring was harnessed by Samuel Greer to power a grist mill in 1859.

To the right is the lower and much more substantial source of the spring and the one time location of the aforementioned mill.

It's an incredibly beautiful area that's easily accessible. Various hiking trails that skirt the surrounding hillsides provide some excellent photo opportunities!

Our next stop on the tour is Boze Mill Spring.

Many things about Boze Spring really stood out to me.

The setting is unique in one respect because of the approach to the spring from the trail. If you look closely at the area between the trail and the deeper turquoise blue of the main spring you can see the shallow sandy area that's ideal for wading in! But be warned, the water here is in my opinion colder than any spring I've ever been in!

It practically numbed my legs within minutes of wading into it!

I've been a Missouri resident my whole life and an avid outdoors person as well. As a typical young boy I was fascinated with reptiles, frogs specifically. Having said that, I found it remarkable that as I approached the spring I was welcomed by a strange sound. Strange in that I only vaguely recognized it. The "noise" was coming from frogs. Their call was different from any frog I had ever heard, and for them to be active in the middle of the day is also unusual. As I sat there on the bank they entertained me with their "calling" to each other. Here in their secluded paradise I wondered how many thousands of generations had lived and croaked here in this place and provided the ambiance for thousands of people who had sat just where I was on it's bank.

This last spring is in many ways also the least.

It's water volume is small and I'm not really even sure of what it's "official" name is. I've heard it called "Panther Creek" spring, I tried to research it and still couldn't find any definitive information about it. It's located less than a quarter mile downstream from the Whitten access on the Eleven Point river. It's just a hole in the ground that sits less than a hundred feet back off from the main channel but what I found interesting about it is that it makes it's own noise...

That's right, it's a "Talking Spring"

My daughter and I had walked up the creek that flows from it one day a few years back. I remember hearing a noise that at first I assumed was coming from the insects that were everywhere. Something about it seemed out of kilter though, it never stopped! I paused to concentrate more fully on it I noticed that it seemed to emanate from the spring it's self!

That struck me as being an impossibility at first, "Can sound travel in water?" I'd never seen or heard of such a thing and upon a closer examination I saw what appeared to be small rocks that were caught in it's flow. The waters effect upon them was to toss them upward in the current of the spring and then suck them back down so as to imitate a volcano spewing lava. During this process,they constantly made random contact which resulted in the sound I was hearing.

I've really only scratched the surface of listing all of the springs in this part of Missouri. I barely mentioned Big Spring which is the largest, and I didn't even mention the appropriately named "Mammoth Spring" which is south of here just across the Arkansas state line.

My intent here wasn't really to provide an exhaustive list, instead my goal is to celebrate who it is that gives life to not just this little backwater part of the world but to everyone everywhere!

In this world there may be "Many Springs" but there is only one true source of life!

John 7:38

He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

I had no business...

If ever I were to write my life story, this would probably end up being the title.

What does "that" really mean?

That my life has been characterized by my feeling that I'm a square peg trying to fit into a round hole.

That as a square peg in a land full of round holes you will do a lot of searching to find a place where you fit in.

Which also means that chances are you'll become involved with a lot of stuff that you really...

"Had No Business"

being involved with.

I'm not saying it's been all bad or anything, or that I'm really any different than you are.

In fact, I'll bet you probably know exactly what I'm talking about.

A couple of weeks ago one of the transient cats that frequent my yard decided to have seven kittens and abandon them there.

My wife was the first to hear something crying, we found most of them inside of an old cabinet next to our house.

All efforts to reunite them with their presumably overwhelmed mother failed and so the task was taken up by my daughter, who passed it off to my wife...

Without getting into the details of my personal financial situation, let me just say that

"I had no Business"

spending the money I did on "cat formula replacement" or the eye dropper and tiny bottle that I bought at Wal-Mart.

I didn't even know there was such a thing, it's about $10.00 each, I bought two containers.

(I call this "one" Don King)

Now it's a week or so later, six have died from aspirational pneumonia which is caused by formula getting into their lungs and causing an infection, one is left...

But he is SO cute!

What the head makes cloudy,the heart makes very clear...

Last November I decided to rent a building in a nearby city and try to establish what I called a "ministry center"

It was an idea based not only on what I believed to be an unmet need in the community, but also on what I perceived as being a need to "walk the walk" in the Christian community.

For eight months I showed up five days a week during the scheduled hours. I promoted it, and I paid every bill associated with it's operation.

Including but not limited to...the rent,electric,phone,water,to the tune of about $500.00 a month, and during the entire time I think I might've talked to a dozen people about their drug/alcohol problems.

It's sort of a double entendre

I had no business spending that money, and I literally had no business going on!

When people use that phrase what are they really saying?

At least in part I think it means that there's no profit in what you're doing.

maybe it means you were involved in something that was better left alone or that wasn't your affair.

And in these times we're in right now, minding your own business is a pretty easy sell when it comes to doing something towards meeting the needs of our fellow man.

(or beast)

Do you think that "minding your own business" is part of being a Christian?

In the story of the good Samaritan that Jesus told to His disciples, I've always thought it was interesting that the first two people who came across the man in great distress were representatives of the church...

If we fear becoming involved, whether it's financially, personally, or BOTH! And we rationalize that fear because of our circumstances or based on the possibility of negative outcomes, it may well be said that we're simply "minding our own business". And although the primary motivation I mentioned is fear, we can further rationalize that our choice's are right by referring them as being

"self-love"

But that's in stark conflict with my understanding of what being a Christian is about.

It's definitely not loving God and others as yourself.

It's not trusting that God has all of our circumstances under His control.

Not being interested in expressing love can only mean you've yet to receive it.

Lately it seems to be a popular thing for Christian people to refer to themselves as

"followers of Christ"

Luke 2:49

And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business

Many church's and individual Christian's are seeking a move of the spirit, and yet they're standing still! One possible interpretation of Luke 2:49 is that the church is seeking Christ in the wrong places. That if we're seriously interested in following Jesus or in being used by the Holy Spirit we've got to come down off of our mountain and move towards the front line's of this battle for souls that's going on, that's where the Spirit of God is, and I believe that's where the Father is looking to "do business" and that's where He needs His church to be!

So go and rescue some kittens, and then go and volunteer at a rescue mission if you want to see the spirit move!

Well, not exactly...but what I am saying is to let it be your constant compulsion to find a way to

"let your light so shine"

among men that your Father in heaven is glorified!

Never be convinced by the apparent lack of results from your efforts to serve the Lord that you

"had no business"

In attempting to do something.

Our adoption into Gods family makes it our family business to proclaim Christ!

I have no business other than the Fathers

In closing, this quote from C.H. Spurgeon

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to Hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay. If Hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for."

Also this...

Evangelization is a process of bringing the gospel to people where they are, not where you would like them to be… When the gospel reaches a people where they are, their response to the gospel is the church in a new place...--Vincent Donovan