What relation do the Appalachian Mountains and Israel have? Interesting story….
It had been three years since my wife and I had been able to visit family back in East Tennessee. We always love our visits to East Tennessee and one of the “must-do” things on our list while there is to visit the Great Smoky Mountains. I took my easel along and was able to create three Plein Air works during our time in Tennessee, 2 of them were inside the Park boundaries. One of the locations I painted inside the Park was the history-rich area of Cades Cove, the Dan Lawson cabin in particular.
The Dan Lawson cabin was built in 1856 and Dan Lawson was the largest land owner in the Cove after the Civil War. The cabin was built from hand hewn logs and boast a brick chimney, which was rare in the Cove at that time. You can read more about the history of the Dan Lawson Cabin here.
Psalm 118:24 says “This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” The day He made for us that day was rainy, misty and cold. So we thanked Him for it and proceeded with that day in Cades Cove. As mentioned above, I set up at the Dan Lawson cabin, because I could back up in the parking place and setup under the Dodge’s tail gate and stay “mostly” out of the rain. It actually worked out pretty good!
Many people came and went during the couple of hours of so I was working there. By far the most interesting and encouraging group was a group of young folks from Israel. My wife, Donna, and I had some great conversations with these awesome, beautiful people. I was very impressed with their demeaner and curtesy. At one point in our conversation I told them that I felt compelled to apologize for many of my fellow Americans who seem to have lost their minds in their opposition to Israel. We told them that we support Israel and always would. To sum up, we had a great time with our Israeli friends on a cold rainy day in the Smoky Mountains…
“I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Genesis 12:3
“In that day the LORD will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the one who is feeble among them in that day will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the LORD before them. And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.”
Zechariah 12:8
Another location I was blessed to setup and paint was near Elkmont in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I set up by a little mountain stream and as Donna explored the nearby area I painted the scene below. It was a little cold, but quiet and peaceful. I am always in awe at God’s awesome creation!
The third location I was able to setup and paint at for a couple hours was inside the Cherokee National Forest, which is located between Cleveland, Tennessee and Copperhill, Tennessee. The stream depicted is called Goforth Creek and comes down the steep mountain side through boulders, mountain laurel and rhododendron. About 1000 feet from the place I setup the creek runs into the Ocoee River, which then empties into Parksville Lake a few miles down stream.
