Well, you aren't dead!

Good Morning Friends!  Take time to be thankful, Tuesday!!  Well, my goodness seems like it’s been forever….missed you all!  Last Sunday I wanted to have a lesson on being thankful in conjunction with Thanksgiving for the kids.  I found a neat idea on the internet and adapted it to our group.  Basically I had a basket of apples with a number taped on each one.  I had each child tell me a song they wanted to sing and I had bible verses on being thankful.  So, I read a bible verse, someone picked an apple and we sang the song that corresponded to the number on the apple!  The singing came directly from the first verse, Psalm 147:7, “Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving; make music to our God on the harp (I said piano too, we have the most awesome pianist at church).”  And so we began, bible verse, apple, sing….what a good time we were having making music to our God!  Pretty soon, I read 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”  This verse lead me to ask the kids, quite dramatically, “Well, I’ve been really sick….so does this verse mean I have to be thankful for being sick???!!!!!”  I was really trying to make a point, about not being whiners, when one Jr. Hi boy said in his getting deep Jr. Hi voice, head down….”Well…..you aren’t dead!”  Wow!  Did that ever hit home….I have been doing quite a bit of whining about being sick…..in fact I’m sure there are friends and co-workers that are sick of hearing me whine……the point is I am alive!  Alive, with medicine, lots of chicken soup, cough drops and a caring husband…..I am going to be just fine!  That young man’s comment may have been a bit on the extreme side, but I think it really made a good clear point for us…..we do have so very much for which to be thankful, grateful….praise worthy!  Yet, it seems we are so quick to see the negative…..get sick once in a while and we think the world has come to an end….How about all the days we are healthy, feel great….are we thankful on those days.  Do we think to thank our doctor, pharmacist, friends, caring husband on those days….My husband starts my car every morning and pulls it right up to the back door for me…..Hmmm, have I thanked him lately….Ever called your doctor when you felt really good and thanked her for always being there when you need her?  Ever thanked God for her and prayed for wisdom for her in so many difficult situations?  Thursday is “Thanksgiving Day”  why wait…..let’s start thanking and praising right now!  Our God takes good care of us….provides us with what we need….oh yea sometimes we think it’s not quick enough, but…..never forget, Our Father always knows what’s best!  Trust and believe!!!  Father, oh my goodness there’s not enough hours in the day to thank you for all you do for us!!!  Accept our humble gratitude and praise!  Help us to always keep attitudes of gratitude.  And thank you for my doctor!!!

 

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the God of gods.  His love endures forever.  Give thanks to the Lord of lords:  His love endures forever.  Psalm 136:1-3.

Love you all!

Where are the cows?

Good Morning Friends!!  Thankfully HIS Thursday!   Kim has been trying to buy about 10 more cows to finish out his herd for several months.  Gosh, prices are so high and they are really hard to find too.  So, last week when he heard about a special sale in McAllister on Saturday we couldn’t help but get a little excited.  We knew that it was mostly a bull sale, but there were supposed to be some cows/heifers also, so yep we were anxious.  We got up real early Saturday morning and got all our chores done so we could leave around 10.  I stoked the fire to last all day because we didn’t think we would be home till late and left the pumpkin/turkey lights on too…..I was packed and ready for a day at the sale barn (I just love those sale barn burgers) and excited that Kim might finally get his cows (he has been driving me a bit crazy)!  It was a beautiful morning, the drive was gorgeous,  trees flaunting their phenomenal fall colors, the warm sun dancing happily through the fluffy clouds and the company…..my favorite sweetie what a great day!  We arrived early, pulled on our jackets and headed to the lots to get a sneak preview of what we had hoped to bid on.  We could tell as soon as we stepped in that there wasn’t an abundance of animals.  We walked up and down every row….one after another……bull after bull….where are the cows!!!  We finally found two or three pens of heifers…registered at that…but that was it!  Wow!  What a let- down….dang, we had worked ourselves into a state of anxious anticipation and now nothing….With our bubbles burst and our heads hanging we headed to the car….no need to hang around there!  Now what??!!!  Poor Kim, once again he faced the disappointment of not completing his herd…..We were quiet as we hit the road  home….I did talk him into stopping at a couple antique stores so I could brose and we had lunch, but then headed home.  We were sleepy when we got home, so we sat in our recliners and looked for a movie to watch….we both dozed off….the silence was broken by the shrill sound of Kim’s pager…..he jumped up as the voice from Central Dispatch said Lula Fire….you need to respond…unattended death…..We looked at each other, oh how he hates those calls….he responded and headed out the door.  I said a prayer for the family  and went to the office to do something.  It hadn’t been too long when I got a call from him…..his voice was serious, “Kathie can you come sit with a wife who just lost her husband?”  Oh my gosh I thought, oh how sad….can I?  “Kathie, Vera needs you.”  At that point it hit me, a dear friend and neighbor had died…his sweet precious wife of 62 years was all alone.  “I will be right there!”  I headed out the door, crying….poor Vera….oh I will miss Waymon….precious man, poor Vera.  I drove as fast as I dared, Kim greeted me on the porch where he waited for the ambulance.  “She’s on the couch, on the phone, go on in.”  I embraced her, she cried…..At that moment I knew why there were no cows at the sale!  God had a bigger plan for our day…..His sweet child, Vera, needed hugs……God was in charge of our day…..how could we ever have doubted HIM!  Father, help us to trust and believe in Your plans for us and to joyfully obey.  Help us to always reflect Your love in our actions with Your children.

 

“For I know the plans I have for you,”  declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11.  The plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations.  Psalm 33:11.  “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord.  As the heavens are higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isaiah 55:8-9.  As God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Colossians 3:12.

Love you all!

Mouse in the house

Good Morning Friends!  Totally washed with HIS love, Tuesday!!!  First things first!  Thank you Father for this awesome rain!!  Last week was a busy one for me, real busy.  Saturday was our annual BBQ fundraiser at the fire department and that means a lot of work!  So I was busy all week shopping, preparing food, etc. and then the big day!  We started a little after 7 am moving the fire trucks out, cleaning and then setting up tables and chairs, decorating, organizing, you know the whole shamolly!  About 10 I headed home to cook 24 pounds of pinto beans!  One of our pots is almost as big as me….lol…really I have to stand on a chair to stir them….and so the day went….busy, busy and the anticipation, hoping for a big turnout always gets to me!  Back to the department about 3:30 to finish up the kitchen things…thank heavens for a great group of women to help out!  Five pm finally comes and we start serving, the band is playing, kids are having a great time in the bouncer and getting their faces painted and let’s not forget the silent auction!  Great success this year!  Our crowd was a bit slim, but it was a great night.  Finally it’s time to clean up (thank heavens for women that wash dishes hour after hour), and head home.  I was pooped, but did manage to unload my car!  Kim and I sat up and watched TV for a while hashing everything over while trying to relax and unwind; finally we gave up and went to bed!  I didn’t sleep good at all, so finally got up about 6 to  make coffee.  I grabbed a cup and went back to bed, Kim had turned on the news, so I sat there and watched for a little while.  Pretty soon we both got up…..he headed to the bathroom, sleepy-eyed and groggy, I went to the sink to run some dishwater……OH MY GOODNESS!!!!  The sight in my sink made me scream!  SCREAM, at the top of my lungs and run to the other side of the room.  Poor Kim, didn’t know what happened.  “THERE’S A MOUSE IN THE SINK, A MOUSE IN MY SINK!!!!!”  “Is it dead?”  he asked.  “NO!!!!!!  IT’S ALIVE!”  I screamed.  At that point he came into the kitchen, summed up the situation, reached in, picked it up by its tail, and flushed it!  Flushed it right down the toilet….oh mind you, it took two flushes!  Oh my gosh, my heart was racing, that thing….that mouse in my sink….My sink!!!!  That mouse in my sink, grossed me out!!!  Thank heavens for Kim and a good flush!!!  Later that morning, sitting in church, I couldn’t help but think about that gross mouse, in my sink!!!!  As we kneeled to confess our sins….a warm peace consumed me, inside and out…..Oh Father, I am so sorry that I am such a gross sinner!  I know that my sins must really gross You out like that nasty mouse did me.  Oh Father, You flush our sins through the death and resurrection of Your Son….Thank you Father, we sure do not deserve Your precious mercy and grace…..Thank you for loving us anyway!

 

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.  John 3:16.  As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  Psalm 103:12.  The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against Him.  Daniel 9:9.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God.  Ephesians 2:8.

Love you all!