Wonderful Windy West Texas

I grew up in West Texas; I should be used to windstorms. However, this lonely hill top we live on has taught me a lot about the power of the One who makes the wind blow wherever He wishes! We were enjoying a typical morning when Taylor sent me a message saying that the cold front we are expecting was on it's way, pushing a lot of wind in front of it. (Translation: please brave your way outside and rescue anything that's blowing around and cover the water faucets we should have covered two days ago. Thanks! ) So, leaving Daniel to sleep on his mat in the house, the big kids and I went out to brave the blast, which Taylor informs me is gusting up to 45 miles per hour. :) The kids picked up their toys and put them in the barn while I took the mail out to the mail box. When I came back, Glory bravely threw herself on top of the laundry basket while I stuffed clothes under her to keep them from blowing away. By this time, Levi was tired of standing up, so I sent him to sit on the porch with the dog out of the wind. As soon as we had rescued the laundry, I sent the kids inside and fed the chickens and drained the water hoses. We are now all back inside the calm of the house, four kinds of tired and hair standing up like we had volunteered for a science demonstration. Whew! Scripture tells us to be content with such things as we have; I suppose that includes the wind - which we definitely have our share of!

Of Big Kids and Bunk Beds

In preparation for Daniel joining in the kids' room sometime this winter, our big kids got new beds...of which they are very proud. I had to stay outside their door and watch them sleep a bit that first night amazed at how much God has grown them up! Also, since it's been way too long since Dan got his picture up here, I added one of him and me! :)

That Sneaky Serpent

Just before lunch today, while working in my office I began to hear a buzzing kind of noise. I got up and listened to my computers to determine if one of the fans were humming a bit loud...nope. Then came the dreadful feeling that I was going to have to venture outside. As I walked around the side of my office I heard the buzzing sound got louder. I glanced under my office and saw the cat sitting there which is not too unusual. The cat and the buzzing sound meant one of two things: 1) he caught some sort of cricket that was vainly trying to get out of his mouth; or 2) he found a snake (a rattlesnake of course!).

In this part of Texas, there was no need to take any chances. I immediately ran into the house and grabbed the shotgun. With no verbal communication, Alesha knew what that meant. She put the kids inside on a mat and had them stay there. My office is raised between 4"-8" off the ground so generally I can see under it, but the rattling sound was coming from behind some grass weeds such that I could not see it. We poked and prodded the hiding snake from one end of the office to the other. ... To make a long, 45 min episode a bit shorter, we corralled the snake, with much effort, near an outside corner of the office. Then using a long PVC pipe I pushed it out into the open and pinned it down with my pipe. Meanwhile, my father-in-law shot at it with his revolver (since the snake was only 2 ft from my office and 12 ft from the propane tank, we did not want to use the shotgun). After wounding him, I took a hoe and chopped his head off. The battle was over.

As usual, during and after a fight with a rattlesnake I must think of my real enemy, Satan. See my other post. This time though was the first time that the head was preserved enough to watch it continue to bite at the air, or dust, or anything else that the snake thought it could inflict harm upon. Though Satan has lost the war, and Jesus is proved vicorious over sin and death and hell, that evil Serpent continues to slither his way into our lives just to cause us a bit more pain and suffering. Or perhaps we see the wiggling decapitated body and choose to stay away from it, but forget to consider that it can do no more harm, but rather the head, still biting in the wind, will strike at any unsupsecting victim.

Well, that was my adventure and those are my thoughts!
Enjoy!

Election Post

Hmmm, I wonder if Alesha even knows who won the election yet. I would not know either if it were not for someone already telling me.
Here are my two most enjoyed election posts:
http://stufffchristianslike.blogspot.com/2008/11/432-election-post-you-have-to-write.html
and
http://thepoint.breakpoint.org/2008/11/politics-and-th.html

Enjoy!

Trusting My Father

Here's a recent picture of Daniel and his Papa! :) I love the strength of the one and the comfortable helplessness of the other. TRUST. It's awesome! :) This weekend I thought quite a bit about my Fathers...my earthly father had chest surgery this past Monday, which, thanks to my heavenly Father, seems to have gone very well. One lobe of his lung was removed; the two cysts they found do not seem to be cancerous. At this point, it seems to be a wonderful report and Daddy is doing well. Through the waiting and suspense of all this, though, I have been thinking some about prayer. As Christians, we are given an amazing opportunity. Since we have surrendered all we are to Christ, God can now see His Son when he looks at us instead of seeing who we used to be. Because our sin is then out of the way, we have an audience before the all-powerful, all-wonderful Creator of Life. Even more amazing, we don't come as slaves, but as dear children as we pour our requests and our fears at His feet. Unbelievers don't have this position. They are loved as much, but have no access into His presence since they have rejected the access He has provided through Christ. What do they do then, in stressful circumstances? They can try to solve them by themselves, but soon they will come to problems bigger than their solutions. They can hope things all work out, but deep in their soul they know they have no control. If this is you, you do not have to stay in this position! God is waiting and eager for your love and your trust! TRUST. This brings me to what I've been thinking the most about. I have been ashamed over the past few days at how in spite of my prayers, worry has ruled where peace should have. I AM a Christian! I HAVE this hope that the world does not! It is not the fault of my Father, Who has promised me His perfect peace, but with me, who like Peter, started to sink in the waves that faith would have easily held me above if my eyes would have truly been on Christ. Graciously, like with Peter, my Lord is always there to reach out His hand, even when my fear rules over my faith. As I look at my husband with our young children, and hear him stare them in the eyes and say, "Trust me", when they have to walk with him through something scary, I know that my Father says the same to me. :)