Children's Song Challenge

I have kept various things from when my children were younger and now am so grateful I did. One thing I held on to was the music they used to listen to. Often now during the day it is once again playing in the background.

I found myself singing along with this chorus and was challenged:

"Jesus lived to please the Father, please the Father, please the Father
It was never any kind of bother cause Jesus lived to please the Father
Yes He only lived to please the Father"

It got me to thinking... Am I striving to please the Father? What are my motives? Do I consider it a bother to live to please my Father?

I have had a perspective check today.

Has something ordinary challenged you lately?

Thank You is Not Adequate

They are in their young 20's. They have only been married for 16 months. They are lovely people. They are involved in the children's ministries of the church; she loves the preschoolers and he takes on the junior boys (ages 8-11).

They are paying the price... for your freedom and mine. They are sacrificing life as they know it so that you and I can continue life as we know it. He is in the Air Force and was deployed yesterday. It was suspected that it was coming. Then one week ago he was notified that he would not be going, he was put back on standby.

So much can happen in one week. He was called again and told he was going, but not the future date that had been previously thrown around, he was leaving the very next Sunday (which was yesterday).

She came to church... alone. Just one week earlier we were rejoicing with them as they stood side by side that he was on standby, and now... he has been deployed. Her eyes are swollen and red. The tears are falling freely at times. She is typically such a quiet, very consistent, stable person. But for this moment in time, she is vulnerable. Her heart is breaking, and for what? For our freedom!!

For the purpose of this post, I don't much care if you claim republican or democrat. I don't care what side you stand on the "war issue". I don't care what you believe in other realms of politics.

What I care about is that each one of us realize and ponder for just a moment, the sacrifices being made by families around our country. The things they are giving up, the extreme pain they allow their hearts to go through. The separation from friends and loved ones that they agree to endure, and for what? For my freedom, for your freedom, for our freedom.

I stood there beside her during prayer in church with her tears falling freely, having her turn to me and give me a hug after the prayer time. I saw her pain and felt her sorrow, and I realized it was not for herself that she finds herself in this place.

To just say "Thank You" is not near adequate. I'm not sure what is, but you'd better believe my heart and soul is going to find a way to lift them up during this time. I'm going to attempt to show my appreciation in any way I can.

My friends are sacrificing for me and my family, and guess what? They don't know you but they're doing the same for you and your family!!

Next time you see someone in uniform, keep in mind there are tears, heartache, and sacrifice behind that exterior. Not allowing that in their lives for themselves, but for you and for me, for our freedom, for the ability to go to work, to school, to shop, to sleep in peace, for our children to have the opportunity to grow in this land of free America... to be able to continue life as we know it while their world is begin ripped apart!

Thank you is not near adequate, but it seems a good place to start.


Originally published January 30, 2006

He has since returned from his tour of duty but experienced the loss of a good friend and fellow soldier while away. He mourned there while his wife mourned here.

Freedom comes at such a very high price. May we never forget...

The Cow in My Garage

I have a cow in my garage. We even paid to have the cow in my garage.

Okay, not a whole cow, just a half of one... and I couldn't be more excited. For the first time in our lives, we purchased half a cow.

Some friends from church raise their own cattle. They were going to use half the meat and asked us if we'd be interested in the other half.

We were able to select what types of cut's we wanted. We chose how much of the different cuts we wanted. We have almost 400 pounds of beef in the freezer.Ground beef, stew meat, prime rib steak, sirloin steak, t-bone steak, various roasts....

Other than the ground beef, most of these cuts are ones that I don't purchase often. Some I've never purchased before that I can remember.Now I just have to learn the different ways to cook all of it. Any recipe ideas you want to share?

Chicken Catastrophe

It appears our chicken farming days may quickly be coming to an end. We had quite the chicken catastrophe this last weekend.

In case you had lost count, between getting our first hatched eggs from my son's science class two years ago and the chicks we purchased last spring minus the roosters and the few others that met early deaths due to different tragedies, we were at a count of 8 laying hens.

This last weekend drastically changed that. We went out Saturday morning to do the chores and that is when we made the discovery. Instead of laying hens greeting us, we were greeted by various piles of feathers.

Out of 8 hens, we have only 2 (very scared ones) left. Apparently coyote's, foxes or some other animal large enough to drag bodies of 6 chickens leaving only feather's behind got into the coop. We also thought possibly raccoons, but whatever it was had to be strong enough to get over the outside fencing with the chickens. It also appears it was more than one to clear six of them in one sitting.

Right now we don't have the money, time or energy to invest in starting over with new chicks. Plus, we're quite sure the animals that found the six now know where the coop is and will return. We have reinforced the coop as best as we can but getting new chicks just doesn't seem to be an option for now.

Due to our weekend chicken catastrophe, our chicken farming has now been reduced to the care of 2 hens. It appears I will need to start buying eggs again...

Where I Am

I'm... still... here. Obviously less frequent than in months past, but here nonetheless. I have no idea how many of you are still stopping by. I lost time to follow my sitemeter weeks ago. I can't even remember the last time I glanced at those numbers. Somehow, that has been quite refreshing actually.

If you are still here, I am so grateful for your continued presence and support during our time of transition. It is going well. Our little guy is becoming visibly more settled everyday. However, with that comes his increased interest, exploring and activity. Which of course means increased energy and alertness required of me to keep up.

Intertwined in our transition life continues. We are finishing homeschooling for the 5th grade with our daughter. Our son is finishing 7th grade strong. He continues with his extracurricular activity of engineering club. We are becoming accustomed to and familiar with life as a family of five. We are learning the new schedule required of our minutes and hours to meet the needs of each one.

My days are busy from morning to night. My schedule rarely leaves a spare moment. My body is experiencing exhaustion and aches not experienced for some time. Yet in the middle of it all there is a calm and peace that has come with this new busy.

Much of life remains undone. Projects are waiting to be completed. Blog posts are waiting to be written. E-mails are needing to be answered. Sorting is needing to be done. Cards are needing to be written and sent. And the list goes on...

I am reminded that all of these things will wait. For now, there is a diaper to change. There is a bottle to be made. There is a daughter to explore a new concept with. There is a conversation of all things electronic to have with a teenage son. There is a husband to connect with. There are children to give my attention to. There is a family to love.

And that is where I am...

Garden Question

I've got a question for you. It's a gardening question. It's a compost question. It's a chicken manure question.

I have heard it said that chicken manure is good for a garden. I have heard it said that straw is good to cover plants in a garden. I have heard it said that compost is good for the garden.

I have all three. That is not my question. My question actually has to do with timing.

We will soon do the spring cleaning of the chicken coop, replacing all the straw with fresh. When we do, can I take that straight to my garden area or do I need to compost it until next year? (or even longer?)

I have the composted chicken coop straw from last year that I could also use. I just thought if I could load the wheel barrel and do an immediate transfer from the coop to the garden, it would save me transporting from coop to compost pile and then compost pile to garden.

Am I just being lazy? Oh wait, please don't answer that. *sheepish grin* That is not my garden question!

Straw, compost, garden, chicken manure and timing... any ideas?