This was a post from 2016. The tradition of service from The Sisters has been going on for years. Unfortunately, not all of them could make it this year, but the tradition continues.
This weekend I was fortunate to spend time with my Mother and her sisters (aka The Sisters). We always have so much fun, and our time together is such a blessing to me.
Being Memorial Day weekend, I watched The Sisters dutifully attend to the graves of their loved ones. As I stood there in the cemetery watching them decorate the headstones with flowers and placing American flags near the men who had served in the military, I marveled at the devotion these dear ladies have towards those who have passed into life eternal; a husband, a child, their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, in-laws and friends. No one was left out, and each life was remembered through the kindness of my Mother and her sisters.
I’m grateful that we, as a Nation, have a special day set aside to honor all those who have given their life defending our freedoms and liberties. These men and women have given all that we may have all:
Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness
The number of lives that have been given in the fight for, and the keeping of, our freedoms here in America is astounding. In the initial pursuit of freedom, 25,000 lives were lost during the Revolutionary War, almost 600,000 during the Civil War, during both World Wars there were over 500,000 lives sacrificed; Korea and Vietnam over 144,000. Hundreds of thousands of graves all over the world, mark the place of sacrifice where brave, heroic men and women have stood between America and those who want to destroy her.
And they who for their country die shall fill an honored grave, for glory lights the soldier’s tomb, and beauty weeps the brave.”
October already! The leaves are changing…the weather is cooler. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but the days seem to be passing at an alarming rate!
The fall calving season is well underway. It’s been very successful so far this year; we have even had 2 sets of twins! Unfortunately, we did lose one, but the other 3 are doing well. All of the mommas have been protecting their babies from their predators, and we are about to get our largest calf crop ever! Continue reading The Saga Of Number Nine Bovine→
Here it is! The first Monday in September… the official end of summer. No more wearing white shoes (although khaki pants are still tolerable until the first snow fall).
To me, it’s really one of the saddest holidays, because it’s the holiday that signifies the last of things:
the last 3-day weekend
the last chance to take a camping trip
the last swim
the last paid holiday (until Veteran’s Day)
the last weekend of summer
However, this holiday was established to honor the great American Worker…those blue-collar workers who have contributed to the prosperity of this great Country.
America has always had an abundance of movers and shakers to build her up during her young formative years. When going from mainly agriculture and mercantile, to bustling manufacturing and production companies, these increasing businesses also brought on greater need for lots and lots of workers.
This was a good thing, as far as providing jobs for immigrants who were making their way into the country, as well as for the increasing population. However, as history records, working conditions weren’t always the best.
In the late 1800’s, the average American worker was working 12-hour days in unsafe, and unsanitary environments. Wages were sometimes low or unfair, young children were making a fraction of an adult’s wage, work areas were often hazardous to the employees. There were no breaks, no vacations, and often the 12-hour work day was seven days a week.
However, with the help of organized labor unions, the American workers united together to protest those awful situations, and after a lot of grit, guts, and grind, working conditions were greatly improved.
In 1882, Congress officially named the first Monday in September as the designated day to honor those manual laborers.
So, go Celebrate! Enjoy a BBQ, one last swim, an evening bonfire, or an extended rest from the drudgery of your job. And on Tuesday, when you’re standing around the water fountain, or taking an hour-long lunch, or snacking during your afternoon break, take a moment to remember those who stood strong to make working conditions better for us all.
This is the perfect cookie when it’s too hot outside (and inside) to run the oven.
Earlier in our lives, when we had only six kids at home, I worked at the Christian school my kids attended, so understandably, I was often exhausted; probably because I was always pregnant or packing a newborn. So Daughter #1 would make these cookies for us when we (she) craved a fast snack. She was actually the one who found the recipe, and I’m not sure I even made them until she went off to college.
These cookies are very easy to make and only require a few ingredients, which we always have on hand. They have that classic peanut butter and chocolate taste, in a soft and chewy fudge-like cookie.
And NO Baking!
Gather all the ingredientsCook over medium high heatBring to a rolling boilAdd peanut butter and vanillaAdd oatsMix quicklyDrop by spoonfuls onto parchment paper
[clickandtweet handle=”” hashtag=”” related=”” layout=”” position=””]Teach me, O Lord, the way of Your statutes; and I will keep it to the end. Psalm 119:13[/clickandtweet]
Blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the LORD!
Blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with their whole heart,
who also do no wrong, but walk in His ways!
You have commanded Your precepts to be kept diligently.
Oh that my ways may be steadfast in keeping Your statutes!
Then I shall not be put to shame, having my eyes fixed on all Your commandments.
I will praise You with an upright heart, when I learn Your righteous rules.
I will keep Your statutes; do not utterly forsake me!
Psalm 119:2-8
Life can be a struggle. Making difficult decisions can lead to undesirable consequences. Sometimes we feel lost and confused about the direction our life has taken us. Indecision, uncertainty, and doubt regulate our thoughts, at times.
Well, navigating through life can be tough, and to quote President Obama, “This is just really hard.” (1) (I guess he found out that it was harder than it looked.)
However, we do have a Plan Book available to us–the Bible, God’s Holy Word, the Scriptures…whatever you choose to call it.
God has graciously given us a written account of how we are supposed to live our lives. The problem is that the Bible doesn’t have a topical index that we can turn to and look for the solutions to our problems—wouldn’t that be nice.
But the solutions are there; the plans are there; the instructions are there, and all we have to do is dig them out. We cannot know God’s wisdom and understanding unless we study—not just read, but study, His Word.
Is it important to study God’s Word?
Of course it is! In the Psalm above, law, testimonies, ways, precepts, statutes, and commandments all refer to God’s Holy Word. To live a less hectic, more God-loving, people-loving, self-loving life, we must find His plans for us.
For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope.Then you will call on Me and you will come and pray to Me, and I will hear [your voice] and I will listen to you.Then [with a deep longing] you will seek Me and require Me [as a vital necessity] and [you will] find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
The hot temperatures of August continually dropped, due to the cooler winds blowing in all day. It was a welcome relief to The Farmer as he toiled about his daily chores. And tonight, as he slipped into bed, the distant thunder rolling through the clouds began to lull The Farmer into a much needed night of rest.
The welcome sound of the peaceful rain lightly falling upon the metal roof of the barn began to slowly wash away all active thoughts of the busy day. How nice it would be to get a rain this time of year, when normally the weather was hot and dry.
Nevertheless, the rumble of the incoming storm wasn’t too far away, and the flash of lightening that quickly followed lit up the sky. And then a closer rumble and a loud boom—another flash of lightening—more rumbling—longer and deeper—and a brighter flash shooting across the skyline. And then suddenly…Crash! Boom! The heavens opened up, as barrels of water were dumped from the sky! Then there was no distance between the crash of the thunder… the flash of the lightening… and BOOM! …The Farmer was startled from sleep as the walls of his room were shaken!
As he walked through the house checking to make sure all was secure, his thoughts were consumed with the dread of disaster that awaited him in the morning. There would be no more rest for The Farmer that night.
As we all know, Missouri weather tends to be very unpredictable, and this year we’ve seen a lot of storms blow in. One stormy night, not too long ago, we got 6” of rain and another 4” a few days later. You can imagine how hard and wicked the rain had to come to get that much water on the ground.
Needless to say, that causes a lot of flooding anywhere there is water. And where there is flooding there are fallen trees in the field, debris left behind by rising creeks, and washed away water gaps. And with a gravel driveway, that goes up hill both ways, that much water, in that short of time, washes all the rock right into the hayfields. This has kept The Farmer very busy.
Another problem arising is that he hasn’t been able to get into the hayfield to actually get up the hay. Although he has a lot of his hay up, he needs another cutting or two to get enough to get us through the winter. However, on the bright side, it’s the middle of August and we have GREEN pastures! So, for now, the cows are very happy!
“To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him?” says the Holy One.
Isaiah 40:25
Who is comparable to God? There is no one like Him. There is no one comparable to Him. Have you ever tried to explain God to a young child? It’s hard to do; a child’s world is full of magical characters like:
Santa Claus, who “sees you when you’re sleeping”,
The Tooth Fairy who sneaks into your room and exchanges money for a forgotten tooth underneath a pillow
The Easter Bunny who hides plastic eggs on the lawn
The boogeyman who will get you if you “sing at the table or whisper in bed”
But these characters, and others like them, are not comparable to God and His greatness.
As we grow older, these fantasies are replaced by super heroes who have their own legends to live up to. Today most super-brave, over-accomplishing, fictional characters have complete historical backgrounds built around their super-ness, which kids of every age thrill to discover.
However, these super characters pale in the light of our powerful God.
As adults we may lay aside the whimsical heroes and felons of our childhood, but often we replace these fanciful feelings with idolization of those who we consider to be great in their own rights. We try to compare man and his accomplishments to God and His greatness. Maybe it’s because it’s easier for us to quantify man, because God is immeasurable, but no one is comparable to God.
Man can be placed in time and space, but God is omnipresent–He has the power to be everywhere at the same time
Man can be awarded with certificates and mark off his learning achievements, but God is omniscient–He has unlimited knowledge and understanding
Man’s authority, influence, and power is measured by those who follow him, but God is omnipotent–He has infinite power and authority
No one is comparable to God; no fictional character we can imagine, no person who has achieved the ultimate pinnacle of success, and nothing we create with our hands can compare, either.
To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? An idol!
A craftsman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold and casts for it silver chains.
He who is too impoverished for an offering chooses wood that will not rot;
he seeks out a skillful craftsman to set up an idol that will not move.
Isaiah 40:18-20
Who is comparable to God? No one… there is no one comparable to God. There is no one else who has immeasurable power, unending authority, boundless mercy, and everlasting love.
God’s love cannot be compared to any other love we will ever know.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And God saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold, it was very good.
And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”
Genesis 1:1, 31
Some people have a hard time believing that creation of the world took only six days to complete. Some say that there is a gap between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2.
(1) In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. {And then other things happened for billions of years} (2) And the earth [became?] without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
While they teach that God created all things, the gap comes from the efforts of men to coincide the scientific faith, that the earth is billions of years old, with the spiritual faith, that God is the Creator.
They propose that supposedly billions of years ago when God created the earth, it was somehow filled with all the living life forms—including the cave men and dinosaurs— that our geologist are now finding in ancient ruins, hidden caves, and on top of uninhabited mountain tops.
However, (according to their theory) this age came to an end shortly after Lucifer and his entourage of fallen angels were banned from heaven and cast to the earth. It was then that the earth was—or to use their word—“became” without form and void.
There are many arguments out there for and against the gap theory and you can study and believe what you would like. However, if we take the Bible literally, then God created the heaven, the earth, the universe, and everything that exits (and continues to procreate) in six literal days—24 hours—morning to night.
In the beginning, God created:
Day 1—God created light
Day 2—God created the sky and seas
Day 3—God separated the sea to create dry land and created vegetation
Day 4—God created the sun, the moon and the stars
Day 5—God created the swimming creatures and the flying creatures
Day 6—God created the land creatures and man (and woman)
For six days God’s Spirit breathed on our universe creating everything from the smallest thing seen through the lens of a microscope to the largest thing seen through the lens of a telescope.
What an amazing God we have the privilege to serve!
My faith is the most important aspect of my life. At age twenty-one, I accepted God’s provision for my sin debt and made Jesus Christ the Lord and Savior of my life and soul. From that point on, I have never looked back nor have I ever regretted my decision. Jesus is my Redeemer.
One of my favorite episodes in the Bible is found in Mark 8. Jesus asked His disciples a very important question
“Who do men say that I am?”
The disciples gave various answers, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and some say you are one of the prophets”.
Jesus then asked the most important question, “But who do you say that I am?”
What a great question! What a great way to make it personal. Jesus is not interested in hearing our theology of –anything; He wants to know what you think, what you believe.
Who do you say Jesus is?
That’s a personal question; one that is answered in your heart—in the deepest part of your being. It’s an answer that, no matter what your words say to others, your answer will be known at the end of time (at the end of your time here on earth).
Who do you say Jesus is?
Peter answered the Lord rightly when he said, “Thou art the Christ”. The Bible says He is the Son of God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace, The Bright and Morning Star, The Lion of Judah and The Lamb of God; He is the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. He has been given a name above all names, and that all will eventually bow before him. His name is Jesus, the only begotten of the Heavenly Father. He is our Mediator, the Rock of our Salvation, and the propitiation for our sins.
Who do you say Jesus is?
Jesus said of Himself, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”
Who do you say Jesus is?
Mark 8:34 says that Jesus called His disciples and the people who were with them together, and said,
“Whosoever will come after me, let him take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever shall save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
So, do you have an answer? Have you ever considered it before?
As our nation celebrates another
year of being free from tyrannical rule, I have personally found it beneficial
to re-examine the original Declaration of Independence that allowed our
great country to proclaim its independence in the first place.
I’ve copied it below, if you would
like to read it. I also included the names of the signers of the Declaration of
Independence, because I believe heroes should be mentioned by name as often as
possible.
The 56 men who signed away their
allegiance to Britain and her King, did not do so lightly. It wasn’t a rally or
a demonstration or a petition that they signed. They considered the
consequences of their action and did what they had to do.
They pledged their allegiance
to the “Free and Independent States” with their “Lives…Fortunes…and
sacred Honor”.
Fortunately for us Americans, they,
with much assistance from the other colonists, were successful in warding off
an unfair, corrupt, and oppressive government who desired to rule the Colonies
under his tyrannical judgement (not unlike some governments of today).
The Declaration justifies the
necessity of becoming independent, by proclaiming the wrongs they had suffered
from an unjust government. Our Founding Fathers proclaimed their reasons, their
hopes, and their promise of Independence.
However, as they were seeking
Independence from man (the king), they were totally dependent upon God (the
King of Kings).
In re-writing history, some like to
say that our nation wasn’t founded on Christianity, but it was. It wasn’t started
for Christianity (as others believe), but their is no denying that the Founding
Fathers relied upon God’s wisdom and provision as they stepped out by faith
during the time of this great Nation’s birth.
Looking back at old documents,
letters, and other writings, it’s clear that true Christianity had a big part
in shaping America. And one cannot obliterate true Christianity no matter how
many times they change the “facts”.
For example:
They can take prayer out of the
classroom, but they cannot take it out of the hearts of the students and
teachers.
They can take The Ten Commandments
off of the walls in a government building, but God’s Laws of Nature cannot
be erased.
They can prevent a Nativity
scene from being displayed in a public square, but they cannot
eradicate the miraculous event which gives us all the opportunity for eternal
life.
May God continue to shed His grace
on America.
Happy
Independence Day!
Stay
armed…Stay strong…Stay free
Constitution and Declaration of Independence on Grungy Betsy Ross Flag
In Congress, July 4, 1776.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of
America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary
for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes
which impel them to the separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are
created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That
to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their
just powers from the consent of the governed, –That whenever any Form of
Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to
alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation
on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall
seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will
dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and
transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn, that mankind are
more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves
by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of
abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to
reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to
throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future
security.–Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is
now the necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of
Government. The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of
repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let
Facts be submitted to a candid world.
He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and
necessary for the public good.
He has forbidden his Governors to pass Laws of immediate and
pressing importance, unless suspended in their operation till his Assent should
be obtained; and when so suspended, he has utterly neglected to attend to them.
He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large
districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of
Representation in the Legislature, a right inestimable to them and formidable
to tyrants only.
He has called together legislative bodies at places unusual,
uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public Records, for the
sole purpose of fatiguing them into compliance with his measures.
He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing
with manly firmness his invasions on the rights of the people.
He has refused for a long time, after such dissolutions, to
cause others to be elected; whereby the Legislative powers, incapable of
Annihilation, have returned to the People at large for their exercise; the
State remaining in the mean time exposed to all the dangers of invasion from
without, and convulsions within.
He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States;
for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners;
refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the
conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.
He has obstructed the Administration of Justice, by refusing his
Assent to Laws for establishing Judiciary powers.
He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure
of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries.
He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither
swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance.
He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without
the Consent of our legislatures.
He has affected to render the Military independent of and
superior to the Civil power.
He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction
foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent
to their Acts of pretended Legislation:
For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us:
For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any
Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world:
For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent:
For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by
Jury:
For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended
offences
For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring
Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its
Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for
introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies:
For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws,
and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments:
For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves
invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever.
He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his
Protection and waging War against us.
He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns,
and destroyed the lives of our people.
He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign
Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already
begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the
most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.
He has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive on the high
Seas to bear Arms against their Country, to become the executioners of their
friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us, and has
endeavoured to bring on the inhabitants of our frontiers, the merciless Indian
Savages, whose known rule of warfare, is an undistinguished destruction of all
ages, sexes and conditions.
In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for
Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered
only by repeated injury. A Prince whose character is thus marked by every act
which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.
Nor have We been wanting in attentions to our Brittish brethren.
We have warned them from time to time of attempts by their legislature to
extend an unwarrantable jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the
circumstances of our emigration and settlement here. We have appealed to their
native justice and magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the ties of our
common kindred to disavow these usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt
our connections and correspondence. They too have been deaf to the voice of
justice and of consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the necessity,
which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind,
Enemies in War, in Peace Friends.
We, therefore, the Representatives of the United States of
America, in General Congress, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the
world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of
the good People of these Colonies, solemnly publish and declare, That these
United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that
they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all
political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought
to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have
full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce,
and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.
And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection
of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes
and our sacred Honor.
The 56 signatures on the Declaration
appear in the positions indicated:
The first FULL day of summer and The Farmer has been in the hay field for two weeks now. He and Neighbor Dave (who is also a farmer and retired) began doing custom hay baling last year for other neighbors. There’s not a lot of money to be made (like all farming adventures), but it does keep them busy and gives them a reason to buy more toys …uh…equipment.
They have been (mostly) fortunate with the weather. It takes 3 good days to cut, dry, and bale hay; they have had almost two weeks of dry weather. Of course, now we need rain because the fields are drying up.
Can you imagine what the Lord thinks about us farmers? First we pray for rain so the crops and hay will grow, then we pray for no rain so we can get in the crops and hay. And then we complain because it gets too hot and too dry for too long. No wonder Missouri’s weather changes so often—all those farmers praying for different weather conditions to fit into their own schedules!
The thing I like about summer, besides the fact that there is no snow, is the opportunity to get outside. I don’t really go outside just to be outside, but I do enjoy sitting on the front porch, and swimming. Our home is right-smack-dab in the middle of our field, so the cows are always around, which is usually an enjoyable experience. However, when The Farmer and I sneak a little alone time on the front porch swing, or I’m floating in solitude around the edge of the pool, the aroma of cow manure wafting in the breeze is not a pleasant experience.
This phenomenon doesn’t usually occur when it’s been so dry, so I confronted The Farmer with the problem. He offhandedly remarked that the “aroma” seemed to be coming from the east, which isn’t the norm, but unfortunately meant that it was coming from our barn lot.
Not that The Farmer needed any confirmation that he was right, which is the norm, but I found it anyway. Today as I was surfing the Net, I ran across this folklore in the Farmer’s Almanac:
calves watching out by the pool
We’ll see if it’s true or not…meanwhile, I’m considering planting some honeysuckle on the east side of the house to see if that will mask the “aroma”.
