I had decided last fall after my sweet victory on the trail ride that I needed my very own horse (I used Okie, a friend's horse on that ride). We have two riding horses, but they're actually my kids'. Last week Jay found a horse on craigslist that looked very appealing. She was beautiful, old and appeared to be just what I was looking for. Bummer, she was in Indiana, three-and-a-half hours away. We corresponded with this girl about her horse and she was insistent that she see us with the horse, not just come, exchange money and papers and be on our way. She wanted me to be there and see us together. Wow, this must be an amazing horse and a very loving owner.
Jay asked her to send more pictures and she even had a video she sent of her with the horse playing games. The horse would twirl around in a circle without being touched or lead, she would go forward and back with this girl and stop on a dime...again, without being lead. Awesome. I need an idiot-proof horse, seriously. This has to be perfect. If she can do that kind of ground work, she has to be awesome.
My birthday was this past weekend so I decided yes, I want this horse for my birthday and off I went. Jay was working so I had a friend who knows horses come along with me. We'll call her "Karie" for now. We take off on Sunday morning with the truck and trailer in search for my perfect horse. I remember right before Karie came that there were two questions I wish I had asked: Does she ride western? Do you trail ride her? But I didn't.
We had a lovely drive all over Indiana. (By the way, I'm pulling a trailer on the interstate and around Indy...no accidents.) Oh yeah...I did say several times I was thankful it was empty...yikes! When I had called the girl earlier that morning and told her what time we were leaving, etc, she was quite surprised when I mentioned it was 3.5 hours. Yes, it was 3.5 hours one-way. What a long day...but I am bringing back the perfect horse!
We finally arrive at the farm and instantly had a connection with these folks, they had chickens, goats, a calf and a horse in their fenced-off yard. Oh, yeah, Karie and I could so relate. The husband had Johnny Cash blaring from the shed, oh yeah, I love that too. We are greeted immediately by the college-bound girl who is selling the horse. She told her younger sister to go get mom, so she could help her letting horse out. Mom comes, armed with a Nerf squirt gun. Hmm, okay. Girl goes after horse, horse runs from her. Red Flag #1. Girl finally does catch horse and leads her out. Large squirt gun is to keep goats from getting out while they let the horse out. Interesting. May have to keep that in mind.
I'm a talker, I know that. Jay says sometimes I say too much (really?). I can now understand what he means. Girl starts telling us about her horse, who is as beautiful as her picture, and things begin to unravel for the purchase. Mom is no help. The horse is very afraid of fireworks, guns and other loud noises. One time the horse got colicky and they couldn't get her to poop so they threw fireworks at her, which scared the poo out of her. Red Flag #2. Yikes.
Four years ago, a guy, who had been bucked off for "no reason" and liked to whip the horse, gave the horse to this girl. Red Flag #3. This girl never whips her though. Okay. Finally, I ask the question that I wish I had asked before we even headed out on the adventure, "Do you trail ride with her?" Her answer, "No, but we've seen her being ridden before." Red Flag #4. What does that mean? You haven't trail ridden her, but you've seen her trail ridden?? I'm not following. I suppose it might mean that the guy who gave you the horse rode her on trail rides before he got rid of her because she bucked him off one too many times after he had whipped her.
Mom says they usually just ride her on the road. Okay, that's no big deal. I understand if you don't have someone to ride with, you do what you can. So I ask the girl if she will saddle her up and ride her around. There is NO way on this earth I'm getting on her. And I should say, you know how it goes when you're trying to sell something or show off your kids and instead whatever you're selling won't work or your kids are acting like caged animals? That's kind of how this went. According to mom and girl, "She never does this." "I can't believe she just did that." Okay, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here...a little.
Girl tells me that she is trying a new saddle pad because maybe the old one was what was bothering her. Okay, my mind is churning. You've had this horse four years...so she has the horse smell the blanket and tosses it on her back. So far so good. She then gets the saddle, has the horse smell it and tries putting it on her. Fiesta rears a little. "She never does that." Okay. All the while, I keep seeing girl look at mom like "HELP ME!"
She leads Fiesta around telling us all this stuff she can do on the ground, which is impressive, but I'm really wanting to use her to ride...because honestly, I thought that was the purpose for a horse, but I'm learning. So again I ask her to get on the horse. Mom says, and I quote, "Maybe you should clap in her ear to de-sensitize her first." RED FLAG #5. Yes, they have shared the horse is afraid of loud noises, but this seemed a little alarming to me.
So the girl claps several times in the horse's face/ear area and Fiesta does not like it. Not one bit. She continues clapping and eventually, Fiesta calms a little. Again the looks from daughter to mom...unnerving. Girl finally gets on Fiesta and Fiesta starts dancing around, not cooperating, not enjoying someone on her back, etc. The thoughts going through my head, actually about 1 minute in, were something like this, there is NO WAY I'm buying this horse. So I'm trying to formulate in my mind a nice way to tell them this is not the horse for me, but I can't seem to spit it out. I know there is no reason to see anything else this horse can do (or won't do) because I am not taking her home today or any other day.
I keep looking at my friend Karie for some encouragement and don't see any sign of hope there. Thankfully, we both had on our sunglasses. Karie was being nice in that she was letting me decide for myself, I think...because I really had my heart set on bringing this perfect idiot-proof horse home with me. Finally, I told them that although she was a beautiful horse and may be a good match for someone, she was not the match for me. I knew I would take her home and be too afraid to work with her.
As we are preparing to leave, the girl mentions that her grandmother is selling a mare but she lives 20 miles away. Karie and I figured we had come this far, what is another 20 miles? So off we went with directions to find a guy named "Bubba" and no, I'm not kidding. We find the house and Bubba and his wife, who are delightful people. They obviously have a love for horses and go trail riding all over the Midwest with their horses. Dixie was a beautiful mare that could almost have been a twin to Woody, Madolyn's horse, and although she was very well trained, she was a little too much price-wise. We declined and headed back home.
I did learn a few things from this trek. There are some very important questions I need to ask before seriously considering a horse, and on my way home, I thought more and more that maybe it's not so much the horse that's the problem, maybe I should be working on my skills instead of trying to find a horse that will solve all my problems. I hope to start working with Woody at home and try to become more confident, and maybe then I can find the perfect horse without so many red flags.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Starfish
For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth. Psalm 57:10-11 (NIV)
Have you ever heard something twice in a short period of time and thought, weird, I had never heard that before and now I've heard it twice in a short period of time. Hmm, maybe that means something. Maybe this is one of those things God wants me to share and apply? Okay, I'll go with it.
So my little Godstop is the story of the Starfish. I first heard it from a motivational speaker at my annual court reporting seminar. She read it to us and they also included a copy of it in our packet (of course, I can't find it;). Six days later, we had taken our high school/college youth group to a local church to hear some born again Christian "bad dudes" speak and share their testimony. The final speaker, the one with the most shocking story, shared the story of the Starfish.
I remember thinking, wow, that is crazy. I'm hearing the same little story twice in a short period of time and used in two different contexts. How bizarre is that? The following Sunday at church, our sermon was on change and positive attitudes...which was perfect because later that day our town was having a meeting where the folks who had been working hard to come up with ideas to improve our community were going to share their ideas with the rest of us. It had me thinking that this Starfish story kind of applied to that too.
So I told the story of the Starfish to my church on Sunday and decided it might be a good post. I am paraphrasing this a bit, but here goes...A man is walking along a beach and he sees someone picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. Perplexed, the man walks up to the fella and says, "You know, you'll never be able to save all the starfish that wash up onto the beach. There are too many of them. It's hopeless." The fella looks up at the man, and as he tosses a starfish back into the ocean, replies, "But I can save this one," he leans back down to pick up another, "and this one..."
When I heard it the first time I thought, hhm, okay, cutsie story. I'm supposed to somehow promote my profession and make myself a better reporter one Starfish at a time? Okay. Didn't give it another thought. But when I heard it from the born again Christian, I loved it. Again, maybe it was the context but it got me thinking. We, as Christians, have to do what we can do, little by little. We can't throw in the towel when we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I look at our youth group and think, oh, man, are we getting to anyone in this room? Is this clicking for anyone in this room?
We have to press on. And you know that some of those starfish are going to drift right back up onto shore, and we're going to have to toss them back out into the ocean over and over again. There are times when we feel like someone is hopeless and we are ready to wipe our hands of them. Nope, the exact opposite is what we're called to do...Christians need to be the ones standing there, waiting to lend them a hand. We shouldn't stand there and judge them and tell them how this is the seventeenth time they've messed up; instead we stand there with open arms, ready and willing to support, guide and share God's love with them.
God does the same thing with us, doesn't he? Over and over and over again, he bails us out. We may not want to admit it because, after all, we're Christians and we're better than 'they' are, but we're only fooling ourselves if we believe that. I would hate to think how many times I've been that Starfish stuck on the sand. Thank you to those that have tossed me back out to sea when I needed it! (And you probably better stay on high alert just in case:)
As far as it applying to improving our community...no, we can't do big, magnificent things all at once. We have to go little by little and do what we can with what we have. Then we build on that. And if all of us have the common goal of improving our town, think of the progress we can make! The same can be said with witnessing. Think of all the lives saved if each of us were doing what we could to save one soul at a time.
Whether it's witnessing to someone, improving your community, trying to become better in your profession or whatever, it applies. We must never give up, even if it means saving just one starfish at a time.
Have you ever heard something twice in a short period of time and thought, weird, I had never heard that before and now I've heard it twice in a short period of time. Hmm, maybe that means something. Maybe this is one of those things God wants me to share and apply? Okay, I'll go with it.
So my little Godstop is the story of the Starfish. I first heard it from a motivational speaker at my annual court reporting seminar. She read it to us and they also included a copy of it in our packet (of course, I can't find it;). Six days later, we had taken our high school/college youth group to a local church to hear some born again Christian "bad dudes" speak and share their testimony. The final speaker, the one with the most shocking story, shared the story of the Starfish.
I remember thinking, wow, that is crazy. I'm hearing the same little story twice in a short period of time and used in two different contexts. How bizarre is that? The following Sunday at church, our sermon was on change and positive attitudes...which was perfect because later that day our town was having a meeting where the folks who had been working hard to come up with ideas to improve our community were going to share their ideas with the rest of us. It had me thinking that this Starfish story kind of applied to that too.
So I told the story of the Starfish to my church on Sunday and decided it might be a good post. I am paraphrasing this a bit, but here goes...A man is walking along a beach and he sees someone picking up starfish and tossing them back into the ocean. Perplexed, the man walks up to the fella and says, "You know, you'll never be able to save all the starfish that wash up onto the beach. There are too many of them. It's hopeless." The fella looks up at the man, and as he tosses a starfish back into the ocean, replies, "But I can save this one," he leans back down to pick up another, "and this one..."
When I heard it the first time I thought, hhm, okay, cutsie story. I'm supposed to somehow promote my profession and make myself a better reporter one Starfish at a time? Okay. Didn't give it another thought. But when I heard it from the born again Christian, I loved it. Again, maybe it was the context but it got me thinking. We, as Christians, have to do what we can do, little by little. We can't throw in the towel when we feel overwhelmed. Sometimes I look at our youth group and think, oh, man, are we getting to anyone in this room? Is this clicking for anyone in this room?
We have to press on. And you know that some of those starfish are going to drift right back up onto shore, and we're going to have to toss them back out into the ocean over and over again. There are times when we feel like someone is hopeless and we are ready to wipe our hands of them. Nope, the exact opposite is what we're called to do...Christians need to be the ones standing there, waiting to lend them a hand. We shouldn't stand there and judge them and tell them how this is the seventeenth time they've messed up; instead we stand there with open arms, ready and willing to support, guide and share God's love with them.
God does the same thing with us, doesn't he? Over and over and over again, he bails us out. We may not want to admit it because, after all, we're Christians and we're better than 'they' are, but we're only fooling ourselves if we believe that. I would hate to think how many times I've been that Starfish stuck on the sand. Thank you to those that have tossed me back out to sea when I needed it! (And you probably better stay on high alert just in case:)
As far as it applying to improving our community...no, we can't do big, magnificent things all at once. We have to go little by little and do what we can with what we have. Then we build on that. And if all of us have the common goal of improving our town, think of the progress we can make! The same can be said with witnessing. Think of all the lives saved if each of us were doing what we could to save one soul at a time.
Whether it's witnessing to someone, improving your community, trying to become better in your profession or whatever, it applies. We must never give up, even if it means saving just one starfish at a time.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Elevate Elevate
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. Psalm 95:1-3 (NIV)
Yes, you read it right...I wrote the same word twice on purpose! Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at 5:30, the Elevate committee is hosting our first ever Elevate Elevate Youth Rally at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. We will have hot dogs, chips and cookies for the kids to eat, a worship and praise service will follow and then some fun team-building activities to wrap it up. Door prizes including concert tickets, CD's, t-shirts and Cardinal tickets will be given away.
What is Elevate Elevate? Elevate is what we call our Contemporary Christian concert held at our fairgrounds the Saturday evening before fair week and we're trying to get the word out and get people excited about it. This year's Elevate 2012 line-up includes Kutless, For King & Country and Josh Wilson. The first year Needtobreathe and Jars of Clay werethere and last year we had Sanctus Real, Gungor & JJ Heller. We have definitely been blessed with some talented musicians! (And we like to joke that we were what put Needtobreathe on the map, as they have since toured with Taylor Swift!)
This is our third year and we are hoping that we can really pull the crowd in because the concert needs to be able to sustain itself. Although the first year did very well, last year's low numbers (terrible thunderstorm) hurt our bank roll so-to-speak. We have some very generous donors that have carried the concert the past two years, but that is not at all the long-term plan. We need to have a good crowd again this year to be able to keep it going.
It seems as though we had tried everything we could to get the message out and include area churches, youth, ministers, etc, but it just didn't catch. We have advertised the best we can, and last year we even included a dvd with a video on it to be shown at churches along with some bulletin inserts. We don't really know if those were utilized or not, but it was a catchy promo:)
We have never really figured out who we're actually appealing to. Our goal would be to show the younger crowd how to have a good time praising the Lord without it being too crazy and possibly reach out to someone unsaved, but in reality a lot of youth just aren't interested in Christian music. I know I wasn't when I was that age. On the other hand, I absolutely love contemporary Christian music now and rarely listen to anything else. I will drive hours to see a band I like and won't think twice about it. So it's hard for me to understand why everyone else wouldn't. Ha. So the question is, do we target the younger kids, the middle-aged crowd or what?
This year we're going at it full throttle. We have contacted area youth groups, youth minsters/leaders, pastors and other interested church members to help us. We've been holding meetings and we have come up with the idea to have a youth rally to elevate Elevate...which is what we're having tomorrow night. We are hoping that by promoting the idea to the local youth groups, they will get excited about it and then encourage their unchurched friends to come with them.
One idea we've tried to promote is that even if you don't want to attend the concert because maybe it's not your thing, buy a ticket and find someone who could benefit from it. It could be a wonderful outreach. Just because you don't enjoy that kind of music, doesn't mean someone else won't. And we all know the power of God's timing, that ticket may be just what that person needs at that moment to take the next step.
Elevate is a great atmosphere for a family, and we will be having the bouncy slides and things set up again for the younger kids to play on during the concert. (That seemed to go over quite well last year.) There will be a prayer tent and a merchandise tent. We have a newly-designed Elevate tshirt that will be on sale also. My mom prefers to sit in the grandstand where it's not quite so loud...that too is another option for some that aren't into the loudness of it all. Otherwise, you bring your own lawnchairs or blankets and scatter about in the infield.
So if you have a junior high, high school or college-age youth, send them over to the Martinsville Fairgrounds tomorrow night at 5:30 for a wonderful evening of fellowship and fun. They may even win a cool door prize. Encourage them to bring a friend that might not normally attend a youth group or church event.
Elevate 2012 is Saturday, July 7 at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and that includes three full sets of music from Josh Wilson, For King & Country and Kutless. Tickets are on sale online at http://www.elevatemartinsville.com/ or locally at my favorite hometown store, Accents. Tomorrow night we are running a special...Tickets for $14 or there is a combo deal, T-shirt and a ticket, for $25. We sold our t-shirts last year for $15 so that is a $6 savings. We have a Facebook page and would encourage you to "like" us on Facebook and share the page with your friends.
The goal of Elevate is to elevate the community and lift it up. One of my favorite things from being part of the Elevate team has been the weekly prayer at the fairgrounds in the month leading up to the concert. We will meet every Thursday night at 7:00, stand in a circle, grasp hands and pray. It has been awesome. The peace that comes over me during that time is incredible (even when I think I don't have time for it). I do feel that our fairgrounds has a spiritual presence and I'm thankful for that. I have been in the grandstands and watched rain fall in a field across the road (only a few yards from the midway) as we whispered prayers for the rain to stay away...and it did. Sometimes it doesn't, but I do believe God watches over that patch of land.
Help us as we try to promote Elevate 2012. If you can't attend, then please be in prayer with us for this event. Our purpose is to elevate the community by glorifying God through praise and worship. We don't want this to succeed for our glory, but for His.
Yes, you read it right...I wrote the same word twice on purpose! Tomorrow evening (Wednesday) at 5:30, the Elevate committee is hosting our first ever Elevate Elevate Youth Rally at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. We will have hot dogs, chips and cookies for the kids to eat, a worship and praise service will follow and then some fun team-building activities to wrap it up. Door prizes including concert tickets, CD's, t-shirts and Cardinal tickets will be given away.
What is Elevate Elevate? Elevate is what we call our Contemporary Christian concert held at our fairgrounds the Saturday evening before fair week and we're trying to get the word out and get people excited about it. This year's Elevate 2012 line-up includes Kutless, For King & Country and Josh Wilson. The first year Needtobreathe and Jars of Clay werethere and last year we had Sanctus Real, Gungor & JJ Heller. We have definitely been blessed with some talented musicians! (And we like to joke that we were what put Needtobreathe on the map, as they have since toured with Taylor Swift!)
This is our third year and we are hoping that we can really pull the crowd in because the concert needs to be able to sustain itself. Although the first year did very well, last year's low numbers (terrible thunderstorm) hurt our bank roll so-to-speak. We have some very generous donors that have carried the concert the past two years, but that is not at all the long-term plan. We need to have a good crowd again this year to be able to keep it going.
It seems as though we had tried everything we could to get the message out and include area churches, youth, ministers, etc, but it just didn't catch. We have advertised the best we can, and last year we even included a dvd with a video on it to be shown at churches along with some bulletin inserts. We don't really know if those were utilized or not, but it was a catchy promo:)
We have never really figured out who we're actually appealing to. Our goal would be to show the younger crowd how to have a good time praising the Lord without it being too crazy and possibly reach out to someone unsaved, but in reality a lot of youth just aren't interested in Christian music. I know I wasn't when I was that age. On the other hand, I absolutely love contemporary Christian music now and rarely listen to anything else. I will drive hours to see a band I like and won't think twice about it. So it's hard for me to understand why everyone else wouldn't. Ha. So the question is, do we target the younger kids, the middle-aged crowd or what?
This year we're going at it full throttle. We have contacted area youth groups, youth minsters/leaders, pastors and other interested church members to help us. We've been holding meetings and we have come up with the idea to have a youth rally to elevate Elevate...which is what we're having tomorrow night. We are hoping that by promoting the idea to the local youth groups, they will get excited about it and then encourage their unchurched friends to come with them.
One idea we've tried to promote is that even if you don't want to attend the concert because maybe it's not your thing, buy a ticket and find someone who could benefit from it. It could be a wonderful outreach. Just because you don't enjoy that kind of music, doesn't mean someone else won't. And we all know the power of God's timing, that ticket may be just what that person needs at that moment to take the next step.
Elevate is a great atmosphere for a family, and we will be having the bouncy slides and things set up again for the younger kids to play on during the concert. (That seemed to go over quite well last year.) There will be a prayer tent and a merchandise tent. We have a newly-designed Elevate tshirt that will be on sale also. My mom prefers to sit in the grandstand where it's not quite so loud...that too is another option for some that aren't into the loudness of it all. Otherwise, you bring your own lawnchairs or blankets and scatter about in the infield.
So if you have a junior high, high school or college-age youth, send them over to the Martinsville Fairgrounds tomorrow night at 5:30 for a wonderful evening of fellowship and fun. They may even win a cool door prize. Encourage them to bring a friend that might not normally attend a youth group or church event.
Elevate 2012 is Saturday, July 7 at the Martinsville Fairgrounds. It begins at 4:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 and that includes three full sets of music from Josh Wilson, For King & Country and Kutless. Tickets are on sale online at http://www.elevatemartinsville.com/ or locally at my favorite hometown store, Accents. Tomorrow night we are running a special...Tickets for $14 or there is a combo deal, T-shirt and a ticket, for $25. We sold our t-shirts last year for $15 so that is a $6 savings. We have a Facebook page and would encourage you to "like" us on Facebook and share the page with your friends.
The goal of Elevate is to elevate the community and lift it up. One of my favorite things from being part of the Elevate team has been the weekly prayer at the fairgrounds in the month leading up to the concert. We will meet every Thursday night at 7:00, stand in a circle, grasp hands and pray. It has been awesome. The peace that comes over me during that time is incredible (even when I think I don't have time for it). I do feel that our fairgrounds has a spiritual presence and I'm thankful for that. I have been in the grandstands and watched rain fall in a field across the road (only a few yards from the midway) as we whispered prayers for the rain to stay away...and it did. Sometimes it doesn't, but I do believe God watches over that patch of land.
Help us as we try to promote Elevate 2012. If you can't attend, then please be in prayer with us for this event. Our purpose is to elevate the community by glorifying God through praise and worship. We don't want this to succeed for our glory, but for His.
Monday, April 30, 2012
Banana seat
The other night I walked into my kids' bathroom, and the bathroom any guest would use, and noticed something all over the toilet seat. You know that feeling when you see 'something' all over a toilet seat or around the toilet and think, what in the world happened in here? (And you almost don't want to know what it is that is all over the place.)
So I give a little shout out to my children, WHAT IS ALL OVER THE TOILET SEAT? Lane comes running and he's giggling. "I thought it would be funny if I wiped a rotten banana all over the toilet seat and Sissy sat in it." Nice. I tell him to please clean it up, but try not to make the mess worse. I suggested he use a wet wash cloth.
About 15 minutes later, I hear Jay shout something like "Ugh, what is all over the toilet?" I head that way and look because I was going to have a chat with little Laner if he hadn't done what I had asked him to. No, he had cleaned up the mess on the seat, he just left lots and lots of water all over the place.
I'm just glad I was the one that noticed the banana mess since the water sent Jay in a frenzy...
So I give a little shout out to my children, WHAT IS ALL OVER THE TOILET SEAT? Lane comes running and he's giggling. "I thought it would be funny if I wiped a rotten banana all over the toilet seat and Sissy sat in it." Nice. I tell him to please clean it up, but try not to make the mess worse. I suggested he use a wet wash cloth.
About 15 minutes later, I hear Jay shout something like "Ugh, what is all over the toilet?" I head that way and look because I was going to have a chat with little Laner if he hadn't done what I had asked him to. No, he had cleaned up the mess on the seat, he just left lots and lots of water all over the place.
I'm just glad I was the one that noticed the banana mess since the water sent Jay in a frenzy...
Friday, April 27, 2012
The burial
Thought I would give a little follow-up on the passing of Frankie the hamster. As posted a couple days ago, I discovered Frankie's demise in the morning and there wasn't enough time to do anything with her so we left her until that evening. I told Lane we would have to bury her when I got home.
Fast forward to quitting time. I get a call from Lane that when he and Madolyn got home, the horses were out. Because the grass is greener on the other side, Melody sticks her neck through the panels to reach it and if she pulls just right, she'll unhook the panel thereby creating an escape route. Jay was almost home and I was on my way home. When I got home, Jay and Madolyn were leaving again on the golf cart to go look for them.
I went inside the house and Lane tells me it's time to bury Frankie. He picks her up from inside the cage and turns to me and says with the cutest little face ever, "Mom, I can't do it." (I was thrilled to see a little compassion because sometimes I worry that my kids don't have any.) He didn't shed a tear, but for a moment, I thought it could happen. So I found a brown lunch sack, grabbed Frankie and put her in there. I told Lane to take her outside and bury her somewhere the dogs won't dig her up. He goes outside with the 'casket,' I change my clothes and head out in search of the fleeing horses.
As I stepped off the deck, I noticed the little brown bag in the landscaping. Okay, pal, that's not going to work. He had went in search of a shovel. I suggested he find some softer dirt maybe behind the pond and I took off for the horse hunt. The horses were located (by yours truly, thank you very much) and as we were walking back, we saw that Lane was squatting in the yard with his shovel. It wasn't exactly where I had pictured the burial plot, but whatever. He yells out, "Hey, I found some worms." Hmm, "I thought you were burying the hamster?" "I was, but when I started digging, I found worms." There's my little multi-tasker.
I sent Jay out to lend a hand and the burial was successful. Frankie has been laid to rest on the other side of the pond. And as long as we don't see a brown lunch sack in the yard or in the dog's mouth, all is well.
Fast forward to quitting time. I get a call from Lane that when he and Madolyn got home, the horses were out. Because the grass is greener on the other side, Melody sticks her neck through the panels to reach it and if she pulls just right, she'll unhook the panel thereby creating an escape route. Jay was almost home and I was on my way home. When I got home, Jay and Madolyn were leaving again on the golf cart to go look for them.
I went inside the house and Lane tells me it's time to bury Frankie. He picks her up from inside the cage and turns to me and says with the cutest little face ever, "Mom, I can't do it." (I was thrilled to see a little compassion because sometimes I worry that my kids don't have any.) He didn't shed a tear, but for a moment, I thought it could happen. So I found a brown lunch sack, grabbed Frankie and put her in there. I told Lane to take her outside and bury her somewhere the dogs won't dig her up. He goes outside with the 'casket,' I change my clothes and head out in search of the fleeing horses.
As I stepped off the deck, I noticed the little brown bag in the landscaping. Okay, pal, that's not going to work. He had went in search of a shovel. I suggested he find some softer dirt maybe behind the pond and I took off for the horse hunt. The horses were located (by yours truly, thank you very much) and as we were walking back, we saw that Lane was squatting in the yard with his shovel. It wasn't exactly where I had pictured the burial plot, but whatever. He yells out, "Hey, I found some worms." Hmm, "I thought you were burying the hamster?" "I was, but when I started digging, I found worms." There's my little multi-tasker.
I sent Jay out to lend a hand and the burial was successful. Frankie has been laid to rest on the other side of the pond. And as long as we don't see a brown lunch sack in the yard or in the dog's mouth, all is well.
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Grace
For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. Romans 6:14 (NIV)
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Last night at youth we showed a Skit Guys video called Grace which was so good. If you have time, you should check it out on their website, http://www.skitguys.com/ and click on the "Grace" video. One of our favorite things from that video was at the end where the Jesus character was telling the Peter character, "I make the unforgivable forgivable." And then he follows up with, "It's not about you, it's about me." Ouch. I have trouble with that oneevery now and then always. It's not about me, huh? Shoot, I like it when it's about me.
Anyway, I ran across an illustration that we read to the group on the idea of how grace works and I thought I would share it with you. I had heard it before somewhere, but sometimes I can read something ten times and it takes all ten times for me to finally get it. Here goes.
THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME
Bob was caught up in the spirit where he and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team. The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate whose name was Love. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because Love never fails. The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.
The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass, because Godly Wisdom does not swing at Satan's pitches. Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at Satan's throws.
The Lord looked at Bob and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Bob said he sure did not look like much. Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was not worried. His center fielder, the Prince of the air, let very few get by. The ball slammed into his glove, hit him on the head, and sent him crashing to the ground; then it continued over the fence for a home run.
The Lord's team won. The Lord then asked Bob if he knew why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom could get on base but could not win the game. Bob answered that he did not know why. The Lord explained: “If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My grace can get you home. My grace is the one thing Satan cannot stop.”
Isn't that a neat little story? I love things like that that really spell it out for me step-by-step. My question or challenge to you is the same one we gave the youth kids last night: How will you show God's grace to someone else this week?
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9 (NIV)
Last night at youth we showed a Skit Guys video called Grace which was so good. If you have time, you should check it out on their website, http://www.skitguys.com/ and click on the "Grace" video. One of our favorite things from that video was at the end where the Jesus character was telling the Peter character, "I make the unforgivable forgivable." And then he follows up with, "It's not about you, it's about me." Ouch. I have trouble with that one
Anyway, I ran across an illustration that we read to the group on the idea of how grace works and I thought I would share it with you. I had heard it before somewhere, but sometimes I can read something ten times and it takes all ten times for me to finally get it. Here goes.
THE LORD'S BASEBALL GAME
Bob was caught up in the spirit where he and the Lord stood by to observe a baseball game. The Lord's team was playing Satan's team. The Lord's team was at bat, the score was tied zero to zero, and it was the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs. They continued to watch as a batter stepped up to the plate whose name was Love. Love swung at the first pitch and hit a single, because Love never fails. The next batter was named Faith, who also got a single because Faith works with Love.
The next batter up was named Godly Wisdom. Satan wound up and threw the first pitch. Godly Wisdom looked it over and let it pass, because Godly Wisdom does not swing at Satan's pitches. Ball one. Three more pitches and Godly Wisdom walked, because Godly wisdom never swings at Satan's throws.
The Lord looked at Bob and told him He was now going to bring in His star player. Up to the plate stepped Grace. Bob said he sure did not look like much. Satan's whole team relaxed when they saw Grace. Thinking he had won the game, Satan wound up and fired his first pitch. To the shock of everyone, Grace hit the ball harder than anyone had ever seen. But Satan was not worried. His center fielder, the Prince of the air, let very few get by. The ball slammed into his glove, hit him on the head, and sent him crashing to the ground; then it continued over the fence for a home run.
The Lord's team won. The Lord then asked Bob if he knew why Love, Faith, and Godly Wisdom could get on base but could not win the game. Bob answered that he did not know why. The Lord explained: “If your love, faith and wisdom had won the game you would think you had done it by yourself. Love, faith and wisdom will get you on base, but only My grace can get you home. My grace is the one thing Satan cannot stop.”
Isn't that a neat little story? I love things like that that really spell it out for me step-by-step. My question or challenge to you is the same one we gave the youth kids last night: How will you show God's grace to someone else this week?
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
R.I.P. Frankie
Well, we knew it was only temporary. Just a few months ago, a friend of mine had mentioned her son had a hamster that needed a home and I volunteered. Frankie, the hamster, came to live with us. If you recall from my post introducing Frankie, she was "old" when we got her. I had researched a little bit and discovered their average lifespan was only 2-3 years. I explained this to the kiddos and they agreed we would just take care of her until her time came.
Apparently, her time came during the night on Monday. When I went to check on her Tuesday morning, as I always check to see if she's alive in her little cave, I noticed she was face-first in her food dish (which is actually a cleaned-out tuna can). She looked so cute hunched over the edge of the can, so soft and chubby. So I whistled at her, she didn't move. I strummed the cage, she didn't move. Uh-oh. I opened the lid and touched her. Oh, shoot, she's dead.
So I broke it to the kids and in true Wilhoit-all-of-our-pets-die-prematurely-fashion, Lane immediately asked when we could get another one...although I must admit for about three seconds, I thought he might really cry. Come to find out, his real problem is that it's his share week at school and he was planning on taking Frankie for show-and-tell Thursday or Friday.
Someone on Facebook said something along the lines of, "at least she had a good nursing home or retirement home." Yes, that is a good way to look at it. We were just caring for her in her elderly years until her time came. She has been the easiest pet we've ever had. And you know, we've already got the cage, food, exercise ball and stuff, hamsters aren't terribly expensive, so you may want to be watching for a new arrival announcement soon.
Apparently, her time came during the night on Monday. When I went to check on her Tuesday morning, as I always check to see if she's alive in her little cave, I noticed she was face-first in her food dish (which is actually a cleaned-out tuna can). She looked so cute hunched over the edge of the can, so soft and chubby. So I whistled at her, she didn't move. I strummed the cage, she didn't move. Uh-oh. I opened the lid and touched her. Oh, shoot, she's dead.
So I broke it to the kids and in true Wilhoit-all-of-our-pets-die-prematurely-fashion, Lane immediately asked when we could get another one...although I must admit for about three seconds, I thought he might really cry. Come to find out, his real problem is that it's his share week at school and he was planning on taking Frankie for show-and-tell Thursday or Friday.
Someone on Facebook said something along the lines of, "at least she had a good nursing home or retirement home." Yes, that is a good way to look at it. We were just caring for her in her elderly years until her time came. She has been the easiest pet we've ever had. And you know, we've already got the cage, food, exercise ball and stuff, hamsters aren't terribly expensive, so you may want to be watching for a new arrival announcement soon.
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