To Bowie, AWANA, a second look

Mama and I left church before the preaching was done so we would have time to drive to Bowie and make the evening service at a church there. We left the twenty two little ones in Victoria’s care along with a stand in for the last fifteen or twenty minutes of the morning service in order to leave on time. I am not sure if I will get a lecture over the decision or not – we will see.


We did make it to the church on time and we had a great time at the service. It was given over to the AWANA program for the entire service. Mama and I have not participated in AWANA since leaving Ripley, WVa. It was fun to see the awards ceremony. The group was about thirty kids from Cubbies up through T&T. It is their fourth year.

As one of the youngest got up to recite a Bible verse he adjusted the microphone, took a deep breath and…nothing. The AWANA leader asked if he needed help to which he replied, “I forgot the phone number.” Everyone in the congregation busted up laughing which usually embarrasses a little one to death, but it seemed to delight this little one. He made it through the verse eventually, but it was a great opening.

A short time later they were giving out attendance awards (starting with the very youngest) and since every other award had been some token or badge or other physical item, the children whose names were being called rushed forward to collect their prize. Slightly embarrassed, the leader’s wife, who was in charge of distributing the awards being announced, looked at the little ones and explained that there was no prize, only a pat on the back – which she gave to each child. The disappointment was obvious.

With the next older group, as the attendance was being recognized, one little boy charged forward. The leader’s wife looked a little surprised, somewhat questioning. The little boy quickly explained, “I didn’t get my pat on the back!” The congregation almost lost it again. He got his pat and an additional hug.

A very sweet moment happened a good bit later when some type of outstanding achievement awards were being given out; a gentleman in his sixties – or older – called a little girl up to receive an award. She was kindergarten age. He explained, “You all remember that I couldn’t read too good a couple years ago. This little one and me learned to read together through the AWANA program. I’m sure gonna miss her helping me with words.” You do not get to see many moments like that.

Mama and I went to look at the property last night since we were only a few miles from it. She was not too sure I remembered where it was so for once I got to impress her; that doesn’t happen very often either. As we rounded the corner and the property came into view we were even more thrilled to see it again. The person running cattle on the farm currently had a herd of long horns grazing the meadows. It made it seem more nostalgic that ever.

We came towards a pretty significant storm system as we came east. It had dumped several inches of rain on the area; something we have not seen since we moved to Texas. Water was rushing down the ditches and filling creeks, streams and tanks all over the area. To the north and east of us, tornados were wrecking havoc on the area.

All we could see of the storm was the runoff and the rainbow.

Interviews, Updates

The interviews in Guymon went very well. We interviewed five candidates; two of which showed real promise. The other three were not a good fit although all five were well qualified. It came down to deciding between the two. As it happened they were the first and the last candidates to be interviewed. I made my suggestions which revolved mainly around personality issues rather than skills and allowed my direct report to make the final decision. She will be responsible for the training and integration of the individual we select. We made our final decision around 3:30 pm and I headed home after all questions were settled. I got home about 6:00 pm.


Seth is staying with Grandma and Grandpa for a while. It will not last long – they do not have enough food in the house to meet his needs. He had told Mama that he was going to go back to West Virginia after he gets his next check cashed. That will be on Monday. There is nothing for him there except that less will be asked of him. Many of the people from the church began calling him as soon as we expressed our concern to them. Seth told Mama he did not answer any of the calls but there were seven or eight total.

I am not sure what happens from here, but if we keep praying I know the outcome will glorify the Lord and benefit Seth – so we keep praying. Chase called to tell Mama that Seth showed up for the youth activity at church last night. Chase had mixed emotions about that; skipping church but showing up for the fun activities. I’m not sure how this will play out for Chase, but we will see. That is also a matter of prayer.

Mama has been dealt a difficult hand lately. Seth has been a challenge that I have little opportunity to help with. He seems to react more strongly to anything I say that to anything Mama says. Maggie has been very difficult lately. I suppose every bride goes through the emotional inconsistencies that Maggie is experiencing – having to handle the whole thing long distance and the difficulties of planning a wedding with no firm dates, has worn on her.

From the male perspective I am not concerned about invitations, attendants, rehearsals, receptions and all the rest of the pomp that we call a wedding, but from the perspective of the opposite sex, it seems to be significant. Invitations are bought but not sent. The pastor is tentatively scheduled for the ceremony – time and place yet to be announced. Three churches are tentatively reserved for a tentative time and day. Maggie does not deal with this kind of situation well. It is good practice for the life of a serviceman’s wife.

Mama and I will be leaving Sunday afternoon for Decatur. While there we will visit a church in Bowie Sunday night to begin a search for a church home if the Lord allows us to move. This is one of those times when you have to keep pursuing a plan until God tells you to stop.

We’re listening as we continue forward.

Packing, Seth, Chase, Travel

Mama and I are having trouble finding the time to get our packing done for the trip coming up this weekend. I hope to take off early tomorrow to finalize most of the clothing and necessities, but there still remains packing the car with the items for Maggie as well as those for Cori and the kids. I have been on the road a good bit and will be with a group from the church all day Saturday as we go to Wellington, TX to help a church there.


All of this next weeks is built around the training I have to do in Houston, so I have to prepare for that as well. I have a full day scheduled in Decatur at the office there, visiting with my direct reports and I think Mama has a full agenda for the area as well. So there remains a lot to get done as Mama and the girls watch the three little ones – who also spent the night with us. That has become a routine since neither of the parents can get the boys before we need to leave for church.

Pray for Seth. He is going through a rough spot. He has a kind and good heart, but as much strength as he thinks he has physically, he has little or none spiritually or emotionally. One of the young men he works with – also not a bad person per se – invited him to go to the park with him after work instead of going to church. I am sure Seth had it reasoned out in his mind that it would be okay just this once, but that is not the way it works.

When I scolded him for the decision to skip church, he was not happy. A few minutes later he bolted out the front door and kept walking away as I called after him; if only he would run from the poorer choices with that kind of determination. He is in the right place to grow spiritually, intellectually and emotionally. I pray he does not squander this opportunity. It may be years before there is another.

Chase got the call from Chick-fil-A yesterday. They offered him a job! He does not start until June first, but he got it. He was noticeably excited about it. The very best part is that they are not open on Sunday’s so there is no conflict with church. That is a rare find in this day and age.

My travel recently has been excessive and it will not let up until after our vacation time in June. I have been to Houston twice, Decatur twice, Elk City twice and Guymon twice. I traveled to Midland for training – an overnight trip only. By the end of June we can add to those two trips to Florida and one to Arkansas. I have seen Grandma and Grandpa Kline twice in two months as well as staying with Sarah and Fabian each of those times. God has been good.

The tough part is that when we move to the Decatur office, more travel that ever will be required of me.

Our drill, Chase’s interview, next week

I was on the road yesterday and will be again tomorrow. I drove to Elk City, OK yesterday for a drill in our Emergency Response Procedures. It was quite an experience. We had the city, county and state personnel involved; city police, state police, sheriffs, firefighters, EMS and the local hospital first responders – including a medical helicopter to airlift the injured. The only problem we ran into was the number of amateurs who were listening in on their police scanners trying to scoop the local news.


The county emergency specialist, who was acting liaison in our control center, said the switchboard (911) was having trouble keeping up and every county official was getting multiple tweets. It was a great experience, but it turned into quite an episode. Had it not been for one person in our group who had a direct contact within the local and county new agencies, we could have had a real mess on our hands. As it turned out, everyone involved and those watching from the sidelines thought things went very well.

The Lord told his disciples that there was nothing hidden that would not be revealed. We are definitely in those days. Small town USA has no secrets – only a competition to see who can get the word out first and the worse the news, the better.

Chase’s interview on Monday went well. He will know in a few days if he got the job. I am not sure if he will ever get a job, but I think he could do consulting on how to interview for a job. I think he is in the 10-12 range of interviews he has done. Many turned out well until they looked at his age. I suppose he should have a job before he sets up his Interview Skills website, but not necessarily. How many people do you know that have never done something but will still tell you how to do it properly? Coaching football, refereeing a basketball game, raising children, preaching, the list is endless of persons who have no practical experience yet consider themselves experts in the field.

Tomorrow I will be in Guymon, OK with my direct reports there doing interviews. We have a total of seven candidates. We will interview four tomorrow and go forward from there. We only need one and the situation is not desperate, so there is no urgency except on the part of the contractor that is handling the load in the interim. I enjoy watching people in interviews – on both sides of the table. For the direct reports that I have helped with the interview process, it is difficult to tell who is more nervous, but the experience on the part of my direct reports is invaluable.

Mama and I will be on the road all next week – Decatur, Houston and Milton, FL. (Someone we know lives there.) I probably will not have the chance to write much during that week, but I will try to gather some good material. After all, we will be with my favorite subject matter in the latter part of that week. We will only be in Florida for three days, more or less, and Mama plans on being at the beach part of all three of those days.

She will come back with a sunburn. I will come back with a tan.

Gun Show, the little van, Chase’s interview

Grandpa and I went to the gun show in Amarillo this weekend. I had not expected to make it because I was one of six men who were serving the ladies of the church at a mother-daughter banquet on Saturday afternoon. We were not due to finish up until after 3 p.m. and the gun show was only open until 5 p.m. So I was pleasantly surprised when we got out about 1:45 p.m.


I swung by and got Grandpa and we drove downtown to the Civic Center to find the gun show; it is not very hard to find things in Amarillo so it did not take much looking. It was only five dollars admission as opposed to everything we went to in New Jersey being twenty dollars admission. I thought it was almost as big as other such activities we have been to – except for one in Houston years ago.

With Grandpa’s help I found exactly the shotgun I was looking for so I bought it while he looked around. The man who sold it to me was a soon-to-retire Texas Ranger, who is also an ordained Methodist minister. It took a while to get the paperwork done so we had a pleasant conversation as he worked through the red tape. Meanwhile Grandpa found several other items of interest but we left with only the one purchase. The ranger did spark my interest in a pistol, but Mama’s big purse purchase is next on the agenda.

Grandpa had been looking over the little van because for several days I have been smelling antifreeze every time I drove it. He was worried it may be a serious issue but as it turned out it was a loose drain valve on the radiator he had just installed. Thankfully it was a simple fix. He discovered a small leak in the oil pan that we will fix when we change the oil later this week. That little van has been a good vehicle. I hope we get to keep it running for several more years.

I am afraid the vehicle we get to replace it will have to be equipped with a DVD player or Mama will pull her hair our as she tries to do all of her running around with a car full of little ones – and her car is always full of little ones. Not having that would also be very disappointing to our grandchildren.

Chase goes for his third interview today at Chick-fil-A. We are all very hopeful. It would be an answer to prayer on all out parts and a confirmation from the Lord for Chase’s obedience in trying to keep his Sunday’s free. Mama and I were trying to coach him to be a little to be more expressive toward his interviewer during this interview.

They do not know Chase and the very slight variation in both tone and facial expression between thrilled and bored. The children’s song, “If you’re happy and you know it then your face will surely show it!” is difficult to apply to Chase. I wanted to coach him on diction also but thought I would wear out my welcome quickly there. I had stopped at a Chick-fil-A in Midland, TX on the way home and I had to ask the poor girl at the counter three times to repeat her question to me.

I finally interpreted the question as “What kind of sauce would you like with that?” but it was several syllables shy of that. She did not mind repeating herself several times so I guess she was used to it. I hope some day she sees a common denominator in those exchanges.

So, please pray for Chase. He needs the social interaction. I just hope his accent translates well here.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, My Boss

Mama took the little ones to the zoo here in Amarillo. It s not a large zoo, but it has enough to make it worth the three dollars admission. This was the first time Mama had gone. As they were pulling up to the zoo Victoria pointed out the black bear that could be seen through the fence. Trace immediately complained about his fear of getting eaten by a bear. Who knows where that came from? He was told to “quit being so silly.” Fortunately his siblings are too young to be affected by that fear.


The tigers were especially noticeable. One paced endlessly, the other sat and growled. Both looked irritated by the visitors. As they stood looking, one roared loudly enough to frighten a little girl who screamed and vaulted into her mother’s arms. Trace noticed. They shared the zoo with a large school group for an hour or so, but when that group left they pretty much had the run of the place. So they went back through.

When they came to the tigers again one was lying near the fence so Mama started to call to it. “Here, kitty, kitty.” She made those clicking sounds that we think will call a horse closer to us or instruct it to get moving – which ever is appropriate. She made her kissing sounds – I never could do those without her help. Suddenly the tiger jumped up and charged the fence and let out a roar that I think they heard in Lubbock.

Mama jumped back screaming – I am sure they heard that in Lubbock. Trace ran screaming and Antonio just stared. When it was all over Mama was laughing so hard she needed a bathroom.

To add to the humor, Trace stomped his feet in angry protest for having been so frightened. Victoria missed the entire event as she was taking pictures of some other feature that had caught her eye. She witnessed only the screaming escape; but that and Trace’s mock tantrum at his own fear, were enough to cause her to need the bathroom also.

My boss came into my office and closed the door yesterday afternoon. He told me he would be leaving the company in the middle of June. He was taking a job with a company started by friends of his – former Conoco employees. They had offered him a great job, great pay, relocation to Houston and a sickeningly huge sign on bonus. His boss had stonewalled the move to Decatur, so he found another way out of Borger. Of course I am saddened by the turn of events, but I am happy for him.

I am thrilled that God is still in control. He is independent of mans council. He does not need any man’s permission. Only He can do what I need to have done in my life. I will miss this man being my boss in this job, but I still ultimately serve the same boss in life. There will be others more profoundly affected by this than I am.

Still, it is a disappointing turn of events.

Desolation, Rain, Ticket? Vehicle decisions

If I had ever thought about transferring to Midland, the thought was put to rest for good on Monday afternoon as I drove there for a training class. From Lubbock south to Lamesa the landscape is monotonous, flat and treeless for the most part. From Lamesa to Midland it is difficult to find a redeeming feature. There was an occasional oasis, but most of the landscape was empty.


I looked at farm houses that did not have a blade of grass on the four or five acres where the house and barn stood. It was all sand. It reminded me of driving from Pensacola to Fort Walton Beach without the bay to lend its attractiveness to the view. Sand was blowing across the road, sandy plowed fields expanded as far as the eye could see and in each one the wind had filled the furrows with the blowing sand. Were it not for oil I cannot imagine how anyone who owned the land could make a living off of it.

As I was driving in today I noticed lightening flashing all around me. Now, as I sit in the office, the rain is pelting the windows with amazing force. I am glad I am not out in it. It is one of those driving rains that soak a person regardless of the size of the umbrella used. I am hearing hail hit the glass intermittently. I feel sorry for anyone out in it.

Yesterday, as I left Midland, I made a right turn on red at an intersection where two lanes were right turn only. I made the right turn on red from the left of the two lanes after making a complete stop – like we do in Milton at an intersection there. After I made the turn I got to thinking about it and realized, I do not know if that is legal in Texas. There was a traffic camera set up on that intersection, so I guess I will find out.

I told my boss about it this morning and he shook his head and laughed. He told me he never shared ticket information with anyone unless it was for an accident. He said if I get the ticket, just pay it and move on. The only concern I have after that is the cost.

It turned out that the noise in Victoria’s car was a lower ball joint rubbing on the rim. Replacement cost was almost $500, but the car is well worth the money to keep it going. Mama, Victoria, Grandma and Grandpa are still debating the fate of the Lincoln, so it is sitting quietly in the driveway at Grandpa’s house. I remain both undecided and uncommitted with regard to it. I will let that decision come later. I believe it is one of those decisions that will make itself. If we do get the opportunity to sell Grandpa’s truck, they will need something.

We were looking at a 2002 F-250 on a lot near the house. It was clean for the most part but we were unable to hear it run because of a bad battery. Grandpa, Mama and I were pretty excited about it because of the price. Grandpa went back on Monday and they put him off until Tuesday – they had to buy a new battery for the truck. On Tuesday, Grandpa got to hear it run and was pretty excited until he looked at the odometer 511,000 miles (more or less). Unfortunately it is not something we want to spend $3000 to buy a new engine for; not to mention the drive train and the transfer case.

We’ll pass for now.

Car troubles, Poor pup, sleeping with dogs

I got up at the normal time to keep my routine before leaving for work but when I took off in Victoria’s car the noise that had been pestering us every time we turned a corner, now was constant – even when moving straight. I turned around and came back to the house and had to wake Mama so she could take me to Borger; that was at 04:45.


It is something I wanted to avoid but I am leaving for Midland today for an overnight stay to attend a training class tomorrow. I know she cannot be without the van for two days. I had intended to leave Victoria’s car parked in Borger overnight. That would not have worked with the van. Mama was very gracious, very groggy. Now she has the hour drive back home.

As I was waiting on Mama to get dressed, Victoria got up with the pup. (She sleeps with her to help get her house broken.) It was potty time for both of them. As Victoria let the pup out the back door so it could get to the yard - its bathroom - the sprinklers came on. The pup hesitated for a moment then trudged into the wet and dutifully did her business. Victoria praised her, dried her off and put her in her kennel.

Needless to say, Ketsi was not happy with the sudden change in sleeping arrangements and was protesting loudly when Mama and I were leaving. I had to put her, kennel and all, in the garage so everyone could sleep. Seems a shame to be punished for doing the right thing, but wet dog smell is hard to get out of sheets.

It reminded me of a lady Mama cleaned for when we lived in Chappell Hill many years ago. She had three dogs, all of which slept with her. She was remodeling a house moved on to a little piece of land in town and like everyone else trying to grow grass in the black gumbo of the area, had added tons of sand to her yard to soften the clay. In the dew of the morning she would let the three dogs out into the yard and then let them back into bed, wet, sandy paws and all.

One morning when Mama was helping at the house, she asked if the lady of the house would like her to change the bed sheets for her. They were very obviously in need of it. “No”, she answered, “Just get the vacuum and sweep the bed. There is only a little bit of sand in the sheets.”

Mama did as she was asked, but I think she almost threw up when she pulled back the blanket and top sheet and saw the mess underneath.

Yard Sale, Plans for today and tomorrow, the check

Mama has been threatening to have a yard sale for months. Now the day has arrived. She had Victoria and Chase helping her; Victoria willingly, Chase, not so much. It is not that Chase gripes or grumbles, but he does what is asked – mostly – and then walks away. He never asks, “Now what can I do?” He simply disappears and every time Mama has to go find him, she is madder at him.


The really funny part is that he stands there as she is fussing at him with this incredulous look on his face pretending he has no idea what could possibly be wrong. It is not that he has not been told. IF he really does not know, relationships are going to be really tough for him; one more thing to need to add to my prayer list for him.

I will be out all day today with a measurement lead from the Borger office. I have asked if he would show me around the area and explain some of the different well types we have here. He is a delightful fellow and a good Christian man, so it should be a great time.

On Saturday, the Pastor and I are going to go out soul-winning together. I have been invited to lunch with him at Subway afterwards. He really is a great guy. He has such a genuine interest in the people of his church; from the youngest baby to the most elderly saint. It has become a pleasure to be here under his ministry.

Mama and I are still convinced that we are going to relocate at some point to the Decatur area – and the talk in the office is gaining momentum – but until then we are going to give ourselves to the ministry here. I have to admit that I really miss the music ministry of Somerset Bible Baptist. There is no comparison to it here, yet the desire to praise the Lord is certainly very sincere here.

The check came yesterday form money I have withdrawn from my 401k to pay off the lingering debt on the house in New Jersey and to set aside the money for the down payment on the farm – Lord willing. Mama and I put it in the bank last night and I hope to transfer the money to repay our large debt today. Several other transfers will happen on Monday and in the process, the healing of our finances will begin.

We are both excited but not nearly as excited as Grandpa is. He has already got a line on some used equipment for the farm and is anxious to get the plows sunk into the meadow to begin the reseeding process there. We have talked at length about many things and have adopted the five year plan I put together. It will help us aim our finances in the right direction and if the plan is near accurate, we will be completely out of debt in less than the five years – houses, land, equipment, livestock, etc.

I have never been this close to working a plan to completion that was this thoroughly thought out and doable; a plan that required this much effort from so many people. Past performance (mine and others) tends to mute my exuberance.
Shame on me!

Chase’s news, Mother’s Day, Rain

Much to Chase’s disappointment the job at Sam’s fell through because the hiring manager suddenly discovered that he is not eighteen years old. He had a few choice words to say about the questionable competence of the persons involved but he took it pretty well. He did get an interview at Chick-fil-A. I think this is application forty. If he gets hired there at least getting off on Sunday’s is not an issue.


He and the other teen boys in his school have been spending the past couple days looking for a broken water line on the church’s property. Mama is put out by it but I think it is a good thing. It is far better than traveling to distant gyms to sit on the bench and watch his team play basketball. It is a skill that will serve him well later I life.

Mother’s Day is fast approaching and Mama swears that she does not want anything; like that’s going to happen. I gave her a card with an IOU inside – good for one outfit. I completely understand that that outfit could start at the skin and work its way outward to include items both worn and carried. After all, no outfit is complete without being fully accessorized. I put myself in these situations with Mama because it really is fun.

It seems frighteningly selfish to be praying for rain when to the East of us hundreds of thousands of acres and thousands of homes are flooded. But the truth is that we need the rain here. I almost cringe when I see the local need superimposed on the larger picture of the United States. I wish we could share that over-abundance evenly across the land – as I am sure the people suffering loss in this flooding do, but I am now God. So I must pray for rain to come here as I pray for the safety and relief of those who are now suffering from too much rain.

Victoria went shopping with Mama yesterday and actually spent money. She bought clothing with money saved in her wedding fund. I told the money was spent in line with the object of her account since she was buying some “man-catcher” outfits. She laughed and told me Grandma had said almost the same thing. She, Victoria, was very excited about her purchases; telling me what fun it was.

I hope we have not created a monster.

Updates

Mama, Chase and Maggie went Soul Winning last night. I did Tuesday night two weeks and it left me exhausted for the rest of the week. We did not get back home until after 9 pm. And I did not get to bed until after 10 p.m. With Wednesday night ending the same way, and Friday traveling to Decatur and back, it took me several days to recover. I do not know what time they got home last night. I was asleep by 8 p.m. It leaves me a little disconnected, but I do not do well on less than six hours of sleep.


I had to take Victoria’s car over and have Grandpa look at it. It was making a horrible sound every time a sharp turn was made. It turned out to be that a cowling had come loose in the wheel well and was rubbing on the axle as the wheel was turned. We tried several things to tighten the plastic parts but met with little success. It is better now but not solved. At the very least, we know that it is not a cause for too much concern.

Chase has an interview at Sam’s Club today for a position in the electronics department. He really wants that job. He was saying at dinner last night that it is at least a position for which he has an applicable background and thorough working knowledge. I will certainly be praying for that. The big plus is that, if needed, he can walk to work. It is not like we have much bad weather here.

Rebecca and Charles are looking for a house. The one requirement per Charles is that the living room be large enough for a pool table; I am assuming that is slate top, regulation size. Like most couples shopping for a home, they are overwhelmed at times by the enormous variety of choices and price ranges. I can only imagine that there will have to be enough room outside for the boats and the camper which will be coming as soon as possible.

They are also looking for a dog. Charles wants a wolf hybrid. Becky wants an English Bulldog, or an American Bulldog, or a Dachshund, or a _______ (you fill in the blank). The only thing that she is sure of is that they are not getting a Pit Bull or any part thereof. For which we will all be thankful.

Seth is working fulltime and loving it. He is getting very dark; baking in the Texas sun. He has started to give Mama a little bit of money each week to supply his lunch items – mostly peanut butter and jelly. He goes through that pretty quickly. He got 44 hours last week and loved the look of his check. I remember those days; now, I could not begin to live on that amount. In reality it is only a large amount because he does not have any obligations other than gas and insurance.

Maggie and Victoria are maintaining. Victoria works every quarter hour extra she can get. Maggie gets off early as often as she can get away with. Their manager loves both of them, which is fortunate for Chase.

Mama and I see each other in passing several times a week. I almost wish she would get a full-time job so we would have more time to spend together.

Pup trials, Chase’s suit, Seth reading

I am having trouble getting started this morning. I slept until one minute before my alarm went off. I am usually more than thirty minutes ahead of it, so my early morning was a little rushed. It is not like anyone is waiting on me to relieve them, but once a schedule is established it throws off the pace of the day to interrupt it.


Victoria was up putting the pup in her carrier in the garage because she wet her bed. (Victoria sleeps with the pup to help in the house breaking process.) This was at 4:45 a.m. Victoria was not happy. As I was leaving is could hear that the pup was not happy either. Later today I will find out if the pup was able to wake anyone else up with her complaining. Rosie must have spoiled us all with how easy it was to house break her. Ketsia is proving far more difficult.

Mama and I are both struggling to keep our minds focused on the day-to-day routine as the Lord works in the background on so many things – not the least of which is the farm purchase. We almost sold the Lincoln yesterday, but the sale fell through when the buyer came up short on cash and wanted to renegotiate a lower price. That was a little disappointing.

Chase and some of the boys in the school are helping with the funeral of one of the old saints of our church. She had been a member for seventy eight years. That seems incredible to me; not only the length of her life but the length of her time in one place, in one congregation. That is unusual faithfulness. Friday in the early a.m. it was rewarded.

Chase had to borrow a black suit from Grandpa for the service today. It fits him almost perfectly. Mama and I will have to buy him his own soon since he has only one suit now. The apparel is much more important in this church than anywhere else we have attended. I do not have a problem with that; we are just unprepared for it.

I do like the way our pastor goes out of his way to include Chase and Seth in every way possible. Sunday night a week ago Seth volunteered to read a verse as the pastor was giving out verses for the congregants to read. Seth was actually the first to volunteer, and he got a pretty difficult one. The pastor patiently helped him on two of the words he was not able to sound out on his own and then remarked how far Seth had come and how proud he was of him. I do not know how Seth took it but I was thrilled.

The pastor has had both Chase and Seth dismiss the service in prayer and has both of them serving as doormen after every service. They both take it very seriously; as they should. It is good to see them working in the church and it is even better to see how the members respond to their efforts to serve.

Decisions on the farm, Exploring Palo Duro

By the end of the week Mama and I should have the money in hand to settle the outstanding balance on the house in New Jersey. I have been in so many situations where a decision seemed right but over the course of time turned out to be a poor choice. I am sure that is why Solomon says that in the multitude of counselors there is wisdom. We have tried to operate as openly, as honestly and as prudently as we are able at this time. I have worked with our accountant prepare for next years tax obligations and feel strongly at this point that we are making the right decision.


With that debt cleared up we should be able to make progress toward straightening out our credit report and securing a loan for a farm; hopefully the one that we are praying for right now. Grandpa is studying all the information I have found on planting times and grass yields for the acreage in question and we are all looking at equipment and materials costs for the first phase of making the farm work for us.

If we are able to buy the farm in time, Mama and I are going to buy a log home package from a developer whose project fell through. They are now liquidating the log home packages at less that 30% of the original contractor price. We are hoping to purchase a moderately sized package for about $10000. If our timing is off we will miss that opportunity so there is a little anxiousness about that, but we can at least rest in the fact that we have done all we are able to make this work and can truly allow the outcome to rest in God’s hands.

Mama was thrilled to get a call from Cori last night. They have not spoken in several days since Cori and Nate are visiting his parents in Indiana – she did not want to interfere in the visit. They have a family farm in the area so the grandkids are busy enjoying all the benefits of open spaces and free access to animals kept there. I did not get much information since I was going to bed during the conversation.

Chase was asked to work on a van route at the church. The assistant pastor asked him to pray about it and let him know on Saturday. He was very excited about the proposition.

Chase and Seth went to Palo Duro Canyon yesterday afternoon and explored a crack in the rocks that requires a climber to wedge himself between the walls and ease themselves down into the cave below. Chase found primitive etchings from as far back as 1986! He and Seth had a great time. Seth found out about this through the guys he works with. If I remember correctly, there are several more exotic locations they have to explore this summer and I am invited. For some reason the invitation did not extend to Mama.

I will be traveling to Elk City today to welcome back one of my ladies who has been out on maternity leave. I have made some personnel changes in her office in her absence and now need to confirm those chanes with her so she can ease back into her routine. Since it is only two hours away, I will be over and back today.

I enjoy these outings.