Yesterday, staying up to date, November already

I was out of the office yesterday. I had one last direct report to talk with and she is located in Elk City, Oklahoma. It was about a 400 mile round trip but she was glad I took the time to see her in person. We talked for about two hours, so it was not like we had a short conversation after I drive almost four hours to get there. After we talked I headed straight back home and got there just in time to help feed the calves and get them set up for the night.


I did have enough time to get ready for church and sit down to finish my Bible reading. I had left part of my daily reading undone in order to get an earlier start in the morning. All in all it was a good day – especially since I do not mind driving. I was able to pick up five bales of straw in Altus, OK at a pretty good price. Since it was on the way home, I thought it worked out pretty well. We are going through the straw since we are using it in the calf stalls every time we clean them; twice per week.

I am assuming Chase and Makaila made it back to Amarillo safely and that the car did very well for them. If they told Mama she did not relay the information to me; that happens quite a bit. I think that Grandma forces Mama to engage in so much conversation that she is pretty much talked out when I am there. Hence, I often do not get the stories relayed to me through Mama.

It is becoming apparent that we need to get the apartment done. Grandpa even offered to rent a place in Montague or Nocona in order to give us a year of space during which I could get the apartment and farm house completed without feeling cramped or rushed. I told him we could work it out without another move, but I appreciated the offer. I did not ask if he and Grandma felt too cramped with the current arrangement.

I know Mama does more so than I do. I am only at the farm a few hours per day and sometimes I can see the wear it puts on Mama to be there full time while she waits on me to get the bigger projects done. That is one of the reasons I am fasting right now; to beg God to speed things along while increasing our faith and patience. (I always hesitate to pray for patience.)

Our pastor asked us three questions last night. 1.) Do you want God to do something with your life? 2.) Are you asking God to do something with your life? We have to ask because wanting and asking are two different things. We can sit on the sidelined all our life without offering ourselves to God; wanting something but never surrendering enough to ask God to do whatever it takes to make us available for service. 3.) Are you expecting God to do something with your life?

It really is hard to believe it is already November. In just two weeks we will be heading to Florida for Thanksgiving. Christmas will be on the heals of our home coming and 2013 is almost upon us. For some reason, this year it seems to be far more to me than a calendar change. It seems more monumental. Maybe I am just getting older, but the passage of time seems to be forcing me to a realization that it will end for me in less years than I can now look back upon.

I am getting older in a way that is less satisfying than the “getting older” of years gone by.