Chinese New Year, revival, name change, Mama’s poor goats

Saturday night we had a traditional Chinese New Year dinner with our Chinese family. Andy and Maggie came also with their two children. Andy is Chinese and Maggie is from Taiwan. They were graciously explaining the various dishes being served. There was a special soup with what they call meatballs it is one of my favorites. The “meatballs’ are really more like filled dumplings. I am pretty certain that there was not any meat in any of the three varieties in the soup. Oyster soup with a special kind of mushrooms was the other soup served. Both of those dishes are reserved for the New Year celebration. The had several kinds of fish – the entire fish. The fish that Mama likes best is deep fried without any breading and served with a sweet sauce.

There was steamed shrimp, a huge steamed crab prepared on a bed of tofu so the drippings would flavor the tofu. They set out chicken fixed in a way that I could not eat it. It seemed to be all gristle and no meat. Several types of noodle dishes were served with one particular dish of rice cake sliced in the shape of teardrops. Beef tongue was served with a sliced beef that was different than anything I had tasted before and pork ribs in a sweet barbeque sauce. The only vegetable or green was a long, stemmy green we were told came from a bean plant, but it looked like a mustard green – only sweeter. There was a lot of food and it was very late for us to be eating, but we enjoyed the dinner, the fellowship and the cake. The celebration combined the New Year Celebration with Yilin’s birthday. Victoria ate only a couple bites of food – no cake. She is trying to lose weight. I ate more than I needed, but not to where I was full. We took home two containers of the soup and two containers of other leftovers. It was a fun couple hours with friends sharing their culture with us.


We are having special services at church through Wednesday night. The speaker, Bob Smith, is a great preacher. He has preached some amazing messages to both inspire and challenge us. One on being a second mile person – much more a second mile Christian – was a call to introspection. Am I satisfied doing what is required and little more or do I give the extra effort even when it will never be noticed? We do not have many second mile believers today; honestly, the church never has. All you have to do is look at who is showing up for soul winning, bus calling, special work days or choir practice and you see the real workers in the church. Granted, some people are not physically able to do those things but when there are 150 people in the church and the pastor knows he can call on ten of those when he needs help, you begin to see who will go the extra mile. I believe Heaven is going to be a shock to many saved people. Those who have never learned to worship, who have never learned to praise, who have never learned to serve the Lord with their whole heart. We do need revival. If for nothing more than to restore the overwhelming joy in being saved and remind us what is the final outcome for those who are lost.


 I was informed last night that there has been a name change in our sheep. Penny (our first lamb) retains her original name, but her mama is now to be called Pearl. Our black sheep is now named Purdy. One of the other two – I cannot remember which – is now called Phoebe and the last name I don’t remember, but it starts with a P as well. When Mama was informing me of this yesterday evening, I noticed her look over my shoulder at the calendar she has hanging on the wall behind where I normally sit when at the kitchen table. I looked this morning to remind myself of the names I was told since they are written in the box for Monday the 4^th. As you can see, I promptly forgot one of the four. It will be up to Mama and Victoria to keep them straight, I will not try to remember. To me the ewes are baby makers and potential freezer fillers. They are not pets – except to Mama. But I am glad she sees them that way. It helps her tend to them much more carefully than I do. Plus, she gets to spend more time around her animals, allowing herself to get more attached than I will. I will care for them, feed and water them, doctor them when they are sick or injured, but I do so to protect and increase my investment. Mama does so because they are her babies.


Our goats think they are starving right now. Since we have drastically limited their feed, they are constantly bleating their protest to Mama and me. Where they are now housed, there is nothing for them to graze on. No briars, one of the favorite plants to nibble on, and certainly no grass. Mama took them some carrots that we cannot eat, and Millie started gorging herself on them. Whereupon Mama questioned whether or not carrots would harm them. We have hay set out for them, but it is coastal hay. The cattle love coastal hay. The goats not so much. They can eat all they want of the hay. They just are not hungry enough to fill up on it. Oh, that we would have the discipline to do that to ourselves.


Meanwhile, the pigs are getting bigger, messier and smellier. They get all the food they want. I am not sure if the goats have the capacity to be jealous of the pigs, but I am certain they can smell the feed the pigs are eating. I feel a little badly for them, but I get over it quickly.


Mama is desperately sad for her poor little goats.