A brother offended, teaching schedule, extra prep

Proverbs 18:91 says, “A brother offended is harder to win than a strong city; and their contentions are like the bars of a castle.” That is proving true in the lives of several people around me. For me personally, my youngest brother was a case in point. Though I never knew what offence I committed, he was loathing of me for many years. In the recent past he has softened to both me and the Lord – which is where I believe the conflict originated. However, in the lives of my children, there are those offended who are not to be easily won over. I have advised my children that in cases where an offence is taken against them, there is little they can do to right the wrong. Any attempt to discover the origins of the wounding, to discuss the infraction, to work to a solution will only serve to deepen the wound in many cases. We can only pray that the Lord will work in our hearts and lives to make the persons He needs us to be for those we can reach. Those offended will not be won over. They must surrender the offence to the Lord if there is to be reconciliation.

There are still individuals in Hot Springs, AR that were told things about me and Mama (all of which were blatantly untrue) that we will never reconcile with as long as they continue to believe what they were told. For my part, I cannot waste the emotional energy to worry over those wrongs. God will have to take care of that. But for my children, I do spend a good deal of time praying for those who have cut them off. Partly for the sake of my children but mostly for the sake of those offended. For those individuals, we must wait on the Lord and be ready to make the most of every opportunity offered us to mend the hurts. Whether the change is needed in us or them, that must still come from the Lord. Always remember that an offence does not have to be justified, it just has to be taken – and our wicked hearts will always allow us to be offended should we choose that path.

Starting tomorrow, I will be teaching or traveling every day through next Wednesday. The only exception is Saturday. I will be in class locally for the next three days. Teaching classes on all three days. Sunday, I will fly to St Louis to do a class in that metroplex. After that class I will be driving to Springfield, MO. About a three-hour drive, to do a class there. Flying home Wednesday. It is a busy schedule, but it will fly by. Then I have two weeks of lag time – if that schedule does not change – before I have a week of classes in Athens, AL. With all that in mind, I am trying to get Mama set up for my absence.

Yesterday afternoon, I made a simple guard on the cage where we will house the chicks. Mama already moved one group to that cage. She will move the other group today. Even though we have not seen any snakes for several days, I wanted to be sure the cage was strengthened against any snakes that might show up while I was gone. For now, Mama will only put the extra guard on the cage doors overnight.  During the day, there is less of a chance of the snakes coming to feed. Hopefully, I made the device easy enough to use that Mama will actually use it. Whether or not my guard will be enough to keep the snakes out of the cage, only time will tell. If it works for two to three weeks we should be in the clear.

Mama is watching the Echevarria kids this afternoon. With Erin’s pregnancy, that may happen more often than in the recent past. They are always welcome. There are not many people willing to watch the kids because Luke can be a handful. He has always done well for Mama in short timeframes, so we never turn Erin down when she asks. It is fun to have the noise and business of children in the house; which is almost too quiet when they leave.

I worked some on our business last night. I combed through an after-auction list for Garner County AR. We found a few items worth looking at. They may turn out to be nothing, but Mama and I need to make a trip to Hot Springs to visit with Becky and Bridgette and to pick up a mattress for Victoria. There is a certain manufacturer there who’s mattresses Victoria really likes. She needs one for the twin bed she is currently sleeping on. She bought a double sized mattress which is on the bed in the spare room, but she does not like to sleep in that room. So, we need to make the trip to get her a twin mattress – and to look at available houses and properties. When we will make that trip is still up in the air. Right now, we have neither the time nor the money.

Hopefully, that will change soon.