A busy week, transit challenges, little things

I have had a busy week this week. Monday was a Team Building day which started with a three-hour meeting and ended with us all meeting for lunch. I debated going but relented in the end. I am not eating yet so I ordered a small appetizer and ate only a few bites of it. The rest I brought home to Mama. We got back to the office a little before 3 pm, so I did not get much accomplished that day. Tuesday was a teaching day. I was not presenting the class, but I was there to back up Red who was teaching. As happened the last time Red presented, I had to loan him my computer for the morning because we could not get logged into the class through his laptop. I was able to correct that just after he broke for lunch. I stayed at the office so I could be available for the testing portion of the class just to make sure. It was a good thing I was available. He had a student that was not able to submit the completed test and I was able to find a workaround for that issue. Wednesday, I taught a ½ day class but needed to stay after class because I had a student that was not able to open the test on his computer – that happens fairly frequently. I had him sign out and log back into the virtual class after everyone else had finished. I gave him the test orally. I got back home about 2:30 yesterday and finished out the day from home even though I am having issues with my laptop accessing the company server from home.

 

Monday and Tuesday evenings, I used Nate’s saw to make some random cuts just to dirty it up. It needs to look somewhat used when we transport it to Honduras next week. I was able to use a spare tote to package the saw for its flight but was concerned about the changing of planes in Houston. Mama will have her walker so she will not be able to handle very much luggage. The tote is not set up for easy transport through the airport and I needed to take responsibility for at least it and two other large pieces of luggage. To help with that I got out a dolly I have had sitting in the shop for many months. Our plan is to put the tote on the dolly and stack at least two suitcases on top to make our way from the flight taking us to Houston to the flight that will carry us to Honduras. If memory serves me correctly, that was a fairly long walk to make that connection.  It was a difficult walk due to the luggage we were required to drag along with us and Mama’s difficulty with walking distances. Having Mama with the walker often gets us preferential treatment, but even if not, we should be able to handle the multiple bags between Victoria and myself with the aid of the dolly. We will get to test that theory in a few days if we all test negative for COVID.

 

The weather here has been wet and cold for the last few days. With the winds blowing constantly it feels uncomfortable to be outside for long periods of time. With the necessity of travel in our very near future, I have been hesitant to spend a lot of time outside in the damp cold evenings. For that reason, I have not gotten much done in the shop or around the farm, however, it has not been time wasted. The time I have spent outside in the evenings has been focused and moderately productive, completing some needed small projects. One evening, Mama got the calf that was returned to us into the corral at the barn. There she will stay until we take her to be processed – many months from now. Or neighbor was offended that we had not spent a greater effort to separate her from his herd and get her back onto our property. The truth of the matter is that I did not want to attempt it by myself and Mama would not have been able to help me walk the one hundred acres to attract the attention of the herd, coax them into his corral and separate out our calf from that herd. So, he did it for us. In order to keep from further offence, she will live out her life in the corral. That is the only way we can keep her away from his herd. Mama does not like the idea, but we have few options to keep her home and maintain the peace. It adds to the scope of work required to feed – especially in our absence while in Honduras – but we want to be peaceable more than we want to make it easy on us.

 

It is always the little things that spoil the peace.

Turkey day, lazy day, packing

Sometime Friday Mama got word from Brittany Wycoff that she would have frozen turkeys to give away Saturday morning. Walmart had donated the turkeys to get rid of them since sales of the turkeys had fallen off sharply and they were taking up a lot of freezer space. Brittany told Mama she was expecting to get one hundred or more of the frozen birds, she ended up getting four hundred. Britany, Mama and several others were making frantic calls to find people willing to get the free food but had not made a significant dent in the supply by the time we picked up fourteen to take home. Mama and I barely fit the birds into the freezer space we had available. We had to rearrange the chest freezer to accommodate nine of the very large turkeys – all were at or over twenty-pound birds. The other five were taken by Red and his wife to be donated to the church she works for as secretary. Two more were given to Kim and Kenny Sunday. So, we ended up with seven out of the fourteen. Plenty of turkey for us. By the early afternoon, all the birds had been taken, the last hundred or so going to a Reformers Unanimous shelter in the Ft. Worth area. All in all, she gave out the 400 turkeys in less than five hours including the two trips to the Walmart in Denton to get the turkeys. Quite a feat. On top of the space the turkeys are now taking up in the freezer, Trace told me last night he was going to give me a supply of pork shoulder because he had bought too much (sixty pounds) and could not store it.

Other than the turkeys, I did not get a lot accomplished Saturday. I spent an hour or more grinding up leaves near the goat paddock. The leaves in that area had accumulated into drifts that were almost two feet deep. The leaf blower/vacuum combination tool I was using does a fair job of chewing up the leaves, but it takes a lot of time to get it done. I have needed a large leaf vacuum for several years but have hesitated to part with the money to purchase one, so I bought the blower/vacuum tool instead. When I use it, I leave the bag attached to the unit open, so the mulched leaves accumulate on the same ground in a much more manageable volume. That creates a lot of dust. I was double masked while I was using the vac, but I got covered with dust and the masks only helped as much as they were able, so I ended up firing up my allergies in a big way. That made it a little challenging to lead the singing Sunday, but I got through it with the Lord’s help.

Mama was supposed to get together with Kimberlyn today but that fell through. She was planning on the two of them going shopping in Sherman, TX. She likes the way the stores are laid out in that area, but she will have to satisfy herself with getting those errands done locally. What she does not get done today, she will do when she goes out with Grandma and Grandpa on Wednesday. I was able to do my part on a couple crafts she is assembling so she has those projects to work on as well as continuing to pack for our upcoming trip to Honduras.

Some of that packing took place Saturday as Victoria started to get the items we have to take with us for Nate, Cori and the kids into suitcases so we could test both the volume and the weight of all those necessities. I spent a bit of time Saturday evening at Lowe’s looking at miter saws. Nate could use one and I wanted to get one that would meet his needs as well as being compact enough to fit into a tote or a large suitcase. I found one that I thought would work but I have yet to test whether or not I can fit it into a piece of luggage or a tote. Either way, it will present a challenge for us to transport, but making the extra effort will be a huge blessing to Nate and the ministry there. I will have to use the saw a few times to dirty it up in order to avoid paying steep taxes on a new tool being brought into the country, but I am looking froward to trying to out to see if it is what I anticipate. I have always wanted one of the type I bought for Nate but have continued to use what I have because it meets most of my needs.

While we are in Honduras, I may get to help the medical team that will be there as our trips overlap. I am looking froward to that.

God help us

I am not sure what to write this morning, so I will just start and see were my thoughts lead. Often, it is difficult for any one of us to see why we matter, or if we matter. I must needs begin at the beginning to explain our individual importance. Firstly, looking upward, you are here, alive, a part of the cumulative populous of this world. Therefore, you have been created in His image; just who you are He loves you. If God created you, you have a purpose - to love and honor our God. Why do so many feel completely displaced among the living? Because they lack that fundamental purpose. Secondly, looking outward, you have a life that intermingles and mixes with a vast number of persons around you, many of which you are completely unaware. We have loved ones, often a spouse. Many of us have children and grandchildren. We have our church families. We have friends who know us well and we have acquaintances that know us casually. We have coworkers. We interact with countless people, just like us, on a daily basis – even if that interaction is in a virtual setting. We are aware of them and they are are of us.

The underlying dysfunctionality in our culture today is that we do not see “them”. We are so inwardly focused that we refrain from connecting with anyone who does not make us feel better about our selfish selves. Abstaining to associate with anyone who would challenge our way of thinking. Constantly seek reinforcement of our settled ideas about life, about ourselves. That has brought us to where we are as a society. Where we can cheer when the free speech of those we disagree with is silenced. Where we revel in the punishment of those who dare to have a different opinion from that which we hold as truth. This is a dangerous precipice to be standing upon because there is no safety for anyone in that cultural atmosphere. Each of will eventually be judged unfit to linger among the accepted.

Think about it. As we become more and more focused on ourselves, what we like or dislike, what we want and do not want, what we will accept and what we will not accept, we become less and less focused on how our choices in meeting “our needs” affect those around us. We say, “So what if ‘they’ cannot speak. I did not like what ‘they’ were saying anyway. I’m glad I don’t have to hear it anymore.” We do not just want to tune “them” out. We want “them” silenced. And that works just fine for you until something you say is disagreed with. Apologize as you may, you suddenly, without warning become “them”. That is what is happening in our America today. Some of us realize we are “them” just because we believe in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We believe in individual freedom. In God-given unalienable rights.

That belief is anathema to many – not just to some, to many. Conservative views, my views, have been stricken from the internet with the push of a button. Do not kid yourself into thinking that will not happen to us. Believers are next. I hesitate to use the term Christian, because the meaning has become so watered down as to become contextually meaningless, but any religion recognizing salvation through Jesus Christ alone is something the ruling class and many religions will not tolerate well. When they have the power, and it seems they do at the moment, we will become their prime target. At that point we will get to test the depths of our personal faith. Will that moment come soon? I do not know, but when it comes for us individually, it will come suddenly – without warning. We will simply be unplugged. Unable to communicate. Unable to get on a plane. Unable to access health care. Unable to access our bank accounts. Unable to buy or sell.

For many years I could not see how all this could possibly come about in the Unites States of America. Now I can. Our individual selfishness has been our demise. But…there is a remedy - in the very person that is despised and rejected, Jesus Christ. Only God can heal our land and give us the perspective of true love one for another that will bring about the change that put the needs of others above our own personal needs. Only God can open our eyes to the blindness that has led us into the ditch we are now wallowing in. Our eyes, the eyes of believers must be the first to open to our own lack of faith, our own selfishness, our own desire to see ourselves as justified in our opinions regardless of how the Bible views those strongly held opinions. We, as believers, need to get right with God.

It may be a painful process, but the fruits of repentance are long-lasting. Our repentance can be blessed by God in unique ways. Right now, that is what we need, as individual believers, as the Church, as a nation.

God help us to seek Him and His righteousness. Matt 6:33

 

A short day, a new garage, the hunt, Victoria’s birthday, almost snow

 I took a half day vacation Friday. Mama had a few errands she needed to run in order to accomplish her goals for the day and I needed to look at a couple things at either Sam’s or Costco. We went to WinCo for the items we knew we could get there – mostly candy for the grandkids in Honduras, then on to Costco. I was looking for printer cartridges but was disappointed by the selection offered. Mama was just looking. In cruising the store, we came across a shelving unit that looked like it would work in the organization project I had planned for the garage. We bought two of the units because the price was far less for the two of them than it would have cost me for materials. I assembled one unit that night and realized I would have to reinforce them once they were in place in the garage, but they would serve nicely. It saved me a lot of effort as well as the time and materials I would have needed to round up for the shelving.

Saturday, after feeding, I moved the Sequoia out of the garage and began emptying the corner of the garage in order to clear it, clean it and evaluate its contents. I kept the garage door shut as much as possible. The temperature never made it above 35°. I was a little surprised by some of the items we had left stored in that corner for the past five or six years. Mama was as well. She has been planning to buy a tall skinny Christmas tree for year-round use and we happened to have exactly what she needed in that corner. Several of the items we had kept stored there eventually ended up in the dump, which greatly reduced the load of totes and boxes that would be placed back on the new shelving.

Anyway, I was a little surprised and very pleased at how the project turned out. Now Mama has the room she needs to gather all her crafting supplies, place them in totes and store them on the shelves we placed in the garage for that purpose. This was my second Saturday focused on organizing a space. Both efforts yielded pleasant results, but in this one, I get a garage that looks like a garage and Mama gets the area she needs for her growing stockpile of craft items. A win-win.

 The owner of the quarry property texted Mama Friday evening and asked if we could keep the dogs in the yard for a couple nights while he and others killed hogs on that property. He had baited the roadway right next to the house with cattle cubes – hogs love them too – and was worried that the dog may get injured by either the hogs he expected to attract or by the shooting going on. We did our best, but the dogs are hard to contain. We do have gates that can be closed at the entrance to our driveway and with a lot of effort I managed to close those. I also blocked the access the dogs have to the back of the property through the raceway beside the shop. That worked well enough I suppose, but we still have our lives to live and I had to open the gates to let Victoria in Friday night. Likewise, on Saturday night for Mama.

The gate on the West side was very difficult to open because it drags heavily on the blacktop. I had to get the two-wheeled dolly and use it to lift and drag the gate to the close position. Since I had to repeat this process each night I looked the gate over carefully and discovered that the support for the gate was leaning forward so it was not keeping the gate lifted up enough to allow it to be operated. So, I got the tractor and pushed the support into the correct position, anchoring it on a rod I had driven into the ground with a come along – a ratcheting puller. That really helped. I will eventually fix both gates so they operate properly, that is to say, easily, but that will take several steps to accomplish and there is little need at the moment to have them functional. I am not sure how successful the hunt was for the hogs, but we did our part.

Victoria’s birthday was yesterday. It was not one of her better ones. She stayed home from church, spending the better part of the day in bed. I do not think she felt badly physically. I just don’t think she wanted to be reminded of her birthday. I cannot know for certain. She is not a willing communicator, leaving Mama and I to guess most of the time.

The two inches of snow originally forecast did not make it to us. We got less than a dusting at the farm. In town, there was over an inch of accumulation, but it did not last long, and it did not interrupt travel. We had two great services. Very encouraging. Very needful in theses troubling times. I love our church family. It is nice to have that wealth of support when we need it. It is nice to be able to support them in their times of need. Either way we get to see God work miracle after miracle through us as we pray for each other.  Weather-wise, it was a wet dreary day. A good winter day. But Mama and I made the best of it.

All in all, Mama and I had a great weekend…Victoria, not so much.

One word for the year, an interesting forecast, plans

Mama was recommended a book titled, One Word that Can Change Your Life. There are several listed authors, but the first listed author is Jon Gordon. The basic premise of the book is allowing the Lord to give you one single word that will be the focus of your attention and the director of your actions – your basic motivation – for the year. Mama prayed about it for some time but finally was lead to the word, Purpose. I can say that having that point of focus has definitely given her more energy to get things done. My word, chosen before I knew about the book, which I have now also read, is Now. I can say honestly that that one word has changed my focus and enabled me to eliminate procrastination in most areas of my life. I simply ask myself, “If it has to be done, why not do it now?” It certainly has helped me keep busy and organize my time effectively. Mama has begun getting things done on purpose and with purpose. It has been fun to watch. I would highly recommend the book. It takes only an hour or so to read and it is helpful in initiating the process of getting the idea formulated I your head and outlining the prayer focus required to succeed in finding your word for the year.

We have an interesting forecast for this weekend. We are forecast to have at least two inches of snow fall through Sunday. It will start – if the forecast is accurate – in the very early morning Sunday and increase throughout the day. Whether or not it will cause us problems remains to be seen. So far, the ground has not really frozen deeply. We have had a couple frosts but never any cold temperatures that last more than a few hours just before dawn. Almost every daytime temperature has been well above freezing. That is due to continue for the next several weeks, but we will at least have several nights in a row at or below freezing. Mama is already dreading it, but nothing may come of it. I enjoy the snow, I just do not enjoy it after effects; the muck and slime of thawing ground.

I have little planned this weekend as far as farm chores are concerned. I will concentrate on tractor work since my back is still tender. I need to clean and level the old pig pen area before it gets rained on again, or snowed on, whichever may be the case. I will do most of that with the tractor. I need to dismantle about twenty pallets to gather the wood I need to line the inside of the barn lot well house, but the weather may prevent me from getting started on that. I do not tolerate the cold as well as I used to. Maggie told Mama that the temperature there this morning was 8° F. I used to not mind those weather condition, but I have grown unaccustomed to them. When Mama and I lived in Kansas City, Missouri I often spent hours each day out in extremely cold conditions, but I am not thirty years old anymore and it hurts more than it used to hurt me to be exposed to those extremes. I can only hope Maggie and Aaron and the kids learn to enjoy it. I know there are plenty of enjoyable outdoor winter activities available to them, if they choose to participate while they live in Upper Michigan.

In spite of the goings on in our nation’s capital, I intend to keep on working until the Lord calls me home. There is plenty to do and if I am going to be a good steward of this life, I need to be about doing those things the Lord has laid on my heart to do. Whether I can get them all done or not before He calls me home is not my commission. I am to be advancing each project in spite of the obstacles life and circumstances bring to thwart those efforts. God will bless faithfulness and I hope to be faithful to the end. I can only do that through God’s grace and power, and He can only bless those things that bring Him the Honor and Glory. So, our course is set. Do what honors our Lord and set aside those things that do not. Not and easy assignment but a clear and simple one.

One I can, with His leading, follow.

Updates, a glad song, life as usual

 Well, it looks like they got away with the steal. I am not sure why we allowed it to happen, but the Liberals got their wish and Donald Trump will be a one term president. That is sad for our nation on multiple counts. The changes they are insisting on making within our nation will have long-lasting and disastrous effects on each and every one of us, but sadly, they will probably not be held accountable for the ruin they force upon us. Watch the stock market over the next twelve months to track the results of unsound fiscal policy. Watch the housing market for the subtle signs of the financial damage inflicted by those policies on everyday Americans. Watch the border to see just how many illegals cross into the United States over the next twelve to twenty-four months and you will be able to see the great changes they are raving about. A sad day for all Americans. Especially sad for those of us who see the truth right in front of our eyes.

The violence on Capital Hill last night is uncalled for. We cannot condone it, but I can certainly understand it. After months of Antifa being praised and extoled for the violence they have perpetrated on us (remember the CHOP zone in Seattle, the retired police officer killed by rioters in Detroit?) it would seem only fair to return the favor, but that is not the answer. The fact that it happened to those very individuals that are allowing the election to be stolen was a warning of the deep and festering anger they have instilled in many Americans. Hopefully, the fight has not been taken out of us but rather inspired within us. However, the real answer is a revival. A turning to God. Sadly, the America we see before us now is not willing to look at truth as defined by the Bible. We will remain true to our faith, but rest assured a persecution against us who so believe is gaining momentum. We may not escape this calendar year without feeling its touch on us personally. God help us!

Nevertheless, God is in control. We may be beginning to see the judgement of the Lord. I do not know, but I read an article recently that told that 42.7 million abortions were performed worldwide in 2020 – making it the leading cause of death worldwide!

This certainly cannot go unnoticed by our God. So, what should we do? We should continue to live our lives in faith and seek after those who will be saved. We should bring as many as we can to Heaven with us. As many as are willing to trust the Lord Jesus Christ to save them. As many as will repent and turn to Him. Our commission has not changed. Our charge is still to seek the lost and to disciple new believers. To sing confidently the songs of Zion, the old hymns of the faith. To live our lives in such a way that our witness cannot be evil spoken of. To pray for our nation and to keep the faith. In the end we will win. We live for that moment while we endure this one.

Meanwhile, back at the farm, Mama and I moved goats Tuesday evening. We put all the babies back with the nanny goats, their weaning complete. We put Lilly with Julian in the small enclosure and we put Millie with Midas. The boy goats went crazy having a female introduced into their midst. Julian, who we needed to get out of the paddock once we introduced Millie into the paddock refused to be distracted from casing Millie about, but Victoria managed to grab a couple handfuls of his coat on his hips and detained him long enough for me to get a leash on him. In helping me get Julian stopped and positioned for the collar to be placed over his head, she wrapped her arm around his neck. His neck was sticky and matted from his constantly spraying his face and neck with his own urine. It was just a little gross. Victoria lost her appetite for a couple hours as the smell lingered on her arm in spite of several attempts to wash it off.

Mama and I also moved the young chickens from the little coop into the big coop. Most of our mature chickens prefer the East side of the coop. Only a few roost overnight in the West side so we introduced the younger birds into the West side of the coop. I had to take the time to seal off access under the building because we had had problems with several of the young birds not roosting in the coop but rather staying under to little coop building overnight. The little coop is small enough for us to reach them with a stick and coax them out. On the large coop, that is not possible. So far, they are acclimating well in the larger building. We will keep a close eye on them just in case something unusual comes up but for now, all seems well. They do not realize what is happening in the political world.

So, our life goes on as usual for now. Thank God we are in Texas through all of this.

A New Work Year, back pain

Well, here we are! The New Work Year has begun! Years ago I stopped looking at the calendar change as anything other than a chronological event. Like a birthday each year that signified that I was one year older but indicated no other significant changes or special privileges or a change or a do-over of any kind, it was just a date. So, I do not set plans based on the calendar change any more than I do on the time change we endure twice yearly. A year seems like a fairly long time as a frame of reference. 365 ½ days divided into twelve months or fifty-two weeks, however you choose to count it, but this year like all those in the past will fly by and we will miss many daily and weekly blessings if we do not continue to count them, to acknowledge them, as they occur. It is one of the reasons I take time to write this blog. I am very quick to forget or to be distracted by something happening around me to always think of how good God continues to be to me and Mama.

But the work goes on – on the farm, at the office, in our real estate business, with Mama’s business, etc. Far more than enough to keep us busy. At the office, the work scheduled for me is taking off with classes beginning tomorrow. I will be getting things set up for Red to teach tomorrow while I will be teaching a class on Wednesday and doing a mock session Thursday with a prospective new instructor for one of the classes I do not teach. That pace will be about the average through the first quarter of the year. One to two classes per week for me to teach and one class to set up for another instructor to teach. So, as you can see, I am already scheduling my time through the end of March of this year. The second quarter plan will be set by the end of this month and I will see my schedule through the middle of the year by the end of January. And so it goes. At least it is planned that far in advance. We will see what obstacles and challenges the coming months throw at us, but we have a plan in place, and it helps me know what will be expected of me in the next few weeks.

Over the long weekend, I started a couple projects but was not able to complete any of them because they all require materials I am not able to get because Grandma and Grandpa have my truck while they wait on a vehicle Norman has bought for them. It is not a long list of materials that I need, but I cannot continue without them and I cannot get them to the farm without the truck. So, I did a lot of little things around the farm. I took down a portion of the fence around the old pig lot - the one she made a complete mess of – so that I could use the tractor to level out that area once it dries up sufficiently. I did a little work with the tractor to rearrange the dirt to fill some deep holes in the access area for the pig building, but it was far too wet to get it all done.

I rearranged a corner of the shop and cleaned things up as I went. I got set up to use a kit I bought years ago to convert a barrel into a shop stove. A 55-gallon barrel is one of the items I need to get to the farm which will require the truck. I pulled the back off a cedar wardrobe Mama and I bought years ago so that I can outfit it with shelving for her to use a craft storage unit. To get the cabinet into the shop I had to relocate the pallet of feed to the garage that normally sits in the entrance of the shop. Fortunately, there were only six bags of feed to relocate and those will be placed in feed containers around the farm by the end of the week. Getting more feed, which we will need to do soon, will also require the truck.

Unfortunately, by the time Friday evening rolled around, my back was hurting badly. I tried to do light duty things Saturday and rest my back, but as I had fed the pig Friday morning, I slipped in the slimy ground made horrible uneven by the constant rooting of the pig and felt my back pop as I strained to remain upright. (Two inches of rain over the weekend had left all the holes created by the pig full of water so nothing was drying out in the area we moved the pig from.) Anyway, that little slip started the pain which grew steadily worse until I could almost not move Sunday morning. Since Mama was hurting badly as well, we stayed home from church. We both hate to miss church. Fortunately, Victoria has a TENS unit which I was able to use. It relieved most of the muscle pain but could do little for the spinal pain. That continues this morning.

Mama is hurting badly enough that she is talking about having her right knee replacement done. So, you know she is in pretty severe pain. As far as I know there is nothing that I will be able to get done for my back, so I will continue to live with it.  

Sometimes it is not so bad.