February 20, 2010 by Debbie.

when a friend called on the spur of the moment last week and asked me to come over for coffee and pick out some pecans she’d had cracked. My first response was a “Martha” response - so much on the ‘to-do’ list made me initially say no, thanks. As we talked for a few more minutes, I realized the housework could wait and I jumped in the truck leaving the mess behind.  I hadn’t realized how much I needed time for just visiting.  I came home refreshed - what a gift she had given me. And I don’t mean just the large bag of pecans she sent home either.

Wednesday of this week I taught a yeast bread class. The participant asked if I could be flexible on the starting time as he might have to go in to work early that morning. I struggled with whether to risk late morning energy level but finally decided to go for it. After the participant arrived (yes, he was detained) and we started talking I realized how much I would have missed if I had said no.

Both of these people enriched my life so much. Both in different ways, but I’d hate to think of how dull my time would have been if I’d said no, thanks to either of these adventures.

The story of Mary and Martha has always aggravated me. Preachers always make Mary into such a goody-two-shoes but I notice they sure like to eat when dinner time comes around. Who would have fixed the meal except for Martha???

This past Friday at Kindergarten class two of the little girls wanted to sit beside me while watching the recess time video (too cold to go outside that morning.) I seldom actually sit during that time or if I do, I read. Yet I resisted the urge to disrupt the little girls to go find my book. Instead, I just sat with them. I was there when they’d look up at me at a funny part of the video. We didn’t have any deep discussions and they weren’t there for disciplinary reasons. They just wanted to be close.

A little boy in that class came to me at the end of the day with the sad declaration of, “I don’t want to go home.” His mom and dad were recently divorced and his dad had remarried. He lived with his ‘real dad,’ as he called him, and he wouldn’t be able to see his ‘real mom.’ His sad words as he walked away were, “I miss my mom.”

When I read or think of the scripture that says, “Hear oh Israel, the Lord, thy God is one,” I can’t help but think God is saying He’s lonely.  Maybe He’d like someone just to sit beside Him, to be there when something funny happens in this world. Maybe He wants us to be flexible enough with our time that if life gets in the way in the early morning, we still make time to visit later on. Maybe He wants to know where He fits on the to-do lists of our lives.  Maybe He’s waiting to hear the “I miss you and don’t want to be where you aren’t.”

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February 12, 2010 by Debbie.

Dallas got 12 1/2 inches and broke the all time record for snow. We got 7 1/2 inches - more than I can ever remember getting here before, but as I don’t qualify as a weather expert I can’t verify we broke any records. Still it’s a beautiful sight. You can see from the picture below it was a fluffy, wet snow that is great for packing …..

so,of course, John made a snowman last night after work. It’s been years since he’s made one this big - probably since our kids were YOUNG.

The best benefit of this much snow, other than beauty, is the insulation over the rooftop. Our house hasn’t ever been this warm at 34 degrees.  Kind of hate to have it melt…………….. kind of.

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February 10, 2010 by Debbie.

Psalm 91

¹He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

²I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.

I’ve been reading Psalm 91 every morning this past two weeks. I try to read it at least once more during the day if not several times as I’m trying to learn EXACTLY what trust means.

I read the Dollar Stretcher e-newsletter every week and this week it said to listen closely to our ‘money tapes,’ the thoughts and ideas about money that are ingrained in our mind. The e-newsletter urged the readers to make sure whatever our money tapes were telling us was really true. Or in another word, trustworthy.

Dr. Leman, the author of Sheet Music, encourages us to make sure our most intimate belief system is a true one. That what we believe about husband-wife relationships is truth and not a belief that is passed down from one generation to the next.

Our laws have changed so that credit card companies can’t hide behind the small print and have to plainly state the truth about their business. (I’ve personally found the truth is to RUN from any credit card offer!)

I hope this mindset I’m reading and seeing is a ‘let’s get back to the basics; let’s get back to truth.’ Whether it is or not, I’m trying to get back to the basics; to get back to truth. So I have to go back to the ONE thing I know is truth, God’s word. So as I’m reading through the Bible again, I’m asking myself do I really BELIEVE what I’m reading? To really believe what I’m reading I have to really trust the Author. So I come back to Psalm 91, “I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in him will I trust.”

I had to find out exactly who it was I would choose to put my trust in, so I looked up the definition of the word “God” and found-

1 capitalized : the supreme or ultimate reality: the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshiped as creator and ruler of the universe

Sounds pretty trustworthy.

If I read Psalm 91 personally and believe He is MY God then He is MY supreme or ultimate reality.  So before I can answer the question of  “Do I trust God?” I first have to decide IF He is my supreme or ULTIMATE reality.

I don’t have a conclusion for today’s post. Just dragging you along my treasure hunt. I’ll let you know as soon as I know.

This week turned cold again, highs in the 40’s and lows in the 20’s. I’m tired of it but not as tired as my sister, up in Ohio who sent me some pictures of their 10″ snow fall. Ugh. I remember those days, weeks, months. To me, our cold day today felt like it knew it would have to give over to spring soon. It’s cold, but the hint and hope of spring is in the air.

I saw a bright red male Cardinal in the yard, pecking at the grass, (yes, it’s green here right now), and not more than 3 feet away was a red headed woodpecker pecking at a crack in the tree trunk. They both were so startling bright against the cold, gray day, they were like rare jewels flung out in the trash.

The baby goats are separated. Two little bucklings are now in with Chase, their daddy, in the Big Bucks area. They look so tiny out there. The four doelings are glad to be reunited with their mommas in the Big Doe stall and pasture but they’re not amused their mommas are definite about the weaning. I’m relieved as I wondered if the mommas would let the babies steal some milk. Nope. I’ve kept records so I know how much they were giving before and after being reunited.

The Topsy Turvy Tomato plant died. Either over watered or under watered, I don’t know which, but definitely dead. I’m not sure about the potato bags - won’t until this weather warms up some. The seed potatoes may have frozen and may be rotting away. The lettuce bags aren’t any great shakes yet, either. Not enough sun for them to grow much after sprouting. Right now they’re in the utility room, trying to share some of the florescent light with the other seedlings that are awaiting transplant still - and will as long as we’re getting these heavy freezes.

Next week we’ll be entering another adventure here at Beulah Land. I’ll explain about that later. That was just to peak your interest to come back after today’s wondering, unsettled thoughts. Kind of like the rabbit tracks in Shirley’s Ohio snow picture below.

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