GOOD

The fair ended for us yesterday when we packed up, said goodbye to our lambs, and headed home.  I make that sound so easy. It is quite a task because of all of the junk we carry up there.  It was such a good week.  We had good weather, good food, and a good time. 

If I was asked to write a “Top 10 World’s Greatest Fair List” my #1 would be the time I get to spend with people.  It is a family affair with cousins, parents, and everyone involved.   My “golden” friends usually keep tradition in check and gather up at the Emmons camp. We swing and catch up.  We have been swinging there as long as I can remember.  We laughed this year about the old days when we all slept on the floor.  There were sleeping bags and girls lined up tight.  Oh, the good old days of show boxes, show sticks, and scooping poop.  They really were good!

My second favorite thing about the fair is sitting back and watching all of the action.  The fair is work.  In the work, you see the best things.  Brothers and sisters tote water buckets for each other.  Friends hold gates and work animals late night in the show arena together. Parents assist at the wash rack.  (I only got one intentional squirt my way this year.  That was pretty good!)   Committee members work and sweat through all of the details of the week. Something good comes from all of the work for sure.  I love watching it.

One morning I was a little tired and needed to not be even the slightest tired at all. I got a text from my dear friend with a verse.   It said “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”   Psalm 107:1.  I read it out loud over and over. It is actually a verse that I know by memory.  I said it enough that it was stuck in my head. 

It was my good thought of the day, and everywhere I looked, I saw the goodness of the Lord. When the clouds kept us cool, I thanked the Lord for the goodness.  When my son learned a lesson with his lamb, I thanked the Lord for his goodness.

The fair is just so much good that you hate for it to end.  There is a saying though, all good things come to an end.  It is true!  However, there is an exception.  I learned it today during the children’s message at FBC.  Miss Laura brought an empty jug of milk.  She talked about how it had an expiration date and about how most things expire and get old. 

I know the message was for the kids, but it hit home with me.  I started thinking about how the goodness of the Lord does not expire.  IT will never run out, spoil, or change at all. It is a constant.  No matter what I do, how I do it, and how many times, His love for me will not expire.  Wow!  The fair might have been good, but that is really good!

This week, focus on the goodness of Jesus Christ and remember that it has no expiration date.  His love endures forever.  That is some good stuff that we all need to hear. Do not just hear it though, believe it and live differently because of it. 

 

Armadillo

Today was one of those days that you just have to love!  My driver’s ed student was cruising cautiously on Highway 75 just south of Streetman when she nailed her first armadillo.  I have taught her not to swerve if something comes out in front of her, but to reduce her speed, keep her hands on the wheel, and hit it if necessary.  I have not shared with her that I usually close my eyes right before I make contact with whatever is in my way and scream.  I will keep that personal tip of mine to myself.

When she flipped the armadillo, we laughed so hard.  I do not know why we would laugh at the loss of life, but we totally lost it!  All she could say between the laughter was “You told me never to swerve.”  That is true!  She followed my instructions.   

My morning even was interesting because I woke up in a strange room totally dazed and confused.  I spent last night at my in-laws in Dallas.  My husband’s childhood room became my room when we got married and started having kids.  I claimed it because I go there more than he does.  I believe in “You snooze, you lose.”  The bed has always been on the west wall of the house nestled right under the only window in the room.  This trip it had been moved. It was on the north wall of the room, and I could not sleep. 

I thought all night “Where am I?”  When my phone alarm went off and I figured out my surroundings, I was glad to be up and stop fighting the strange set-up of my room. 

I have been in similar circumstances in life.  I have often thought “Where am I?”  On more than one occasion, I have thought and even written about the moment that reality hits and we as human beings, even Christians, wake up in unforeseen territory and think “Lord, I didn’t sign up for this, what is going on?”

It may be divorce that you did not sign up for, a move, an addiction you cannot seem to beat, or even a co-worker that you are forced to work with and get along with daily.  It may be cancer that you did not expect, but you find yourself in a chair having your head shaved because you cannot bear to see anymore hair gradually fall out.

There are lots of things in life that come our way that we would rather just not have to deal with at all.  What about when you watch a loved one suffer and you think silently with tears streaming down your face, they did not sign up for this and how am I supposed to watch it happen?  The pain can be unbearable. 

Sometimes we may wake up and feel all alone.  A family friend buried his lifelong mate on Saturday and said that he was surrounded by people, but had never been so lonely in his whole life.  He woke up with the reality of being alone. 

Yesterday as I thought about the fact, YES…it is a fact, that in this world we will have troubles. I was comforted by Psalm 139.  I read the whole thing out loud two times in my car in a parking lot. 

It will comfort you this week.  Psalm 139 is a must read!  It is a must read OUT LOUD read!  You will realize that even though the territory surrounding you or a loved one may be unfamiliar, it is not to the LORD.  He knows!  You are not alone! NO matter what the circumstances may look like, you can rejoice because you are in the hands of the Almighty. 

rain and sludge...and snakes

We are still seeing effects of the rain around here.  Our gate up front has not worked properly since the last thunderstorm.  I do not really know if the weather actually has anything to do with it or not, but I say it does just attempting to draw a somewhat logical conclusion for why it goes berserk.  One day a few weeks ago I had to park outside of the gate and walk home because the gate would not open.  It was the first sunny day in forever so I did not mind.  I was looking forward to my stroll in the country. 

Step one was to cross the cattle guard.  Step two was to climb over the gate then mosey on home down our white rock road.  My adventure was abruptly halted when I saw something move underneath the cattle guard.  It was a snake.  I am not sure if my heart rate has returned to normal yet. 

I did what any smart country girl would do.  I got right back in my Accord, put it in reverse, and headed back to town.  The housework I needed to do had to wait!

Hopefully now that the rain has ceased, we can get our yard mowed and the gate back to normal.  I gained a new respect for cattle guards too.  They now are fully examined pipe by pipe, row by row, before I even put the first toe on them. 

The rain has filled up our lakes and tanks for sure around here.  Our lake is full of beautiful clean water and we treat it like our swimming pool.  I carried a diet coke and a bag of pork skins down there last week and watched the kids swim for hours. I thought it was heavenly!  I was the cannonball judge and commander of wasp patrol under the roof. 

The funny thing is that although our lake is more full and clearer than ever, around it there is some sludge and trash that has washed up.  I have heard that area big lakes have major trash problems right now.  The rain filled up the lakes, thank God, and cleansed them.  All of the junk surfaced and now has to be dealt with. 

That happens to me from time to time.  When I spend time with the Lord being quiet, still, and honest with myself, there is a cleaning process that begins, and some junk begins to surface.  If I am too busy to even think, it goes unnoticed.  That stinks because I want to be free, clean, and right before the Lord. I do not want a like so clouded and bogged down with junk that I am useless.  Sometimes the sludge just has to surface and be dealt with!  It may be ugly, but like with the lakes, it is worth it! 

There is a Mercy Me song that I love.  It says “Word of God speak, would you pour down like rain, washing my eyes to see Your majesty.”  Get in the Word this week.  Find time to open your Bible and get alone with the Jesus Christ.  You may have to lock yourself in your closet. I have even used the bathroom as an escape.  Maybe you need a back corner of the library or to sit in your car during your lunch break.  Whatever it takes, let the Lord wash away some of the junk in your life and fill you back up with His amazing love.  You will be blessed! 

worry

The end of the school year is so close.  My family is struggling!  It is hard to go to bed and it is even harder to get up.  We are ready for summer. We should already be in bed by now and one of my kids is standing here at the bar begging me to find him a needle and thread so he can repair “Donkey.”  An old donkey just reappeared from the good old Shrek days and it is in need of repair…so random!  He is worried about stuffing donkey with cotton balls to puff him back up, but does not have a clue where his backpack is for tomorrow or have his sack lunch packed.

Life right now is just crazy.  Geez, I just heard him and now he is asking his Dad if he knows where a needle and thread is.  That has to be the funniest thing I have ever heard because my husband is a team player for sure, but he does not know where the sewing supplies are. Furthermore, it is bedtime and morning is coming before we know it. 

One morning last week my daughter came into my bathroom completely ready about twenty minutes ahead of schedule.  She asked if there was anything she could do for me.  I said…yes, put on my makeup for me while I run around and do about ten other things to get us out of the door on time.  Asking someone to put makeup on you while you do other things is about like asking someone to use the bathroom for you because you just don’t have the time and energy to sit on the toilet.  It just does not work!  There are something we have to do in life for ourselves….period!

I have thought of that often this week in the area of controlling my mind.  I can ask friends to pray for me. I can listen to good Biblical teaching, but really what I allow to swirl around in my head is up to me...period!  I am the one who has to battle to keep my mind sound and free of junk from this world and doubt from the devil.  I have been battling some uncertainty or fear of the unknown as we call it.  (Really, I should call it a lack of faith.)

The Bible talks about how we have to renew our minds with the Word of God.  We do not just make them new one time when we are saved and then call it quits.  We have to renew ourselves over and over again to keep the worry and uncertainty out.  I often get a visual of a large red stop sign that we have to just hold up and tell our negative thoughts to just stop in the name of Jesus.

I stumbled across a verse today that I fell in love with a few years ago.  The first time I read the words of David in 2 Samuel 7:18, I felt like his words were mine, his heart aligned with mind.  David said to the LORD “Who am I, O Sovereign LORD, and what is my family that you have brought me this far?  And as if this were not enough in your sight, O Sovereign LORD, you have also spoken about the future of the house of your servant.”

I love it!  When your mind seems to want to hang a question mark over your future, just look back at the faithfulness or the Lord and how far he has brought you already.  Jesus has brought you THIS far and he will not quit now.  He is sovereign.  Rest in that truth this week!