Thursday, June 24, 2010

a day in the life

























I got bit by my Mama's shutter bug.

I can't take enough of these kind of pictures.
The ranch is so far removed from my daily life that its almost surreal to get to work alongside the crew again occasionally... to actually be a part of this American legacy. God is good.
And man, oh, man. Early morning light, there's nothing like it.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

TO GIVE AWAY: one fleece...

TO GIVE AWAY: one fleece, like new condition, never used for its intended purpose. First come first serve. Will be located tonight floating in the Kids Fishing Pond. It will be dry.

This morning while I was contemplating getting up, God started talking to me. He told me the most amazing thing, so I got my Bible out to make sure He was right - and it was even more amazing than I thought.

I am like Gideon. Not in the warrior, manly sort of way. All these years I've looked at Gideon and thought, "Oh ye of little faith." This guy put a fleece out. Twice. Pff, who does that?

You know he felt sheepish doing it too, Judges 6:39 "And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece:..." He said once, but that was on the second time.

Well, this morning, God said to me... "Hey Ding Dong (its a term of endearment). Stop putting your fleece out and trust me already."

Gideon rose up and went after only the second time. I put my fleece out hundreds of times, and never quite trust the results. I've put it out under every variable imaginable. I've put it under my bed, in the shed, in the crawl space, fireproof safe, in the fire, on the elevator... it always gets wet.

I put it in the pond, I put it over the sprinkler head, I leave it in the rain, I took it snorkeling... it never gets wet.

So I read the story of Gideon this morning with hunger for every word. It came alive. Did you know that Gideon tested God at least 3 other times BESIDES the fleece? I never realized that.

  1. Judges 6:17 "And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me." ... vs. 21 "and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh..." This was before the fleece.
  2. Judges 7:9-11 "...that the LORD said unto him, Arise, get thee down unto the host; for I have delivered it into thine hand. But if thou fear to go down, go thou with Phurah thy servant... Then he went down with Phurah his servant..." Gideon saw an opportunity to have his security blanket, Phurah, and didn't hesitate to take him with. This was after the fleece.
  3. Judges 7:15 "And it was so, when Gideon heard the telling of the dream, and the interpretation thereof, that he worshipped, .... and said, Arise; for the LORD hath delivered in your hand the host of Midian."

I never had any idea that Gideon, the mighty warrior, had such difficulties trusting God aside from putting the fleeces out. And God had abundant patience and grace with him. And used him mightily. When I think of Gideon, I usually remember him by "The sword of the Lord and of Gideon!" He's one of the heroes.

Feel free to throw your fleece in the pond with mine. Surely someone will take them.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Scratch that

The part about being an adult, I mean.

"How did you get a rugburn on your stomach?" a person might ask.
I slid down the stairs.
Several times. So did Kristy (somehow I think she started it).
Oh the things we'll do to impress a cute boy.

Anna?
What baby?
Anna, peas?
Please what?
Peas? Stairs?
Ahhh. You want ME to slide down the stairs too?
Yep!


I was skeptical at first, but his enthusiasm was not misplaced. It WAS a great deal of fun. However I do not have sufficient padding to make a career of stair sliding. Kristy and the Little Turkey will demonstrate the sport below.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

An adult? When did this happen?

Today I realized something.
I really am an adult.

Weird.

I took a lunch break to go vote.  That's always fun because you're doing your duty as an American citizen, you get to put your two cents in, AND you get to see half the town.  My favorite part is the sticker you get.  Wearing the sticker is like being part of an elite club.  I ran into the director of our YMCA in McDonalds tonight (who was also wearing the sticker); he pointed at me, thumped on his chest and gave me a thumbs up.  I felt like I just got accepted on his football team or something.  Voter bonding is terrific.

Then I drove to the Treasurer's office to pay my car registration.  As I was walking down the sidewalk, it suddenly hit me in a very real way that I am an adult now.  Voting, car registration, yada yada.  Its nothing new, but you know how it is.  Sometimes things just hit you. A moment of clarity, so to speak.

As I got to the door, a gentleman was coming out.  "Are you going in Ma'am?" he said, and held the door open for me.  Ma'ams are grown-ups.  Wowee, could that possibly be me?

Next stop, the bank.  I had to transfer some money to pay my bills.  Bills... aren't those for adults?

On the way out of the bank, I popped in to say hi to Ed, Kristy's Loan Officer.  A home loan?  A loan officer?  Aren't those for adults?

Yes, it seems that I really am an adult.  I have no idea when that happened.

However, childhood isn't totally lost either.  We put on our annual tradeshow this weekend, and I helped two little old ladies haul all their merchandise in.  Later I overheard them referring to me as "that little girl."