The Story of Spoon

My husband, Joe, has a Border Collie named Spoon that is a goat herder. He lived in a pen by himself, but next to one of our son's show goats.

Spoon got plenty of exercise, running with my husband often, plus herding the goats from time to time, but lately Spoon had been getting out of his pen and coming to the house to visit.

A few weeks ago, Spoon got out and ran to over to a field that has some of our older goats, plus two Great Pyrenees goat dogs, named Ranger and Chow. Also in that field is a neighbors' horse!

So now Spoon lives with the two other dogs, two old goats, and a horse that is visiting for a while. What a neat blended family!

This story makes me smile!  The thought that Spoon wanted to live somewhere else is so interesting to me!  Spoon didn't ever live with those other goats, or the other dogs, or the horse.  But the really interesting thing is that from his pen, he couldn't even see that field!  Maybe when he got out he saw it. Maybe that's how he became interested in that other field.  Maybe he knew that was where he belonged.  It just felt right.

Now, I'm not saying if you are feeling like something is wrong in your home you should leave! Not at all!  But, let's make a spiritual application to Spoon's story.

We can think of the big, open field as the church.  The church is world-wide, established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2.  Many spend their lives searching and searching for something, yet they don't know what.  They are searching for God....for Jesus.  They want to belong to Him, but they just may not yet realize it.  When they do, they are added, by Him, to the church.  When one gives their life to Jesus, follows God with their whole heart, and becomes a part of the church, he/she feels at home, at peace, and content.

Spoon is content, apparently.  He could choose to leave.  He could go anywhere he wanted to go, and we wouldn't be able to stop him.  But most likely he won't.  Apparently he loves his home.  He didn't feel comfortable in his own life. He wanted a new life.  He has new friends.  Not friends that look just like him, but friends who apparently 'love' him and accept him, as well.

That's what the Lord's church is designed to be like, as well.  A home for forgiven sinners, who love each other, who love the church.  The new Christian has a new life.  The new Christian has a new family - their brothers and sisters in Christ.  And he/she feels comfortable because they are surrounded by that new family and because they are in a close relationship with their Heavenly Father and their Savior.

THAT story makes me smile! :)

We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sinmight be done away with,^[a] that we should no longer be slaves to sin— because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

 Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 

Romans 6:2-8

Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
1 Peter 1:21-23

Babies, Babies, Babies!

Babies, babies, babies!  Our small town has been blessed with several new little babies in the past few weeks.  More are due soon!  And also, it's the time of year for our family when our goat nannies begin having babies, as well.  

God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

 Genesis 1:25

 “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you;  or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know  that the hand of the LORD has done this?  In his hand is the life of every creature  and the breath of all mankind.

Job 12:7-10

There's nothing sweeter than seeing little babies, whether human or animals, is there?  Thank you, God, for all of these babies!

Natural Instinct

This is one of our goat dogs.  I'm not sure if he has a name.  He's happy and content laying around on our lush green grass - right by the road that's on the side of our house.  I'm sure people wonder why he is there - in fact we wonder why he stays there.  He's actually supposed to be "in" the goat pen with the goats, but many months ago - last summer, actually - my husband moved some of the goats from the small field to another field near by.  When he went back to get the dog, he was gone.  He had left trying to go where he was supposed to be.  That natural God-given instinct kicked in and the dog knew he had to leave his regular pen and care for the goats in another pen, too.

Time went on and July 4th came around.  The dog had been going back and forth between the two fields of goats - one across the street and a little ways north.  The other behind our house. The celebration fireworks scared the dog and he ended up getting back in his original pen - at least for a while. A storm came and he jumped back out!

During this whole time my husband has tried to catch the dog, but he wouldn't come to him or anyone (and still doesn't), except one neighbor lady.  She can talk to him and even pet him, but he doesn't stay there long, either.  It's like he knows if he stays anywhere, he'll be caught. My husband had a few others try to catch him and one guy did, eventually, but the dog jumped the fence (a high fence) and got out.  It's just that natural instinct that tells him he's got to be with those goats - and all of them in two different pens!

The dog looks thin and malnourished.  I know people wonder about him.  We put food out.  He has access to water in the goat pens and when we water the grass (which is daily).  He probably scares people that walk down that road, though they would scare him more!  He'll bark occasionally, but not too much.  He's a goat guard dog.  That's his job.  He's doing just what he is supposed to be doing - just in his own unique way!

Think about your own life.....
What are you doing?  What kind of natural instinct do you have?  We were all created in the image of God, so our natural instinct should be to love Him and to serve Him, but the world sometimes gets in the way and our instinct gets skewed.  As a mom, I have a natural instinct to care for my family.  It's an instinct given by God, but if I'm not careful the world can mess that up, too.  The world will tell me my life is all about what I want and not about serving others - even my family. The world will tell me I must have "me" time - time for entertainment and pleasure at the expense of my husband and children.  Is that what God wants from His children - His creation?

Our goat dog amazes me, really!  I watch him move from our yard, to the back field, then to the further field.  Watching, checking, guarding, protecting.  Kind of sounds like God, doesn't it?  Except on a much higher scale and with a whole world of people?  God is there watching us, checking on us, guarding us, and protecting us.  I like that natural instinct, don't you?

(Note:  With goat dogs, supposedly the owner isn't supposed to "make friends" or they won't be good goat dogs.  But, since this situation - where my husband can't get near the dog - he's decided to make friends with the new puppy we have that will be another goat dog...for another field.  Right now he's  living in the back yard with our family dog and happy as can be! :)

Crazy's Still Crazy!

Do you remember the story about "Crazy", the goat?  If you don't know about her wild past and want to read about it, click here.

Well, "Crazy" is still....well.....CRAZY!  She's not changed a bit.  Just look at her!  In the field with many other nannies and baby goat kids, Crazy jumps up on the top of the shelter and sits there.  She segregates herself from the rest of the goat herd.  She's peculiar - most definitely.

As Christians, we're supposed to be peculiar. 

"Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works," Titus 2:14 (KJV)

"But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light," 1 Peter 2:9 (KJV)

But what does it mean to be peculiar?  Crazy the goat is peculiar in that she separates herself from the other goats, but she's also mean to the other goats.  She treats them bad.  She keeps them away from the food.  She doesn't get along with any of the rest of them.  Christians, on the other hand, are separated from the "world" (or should be) because of the way we stay away from sin.  We should be peculiar in the way we act because we act in love and not in hatefulness.  We should be peculiar because we strive to get along with people - not because we can't get along with others.  We are peculiar because we are Christians - children of God...striving to live our lives in the example of His Son, Jesus.

The apostle Paul explained this in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23:

“For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.”

What does Paul mean?  Should we partake in sin just to become like others?  No.  That's not what he means.  What he means is that we have to find common ground with others in order to "win" them for Christ.  If we act like Crazy and never have contact (in a positive way) with others around us, we will never be able to teach them about Jesus.  We will never help anyone become saved.

I don't know what will become of Crazy.  She's likely to live a long, lonely goat life (unless my husband decides to get rid of her first).  No one will go to her funeral.  She'll never have many friends.  And, if she were human, she'd never be a soul-winner for Jesus.  Let's not be like Crazy, m'kay?

Goin' Showin' at the Oklahoma Youth Expo

Every year, on the weekend before Spring Break, our family goes to the Oklahoma Youth Expo in Oklahoma City, where our oldest three children show goats. This year one of our sons took his pig to show, as well.

Others from our local 4-H and FFA also showed this past weekend and will continue to do so during this whole week. This picture shows the front of our goat stalls. Some clubs choose to decorate their stalls and work hard to keep it clean. There is an award given for Herdsmanship for those who work towards this competition. Last year our club place 1st/Overall Champion. This year our group place 3rd.

I took some chalkboards and my daughter decorated them with Chalk Markers.  She did a great job, but in the picture below, you can see where her little ornery brother messed it up!

She wrote:  Got goats?...a play on the "Got Milk?" slogan.  Then at the bottom she put, "WE DO!"  Tyler got the Chalk Marker and in the middle wrote, "WE DON'T".  I got on to him for messing up her sign while the other two brothers laughed hysterically.  Soon my daughter and I were laughing about it, too, but we didn't let Tyler know it!

This is Jacob getting his goat ready.  It's neat that they are able to clip a lot themselves now.

Zachary washing his goat.  Thankfully the goat is seeming to enjoy the bath.

Lauren working with her red goat.  It was my favorite one because of it's hair color.

Jacob with "Floop".  He enjoys the pig more than the goats.

Jacob's goat...before going into the show ring.  Looks like the goats smiling, doesn't it?

Lauren with her goat....right after the show....and right before taking it to the trailer... 

The male goats don't come back home, so it's sad for some of the kids who've grown attached to their show animals.  Lauren is always sad to have to say goodbye to her animals.

Zachary with his goat doing the same thing....posing before heading to the trailer.  He's more business minded, so doesn't get too emotional about the goat's future.

Zachary, Lauren, and Jacob watching the goat show.  I always try to get a "from behind" picture of them in their 4-H and FFA jackets. It just looks neat to me.

Tyler had some fun learning to play the "big" Sequence with our high school principal and his wife.  It was a fun way to pass the time for him during the long, long, long goat show!

As the people began to clear out during the day, the aisles became free to have some fun.  This is at the end of the day, in between times of cleaning and packing up to head home.

Tyler giving rides to our county extension agent, plus his sister and one of his brothers.

I walked by a table with a skirt around it and saw a few legs and boots sticking out. I also heard giggling coming from underneath as the kids were trying to hid. It was so cute, but I didn't want to scare the kids by talking to them, since they were hiding under there. I waited until one of them kind of came out and asked if they would line up with their boots in a row. Such a cute picture! I never did see any of the kid's faces, but thanked them for posing!

And finally, Lauren and Zachary giving their dad a ride back to the barn to get the final load before heading home.  We were all ready to be home after four long, busy days!
 
Last year I wrote a post about our worship each year at the stock show.  Read more about that here.

From the Archives: Contentment

This weekend has been our kid's livestock show. This year they showed pigs and goats. Here is a story from last year about a goat named "Crazy". Her story inspired this post, which was originally published on March 1, 2009.

This is the story of "Crazy" with an emphasis on contentment.

Are you content? What would it take for you to be content? In our world today, we are bombarded with advertisements about new things we can purchase that will supposedly make us more content. We want things newer, faster, nicer, easier - all these "things" we believe will make us content.

Last week the goat in this picture (let's just call her "Crazy" for the sake of giving her a name - and it is a proper name!) thought her life was going along pretty good. She was very content. She was happily roaming in our pasture, but one day her life changed. There's a possibility that this goat is expecting little baby goats, so my husband was going to take her and all the other expectant moms to a safe sheltered barn. But Crazy wasn't interested in changing her life, so she ran away from my husband, a friend of his, plus 10 children (maybe the 10 children were why she ran - Hmmm???) Anyway, Crazy jumped the fence and ran as fast as she could up the road we call "cemetery road" here in Tipton. It was dark and they had other goats to take care of, so they didn't worry about Crazy for the night - thinking she might come back. But, no. She didn't.

The next morning our county livestock was going on at a nearby town and my husband and children left early for the fairgrounds. I started over a little later and on the way, about 2 miles from our house I saw a goat in the driveway of one of my 4-H members. This boy also shows goats and I am thinking this is HIS goat and that it should be at the county show. So, I call our Ag teacher and he says, "No that's YOUR goat!" It's Crazy! He told me to stay there and watch her until he got me some help to try to get her.

Crazy ran into the garage of the house where she was "visiting". Their garage door was open (as a side note, the mom that lives here is my son, Jacob's teacher.) So Crazy is in this garage, way up by the door going into the house, and there's all this stuff around her in the garage.

While waiting on help to come, I'm thinking that this would be an awesome picture - Crazy in a garage! I slowly drive up about one foot at an angle to get a good picture and also to make sure I'm out of the highway traffic, but the movement scared Crazy and she took off!! I begin to go along behind Crazy, she in the field and I on the highway, when all of the sudden, here comes help! The assistant Ag teacher and a high school boy come driving THROUGH the field after Crazy. The high school boy jumps out of the vehicle and runs after Crazy, but then turns around and runs scared! A jack rabbit had jumped out in front of him and ran, but it scared him! The boy jumps back into the vehicle and here we all go, chasing after Crazy! Well, Crazy stopped at the next house. At this time, I had to leave and get to the stock show to work at the concession stand. I left the assistant Ag teacher and high school boy with Crazy.

I'm not exactly sure what happened after that, but I do know that they didn't get Crazy. Crazy is still gone. But, all of the students, teachers, and people at the livestock show enjoyed the story of Crazy the rest of the day!

Why do I tell you this story? Well, first of all, I thought it would be a good laugh to start off your week. But, second of all, the story of Crazy can teach us a lesson about being content.

Sometimes we believe we can't be content unless we have more. But, also, sometimes we believe we can't be content unless things stay exactly the same - like Crazy. She wasn't content with any change in her life and now where is she? Who knows? Maybe she'll show up some day! But, Paul says in Philippians 4:11-12 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." The key to this verse is where Paul says "I have learned the secret of being content. What is that secret? Paul in God's inspired Word tells us in verse 13, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength" Christ gives us the strength to be content.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

Don't Be a Goat!

Last week while my husband was gone, Zachary (our oldest son) and I would go and feed the goats in all of the fields. Our three oldest show goats as FFA/4-H projects and they take care of them, but there are also three fields of goats that my husband takes care of mostly himself that are breeding stock.

One of the fields has a guard dog, Ranger. Ranger is very intellegent, as I was able to see for myself this week. This particular field is "U" shaped and you drive up in the middle of the "U" to feed Ranger and the goats.  There is field area on either side of the drive. When we drove up and my son got out of the pickup he said, "Mom, watch Ranger."

We had parked more towards the south side, but as soon as Zachary went towards the north side with the dog food, Ranger took off quickly and ran as hard as he could all the way around the field and to the other side to his food.  He knew immediately which side of the field his food was being taken as soon as Zachary lifted it out of the back of the pickup.  (A funny this is that he wouldn't eat it. Zachary (and my husband) say that he never eats it until they leave.)

The goats stand in a row along the south part of the field, looking at me sitting in the pickup and Zachary, as he is taking their food to the NORTH part of the field. They can see Ranger from across the field, too. But, instead of running around to the food like Ranger did, they just stand there - looking and meheheeeing (that's the sound goat's make, in case you don't know!). I'll just say that goats are "intellectually challenged"....that's a nice way to put it!

After a while...quite a while....the goats figured out that their food is on the other side of the field and then one by one they turned and began running to the other side. Now, I should explain that my husband or son do this on either side to make it easier to pour out the feed. If they poured it on the side where the goats were, they would be in the way and the feed would go everywhere.

So, I got to thinking....there HAS to be some sort of spiritual application to this story. And here's what I thought of: We are all different. We have different degrees of intelligence. We all have different talents. Some of us work quickly. Some of us work slowly. BUT, none of us should be like those goats, who day after day, do the SAME THING over and over and never figure out what is going on. They stand there for quite a while just looking and "talking" (goat language)- not having learned anything from the days before, but repeating the same thing (that doesn't work) each day. Ranger is the leader and shows that quality every day, but, he himself doesn't have any followers. 

You would think that eventually one of the goats would look to his example, but no.  They just stand together in their same group, looking at him from the other side of the field and talk.  Wonder what they are saying in goat language?  "Look at that dog?  What does he think he's doing?  He's going to the other side of the fence.  That will never work.  We've always done it this way."  Eventually one goat finally starts towards the field and then the others begin to follow.

As Christians we should be following in Jesus' footsteps, which lead to God.  But, sometimes, we are looking at those around us and see what they are doing and we follow them.  We want to stay in our comfort zones and in our familiar groups and not grow closer to God on our own.  Of course, we can learn from the examples of others, but we have to be careful not to be following them as a human beings, but instead be following Jesus - a spiritual being.  And, like the goats, sometimes we tend to just stay in our same little groups or cliques, uncomfortable to reach out to others or go along with others (who, like the dog, are taking the lead and accomplishing what he needs to)  and who also may be doing the right thing.  If we follow others, we may be learning what is "True" and "Right", but we might not be.  We must follow Jesus and God, and let the Spirit lead us. We must do what the Bible says....not what men/women say.  We must look to the examples of others to learn from them, but only be followers of Jesus.

“It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.” —Psalm 118:8

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10

Can you think of any other spiritual example to this goat/dog scene?  It's amazing to watch the creatures God made!

Why Kick 'Em When They're Down?

Note: The "Favorite Candy Bar" poll ends Tuesday. Have you voted yet? If not, it's on the "Shine Like Stars" home page. Twenty-eight of you have voted so far and Snickers is waaaaay ahead!


Tonight after worship my husband, Joe, and our son, Jacob, went out to the field to give some of the nanny goats some shots. Unfortunately, goats get "wormy" fairly easily and a few of the nannies have died in the last week. One particular nanny was looking really sickly, so they treated her first. As soon as she got the shot, she laid down. Joe said it was the strangest thing. The other nannies went up to her and started butting her. I thought maybe they were trying to nudge her to get her up, but he said they weren't. He said that they saw her as weak and were butting her to get rid of her! Because she was sick and weak, they didn't want her in the field with them. Isn't that sad? Unfortunately, she died a little while later.

Joe mentioned how there's a good lesson in this story of the sick nanny. (Note: He always find an application story from his goat herd. ha!ha!) Isn't it true that sometimes we, as humans, "kick 'em when they're down" just like the other goats were doing? That's exactly what many national tabloid newspapers make their money doing, isn't it? They make their money on the tragedies and the problems and struggles of others. And, how sad that we would care to spend our money on reading or our time on watching the lives of those hurting being played out in the public eye. Even if you and I don't ever purchase those newspapers, they are lined up at the check out stands at the grocery stores, making the headlines very hard to completely avoid.

Mark 2:1-12 tells the story of four friends taking a paralyzed man to see Jesus. There was no room to carry him into the house because of the large crowd listening to Jesus. So, the four men took the paralyzed man up on the roof and let his mat down through a hole they made...right down to Jesus! Some of the teachers of the law didn't like this at all! Jesus knew exactly what they were thinking and questioned them about it. Jesus healed the man and forgave him of his sins because of his faith. The four friends helped the man when he was in need, but all the teachers of the law could do was try to find a problem with Jesus. They were "kicking him when he was down". They had no compassion for the paralyzed man at all. They didn't believe Jesus had the power to forgive sins, either.

As Christians, we shouldn't care about "kickin' 'em when they're down". Rather, we should care enough about people to help them get up. We should care enough for people to take care of their needs, just like Jesus did. We should care enough to tell others about Jesus, Our Savior, who wants to be their Savior, too.

The Good Shepherd

Last night when my daughter and I arrived home after cleaning up after a banquet, we heard the cry of little goats. It had been raining a lot, so we mentioned the crying to my husband.


He went out in the field and found seven little babies seperated from their mommas and surrounded by water. Because we recently lost six babies and a momma due to flooding, he wasn't going to leave them there and let them try to find their way out. They were wet and tired and probably hungry. Unfortunately, some of the first-time mommas don't take care of their babies as good as they should and they weren't trying to help them. So, my husband brought all seven babies to our garage!


The little babies were towel dried and blow dried, then sent back to their mommas. Thankfully, all seven of them were alive and well this morning!


A good shepherd takes care of his sheep....or in my husband's case...goats!! My husband will go out in the rain and mud to help his goats. I'm certain he wouldn't lay down his life for his goats, though.

We have a good shepherd - JESUS!! And as His children, we are His sheep. And our good shepherd did lay down His life for us!

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11

By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. 1 John 3:16a

Thank you, God, for the gift of Your Son, Jesus, who is our Good Sheperd and who was willing to lay down His life for us.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

I Have Always Wanted A Pond!

I have always wanted a pond in our little field by our house. I've thought it would be neat, and have pictured it having ducks, too. A family pond would bring lots of family fun, plus perfect scenery for family fun and pictures! Well, this morning I heard from my husband that we DO have a pond! In fact, several of them all around our house.

I'm in Oklahoma City for the state FFA Convention (which has been awesome, by the way!), so by the time I get home tomorrow night, my "pond" may not still be there. Because we've needed rain for so long, the dry ground may soak it all up! Two of these new "ponds" are really fields for our goats.

We have had flooding in Tipton before, but it's been a long time since it's been like this - about 13 years if I'm remembering correctly.

Many in Tipton have been praying for rain for a long time, and last night God answered our prayers. Thank you, God! Of course, with the abundance of rain, there have been some problems, due to flooding. The biggest problem for us, personally, is that, unfortunately, seven goats have drowned in the very deep water. My husband waded out knee-deep in the water to check on them, and thankfully the other goats had moved up to dry ground. Most of the goats were babies, many that I have shown pictures of or mentioned in posts before. One nanny and her two-day-old twins died. My husband thinks she was staying nearby her babies trying to protect them. How sweet!

Flooding makes me think of Noah and the ark, of course. Someone back home did comment that animals were seen going 2 by 2 down Broadway in Tipton, but I'm not sure I believe that(hee hee)!

I'm thankful for God's promise: "I establish my covenant with you: "Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth," Genesis 9:11.

By the way, did you know some even went 7 by 7 in the Bible? Read here to see for yourself: Genesis 7:2-3!

God - Our Protector

This is Lucy. She is a Great Pyrenees and serves as a guard dog for some of our goats. Lucy is friendly and will let us pet her, but is very protective of the goats, especially the little ones. One of the little goats had to have a shot last week. My husband said Lucy cried the whole time he was working with the little goat. Isn't that sweet?


These little goats just lie around and jump up and down on the hay bales. They even get on Lucy and play on top of her. They don't know she's there to guard them. They sense no danger.


Unfortunately, sometimes there is danger. Little foxes like to sneek up during the night and get baby goats. We saw several last spring and occassionally a little goat would disappear. But, not since Lucy has been around! She is doing her job by protecting the goats.

Sometimes we are like these little goats...completely unaware of danger that may be lurking nearby. But we read in the Bible that Satan trys to snatch us - catch us off guard. He wants to harm us - just like the predators that try to get baby goats. 1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

But God is ready to protect us. As Christians, He is our Shepherd. He is willing and able to help us, if we will rely on Him.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear...Psalm 46:1-2a

Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. I will uphold you with My righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen and protect you from the evil one. 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Thank you, God, for protecting me and strengthening me - even when I don't realize I'm in danger.
In Jesus' Name,
Amen.

A Day In The Life....

Our three oldest children have been extremely busy lately. The oldest, Lauren, is involved in FFA and 4-H, and the two middle boys, Zachary (left) and Jacob (right) are also in 4-H. The biggest project for all three of them is showing goats. I've written about the goats before here (Special goat update: Crazy did have a baby goat and she's being a very good mother....who woulda thunk it?!!)

Lauren has also been doing speech contests, ag-science projects, and land judging. In fact, she leaves at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday for a contest...glad it's her and not me! The boys have a "Dress Review" contest tomorrow for our county, which is teaching the members about dressing appropriately (matching) and taking care of garments (washing, drying, ironing). I can't say the boys are excited about it, but they are willing to participate without too much complaining! And, since I'm their 4-H leader and mom, it's not like they really have a choice :).

Although the activities may seem a little overwhelming at times, I'm convinced that 4-H and FFA are two of the best organizations available for our youth today. Why? Because, although the two are not Bible-based organizations, they teach Biblical principles. The 4-H Motto states: "To Make the Best Better." The pledge is:
I pledge
My head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service, and
My health to better living,
For my club, my community, my country, and my world.
The FFA Motto states: "Learning to Do, Doing to Learn, Earning to Live, Living to Serve."

Wow! Making things better, clearer thinking, greater loyalty, greater service, better living, doing for others, learning more by doing, working to survive, a life of service. Sounds like it's straight from God's Holy Word, doesn't it?

It's great for our youth to be involved in extra-curricular activites, whether they are going to public schools or being home-schooled. Too many of our youth today spend the majority their time in front of the television and/or playing video games. While a little of that is okay, it's not teaching Biblical principles, such as leadership, responsibility, team work, and hard work. That's what organizations such as 4-H and FFA instill in youth. Being a part of these types of organizations is also a great way for families to be together more, from working on projects together or serving others together.

Of course, even better than 4-H and FFA, is for youth today to be involved in the church and the youth group, if there is one in your congregation. Being a part of a group is important to children, and for some peer pressure is really strong. Having a support system around who share the same morals, beliefs and principles will help youth resist temptations that surround them daily.

"Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm."
Proverbs 4:26

Got Milk?

"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good."
1 Peter 2:2-3

Just as these little goat kids crave pure milk from their momma, we as Christians should also crave pure milk - pure spiritual milk. The KJV here says “the sincere milk of the Word.” We should crave or desire God's Word just as much as these babies or human babies crave and desire milk. Babies need milk to grow physically and we need God's Word - spiritual "milk" - to grow spirtually.

Two other verses in the Bible talk about milk in relation to Christians. 1 Corinthians 3:1-2 says, "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready." Paul is telling the Christians in Corinth that they have not yet matured in their Christian walk. They are acting like infants.

In Hebrews 5:11-14, the Christians are told, "We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil".

So, while it is important that we've "Got Milk", we must also continue to grow and mature and eventually move on to solid food. We need to be maturing as Christians and growing continually in His Word. Every day we can learn something new about God in study and prayer. We can find new ways to serve as Jesus did, looking for opportunities to reach the lost and to help the needy. We can let our lights shine as we SHINE LIKE STARS!

Worshipping God - At a Stock Show

Last Sunday our family was at a goat show in Oklahoma City. It is the Oklahoma Youth Expo, which prides itself on being the Largest Junior Livestock Show in the United States. The goat show was held on Sunday and Monday and scheduled to begin on Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m.

Now, I would prefer the event not be scheduled on a Sunday, myself, but unfortunately, it's out of my control. However, having events such as this reminds me of the story in the Bible when the Samaritan women encounters Jesus and He asks her for a drink of water. He offers her the "living water" that only He can give.

Jesus knows all about this woman's life - that she has had five husbands, that the man she now lives with is not her husband. She's not too comfortable with this man, Jesus, knowing all about her life, so she changes the subject! The woman asks Jesus about worship:

"Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem." Jesus declared, "Believe me, woman, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth." John 4:20-24

So, while we were at the livestock show and unable to assemble with fellow Christians to worship as usual on Sunday morning, our family, along with several other friends and youth, gathered in one of the empty goat stalls and worshipped God together - in spirit and in truth.

I think it is an important lesson to remind ourselves, as well as to teach our children, that true worship is about God and not about entertainment or how we feel or the building we are in at the moment. The Greek word for worship is proskyneō and means to kiss the hand towards in token of reverence or to bow down. It is telling and showing God just how much we love Him and how much we appreciate all that He has done for us. He gave us His Only Son, Jesus!

Thank you, God, for special times such as this that you have given us to worship you in spirit and in truth. It is wonderful to realize we can worship You at any time - even at a goat show!
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Contentment

Are you content? What would it take for you to be content? In our world today, we are bombarded with advertisements about new things we can purchase that will supposedly make us more content. We want things newer, faster, nicer, easier - all these "things" we believe will make us content.

Last week the goat in this picture (let's just call her "Crazy" for the sake of giving her a name - and it is a proper name!) thought her life was going along pretty good. She was very content. She was happily roaming in our pasture, but one day her life changed. There's a possibility that this goat is expecting little baby goats, so my husband was going to take her and all the other expectant moms to a safe sheltered barn. But Crazy wasn't interested in changing her life, so she ran away from my husband, a friend of his, plus 10 children (maybe the 10 children were why she ran - Hmmm???) Anyway, Crazy jumped the fence and ran as fast as she could up the road we call "cemetery road" here in Tipton. It was dark and they had other goats to take care of, so they didn't worry about Crazy for the night - thinking she might come back. But, no. She didn't.

The next morning our county livestock show was going on at a nearby town and my husband and children left early for the fairgrounds. I started over a little later and on the way, about 2 miles from our house I saw a goat in the driveway of one of my 4-H members. This boy also shows goats and I am thinking this is HIS goat and that it should be at the county show. So, I call our Ag teacher and he says, "No that's YOUR goat!" It's Crazy! He told me to stay there and watch her until he got me some help to try to get her.

Crazy ran into the garage of the house where she was "visiting". Their garage door was open (as a side note, the mom that lives here is my son, Jacob's teacher.) So Crazy is in this garage, way up by the door going into the house, and there's all this stuff around her in the garage.

While waiting on help to come, I'm thinking that this would be an awesome picture - Crazy in a garage! I slowly drive up about one foot at an angle to get a good picture and also to make sure I'm out of the highway traffic, but the movement scared Crazy and she took off!! I begin to go along behind Crazy, she in the field and I on the highway, when all of the sudden, here comes help! The assistant Ag teacher and a high school boy come driving THROUGH the field after Crazy. The high school boy jumps out of the vehicle and runs after Crazy, but then turns around and runs scared! A jack rabbit had jumped out in front of him and ran, but it scared him! The boy jumps back into the vehicle and here we all go, chasing after Crazy! Well, Crazy stopped at the next house. At this time, I had to leave and get to the stock show to work at the concession stand. I left the assistant Ag teacher and high school boy with Crazy.

I'm not exactly sure what happened after that, but I do know that they didn't get Crazy. Crazy is still gone. But, all of the students, teachers, and people at the livestock show enjoyed the story of Crazy the rest of the day!

Why do I tell you this story? Well, first of all, I thought it would be a good laugh to start off your week. But, second of all, the story of Crazy can teach us a lesson about being content.

Sometimes we believe we can't be content unless we have more. But, also, sometimes we believe we can't be content unless things stay exactly the same - like Crazy. She wasn't content with any change in her life and now where is she? Who knows? Maybe she'll show up some day! But, Paul says in Philippians 4:11-12 "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want." The key to this verse is where Paul says "I have learned the secret of being content. What is that secret? Paul in God's inspired Word tells us in verse 13, "I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength" Christ gives us the strength to be content.

Have a great Monday, everyone!

A Brand New Life!

Our family awoke this morning to something special that we look forward to each year. It's the beginning of kidding season with our goat herd.

These little twins were just a few hours old when I took these pictures. Their momma was a little frightened as I knelt down close by the fence to capture these sweet babies! I hurried so that she wouldn't be too upset with me.

There is just something about babies, whether human or animal, isn't there? God's handiwork is seen in the new birth of babies. It is hard to imagine how so many in the world don't see it that way.

"For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be."
Psalm 139:13-16