4-H Livestock Auction

I’m assuming that all or most 4-H organizations have an auction at the end of the fair or sometime.  My understanding of this is that businesses and families in the community purchase the animals from the kids at the auction.  A portion of that sale price goes back to the 4-H organization and the rest goes to the kid who showed the animal at the fair. 

This year, I noticed an increasing trend.  Buyers are spreading out their money!  Multiple buyers will go together and buy multiple animals.  This spreads out their buying power and benefits more kids.  I’m wondering if it doesn’t increase the total revenue of the auction some too. 

I like this concept a lot!

Our 4-H organization’s tradition is that the kids thank the buyers with some kind of gift.  Some thank the actual person who is at the auction doing the bidding and others thank the organization that person represented at a later date.  We do both in our family.  I provide bottled water and/or chocolate for the boys to deliver immediately to the actual person/s who won the auction and then later we make up some homemade goodies to thank the entire organization or business.  We try to find out approximately how many employees and make the gift appropriately sized for each business.

To give you some ideas for your own thank you gift-

Homemade cookies

Fudge

Bread

Cinnamon Rolls

Tea Bags and Individual packets of instant coffee /cappucino

Candy

Gift Certificates to a local bakery/restaurant

Don’t forget to include a thank you note that is signed by the kid him/herself!  When they are in high school, they are capable of writing the note themselves as well!

What acts of service can do for you!

I have had a bad week (well, except the cute little bunny and the time to visit with the girlfriends yesterday) and I’m just plain grouchy.  I drug myself out of bed this morning to put together the thank you platters that the boys will be delivering to all their 4-H buyers.  9 platters – one to a large company, 3 to medium sized business’s, 1 to a small business, and 4 to individual families. (not that you really care for the details I’m sure. . . .lol)  Even though when it comes down to it, I am extremely grateful to these people for supporting my kids (and their college funds), I have not been feeling very grateful given all the trying times this week and the entire summer has had for our family. 

Something began to happen while I put cookies on plates and divided up candy and tea bags.  The muscles in my face began to soften and relax and before I knew it, the music on the radio became noticeable and enjoyable!  All of the sudden my brain remembered that Sunday our church is going to take dinner to the homeless shelter and have a meal with the folks living there.  Immediately following that thought, I told myself that I needed to call the pastor’s wife and see what else was needed. 

I have started feeling less grouchy and more grateful!  The Message Bible interprets Galatians 5: 13-15 as:

It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life.  Just make sure that you don’t use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom.  Rather, use your freedom to serve on another in love; that’s how freedom grows.  For everything we know about God’s Word is summed up in a single sentence:  Love others as you love yourself.  That’s an act of true freedom.  If you bite and ravage each other, watch out- in no time at all you will be annihilating each other and where will your precious freedom be then?

Serving others is the way to freedom!  The opposite of freedom is bondage or prison.  Being all grouchy about things literally had me in my own self-made prison.  SELF-MADE:  made by me.  Why would anyone want to do that to themselves?

Galatians 5: 16 says: My counsel is this: Live freely, animated, and motivated by God’s Spirit.  Then you won’t feed the compulsions of selfishness.

Today, ask God to close the mouth inside you that wants you to be selfish and open the mouth that can only be fed by Him.  He will show you ways to serve and in return, God’s spirit will grow inside you and bring  joy and freedom!

A week in the life. . . . .

Monday- mom gets black eye from naughty kid’s head.  #1 son slices the end off his toe with a sharp rock in the lake.

Tuesday- we go and pick up the cutest and cheapest (free)  little birthday present ever!  A 2 month old black Holland Lop rabbit.

Wednesday- #3 child splits his chin wide open after swim lessons when his chin collided with a friend’s head.  Friend- small cut on head no medical help needed.  #3- Closest Urgent Care facility, 45 minutes away from lake, glues his chin back together after anxiety attack and having to be held down by staff.

Thursday- Lord willing, #3’s orthodontist will discover that no damage was done to his teeth in the collision and we will have a glorious play date with friends!

Friday- Lord willing, we will attend the last swim lesson for this season.  #3 will observe until cookie and juice time and the other boys will finish out the season!

Saturday- Lord willing, I will get the laundry caught up

Sunday- Lord willing, I will get my spiritual tank refilled and will be able to bless those living at the homeless shelter with others from church.

Monday- Lord willing, I will pack for vacation and spend some time at a football meeting for #1 son

If the Lord is not willing to allow these simple requests, His plan will come to fruition and I hope it does not include me taking a vacation wrapped in a straight jacket at our local mental hospital. . . . . . .

One day at a time, sweet Jesus!  That’s all I’m asking from you!  Please give me the strength to do everything that I need to do!

PB and J

We had peanut butter and jelly last night- yes, seriously!  I included this because I want all of you to know that it is okay and perfectly normal to be too tired or too busy to prepare a REAL meal once in a while (once or twice a week at least here. . ..  lol)  PB&J, cold cereal, ice cream, etc.

It’s all good!!

kids. . . . . . . .

I peeked in at my boys while they were sleeping last night, as I do most nights on my way to bed.  They are exactly perfect when they are asleep.  They are angels-  Exactly perfect angels- just the way God planned them to be!

It’s been a looooooong summer.  #2 gave me fits earlier this season – he should have talked to some adults that he was too shy to talk to and it ended up in a fiasco that God is taking care of.  #3 jumped out of the water the other day as I was dragging him to shore for disobedience and gave me a black eye (seriously, it’s lovely. . . .grr).    #1 gets cocky and moody every time I turn around then shocks the entire world when an animal of any kind is placed in his care.  It’s like a split personality.  Parents are crappy and spoil all the fun.  Animals are amazing creatures that should be loved and nurtured with all of his being (except when nagged to feed and water them lol)

Seeing them at their “trying” moments can make a parent pretty aggravated.  Watching them be mature, loving, and kind are the moments to savor.  Remember and dwell on these moments today.  If it’s hard. …  . peek in on them when they are sleeping.  Pray for that angel in the bed and remember to love him/her through the heartache.

P.S.  #1 is now the proud owner of a black Holland lop rabbit, born on May 25th of this year.  It has been his dream for over a year now!  Happy Birthday Flex ( a week early)!!!!!!!! (in case any of you wonder- Flex is not his real name. . . . he acquired that nick name at church camp for his “showing off” abilities- a mother could not be prouder!  LOL)

Dealing with Guilt

I’m still reading that Beauty for Ashes book by Joyce Meyer while the boys are a swim lessons.  I’ve been underlining “aha” moments as I read and one in particular has caught my attention and it talks about how we deal with guilt in our lives.  I never thought about it like this.  Joyce wrote:

“I always asked for forgiveness from my sins right away, but I never accepted it until I felt that I had suffered enough to pay for it.  God caused me to realize what I was doing, how much unnecessary pain I was causing myself.  He even showed me that what I was doing was insulting to Jesus, that in  essence I was saying,  ‘Lord, the sacrifice of Your life and blodd was good, but not good enough.  I must add my work of guilty feelings before I can be forgiven.’ “

I never in a million years would have come to think that I might be insulting Jesus by allowing guilt to stay around longer than it should!! 

Don’t confuse guilt with shame.  Shame is that feeling you get when you break something and need to go apologize for something.  Shame can get out of whack too but it is different than guilt. (perhaps, I’ll talk about shame tomorrow!) Joyce describes guilt as, “The devil wants all of us to feel wrong about ourselves.  Jesus Christ gave His life that we might have righteousness.  We were created by God to feel right and good about ourselves.  However,  because of the presence of sin in the world, and the sin nature that came upon us through the fall of mankind, we cannot now do everything right. . .. . . {however} by faith, we are made right with God.”

There is no way that we can be perfect.  There is no way that we can do enough good things to pay God back for helping us out.  We are not capable of paying God back for forgiving us.  Guilt makes you believe that there is some way to be perfect, if you only did. . . . . .or if you could take back. . . . .  Jesus took care of all of it on our behalf and we should not insult him by thinking that we have to punish ourselves even after we have asked for forgiveness.  God wants you to feel good about yourself, not bad!!  Satan is the messed up character that takes great strides to make you feel bad, guilty, and insecure- NOT GOD!!  GOD LOVES YOU!!  HE IS LOVE!! HE CANNOT, NOT, LOVE YOU.  THAT’S NOT WHO HE IS!!

Joyce referenced Hebrews 4:14-16.  I looked this up in the Message Bible for easier comprehension and this is what it says:

Now that we know what we have- Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God- let’s not let it slip through our fingers.  We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality.  He’s been through weakness and testing, expereinced it all- all but the sin.  So let’s walk right up to him and get what he is so ready to give.  Take the mercy, accept the help.

God created us to bring him joy!  He created Jesus so that we could be free from guilt.  In closing, I would like to quote Joyce one more time. 

“If you have a big problem in this area of guilt, you may need to ask someone to pray for you. . . . . .guilt robs faith; if you have lived for a long time buried under a load of guilt and condemnation, your faith may need to be strengthened.  Get the help you need.  Refuse to live any longer pressed down under a burden of guilt and condemnation.”

Dear Heavenly Father-  Thank you for taking the guilt away through Jesus’ death on the cross.  Please forgive me for ever thinking that I had to punish myself in order to be forgiven.  Your forgiveness is immediate upon asking and I so thank you for it!  If there are people out there today, who need a boost in the faith department, I ask you to give them all that they need to get out from under Satan’s laughing thumb.  He has tricked them, Lord.  Protect them from him and give them the strength to drop their fears at your feet.  Thank you, Jesus!  In your name, amen

One Ugly Hillbilly

The following story is an excerpt from “Created to be his Help Meet” by Debi Pearl.  I have mentioned her book before in my blog.  It is controversial but I believe in my heart of hearts that Debi is right on the mark.  Whether or not I make the choice to learn to follow all her advice is between God and my own independent heart!  As you read, please forgive the typo’s – I’m in a hurry today!

“A few years back, there was an overweight hillbilly woman who worked in the local store in our hometown.  Every time we went into the hardware store, several men would be standing around the counter talking to her, and they were always luaghing.  We usually had to wade throught the cheerful crowd and interrupt the gaiety to get served.  Her swarm of admireres reminded me of bees around the honey, buzzing with high iterest.  The strange thing was that this woman was ugly, I mean, hillbilly ugly, which worse than regular ugly.  One day as we were leaving the store, I laughingly brought to my husband’s attention all those men standing around talking to the salses cleark.  His reply really surprised me, “Oh, you mean that cute little lady?”  Live and learn!  And apparently I really had something important to learn.  In his mind that lady was cute!  The truth is, she was not little, she was not cute, and she was not young.  But she did smile, laugh, and giggle, and she was always ready for a good clean joke.  I loved being in the sotre talking to her as much as the men did.  She was delightful.  A few weeks later, we saw her in the grocery store.  She was mad at her very obese daughter for grabbing a handful of candy.  Gone were the smiles, giggles, and radiance that had so captivated everyone at the hardware store.  In their place was a bitter, ugly, snarl.  My hsuband remarked when we left the grocery store, “Haven’t we seen that woman somewhere before?  She looks familiar, but I just can’t place her.”  When I told him who she was, he was stunned.  “No, it’s not possible; it just can’t be her.  The woman in the hardware store does not look like that.”  I could see the truth dawn on him, and he was so disappointed.  The funny thing was that the woman looked just like she always did.  She was the same size, sam scraggly hairstyle, the same clothes style, the same everything she was when we saw her in the hardware store.  All she lacked was her glorious smile.  It was her most valuable asset.  Her face was always so radiant, her smile so infectious, her laughter so sweet, and her eyes so earnest that people simply saw her as cute.  I don’t know if she had a husband, but I am sure she could have had a dozen different men in that small town- as long as they never saw her in the grocery store, mad at her daughter.

Everyone is drawn to a smile and wants to be a friend to someone overflowing with good will.  Men are highly attracted to smiles.  That includes your husband.  Do you want your husband to stay home more?  A merry heart and a mischievious giggle are good drawing cards.”

Proverbs 17:22 A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

Prudent is not Prudish

Proverbs 19:14 says, Houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers, but a prudent wife is from the Lord (New Scofield)

In the Message Bible it is translated, House and land are handed down from parents, but a congenial spouse comes straight from God.

The New Living translation says,  Parents can provide their sons with an inheritance of houses and wealth, but only the Lord can give an understanding wife.

To me, all of these are very different takes on this one little verse!  I found myself quite curious about what the verse meant.  I remembered and old word “prude” and recalled that it was considered an insult to be called a prude and I knew that God would never insult. 

The definition of prude:  a person who is excessively proper or modest.

Prudent:  wise in practical affairs, discreet, careful in providing for the future

Congenial: agreeable, pleasing, compatible

Understanding: knowledge of familiararity

This was starting to confuse me- all completely different words.  I went to www.biblegateway.com to find other translations of the Bible and see what words others used.  The amplified Bible used “wise, understanding, and prudent”.  So, I’m guessing that the original language must have used a word that could not be translated exactly.

Thanks for bearing with me here!  My goal in my studies today was to prove that God does not want a bunch of prudes walking around the earth offending people with their “holier than thou” attitudes that so often accompany the personality of those often thought of as being prudes.  When I hear the word prude, I often think of the Mrs Olsen’s of the world (Mrs Olsen from Little House on the Prairie)  Being prudent doesn’t imply that one must act as if they are better or more godly than anyone else.  Being prudent is a gift from God and a characteristic that is looked upon with favor by God and man.  Being prudent is being wise about all things in your life.  To me, prudent means:

Financially wise, not offensive in dress or personality, calm, understanding, empathetic, thinking before speaking, pleasing, discreet and not obnoxious, thinking of future outcomes instead of only the present moment.

As you think through my description of prudent, do NOT allow Satan the opportunity to make you feel guilt or shame for any of the characteristics that may be lacking in your life.  God does not place guilt or shame on you, Satan does.  God may convict you that there are areas for improvement but he IS love, remember!!  Thank God for the characteristics that come easy to you and ask him to help you with the characteristics that make you laugh at the thought of trying to be!

A side note, if you are a man reading this, please note that one translation used the term “spouse” and not just wife!  Men should be prudent too! 

A totally off the wall side note, any of you who think in terms of odd little things that would only be needed if you were a Jeopardy contestant (like me).  I believe it was Dana Carvey who portrayed George Bush with the “wouldn’t be prudent” phrase a few years back.  It was hard to focus today, with images of Dana Carvey as the first George Bush running through my head!  LOL

Heavenly Father- Thank you for all the translations of the Bible!  It is such a learning experience to be able to discover what different translators believe the meanings of words and phrases are.  It is so helpful to me!  Thank you for allowing some of the characteristics of prudent to come naturally to me.  I ask today that you will bless me with improvements in the characteristics that don’t come naturally.  Guide me, show me ways to make me more like you!  Thank you!  In your name, amen

Injustice

I have been feeling quite persecuted lately.  My brain has been swirling with “people are so stupid”, “heads should roll”, and the like. . . .  Because of this recent trial that has drug itself into a 6 week nightmare that could perhaps hang on to me with a lifetime chip on my shoulder, I’ve been unable to get my life into focus lately.  So, I decided that I needed to figure out the right thing to do instead of letting this swirl around on the inside like an acidic witches brew set out to destroy me.   I decided to look to God’s word for answers. . . . .(a great big huge DUH!!!!!!  Why do we humans wait until things are really really yucky before remembering to look in God’s word???????)

Anyway, a very wise man named Wayne encouraged my husband and I to purchase The New Living Translation of the Bible that is titled, The Book.  In the very front of The Book is a wonderful section the translators included of common things people look to the Bible for help with- things like worry, friendship, love, direction, marriage, children, etc and. . . . . . . .  injustice.

I Peter 3:16-18 and I Peter 5:10-11

But you must do this in a gentle and respectful way.  Keep your conscience clear.  Then if people speak evil against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.  Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!  Christ suffered when he died for our sins once for all time.  He never sinned, but he died for sinners that he might bring us safely home to God.  He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.  In His kindness, God called you to his eternal glory by means of Jesus Christ.  After you have suffered a little while,  he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.  All power is his forever and ever.  Amen.

Wowzers!  Talk about the log in my eye!!!  I’ve been so focused on how ungodly I was/am being treated that I totally lost sight of how ungodly my anger toward my persecuters truly is!  My brain will stop swirling and I will regain my focus if I handle this situation respectfully and best of all, God has promised to restore, support, and strengthen me for handling it the right way! 

WWJD?

Beef Short Ribs

I’ve been so busy with swim lessons and meetings and recovering from camping at the fair that I’ve neglected “what’s for dinner”!  The other day I got out a couple packages of ribs from the freezer- we are down to the ribs, stew meat, etc from our cow and pig that we put in there a while back.  Just in time too because soon there will be turkey, duck, and rabbit in there!

Anyway- Short ribs are the wider section of rib than what you typically see at the grocery store.  Come to think of it, most ribs at the store are pork ribs.  Anyway, ribs are ribs and you  cook them all the same.  Some people grill them on a low flame, I hate to waste all that fuel and when I’m grilling it’s usually because I’m in a hurry.  So my ribs are done in the oven.

This time I got them out frozen, wacked them on the counter to break them apart.  I don’t have a broiler pan, but if you do, this is a great time to use it.  Instead, I use my largest cookie sheet with a lip on it and the wire cookie racks that I have.  The large amount of fat on ribs makes it mandatory that you cook them up off the bottom of the pan so you the grease has a place to go away to.

I placed my frozen short ribs on my wire racks that were on the cookie sheet and covered them tightly with foil.  No seasoning, no nothing- just the hunks of meat.  I placed them in a 200-250^ oven and left them for like 8 hours.  When we came home that night, they were beautiful!  We served them with BBQ sauce.

If you don’t want to wait 8 hours, you can use my moms “Sunday dinner” trick.  Turn the oven up hot, like 450^, while you are getting ready in the morning- for an hour or so.  Then right before you walk out the door, turn it down to 250^.  They should be done when you get home from church.

Short version of that story:

tightly covered and still  frozen ribs, roast, chicken, etc (meat with less fat should have a shallow layer of water in the pan)

450^- 1 to 1 1/2  hours

Reduce to 250^ for 4 hours

Dinners ready!