My Morning Exercise February 6, 2010

The arena needed clearing out because rain was coming and I had a session on the rainiest day of the week! So I had to get the hay out and I needed the exercise anyway.

My Exercise Equipment:

Headband from days gone by when I ran around a neighborhood for exercise.

Tennis shoes have been exchanged for boots.

And a pitchfork and gloves completes the outfit! These are awesome gloves…

My exercise buddy:

Not the most enthusiastic of partners….

The Exercise

Take this hay…..

and put it in that truck….

and dump it in that pasture.

Not a whole lot of help.

Tadaaa! I thought it would take about an hour….3 truck loads and 3 hours later…

Completion February 4, 2010

“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:3-6

I was struck today by this part  “….that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”  Who will carry on this work to completion?  He will.  God will complete it.  God is faithful.  He will complete what I can not. I’m pretty good at starting things….start the laundry, start the dishes, start a friendship, start an exercise program, start a quilt, start a diet…completing things is not my forte.

God is faithful.  He will complete his work in me.

Praise God!

Snow Day Again! February 2, 2010

When I was growing up in central Arkansas, we only had snow every other year or so.  This has been amazing!

It can be calm and peaceful…..

…or exciting and energizing!

(That is what happens when you spend most of your life in the stall.)

When we bought her, she became a horse…in the pasture

This is probably Spirit’s first time to play in the snow, too.

Notice the snow around his lips.  He ate it off the fence rail.

Trigger, however, has seen it all before.

Nothing like a dingy horse in brilliant snow!

This girl knows what to do!

She learned it from her brothers….

This one built a fort from carefully constructed snow blocks.

This one just wants to get on with the snowball fight….and

he’s not waiting on anyone!

The sun is going down and everyone is headed inside.

Almost everyone….sorry guys.

The Glass Castle January 26, 2010

Synopsis

Jeannette Walls grew up with parents whose ideals and stubborn nonconformity were both their curse and their salvation. Rex and Rose Mary Walls had four children. In the beginning, they lived like nomads, moving among Southwest desert towns, camping in the mountains. Rex was a charismatic, brilliant man who, when sober, captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and above all, how to embrace life fearlessly. Rose Mary, who painted and wrote and couldn’t stand the responsibility of providing for her family, called herself an “excitement addict.” Cooking a meal that would be consumed in fifteen minutes had no appeal when she could make a painting that might last forever.

Later, when the money ran out, or the romance of the wandering life faded, the Walls retreated to the dismal West Virginia mining town — and the family — Rex Walls had done everything he could to escape. He drank. He stole the grocery money and disappeared for days. As the dysfunction of the family escalated, Jeannette and her brother and sisters had to fend for themselves, supporting one another as they weathered their parents’ betrayals and, finally, found the resources and will to leave home.

What is so astonishing about Jeannette Walls is not just that she had the guts and tenacity and intelligence to get out, but that she describes her parents with such deep affection and generosity. Hers is a story of triumph against all odds, but also a tender, moving tale of unconditional love in a family that despite its profound flaws gave her the fiery determination to carve out a successful life on her own terms.

For two decades, Jeannette Walls hid her roots. Now she tells her ownstory. A regular contributor to MSNBC.com, she lives in New York and Long Island and is married to the writer John Taylor.  from Barnesandnoble.com

——-

This book was an eye-opener for me.  It is an unsentimental look at growing up in a hard and unstable world.  The strong and brave spirit of these children was inspirational. I recommend it!

Sizzle Spirit January 21, 2010

Here he is.  Part of my bucket list.  I’ve always wanted a horse that would be competitive.  I’ve written previously about my horse show experiences…

He knows so much more than I do!  I can’t wait to get to know him and take him to a show.  He is so beautiful.

This was his first day at home.  He’s checking it all out.  I hope he likes us!

The Help by Kathryn Stockett January 18, 2010

My mother was raised in southern Mississippi but moved to Arkansas when she was 18 and has been here ever since.  She occasionally talked about the ladies that worked in her house and took care of her family.  I’ve always felt that I was brought up juxtaposed to that culture, but never really understood it.  After reading The Help, I understand the culture much better and I understand her better.  I never thought of her as the baby growing up in that culture or a teenager coming into her own.  This book has helped me see her from a different perspective.  It was like getting to peer into her childhood.

Synopsis

Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:

Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.

Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.

Minny, Aibileen’s best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody’s business, but she can’t mind her tongue, so she’s lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town…

from  http://search.barnesandnoble.com/The-Help/Kathryn-Stockett/e/9780399155345

Family January 14, 2010

“I would get a lot more out of _______ Church tonight, Dad.”

“Maybe so, son, but we don’t only go to church to ‘get something out of it.’  There are many more reasons.”

“Like what?”

“I’ll tell you on the way to church.”

….on the way to church….

“What are those other reasons, Dad?”

“Church is family.  We’ve made a commitment to those people.  What if I look around and see a child that always says ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir’ and mows the lawn without being asked and loves to wash the car?  I might get a lot more out of that child.  Maybe I’ll trade children…  I’ve made a commitment to my family.  We always stick together.  We are there for each other.  We depend on each other and encourage each other.  My family  needs me.  My family counts on me.  We stay together, warts and all.  Church is family.  I don’t attend just because I get something out of it.  I attend because they are my family.”

–Paraphrased from a ride to church last week–

It’s Freezing! January 11, 2010

It’s been sooo cold this past week!

But so beautiful.

The snow left, but the ice on the pond stayed behind.

A chunk of ice from the bank

A posed picture….

I was a little nervous watching them skate…

So was the herd,

Walker wanted to take a closer look.

Relax, we have:

Our Safety Equipment

That’s right….a long yellow rope.

and Buddy.

Not that somebody will fall in…

Well, maybe one somebody.

It’s really cold…for everyone.

Can we come in?

Please?

That’s My Book! January 6, 2010

Meredith helped wrap packages before Christmas. She would wrap and tie bows as long as I supplied her with boxes and tape.  There was one present I asked her to save till last, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  I wasn’t quite ready for it to be gone from my life forever!  I had looked through it several times, so proud of my gift choice.  A couple of the recipes were actually doable in my kitchen without going to the store.  I thought I might try some of the recipes out before we wrapped the present….They were delicious!

I told Meredith she would have to come and take the book out of my hands to wrap it up.

She came and got it and several minutes later she calls out,  “You’re going to have to take this book from me, too!”

Alas, I gave the book away and felt like I’d lost a friend.  (I know, quite the Christmas spirit…anyway…)

Mine came in the mail last week!  I love it.  I wish I could have written that book.  It’s full of recipes, photography, farm life, and joy.

She has a website called The Pioneer Woman.  It’s fun to go and look around.

I recommend the cinnamon rolls, the chocolate sheet cake, and the mac and cheese.  That’s all I’ve had time to cook so far, but if the snow days come along as promised….Look out kitchen!

Golden Bowls December 26, 2009

Where do prayers go?  Do they just float upwards?  Does God hear them and then move on?

Revelation 5:8 says, “And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”

Golden bowls….my prayers, our prayers are incense in golden bowls.

Prayers are precious.  Prayers for those who are hurting.  Prayers for the lost.  Prayers for wisdom and strength.  Our prayers are in golden bowls.

Thank you, Father.