Disclaimer-No it wasn’t the kind in the picture and no it wasn’t that big. Yes, I was scared enough that it could have been!

If I were a superstitious person I might say I jinxed myself by being pre-occupied hoping what I’m about to tell you wouldn’t happen. I’m not superstitious and it came about anyway.

What I feared and dreaded has happened!! I had an encounter with Mr. Snake last night around 8pm. I had gone to the coop to put the tarps down, I got the first one down and headed to the south end of the pen to the gate. I lifted the gate latch and something caught my eye about two feet from the gate. It looked like a long, very black and battered limb. I thought I don’t remember seeing that. I stepped through the gate and turned around for another look and that long black limb had a head attached to it! His body was outside the fence and his head was underneath the fence. I froze in my tracks, my mind was racing…what to do…what to do. My cell phone was in the house so I was on my own. I quietly and might I add very quickly walked around to the far end of the coop and dropped and secured that last tarp. I did this in record time immediately after I did the “stick wave”. Let me explain the ‘stick wave.’ I have started taking a stick with me to the coop because the spiders build a new web every day, right where I have to stand to do the tarps. I “wave” the stick all around the area where I have to walk to knock the webs down.

Sorry, I wandered. As I was bent over securing the bottom of the tarp, all the while my mind is racing like crazy and fear is weighing me down I felt a sharp pain in both of my shoulders. Surely I was trying to sprout wings to fly out of there. I quickly realized it was just tension from being afraid.

I headed back to the gate and the enemy Mr. Snake is still there. I got out, latched the gate and headed toward the house. After walking running what I considered to be a safe distance I turned around to look and he was slithering off into the sunset. All 3 plus feet of him!

When I started this three week ‘experiment’ I would take my cell phone with me and since I didn’t have any pockets I would stick it in my, um well, somewhere else. Early into the ‘experiment’ it fell out and landed in the floor of the coop. It was then I decided I didn’t need to take the cell phone with me. This morning though after living the horror movie last night, I decided I needed to take it with me again, just in case I got cornered by Mr. Snake I could call my neighbors to come and rescue me. All was going well with the cell phone tucked away somewhere else. I got the tarps raised and let the chickens out, fed them and took their water containers back to the house to wash them and put fresh water in them. Just as I finished filling the last container, Splash!! My cell phone fell out of its obviously not so secure place right into the water. I’ll just say I am really getting good at doing things in record time. I snatched it out before it hit the bottom. Time will tell if it was fast enough.

Now I will tell you about the fun part of my day. Karla and I went shopping in Owasso yesterday morning. We both found some good bargains and had a great time. On the way home we stopped at a place called Ram Country, they sell a large variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. We purchased some tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, Porter peaches, (the best peaches I have ever eaten) and a watermelon. When we got back home we fixed ourselves a tomato sandwich and the recipe will follow. Some may think a tomato sandwich sounds weird or gross, before you write it off your really should try one, especially if you have access to fresh produce. They are wonderful!!

Tomato Sandwich

100% Whole Wheat or Multi-Grain Bread (We used Milton’s from Sam’s Club)
1 large tomato, sliced
Mayonnaise to spread on bread
Sliced red onion (however much you like)
1 slice Pepper-Jack Cheese
Sliced Cucumber

You may put the cucumber on the sandwich. We had ours on the side with a drizzle of Italian Dressing. Delicious!!

The “kids” and I are getting along fine now that they know who is really in charge.

Okay…so it took a little prompting. All I had to do was hang my cast iron skillet and a pillow case in the coop. I told them the choice was theirs. All of them need to come in the coop at the appropriate time in the evening.

After looking around and considering the alternatives; fried chicken or a feather pillow, they had a hen session and decided “life isn’t so bad after all.” We are still doing fine and they are minding their manners.

Day four…the chickens are still alive and well and I’m still alive and well too. I’m getting the hang of this now and it’s not AS bad as I thought it would be, especially now that the ground is drying up and I’m not slipping and sliding all over the place.

However, now that the rain has slowed down I will need to start watering the grass and trees. The predicted high for today is 96. If I was the weather forecaster I would just say, it’s going to be a hot and humid day folks. Note to self… Don’t drop eggs on the way from coop to house or they will be fried.

Did I mention that on two separate occasions after securing the coop and putting all of the tarps down except the last one; and right when I was ready to drop it I noticed one chicken was still out? Grrrrrr! I had to undo everything and get her back in. The first time it happened all the chickens got out, double grrrr. Since I had my work clothes and shoes on I just stayed out and raked some leaves and left them out for a while longer. I do learn from my mistakes, now I take a “beak” count. I also told the rebellious hen that she would make a nice feather pillow.

There has been an almost plague like amount of worms and armadillidiidae, aka as roly polys. They are everywhere. The worms are crawling out of the ground and dying and boy oh boy, they stinketh!! Did you know that roly polys eat fungi, fallen leaves and dead animals?

In case you are wondering, still no snakes and I thank God every time.

To sum it, this is the most important thing I have learned into day four…I am reminded of this quote…There are no menial jobs, only menial attitudes.

I’m thankful for my hands, my feet and my heart to do the things I want to do and complete the tasks I don’t always want to do.

Col 3:17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

The next three weeks are going to be a time of learning and awareness for me and looking at a few things with a different perspective. I am in charge of the chickens and guineas and I’m already learning it’s a full time smelly job. I’m practicing some of that sacrificial love, meaning I really don’t want to do it, but I’m doing it because of my love for my husband. We have had a lot of rain in the past few weeks and chicken poop, mud and humidity mingled together… I’ll just say that makes the chicken coop very unpleasant.

We have already had a lot of snakes too. I’m praying very hard that I don’t cross paths with one during this time.

At the end of the three weeks I will share with you why I’m taking on this little project, actually, I’m taking on all of his chores, except mowing for the next three weeks. He doesn’t want me on the riding mower.

Just two days into (I’ll refer to it as an experiment) and I’m already looking at several things through a different set of eyes.

I’m at the coop around 6:45am. Easing my way into the back fence, raising and securing the tarps, watching out for snakes, and did I mention all manner of spiders? Trying to keep my footing on the sloping areas and still watching out for snakes.

Next I drop the door to let the six hens and one rooster out. Then I gather up the water containers from the guineas side of the pen and the chicken’s side. They get scrubbed down and refilled. Chickens are very messy critters and I’m now wondering if they are cousins to the pig family. Three times a week they get crumbles in the morning and scratch in the evenings. At least twice a week they get chopped up greens such as cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, celery and any bread or vegetable scraps. They will eat just about anything.

Between two and four they lay their eggs and I collect them. We have five nests and they still almost always lay their eggs in the same nest. Twice a week I will clean the pen and the roost. I don a mask for that task, using a short handle hoe and I big white bucket I will scrape the roost of all “deposits” and empty and wash the bucket out and clean the pen out. Just before dark I am at the pen again, securing the pen and dropping the tarps.

The guineas are very low maintenance this time of year as they prefer roosting in the trees and they roam free all day long eating ticks and all kinds of bugs and frogs and they occasionally kill a snake. I only have to make sure they have fresh water and white millet. They love white millet. I believe they think its candy.

Day two into the ‘experiment’ I have learned just HOW much I appreciate my husband and what he does around here. I have also learned that bad smells still make me choke and gag and that I will always be afraid of snakes and spiders.

Until next time, just say a little prayer for me.

1 Cor 13:13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Two Buddhist monks were walking just after a thunderstorm. They came to a swollen stream. A beautiful, young Japanese woman in a kimono stood there wanting to cross to the other side, but she was afraid of the currents.

One of the monks said, “Can I help you?”

“I need to cross this stream,” replied the woman.

The monk picked her up, put her on his shoulder, carried her through the swirling waters, and put her down on the other side. He and his companion then went on to the monastery.

That night his companion said to him, “I have a bone to pick with you. As Buddhist monks, we have taken vows not to look on a woman, much less touch her body. Back there by the river you did both.”

“My brother,” answered the other monk, “I put that woman down on the other side of the river. You’re still carrying her in your mind.”

How easy it is to be obsessed with the past at the expense of the future.
(from Christianity Today)

Last night one of my precious daughters called me; she was very distraught and in tears. Her ex-husband continues to make her life miserable since she has filed for complete custody of the children because of his abusiveness toward his oldest daughter.  His lawyer submitted nine pages of nonsense. Four pages alone where he (the ex) tries to paint a rosy picture of himself, patting himself on his narcissistic back. In his response to additional interrogatories he tells several lies; some of which involve me. He is petitioning the court to keep me from seeing my grandchildren, stating that “regular contact with me is contrary to the best interest of the children because of her past use of drugs/narcotics, orgies and using my child to entertain friends by displaying how well she could roll a marijuana cigarette and prepare cocaine for usage.” He continues on with his lies saying that I have never had regular contact with my grandchildren without having him or my daughter present during visits.

What he fails to mention is that I have been sober and drug free for 33 years. Further more, I did do many sinful things as I have always freely admitted, but I was never involved in orgies, nor did I ever let my daughter in contact with any of my drugs.

I tried to reassure my daughter by reminding her that besides being evil through and through, he is a desperate man. He is being exposed for the evil person he is and he is fighting back by trying to bring others down. I know she was hurt and concerned about the things he said about her, about me, and about others in his ramblings, and she was afraid I too would be hurt.

I am like the one monk; I have put my past sins down “on the other side of the river.” I know God has forgiven me and I have forgiven myself. That doesn’t mean I don’t have regrets, it just means I don’t let my past keep me in bondage.

I wish I would have thought to share this quote by Edward R. Murrow with my daughter last night… He said “To be persuasive, we must be believable. To be believable, we must be credible. To be credible, we must be truthful.

Her ex might be believable, but he is not credible and he is not truthful.

He is the enemy; may he be defeated!

After the age of nine, I grew up with a lot of insecurities. Those of you who are regular readers know my history and likely understand the reasons for those insecurities and lack of self-esteem. Besides the “secretive” things I endured in my own home I also endured many hurtful words from other children. I was a “chunky” kid and I had a big gap between my front teeth and big black bushy eyebrows which looked like two oversized caterpillars sitting on my face. (Groucho Marx eye-brows) Rarely did some kid miss the opportunity call me fatty or some other equally hurtful insult. I soon learned to hate myself and most everything about myself. I desperately wanted people to like me, and at some point I realized I could make people laugh with my clowning around or with a good joke. I covered up my hurt with humor.

I was well into my late 30’s, early 40’s before I began gaining back my self-esteem and leaving behind the insecurities that had haunted me for most of my life. I attribute all of this to the seeds of truth which were planted in me, took hold and grew into a strong faith and to my growing in grace and knowledge and also, to Larry, my second husband, who taught me what true love is all about.

I still suffer occasional bouts of insecurity; however they are much less frequent. I have so many wonderful people in my life who I know love me “just the way I am”, who accept me with my imperfections.

Love truly does cover a multitude of sins!

I will never forget that hurting, sad little girl, because of her I am drawn to people who are hurting and struggling and I try my best to build them up and let them know they are loved.

We all long to be loved; don’t miss an opportunity to share your love with others.

God says to every person deformed by sin, “I wish you were my son” or “I wish you were my daughter.”

Without love, we are nothing!

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. 1 Cor 13:1-13

I read a story of two men, a Professor and a soldier named Ralph, who met at an airport walking to the luggage conveyor belt to retrieve their luggage. As they were walking down the concourse Ralph kept disappearing. Once to help an elderly woman whose suitcase had fallen open, once to lift two toddlers up to where they could see Santa Claus and again to give directions to someone who was lost. Each time he came back with a smile on his face.

The Professor being curious asked Ralph “where did you learn that?”

“What?” Ralph said.

 “Where did you learn to live like that?”

“Oh,” Ralph said, “during the war, I guess.” He then told the professor about his tour of duty in Vietnam, how it was his job to clear minefields, how he watched his friends blow up before his eyes, one after another.

“I learned to live between steps,” he said. “I never knew whether the next one would be my last, so I learned to get everything I could out of the moment between when I picked up my foot and when I put it down again. Every step I took was a whole new world, and I guess I’ve been that way ever since.”

I love this story and I practice it as often as possible. In today’s society it sometimes seems as if we go out of our way to ignore people. We avoid eye contact and hurry about our business. Too often we aren’t even aware of our surroundings and we certainly don’t want to get involved.

Little acts of kindness have always put a smile on my face, when I receive them and especially when I give them. I am always touched when someone lingers a moment to hold the door open and countless other things that they don’t have to do.

The abundance of our lives is not determined by how long we live, but by how well we live.

I pray I might imitate Jesus while walking between steps.

This song reminds me of the abundance in my life…

All things bright and beautiful, All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful: The Lord God made them all.

Each little flow’r that opens, Each little bird that sings,
He made their glowing colors, He made their tiny wings.

The purple-headed mountains, The river running by,
The sunset and the morning That brightens up the sky.

The cold wind in the winter, The pleasant summer sun,
The ripe fruits in the garden, He made them every one.

The tall trees in the greenwood, The meadows where we play,
The rushes by the water, To gather every day.

He gave us eyes to see them, And lips that we might tell
How great is God Almighty, Who has made all things well.

Cecil Frances Alexander, 1818-1895

Paul knew that everything he said or wrote was likely to be distorted by false teachers. False teachers who claimed to be apostles were challenging his authority and integrity. In his letter to the Corinthian church he reminds them why they don’t need letters of recommendation. He wrote – Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?  2 Cor 3:1

He then reminds them of this -You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.  You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 2 Cor 3:2-3

He also reminds them – Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God.  Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant — not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:4-6

The old way, with laws etched in stone, led to death, though it began with such glory that the people of Israel could not bear to look at Moses’ face. For his face shone with the glory of God, even though the brightness was already fading away. Shouldn’t we expect far greater glory under the new way, now that the Holy Spirit is giving life? If the old way, which brings condemnation, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new way, which makes us right with God!  In fact, that first glory was not glorious at all compared with the overwhelming glory of the new way. So if the old way, which has been replaced, was glorious, how much more glorious is the new, which remains forever! 2 Cor 3:7-11

Since this new way gives us such confidence, we can be very bold. We are not like Moses, who put a veil over his face so the people of Israel would not see the glory, even though it was destined to fade away. But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ. Yes, even today when they read Moses’ writings, their hearts are covered with that veil, and they do not understand. But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image. 2 Cor 3:12-18  

Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this. If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor 4:1-6

This reminds me not to lose heart, the same power that raised Christ from the dead enables us to face difficulties.

If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s to prevent anyone from confusing God’s incomparable power with us. As it is, there’s not much chance of that. You know for yourselves that we’re not much to look at. We’ve been surrounded and battered by troubles, but we’re not demoralized; we’re not sure what to do, but we know that God knows what to do; we’ve been spiritually terrorized, but God hasn’t left our side; we’ve been thrown down, but we haven’t broken. What they did to Jesus, they do to us — trial and torture, mockery and murder; what Jesus did among them, he does in us — he lives! Our lives are at constant risk for Jesus’ sake, which makes Jesus’ life all the more evident in us. While we’re going through the worst, you’re getting in on the best! We’re not keeping this quiet, not on your life. Just like the psalmist who wrote, “I believed it, so I said it,” we say what we believe. And what we believe is that the One who raised up the Master Jesus will just as certainly raise us up with you, alive. Every detail works to your advantage and to God’s glory: more and more grace, more and more people, more and more praise! So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever. 2 Cor 4: 7-18