God's Love

As some of you who follow me on Google+ know, I was lucky enough to go with my dad to a trip to Portales.  He went to work a booth with his job at the NM Ag Festival, and I went along for the fun and to spend time with him.

I really like traveling, going places, seeing things, meeting people, and being with the ones I love.  That's why our bull sale season is always a fun time for me (travel!).  On top of the travel and time with Dad, I was really looking forward to the Ag Fest.  I mean, anything to do with cows has got to be good, right?!

Unfortunately, it was pretty slow there.   Maybe the beautiful weather had everyone home doing odds and ends before NM’s windy spring hit.  Who knows?  But it was very, very slow.

When you are in a situation like this (at least for me) you start thinking about ALL the things you could be doing at home!  Especially with the lovely weather!

BUT

(Yes, that was a huge conjunction with no sentence for my dear, English-loving friends!)

BUT

God had something in mind for me.  He blessed my socks off!

Josh and I have been working together on my horse Queenie.  We took her to a trainer for about a month, and now she is home for us to finish her training.  I must admit I am proud of her.  For all the bad things we did (unknowingly!) when she was younger, she has a lot going for her.  Still, she is a green horse (green meaning untrained) being trained by green trainers!  We had some GREAT help from a friend, and she gave us a lot of great exercises to be working on.

However, we were getting to a point that we had learned almost all those above-said exercises.  We were almost to a point that I didn't know how to move forward.  I know what kind of a horse I want by the time we are done- one that can work cattle easily, listens to what I want, and responds right away and enthusiastically.  However, getting that horse from point “A” to point “B” was something I didn't know how to do!!

So what does my Loving God do?

He opens the doors for me to go to Ag Fest with my daddy, in spite of battling a cold a few days before leaving.

He places me at a slow-paced Ag Fest where the sessions looked more interesting than just sitting there.

God gives me a session called- get this..........“Advancing the Green Horse”.

Yup.  That’s right. “Got a green horse?  Want to keep working it but don’t know how?”!!!! "

I was able to sit for about 4 hours watching and listening as this great horse trainer showed us several different exercises for getting your horse from point “A” to point “B”!   They all made so much sense- get your horse to do this in the pens, and he’ll then do this in the pasture.  So exciting to this Cowgirl!

God even blessed me with time to ask a question about an issue that Queenie was struggling with and getting it personally answered by him!

Really, this story isn't about horses, or horse training, or Ag Fest.  It is about God who is a loving Father and took the time to show me that He is watching me, taking care of me, and staying one-step ahead of me!

Are you there right now?  Are you in a situation where you have no idea what to do next?  Where to turn?  Keep your eyes open.  What may look like a boring, wasted ride somewhere may be your ticket of answers.  With God, who knows!

And if you are on that boring, wasted ride and nothing happens.  Look around you.  Maybe it was NOT what you needed but that you needed to go in order for someone else to be blessed.   My dad really had a pretty wasted trip when he could have been at the office working on some big things- but it is what I needed.

As God showed us in Christ’s Birth, God doesn’t mind moving a whole nation to get one person somewhere!  Keep your eyes open, you just might see something.

In Christ’s Love,

Rebecca

Pug Figs- Mark Hamby

Ever wondered why Jesus cursed the fig tree that did not bear fruit?  Now you can know!!!  Mark Hamby is with Lamplighter Publishing.  I highly recommend joining his e-mail list!

Pug Figs   

"One of the puzzling miracles of Jesus' teaching was the cursing of the fig tree because it didn't have fruit; yet the text in Mark 11 states that it wasn't the time for figs. It seems to me, at least on the surface, that the poor tree didn't have a standing chance. I have speculated for years about this unusual scene but recently I found the answer as I was walking through Herod's coastal seaport of Caesarea.

When I arrived in Israel to make preparations for our Lamplighter Guild-Israel tours,it was early spring. When Jesus came upon the fig tree it would have been during this same season. It is true that spring is not the time for figs but the first fig tree I saw was full of figs. You see, in early spring a pungent and bitter fruit appears known as a pug fig. In Hebrew, pug means premature baby. (1) The leaves would be sparse at this time of year but these early pug figs would be in abundance.

Pug Figs in Israel (Photo by Mark Hamby)

Pug figs were also the forerunners of the later sweet figs that one could eat. (2) If there were no pug figs there would be no edible figs in the fall. (3) Poor people or those who were very hungry would eat these first fruit figs though the taste was not desirable. (4) When Jesus comes on the scene he is hungry but finds only leaves--no pug figs.

The reason Jesus curses the tree is because the tree was not functioning as it should by providing fruit for the poor and hungry. Another reason is because the tree was full of leaves which represented a life of hypocrisy--it looked good on the outside but had no fruit within.

The fact that Jesus performs this miracle right on the heels of cleansing the hypocrisy of the temple now makes perfect sense; it also serves as a reminder that our lives need to be in a perpetual state of fruitfulness. We never know when God may need to pluck a few figs for some hungry travelers who need our assistance."

In Christ,

Rebecca

Coocoo Lane?

I thought this was quite a funny succession of e-mails that passed between my sister and I.  We do tend to converse in e-mail once in a while.  It is fun to make the words in the e-mail sound funny, to play with how you write it, etc. 

This one took place while she and I were getting some details together of another family coming over.  I was somewhat heading it up but she had taken the liberty (gasp!) of telling them what they could bring.  I thus wrote her this e-mail letting her know what I thought of her…..

Oh well I was going to ask them to bring something.  I really wish you wouldn’t do things like this without asking me.  Please let me take care of things like this next time.  I appreciate your trying to help, but it really wasn’t all that helpful. 
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Just Kidding. 
 Do go ahead and remind her that the ______ are bringing a dessert as well.  She is more than welcome to make something too, (who turns away more dessert?) but just so she knows that.  J  Otherwise it sounded perfect!

Love you,

Big Teaser

Sarah then replied;

GOOOD GRIEF!!!  You just about gave me a heart attack!!!!

DON'T DO THAT AGAIN!!!!!  hahaha!

Ok, I'll let her know..... :)

 Love,
 your innocent, adorable, little sister who doesn't deserve teasing like that.... *impish grin*

My Reply;

“Your innocent , adorable, little sister who doesn’t deserve teasing like that…..*impish grin*"

Ummm, I must have the wrong person.  I was trying to e-mail my sister, Sarah Heckendorn.  So sorry about that.  If you know where I can contact her, please let me know. 

Here’s a description of her;

Ornery, scares easily, likes to sing, loves to wear weird clothing combinations, usually is happy, can tell a good joke, can’t make a fire to save her life, likes ginger in her tacos, is funny, silly, laughs a lot, cries, likes to read- but not often, makes beautiful things with her hands, is good with kids, doesn’t always care for suspense movies, is what you call a dark-haired beauty, wouldn’t believe you when you say that, even though it is true, looks gorgeous in red, can do her hair nicely, and is a drama queen!

If you hear from her, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Rebecca

Her answer;

Oh, Sarah Heckendorn!  Oh, dear. I'm sorry to say that I haven't talked to her since she was fired from the company due to some odd reasons.  The biggest was probably the fact that she refused to follow dress code. The other reasons are as follows:  She wouldn't work on her homework and instead chose to make little knitted, crocheted, or hand sewn items. She made many of the employees gag when telling about her 'secret ingredients' for different foods, made it impossible for the other employees to work with her incessant laughing (mostly at random things) and joke telling.  Her dramatic entries into the office will not be discussed in detail at this moment.  The worst part was when she would hide behind a cubicle to scare a fellow worker, and then end up scaring herself instead. Her problem with singing harmony without a melody was also a "major" problem.  She would also get strangely terrified if you just mentioned the latest suspense movie.

After many complaints, we finally had to let her go...  I do have a forwarding address though:

 Happy Valley

721 Coocoo Lane

Crazyville, JK, 72193

 I sincerly hope that you'll be able to find her... and help her... if there is still a chance.

Kindest Regards,

Mrs. Bubblegum 

 I guess most of these would be inside jokes.  Like the one about "hiding behind a cubicle and jumping out to scare an employee only to scare herself." *ahem* Yeah, she really did hide to scare someone and then after "dramaticaly" jumping out and scaring them...scare herself.

Needles to say with her around we are all kept in stitches.  (get it??? "needles"!!)

~Rebecca

The Cat who almost lost his life.... all 9 of them

Last night, I was awakened by our cat, Snickers, meowing from the inside of our bedroom.  I was not surprised as the screen is broken at the moment, and so he just crawls through and sleeps on the foot of my bed.  I started calling for him to go ahead, hop on my bed, and go to sleep so I could.  Of course, he was all hyper and was jumping and playing around.  I turned on my lamp to get him and calm him down and .......


He had brought a MOUSE into the bedroom!!!



A MOUSE!









I just sat there horrified watching him "play" with his mouse and meowingly inviting me to come and "play" as well.  Of course, I did not, which he didn't seem to understand. 

My dilemma was how to get the mouse OUT!   I tried to wait until Snickers had it picked up and would try to pick him up to haul the pair OUT of the house.  As soon as I would pick Snickers up, he would, of course- drop the mouse.  I finally just grabbed a piece of denim something that was in the dirty laundry, picked up the mouse, and hauled the poor thing out onto the porch.  I then promptly went inside, grabbed that cat, and dumped him on the front porch with his prize.  (no cats were injured in the process, unfortunately)

Me?  Want a mouse?  I don't think so.  As much as I love this cat, that was almost the end of our relationship.  I think I just sat on the bed staring at him playing with the mouse in horror wondering HOW was I going to get them OUT! 


Although I am glad he is such a good mouser, he does not have to provide me with food, thank you very much.  I hope he learns that as I don't think I want another night hoping that the mouse doesn't crawl under our bed and stay there!



A girl who will NOT be snuggling with her cat for a while,
Rebecca

Cute Kitty

Although we do not have this kitten anymore, :( I thought these were really cute pictures.  This is Button and this is why offices have a door. 



She was having a blast watching the ink container go back and forth.  I love how her front legs are on the stand, but her back end is sitting on the printer!  Kittens are soooo much fun!  We are down to 1 cat again. so hopefully we can get some more.  Joshua needs a new wood project, so he can build them a house to keep them out of the way of predators.  Although they have the barn, shop, lean-to's, house.....

Love,

Rebecca

While I am Waiting

Ahh, here is a wonderful piece I found when going through e-mails.  Waiting is a virtue we have been perfecting with the ranch.  At least, I hope we have been perfecting. Thank goodness for a Patient God!  Love, Rebecca

 

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience While I'm waiting
I will serve You While I'm waiting
I will worship While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

~John Waller

Dolly had a baby

As you know (or will find out in two seconds) we have had milk cows for a while now.  We started out with an older milk cow named Clarice, and recently traded a beef cow for a younger milk heifer.  (Clarice was past the prime of her life)  Our youngen' is Dolly.  She is about 2 1/2.  We had let Clarice dry up about 5 months ago, and while enjoying our time off from milking, we were missing the milk.   Dolly had been bagging up for a while and we were expecting a calf any day now.  We were wanting to keep an eye on her as Jerseys are real delicate and tend to get problems if you don't take care of things. (we have learned the hard way) 

Well, Josh and Dad had fed the cows yesterday (Sunday), and noticed that she was really bagged up.  (I mean her udder was full of milk which means she will be calving soon).  On Clarice we had had to milk before she calved as she got too full and had problems.  Dad mentioned it to us tonight as we were visiting, and since it was still daylight and a pretty evening I went out to go check on her and everyone else.

 I walked out past the barn to the pasture she is in and the pen they come in for water and say a cute little black calf!  Now, one of the black cows we have out there was standing next to it so I thought it was her calf.  Not sure who we had that was due to calve anytime, I went a different route to get to that pasture.  (them mommas can get real picky about how close you are.  And in general I can run faster then they can for a short distance, but I have never really wanted to push it) 
As I came around the corner of the pen and looked out I could just see Dolly go running into the pen with the calf in it.  Mooing.  That's about when the light bulb came on and I realized that.... DOLLY HAD HER CALF!!!!!!!!

Yup, Dolly is a proud mother of a cute little black heifer.  Name is still undecided but we will let you know as soon as we all agree on it.  :D

We had to milk Dolly out some as she was producing more than the little heifer could eat.  She did really well.  She kicked a little, but Dad would just tap her with a rope and she decided to hold still.  Considering that she was really full she did great!  We will have to keep milking her until we get her milk under control, but I think we can get it going.  Yeah!!! 

Man, I am so looking forward to some good, fresh, pure milk!  Isn't she so cute?

Love in Christ,
Rebecca

Who will take the Son?

A wealthy widowed man and his son loved to collect rare works of art. They had everything in their collection, from Picasso to Raphael. They would often sit together and admire the great works of art.

When the Viet Nam conflict broke out, the son went to war. He was very courageous and died in battle while rescuing another soldier. The father was notified and grieved deeply for his only son.

Later, just before Christmas, there was a knock at the door. A young man stood at the door with a large package in his hands. He said, "Sir, you don't know me, but I am the soldier for whom your son gave his life. He saved many lives that day, and he was carrying me to safety when a bullet struck him in the heart and he died instantly.

He often talked about you, and your love for art." The young man held out his package. "I know this isn't much. I'm not really a great artist, but I think your son would have wanted you to have this."

The father opened the package. It was a portrait of his son, painted by the young man. He stared in awe at the way the soldier had captured the personality of his son in the painting. The father was so drawn to the eyes that his own eyes welled up with tears. He thanked the young man and offered to pay him for the picture.

"Oh, no sir, I could never repay what your son did for me. It's a gift." The father hung the portrait over his mantle. Every time visitors came to his home he took them to see the portrait of his son before he showed them any of the other great works he had collected.

The man died a few months later. There was to be a great auction of his paintings. Many influential people gathered, excited over seeing the great paintings and having an opportunity to purchase one for their collection. On the platform sat the painting of the son.

The auctioneer pounded his gavel. "We will start the bidding with this picture of the son. Who will bid for this picture?" There was silence.

Then a voice in the back of the room shouted, "We want to see the famous paintings. Skip this one."

But the auctioneer persisted, "Will someone bid for this painting? Who will start the bidding - $100, $200?"

Another voice shouted angrily, "We didn't come to see this painting. We came to see the Van Goghs, the Rembrandts. Get on with the real bids!"

But still the auctioneer continued, "The son! The son! Who'll take the son?" Finally, a voice came from the very back of the room. It was the longtime gardener of the man and his son. "I'll give $10 for the painting."

Being a poor man, it was all he could afford. "We have $10, who will bid $20?", the auctioneer continued.

"Give it to him for $10. Let's see the masters."

"$10 is the bid, won't someone bid $20?" asked the auctioneer. The crowd was becoming angry. They didn't want the picture of the son. They wanted the more worthy investments for their collections.

The auctioneer pounded the gavel. "Going once, twice! SOLD for $10!"

A man sitting on the second row shouted, "Now let's get on with the collection!"

The auctioneer laid down his gavel, "I'm sorry, the auction is over."

"What about the paintings?" - the angry crowd yelled.

"I am sorry, said the auctioneer, "when I was called to conduct this auction, I was told of a secret stipulation in the will. I was not allowed to reveal that stipulation until this moment. Only the painting of the son would be auctioned. Whoever bought that painting would inherit the entire estate, including the paintings. The man who took the son gets everything!"

God gave his Son, Jesus, 2000 years ago to die on a cruel cross. Much like the auctioneer, His message today is, "The Son, the Son, who'll take the Son?"

Because, you see, whoever takes the Son gets everything.

--Author unknown

Wow, makes you stop and think what you are truly "buying" out in the world.  Are you buying things of God?  Or of Man?  And which is worth more.... 

Love in Christ,

Rebecca