Republished: She Knows!

 She Knows!

 

Fang gets such a big kick out of asking the grands questions and waiting for the answers. He recently asked our Dickerson grandson: Where was Moses when the lights went out? It took him a minute or two, but he gave the answer. A week later when he and his sister were in the back room bouncing on the bed while Paw Paw watched, the boy asked his little sister: Where was Moses when the lights went out? Paw Paw pointed out that she might not KNOW who Moses was. Looking at Paw Paw with one of those subtle but pointed smiles the grand said: She knows who Moses is.

 

That started a discussion between Fang and me about how many kids actually know who Moses is, but it was time to go to sleep, so we left that discussion for another day and just chuckled over the kids and some of the things that they have said that tickle us. For instance, about this time last year the little girl had finished her first day of kindergarten. Her mother told her that she needed to go into her room and choose the clothes she would be wearing the next day. The child's astonished question was: You mean I have to go back?

 

Having read some of the news today, I was encouraged to know that the trapped miners in Chile can see some hope of leaving that mine alive. These men need all the help that the nation and world can provide to free them from a certain and slow death in the depths of blackness. One of the first things they asked for was toothbrushes. One can only imagine what weeks without a toothbrush could do. But one thing sent down to them other than food was 33 extra strong mag lights so that each man could see what was around him. Being without sufficient food is one thing, but being deep in darkness could certainly send a person over the bend in a hurry.

 

Now, I have a point to mentioning those miners. They were making their living down in the bowels of the earth, and that was probably the only employment available to them or they would not have been in such an unsafe place. Still, they had a choice about leaving the sunlight and becoming restricted to a dark place. Some women in this world do not have the luxury of that choice. They are no more than slaves or chattel of little value, and their darkness is the burka or burqa, that all-encompassing garment that becomes a walking tent when a woman must wear it.

 

In some countries--Israel and France--wearing the burka has been totally discouraged or outlawed. The French refuse to allow anyone to use public transportation who is wearing a burka--probably because either a man or woman would be unrecognizable and could easily conceal explosives or firearms under the garment. Only the ultra-orthodox in the Jewish community would have their women wear the burka, and the rabbis in Israel discourage such a restriction on women and consider its use a type of sexual deviancy.

Other countries refuse to allow the garments to be worn in any school or university, but some countries have just slowly begun the elimination of the garments, including parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

 

The problem with a burka is as symbolic as it is a reality. If a woman has no identity, she has no meaning as a person. This same attitude prevailed in America for centuries concerning the black people and the American Indians. Unseen as individuals, these people had no rights or value to those who "conquered" this land. What was stolen from them included more than land or liberty, but their very identities. How can one have hope in life if one has no name, no place, no value?

 

Women have not always been appreciated in America--lacking the right to vote or even own property for many years. But men in the United States had something to guide them that had nothing to do with hiding their women in tents or behind veils. Just as our grandson said, they knew who Moses was.

 

The Safety Latch.

 The Safety Latch.

 

Connie calls me or gets a call from me every morning. This morning she did not answer a text or any of the calls made to her. Rebekah lives a few apartments back of her and took my call and went to see about her sister. Connie was on the phone to some company in India. It really was good to know that she was ok, but meanwhile she had allowed this company access to her computer! So today she had to make a trip to BestBuy to get the mess taken off of her computer. Honestly! In case anyone should ever wonder: NEVER let anyone you don’t know send you an attachment or any kind of documents. Use your phone and call the numbers for any company or PayPal or bank only using the established numbers you have on your credit cards, bank statements, or other real documentation. This old woman will not even allow any company to put my credit card or bank information on my phone. It is too simple to scan information from a phone. A friend once told me to check my bank account EVERY freaking day to be sure everything is ok. Truthfully, mine does not get checked quite that often. But it does get checked often enough during the week. Just as long as the bank information is safe, a person can be relatively sure that nothing will be taken from your account.

 

Today something came up on the page before FB was even open:

In his concurring opinion with the Friday ruling to undo federal abortion rights, Justice Clarence Thomas said the court should now reconsider rulings that protect same-sex marriage, same-sex relationships, and contraception.

 

 

Thomas mentioned a few of the high court’s past rulings, including Obergefell v. Hodges, which established the right of same-sex couples to marry, and Lawrence vs. Texas—a 2003 decision in which the court ruled against the state of Texas regarding a 1973 law criminalizing the act of sodomy.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton appears to be on board with Thomas’ approach, seemingly expressing support for the regressive agenda.

 

Dear Hearts, hatred is alive and well in our nation. All a person has to think about might could center on one thing that Christ said: Love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Those are the two commandments He gave. But there is still one other thing to consider: when asked whose wife a woman would be if she had married two brothers in succession after the death of the first, Christ said that those questioning did not understand: in heaven there would be no marriage or giving in marriage. There would be neither male nor female. MY question is even simpler: when will we realize that each person is worthy of love just like they are? If they are enough for God to love, who are we to refuse to love them as well?

 

That is the post for today. My concern is greater than for any horror of war, terrorism, or violence from nature. Man’s inhumanity to man is unacceptable for any reason.

 

May we be blessed in learning to love.

Blessings of Rain.

 Blessings of Rain.

 

Only about a quarter of an inch of rain in the gauge out in the east lot, but every drop is thoroughly appreciated! It is not hot outside, and with doors open on both east and west sides, the house is not hot inside either! Being able to open the house up also lets in the sounds from all the wild birds. A cardinal who has declared this his territory has loudly proclaimed his delight for this rain. The doves, well, they just make their usual noises and fly out of the hen houses with whatever they can steal. Miserable grey critters! But since the rain came down and got in some of the chicken feed, it did not bother me to tap the bottom of the feeder and drop the wet stuff on a tin holder under the nests. A little sparrow looked up at me as if it had no idea what to expect. It looked resigned, to tell the truth. But sparrows don’t bother me. They don’t eat a ton of feed and mess up the water bowls. Doves are another mess all by themselves. Thompson watched them bathing out in the low place in front of the Bradford pear in front of the house. They knew they were being watched, but it did not bother them.

 

Moved one more nesting box into the middle coop. Tomorrow two more may go in there. Danged snake! Last year we had plenty of rats and mice for snakes to eat. Never could tell that having snakes around helped even one iota! But one freaking egg today! Unless the girls have found a place to hide their eggs, the snake is either getting the eggs or the girls have simply stopped laying—or both. Really don’t think these hens hide their nests.

 

Thompson has not been eating today. He is truly slowing down and worries me just a wee bit. Love the old man. Even though his toe hurts, can’t see why that would cause him to refuse to eat. He has not even asked for a treat today. Offered him one and he just put his head to the side. If he thinks that Sylvia might get it, he might decide to eat it. Ah, so finally he ate it.

 

A mockingbird is sitting in the trumpet vine in front of the living room windows. It looks as if he is eating something, but have not seen any worms on those vines. Hmm. Yesterday both an oriole and a robin visited the same area of the vine. Maybe it just makes a good perch.

 

Other than cleaning up the little bathroom today and washing up a handful of dishes, nothing has really been accomplished around here. Looking at all the beautiful yards and flowers on FB can be a job all by itself maybe. Drooling over the beauty of places that are not so miserably hot and that get rain might be depressing, but some of us just keep wishing, hoping, dreaming of having a pretty yard. Jennifer said that she could not get her flowers that she bought this year to live despite giving them water every day. It has to be this heat that kills everything! But this year is still not as bad—so far—as 1980 when it was 110 to 120 nearly every day for quite a while. Dear Hearts, Texas does not mess around with heat waves!

 

Went over and got the trash bin beside Jerry’s house and brought it up for the truck to dump. Just realized that the old woman forgot to put it back in front of the house where it should go. Oh well. Tomorrow is another day. Jerry used to take mine across the road to be dumped or bring it back over after the big truck left. Don’t suppose a good neighbor like that will happen again, but if they just are not the kind of folks to get really noisy or block the road, maybe that is all a person could ask.

 

Ah! A pair of the prettiest robins are out getting a drink under the pear tree. Their breast feathers are so very bright! Maybe the rain gave them a chance to clean their feathers of dust.

 

Not particularly interested in anything today as far as news goes. Saw the comments about someone warning the Amtrak company about the railroad crossing where the dump truck was hit. It is one of those places where they need those poles and flashing lights. How expensive could that possibly be compared to the damages to life, limb, and equipment in that horrible wreck. Dumb and dumber! At least the community where all those people were taken was good to help those folks in every way they could. A train derailing is still not as bad as a plane crashing—in my estimation. Most of these folks were able to walk away.

 

Guess we can pray for those unfortunate folks who are trying to get into the U.S. in trucks or other conveyances. Obviously, whoever is hauling them does not care about their lives. If a person had a choice, staying in their own country seems more of a wise decision, but we don’t know their circumstances. We cannot but feel pity for those who think that heading north will bring them out of poverty and violence. While it might be true for some, for many it is worse than staying where they were. May God give us the understanding that we need to appreciate their lives and struggles. And may God bless this nation and others with peace and safety.

 

Let us pray for peace. God alone can change the nature of mankind and give us the love we need for others. Satan is raging in this world right now. We have to stand up and refuse to be his instruments of hate.

 

Let us rest tonight and look forward to a day in which we can see and hear His love. Sleep well, my friends.

FangTastic!

 FangTastic!

 

Went out to see if any eggs had shown up in the boxes. Found a lovely, long rat snake. And no, the forked hoe did not allow me the ability to rake him out of the nesting area. But his presence could definitely explain why no eggs have shown up in the nests. ARGH!! Another reason to miss Donny Anderson as a neighbor!

 

Two of those huge trucks are across the street. A bunch of men have been climbing all over that trailer house, and now they have the two sides meeting in the middle. Not sure just how they keep rain from going between the two sections, but am pretty sure they know what they are doing. Just my guess. Eyebrows up!

 

It has been a pleasant morning. At 1:30 the temperature is only 92 degrees. That is not bad at all. When Sterling answered the phone to hear his happy birthday greeting song, he said the weather up there in Arkansas was truly pleasant. That always helps the way we feel when we have things to do. Am hoping that Maggie and David Sewell have been able to work on the place that their daughter plans to live since the heat is not quite so bad. Her rent suddenly went up over $300 a month more than she was paying! Honestly can’t imagine how a person is supposed to be able to make a living and still have any money for gasoline and food when every tiny thing just hits the ceiling. Got my electric bill for June from Discount Power—the last bill for them: $52.50. The new electric company may charge more. The name of the new service is Energy Texas. It does not matter to me either way what Energy Ogre does about changing companies as long as the bills can be paid without breaking the bank.

 

Had a slice of ham sandwich meat with a slice of Velveeta cheese rolled up with it. Sylvia wanted to sniff, but that leads to begging. So, she just had some dog food with a bit of extra stuff on top. Will have to flatten out that bag of chicken meat and put it in the top freezer until this other meat is gone. It doesn’t do to give the dogs snacks when they need to eat what is put in their bowls. Dogs and small children have a lot in common.

 

The other day at Walmart, they had some of the dipping stuff that appeals to me—artichoke and spinach. Yummy stuff. It’s made with cream cheese, mozzarella, and asiago cheeses. Artichokes were a foreign food back years ago. When we were in Paris, the grocery store next to the hotel had tables of them to sell. Thought about just leaving some clothes behind and filling a suitcase with the artichokes. Preparing them since then has proven to me that it must take some doing to get it right when cooking them. The ones in cans are tasty enough, but the ones that are pickled like olives are fantastic. But then, not everyone likes pickles or olives or other things that seemed strange to me as a kid. Believe it or not, pickled beets and sauerkraut were an acquired taste. Even Lewis did not like beets until my Granddad Kennedy showed him how to eat them—butter, salt, and pepper.

 

It may not be as hot today, but doggone if it does not feel dry as bones in the desert. Filled up the blue pool for the dogs to lie down in the heat. Most of the time they stay in the house with me, but they run back and forth from one side of the place to down by the fence in the east lot. That is a lot of running, so they jump in the pool and cool off their feet. Thompson has not been favoring his back left foot as much and is no longer constantly licking it. Maybe it will heal quickly and not bother him too much. The dry grass feels like pokey brushes on my feet, so it is surely hard on the dogs’ feet.

 

Patty was telling me yesterday that she did not think the patients were allowed out on the screened in porches any longer over at the hospital across the street. Their yells and screams are no longer heard on the hill, so she is probably right. One of our older neighbors used to complain that he could smell the cigarette smoke when the patients were allowed to smoke on the porches. Mr. Fenoglio had lots of things to gripe about, but to tell the truth, the smoke smell DID come this way some days. That was a lot of folks over there all smoking at the same time. But then, that is no longer allowed.

 

Just got a news flash on my ‘puter that said an Amtrak train had derailed after hitting a dump truck at a crossing. The picture showed all the cars lying on their sides. The headline said the train was traveling from Los Angles to Chicago. Another sad situation. One thing different from our trains from those we rode in Scotland to London: they overbook or just crowd people in like cattle over there when a train is late or the tracks are down because of trees on the lines. At least here we don’t have people riding in the aisles and on top of the trains like they do in India and other places. It is understandable when more people get injured in those situations. Now will come the questions about why the hey the dump truck was on the rails at the crossing! That is just crazy!

 

Out of several plants that came up from my cucumber seeds, it looks like ONE plant may survive. Watered, pulled it back into the shade, and still only one looks green. One had a bloom on it and then turned up its toes and shriveled up. Honestly don’t know if it was the heat or if a bug got it. But am guessing that heat will kill just about any living thing under the right circumstances. The herb bed that Jennifer sent to me a few years back is close to the front of the house and the water faucet out there. Rosemary, sage, cat mint, regular mint, and some thyme were doing pretty well, but the thyme curled up its toes recently. Water did not help. But the rosemary is still doing well, as are the sage and mint.

 

Sent a card to a friend who went to a church conference in Louisville. She said she knew the town would appeal to me with all the horse pictures. It made me smile. Have been there. In fact, went to one of the nicer hotels and walked to a conference for early childhood education. Everything was under cover—the walkway to the conference center was enclosed but open to all the views. The one day that we walked away from the hotel, we shopped around a little bit. Found a wooden wheeled grasshopper for one child and books that pleased me at the time. Funny what we buy when away from home.

 

Jenn said that they got about 20 minutes worth of rain the other evening. It’s not like that would be enough to do much good, but it certainly would be nice to cool off the air a bit. This is one of those cases where beggars can’t be choosers. As long as it is not those huge hailstones, the old woman won’t gripe. Snow? Not likely, but have a story about that. Grandmother Pollard was about to turn 50 and was depressed. Her friend Faye Lyons took her plum picking down on the river bed north of Henrietta. The road came right up to the river bank there, and it was fairly cool, but still, it was July 1 in Texas. Faye said maybe the kids would have a birthday cake for her. Grandmother’s disgusted response was that the likelihood of that happening would be about like a snowball’s chance. Would you believe a freak cold front blew in and snow started falling on them!? Don’t think it was enough for a snowball and am pretty sure she was not presented with a cake either. Ah, families.

 

Looked out the window and saw one of the young guys putting his electric cord down on the ground in circles to make it easier to pick it all up at once. It made me think of a YouTube video of a guy who doubled his extension cord to make figure eight loops of it to keep it from getting tangled up. Some of these men really get smart with their work. Lewis used to concoct his own tools for places on Caterpillars that were hard to get to. His hands were so huge that getting little things into itty bitty places was a major problem. Engineers never work on the finished products or they would do a better job of designing things.

 

This t-shirt that Connie bought for me down in Bowie is so soft. It says that Fenoglio’s BarBQ is the place to buy the best bowl of “crap.” That bowl may be a mix of different kinds of meat, but that is what they call it. Still like the shirt. Like that Fenoglio’s name is on it the best.

 

Looks like the work is done across the street and those wet, nasty looking fellas must be ready to go home to a cool shower. Rolling around in all the dirt with sweat dripping off your head is not the ideal type of job, but they seem to be pretty good at what they are doing. Satisfaction has to count for something.

 

It's too hot to cook, to clean house, to mess around in the yard, or to do much of anything else. Reading and playing games will just have to be the go-to activities for this old woman. FB has a game called Julie’s Journeys. It goes along with Pearl’s Perils. Both are search-and-find hidden things puzzles. It’s fun for me, but it is just something to do to pass the time. No sewing, not doing anything like cleaning up after my messy dogs, but then, who is going to gripe at me? The dogs really don’t mind if their tracks are all over the living room floor. As long as they have cool water and decent food, and they can bark at anything they find, they are happy. Takes so little, ya see.

 

July is almost here. How did that happen? Time went so slowly when we were younger. Days lasted until we were ready for bed. Now, we get up ready for bed. Guess it is all in how we think about life and what is going on. Okra grows this month. Can smile about that one. Now if only someone had some okra growing . . .

 

May you all stay cool and calm and enjoy the life God has given us. Drink your water and don’t get too hot! You are loved.

Sticker Shock!

 Sticker Shock!

 

Despise Walmart, but they usually have what is needed around here, plus it is close by. Today is Sunday, so they also had some marked down meats in at least two areas of that department. Bought chicken leg quarters and some thin sliced beef at reduced rates. Made a sandwich for me and dog food for these two beasties. Tomorrow and the next day will see more chicken in their food bowls. The beef, well, that may be a snack for their breakfast if it does not appeal to me in the morning. If $3.41 will pay for two breakfasts along with some chicken broth, that is a pretty good deal. It was also cheaper to buy an entire gallon of milk rather than what is normally purchased as a half-gallon jug.

 

Walking up and down the aisles over there was totally enlightening. HOW can anyone afford to eat unless it is just beans and rice? And even those two items were expensive. On SALE, one pound of coffee was a little over $11. It was a close-out item at that. Sitting here shaking my head. No, there is zero nutritional value in coffee. But tea and coffee are standard fare in most homes. Coffee keeps some of us going bright-eyed and bushy-tailed in the mornings. And for others, it keeps them from being quite so homicidal when they have to mingle with other humans. You know who you are.

 

It was $2.00 for three bell peppers. Didn’t even bother to look at the cucumbers. They had humongous bins of watermelon at $6 apiece. Found some small ones on for $3 and actually bought one. It’s better than cheese Danish or something of that nature. And the hens will eat the rinds to the very edge of the melon. Oh well. It is just food prices. Did not even look at the sprayer nozzles for water hoses. The one on the hose out back has cratered. Now it is dripping on the apricot tree that Reece planted. The one planted by Grayson seems to be doing ok, but Reece needed water. They have names, you see: Grayson and Reece. The ground is so dry that the trees around here look desperate.

 

We may all have to set up “go fund me” accounts to pay our electric bills here in Texas. And from what the news reports are posting, ours is not the only state in that situation. Think it was Utah that was going to have to go without water soon. Things are just pretty sad. About the only thing that will save the entire nation would be the intervention of God. Storms, fires, droughts—and we already have plenty of violence. The city of Wichita Falls has had multiple murders lately. Insanity. It has always seemed as if we were a fairly calm place to live. Sitting here shaking my head again. And this is going on just about everywhere! Satan (not spelled Satin—that is a material) is on the rampage.

 

Patty told me this morning that her friend Debbie saw that the “trailer house” across from me costs $100K new. And this one is new. Maybe that means not just any dodgy person would be able to move over there. Next time the house flipper comes by, the subject of the condition of the road will be on my mind. Here is hoping that he will see to it that the contractors who put in the gas lines will repair the pavement correctly—and maybe he will see to it that the hole down around the sewer riser will be filled up with cold pack asphalt. It is always good to have hope, huh.

 

My hens left me three eggs today. And today has not been as bad as it has been for the last week with the extreme heat. Currently, it is only 94 degrees! Not going to gripe! And the wind is more like a cooling breeze instead of the normal gale force heat waves. It is not that bad at all. Now if we could only get about three days of good, solid (not frozen) rain.

 

Poor Thompson tore a toenail chasing behind the workshop to get a squirrel this morning. And no, he did not catch the nasty critter. But it makes me feel so sorry for him. Just can’t see spending a hundred dollars for a vet right now. His toenail will have to come off eventually, but not sure if he will bite it off or otherwise lose it. Poor baby. Yours truly put some heavy-duty balm on it, but he keeps licking and biting on it. If it does not get infected, it will eventually heal up.

 

Just walking around Walmart and loading and unloading the groceries took a lot out of the old woman. Used the wagon Jennifer got for me and brought all the groceries inside with just one trip. That was so nice and easy. My daughter is the best at being thoughtful about things. Her brother thinks of things that neither of us would even consider at all. Every time a bowl is needed around here, one of the three pretty bowls he got for me will usually do the trick. AND, they have lids! Think it is called the Country Woman series that has the same pattern in the butter dish that he bought for me. Jenn laughed and told me that my old butter dish is down at her house. Can’t even remember why.

 

Honestly don’t know as much as those silly hens out under the deck. Do know that Thompson just finished tearing the hard part of his toenail off. That was trashed, and then the dingy old woman started applying balm to the wrong freaking foot! So now he has two icky feet instead of just one! Nothing wrong with getting the feet mixed up—much. Did the same thing the last time he hurt a foot! Told the vet it was the right when it was the left—HIS left.

 

Ok, enough for today. Still have laundry to fold and put away. Maybe tomorrow some shorts will be fashioned from the long pants bought at a resale shop. Have ONE decent pair of shorts and one tank top. Could go to the Women’s Refuge Resale shop, but that would mean driving and using gasoline. Pinch, pinch, pinch those pennies!

 

Rest well, and enjoy the life God has given us. Be grateful for all things. You are loved.

Mildly Spicey!

 Mildly Spicey!

 

Just finished cooking up some ground beef, corn, diced tomatoes, and a package of ramen noodles. With some Mrs. Dash as extra flavoring, this will make a good meal or two. The dogs have not been all that inclined to eat much for the past couple of days. It may just be too hot to be hungry. Even the hens are not especially eager to eat—not that the heat has affected the dang doves and black birds! They even take some feed and drop it in the water bowls. Bleah. Then the bowls have to be cleaned out and fresh water returned to the bowls. Sylvia decided the big black tub was deeper than she preferred, so she put her big paws into one of the water bowls, too. Sigh.

 

Walked down to Patty’s this morning before it got hot. The pups needed to be exercised, so they got to run around outside while we sat and visited. Roxie had tufts of hair hanging all over her, and it was something else just to run a hand over her and fill my hand with fur. Patty went inside after a brush, and the hair that came off would have built a new dog! Rudy has short hair like Thompson, but Roxie was like a small cloud just fluffing all over the place. Anyway, we were coming back outside after taking the dogs in when her friend Debbie drove up. She was in Wichita today and had called and did not get an answer on either of Patty’s phones. She was a little bit upset and came right out to check on her. Patty did not take her phone outside with her. Now Debbie has my phone number and shared hers with me. Between the two of us, we will try to keep up with Patty.

 

Got home from Patty’s and Connie called. Had to remind myself to set an alarm so it would not be as difficult to remember to call Connie each day. We check on each other. It is just a safety call.

 

No one has been at work across the street today, but it is the weekend, after all. And it is not like we are expecting storms or lots of rain, snow, hail, or other weather. That trailer house could probably sit there for the next two months without getting even a bit damp! Sigh

 

Watched my friend Carla Beard give the news like a real commentator on Channel 3 news for Connorsville, Indiana. It was very neat. She did a very good job. But then, she stood in front of classrooms, choirs, stage comedies, and assorted efforts as an interim pastor at her church. She has plenty of experience and truly would make a great TV personality. Calm and believable.

 

So far today, two eggs have been produced. Poor girls are so freaking hot. They run around the yard early in the morning looking for whatever it is that hens like, but by noon, it is simply too hot to believe! The gauge on my front porch (in the shade) says 113 right this hot moment. My living room is 89 degrees even with the AC going. Texas. The gauge on the back deck says 115 degrees!

 

So glad that my haircut is short. Wearing soppy wet hair is not any fun. It does not really cool things off that much unless it is cold water out of the water trough that is making it wet. It reminds me of bringing my horse in from grazing and giving her a big ole drink. She would stick her nose entirely down in the trough and blow bubbles like a kid! Her favorite thing was getting hosed down and then rolling in the dirt afterwards. Funny critter. Guess it kept the flies down though. Not sure why, but we did not have much of a problem with flies when we had the horses out back of the house all those years ago. But then, it was just one horse at a time, too.

 

Thought about putting a fan in the hen house for the evenings, but the hens might turn it over and cause a fire. No sense in taking a chance. We have already had so many fires this year that the idiots shooting off firecrackers just make me want to whallop someone! The heat, the drought, and the noise combined is a bit much. Critters get scared and take off. The sparks cause fires. And the noise can really upset someone who has PTSD. Anymore, the sound of gunfire can actually BE gunfire! In case you had not heard, the gunman in the Oslo, Norway, shooting was originally from Iran. That is why it is being considered a terrorist act. So, how did we get from hot hens to terrorism? Put it down to scattered brain. Just thankful that Kate Ellen and Marit had already left the London Pub in Oslo last night. They just heard the gunfire.

 

The ground beef and veggies turned out good! Din-upper has just been consumed here at 3:30 p.m. An early meal, but that should do until morning.

 

Have seriously been thinking about cutting up some t-shirts to make crop tops to wear around here. Probably won’t do it, but really am tempted. Can’t exactly go bare bodied around here, especially if it is necessary to check on the hens two or three times a day. But the temperature gauge just went down to 109! Dear Hearts, when it goes from 115 to 109 it doesn’t really feel like a cold front came in!

 

Need to call my brother and see if he sold his wife yet. He said everything in his workshop was for sale, ya see. Ahem. Hope the church made enough money to fund their mission trip to Honduras.

 

Want you to know that God has to be busy listening right now to all the prayers from the farmers and ranchers—and other folks as well. We need rain and much cooler temps. But it is not even July yet. May God bless this land.

 

Rest well and stay safe and out of the sun. You are loved.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Neighborhood Changes.

 Neighborhood Changes.

 

Today a bunch of men brought in two halves of a “modular” home—trailer house to you and me. Yes, it will probably look pretty decent when it is put together and cleaned up around it, but right now they do not have electricity, water, or gas lines. That should be interesting. Dread seeing the gas line dug across the road. Just one more mess to drive through. But who knows? Maybe this will bring a decent neighbor just across the street. We will wait and see what happens.

 

Cindy was here visiting when they brought the second half of the trailer in and needed her truck moved. Yours truly has been driving a standard since learning how to drive years ago, but the parking brake was on, so one of the men came over and said, “Bet the parking brake is on!” Sure enough! So, after moving Cindy’s truck, we sat and visited until she got ready to go home. She had the peach tea that was promised, but yours truly did not have anything ready for a quick meal. Therefore, she did not even get an offer along those lines. One of these days we will have lunch here with sandwiches or something easy. About the only thing accomplished today was dust mopping enough dog hair to furnish another dog and making tea. It is just so terribly hot that nothing feels worth doing.

 

Only had one AC unit on today to try to cut down on electric use. Dear Hearts, the bedroom and kitchen were like ovens! Turned on the one in the bedroom and let it cool down a bit before trying to take a nap. Nope, no such luck. Miserable heat! And this is just June!!

A man with the gas company came knocking on the door and wanted into the back yard. Had to bring the dogs inside and unlock the gate for him. He quickly discovered that this hill is almost solid rock out front. He could not get a pokey thing to go into the ground because of the gravel or rock. Oh well. Guess they will figure it out.

 

Cindy said that they had a full-grown bobcat walking through their place. They had lost some chickens, so now they have to shut them up. Know that possums and raccoons can get into just about anything if they can get a paw or their nose in it. But the dogs seem to deter those critters pretty well. They go out and chase rabbits and anything else that moves in the yard late in the evening. Even the ducks have stopped coming to the feeders now. Surely would not want my dogs to have to face a bobcat, however.

 

Really do not know anything worth discussing without starting a small war. Yes, Roe vs. Wade was repealed. This is one of the few times that it seems to me that insanity has taken over. NO, it is not right to abort a child at nine months or at birth. But if a child is conceived and has no brain, should a woman have to carry it to term? If my grandchild is raped, should she have to carry the baby? No, and common sense says tie tubes of women who can’t keep from getting pregnant and expect the state to take care of them and their babies. And clip the @ssholes who have fathered more than three babies and did not bother to feed them or care for them and the mothers. It would be great if folks did not believe that they could use abortion for a type of birth control. But these folks who are doing drugs are as close to insanity as folks can get. No judgment whatsoever! It feels wrong to be “for” abortion at all, but a child born with fetal alcohol syndrome or crack brain is never going to have a good chance to be a thriving adult. Of course, some say the same thing about children that are born with Down Syndrome, and some of those kids are really neat. But the sad part of that statement is that the “some” are not nearly as many as those who can’t function. And most often they have other problems such as hearing loss or low intelligence (70%), or other disabilities that reduce their life expectancy to less than 50 years. Not many women choose to abort a child with Downs syndrome, but considering the consequences and medical expenses involved with their care, it is understandable that some would choose to do so. A child does not have to be “perfect” to deserve to live. So many of us live on some scale of autism that it would be wrong to consider us as either perfect or imperfect, as deserving to live or otherwise. But give women the choice whose children have been seen in a scan to have major problems. This is not about sex and birth control. This is about the future of children born into this world and the parents who will deal with their health and well-being—both of the child and the parent.

 

Ok, now that the old woman has managed to tick off just about every Christian who reads this blog, she will say that it is a good thing that pregnancy can’t happen around this house. May God forgive our choices when they do not align with His will.

 

Rest as much as possible, stay hydrated, and feel free to gripe about the heat. You are loved.

Summer Hibernation!

 Summer Hibernation!

 

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to sleep through this heat! If one room of the house could be kept cool to cold enough, maybe we should try that approach. For sure, the electric company is going to be raking in the dollars by the thousands this summer—whether or not they can keep the transformers working. Energy Ogre let me know this week that they had chosen a new company to handle my electric needs. Still kinda dread finding out how much this month is costing. If possible, this is worse than getting multiple medical bills because the medical bills can be paid off a little at a time. Not so with the utility bills. And this is just June!

 

Maybe we should all be praying for rain and for an early fall season. If the farmers can’t grow anything right now in the heat, it is not likely to change anytime soon. Thought about calling Barbara Mathews and asking what her husband is growing this year. Probably wheat for cattle would be the easiest right now, but without rain—well, you know what extreme heat does to grass, and wheat is just a type of grass. If you think the old woman is exaggerating, you should see the temperature gauge on my front door—106 here at 4:20 p.m. Kinda hot, dear hearts.

 

With the work being done over at Jerry’s house, the plumbers have started painting stripes of yellow and blue for the gas and water lines along our road. Right now, a man is parked in the middle of South Kemp and walking along the intersection of Fenoglio with a yellow probe. Not sure if he is trying to find the gas lines or what, but would hate to think that they will have to dig that area up again to connect to the gas lines. This entire hill is mostly just clay and humongous rocks. When the company putting in the sewer lines years ago was trying to dig out the rocks, the big dump truck was lifted up on one side with the weight of one of the rocks. Not sure how they ever got that thing hauled off.

 

My dogs just had their evening meal. A few months ago, Market Street had some beef called carne something on sale. It was not as cheap as chicken, but it was two pounds for nearly seven dollars. Cooked in the slow cooker with a bunch of carrots and finished off with a cup of rice, it made a meal for all three of us. It would have been somewhat better with lots of onion in it, but dogs are not supposed to have onions. Go figure.

 

Got five eggs today. It is just too danged hot for the hens. Kinda understand how they feel about sitting still in a nest of hay right now. Sprayed water under the deck again this morning so that they would have a cooler place to lie down during the heat of the day. Yours truly has taken one real shower and one dip under the faucet just to keep cool. Will wait until later this evening to check for more eggs. At least the doves are not as active around the feed bins right now. Maybe they have found a cooler place to do their eating.

 

Got a message from another sister today—Cindy Jones. She has bad knees and will get injections to be able to keep moving. She also is staying inside to try to keep from roasting. Will have to make some peach tea so she can have a good drink if she gets to come by the house. Love this tea, but it takes four bags to make a good pot for mixing up a half gallon.

Sharon Dickerson said that her husband Jimmy was growing peppers and tomatoes down there in Garland. They have gutters and collect rain water so the plants do well. They also have a “pet” rabbit that comes and visits their back yard. Hope it does not eat peppers or tomatoes! Last year Roger Thonton had some of the sweetest little yellow tomatoes growing in his back yard. They were almost like eating candy and about that size. Not sure if he has felt well enough to do that kind of thing this year. Hope he and Susan are not having to mow his parents’ place now. Have not seen them or met with the rest of the classmates this year. Now that I can sit still and walk better, it may be possible to enjoy a visit at Pioneer with them. He had bypass surgery after a heart attack plus complications with fluids; Barbara has had part of her intestines removed and feels frustrated to not be doing what she wants to do; and you know that the old woman had some major back surgery in February. We can all be thankful that God has given man the abilities to take care of our faulty parts.

 

Barbara said that Mike had taken three trailers of livestock to sell off because of the lack of water on their place. Cows and steers could bring a decent price if the prices in the store were any true indication of what the ranchers would get, but you know how that works. The rancher is pretty much at the mercy of the market. She said he put up 600 bales of hay last year and the cows went through every bale! So, it is never easy to feed livestock whether it is hens or heifers!

 

Sitting here thinking about the entire situation of back orders and lack of materials needed for building and working on orders of steel or wood products for houses, commercial buildings, and that sort of thing. It feels as if we have managed to shoot ourselves in the foot by not producing what we need right here in our own country. My daddy used to gripe about companies that bought Mexican steel because it was not as good as American steel made with something called the Bessimer process. Mexican steel had air bubbles in it that would blow out when welded or cut. Not sure if we even make steel in this country any longer. But the same thing applied to leather made in Mexico as opposed to that made in the states. It was not processed in the same manner. Oh well. At my age, and in the way things are put together today, the cars are made of plastic and the shoes are made with plastic, so there’s that. Even cloth is not the same today as it was years ago. That, however, may be a good thing. Remember having to iron? Not any longer! Wash and wear. And one good thing that has come from the tendency to avoid plastics is the little sheets that we can put in our washers instead of having a bottle of detergent that is just water and chemicals inside a plastic bottle that won’t be recycled. Things change. And sometimes it is a good thing.

 

Let us pray for those in the Ukraine and in the Sudan where folks are dying and being killed in ethnic violence. The inhumanity of man to man or beast is sad, at the very least. A day will come that things will be changed dramatically. May God bring that day swiftly!

 

Rest well, my friends, and know: you are loved.

 

 

Scrambled Eggs.

 Scrambled Eggs.

 

No, they weren’t dropped before or after being gathered. In fact, they made a mighty fine breakfast this morning. Each dog got ONE bite, and then Sylvia got the paper plate to lick. To be fair, Thompson’s bite was just a teeny bit bigger than the one Sylvia got. Children notice these things.

 

Got a call from brother telling me that my sister-in-law was out there in the shop with him checking out all the “shtuff” that the church had brought for their garage sale. Oh, that is going to be a sight. No clothes or very few, but all kinds of junk and stuff is crammed into his nice workshop. He has a philosophy about garage sales: he has plenty of his own junk; why would he want some else’s junk? Even so, watched Beth Graf get any number of neat toys and things for her pre-school back when she had The Treehouse. She kept her eyes on just the stuff she would be able to use, however. The one thing that came home with me from an estate sale was an antique egg scooper that a person could take eggs from a boiling water bath without any other tool. It seldom gets used, but it pleases me.

 

My son still has that danged virus—mostly just congestion—but he can’t return to the building until he tests ok, and so far, that is a no-go. Tracy called her boss at the library and asked if she could return now that she is testing negative. Her boss told her that she could if she could consider it minimum security with work detail. That was enough to make me laugh. But then, that was the idea her boss had, too.

 

Stayed up late last night and read a book on my Kindle. Couldn’t sleep anyway, so reading was the best bet. Can’t go outside when the mosquitoes are big enough to make you need a transfusion after they get ahold of your legs, arms, or any other spot on your body. And daytime is too freaking hot after the sun gets up very high. It is already 105 degrees on the east side of the house. Bleah.

 

Put some macaroni on to cook and stirred until the old woman was as hot as the pot it cooked in. Making macaroni and cheese with some Velveeta cheese that Patty gave me. May throw in some cooked chicken and sweet pickles just for the heck of it. What the old woman can’t eat, ya know, the dogs will appreciate. [It turned out mighty fine! A stick of butter, several slices of Velveeta, canned chicken, and bread and butter pickles.]

 

Someone or some two are over at Jerry’s house working. Feel for anyone working in this heat. It just makes sense to stay inside out of the sun. But then, these guys seem to be working mostly on the inside. One looked like an electrician, maybe. Who knows? They could be chicken pluckers! Someone needs to mow the grass around the other part of the lots. Jerry’s house is on solid concrete—no grass or living things except a couple of determined weeds.

 

Smelled skunk last night. The water bowl put out front for the birds might just be an attraction for other critters. Bobcats, skunks, cougars, or assorted small animals need water, too. As long as they stay out of the backyard, things should be ok. The one thing that amazes me is the number of cottontail rabbits! They are multiplying—well, like rabbits. But the same could be said about the feral cats. Have seen at least two momma cats with kittens around here. As long as they don’t get where the dogs are, they have a chance of staying alive. But with a water bowl out front, they can at least get a drink.

 

Still have not gone anywhere to buy milk. A person does not REALLY have to have milk in order to eat, but Cheerios with canned milk just does not appeal to me. Before gasoline went out of sight expensive, a few trips here and there did not bother me that much, but right now, the old woman can just stay at home and do something else—scramble some eggs or make macaroni salad.

 

Noticed that Dawn Thompson and a crew are on their way to California with the “You’re Enough” message. The heat and the cost of diesel is outta sight, but maybe they will help at least a few people realize that they are truly loved—even if not in the way the world portrays love. A prayer for their safety and success would not be amiss.

 

Sometime last year yours truly bought a box of little packets to go in water. Think they are entirely sweetened with fake sugar, but they are not bad tasting with that whang caused by most fake sugars. They are called Skittles to Go. When plain ol’ water is just not all that satisfying, these things are not too bad. They are probably the next best thing to giving one’s liver river water, but they are a lot less trouble than making one’s self drink water plain. Hydrate! It’s summertime!

 

The dogs seem to have no trouble taking naps and then sleeping all night. They lie down on the floor, on a dog bed, or in a chair to take a nap. They don’t seem to mind the location. When we had dogs back years ago when we lived in Petrolia, the dogs did not sleep in Mom’s house. They dug holes around the foundation and slept there. Dad would go spray them down once in a while when he sprayed the old swamp cooler to keep it a little bit wetter than the water pump could. Honestly! Do any of you ever remember it getting this hot and staying that way? If memory serves me, we had a drought back in the 50s that dried up our lake. Water was more or less rationed. They would turn the water on late in the afternoon and then turn it off a couple of hours later. The water may have come from wells, but we walked across the lake that had these huge chunks of mud that had dried into a network of heavy clay. Not even the crawdads could live in that mud.

 

Whatever the state hospital is doing with the old round road on the grounds, they just dumped a bunch of pavement stuff and ran road graders and heavy compacting machines over it. Guess they were just rebuilding it for some reason. Seems awfully hot to be out there doing that kind of work, but then, Lewis used to work in this kind of heat working on transmissions or whatever kind of work that Darr had him do. This time of year, he would come home soaking wet and need help to peel his clothes off. Feel for anyone who has to do any kind of asphalt work, much less welding or fencing. Read something about a cool front coming in this week so that the temps might get down to just 100 degrees. If it were to rain right now, it would be steam!

 

Sylvia just brought me her toy. She doesn’t really need any treats. She just likes the attention. The hens are like that at times. When the kitchen door opens, they come out from under the deck to see if they are going to get any goodies. A while ago it was so hot out there when the bowls had to be cleaned and fresh water put in, that it seemed like a good time to wet down the underside where they were lying down. Put the hose in one of the cracks and let it stay there long enough to get it good and wet. They came out and then went right back under there. This heat is not good for them, but it’s not like they can have AC in the coop.

 

Looked at my living room floor a minute ago and thought about my daughter. She used to take her shoes off wherever she was and leave them there. We sometimes had several pairs of shoes in the middle of the floor. But in this case, the three pairs were all mine. Guess she came by her habits honestly.

 

Don’t know any good funnies to share with you. And can’t really ask for weather reports and expect any good news. Well, one of my online acquaintances is heading out to Alaska soon. Maybe we should ask her to keep us in mind when she goes up there and cools off. Cooling thoughts? Even some rain would be wonderful if it actually got to the ground.

 

Pray for the farmers and ranchers. It is not just their livelihoods that matter. Without their crops and livestock, we won’t eat, dear hearts. If they were not willing to gamble on the weather and the markets, we would all go hungry! May God bless them and their efforts.

 

Rest well, my friends. What we face each day may be different in many ways, but it all works out to be the same in the end. We depend on grace and His love. May He give us peace.

Accepting the Necessities.

 Accepting the Necessities.

 

Read today that an acquaintance had died and someone was asking for donations for his cremation. Had only met up with him, his wife, daughter and her husband one time, but had shared some opinions online. His “ranch” was a hit or miss affair that just drank money and made none, but he was not the sort to give up on critters that might not get a good home if he was not there to provide for them. It made me think that one of our first jobs as adults is to provide the means ahead of time to deal with our earthly remains. When we talked about funerals and such once upon a time, Lewis said that he did not want folks coming AFTER he died. He wanted to talk to them ahead of his death so he could appreciate them and vice versa. Made sense to me. We bought a couple of cremation policies and then another one provided for our youngest son on his death. The main thing is that if a family is small and doesn’t have unlimited resources, it just does not seem fair to ask someone else to take care of the final situation. It is, after all, just part of life. Eventually, the entire earth will seem to accept that what consists of mostly water and some flesh and blood should be returned to the earth in the least disruptive manner. If you have read enough in that book provided to all of us, it says that someday the seas and the earth will return those that are therein. How old we are or aren’t, what sex or nationality, whatever loves we held—those won’t matter at that time. The armies and navies and all those men and women who have fought whenever and wherever—all will be resurrected at one point. The outcome of life after that will be determined by acceptance of what God has offered. Nothing more, nothing less.

 

It's too hot to fuss about the heat. Plus, griping about heat and the sagging expectations toward moving around either inside or outside won’t change a blasted thing. Only in the predawn day is the air comfortable. The late evening is still hot and full of mosquitoes! Not interested in giving that kind of blood donations.

 

The hens are not interested in laying eggs. The dogs only found one squirrel and just sat there and watched it rather than bark. Peanut butter on a rat trap screwed to the side of the tree might stop that messy little bushy tailed rat! Despise those creatures. They chew holes in the boards around the attic vents, get inside and eat electrical wiring, and then cause fires with their nests full of leaves and dried whatever. Rats will do the same thing, but they are less likely to cuss the dogs and start something.

 

Both dogs are trying to stay cool. Thought about taking them out and dunking them in the water trough. Thompson probably would not really care. Sylvia would have to be drug into the tub and then her feet would have to be cleaned before she would shake all over the kitchen and living room. Yours truly might just have to go drag the silver water trough out of the green house and fill it full of water. Can we have a hot tub without a water pump? Would consider just taking a cold shower, but the water coming out of the cold side is hot! Ah, summers in Texas.

 

Honestly think it would be better to find a funny joke site to share with you rather than have a bunch of folks accosted with situational sadness. Will have to ask Carla for a traffic report on her street and get Robin C. to tell us how many pounds of food go into the food bank distribution where she lives and helps out. Those descriptions would at least be more cheerful than getting the weather report from Texas.

 

We still need to have that attitude of gratitude. God has blessed this nation especially with peace and prosperity when compared to others. No matter what we gripe about—lack of bread on the shelves, the prices of meat or gasoline, the lack of mental health facilities or providers—nothing compares to what is going on in the rest of the world. We just need to pray for peace and blessings on this entire earth. May God give all of us rain in due season and peace among all peoples. Let us give of the love He has given us.

 

Rest well and stay hydrated, my friends. You are loved.

 

 

Comparative Comforts.

 Comparative Comforts.

 

Let’s face it; some of us would prefer ten below to one hundred ten degrees. Yes, we would still have to use extra energy and wrap up the water pipes and keep the livestock in their enclosures to prevent frozen meat on the hoof or claw, but dang! Getting cooled off is not much easier than keeping things from freezing. On top of all that business of trying to keep either from burning to a crisp or freezing into ice cubes, no rain means that all the vegetation will die. Makes some of us glad not to have succumbed to the desire to plant pots of flowers and veggies out there in the wide outdoors!

 

Yesterday morning early, a toad was sitting in the hens’ water bowl next to the deck. He looked very comfortable and really was not all that happy with me when he had to hop out so the water could be cleaned and the bowl refilled. My guess is that digging down in the dirt under the deck did very little to make a comfortable bed for him. At least he was too big for the hens to try to eat. They kill sparrows that get in the feed pans, and very few bugs—with the disgusting exception of love bugs—manage to live in the area they patrol. Normally the toads would eat those bugs, but this toad was not the least bit skinny, so he must have found some that the hens had not discovered.

 

Texting my son who has that stupid virus. [No, we can’t name it since FB tends to tell me that my opinions are somewhat worthless and illogical!] Anyway, he still has congestion and said he was taking—get this—“music Ex.” Sat here and laughed until Thompson gave me his “look.” That look can be interpreted in various ways, but usually it says something about his opinion of my ability to be logical. Predictive text is SO much fun! Somehow the video of the hens eating cantaloupe had text applied. It said, “I love my hands!” The word hands and hens don’t sound the same to me, but maybe my enunciation could use some improvement.

 

Read a post by Stilton Jarlsberg this morning. He has an attitude that sounds a bit depressed and fatalistic, but under the circumstances, what can a person expect? It is just mighty hard at times to say anything even vaguely humorous or less snide than political pugnaciousness. And right now, too many of us are hurting either physically, emotionally, or (especially) financially! Lance (my son) said something about me being Mrs. Money Bags since affording cantaloupe seems high falutin’ to the extreme. Yes, they are expensive. But they also serve a couple of purposes—breakfast for me and a good snack for the girls. Same thing goes for the “dog food” that is often made around here. It feeds two dogs and one old woman generally speaking. Rice and canned meat with veggies are good foods for all three of us. Sometimes the ground turkey is on sale. It’s not my favorite meat, but cheap is good any day.

 

Got out the little electric oven thing that was purchased about eight years ago. Hardly ever use it, but it is perfect in the summer to keep from having to use the oven. Not sure it would do for baking brownies or a cake, but it keeps from having to heat up the kitchen when fish sticks or something of that nature is cooked. That was brunch this morning. Cod cakes in the little oven joined on a plate later with asparagus cooked in the microwave. Kitchen was not heated up at all. The heat does not keep me from eating, but it is not conducive to laying eggs according to the number being found in the nests each day. Maybe the girls just need a shower and a fan in there!

 

While the faucet to the kitchen sink has not quite given up the ghost, it has some problems. May have to watch some YouTube videos and figure out how to change out a faucet with a sprayer hose on it. The filter on the faucet had the stream down to a drizzle, and the sprayer dribbles, so both need to be replaced. It would be great if the filters were the part that would come undone so it would be easy, but Dear Hearts, those things are on there to stay. Guess eventually a trip to Sutherlands is going to have to take place. Deep, dog-tired sigh. More expense.

 

With everything that happens—whether in the kitchen, the laundry, the yard, or just in the family—we still know that we are so totally blessed. Generally speaking, no one is shooting at us or trying to take over our country by armed attack (well, except for the drug dealers coming up from the South), and we haven’t all starved to death yet. The rains we need are a constant source of concern, but we can still get some water to drink in most places. We just have to be grateful for what we DO have rather than what we think we desperately need. And you know where blessings originate, so let’s look up and see what He has in store for us next.

 

Rest well, my friends. You are loved.

The Delivery.

 The Delivery.

 

Market Street, the grocery store where some of us do business here in Wichita Falls, has some of the neatest folks who deliver groceries. Since walking around in the store just about puts me down for a couple of hours with muscle spasms, the old woman has been having groceries delivered about once a month. Frankly, it is worth the delivery fee. Today a nice young man named Colton brought my groceries. Even though not one tiny piece of meat was included in the order, the bill still came to a little over $80 for mostly vegetables, a few cans of fruit, and lots of bottled water in either gallon jugs or the packages of 24 bottles. Colton pointed out the cake when he set down one bag. It only took me a minute to let him know that a cake had not been in the order. Even let him see the recipe. He had already handed me a small package of coffee that was a gift from the store, but he raised an eyebrow and said that the packages in my order were all in one pile. He just loads and delivers whatever is in those piles. Someone did not get their German chocolate cake today. But it certainly is a tasty one!

 

Little free things that happen like this delivery don’t happen very often. Usually, it is the other way around or no more than a note to say that something was not available. If life were all about what we get for free, we would all be sitting around howling about how unfair life seems to be. But every day we wake up is one more free gift. And that kind of free gift is too often taken for granted. It pleases me to be able to give eggs to friends, family, and those who just happen to come by and stop to talk. But waking up, breathing freely, having the good health to be able to walk around in the back yard and listen to the hens chuckle, those things are so worth celebrating. A free cake is quite nice, but a pain-free walk down to visit the neighbor is absolutely wonderful.

 

Let’s just think about the free things today. Let’s see if we can be grateful for the facts of our lives. Things are not ever going to be perfectly happy and fair in this life, but look at how much we have been given! And really, isn’t it time to acknowledge the source of those gifts! Life did not come from some strange other or unknowable sense of beginnings. Life began with God. Let us give the very least we can ever give Him—praise and appreciation. Let our attitude be one of gratitude.

 

May God give us peace and lack of fear. He has already provided answers before we knew to ask questions. Let not your hearts be troubled. His gift is peace.

 

You are loved.