Wheat Fields

We had a good trail ride this week. Both of my cousin's daughters were able to ride with us. One hasn't rode much but everything went smooth. We also have a new lady riding with us on a horse that she is learning dressage and eventing. Enjoyed her company.

We started early and all teased about having a whole day to ride. But weather interfered with that. But we still had a great time.

Here was the wheat fields a few weeks ago and another showing how now they are ready for harvest.

We got about as far as we could on the ride on when a husband called and said it is hailing on him in town. Now I wear a helmet but the horse doesn't. I am positive I don't want to ride in either hail or lightning. Especially since the friend riding with me had lost 3 horses to lightning (two of her own and one that she had sold to a friend.) 
We headed for the house. The horses must have sensed the excitement because the ride home was a dream ride. Gracie has the sweetest fast walk and she didn't miss a beat. All the makings of a good day.

Leave a Legency

I always enjoy my walks with the ladies at 6 am every day. We have heard a million stories. Most of the time the same one and we laugh like it was the first time we heard it. That is a good thing about getting older-every day is a new day. There was a story today that is worth repeating.

A friend's father-in-law had died and they were having the funeral. The preacher told a story that the family had heard many times. The father-in-law had been a policeman most of his life in Memphis. He had a certain bar that was on his route to patrol. He knew that the woman that worked there was a struggling single mother with small kids. So he would bring a sack of clothes from his wife or give some money for her to buy milk and groceries. He was being remembered for this act of kindness.
Also at the funeral was a friend of the daughter-in-law. She was there because she worked with her and wanted to show her support. As the story was being told,the friend started crying. She was that woman. She had no idea she was attending the funeral of the policeman who showed kindness and compassion to her many years ago. 
It reminded me of that song--"I would like to leave a legency, how will they remember me..."

"The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart and evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart, his mouth speaks."

If you want to see who a person really is don't watch his actions, watch his reactions. It is a person's reaction to life's circumstances that reveal what is truly in his heart. If you want to see what a person is full of, see what spills out when he's jostled. If you jostle someone and anger spills out they are full of anger. But if you jostle somebody and Jesus spills out they're full of Jesus---Dr. Adrian Rogers

A Cowboy Grows Up

Went to a beautiful wedding last week. My riding buddy grew up to be a fine young man and married his sweetheart.  Like the preacher at the wedding said, "they light up when the other walks in the room".

This young man is my cousin's son. When he was younger his dream was to own a horse. At that time, it had been about 10 years since I had rode much and we had one horse. He would come with his family and ride our horse for a while until he was given a free horse that he kept in our pasture. Now he worked all summer cutting grass for the man who gave him this "free" horse. Guess he didn't look this gift horse in the mouth enough.

He and I spent a lot of hours riding and learning. His mom and sister now both own horses and we have so many wonderful rides and adventures.

When he first started he was so afraid but wanted to ride so much he overcame his fear.  I saw this boy turn from a scared, determined rider unto a man who is now training horses.

Now he and his beautiful wife both have horses. Hope they find the time to have a few adventures with the gang. I mean what could be more fun than that in newlywed's lives.

Lesson Learned

Have you ever done something that the whole time you are thinking "This is an accident waiting to happen". I have been doing that for several months now. Riding my bicycle with my dog on a leash running beside me. If I had seen that person going down the street I would have said "look at that idiot". But I kept on, knowing better.

Well yesterday I met Mr. Asphalt. Know him very well. Laid on him for a while. Here I was going at a good speed and my velcro dog decides to stop to poop. I thought I was holding the leash loose enough, but when he stopped it jerked the handlebars sideways. Funny how you can see the ground coming at you so quickly. Then the landing. I think I laid there awhile inventorying my body parts. But I was very blessed to only have black and blue parts not broken.  I will live to ride again. But the dog is on his own.

A Rescue

My sister's gift is mercy. When you are talking to her, she usually has a story of someone she is burdened about. The good thing about this is that you also know that she is giving the right response to the problem. She is spending time in prayer for the person, she is listening, and loving that person. This gift is now helping her as she volunteers at her church to work with troubled teens. She is putting to action her gift from God.

The church has adopted an inner city school and show support to the kids. They are making a difference in their lives by attending sports, loving them and working with them. She said sometimes they run up for a hug and she realized it might be the only hug they get that day.

Yesterday they took a group of kids downtown. Their mission was to have peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the kids and to walk the streets with them and pray for the city. Memphis in May BBQ was going on, so the streets are full of people. At one corner, one girl asked if they could pray for the firemen at the fire station there. Said she prayed the sweetest prayer for them.

Then something happen that would give me nightmares. They went into a tall building and was stuck in an elevator for an hour and a half. They found out later they had 10 people and a cooler full of water in an eight passenger elevator. Said she started to panic but realized the kids needed her to be calm so she prayed. There was some panic but each was able to help the other. She said later she asked one boy how he had stayed so calm. He said if you knew my world that I live in everyday, this was nothing.

As time went on, my sister said it was hot and hard to breathe. Alarms and cells phones wouldn't work. Finally a cell phone worked and they called for help. Who came? THE FIREMEN who the young girl had prayed for.

Those adults and teens went away from an scary incident seeing God answering prayer and His rescue. The firemen went away remembering a little girl's prayer.

His Kingdom

"But seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matt. 6:33

(From Beautiful Offerings by Angela Thomas)--When I don't know what to do I lean into Matt. 6:33 and ask myself "How can I seek the Kingdom in this moment? How can I pursue righteousness? When you don't know what to do, seek God. Take the next blind step toward His voice. Stop and hear His voice and take another step. It may be dark in front of you, but if you turn around I'll bet you'll be astounded by the glory of God's light. 

I don't know what God will do. I only know what He has already done. I belong to the God who divided a sea to let His people through. Keep moving toward the Kingdom. Live like you belong to the Kingdom and trust. Don't worry. He knows what you need. Fix you eyes on the Lord. Do it first.

Full of it

Beautiful granddaughter in a beautiful dress today at a wedding.

 A locked door and a window. Why would that get her curiosity up?

Tell me she isn't trying to turn the lights out in a room full of people at a reception.

Big Laps hold A Lot

A good place to be

A Church is More than a Building

We went to a funeral last week for my Dad's brother. Back to the little town of Toccopola Ms. The small church sits on the same spot that Dad's home was when he was growing up.

Here is what the old home place looked like 50 years ago.
 Back then the little church sat on a hill to the left.  Mom told me that one Sunday she put my petticoat slip on me and was waiting till the last minute to put the dress on. She must have forgot to tell me this. So she misses me and looks out and sees me going up the steps of the church. Oops!

This is a picture is of the church building which has been moved to another community.

The funeral was held in their new brick church building. Since Church of Christ don't use musical instruments, there could not have been a sweeter sound than family and friends singing "Amazing Grace" and "Old Rugged Cross". I quit singing just to listen. I noticed their attendance--39 and yet the other board showed an offering of $700. A small but giving church. And then that little congregation prepared and fed a  hungry family with good country cooking.  Roots run deep in that Mississippi church.

Mother's Day

Today was a little bittersweet. This is the second Mother's Day since Mom has been gone. Still miss her just as much every day. But not grieving as one who has no hope. I 'll see her again.

So when my daughter invited us to her house for a lunch with her family and her in-laws, it was nice change. What a sweet time. We were met at the door by our grandkids (a first grader and a second grader) with aprons on. The table was prepared with china and once seated the kids took our orders. "Yes I would like some of all the salads--fruit, chicken, pasta etc..." "All of it MeMe?" "Yes, one of each." From the kitchen my son-in-law called out, "do all the salads go on one plate"----"yes"---"O crud".
So sweet. Then homemade necklaces and gifts out of baked clay. Meant so much to me. Money couldn't buy that.

Oh, and my mom, she would have loved this.

An Adventure

Sometimes our days have a lot of twist and turns. Yesterday was a beautiful May day with no specific plans, so riding was an option. A friend called to see if we were, but when we went to feed Glen's horse, Preacher was limping. Something about the way his hooves looked made me afraid he had foundered. That is where they eat too much (sometimes spring grass and their hooves turn out.) A bad thing--sometimes you can never ride them again. 

So we called our friend and farrier and who left jobs and came immediately. It is an abscess so he doctored it. That left Glen out so I saddled and went to meet the two ladies riding. Bye Glen.

Great ride. Went through some trails I haven't been on in a few years but still remembered the way to get through them. Did have one incident where one ladies' horse stumbled, went down on its knees and then his back twisted trying to catch himself.  She stayed in the saddle till the twist. But it was soft ground and so she didn't seem to be hurt. As we get older it seems like we don't bounce very well and the ground seems harder. 

We rode through a lot of fields with the yellow flower that grows in pastures here. The horses' hooves were covered. One pasture had some curious calves that couldn't quite figure us out.

Then to complete the adventure, my friend and I saw some wild flowers to dig up. So she said she would pick me up on a four wheeler and go back there. What she drove was actually more like a dune buggy.

 This is where I thought--some people have to go on vacation and pay for the opportunity to do things like this. So two fifty-something year old "ladies" went flying (and I mean flying down the road and through the fields) with one grinning from ear to ear. I wanted to yell "yahoo" but contained myself (or maybe not).

 Once we got the flowers, the return trip I had to refrain from smiling. Why? Where there are cows, there are cow patties. She hit a marshy area and what splattered on us had to be a mixture of mud and poop. I looked at her and laughed then looked down at myself. But it was worth every spot. Fun times.
The down side was I broke my camera when I sat on it. Guess they aren't made to be a seat cushion in a dune buggy. Now it is camera hunting time.

Tornados, Floods & Sirens

With all the tornados, storms, sirens and flooding that we have had in West Tennessee, our dogs have been hearing a lot of safety tips from the news. They take it to heart. "Doppler" Tucker always get the bathtub. No room for anything else."Old dogs rule" theory. But since he was worried about his little buddy, he gave him a few tips..seek shelter in center of house in small bathroom, sensible shoes......

You sure this will work?

This is a riding trail I have been wanting to go that runs by a small river  about 8 miles from the house. The sign was where the parking lot and trail started. I wonder if I can find a buoy that my horse can wear.

A new song to me

I enjoyed a new song that I heard recently--

“Not Guilty Anymore” These are some of the lyrics--

“It doesn’t matter what you’ve done, doesn’t matter what you’re coming from,  it doesn’t matter where you’ve been.  Hear me tell you, I forgive.

You’re not guilty anymore.  You’re not filthy anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.  You’re not broken anymore, you’re not captive anymore.  I love you, mercy is yours.

Can you believe that this is true.  Grace abundant I am giving you.  It’s cleansing deeper than you know.  All was paid for long ago.

You’re not guilty anymore....."

Beautiful Song. My sister said they often sang it at  her church. But said it never has more meaning than when she goes with a group to feed the homeless at a shelter. She said as they sang, the men would stand there weeping. 

But I need to always remember, my sins are just as hurtful to God. --"We tend to minimize our sin. When we hurt those we love we become aware of our sin. But because we do not see God and see how sin hurts Him we imagine our sin has no effect on him. If we weren't so bad without Christ then why did he have to endure the cross." (from Randy Alcorn's writings) 

Gal. 2:21 "...if righteous could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing."

Bad Weather

Tennessee had a bad weekend across the state. Bad storms, tornados, and flooding. We had at least 7 warnings here with sirens going off. Started in the night Friday night. I know their job is to wake you up and they did their job.  Streets and homes flooded throughout Shelby County. Here is our neighbors pasture

We had a second lake in our pasture.

I enjoy my part time job as a secretary in my church. Two days a week leave me plenty of time for riding, family days, grandkids, etc.

Working at your own church in a small town has plenty of advantages and disadvantages. A church member sees you and needs to tell you something so they won't forget. You might be a women's stall in the restroom and get a prayer request that needs adding to the prayer list. (now what can I write this on?) Or my birthday is the 16th not the 15th.. (I'll try to remember). Or be sitting in church looking at a mistake you made on the big screen and hoping no one else noticed it (It looks to me like it has a neon sign flashing by it.) But where else can you work where you make a mistake and your bosses says "Bless her heart."

Our church office is like our own version of Mayberry. Retired men (woman are never retired) hang out and tell old stories.  But that's okay. You love stories and know most of people. The phone calls that we get can be so funny.."You might tell everyone cows are out down Macon Road" or "How long do eggs keep in the refrigerator"

I remember one widower that came every day for a long time. He and his wife and cleaned the church for years. She died unexpectedly and left him alone. The cemetery was right outside our window. Most days he would just sit in the office and cry. Or sleep.  He knew every inch of that church and it was home to him  and felt close to her.. He would sit for hours each day and we would work around him (quietly when he slept).Some days he would tell old stories and you would try to work and listen. I remember quite often he would quote the preamble to the constitution for us "We the people". Reminded me so much of a Barney episode.