"you cannot give what you do not have"!!!! a word for me to remember

There are those people in our lives who, simply by being in their presence, impart the gift of who they are to us and we become more for having been with them.
We'd been needing to brace the sagging tree house for some time now...
and today, the grandkids were coming for a visit while their mommies helped a friend who's children had that yuck going around... H1N1
Troy gathered all the materials that were heavy and cumbersome and we waited.
I asked why didn't he just get it done before the kids got here?
"Because, he said, it will be more theirs if they have a part in rebuilding the broken part."
So I watched 2 little boys learn how the heavy jack worked,
how bracing the fallen middle gave new life and stability to the fun place they played,
how helping PopT not only meant getting out the tools, but keeping up with them and then putting them away when you finished!
I watched PopT give these two little guys the assurance that only one who is assured can give...
The assurance that
"You can do this!"

This simple scene that so many grandparents get to play out,
brought a very strong word to me today:
YOU CANNOT GIVE WHAT YOU DO NOT HAVE!!!
If Troy did not know that he could have fixed the broken treehouse, he never could have given our two grandsons the assurance that they could fix it.
How can I give joy to someone if I do not have it myself?
How can I give peace to someone if I do not have peace in me?
How do I give comfort, or assurance, or confidence, or security, or even LOVE to someone
if I myself do not feel these things?
The simplest thing in the world is to hand someone one of my possessions or my money... but how much more do I give if I give them the confidence that "this is going to be okay... you can get through this... you can do it!"... I've found that dignity doesn't have a pricetag on it!
and... only someone with dignity, character and integrity can offer this to another.
The offer is not the giver's character,
the offer is the assurance that it is already in the one receiving.
(does that make sense to anyone??)
When you "receive a prophet, you get the gift of the prophet."
To me that doesn't necessarily mean that you are going to get a personal word from the prophet,
(although that too can be a treasure the prophet drops into you)
it means that rubbing up against and believing in his gift, that same ability in you is called forth.
If I feel badly about me, it is quite possible I will become easily offended as well as offer offense,
but, if I feel good about myself... and more importantly
IF I KNOW WHO I AM!!!
I can offer the ones around me the grace to be who they are or
the patience of their becoming who they were created to be.

PopT knows that these little guys are meant to be men of character and integrity...
and that they will finish what they start.
That is who their Poppy is, and so...
that gift can be given to them from one who has the same.

"Look guys... I think we did it!"
"It looks straight to me PopT... let's put your drill bits and tools up and then play."
"It's fun to work PopT, can we do it again?"
"We sure will guys... we surely will!"

note: There is a scripture that comes to my heart over and over as I think of being able to give only what we ourselves have... may I share it? and let the Holy Spirit finish it as only He can?
Acts 3

• 1.
• One day at three o'clock in the afternoon, Peter and John were on their way into the Temple for prayer meeting.

• 2.
• At the same time there was a man crippled from birth being carried up. Every day he was set down at the Temple gate, the one named Beautiful, to beg from those going into the Temple.

• 3.
• When he saw Peter and John about to enter the Temple, he asked for a handout.

• 4.
• Peter, with John at his side, looked him straight in the eye and said, "Look here."

• 5.
• He looked up, expecting to get something from them.

• 6.
• Peter said, "I don't have a nickel to my name, but what I do have, I give you: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"

• 7.
• He grabbed him by the right hand and pulled him up. In an instant his feet and ankles became firm.

• 8.
• He jumped to his feet and walked.

Blessings to us all as we walk with the Spirit of the Living Lord shining through our lives and spilling onto the others who are allowed into our paths!
May we KNOW WHO WE ARE and be assured of the value and worth of our lives to the ONE WHO gave His only Son for our very beings... as His children of Light!

Happy Birthday Mabel, 92 years young! 10/22/09

When we went to TUMC out here in our little community, there is such a familiar face that always comes to my heart..

Well, truthfully there are several... but one rather stands out!

Forrest Reynolds was probably the first face many would see on any given Sunday morning...

He'd hand out the bulletin with his staunch salutation and then proceed as required to the next person coming into the door.

I remember a particular ritual at this little church was the requisite "Lord's Supper",

and Forrest was the one on assignment to keep the parishioners on task.

He'd march to the designated row and in prompt military style,

he'd point our way to the front of the church...

no one dared decline the directive of Forrest...

although I think there was a distinct element of fun lurking close behind the regulated countenance of this pillar of TUMC.

I think this because he had one of the most delightful counterparts in his sweet bride,

Mabel.

Today I was going to visit this precious lady in her new home at the retirement center.

She'd mailed me 4 family recipes

(I'd asked for 1 in particular...

but as I would have guessed, 3 more came with it:)

She'd also given me many bluebonnet seeds through the years...

and today, I wanted to tell her

THE BLUEBONNETS ARE GONNA BE BEAUTIFUL THIS YEAR!!!

When I got there, Mabel was in the EXERCISE ROOM :)

Also ... not surprising.

She showed me around the whole place... and much there was to see I tell you!

BUT.... nothing would do but that I HAD to hear the "entertainment"!

So here I sat.... with other lovely ladies and a few gentlemen...

They sat like we used to at middle school dances...

girls on one side and boys on the other!

I felt like an honored guest as one after another song was requested

"sing it for Carla because she has to go early."

So I heard... something about the "false teeth congregation"...

(a song about seniors picking their false teeth and having a great time with or without them)... then the best... "That's where I got my education"... (back behind the barn)...

oh my.....the giggles that came from that group of fun folks!

I must say the song had just a touch of risky behavior insinuated...

and I felt like each of those over 90 year old eyes were plastered on me

to see how I'd respond.

I do think I blushed a couple of times!

BUT NOT THEM......they just LOVED IT! and the two guys singing....

Well.....perfect!!! They were the kind that you can believe

the "back behind the barn" song was written about... I guarantee!

I do believe they were even flirting with me... in an absolutely charming sort of way! :)

The sensitivity of the lead singer to his older cohort was immediately evident...

they'd done this for a while, and I was privileged to be in attendance!..

The hats were appropriate... and the guy in the starched pants...

well, I assure you, this was not his first time on stage.

I really feel like his life had probably been lived out

on whatever stage he happened to be that particular day.

Starched pants, caramel ostrich boots and matching belt, and a Stetson to be sure...

this guy KNEW how to dress to please his audience!

As they sang one after another, I got taken back to the places they

(and their audience) had been, toes tapping and a two step right beneath the surface...

their eyes sparkled with the not too distant memories.

It was a good day....

and I'd only planned to deliver a jar of my favorite hand cream to one of my favorite Tuscola ladies.... with the word that the bluebonnets should be in bloom next spring!

BTW.... I had no idea that the next day Mabel would be 92!

I'd never have known.... Happy Birthday Mabel, and thanks for an unexpectedly lovely day!

PIGS!!! Wild, Feral HOGS!!! trouble, guns, traps, snares, and red/white/blue undies!

NOW these sit by the door awaiting Troy's swift dismissal of the offending culprits who
are destroying my yard!
Namely.....
THE PIGS!

We'd seen that we had visitors of the renegade sort one morning as I awakened to a most troubling sight!
My entire front yard appeared to have been root plowed, and the roots were my
wonderfully lush green yard!
We were furious.... we'd thought the armadillos were bad
and skunks the worst of our worries...
Until!!!
PIGS!!!
Troy had a plan:
wait up and sleep in the car and when the marauding band made their nightly raid..
BOOM... they'd be met with all the firepower that my man could muster!
I think he had every gun in our arsenal loaded and ready in his truck....
just waiting for the moment.
I had images of the old cavalry where they had a series of muskets loaded to fight the enemy with the quickest of responses...
We were ready.

Luckily Troy parked beside the house not in front,
his car would have been a direct hit with this loaded pecan limb!...
not good when you are a man on a mission!

The pen was set up and ready as back up to the plan A attack from the truck
in the cover of darkness didn't pan out as it should!
The pigs had decided to do more damage to the new little green house area behind the barn thus insuring Troy's absolute resolve for their demise.
The back yard was safe as far as we could tell... cattle panel was sufficient detriment to the opportunistic horde.
My grass had a hero and as dusk fell over the night of destruction,
Troy settled into his CHAIR for a few quiet moments
before he took up his stand from the truck. He estimated they'd come in around 3...
so he had a bit of time to rest up before the attack.
About 10:30PM Troy decided it might be more advantageous to have the guns by the door instead of in the car... just in case!
So he headed out the door
He didn't come immediately back, and I heard quite a commotion as I ran to the kitchen...
What I saw looked like something Jerry Clower would tell....
There was my hero...
glasses still beside the bed,
fashionably dressed for comfort in the American flag boxers,
and no shoes on his tender feet.
He had a 4 inch flashlight between his teeth,
and he was madly trying to cock the shotgun
(or whatever gun it is you do that with??) to get off another shot..
I lifted my shoulders in question as he pointed the flashlight to the front yard...
THERE .... THEY'RE already HERE!!!
(sorta said in mumbling fashion necessary with a flashlight in your mouth)
It seems that PIGS are SMART!!!
They do not follow the rules of habit, they just do what they want when they want!
IT WAS BAD!!!!
AS the pigs made a mad dash AWAY from the madman in the flag boxers...
my man decided that since he couldn't really see them without glasses,
he'd just "shoot out amongst them" and maybe hit whatever was in range....
As it turned out.... NOTHING was in range!
A rather disappointing night it was!
IF THEY THINK they're getting in here.... they've got another think coming!
We armed Plan B.... with corn.... LOTS OF IT!!! and our secret ingredient....
Raspberry jello........
It worked.... BIG PIG in the trap
MAD PIG IN THE TRAP!!!
and once again it seems....
Pigs are smart....
If you don't get to the Big PIG in the trap quickly....
THEY JUMP OUT!!!
Evidently pigs don't appreciate comfortably arranged seating areas...
as this was spared their rampage.
My gerbers had just been planted, and they too were spared...
I think my sweet friends were praying for a bit of sanity in this horrible mess....
THANK the LORD...
BUT.... for the moment.... chaos reigns in these other places!
For the past few nights we've been pig free...
Maybe they decided they'd met their match in the barefoot superhero with a flashlight between his teeth, a double barrel shotgun in his grasp, striding confidently onto the front porch right in the middle of their nightly shenanigans.
I think it more likely that it was the fact that Stan, our neighbor trapped 13 of them in one night putting a serious dent in their company.
PIGS!!!!
THEY'RE BAD!!!
side note: I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Troy and Stan were trading pig tales... seems that Stan unloaded 17 shots from his handgun into the horde in the wee hours one morning... ALSO going on the Jerry Clower suggestion of "firing amongst them"... ALSO not hitting a one!
Seems that the armadillos and skunks are safe for the time being.... we've got bigger "fish" to fry these days!

Vinnie and Pearl

For the past 6 months, this has been the home of Vinnie and Pearl, my remaining guineas. They've grown almost to full size, and will be moved shortly to a new home closer to the barn. This will be traumatic for them,
but it will be best...
Then.... Latte and Ebear can once again have their little pen outside
(so the owls don't consider them a meal,
they have to stay in a pen if we are not with them:)
Latte is just waiting for her chance at a more up close and personal visit with the
funny looking birds in her pen.
I know that some people think they are ugly birds,
but you should hear the sweet sounds they make...
unless an unfamiliar person or animal is in the area!
These are known to be better alarms than a watchdog... don't tell my doggies!
Pearl is a female, and dark;
Vinnie is a male and
what is called a Lavender guinea fowl.
We love to collect the unusual feathers and I can find one or another of the grandkids with a pocket full after a visit to the guinea pens.

Happy 5th B'day SJ!!! so many kiddoes! Oct. 6th

Who wants cake??
Double Chocolate Decadence with a Big Football on top! Sooooo SJ!!!
And before we eat.... all the kids pose for a "warrior" and Princess shot in the cool green grass!
All the dads and grandads sit in Em's living room watching those Cowboys...
Will they win this time?
Don't you love SJ's shirt....????
Yes, HE IS GOD'S!!!
my one who will open doors with authority and shut the ones that need shutting!
I gave him what I was led to give him with the words....
"you will hear the hearts of the people and KNOW what to do!"
I do believe this one is called to just that!
Coach Wartes helped PopT get another one of a kind gift for this one...
A #3 football jersey from HSU with a special signature from the one who probably
wore this exact jersey!, his dad!
Happy Birthday SJ... KNOW you are loved!

Butterflies, spiderwebs, and Fall gardens :)

Butterfly Bush is just what it claims to be, a butterfly magnet!
At the cottages the butterflies are too numerous and varied to count!
Lovely!!!
Right outside the 2 bedroom cottage kitchen window, there is a cacophony of chaotic color!
...and my little North gardens love the cooler weather.
We just got some of the nicer cows in the klinegrass field...
I love hearing them and their sweet sounds.
Not many people are in the pool these days, but the gardens are making one of their most colorful displays... so I have to go out at least once a day before the first frost of the season.
These damp foggy morning make the normally invisible strikingly apparent.
The owner of this web is probably not too happy with the prospect of his work going to naught with the droplets counteracting the stickiness....
but it was beautiful to me!

Fall Ball and Baby blue shirts!

What could make 3 BIG guys wear baby blue tie dye shirts?
A precious little blond blue-eyed girl who loves all three with all her heart!
Uncle Wibby coaches first!
Dad, coaches third!
PopT coaches from the dugout....
and all three provide the perfect compliment to a group of girls that
are learning that with these three....
It's safe to learn and it FUN TO WIN!!!!

Third "Bowl"....completes the trilogy

the 3rd bowl...
It was a serious concern for me,
but it shouldn't have been.
Hobe and his son had beautifully carved hands holding the bowls that would bring light into the prayer chapel.
They had chosen not to finish what they'd started, so we have been left with a beautiful unfinished chapel for 3 years now... but one never knows what the LORD has in store.
The 3rd bowl is a good example.

The artist came in and sat humbly if not a bit uncomfortably at my table and said...
I can do this if you feel led to give me the chance.
I had in mind another like the first two, but as we sat there, and the monarchs drifted on the breezes outside, Blaine had an inspired idea.
"you know... a father and son did the first two, how about if we do the third different? how about we do the third with the wings of the monarchs?"
ABSOLUTELY perfect!!! As he said it, I KNEW that was exactly what it was meant to be!
Thank You Lord for YOUR perfect timing... even if it is NOT mine! and maybe even
BECAUSE it is NOT MINE!!!
As I type this.... the chapel is still in progress, and I'm not even sure if it will be finished this time,
BUT one thing I do know is that each part that IS finished on this makes it more and more what
there is no way that I could have imagined in my simple image of a tee pee like structure with a fire pit in the center, and a hole in the top...
a place to mark covenants that have been made in this place and
the ones that HAVE YET TO BE MADE!!!
This chapel is certainly not about me!
THANK YOU FATHER for each part YOU add in just the right way!
I LOVE IT!

Happy Birthday Pop: Sept. 24th 2009

Nana will always make this coconut cake (see my recipe blog for the recipe~~)
This year it was probably the best I can remember!
Always a bit of trouble, but Pop's very favorite...
Silver Cake, 7 minute frosting, covered in coconut with the required cherries on top!
This year Pop was with all his girls
(except our pregnant and not feeling too good Kaely, and our out of town Carrie...
plus the little ones at school)
but all girls and Pop!
what a place to be!


I think this one says it all.... the look of Pop's face says...
This is the best birthday of all!
Happy birthday my Dad....
You're one of a kind, and we love you!