Rose

Andrew just came in with some shocking news. As I shared last week, he was down in Linton helping our organic farming friend, Dave S. put in his crop. Andrew spent 5 days helping Dave and 3 of those nights he stayed with Dave in the home of Dave's mother, Rose S. She cooked up a storm for Dave and Andrew. Andrew said, "I feel like I'm part of the family already."

Well, Dave just called and said that his mother, Rose, died last night. It was sudden and Andrew is rather lost. He needs to go back down on Thursday, when the ground is dry enough, and help Dave finish seeding but on Friday we will all go to Linton for Rose's funeral.

Rose and her husband Pete (who passed over a few years ago), raised 13 children. As far as we can tell, they are all moral, hard-working citizens who love their families. My hat's off to you, Rose, and prayers to you, Dave!

Please pray for the children and their families!

I DID get stuck

I'm going to start my post with some pictures of my favorite animal friends, although I won't write about them until the end of the post. Call me, "Lazy," but it gets so old dragging a bunch of pictures down the page half a mile. :)

This is our dog, Millie, who has been with us almost 2 years. She tries to help herd the cattle, but ends up in front of them somehow. We're working on it, though, as she has learned to come for a doggie bone almost all the time now.

Cora's aquarium is so aluring as one enters the world of under the water.

Cora's sweet Basset Hound, Millie also, whom she renamed, Lady. We are all in love with her ears.

A few of our turkeys and a chicken greeting each other, "Good morning," as they pass.

My sweet old, Clara, and me in the milking parlor a few weeks ago.

Mama and baby in the calving pen. This one needed a little help getting her calf out. The yellow tag means that she is one of Andrew's animals.

A lovely robin I spied in the tree by the deck.

Our little chicks we're raising after their mom hatched them out for us. We don't seem to have much success with incubators.

My very best friends, the goats!

The Holstein calves that we bottle fed last year. These animals, being they were hand fed, are very tame.

And now for my post.

I REALLY DID GET THE TRACTOR STUCK--and I was NOT very popular around here for it!

It happened late Friday evening. It was so exasperating as I had gone around 3 lakes during the course of the day. At each one of those lakes in the field I was working, I was able to keep moving that 300 horse power tractor less than 20 feet away from standing water. That morning had gone GREAT and I was so happy that I was strong and healthy and able to help with the field work.

I finished that 30+ acre field by noon. I was just in time to see our friend from South Carolina leave with our 1486 which they were renting from us to plant their field plots on their farm 8 miles from here. I waved a, "Glad to see you back in ND, Gaylin," and felt on top of the world.

After lunch I took a nap as I knew the 50+ acre field that I had hoped to finish yet before Sabbath lay ahead of me. I try not to do so much field work as bouncing around out there tends to be hard on my neck. When I awoke, I jumped in my, "Carriage" as Robert calls our 4890 Case "Big" tractor and drove south to do the field around the Kintyre curve. He usually drives the tractor up in front of the house for me; pops his head in the door; and says, "Your carriage awaits." :)

Storm clouds threatened our progress, but I started the field with high hopes of finishing it before dark if I would push hard. Robert was working across the road from me planting corn and I waved at him when our tractors ended up facing each other at the end of our fields. HOW ROMANTIC!

Once I got a big rock stuck in between the disc blades, but Cora and Jacob got it out for me as they were out there picking rocks out of the places where the rock piles were. They had the pry bar so I just let them help me out while I cleaned out the mud between one of the places where the scraper had broken out.

At first I tried loosening up the places where the big excavator had driven, but Robert said that we needed the chisel plow for that. After I gave that up, I did some serious praying that the Lord would send the rain around our field so that I could finish it before the start of Sabbath at sunset. He seemed very obliging too, as the storm moved to the North and I was bathed in Spring sunshine which lifted my hopes that I'd be able to finish the field.

Robert and I REALLY both enjoy finishing big projects before the beginning of Sabbath. However, it wasn't to be this time. You see, I came to this low place that looked rather dampish but there was NOT one drop of visible water standing in the field. I thought, "No problem, there's not even any water standing in this field." I charged through, with little difficulty although I did have to lift the disc a tiny bit. Little did I know that different soil types have different affects on tractor sinkability, but I was about to find out.

I was pushing hard and trying to estimate if I'd be able to finish up before dark. The fact that the field is cut away for the curve in the road, gave me a little hope. I didn't think about it much when I came back to the low spot in the field. I guess I should have. All of a sudden the tires started spinning and, when I lifted up the disc to help me plow through, NOTHING HAPPENED.

I kept going for a little while, unable to accept that I had indeed gotten that big beastly tractor stuck in a place where there was no standing water. "How can this be?" I asked the Lord. Gradually it DAWNED on me that I was REALLY stuck. I gulped hard; put the tractor in neutral; pulled down the throttle; and prayed.

"Now Lord, you don't REALLY mean to leave me sitting here like this, do you?" No answer. So I prayed for wisdom to know how to drive out of there and I put the thing in first gear and was positive that I would be able to drive out of there. Nope.

It took a lot of courage for me to call Robert, knowing how STRONGLY he wanted to finish his field before dark too. I was almost relieved when I got his voice mail as I very weakly left a message, "I'm stuck." Then I called the house but Cora and Jacob were out at chores yet. I left the same message there and called Andrew who told me that he had just left Linton and was 45 minutes away.

To make a VERY long story short, the guys all came out to the field to help their damsel in distress. They ended up having to unhook the disk and pull it out backwards. Without all of that weight behind, Robert was able to drive the tractor out of the slop. Then they re-hooked the disc and Robert drove the tractor and disc home.

But what was I doing during all of that? Well, it had become apparent that I needed to surrender the driver's seat to Robert. When I stepped down off of the tractor, the mud instantly sucked off one of my shoes. The next step I took, the other shoe also was sucked off of my foot by the mud. How lovely. Here I was a foot and a half deep in mud with NO SHOES.

By this time, it was dark outside. I drug myself through the muck over to where Jacob was standing a safe distance from the tow chains. I told him that I'd lost my shoes but we had no time to look for them as Robert and Andrew were trying to get the equipment moved around and we needed to stay away from them as they couldn't see us in the dark. It's kind of terrifying to be standing barefoot in mud with big equipment moving around you in the dark.

All in all, I was standing in the dark with no shoes and my feet and legs covered in mud for about half an hour. There was nothing to do about it as the loader tractor was needed to help pull out the disk and Robert was in the Beast. My feet were so cold and I was so miserable that I couldn't help but sob on Jacob's shoulder.

Finally, the tractor and disc were re-hooked together, on solid ground, so that we could have the loader tractor. Jacob took me home then and I have never been so happy to take a nice, warm shower in my life!!!!!!! I thought about taking a picture of my muddy socks but you can't really see anything but a big glob of mud. Jacob said, "I'd throw those out if I were you, Mom." I haven't wanted to touch them yet, so they're still laying in the entryway where I left them that night. They blend in pretty well with the rest of the entry way, as everyone is dragging in so much mud these days!

We were all VERY thankful that they were able to get the tractor and disc out of the mud hole that night as it's been raining ever since. In fact, we've had 4 1/2 inches of rain since then. When I am tempted to feel sorry for myself for getting a cold out of the deal OR to be mad at myself for not getting the field done that night, I just picture the tractor floating out there with all of this rain, and then I am able to find SOMETHING to be glad about.

So, YES, I DID get the tractor stuck. Thanks to the most ingenious men in the world, though, it now sits in the yard waiting for things to dry out so that I can go finish the field. I wonder if I'll see my shoes floating on the top?

What else is new around here? Well, tomorrow is my last day in my office on South Washington in Bismarck. I am soooooooooo excited to pick up the keys to my new office. I ordered some things for that office but I'm going to save the details until later when I can show you pictures of it. My office will go from a suite of rooms to just one 10 X 12 foot room. However, it is the same price as a fifth of the suite and I CAN HAVE ACCESS TO IT ALL THE TIME!!!! No more sharing the room!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I really do need to go finish my kombucha batch. Have I told you that I am in love with kombucha? I'm in the brain field you know. I mean it helps to have brains when I'm driving tractor but it REALLY helps when I'm doing BodyTalk sessions. Whenever my brain starts getting fuzzy, I drink some kombucha and it gets right back on track within minutes. It's wonderful stuff and I'd be happy to send anybody a free starter kit, but you'll need to pay the postage. Cora just sent 2 of them to her blogging friends and it cost over $9 to ship them.

Anyway, I am wondering if anyone has ever made kombucha with Apple cider tea from Bigelow? I'm going to give it a try as all of the ingrediants are warming and it smells heavenly. I'll let you know how I like it in about 10 days. :)

Other than that, my washing machine died yesterday; Cora's little buckling, Roger, has stolen my heart; everyone is out loading up scrap metal today as the guys are going to take up a load tomorrow and help me move into my new office; and we got an invitation today in the mail to Ben Dagley and Hannah Stover's wedding next month.

My truly BIG news, though, is that I took an animal communication class on Sunday with a bunch of BodyTalkers in Bismarck. It was an incredibly exciting experience to learn how to tune into the thoughts of Kris's 2 gorgeous cats. The Lord had a wonderful surprise in store for me, though, that has made me so happy ever since.

I'm sure all of you know how much I have been grieving the loss of my beautiful, Brown Swiss cow Clara! Well, I shared how I have been grieving Clara when Kris started to smile. You see, I had just assumed that Clara would be in someone's freezer by now so that is why I was totally stunned when she said, "Clara's still alive!"

"REALLY? How do you know?"

Kris smiled, "Because you can't tune into dead animals." DAAAAAAAAAA

She told me that she had tuned into Clara's frequency and found that she is still alive but going backwards with all of the rain and something else. "She's asking you to keep doing BodyTalk on her," Kris said.

I sat dumbfounded for a few moments. WHY HADN'T I EVER THOUGHT OF THAT????? If I can do distance sessions on people, why couldn't I do them on my dear, sweet Clara? Another DAAAAAAA.

That was when my tears of grief turned to tears of joy. Kris smiled at me and said, "You CAN keep in touch with your cow by doing BodyTalk sessions on her just like you did when she lived with you." OH FOR JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She cautioned me, though with these words, "You will know that she is dead when you can no longer tune into her frequency." That makes sense.

I did a long session for my girl on the way home that night and short ones each day since. She's doing better now! You know how I know? I ask, "Are you feeling better, Clara?" I got a YES through our biofeedback technique that we use in BT.

Then I asked, "How much better? What percent?"

Yesterday she was 42% better than she had been on Sunday. Today I got that she was 92% better than she had been on Sunday. YEAH!!!!!!!!!!! GO, CLARA, GO!!!!!!

So you see, God wanted me to go to that animal communication class because he knew that the grief of thinking she was dead was too much for me to bear right now--especially since she ISN'T. I needed to be with Kris, who has the skills to tune in to all animals (she's been doing this for 6 years), to learn that I really CAN keep in touch with my girl through her daily BT sessions.

My heart is so much happier now as I see that the Lord opened my eyes to see the door that I had been using to care for my girl STILL EXISTS!!! I just have to do it from a distance, but what do I care. As long as I know that my Clara is well, I am happy. I'm not sure why I didn't think of doing that before, but I just assumed that she would be slaughtered immediately.

I do realize that only animal lovers would ever be able to grasp what I am trying to say here, but that's ok. I was with a room-full of animal lovers on Sunday, so I know that I'm not the only one who cares so intensely for our furry friends. Animals have always been the ones who loved me through the rough times in my life. Now I'm just thrilled to be able to return their love on a whole new plane.

Best get to the performance session that I'm doing for a fellow BodyTalker who is graduating tomorrow. It's my gift to her with the hopes that it will help her to be the very best that she can be on her special day.

Thanks for listening to my ramblings!

Dawn

I didn't get stuck

Well, I know that it's time for me to be in bed but I just finished a BT session on a pregnant client of mine who is due any day. My mind isn't quite ready to go from work to sleep so I thought I'd just say that I started driving tractor today.

Everyone is late here getting going with seeding as it's been so wet. I've never actually driven in a field where there was standing water the size of a small lake. Robert was out in the field picking rocks so I gave him a call and said, "I don't mean to sound stupid, but what do you do when you come to the water?"

His reply was, "Well, I wouldn't go driving through it unless you want to get stuck."

HMM. "Well," I asked, "how close can I get to it?"

Very matter-of-factly he responded, "That depends on the tractor driver."

Well, it didn't take long to figure out just how close was too close to the water. I was surprised that I could go right past the standing water when I was one disk width (24 feet) away. The next time I drove by the lake in the field, I was about 10 feet away from the water when suddenly my big wheels started spinning. OOPS

Quickly I lifted the disk out of the ground and prayed like mad. I turned sharply away from the water and rocked like a person does when you're in a stuck vehicle. Why do we do that? As if our little puny bodies could make a difference when a 300 horse power tractor is having trouble.

I'm sure it was the prayers and not my rocking that got me to solid ground after a little while of agony. I didn't go that close again and I finished around 10:00 by going all the way around the lake.

Robert had gone home to feed the cows and then he came back to pick me up. As I walked from the tractor to the van in the dark, I breathed in the wonderful smell of freshly turned organic soil. I was talking to Robert on the phone, as I had called him to ask some questions about shutting down the huge beast for the night. I said to my husband of almost 30 years, "Oh, the farm life is sooooooooo wonderful." He just grunted as he had been picking rocks all evening by hand.

I will be so glad when all of the rocks are picked but I'll tell you one thing. I drove through several places where there used to be rock piles and it was soo wonderful not to have to go around them. The railroad had to quit taking them for now so I did have to go around several in the field, but it's such a joy to know that there are not ANY rock piles in the quarter across the road. PRAISE THE LORD!!!

Well, my brain is starting to unwind now so I guess I'll say, "Good night." I'll try to get some pictures of the 4890 tomorrow. I miss my Andrew as he is off disking for our friend but it kind of tickled me to think that we were both disking today--just about 50 miles apart.

GOODNIGHT ANDREW! GOODNIGHT CORA! GOODNIGHT JACOB! GOODNIGHT ROBERT! GOODNIGHT EVERYBODY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Nudge

I am sooooo grateful to those of you who have said that you pray for me! Like I shared in my last post, prayer truly IS the most incredible gift that anyone could ever give another person--other than leading them to the Lord, of course!

So much has happened here this past week. Ever since Jacob's test, I've been wanting to share how the Lord used that testing experience to show me that I needed to sell my milk-cow, Clara. I cried, after Jacob's test was finished, as I told Kristen and Jacob about how hard it was to release Clara, but that I could see that Jacob needs to be my priority. Kristen patted Jacob's hand then, and said to him, "You have a good mom."

That was great and soothing then, but this morning when I went out to the barn and she was gone, there truly was no comfort for me to be had. I cried and cried most of the morning. Now, when the guys left to go watch last year's calves be sold, I just couldn't go with. It's the first time since we started farming again that I had no desire to go with to the sale. How can I go there knowing that Clara is there waiting to be put on some truck for some feedlot somewhere--at best.

I think you all know what the, "At worst" part is. I tried to convince myself to keep her until she died, like I did with my all-time-favorite milk goat, Rachel. However, Clara is worth a lot of money alive and NONE dead. Also I can't imagine the grief I'd go through watching her decline. To eat her ourselves is out of the question. I used to laugh at city slickers who were timid about eating an animal. However, Clara is one animal that I know I could never stomach eating.

This morning when I pondered writing this post, I was going to call it, "Perfect timing." I was going to share how God led me to my very own BodyTalk office yesterday in Bismarck on the very same day that my family hauled Clara in to the sales barn (the day before the sale). I praised God last night through my tears, as I thought of Clara being in the sales barn instead of here at home with me, that He had brought me a new joy on the day of such a great sorrow.

I really AM excited about my new office, but the reality of Clara's empty stall this morning has been hitting hard today. Clara was my friend. She was 14 years old and I dreamed of helping her to reach the distinciton of being the oldest cow in the world through her regular BodyTalk sessions. Some day soon I will post her last formal session report--when I have the heart for it. I did that session the day that Jacob was testing and it is a comfort to know that God really does want me to sell her so that I can focus on Jacob's schooling as my business grows. Like I told Kristen, "Something has to give," and it was a comfort to me that day when she understood what I meant.

Well, it's NOT going to be home schooling that goes--there are 4 wonderful years of home schooling left before I have to say goodbye to THAT chapter in my life. I can't imagine how I'll cry that day, after investing 21 years of my life into my children in that way. Still, I milked Clara night and day (except when I was ill or busy in the fields or nowadays with clients) for over 5 years. [Oh Clara, how I miss you my dear sweet Brown Swiss cow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!] You probably guessed that I'm crying again, so it is so nice to be alone here and be able to write about my sadness at parting with the most wonderful cow in the whole wide world.

So now you understand why I didn't want to go along to the sale. I told my men-folk that I would stay home and do a few distance BT sessions that need doing. Then Andrew gave me THE NUDGE!!!! He's nudged me a few times over the past couple of years to finish my book. However, since he got back from a home school graduation recenly, he has been studying self-publishing as the graduate was trying to find ways to publish a book that she had written.

If you remember YELLOW DAISIES, then you've been around a long time. I started it when I was yet VERY ill, as my mind needed to know that I was doing good with my time even when my body was still bed-ridden. It also seemed to take my mind off of the pain in my body to be focusing on the early days of our marriage. When I got well, it seemed like a distasteful task to finish it. So much pain is tied up in it that I'd just as soon forget the whole thing.

I know that the Lord wants the story told about how He saved Robert's and my marriage 20 years ago. I know that He wants me to share how I could have contracted a lethal disease from the man that I thought was somehow an improvement on the one that God had given to me. I've known for almost 20 years that the Lord wanted me to tell the story in written form because every person that I told it to verbally was deeply touched by the love of God for Robert; myself, and our family.

I guess I just thought that someday, when I'm not so busy I'd finish YELLOW DAISIES. Now I feel Him urging me to go and work on it some more TODAY!!! Today, when my heart is grieving the loss of my dear Clara AND the house is quiet--THIS IS THE TIME I MUST WRITE.

First, though, I need to know that others will pray for me. PLEASE pray for me to finish this work. After I got into the story, I could see that the Lord was trying to do MORE than just show how HE saved our marriage. I believe that He will use it to soften the hearts of those who question HIS plan for one man to marry one woman and raise children together who will serve and love HIM--the giver of life. I covet all of your prayers as I again take the time and energy to dig into the past!

Andrew urged me to consider that my finishing the story can possibly make us some money. How I have detested money most of my life, but now I see that a Christian can do more good with money than without it. After all, it's going to take quite a bit of money to build the health center here that He showed me He would do when I was up at Paulette's on my deathbed.

Perhaps I really AM ready to finish YELLOW DAISIES?

Before I go dig into that project, though, I simply MUST pay tribute to the incredible cow who stole my heart with her quiet dignity the first time that I laid eyes on her 5 years ago. Being she's a Brown Swiss, I had thought of calling her, "Heidi" as I so love that movie filmed in the Swiss Alps. Everyone here chuckled at that name, though, so I picked Heidi's cousin, Clara, instead.

I hope that you will enjoy this last picture review of milking time, taken a few weeks ago, here at SEEDS OF HONOR! By the way, 4 of our 6 milk cows were sold today in Napoleon; one will be hamburger for our customers; and the sixth one, Sally, is still here pumping milk for our bottle calves whose mothers couldn't care for them. Andrew plans to get Sally put into a good home as she is young and a good milker with many good years ahead of her yet. For now, though, Sally is safe at home with us.

This picture is kind of dark but you can see Cheerio (Andrew's cow) leading the way; Lilac (Jacob's cow) is in the shadows pulling into her stall beside Cheerio; and Clara is next but still outside. This was our second batch. In the first batch not shown were Sally (Andrew's cow), Louisa (Cora's cow), and Sadie (Cora's cow).

Here is Clara pulling into her stall on the South end of the milking parlor. I just love her ears which are full of soft hair. I love her big, brown eyes which gaze at me with wonder, but the part that I love the most about her is the light circle of hair all around her muzzle. I wanted to touch it so many times but never did. A couple of times she let me touch her ear, though. I could lean up against her side or leg any time I wanted and oftentimes, her calf would kick at me. Oh, what a wonderful thing it is to be loved by a diary cow!!!!

Once the cows were in their stalls, somebody would pull the cables that locked in their head-gates so that they couldn't get out. Depending on the weather, we'd close the big barn door. Here is Cora enjoying the lovely Spring weather.

When I did my BodyTalk sessions on Clara, I'd pull up a chair beside her. She'd perk up her ears to hear what I'd say. Sometimes, she'd stop chewing her oats and gaze at me with her gorgeous brown eyes. I'd find the links and then tap them on myself most of the time. Sometimes I'd need to tap them on her but she never minded. I'd take the brush and give her a scratch if her session was short. OH HOW I LOVE THAT COW!!!!

Cora caught this one of me as I said, "Goodbye" to my girl until next time.

The thing that separates that day from this one is that now there isn't going to be any more next times. CLARA IS GONE AND MY DREAM OF HAVING THE OLDEST LIVING COW IS GONE WITH HER. Worse than that--MY FRIEND IS GONE FOREVER!

Please pray for me,

Dawn

PRAYER IS INCREDIBLE

Years ago, when Andrew was a baby, I was going through a very difficult time. Andrew's neck had been injured at his birth, but we didn't know that this was why he seemed to be in pain all the time, and never slept more than an hour and a half at a time. This means that for 18 months, I never got more than an hour and a half rest at a time.

Sleep deprivation can mess up ANYBODY and 18 months of it had me TOTALLY off! That was when I was invited to attend the World Day of Prayer event at one of the Baptist churches in Bismarck. The speaker was on video and she shared how she had personally done research on prayer for decades.

This woman's church had a team of prayer warriors. Whenever one of them would receive a nudge from God to pray for someone on the prayer list, they would record the exact time that they prayed for them. Later someone would call the person who had been prayed for to see how they were doing. ALWAYS--EVERY TIME--the person started improving within minutes after the prayer had been sent up on their behalf.

Well, I decided to start praying for Andrew in earnest. I begged God constantly for the answer to his problem. The Lord then made it perfectly clear that He wanted me to take Andrew to a local pediatric chiropractor. A friend, who had been praying for Andrew also, told me that she had felt led to share the name of this chiropractor.

To make a long story short, Andrew's neck was terribly out of whack from his birth. The night of his first chiropractic treatment, he slept TEN HOURS! I should say that WE slept 10 hours! Sure, he needed more treatments, but Andrew responded quickly to the adjustments and we got our peaceful home back. PRAYER REALLY WORKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning, when I received this forward from my childhood friend, I just KNEW that I was to take the time to read it! OH MY--THANK YOU ANNA! I pray that all of you who read this story will take it to heart. EVERY problem that you have is of interest to the God who made you. How powerfully HE longs to reach out and bless you as he blessed me with Dr. Carol almost 20 years ago. PLEASE DO NOT THINK THAT YOUR PROBLEMS ARE OF NO INTEREST TO GOD WHO MADE YOU!

Have you trials and temptations, take it to the Lord in prayer.............

KEEP PRAYING FOR ALL OF THOSE YOU LOVE--AND, IF YOU THINK ABOUT IT, COULD YOU PLEASE PRAY FOR ME TODAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dawn



Have you ever felt the urge to pray for someone and then just put it on a list and said, 'I'll pray for them later' ? Or has anyone ever called you and said, "I need you to pray for me, I have this need?" and you were so burdened with your own needs that you just let it run off your back like water off a duck?

I urge you to read the following story that was sent to me. May it change the way that you may think about prayer and also the way you pray. You will be blessed by this....

A missionary on furlough told this true story while
Visiting his home church in Michigan ..

'While serving at a small field hospital in Africa ,
Every two weeks I traveled by bicycle
Through the jungle to a nearby city for supplies..
This was a journey of two days and
Required camping overnight at the halfway point.

On one of these journeys, I arrived in the city
Where I planned to collect money from a bank,
Purchase medicine, and supplies, and then begin
My two-day journey back to the field hospital.

Upon arrival in the city, I observed two men fighting,
One of whom had been seriously injured.
I treated him for his injuries and at the same time
Talked to him about the Lord.

I then traveled two days, camping overnight, and
Arrived home without incident....

Two weeks later I repeated my journey.
Upon arriving in the city,
I was approached by the young man I had treated.
He told me that he had known I carried
Money and medicines.
He said, 'Some friends and I followed you in to the jungle,
Knowing you would camp overnight.
We planned to kill you and take your money and drugs.
But just as we were about to move into your camp,
We saw that you were surrounded by 26 armed guards.

At this, I laughed and said that I was
Certainly all alone in that jungle campsite..
The young man pressed the point, however, and said,
'No, sir, I was not the only person to see the guards,
My friends also saw them, and we all counted them.
It was because of those guards that
We were afraid and left you alone.'

At this point in the sermon,
One of the men in the congregation jumped to his feet and
interrupted the missionary and asked if he could tell him the
exact day this happened. The missionary told the congregation
the date, and The man who interrupted told him this story:

'On the night of your incident in Africa ,
It was morning here and I was preparing to go play golf.
I was about to putt when I felt the urge to pray for you..
In fact, the urging of the Lord was so strong,
I called men in this church to meet with me here
In the sanctuary to pray for you.

Would all of those men who met with me on that day stand up?'
The men who had met together to pray that day stood up.
The missionary wasn't concerned with whom they were,
He was too busy counting how many men he saw.

There were 26.

This story is an incredible example of how the Spirit of the Lord
moves in behalf of those who love Him.
If you ever feel such prodding to pray, go along with it,
you don't know what it can mean to that person..

Nothing is ever hurt by prayer except the gates of hell.
I encourage you to forward this to as many people as you know.
If we all take it to heart,
We can turn this world toward God once again.
As the above true story clearly illustrates,
'With God all things are possible'.

More importantly, how God hears and
Answers the prayers of the faithful.

After you read this, please pass it on and
Give God thanks for the beautiful gift of your faith,
For the powerful gift of prayer, and for the many miracles
He works in your own daily life... And then pass it on
Who says God does not move on the earth today?

I asked the Lord to bless you as I prayed for you today.
To guide you and protect you as you go along your way.
His love is always with you, His promises are true,
and when we give Him our cares you know
He will see us through.
So when the road you're traveling on seems difficult at best, Just remember I'm
here praying, and
God will do the rest.

Pass this on to those whom you want God to bless
I Can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Date set

I hadn't intended to post again so soon, but I just received an email from my brother stating that the date for my dad's household auction sale is now set for Sunday, July 11th. Isn't it interesting that I should hear this today, as I have been wondering for a while when it would be? I wonder why the Lord chose Mother's Day to inform me of the date when my childhood home and contents will be sold?

I covet your prayers as this means MUCH work. It also means rubbing shoulders with my brothers. My natural instinct is to groan here, but only God knows if this could be my last chance to share HIS love with them. Please pray that I will have the wisdom and courage to take my rightful place in the family. This may well mean my standing up to these people who have pushed me around all my life. OH HELP! Mostly pray that the Lord's peace will shine through me, and our family, in such a way as to stir up a desire in their hearts to know our Lord's love and forgiveness for themselves!

May God bless all of you, who have prayed for my family of origin, with His best blessings! I love you all! Here's a hug!

Dawn

The Lord taketh away and the Lord giveth

THE LORD TAKETH AWAY AND THE LORD GIVETH!!!

I know that this passage is usually reversed in our minds. The concept comes from the book of Job in the Bible. God had just allowed Satan to remove most of Job's riches, except for his wife. Job's wife, supposedly his biggest blessing from God, had just advised Job to "Curse God, and die." Job said to his wife, "What, shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away."

As I ponder, today on Mother's Day, the many children that the Lord took away from us through miscarriage, I am saddened again. Sometimes I wonder what my life would have been like if they had lived. Sometimes my grief for them, like last night at family prayer time, flows out fresh tears of sorrow as I miss my babies. Some of them would be in their late teens, with the youngest being about 5 years old.

Robert and I would have had a VERY full quiver--even according to home school standards, had our children all lived. One time a friend asked me how I was able to bear repeated miscarriages. I told her, "Robert just kept saying to me, 'You need to keep thinking about what you HAVE and not about what you have LOST!!!'"

That thought has indeed helped me as I eventually was able to accept that God intended for us to have 3 living children. Hence, although the Lord took away most of our children, He gave us THREE LIVING ONES. For a long time it was very hard thinking of all of the dead ones as "Failures". Now I see, though, that the Lord had it all planned out as He has allowed me to play a role in helping many families through my BodyTalk business. Why, just this afternoon I was blessed to be able to work with a husband and dad whose life affects many others. Praise the Lord for shaping my life in this awesome way!

As I share these new pictures from around here, I decided to continue with the taketh away/giveth theme. Pollyanna would say, "It's how you play the glad game." My goal is to help each one of you, to begin to look for the bright side of EVERY situation.

Although my grandmothers and mother aren't here to enjoy the Spring flowers anymore, I am soooooo glad that the Lord blessed our efforts to get some tulips started. Even though I was kicking myself for not getting them covered with straw last Fall, He blessed us with a thick blanket of snow that did the same thing. Here they are for ALL to enjoy. Who knows, maybe someday I'LL be that grandmother who shows her little people the pretty tulips in the Spring like my Grandma Martha did when I was little!

Even though Cora and I couldn't get the incubator to work a month ago, see how the Lord has blessed us anyway. The mother hatched them for us and we are raising them ourselves as last year something in the brush around here, did in most of our baby chicks. Even though that was bad, this year we are given a fresh chance to keep these little ones alive--and to keep them in the box. :)

This is one, "Taketh away," that is wonderful no matter what way you look at it. I wrote earlier that the railroad company came to take our rocks away. They need them on Goose Lake as the track is in danger with high water and 50 mph winds. We've been dreaming of getting the money together to bury the rocks and now they are walking away all on their own. :) This operator REALLY knows what he's doing. He climbs on top of the rock pile; starts scooping from the outside; and cleans up the whole thing in a couple of hours. I believe that one of the boys will be posting a movie of it soon.

How many of you remember my finger saga? Well, it's almost half a year since it began. I thought that you may be interested in seeing a recent picture of it. The nail is dead and it is slowly being pushed out by the new nail. You can actually see inside a fingernail as the edge of it is exposed now.

Perhaps you may recall that anger and sexuality are stored in that finger? Well, as I watch that new nail appear, I praise God that He has taken away all of the hatred that I harbored there for decades. As I ponder the new fingernail, I realize that the Lord has given me a new life now. I no longer have to helplessly cry out in despair that, "Life isn't fair!" Now I have a new life, with new tools, to help me process my emotions so that they don't have to store up in my body and cause my pain and heartache for the rest of my life. I praise God that He led me to BodyTalk when He did! He took away the BVT (bee venom therapy) and has given me BT (BodyTalk). Cora prefers the later as well. :)

And now for pictures of my greatest treasures on Mother's day--the people who made me a mother. I'm doing this in reverse order as Jacob need not always be last. Here he is using Andrew's camcorder to make the movie of the excavator I showed above.

Here is Andrew mowing the lawn for the first time this year with his repaired give-away lawn mower in our playground. There IS a fence between him and the cattle. :)

Here is my oldest living child--Cora. She surprised me right before she went to work after lunch with a mother's day gift. It was a roaster that we have desperately been needing as my 25 cent one from a rummage sale sprung a leak. She also bought a thermometer for the kitchen as ours broke. She also told me that, "These are the practical gifts, but something pretty was coming yet." Whatever that means. :)

Here Robert and I are looking at the thermometer. Robert is my faithful husband for almost 30 years. His optimism and determination have strengthened me over and over during these 23+ years of motherhood.

The last tribute I wish to make is to my loving Heavenly Father! Not only has He brought me through 23 years of motherhood; almost 30 years of marriage; and some terrible health challenges--HE HAS BEEN WITH ME EVER SINCE I WAS BEGUN IN MY MOTHER'S WOMB 53 years ago.

How I love this passage from Psalm 139: 13 - 18.

FOR THOU HAST POSSESSED MY REINS;

THOU HAST COVERED ME IN MY MOTHER'S WOMB.

I WILL PRAISE THEE;

FOR I AM FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE:

MARVELLOUS ARE THY WORKS;

AND THAT MY SOUL KNOWETH RIGHT WELL.

MY SUBSTANCE WAS NOT HID FROM THEE,

WHEN I WAS MADE IN SECRET,

AND CURIOUSLY WROGHT IN THE

LOWEST PARTS OF THE EARTH.

THINE EYES DID SEE MY SUBSTANCE,

YET BEING UNPERFECT;

AND IN THY BOOK

ALL MY MEMBERS WERE WRITTEN,

WHEN IN CONTINUANCE WERE FASHIONED,

WHERE AS YET THERE WAS NONE OF THEM.

HOW PRECIOUS ALSO

ARE THY THOUGHTS UNTO ME, O GOD!

HOW GREAT IS THE

SUM OF THEM.

IF I SHOULD COUNT THEM,

THEY ARE MORE IN NUMBER

THAN THE SAND:

WHEN I AWAKE,

I AM STILL WITH THEE.

WOW--the Lord has showered His immense love on me since before I was born!!! He has been with me every step of the way (carrying me when it was the worst); and He has strengthened me to begin a new life when I had no will to fight to live. Oh what peace it is to KNOW that, the things which He has taken away, were not for my BEST!!!

Truly, the Lord HATH taken away the chaff from my life. Truly, what He has replaced it with--what He has given instead--is the knowledge of His presence EVERY STEP OF THE WAY!!!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY, LADIES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!