Hi everyone,
  What a great day I had yesterday with 5 fantastic sessions in my Bismarck office--praise God!  I am surprised how many people out there were raised by alcoholics--4 of the 5 I worked with yesterday were. 

How it must grieve God's heart that so few people really feel His love for them.  I cannot urge you enough to start digging into Pastor Prince's resources at: josephprince.org if YOU want to start experiencing God's love in a richer and fuller way.

I'd like to share his devotional today as it was just perfect for me--but then it usually is!  You can sign up to get Pastor Prince's daily devotional on the site too.  I've learned that, by filling my mind with his thoughts on grace, I have much more energy to run on.  I suppose it's because I'm not constantly shooting myself in the foot with thoughts of all my past failures. 

Before the devotional, though, I'd like to invite any home schoolers who live in the Fargo, ND area to ponder attending the AppleSeed Shoot which is being held there this weekend.  I just attended my 3rd one last weekend and I qualified at the Sharp Shooter level--AGAIN.  Some day I am going to make Riflewoman.  How do I know?  Because I won't ever quit until I make it and then I won't ever quit shooting as I am really starting to enjoy it.

Did I tell you that one of the guys at the shoot last weekend, who made Rifleman at the January shoot in Minot, saw my AQT.  He said, "Nice groupings!"  Now that's what I'd call inspiration. 

If you can't attend, please join me in praying for nice weather for the event.  Also, Andrew needs continued prayers as he isn't getting much rest this week with pushing to finish seeding by the weekend.  I'm out to spend the day in the tractor, after packing 4 lunches, so I could use some prayers too as that has often been rough on my neck--but now I'm under grace.  ;)

Love to all.  I hope that you'll enjoy Pastor Prince's morning devotional and that you'll get in the daily habit of filling your mind with his encouraging words too.

God bless,

Dawn

Jesus Is Your Sweet Aroma To God

Leviticus 1:13 13… the priest shall bring it all and burn it on the altar; it is a burnt sacrifice, an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the Lord.

In Old Testament times, when a burnt offering is killed, its head is severed, the fat removed, and the entrails and legs washed. Then, everything is placed on an altar and burnt, and the sacrifice is a sweet aroma to God. All this speaks of the death of Jesus, who has “given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma”. (Ephesians 5:2) The head of the sacrificed animal speaks of the mind of Christ offered as a covering for our minds. This means that although our minds are often clouded with unbelief, worries, foolishness, filth and human reasoning, God treats us as if we have the mind of Christ, without wrong or displeasing thoughts, bringing pleasure to Him like a sweet aroma. The fat of the animal speaks of the riches of Christ, His best, for God equates the fat of something with the best of that entity. (Genesis 45:18) The fat of the burnt sacrifice speaks of Jesus giving us His riches, His best, as our covering. So God does not see us in our lack, but in the riches and excellence of Jesus going up to Him as a sweet aroma. The entrails or intestines speak of Jesus’ motivations, feelings, affections and desires. We often feel fearful, anxious, stressed out or angry (and it affects our stomach and intestines). But God sees only Jesus’ feelings and desires, which are always pure, beautiful and acceptable to Him — a sweet aroma. The legs refer to Jesus’ perfect walk — His power to serve and obey the Father — imputed to our weak and faltering walk. And the fact they are washed shows that even our crooked walk has been cleansed. Beloved, God does not see your foolish mind, weak nature, inadequate feelings or faulty walk. Instead, He sees you in the perfection of His Son, who gave Himself up for you as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to G

My incredible blessings

Hi everyone,

 Being I find myself alone this afternoon, I decided to post a nice, long narrative of the things that I'm most thankful for.  Cora has been doing this every day this month, which is a lovely thought, but it's been impossible for me to accomplish. 

I'm starting with Thanksgiving day which began very early for me.  Cora had to work in the afternoon which meant that the 15 pound turkey had to be tender by noon.  I am humbled to admit that I used Stove Top Stuffing as Robert and I had made a late trip to Bismarck the night before to pick up building materials for the shop. 

 When we had entered Dans, I said to Robert, "I'm not even sure if we have any bread at home to make stuffing with."  Being I don't eat bread any more, I don't pay that much attention to it nowadays.  "Better buy some Stove Top Stuffing," he had said, so I did.

It smelled wonderful as I forked through it after the 5 minutes of it setting in the boiling buttered water.  I stuffed the turkey in the usual places; buttered the breast with salt and pepper added; protected the wings and thighs with tin foil; and slid the whole mass into the oven by 6:30 AM. 

Being I was pretty sore from so many sessions last week, I took a wonderful soak in the whirlpool as the rest of the family woke up.  Then Cora and I got to work in the kitchen and did we ever have fun! 

The staff at the nursing home always has potlucks on holidays and Cora had decided to make a Thanksgiving table cake as her contribution to the day.  You can see her turkey here and, if you look closely, you can see that she stuffed hers too--wonder if it was Stove Top Stuffing too!  You can see a picture of the completed cake over at her blog.  The next day she shared all of the wonderful responses to her cake with the cutest one being, "I ate 2 plates." 

 Here is a picture of my darling daughter with the cake in the foreground.  She made a lovely table runner too.

 I'm not much good at cake decorating but, when I saw that Cora had a little bit of red fondant left, I said, "Why not make a big heart out of it."  Cora took my suggestion and, when I saw that there was a small bit of green fondant left, I made a great big B out of it and put it on top of the heart.  Four Bornemanns shared the fondant treat at lunchtime but I passed as I am trying to minimize sugar too.

 When I was out at chores that morning, I took a few pictures of things that I'm thankful for.  Here are our 2 dogs, Millie and Lady.  After goats, I'd have to say that dogs are my favorite animals.

 Jacob said, "What are you taking a picture of, Mom?"  "The alfalfa," I answered.  Being our small grain crops were poor, we especially appreciate all of the wonderful alfalfa the Lord blessed us with this year.  Further, he's opened up doors for our hay to go to Texas and to Oklahoma, so now we have the money to work on our shop!  PRAISE THE LORD!

 I think everyone has posted about the shop project.  We've been wanting to do this ever since we moved here 8 years ago.  However, funds are always tight, but it's also a big chunk of work.  Now that Andrew is into buying cars that need work; repairing them; and then reselling them, he has a need for a warm shop too, hence the work is going forward with gusto. 
Thanksgiving afternoon, Jacob and I painted the side of the wall which will be heated while Robert and Andrew finished putting the chipboard on the other side of the wall.  There will be cold storage on the other side of this wall now but this will leave plenty of room to get a tractor and some smaller vehicles in here to work on.  It will be nice to have the feeding tractor in a heated area this Winter too. 

 Those are the only pictures that I have from Thanksgiving Day, but when I looked through the November pictures on my computer, I found these to share with you.
 
Have you been to Scheels in Bismarck lately?  If so, it would be impossible to miss the tribute that they have made to freedom.  Jacob and I were so impressed as there were these life-sized statues of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ronald Reagan. 
You know how the ACLU is saying that we can't have the 10 Commandments etc on public property? 
Well, this just goes to show that human ingenuity CAN win over bullheadedness.  Jacob and I were so thrilled as we read on the placards beside our former presidents various of their quotes.  There were statements like, "A nation without God is doomed for failure,"  "We need the Bible to guide us so that we can please our God who formed this great nation.................... 
I was so thrilled to see God honored in this way, that I asked Jacob to take my picture beside this statue of one of the greatest minds to ever live.  Long have I admired Thomas Jefferson--don't we look good together?

 Now we're jumping to Fargo where Andrew and I attended the delegates training workshop.  Here we met Robert Brown who is the branch supervisor over our area in the John Birch Society.  Mr. Brown did a wonderful workshop on economics and he honored Andrew with a picture.

You must imagine our surprise, when we looked up towards the end of the day, to see Dr. Ron Paul in the room with us.  I shook his hand, as did everyone else within reach.  When he permitted pictures to be taken with him, Andrew didn't wast much time taking his turn.  As I snapped this picture, I remembered the Dick Van Dyke episode where Rob's uncle had his picture taken with Abe Lincoln before Abe was our President.  HMMMMMMMMMMM.

 Later we went to the Fargo Civic Center and heard Dr. Paul speak about his views of how to save our country.  He painted a glum picture, to be sure, but with God's help I know that we CAN turn this country around again.  This was such a special day spent with Andrew!

 We were so happy to see some "Old" friend there too.  This is
Tim and Louisa Stegman and below is Tim's brother, Andrew
with his little cutie, Carrie. 

I'm not sure why my computer is being stubborn and won't let me move my pictures back in order but that's how it is sometimes. 

I'm very thankful for these young people who are serving the Lord and are building their homes upon the principles of God's word.  I'm also thankful that my children plan to do the same when their time comes.  As you can see in the picture below, my Andrew is celebrating his 21st birthday by going bar hopping.  He laid out a bunch of bars on the ground; asked Cora to come out and take his picture; and then proceeded to jump over the bars.   He came into the house laughing and said, "I've always wanted to go bar hopping and now I have." 
Praise the Lord for helping us to raise 3 people in the next generation who will not waste their money, and their health, on alcohol!

 Here's another one.

 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future," Jeremiah 29:11.  Praise God that He is leading our lives and he's guiding us to raise our children to receive the blessing of God in their lives.

 As I looked through some more pictures from the year, my mind was opened to see other blessings that I am thankful for.  I dearly love acting in Godly plays and it gives me joy that my children have picked this up from their mother.  I'm sure that you all remember Barney from the Andy Griffeth show.  Well, we have our very own Barney now.  :)

 I'm also thankful for the Appleseed Project which is helping folks all around the country learn how to shoot and defend themselves if need be.

 I'm very thankful to know how to operate a radionics instrument.  I'm also thrilled to know those who make them AND teach others how to use them!

 I'm thankful for the annual Prairie Days celebration at the Dagley farm and the friends that we meet there.

I'm thankful to be an organic farmer/rancher and that the cattle are home for the Winter.  It always feels so much more homey when they are nearby.

I'm thankful for a husband who can build anything.  We were just talking about the huge number of building projects that he's taken up in our 31 years of marriage.  Here he is on top of the Quonset on Friday afternoon cutting the hole for the stovepipe.

Here are my 2 sons holding the ladder for their papa.  If ever 2 sons were opposites, it's these 2, but I love them both with all my heart!  Andrew, so assertive and brave, and Jacob, with such quiet strength, how proud of them I am!  How happy I am that they are brothers and that they can help each other through life--each one strong where the other is weak.  Isn't that like the Lord--putting us together in families so that we can learn from each other and ALL can become better people IF we are willing to let Him change us.

I guess I could talk all day about how much I love my family and how happy I am that we are Christians, Americans, North Dakotans, Organic farmer/ranchers, Sabbath keepers, home schoolers, Birchers, energy workers, gun owners, dog lovers, gardeners, car restorers.....  However, somehow it seems most important to say that I am happy that we are lovers. 

Over the years, many folks have had supper at our house and left with lighter hearts.  Many have spent the night with us and woke to the sound of our roosters calling, "It's a beautiful morning."  Many more have come for tea and found themselves smiling and laughing and, even sometimes, throwing dinner rolls in a food fight.  My heart grows happiest at the thoughts of those who have come burdened down with cares of this world, and who have left knowing that SOMEBODY cared about them, and knowing that this somebody was our family!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

As the love chapter says in I Corinthians, all that we do is for nothing if we do not have love.  I'm reminded of the numerous times that we dear friend, Sarah Keister would say, "Your children are so warm, Dawn--indeed, your home is so warm." 

Now THAT is what makes me the most thankful of all as I ponder the hatred that I inherited.  Only God could reach into such a war-torn heart, and produce a legacy of happy hearts coming out of my home.  Praises to the King who has healed my wounded heart and placed there instead a heart of compassion for the sick, wounded, and hurting.

 

Say there, want to come over for tea?

 Eternally thankful for God's love in my life,

Dawn

Unspeakable delights

How can a day get any better than this?  Many goals came into fruition for me this day!!!!!!!!

First of all, my uncle brought my aunt into my Bismarck office for her session.  While they were there, he told me that my dad's house is sold!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  True, it would have been nice to hear it from my dad, but that would take a down right miracle as my dad has only called me once in my life.  I am so glad that the waiting is over and my childhood home will have new owners soon!!!!!!!!!!  It's been bothering me thinking of it sitting empty

After this I went over to the Kelly Inn and fell in love with the State Room.  This will be the site for our radionics course coming up soon.  It is just perfect--it will seat 60 comfortably and has a huge screen on the wall for Mr. Kelly to use as he teaches our class.  Isn't it awesome that the Lord sent us to the Kelly Inn when the instructor is Mr. Kelly???  Is that cool, or what?

After doing my shopping at Sam's, I headed for home.  The weather was perfect and I actually drove in sunlight.  The cattle are grazing all over many hillsides and I was just oh so happy.  Then, when I came in the house, here was this brand new Kelly WorkStation that Robert had ordered recently.  It is just so beautiful as I ponder all the blessings that it will mean for our farm. 

I just dedicated it to the Lord and felt so happy that I just HAD to write and share that today was one of the happiest days of my life. 

Lastly, but not least, my cousin Kristi (who was here last Summer with her son) just emailed me that they are definitely planning on coming out to our farm and will join us at Prairie Days this year.  Some of her menfolk will shoot with our men in the Appleseed Shoot on Friday, June 17th, which is the first day of Prairie Days.  Perhaps I will even shoot too as Kristi seemed interested in giving it a whirl.  Talk about an exciting, unforgettable day!!!!!!!!!

Best get supper ready for the boys and me,

Dawn

Appleseed preshoot review

Almost the minute that the Bartlett young men arrived, we hustled them out to the range which was at least half a mile away. Jonathan is seen in the foreground here studying the situation. He was of the opinion that it would work, so we breathed a sigh of relief but still went back to shoot a few rounds through the straw bales. Were they as tight as the alfalfa bales? YES

How's that for hospitality? The Bartletts had to help set up the camper--boys have fun doing things like that, though, and it was up in no time.

About 5:00 the shoot bosses arrives. Alex is in the blue shirt and Kyle in the grey. Both are fine young men. I see here that Kyle took a liking to Millie right away. Robert said that every time he came in the yard, he went over to visit his canine friend who had to be tied up during shooting hours.

Our men took Alex and Kyle out to the range too and it passed their inspection also. Then the guys introduced them all to our new swing set. I got a kick out of Andrew giving Alex an underdog as he is "Wont to do." Andrew did know Alex from up at Bartlett's shoot and it didn't take long for everyone to feel at home with each other.

That night I went downstairs to get a few snapshots of everyone playing on the re-vamped Foosball table. Cora surprised me and repaid me with this lovely photo.

That's all for now folks. I've got much I need to do before class so I better keep my word use to a minimal. :) AH SHUCKS!!!!!!!!!!

Quick Appleseed review #1

I have decided to keep posting about our Appleseed Shoot until I am out of pictures. I don't want you to have to wait until next week, though, to see the end of the story. I'm going to, therefore, write an email with pictures from throughout the whole weekend every time I get a few minutes. That way the whole thing doesn't seem daunting as I have soooooo much to say and so little extra time this week. I'm going to be in classes this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and I need to prepare for that so this seems like a sensible plan for sharing all that I want to share.

Our big weekend began at 4:00 Friday afternoon when Jonathan and Peter Bartlett arrived. What a joy it was to see our boys greeting their friends! The first thing that they did was set up the camper (pictures for another post) and carry in the baked goods that their precious mother sent along to help us through the weekend.

Robert had decided to call Alex to advise him to come down from Interstate by Dawson and turn our way at Napoleon as the road up north was terribly muddy when the Bartletts came down. Robert was quite surprised then, when he called Alex and Alex said that he was minutes away from our place.

Within minutes a little, blue Kia pulled into the driveway and out stepped Alex and someone new to our family, Kyle. The men went and looked at the range right away and then checked out our swing set. Question. "How tall is that thing?" Answer. "Twenty-three feet tall."

On Saturday the weather was wet and chilly. Did that stop our Instructors or Instructors-in- Training (which is the Bartlett young men)? Hardly! Here Jonathan and Peter are sharing one way to use a sling with our bale backdrop in the background. You can see the targets all ready for bullet holes through them. Now to get those bullet holes to go in the right places. :)

Here Kyle, our shoot boss for the weekend, was working with me on a technique called, "Carding your sights." You get the target in your scope; then one of the instructors puts a card in front of your eyes; and you should be able to be right on the target if you didn't move. It shows you how much you move around and how much you need to work on developing your natural point of aim.


Here Alex is showing how to get the sling adjusted properly to help you in the standing postition. This was really great at stabilizing the rifle when you're standing to shoot. The trouble with it was when you get to shooting the AQTs, you shoot in sitting and prone positions too. I found that having the sling in this position for sitting and lying down just didn't work so I left my sling in the loop position all the time. This helped for the sitting and prone positions and I just suffered through the standing position, which you spend the least amount of time shooting in for AQTs. There just isn't enough time, for me anyway, to change the sling around in between times. I was complaining to Jonathan that it was so hard to move the sling around with a big, bulky coat. He said that it's worse in the summer on bare skin as it rubs on the skin and can irritate it. I guess one just wears longer sleeves then but it just goes to show that everything has it's benefits and it's drawbacks.

Peter teaching about the sitting postitions while Jonathan demonstrates them.

That's all for now folks. Keep checking as I'll post when I have time. Now to the books as I told Melanie (my BodyTalk instructor from New York) yesterday that I plan to test next month when she is in Bismarck. Now that I've made up my mind, it's not so bad. I just have to send her a bunch of session reports and study, study, study. If anyone wants to volunteer for a free session, let me know. It would be good to get some new blood as I need to have 50 sessions recorded by then. I can use older sessions too but, for what it's worth, I thought I'd make that offer. You can help me while I help you--how's that for a win/win situation? Sounds like good energy to me!!!!!!!!! :)

Our shoot is history

What a weekend it was for our family!!!!!!!! It would be impossible to do it justice in one post so I imagine that I'll keep writing about it for awhile yet, as things come to mind. First of all, I'd like to thank everyone who prayed for us to have good weather. It didn't exactly turn out as we planned but the weather only dimmed our enthusiasm for a few hours on Saturday. The Lord brought inside blessings to our fellowship, after the shoot on Sabbath, that would not have happened had the weather been lovely so that we could play together outside. I'm sure that it could safely be said that He "Knew what He was doing." :)

I'm going to make this very brief as I've gotten weary trying to figure out this computer right now. I want to show this picture, though, as it is of Andrew receiving his Rifleman badge from his "Best friend," Jonathan who reached the Rifleman rank in May. Andrew was the only one of the 12 shooters who shot to the level of the "Rifleman" requirements this weekend. One must keep in mind, though, that this was his second Appleseed Shoot.

Here are the results for the rest of our family's shooting. Cora and Jacob both qualified as "MARKSMEN," which is the first level of recognition with the Appleseed program. Robert and I both qualified as "SHARPSHOOTERS" which is the second level. Andrew persevered until well after the shoot bosses left and made the prize rank of RIFLEMAN!!! I am so proud of him!!!

Andrew has been saying for weeks, "I AM going to shoot at the Rifleman level at our shoot!" He just plain old made up his mind. Little things like rain; and a new rifle to try to figure out which kept jamming on him; and Alex and Kyle leaving did not dissuade him from his goal.

Alex could see this and printed the name, ANDREW, on the back of a rifleman badge before he left. He then handed it to Jonathan to give to Andrew WHEN Andrew made a score of 210 or better on his Army Qualification Test (AQT). Andrew scored 211 about 5:30 yesterday afternoon. He's been walking tall ever since!!!!!!!

There's just something about setting a goal for yourself; working as hard as you can to achieve it; and then walking away with the prize PLUS the knowledge that you didn't quit until you succeeded. Andrew is the winner that he studied about last year in school when we listened to the tape series, THE PSYCHOLOGY OF WINNING. I think I'll keep listening to it myself when I have a spare minute. :) Maybe I'll work up the courage to say, like Andrew did since August, "Next shoot, I'M GOING TO MAKE RIFLEMAN!!!!!!!!!!" In the meantime, my main focus is in thinking this one thought over and over, "NEXT MONTH AFTER I TEST, I'M GOING TO BE A CERTIFIED BODYTALK PRACTITIONER." Now to the work which will make it happen. :)

More later,

Dawn--the Sharp Shooter

Encouragement

What a week of yo-yo emotions it's been. Just when I would despair, the Lord would send someone or something to encourage me. What a great encourager He is to me! I'll give you a few examples.

I had just gotten an email that a large family, who was pretty sure that they would come to our Appleseed Shoot this weekend, was NOT coming. WHAT A BUMMER!!! Just when I was sinking into despair, the Lord had my cousin from Wisconsin write that she and her family would LOVE to come to a shoot at our farm sometime when it's not the middle of the school year. I had decided to send Kristi the invitation just in case they would happen to be here visiting our relatives in Bismarck at this time. She told me that she has dreamed of coming to our farm for a loooooooong time. Now that we invited them to our shoot, they have a good "Excuse" to come out. This was wonderful news to me as this family home schools their son and I believe their 3 adopted children. I had no idea that they would be willing to travel so far for a visit. Isn't it wonderful how emails can shorten the miles between friends?

Then I got immensely discouraged with the weather forecast. I was sinking again when Cora told me that Jonathan Bartlett posted on her blog these thoughts. I assume that he won't mind my sharing them as they are already public information. "The cool weather may not be the greatest for a few reasons, but thick winter clothing will actually help you shoot more accurately because it blocks muscle tremors. So you might not want to pray TOO hard to not have the temperatures they're forecasting!

Actually I really think that the shoot may not be happening at all if it weren't for Jonathan's continual encouragement. You see, he is an Instructor in Training with the Appleseed project. Jonathan told me that he needs to assist the shoot boss at 4 shoots and then he will achieve the rank of Shoot boss himself. He REALLY believes in this program and has studied many hours already to help bring this information to all of us. What is so amazing to me is that this is all on a volunteer basis, folks. To be fair, I should mention that Jonathan's brother, Peter, and our friend, Chris, are also studying to be a shoot boss someday. It's been Jonathan, though, who continually encourages me to keep working on getting as many people as possible to the shoot. Thanks Jonathan--all of us here are eager to have you and Peter join us for the weekend!!!!!!!!!!

One family in particular has been GREATLY DISCOURAGING. They were so supportive in the beginning and for some unknown reason have withdrawn their support. Don't you just wish that people would come and talk to you when their are problems? How can any problems be solved without communication. Further, how can relationships be continually growing without good communication? Like Robert points out to me at times like this, "Every relationship is either going forward or it's going backwards. There is no such thing as standing still relationships."

However just when my spirits sank over this, the Lord once again came to the rescue. We learned then that our dear friends, the Dagley family, are sending over Ben and Amanda to join us. Cora is so excited about this as soon Amanda will be a married woman. Cora wants to have one last slumber party with her young friend but I told her that the lights are getting turned out early. We'll need to get our chores finished; lunches made; get washed up; and be out at the range by at least 8:00 in the morning so we can help get people settled in. That will not work too well if young ladies stay up until 2:00 in the morning as they are "Wont to do." :)

I also was blessed by Jonathan's mom this morning offering to send some food along for our family this weekend. She actually thanked me for the chance to be a part of our shoot in that way. What a beautiful spirit!!!!!!!!!

Then, with all of the rain we haven't been able to finish our painting on the teeter-tooter. Robert, my ever so clever sweetheart, said that we'll drag it down to the Quonset tomorrow if it's still wet outside so that the hour long paint job can be finished. Can you see how the Lord keeps me going continually? You'll never convince me that He doesn't want this shoot to come off.

Then too our shoot boss, Alex, himself sent 2 encouraging emails this week. He's leaving Aimes, Iowa tomorrow morning to head our way. He said, "We'll teach as long as there are people there." Cora asked me, "Do you suppose he'll keep talking even if people are frozen to the ground?" :)

No kidding, the weather has been a major concern for us here ever since the beginning. Now I'll tell you about how the Lord saved the day this afternoon. Robert and I went to Bismarck to get semi parts; make a food run on Sam's; and pick up the Spiffy Biffy. This was a first time for us and it was quite an interesting experience driving Andrew's pickup through Bismarck towing a porta potty. We need one because the range is about 1/2 mile from the farmstead. I should add that we needed to take Andrew's pickup because when I was pulling the camper home from Eureka on Wednesday, a rock hit the rear window in the van and broke it out. THIS IS THE THIRD TIME THAT THIS HAS HAPPENED AND I HAVEN'T RECEIVED COMFORT FOR THIS YET!!!

So, as the day went on I kept getting more and more discouraged. The trip up was pretty rough on the way up this morning as they just don't have much gravel on the road once we hit Kidder county. Pulling a porta potty down it on the way home was even more fun. I was grumbling quite a bit in my spirit to the Lord. Thoughts like, "And this is the road that people are supposed to take to get to our house tomorrow night and Saturday." etc.

All of a sudden Robert directed my attention to look out the side mirror on my side. It was just a hilarious sight. MUD WAS FLYING EVERYWHERE. The mud was flying higher than the Spiffy Biffy. Mud flew on the roof of the pickup. Mud flew on my side window and side mirror. Mud flew on the pumpkin I'd bought and put in the back of the pickup. Mud flew all over our coolers in the back. There was so much mud flying that all of a sudden I saw the humor and started laughing. I gave up, in other words.

"OK, GOD, if you want us to have the shoot in the mud, then I will just have to accept it. What can I do about it anyway?" That laughter was the best medicine for little Mrs. Perfectionist. I finally accepted that there's not a thing in the world that I can do about the weather; about who comes or doesn't come; and about the painting that needs to get done on the house's door frame which can't be moved to the Quonset. There's not a thing in the world that I can do to make this shoot a success that I haven't already done. THE REST IS UP TO GOD!!!!!!!!!!!! OH FOR JOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHAT A RELEASE THAT WAS!!!

So, to summarize, if you want to come and join us, you can still walk in on Saturday or Sunday morning and you would be VERY WELCOME. If not, it would be great if you would pray for all of us to have a great time while we learn. If you could spread the word about our shoot, that would be great. If not, so be it. I'll post pictures just as soon as possible.

My main point that I'm trying to make here is that little things mean a lot to someone who is stressing over something big in their life. Words of encouragement mean so much. I bless each one of you who has taken the time to be a blessing to us as we prepare for this big event.

Most of all, I want to thank God for all the little ways that HE finds to encourage us when we are doing His will. This Scripture passage has repeatedly blessed me. I pray that these words will be an encouragement to you also as I close.

Phillipians 4: 6,7: Be careful (overly concerned) for nothing; but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Remember, too, the little phrase that I started this post with. To the world you may be just one person but to one person, you may be the world. I pray that you will join me as I study the ways that God encourages the whole world with His precious love. May I be an encourager as He is!!!

From Fred--the founder of the Appleseed project

Well folks, it's only 5 days until our Appleseed Shoot this coming weekend. YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO THE FUTURE OF OUR COUNTRY. I just finished reading this thought on the Appleseed site under the blog. Fred has a way of inspiring people to reach their potential. Will you be one of them to listen? If so, keep reading and then take action. Go to the site under the Steele, ND listing and register to join us here to learn what we need to know to start taking back our country for God and for our future.

Serious,

Dawn


Applessed and You…September 15th, 2009 . by Fred

Let’s start out on a point of agreement.

Even fervent agreement.

YOU are an important person.

Yet, important as you are, you could be MUCH MORE IMPORTANT.

Like, REALLY important.

No, you haven’t been to an Appleseed. Yet.

And that’s the rub.

How do I know you haven’t been to an Appleseed?

Simple, really…

There’s 300 million Americans, and only one in 50,000 approximately has been to an Appleseed.

Not too hard, to figure you are likely one of the no-shows.

Maybe - almost certainly - it’s because you don’t know what Appleseed is.

Likely, in fact, you haven’t even heard of it (we’re trying hard to “get the word out” - but it’s slow, slow without the kind of money you need for a nationwide media blitz).

Yet this little volunteer program not ony has nation-changing potential, it has - from your point of view, what’s more important - personal-changing potential.

Yep, a volunteer program, one which takes a weekend, costs a mere 70 bucks (and for most - women, children, and military - is free), can make a new person of you.

Even, in some cases, give meaning to your life (that’s gotta be a big one) and, at the least, makes a more aware, a more serious, a more thoughtful - you!

For the price of twenty minutes on a shrink’s couch, you can become a new, better, more satisfied, more effective, more worthy person.

In fact, Appleseed can reach beyond you, to your friends, your neighbors, your co-workers, your family, your friends…even your relatives.

It’s true.

I’ve heard more stories than one about how a parent shows up with a child with whom the relationship is troubled - and in the course of working out the problems and challenges of Appleseed, a barrier is broken, and they leave, talking, communicating, even understanding each other.

Will the wonders of this unique program ever cease?

Seemingly not, as if you ask the people most involved in it, the hard-working volunteers, they’ll tell you right out - for them, Appleseed offers HOPE.

Hope, that things can be changed.

Hope, that the future is not yet written, and we can play a part, a good part, in the writing of it.

Appleseed sends another message, one which is determinative for some volunteers - and may be determinative for you, once you attend. It sends you a message, right then and there, before you leave: that YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

That message can be pretty important to you.

People who show up for an Appleseed are likely to be people you don’t run into everyday.

Americans who CARE. Care about what’s coming - for them, for their country, for their kids’ future.

Americans who are CONCERNED about the future.

And Americans who aren’t gonna sit passively by, and let that dark future looming before all of us become a reality we may all have to live with - for years, if not decades; for decades, if not indefinitely - but possibly, indefinitely.

Yes, the ship may be sinking now (to use an analogy most Appleseeders use) - but it doesn’t have to sink. It can be stopped, saved, repaired, and made whole again.

But the point is, right now, it’s not being stopped, repaired - and certainly not being made whole, again.

No one is doing anything to fix it.

Yes, a few of us can protest publically - and we’re all better for it - but protest without further action is a fleeting phenomena.

And Appleseed is about permanent change in this country - for at least a generation or more. (Appleseed will try to make the change permanent, by continuing in future generations to teach those generations what they must know in order to meet the standards the founders held for every American.)

Which is why we don’t focus on elections, or getting out the vote, or anything like it.

We focus on the electorate, on making the long-term changes needed to make this country a safe place for Liberty, once again.

That’s why it’s so important for you to come to an Appleseed.

To find out for yourself.

Then too, if the program so moves you, to pitch in and help.

While you’re at it, ‘get the word out’ to all your family/relatives, friends, neighbors, co-workers - and anyone else - about this program.

The future belongs to each of us.

We have the power to change it.

But to do it, each of us has to get off the couch, and make it happen.

There’re way too few people doing that, now.

Don’t you be one of them.

Don’t you be unimportant.

When you can be important…

Posted in: Fred Has Some Thoughts

URGENT BUSINESS & NEW NEIGHBORS

Well, I just got off the phone with both of my US Senator's offices and my US Representative's office. I urged them all to support the Parental Rights Amendment. Today is a big day for pushing for this as it is the 222nd birthday of our Constitution.

I urge you to call those who represent you in Washington also. It's not so very hard. You just pick up the phone; dial the number; and say, "I would like my Senator/Representative to support the Parental Rights Amendment." All 3 of the people whom I spoke to were very polite. During the last phone call I added, "I represent 3 other voters who live in my household." He said, "OK." I wish I had thought of saying that with the Senator's offices too but I didn't. GASP--I'm not perfect!!! I guess I'll have to urge Robert, Cora, & Andrew to call in too.

For those of you living in North Dakota you can call these numbers. Senator Conrad's office # is: 202-224-2043. Senator Dorgan's office # is: 202-224-2551. Representative Pomeroy's office # is: 202-225-2611. These people are paid to hear our wishes and we MUST have our wishes be heard on this if we want our country to remain free from UN intervention. I've been writing about this ever since the home school convention so, if you need to read some more to inspire you to call, please see my posts on parental rights. Better yet, go to the Parental Rights website here:parentalrights.org.

The other business that I took care of today was registering us for our shoot. Alex said that he needed us to register to so that he can get an accurate headcount. This is where you can go to learn more about attending our shoot next month:http://www.appleseedinfo.org/ We hope that many people will come and join us for this educational experience which brings history to life.

Well, I have some exciting news. Robert just came home and told me that he met a man out in the flax field while checking to see if the flax straw is ready to bale. This man is a home school father whom we met years ago at a home school graduation. He is now our neighbor's new hired man and they now live about FIVE MILES AWAY FROM US!!! I was so excited when Robert told me that he invited their family to come to our shoot too.

Robert said that Mr. R asked him where we live and Robert gave him directions. Mr. R said, "Oh you mean up by the giant swing set?" We all laughed at that. It would seem that our swing set is the talk of the neighborhood. How I look forward to many swing set parties in the future!!!!!!!! But for now, I suppose I should get to work as I have 2 sessions to do day yet. Cora's been decorating a cake so the lunch dishes aren't even finished yet!

It's not like I haven't gotten any REAL work done today. I spent an hour this morning baiting all 8 of our fly traps. When you live on a dairy, you have LOTS of flies. First I had to find the milk jug traps which are "Hidden" all around the farm as I don't exactly want them to be conspicuous. Then I went to the nearest manure pile, or the garden for those by the house, and emptied the contents of about 2,000 dead flies. You can imagine this smells real lovely. Then I went to the nearest water source; filled the jug 1/2 full with water (while holding my breath); then poured in 2 tablespoons of the most foul smelling fly bait in the world; and then tied the trap back in place. I like to tie the gallon jugs to cattle panels on the east side of railroad ties so there will be shade for the trap in the hot part of the day. That way it doesn't evaporate out the water so quickly.

When I was filling the one by the baby calf pen, I noticed that the goose's water in the swimming pool was terribly dirty. I emptied the water, while I filled fly traps ,and then washed out the pool with the hose. I scrubbed it like mad with the broom from the goat's barn and got it as clean as possible. Have you ever seen geese water that hasn't been changed for a few weeks? If so, then you'll know how gross this job is. I guess I must have been in a "Dealing with the gross stuff" mood this morning. Anyway, it took about 3 hours for the swimming pool to fill, but now the geese are happily swimming in their drinking water. Does that bother them any? Are you kidding? Geese can drink the grossest water and never get sick--I don't know how they do it. The trouble is that the goat bucks are in the pen with them and they HATE messy water. Always troubles when you're dealing with animals and we have LOTS of animals.

Now this afternoon the boys are dealing with another animal problem. They're cleaning out the barns. I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow of this delightful process. One thing that I hope to do on my blog is give city people an accurate picture of what farm life is like. It's so terribly romanticized in the movies and books. Actually much of what we do requires getting dirt, milk, mud, spoiled grain, moldy hay, and yes, manure under our fingernails. That's reality folks! Want to come and help? :)

Anyway, Andrew used the Dagley's Bobcat to push the manure out the back door while Jacob scooped it up with the 9030 (don't know which one). Jacob piled it up in the closest pasture for when the time comes to haul it out to the field next week. When the boys came in for supper, Cora gasped and turned away. Now, she's a farm girl so I wondered what the problem was. When he walked by me, I knew. My oh my did his clothes stink. I made both boys put hand towels on their chairs while they ate as if I want my dining room chairs smelling like THAT!!!!

Oh well, I still love that my life is rich and full of hard work and busy, busy, busy!!! Now, if I can figure out how to achieve that without getting stressed, I'll have it made. :)

Two interesting emails

Last night I received 2 interesting emails. The first was from Alex,our shoot boss, saying that our shoot is now on the web and we can start encouraging people to register. The second was from the Revolutionary War Veteran's Association (RWVA) who is the parent of the Appleseed Project. I wish that their emblem would have pasted but you can see it on their website:
:http://www.appleseedinfo.org/ when you go there to register for our shoot. :) This is what they said as they advertised for us. They listed us as from Steele, because that's on the interstate, but if anyone needs directions from the south just let us know.

You are invited to the following event:

Steele, ND Appleseed - Oct 3-4, 2009

Date:Saturday, October 03, 2009 at 8:30 AM - to

Sunday, October 04, 2009 at 4:00 PM (CT)

Location:Private Land - 20 miles South of Steele, ND

5860 23rd Ave. SE Kintyre, ND 58549

IT'S OFFICIAL!

Hi Everybody,

Wouldn't you know it? I've been checking the Appleseed website for a week now to see if the listing for our shoot was posted. Now today, while Andrew and I were in Bismarck, Cora called and said that it was listed!! Oh well, now I get to share the news with you all that it IS official. The Robert Bornemann family is hosting our very own Appleseed Shoot here at our farm on October 3rd and 4th!!!!!!!!!!!! YEAH!

I've wanted our family to do something special for the home school community for many years, but it's so hard when you milk to have enough time to put something together. Now we can host a shoot as the Appleseed people do the work. I know that this sounds awfully lazy but, anybody who has ever milked, will understand this. People who milk are NOT lazy. :)

I cannot urge you enough to join us here that weekend. It doesn't matter if you're a good shot or not--I mean that's the whole point. You can learn how to be a better shot and then go home and practice, practice, practice. Before you know it, you can have family times like we did in this picture. Maybe you all can suggest endings to this little rhyme. The family who shoots together, ____________________ together. Maybe we can come up with a new motto here. :)

So what do you have to do? Just go to the Appleseed site here:

http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=9564.0 This takes you directly to the information about our shoot so that you can study up a bit. Then go to this link as soon as you are ready to register:http://www.eventbrite.com/event/436168592%20%20%20%20%20%20

All women; children under age 21; and active military personel can attend free. For men the charge for both days is $70 and for one day it's $45. This is a family friendly event as you can see. It's not going to cost you an arm and a leg to get this information for your family.

I do have a favor to ask of you, though. PLEASE REGISTER THE SECOND YOU KNOW THAT YOU CAN COME AS WE'RE LESS THAN 3 WEEKS AWAY NOW. The paperwork all takes time, so please register ASAP. After that, we'd appreciate you letting us know how many from your family will be attending so that we can get enough big bales to the range site.

Everyone is welcome to camp here, if you like, or there is camping and hotel space in the small towns around here. We kind of hope that folks will stick around here so that we can get in a goodly amount of fellowship. I'm pretty sure that the young men will be heading down to the Kintyre park for some volleyball at least once--certainly young ladies would be welcome too. :) Even not such young men and ladies could join together at our favorite little park and fill the Fall air with laughter. We love going down there!

So, after a busy day of BodyTalk sessions in my office in Bismarck, Andrew and I headed home quickly. We brought the Dagley's Bobcat to clean the barns out with and some lumber to repair our teeter totter. Many happy memories were shared with friends on that old board but it just isn't safe anymore. Oh, and yes, I bought some more paint.

How I love being alive and on the mend. Many thanks to you for praying for me again and I hope to see you all at our shoot.

Shooting after decades

I have fallen behind with my writing as I have something going on with my left foot. I noticed it about a week ago and each day it has gotten more painful and swollen. Yesterday I realized that it was acting like it did about 8 years ago when I ended up going to the doctor after I could hardly walk anymore. Even he couldn't figure out what it was, but the steroids that he gave me took care of it after a few weeks. What a miracle--NOT! That is certainly not a pattern that I care to fall into!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So yesterday I freaked out as I recalled that month and a half long nightmare. I decided to soak in the whirlpool with a cup of apple cider vinegar added. This draws out a lot of poisons. I also put myself on the Master Cleanse, with additional fruit, until this is cleared up. That was a rather abrupt decision but I am NOT going to go through that whole ordeal again.

As the water swirled around me and I started to relax, I could think a little bit. I started doing the BodyTalk Access procedures and felt more and more calm. "I have the skills to deal with this now," I told myself.

When I reached the wrist to ankle reciprocal, though, something broke loose in me and I wept for about 10 minutes. "What is this all about?" I prayed and then slowly I came to understand what was going on with my ankle. I believe now that most of it is emotionally based. Let me explain.

Close to the the time period involved when I had the extremely painful episode on that foot, we were also dealing with West Nile in our horses. One of the best friends that I have ever had was our horse Gabriel--Gabe for short. Wouldn't you know it--Gabe got West Nile. It was a long ordeal with 3 vet visits and finally coming out of the house that morning to find him dead. We had moved him under the tree close by so that we could nurse him. The minute I opened the door, I knew that he was dead. I could feel his absence on the earth!!! I can't even write about it now without weeping. Maybe I'll try to find a picture of Gabe and post it sometime.

Anyway, yesterday in my BT session, I realized that Gabe's death was linked with the infection in my foot which had turned my foot black. Well, for the past 3 weeks we've been trying to get Cora's milk cow, Leisle, back on her feet after a complicated birth. I understand now that, as I watched Leisle's decline I was going back in my mind to the time when I was forced to watch Gabe's decline and death. God was taking me back to deal with Gabe's decline, which I have never dealt with not having the skills to do so before this. Well, now I do so I dealt with it.

I did Active Memory on myself to Gabe's death and then I had to do Emotional Freedom Technique on top of it as the trauma of it all was so painful. I cried like a baby and let out years of pent-up emotions. I should add here that all 3 of my children got West Nile the week that Gabe was dying too. I had treated it with massive doses of Tahitian Noni juice and their suffering was mild. All of this did NOT have a mild affect on this mother's hearth though.

So to make a long story short, today I have about 1/4th the pain in my foot as I had yesterday at this time. My conclusion is this: watching Leisle slowly die was horrible for me as I know how much Cora was being affected by it. Yesterday, when Robert shot Leisle to stop her misery, Cora was devastated. Gabe's death and the children's week-long battle with West Nile all came back to me in full force and I fell apart. I praise God that He has given me the skills to deal with such trauma through BodyTalk procedures and Emotional Freedom Technique. I praise Him too for a whirlpool which seems to free up my emotions like nothing else.

I'm still going to stay on the cleanse until the pain is completely gone but my heart tells me that the weight has been lifted that brought on the infection in my foot. Isn't it incredible how the mind affects the body?

WOW. I cannot urge you all enough to give BodyTalk a try at your next health crisis. Better yet, why wait for a blowup? Sure, I'll gain a little money by doing your sessions for you, but you will gain peace inside and what is that worth in our crazy world? Please consider giving BodyTalk a try. End of advertisement--I really had not planned on going there at all. It just sort of oozed out of me in my enthusiasm to help others! :)

Here are pictures from last Sabbath. We're trying to prepare for our Appleseed Shoot which is scheduled for October 3rd and 4th here at our farm. We're still waiting for them to post it on the website but you can study there and see if you'd like to join us. You can find the link on my sidebar.

Anyway, we first had to set up the targets. We used some electric fence posts and duct taped some cardboard to a wire that we strung between the posts. The targets get stapled on at an official shoot but we just used tape them to the cardboard.

Robert was so kind and sighted in his rifle for me. He used his dad's old rifle so that I could use his good one. I very quickly learned, though, that I'll need to find a shorter rifle. It wasn't too bad when I shot sitting up but it was imposable for me to even cock the thing when I was in the prone position.

I learned that there are 3 sitting positions. The first one is the best but I absolutely could not get my knee to bend that far back. The second one hurt too as my shoulders ached from leaning over so far so I had to use the third, least secure position. I didn't do too bad with the scope. I got 3 in the bulls-eye and the rest nearby. However, shooting in the prone position for me was a nightmare with that gun. I did terrible!


Checking our results. Everyone did better than they expected except Andrew. He was shooting with his new rifle and it takes some getting used to when you make changes like that.

Reloading to shoot again. I didn't realize that I'd grown so clumsy with a rifle. My goodness it's only been a little over 25 years since I've shot gophers with Robert as a young bride. I'm glad that we're starting to practice ahead of time. :)

How about you? Will you accept our invitation to join us at our shoot? We'd love to have all of you who are concerned about our country's future to come and join us. We'll learn together about the past that gave us the freedoms that we now enjoy. I, for one, am willing to accept the challenge to become the best marks woman that I can be. Who knows--maybe someday I'll even make Riflewoman. Maybe after about 10 shoots or so. :)

Geiger's Enthusiasm/Appleseed Shoot Here

What do these two pictures have to do with each other? HMMMMMMMMM. I guess you'll have to read and find out. :)

I realized after I posted about our trip to the zoo, that I didn't finish telling about the rest of that wonderful day. We were having such a special time with the Geiger family at the zoo that nobody could stop talking. Lisa leaned over and said quietly to me, "Would it be possible for you to come out to our farm for supper?" I smiled but was certain that the answer would have to be, "No" as I knew that our chores would get REALLY late if we accepted.

"I'm pretty sure that won't be possible," I told her, "but I'll go and see what Robert thinks about it."

Robert was talking to a fellow organic farmer who happened to show up later that afternoon. I thought it was neat that the Lord gave him a man to talk to. We women were talking women things most of the time although Lisa did take the time to pick Robert's brain about raising dairy calves. That can be a looooooooong topic as it seems to be more of an art than a science to keep those critters alive!

When I approached the men, it was without much hope. I quietly told Robert about Lisa's invitation. He thought about half a second and said, "I think we can do that." My mouth dropped open and I said, "You mean you think we can spare the time to go?" He grinned at me and said, "Yes, let's go." So we went.

What a marvelous time we had too. Anybody who has ever been to the Geiger's home will know what a treat that is! Young ladies bustling around the kitchen, each following their mother's orders, never running into each other--it's amazing! It looked like a small well-organized army. I tell you, there is a family who knows how to work together. Good job, Brian and Lisa!

Well, I was doing my best to stay out of the way when Mikayla very politely asked what was new with us. I told her that we were trying to see if we could get all of the requirements met to host an Appleseed Shoot at our house yet this Fall. I wasn't prepared for what happened next.

All activity ceased and everyone stood staring at me. Mikayla was the first to recover and she said with delight, "YOU ARE?" I told her that I wasn't sure if it would happen this year or not and then everyone came back to life.

All of the girls started talking at once about how excited they were to hear about the Appleseed program--thanks to Jonathan Bartlett who had sent them information before their shoot. Everyone said emphatically that they had desperately wanted to attend the shoot at the Bartlett's and they desperately hoped that we could get a shoot organized yet this fall before hunting season.

Now I know these girls pretty well, and they're always pretty cheerful, but that night they were OVERJOYED at the thought that we'd have a shoot. They were practically begging me to do everything within my power to make it happen. They were counting up people who would come from their family alone. "That would be 7 of us," said Molly excitedly. Somebody got on the phone to tell some friends whom they home fellowship with and got off saying, "The K family wants to come too and that's 3 more." I bet X, Y, and Z families would want to come too!!!

Lisa and I just stared at them, almost shocked at their enthusiasm. I prayed quietly, "Lord, are you trying to tell me something here?" YES--HOST A SHOOT THIS FALL!!!!!!!! So I decided right then and there to renew my efforts to TRY to have a shoot here at our farm, SEEDS OF HONOR.

The girls went on and on about how they love hunting, but they aren't very good shots and they NEEDED to go to a shoot so that they can improve.......... They talked excitedly as they prepared supper and everyone was in as high of spirits as most people are at Christmas time. WOW!!!!!!

Miranda and I talked a little bit about how to go about shooting at one of these events in dresses. Neither her, Cora, nor I ever wear any pants. Actually, before this I had asked Cora if she would consider wearing pants for modesty's sake. She had very matter-of-factly replied, "What pants?" Miranda too only wears dresses so it was nice to know that we won't be the only ones in skirts at our shoot!

So now we're working on sewing some long bloomers so that we can be as modest as possible while moving around quickly to try to achieve at least the rank of MARKSMAN. We know that wearing dresses will slow us down a bit, but you're supposed to shoot the way you normally would. Being we normally wear dresses, that would mean shooting the AQT with dresses on. It should be interesting. :)

The rest of the evening with the Geigers was just as delightful. The men were talking at one end of the table; the women at the other; children piled all around us. It truly was one of the happiest moments of my entire life. We were all talking so loudly with each other that it seems amazing to me now that I could hear Mr. Geiger when he sighed happily, "This just seems like old times." Brian's big grin was contagious and we all joined in with smiles of agreement.

All too soon the clock said 9:00 and we knew that we should have been done with chores by then. Everyone groaned at the inevitable separation and slowly made our way to the door. It was so funny as one person would pull himself away from the group and head towards Andrew's pickup. When the rest of the family didn't show up, they came back in for another round of farewells. It was so funny to watch but, when I got out to the pickup myself and found the kombucha mushroom that I'd brought for Lisa, I too made my way back to the house. The boys followed me in to help tear me away from them before I'd start expounding on the wonderful health benefits of drinking kombucha. Everyone was laughing and laughing and laughing. It was just so wonderful to be together with these dear old friends who started home schooling the same year that we did--which would be 18 years ago.

Finally, when we were all in the pickup, Andrew said, "WE HAVE GOT TO GET TOGETHER WITH THEM AGAIN!" All the way home, until I fell asleep, I heard this thought echoed around the cab. OH WHAT A WONDERFUL DAY IT WAS--PRAISE THE LORD FOR SWEET "OLD" FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!! Amen?

Anyway, I said all of that in preparation to make my announcement. Guess what? We have been approved to host an Appleseed Shoot here at our farm on the weekend of October 3rd and 4th. I decided to post the email which we're sending out to everyone we know to invite them to come and join us. I should add here that our shoot hasn't been listed on the website yet, but it should be in a few days, so keep checking. Alex has said that he is coming from Iowa and our North Dakota Instructors in Training are preparing, so we are assuming that it's a go.

You may consider yourself invited but I need you to do one thing for us. PLEASE go to the website and register to attend the shoot. You'll find us listed under the Oct. 3rd weekend listings as Kintyre, ND. We need you to do this as soon as you know that you're coming so the Appleseed people can prepare.

To put it mildly, we're excited around here about this. By hosting the shoot, we not only get to attend one, but we get to see all of our friends for 2 whole days. WOW! If one afternoon at the zoo and supper with the Geigers could bring so much joy to our family, what will 2 days of many friends here with us be like? I CAN HARDLY WAIT TO FIND OUT!!!

Please keep our shoot in your prayers. Pray that the weather will be perfect; that everyone will come who is supposed to; and that the bonds of friendship will deepen. Truthfully, we need each other in this world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TO FRIENDSHIP,

Dawn


YOU'RE INVITED TO AN APPLESEED SHOOT

WHERE: At the Robert Bornemann farm near Kintyre, ND

WHEN: October 3rd and 4th, 2009--from 8:30 to 4:30 each day

WHY: To improve your shooting skills and learn the history of April 19th, 1775

Hello everyone,

Our family is VERY excited to share our news with you. We have been accepted to host an Appleseed Shoot here at our farm!!! It was pretty iffy for awhile as we couldn't seem to find an appropriate location for the range. Then Robert came up with an awesome idea, which proved to be the answer to the problem.

Recently we purchased a large square baler which makes very high-density bales. At first we had considered using our large alfalfa bales as a backstop for the bullets, but who wants their hay all full of bullets? Well as it happened, Robert and our neighbor had just struck up a deal. Mr. Johnson grew flax this year and he offered to let us bale up the straw. Flax straw bales are virtually indestructible so we are planning on building wind breaks for the cattle with them after the shoot. Being these aren't going to be used for feeding to the animals, it doesn't matter if they're full of bullets or not. It is these bales that we're going to build a backstop with for the shoot.

We needed to KNOW that the bales would stop all of those flying bullets, so we set up a little test. The guys shot ten .22 shells and four .270 shells into a bale from a distance of 5 feet. NOT A SINGLE BULLET CAME THROUGH THE BALE! YIPEE! This means that we can host a shoot even though we don't have a hill steep enough to stop the bullets. So, if you are interested, mark your calendars for October 3rd and 4th as those are the dates set for our shoot. We invite you to join us here for our shoot. By attending you can learn tricks to improve your aim; get inspired to protect our country if need be; and make new friends--not to mention strengthening old friendships. :)

What we need you to do, the minute you know that you can come, is go to the Appleseed Project website here: http://www.appleseedinfo.org/. Find the listing for Kintyre, ND for the October 3rd and 4th weekend and register. Usually Appleseed likes 3 months to prepare for a shoot but we don't have that much time with winter approaching every day. The shoot boss asked me to urge you all to register immediately so that they can get their supplies together. They need a headcount in other words.

The Appleseed founders want everyone to be able to come to a shoot who would like to. They allow all children under 21; all women; and all active military personnel in for free. Isn't that great? Also Alex the shoot boss, told me that if there is a true financial need, nobody will be turned aside. If this is the case with your family, please let me know, and I'll make those arrangements with Alex. Otherwise the price is a mere $70 for men for the weekend. You do need to bring a sack lunch. I guess I should add here that you can come for only one day if necessary and that price is $45. Andrew said that the best day to come then is Saturday as that is when the bulk of the teaching is done.

Just as soon as you register on the Appleseed website, we'd like you to email us too and tell us the number of people from your family who are coming. We'll need to get enough bales to the shoot site so that everyone who wants to participate can shoot. Being we don't have an adequate hill for a backstop, we'll need to build one. :)

As you ponder this, I would like to have you take a few moments to watch this video on U-tube. Appleseed got very good press coverage and perhaps you will get your questions answered by watching. Here's the link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aYwhN2Uw8e4.

Thank you for considering joining us here. Please seriously ponder attending as Andrew and Jacob were very inspired by attending a shoot last month. Those of you who can't attend this shoot may want to do so next year. Also, we'd appreciate prayers for lovely weather that weekend--that is a way that EVERYBODY can help out!

Hope to see you next month,

Dawn for the Bornemanns

PS. If you have any extra rifles that you would be willing to loan to others for the shoot, please let me know. We have some people who want to come who don't have a gun--YET.