Farm Girl

A Great Man

2010-01-24T17:35:00.002-06:00

What makes a man great? I have been pondering this for several weeks now. I don't think being elected to an office, no matter how high the office, makes you a great man. I don't even think being king of a country makes a man great. What makes a man great is his character. A man that I know is preparing to meet his Lord and Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is a great man.
His name is Charlie, and I have known him all of my life. My first memory of him is in church. He and his family have always been in the periphery of my life, in the last 20+ years much closer. If you met him on the street and spoke to him for longer than a minute you knew of his relationship with God. He has never been embarrassed to share that relationship. He was a builder in his days before retirement. If Charlie built a house for you, you always got more than what was promised. If he was your landlord, as he was at one time for my parents, he was the best.

He never failed to stand during a testimony service and thank the Lord for his goodness, with tears. He has been married to one woman his whole life and she is the light of his life. Together they raised six children in the house of the Lord and was an example of love and faith to them. Among them are a nurse, a missionary, a teacher, a pastor's wife, a doctor and an attorney. What a legacy.

Charlie has always been there with a smile on his face and a love in his heart. I always knew if I needed something, anything, Charlie would be there, even though it was never spoken. There are some people you just know you can count on. So as Charlie prepares to meet the Lord, he is doing so with a smile on his face and a love in his heart. I just know when he gets to heaven there will be throngs of people waiting to say to him: Thank you for giving to the Lord, I am a life that was saved.

Lord you want me to do what?

2009-08-23T18:48:00.002-05:00

I have often wondered if God were to call me to do something out of my comfort zone would I do it. Friday I was in a waiting room in a St. Louis hospital waiting to be called for a colonoscopy. The room was full. Over to one side there was an elderly man sitting behind a woman in a wheel chair, with another woman on either side of him. One of the women started to sing softly, she could still be heard all over the room. She was singing Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, there's just something about that name..... the elderly man closed his eyes and attempted to sing along. Before long they called a name and the man, another woman and the lady in the wheel chair went to another room. The lady who was singing got up and went to a family of three in front of us. She said "I must apologize, I didn't ask if there was a song I could sing for you." I couldn't hear what they replied but she again started to sing the same song and from that one went into Because He lives I can face tomorrow....., those people then taught her a children's chorus set to the tune of we will, we will rock you. Then she went to the people next to us and went through the same things. She then told them that her husband was here for some major surgery. Instead of focusing on her problems she was ministering to others. I thought Lord, if you called me to do that, could I. Honestly, I don't know. Years ago I was driving with Bree-Ann and the Lord spoke to me and told me to go witness to someone who was a parent of a bus kid. I immediately turned around and went to their home. I felt like there was no choice. I never considered not doing it. But this Lady had major problems of her own and she was joyfully ministering to others. Lord, help me to be like that. I wonder did she feel like I did, was there a choice?

Nothing to do

2009-04-15T10:05:00.002-05:00

I am currently at work with nothing to do. Our computer system crashed and we do everything on that program. They were doing an update that was bigger than they thought and it crashed the server. So here I sit with nothing to do. I am supposed to do sound at church tonight but if I can't even start my work until after lunch getting done and out of here on time will be almost impossible. I am working on that one. I hate not being busy. I am a worker bee, I need work. I don't do bored well. Fortunately I work with people I like and we have been talking and surfing the net.
Also, today is tax day. I hate tax day. It seems no matter how hard I try I always end up mailing my taxes (read money) on tax day. I took our taxes to the accountant early in March and he finished them yesterday. Next year we will be looking for someone new. We pay estimated every quarter and still end up paying more. I really hate taxes!

Storms

2009-03-24T14:20:00.002-05:00

I hate storms. I think it comes from when I was a child. My parents went to California every year to see my grandparents and I did not want to go (car sick). So I stayed behind at my other grandmother's. One summer there was a tornado in the middle of the night. They lived in a little 3 1/2 room house with no basement. Grandma got us up and made us sit up through the storm. A tree fell on the house near where we were sitting. If she had just let us sleep it would have been fine. Ever since then I have this terrible fear of storms. I have gotten better over the years but not a lot. I can just hide it better now. As I write this it is about to storm. I am at work next to very large windows. Tonight the farmer and I have a dinner to go to in a place with no basement. all I can do is pray Lord keep us safe.

Help

2009-02-18T16:28:00.003-06:00

I work with someone who hates me, that is not an exageraton. She refuses to sit at her desk when I am there because it is next to mine. She speaks to me only when I speak to her and there is a supervisor around. She is rude, unpleasant and the unhappiest person I have ever met. I have been told both by my immediate supervisor and the big boss that she has been ask to find a different job. She has been here 20 years and they say she has been here too long and she doesn't remember what it is like in the real world. She comes in late, messes around and spends too much time outside smoking. I start 30 minutes after her and I am here before her. I have been having terrible headaches she causes me so much stress. I have been as nice as can be I pray for her daily but I just don't know what else to do. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Cooking

2009-02-17T12:03:00.003-06:00

I love to cook, actually baking is what I really love. I love making yeast bread, sweet bread, cakes, cookies, pies. I love it all and I am not afraid to try new things. One year our church held an auction. My entry was a year of deserts one a month. The people who bought it seemed to love it. I tried to taylor it to their needs. If I knew they were having company I tried to have something for that time. I made sure to ask about their likes and dislikes. I made all kinds of things from cheesecakes to pies. They begged me to do it again the next year but by that time I was busy with other things and didn't have the time. I alway thought I would like to hold a class for young women who are about to get married and teach them things like how to make homemade noodles, easy beef stew, chicken pot pie so they could start out with a basic knowledge. My daughter was never interested in learning, but my granddaughter loves cooking with me. See below.

My bucket list

2009-02-09T19:38:00.002-06:00

If you have seen the movie "Bucket List" you will know what this means. This is not a serious list just things I would like to do before I kick the bucket.
They are in no particular order.
1. Build our dream house
2. Fly first class round trip to Europe
3. Fly in a private jet
4. Be a single digit size
5. Go to Australia
(i'm sensing a theme here)
6. Not have to ever have to think about money again.
I really don't have a lot of wants. Mostly travel is high on my list. I guess I just am boring.

Adventures in hair coloring

2009-01-24T11:40:00.003-06:00

The first time I ever colored my hair I was 18. A friend talked me into frosting it. That was really big back then. Of course, she volunteered to do it, even though she had never done anything like that before. My hair is naturally very dark brown, almost black. It ended up being very blonde. I was horrified. I went back to the store and got a dark brown semi permanent color thinking (in my naive mind) that by the time it washed out I would be back to my own color. All it did was turn my hair a darker shade of blonde. So I just let it grow out. The next time I ventured into color territory I went wild. I colored it eggplant. Now if you have ever looked carefully at an eggplant you will notice that it is almost black with a purple cast to it. I loved it. When I was in the sun the purple really came out, and purple is my favorite color. I wore it like that for several years and finally decided it was just too expensive. I had to be done at a salon and after about three weeks the purple faded away. After that grew out I found out that it was time to start coloring for a different reason. I was unbelievably gray (or is it grey). Any way I had always heard that as you get older your hair should get lighter. So I started coloring it a medium brown, which by the way, is very dark. From there I went to light brown. For the last several years it has be sometimes a dark blonde sometimes a medium blonde.
I can imagine you are thinking, ok so why are you telling me all of this. Well, my hairdresser wants to do something dramatic with my hair. I have an appointment for Valentines day. We are going to a wedding that day and I figured it would be the perfect time to try something new. So if I don't see you very often, the next time may be something of a shoch. We'll see.

2009

2009-01-03T12:42:00.002-06:00

As I think back to the last year of my life. How blessed I am. I spent from February until July on the couch, homebound. Recovering from what will be my last knee surgeries. God sent us to the Mayo Clinic and to Dr. Arlan Hanssen. He truly is a God send. He saved my leg and my life. I spent four years recovering from various knee surgeries and in that time I learned a lot. I learned to be thankful for such a wonderful husband, not that I wasn't befoe. This is different. He proved/showed me how very much he loves me. I learned to be thankful for my daughter who was there to help when ever she could be. And then there is Shelby. She had never known Grandma without a boo boo. She helped me with my walker, helped me lift my leg and generally watched out for me. When I got to the point that I was using a cane, she would remind me to take it with me. I learned to be happy in my circumstance. I would be lying if I told you being alone most of the time unable to do the smallest thing for myself was fun, but God was there with me and kept me from getting depressed. I tried hard not to complain and look for the bright side.
Now that I am recovered I find I am more content. I don't need to be entertained like before. Before I didn't like sitting at home, I wanted to go. Now even though I am still very social, I find I can be content. I am calmer, more at peace. So if you are ever going through a trial just remember God's word says: Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, and lean not unto your own understanding. In all of your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path. I figure he waited four years to heal me because I had a lot to learn, and I am at the point now that I have taken steps to see that this does not happen to someone else. God never waste suffering.

Things that make me happy

2008-12-30T07:18:00.002-06:00

It has been a long time since I blogged. I tend to compare myself with my fellow friend bloggers and I do not measure up. But I am going to carryon anyway. I have been thinking about what it takes to make me happy. I work with someone who seems never to be happy. Maybe my standards are low, I can think of so much that makes me happy. I will cut the list down or it could go on forever. Some are personal some are general, and in no particular order here they are.
Spring
Flowers (not florist flowers, although they are nice)
Shelby
Kenny
Bree-Ann being happy
Getting something right
Baking
Doing something for someone else
Purple
Crafting and sewing
Clothes that are not too tight
Music
Seeing my husband smile
Hearing my two year old granddaughter be very polite
A clean house
Friends
Knowing I am loved
Feeling loved
Laughing
Cows
Shelling corn in a combine
Travel
These are a few of my favorite things (that sounds familar). I could go on for sometime but I have to go to work. That sometimes makes me happy.

Government Insurance

2008-10-16T13:11:00.003-05:00

If Medicare is any indication of what government insurance will be like, count me out. I work with insurance and Medicare everyday. Medicare covers nothing at home. They want you to go to an extended care facility for something you can easily do at home and for much less cost. They won't cover any antibiotics that are given IV at home. Any treatment that you may need at home has to be administered by some sort of machine (durable medical equipment). You could probably do it cheaper another way but Medicare won't pay for if you do. You must jump through so many hoops to get anything done with them that sometimes it just isn't worth it.
Any time the government gets involved there will be problems. Some Senator probably owns stock in a durable medical equipment company so he puts in the Medicare bill that you have to use that equipment in order for Medicare to pay for it. You get the idea.
If someone has a Medicare supplement insurance policy and Medicare denies the claim, so will the insurance company. You have to have a secondary not a supplement. Let this be a warning to you.

Shleby

2008-09-09T10:39:00.003-05:00

I love being a grandma. The first time Shelby called me grandma I thought it can't get any better than this. But it has, much better. She is the best little girl and always has been. She is two and a rule follower even at this age. When she started to crawl I told her she was not to touch grandma's "pretties", and she never has. She has always picked up her toys before she went home. She has to have a napkin to eat. She does not like messes. Her face and hands need to be clean and she wipes up her own spills. Kenny was working on the recliner the other night and she said "Papa made a mess, I'll clean it." When she got up one morning this week I said how about you help me make the bed, just as quick she came back with "that's a good idea". When we go shopping she stays right by my side wanting to help. One time I was getting her out of her car seat and she said grandma where is your cane? She reminds me to take my purse. She is so smart she can count to 10 and knows most of the abc's. Her Papa and I love her so much, she is such a joy (there is that word again). You will just have to live with my bragging I make no apologies.

Choose Joy

2008-09-08T18:10:00.004-05:00

Most of you reading this know of the problems I have had for the last four years with my knee. I just thought I would let you know how faithful God has been to me. The day that I got sick with my second infection I was off work and running around. I got a call on my cell from an attorney's office in O'Fallon IL wanting to know if I was interested in doing some freelance paralegal work for them. Now the first time I was sick I was off for four months and got no pay because there is a time limit for it to kick in. I ask them how they got my name and they said I had sent them a resume four years earlier (when I graduated with my paralegal degree). That night I was back in the hospital and off work for a year. During that time I did get my disability payments (1/2 of my salary) but I also had the work from the law firm that I could do at home and make about twice what I was making at the hospital. Is God faithful or what. He knew before I got sick that money would be tight and he provided. I spent about six months total that year in a wheel chair with no knee. I had three surgeries and got a new knee replacement. When people would ask me how I was I would try to be honest about how much pain I was in. But I would also say I am doing fine. I'm going to be ok. Recently I figured up how much time I have been out of work in the last four years, it comes up to two years and seven months. I have had 14 surgeries on my knee, had it removed twice, once for nine months and once for four months. Through it all I have had a smile on my face. I have tried not to complain to anyone. I chose JOY. I am so glad I did. It made my time recovering so much easier. I knew God was taking care of me and I chose to sit back and let him do it.

I am going back to work day after tomorrow. I have been praying about this job for months. I told the Lord you know what I need and I am going to trust you to provide. The job I am going back to is a desk job. I will work no evenings, no weekends, no holidays, and take no call. That is almost unheard of in nursing. I even got a raise. I will be working with the same people I have been working with for the last two years.

So when you are down or in a bad place, choose joy, it really helps.

I'm sold

2008-09-04T16:42:00.002-05:00

I watched Sarah Palin's speech last night and I'm sold. She is the do everything woman. She is not afraid of the "big boys" and I believe she will whup up on Joe Biden in the debates. I think he is running scared. Go Sarah!

Political Musings

2008-09-02T12:05:00.003-05:00

When Sarah Palin was announced as the new VP canidate I knew absolutely nothing about her. So I did some research. She has five children the youngest, born in April, has Down's Syndrome. Her 17 year old daughter is 5 months pregnant out of wedlock. Sarah is an Assembly of God woman. The previous two things that I mentioned about her children have absoutely no bearing on the job she will do as VP. But of course, the press is carrying on about them. One thing I can say for Mr. Obama is he told the press, families are off limits. Being an Assembly of God woman myself and having had a granddaughter born out of wedlock, I can assure you she had no fault in this. You raise your children right and they do what they want. Her being an AG woman does have some bearing on how she does the job of VP. She is a praying woman and that will make all the difference. She has limited political experience but seems to be a go getter who is not afraid of the "good ole boys". I will be praying for Sarah as the days get closer to the convention. We all know how the press loves to go after Christians. I am urging you to do the same.

Cows make good mothers

2008-08-28T14:16:00.004-05:00

We have raised beef cows for about 15 years. I have learned a great deal about them in that time.
1. All cows are female
2. Bulls are male
3. A hiefer is a young female that has never had a calf
4. A Steer is a castorated male
When a cow has a calf they tend to go off on their own and go through labor alone. After the calf is born the cow stays by its side for about 24 hours, not even leaving to eat. After that other cows "volunteer" to watch the calf while she eats. If there is more than one new calf the mothers rotate babysitting duties. If you approach a new calf (when mom isn't around) it will let you pet it. Because its mother has never told it not to. After she finds out that you have been there she will tell the calf to run from you. We have been able to tame a calf by hand feeding it.

One time several calves were playing king of the hill on a manure pile. One of the moms was ready to go to pasture. She called her calf three times and it did not come so she left without it. She hadn't gone very far when the calf noticed she was gone and took off. It was just what I would have done.

When a cow has twins (which doesn't happen very often) it is almost always a boy and a girl and the girl is usually sterile.

Once we had a hiefer in labor and she was having a hard time. We had pinned her up in the barn and the other cows gathered around her and gave her instructions and encouragement.

I love cows, at least most of them. I tend to hate the black ones, they are mean. We raise Polled Herefords they are brown and white and generally have a very sweet and gentle disposition.

Speaking of dispostions, our bull's name was Curly. He was sweet and he was nosey. He always wanted to be in the middle of everything. Even though he was sweet we were always respectful of him. He was huge and had no idea how big he was. He could trap you against the barn and never feel it. We always knew who Curly was "dating", he ate next to them. He ate in a different spot every week. The cows teneded to eat in the same spot every day. We knew that in nine months his "date" would present us with a new calf.

Wanderings

2008-08-27T10:44:00.004-05:00

My Prince Charming and I just returned from a short vacation. We flew to Ontario California, rented a car, drove 2.5 hours to Bakersfield. We spent the night and the next morning boarded Amtrak for Oakland California. Sounds like a lot of work doesn't it. We had a blast. Or at least as much of a blast as two old people can have. We like to take vacations where we "wing it". No plans, just a destination and a rental car. Last year we went to San Diego and rented a small two seater convertible, but I digress. On Amtrak (which we loved) we got to see the California country side. It was not a pretty site. We saw nothing green. We saw a lot of poverty and junked up back yards. Arnold really needs to clean up his state. We saw a lot of gang grafitti on the back of concrete fences surrounding very nice homes. We saw a lot of dairy farms. They differ greatly from Illinois dairys. There is no green. The cows are in big buildings with just a roof and support poles for the sides. There is no weather to worry about in CA. The farms were much bigger than we are used to seeing. I thought about the commercials on TV about the happy cows in CA. The ones where the grass is green and the cows are grazing. First, anyone who knows anything about dairys knows that you don't allow cows to graze. Their feed is very controlled by a nutritionist. They aren't in fields they are in sheds. They sleep on sand to protect their udders. Those commercials, while very enteraining, are totally false.
Once we arrived in Oakland we had to get a taxi to the airport to pick up our rental car. It was Sunday and they were the only ones open. It cost us $30 plus tip, for a trip that was six miles long. From there we headed north. "The Farmer" wanted to see CA farm country. We drove for several hours, stopped for the night, then the next day drove another hour. We went to a place that he was told was farm country. We saw nothing. At least nothing that we are used to. So, we drove back to San Fran, crossed the Golden Gate Bridge (in the fog). We stopped took pictures and drove on. We then went to San Jose to see the Winchester house. That was neat. I had seen it on TV several times, but it is just not the same as seeing it in person. We then went to Half Moon Bay to spend the night on the beach. It was cold so there was no walking on the beach for us. The next day we spent in San Fran. We went to Pier 39 and enjoyed that very much. We went to Fisherman's Warf and didn't see what the big deal was. We drove down Lombard street and enjoyed that. We had lunch on the Pier. I had clam chowder in a bread bowl and a glass of water, the Farmer had a personal pan pizza and a glass of water it cost $33 not counting tip. I nearly had a heart attack. After more sightseeing we headed back to Oakland to spend the night. We found a great hotel on the bay, it was really pretty. The next morning we flew home. All in all it was fun. The best part for me is hearing the Farmer say, after seeing something on TV: We have been there. I say, yes but only because I made you go.

Commitment

2008-08-15T08:55:00.002-05:00

My grandparents were married for over 50 years. As a child I had heard the story of how three weeks after they started dating they were married. Even as a child I marveled that they barely knew each other, yet stayed married for ever. Recently, I discovered that my grandfather, who I knew to be a Christian man, had a love child about my age. When I first heard about this I couldn't believe it. So I ask his daughter, my aunt. Sure enough it was true. She told me it was a girl about my age, as far as she knew living in the area. I ask if she had ever met her, she told me no and she didn't want to. There used to be a house trailer parked on the lot next to my grandparents home and apparently this woman lived there. Now I never heard my grandparents ever utter an angry word to one another. They went to church regularly (Salvation Army). I still have trouble wrapping my head around this. Apparently my grandfather never supported this child. I don't know how he could, they were barely getting by (but that is no excuse). I can't begin to imagine how my grandmother must have felt. I recently came in posession of her Bible. I have been all through it and there are lots of notes, pieces of paper, etc. but nothing to even indicate that she was the least bit unhappy.
They stayed married through it all. Today, people are divorcing because they just get tired of one another or any other silly reason they can think of. What happened to commitment?

How things have changed

2008-08-14T18:00:00.000-05:00

Today I was driving along and noticed several people walking. Not for pleasure, but to get to where they had to go and I thought how sad it is that we are so afraid to pickup hitchhikers.
We are all afraid of murders and rapist, but I'll bet the average person, hitchhiking is doing so because they have no other transportation. When my daughter was about 6 we saw a lady waiting for a bus. I think the Lord spoke to me and told me to pick her up, so I did. She was very sweet and we had a nice conversation while I took her home. After she left I told my daughter she should never do that but that the Bible talks about angels unaware and then I explained all of that to her. I tried to impress on her that you have to listen to the Lord and at the same time, use your own God given common sense.
I have never before or sense pickup up another hitchhiker but that day I did, and my daughter has never forgot that lesson.