Animal Farm

Eew! I had to turn away and cover my eyes as animals being animals in their search for food was displayed on the screen.  We were watching Planet Earth, and I cringed as the Snow Leopard overtook the fleeing, swift-footed, gazelle-like prey.

The next day, I remarked to my husband as we were backing out of the driveway, "Look! There's a cat on the garage roof!" I wondered aloud what it was doing up there, when Howard told me it was after a bird!  Sure enough, a tree limb was bobbing in the wind, nearly touching the roof, and I could see birds twittering among the branches.  The cat was crouching and slinking stealthily along just as its wild counterpart had done!

Thankfully, we weren't there to see the outcome.  We were on our way to the farm to feed our domesticated animals. But just because they're relatively tame doesn't mean they have lost their animal instincts.  I found that out when I had ventured near the pigpen to watch "Porky and Petunia" enjoy the table scraps I had saved for them.

As I lolled over the fence in fascination at their appetite-driven aggressiveness with each other, I heard a flutter behind me.  Turning around, I met the ire of our huge, red rooster! He jumped at me with his claws (a good thing I was wearing long corduroys), pecked at  me with his sharp beak and generally scared the living daylights out of me!  Although I kicked and fought him off and Howard kicked at him, he still managed to make a blood-blister and bruise on my leg! He seems much tamer after his master's chastisement, but I am still wary of him!

On the way home, we were talking about their bestial ways, and especially the way the domineering male goat selfishly prevents the nanny from getting to the food trough until he is finished. "But Howard," I said, "people are the same way!" And it's true! Especially in today's world!  Bullying in schools, shootings, violence and destruction of property if someone doesn't get their way, and on and on, including disrespect for life in abortions and murders, disrespect of authority, and of our country.

The Bible tells us, "Be ye not as the horse, or as the mule, which have no understanding: whose mouth must be held in with bit and bridle, lest they come near unto thee," Psalm 32:9.

We live in a fallen world, but someday things will change.  Isaiah speaks of a time of peace called the Millennium when Christ will reign on the earth. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf  and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.

And the suckling child  shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall  not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," Isaiah 11:6-9.

What a glorious time to which all those who are Christians can look forward!  Not only will we enjoy Christ and one another, we will see the animals in their beauty with no fear of danger or hurt!

The Little Things are the Big Things!

Looking at Facebook the other morning, I saw I had a message with an unfamiliar name.  I opened it and thought for a moment before I recognized who it was. A friend who had attended our church in Gulfport, Mississippi many years ago! We had lost track of the young mother when she had joined her military husband in Germany.

After a few opening remarks (the message also included an unsent one from 2011) she updated the new message with the words, "Remember me?" What a joy to hear from her!  I remember the hollow feeling I had when they had moved.  This girl seemed particularly drawn to me as a pastor's wife, and I was happy to encourage her in her Christian walk.  She wrote expressing how we were such an important part of her life back then.

Then my friend shared that our granddaughter, Bethany, about 15 at the time, had given her a CD of Christian music.  She wrote that she had about worn that CD out, playing it in Germany.  The Lord had impressed upon her to stop listening to secular music, and she said that the CD sustained her until she was able to buy Christian CDs herself.  The girl we knew now has grown children, and her report was that her husband also prefers Christian music now, and that they were able to bring up their children to do the same!

A few days ago I read a post from another church friend we had known when we both lived in Mississippi.  She said she had just bid goodbye to minister friends who had stayed at their house (she called it a B&B).  It made her think of a former visitor who had left a lovely note/poem pinned to the pillow in their guest room.  She shared the poem, which expressed appreciation and credited her hospitality as being a service to the Lord! Our friend said it made her think how that sometimes we feel we are not doing enough for God and at our age are "put out to pasture," but our everyday kindnesses and simple deeds are indeed acts of service to Him.

We had no idea how much we had influenced the young housewife.  When I related her post to my granddaughter on the phone, her voice caught with emotion. She remembered things I had forgotten. She reminded me of  the young woman's gratitude and enjoyment the time we all took her and her two small children for a Sunday afternoon and dinner at our daughter's house some forty miles away. Then I remembered having her at my house for a Sunday meal. A memory surfaced of including her and the kiddos on a trip to a children's museum with our daughter and grandkids.  It's funny how one forgets those things, but they may remain and make an impression on someone else.

Our granddaughter had no idea how much a simple gift of music meant.  Nor had it occurred to my Facebook friend that by providing shelter to the ministry couple she was actually doing the Lord's work.  As it turns out, the little things we do may be the big things in the long run!

Look-Alikes

My brother noticed it first. I was a little skeptical when he mentioned it. Then I watched To Kill a Mockingbird  last night, and it's true!  My husband does look like Gregory Peck! I couldn't take my eyes off the actor as I noted the resemblance, especially so when Howard was  younger.  The black hair, the chin, the eyebrows and especially, the  dark-rimmed glasses! Also, the summer suit Peck wore was similar to Howard's seersucker suits he favors in warm weather.

Atticus, Peck's character, was portrayed as an upright, fair man of high principles.  The same can be said of my husband.  I don't know much about the actor's actual life, but I don't recall reading or hearing anything negative.

They say everyone  has a double somewhere.  Not that Howard is the movie star's double, but it was an interesting and flattering comparison, nonetheless. If I know my husband, though, the only image he would want to reflect is Jesus.

"Be ye therefore followers of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour," Ephesians 5:1-2.

 As Christians, the Bible says we are to spread the knowledge and "sweet smell" of Him in every place, something I see Howard do daily. "Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge in every place. For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish," 11 Corinthians 2:14-15.

I remember reading something a survivor of the Twin Towers of 9/11 wrote.  He said as he was descending  the stairs to escape the building, he met a fireman coming up.  The fireman carried a heavy coil of water hose on his back as he ascended the stairs. Their eyes met, and the man noticed an undefinable quality in the fireman's eyes.  Later, after the explosion that took the lives of the firemen and so many others, the grateful survivor said he knew it had been Jesus he had seen in the eyes of the fireman that day.

My husband has his Father's eyes.


,

Free of Charge

I've been liberated!  I no longer save left-overs! No more saving stale cookies, chips or crackers in zip-lock bags! And I no longer feed the garbage disposal!  Now everything goes into a container for the pigs!  How they love those left-overs!  Everything from baked sweet potato skins to salad leavings, broccoli stems and cooked cabbage goes into their pot.  They especially love macaroni and cheese and ramen noodles. The only thing I can't feed them is pork (after all, I don't want them to be cannibalistic)!

My refrigerator is cleaner and my shelves are neater without saved items to use "just in case." And I am not wasting food, I'm investing it!  Perhaps those pink porkers will become bacon for our table!  But probably not.  If my husband has his way, they will reproduce and become saleable stock for the market. Right now they are just fun to watch and an investment in my husband's contentment and satisfaction as he sees them grow.

Yesterday we were about to enter the grocery store, clutching our wraps about us against the frigid gusts of winter wind.  "I'm not going to get a basket," Howard said, since we were only picking up a couple of items and getting a cart was a hassle, what with finding and inserting a quarter, then returning it later.

Suddenly a car swept up to the curb and the door on the passenger side flew open.  An elderly woman practically tumbled out as she cried, "Could you get me a cart?  My legs are  not strong and it's hard for me."  She was holding out a quarter.  Of course,  Howard cheerfully got  her a cart, even though he didn't get one for us. He joked amiably about the weather as she gratefully balanced herself against the cart.

Just before that, we had noticed a bare-armed, quite large lady returning a cart then meeting us as we walked up to the store,  "Young lady, you'd better get a coat on!" my jovial husband exclaimed, to which the flustered lady said something and laughed in delight. The unaccustomed cold spell seemed to release a note of conviviality among the shoppers.

The tidbits I toss out for the pigs may be unimportant to me, but they are very important to the pigs!  And they are part of our investment in their happinesss and well-being.  The small kindnesses and courtesies we may show to people do not cost us anything except a moment of thoughtfulness, but they may mean a lot to someone who might be feeling alone and insignificant.  They are often a bright note of cheer that may lighten their mood, if only for a few minutes.

"Withhold not good from them to whom it is due, when it is in the power of thine hand to do it." Proverbs 3:27.

Hidden Treasure

"Howard," I wailed to my husband, "I think I must  have left  my new gloves at the hotel where we stayed on our trip!"  I could only come to that conclusion, since I had searched high and low for the lovely gloves our daughter Amy had given me for Christmas!  They weren't in any coat pocket, drawer, purse, car or anywhere else I could think of.  I was heartsick, not only because I needed and wanted the gloves, but I was sure they were expensive!

I hadn't told Amy about my disappointment, not wanting her to think I was careless of her thoughtful gift.  Finally putting the missing gloves out of my mind, I bought a cheap little pair that were okay, but not the plush, warm gloves that had felt so delicious on my hands when I had tried them on.

The weather was warm while were in Georgia and Tennesee, so I  hadn't worn them, but I remembered taking them out and looking at them while staying overnight in Arkansas.  Howard had even called the place where we stayed, and they said they would check with Housekeeping, but no gloves had been turned in.  Probably kept them, I thought uncharitably.

A bitter cold front had come in Sunday, and I dressed in my warmest outfit for church, a black sweater and tweed skirt with black boots.  I opened the lid on the top portion of my jewelry cabinet to retrieve a red-beaded necklace I wanted to wear.  My eyes were stunned for a second as there, beside a small bag of accessories I had placed there after our trip, were my lost gloves!  I must have put them there in the disarray of unpacking!  I quickly put them on, and they looked positively sophisticated with my red jacket!  Thank you, Lord!

Later that morning the pastor was preaching about drawing closer to God, referencing Paul's words in Philippians 3:12,14: "Not as though I had  already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if I  may apprehend that for which I am  apprehended of Christ Jesus. (14) I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus."

It reminded me of the Bible being a treasure chest, where jewels of wisdom and faith are discovered by studying and meditating on His rich words and truths as we press on in Christian growth.  And like my jewelry chest, where I was surprised with a happy discovery, we often find things that are particularly meaningful and precious to us!

My jewelry cabinet has nothing of real value in it, just costume jewelry and beads I have collected over the years, but we ourselves are jewels of God as we think upon and talk of Him. "Then they that feared the Lord spake often to one another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and thought upon his name.

And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him." Malachi 3:16-17.

All Creatures Great and Small

I hadn't been out to the farm in a few days, but we had collected a bucket of leftover scraps for the little pigs, so I went along with my husband on his daily pleasure excursion to check on the animals. It was cold, so at first I sat in the car as Howard and our son Greg fed and admired their motley crew.  Soon I had to admit that the whole vignette was quite fetching.

The little pink pigs ran about, looking for all the world like Wilbur in Charlotte's Web. They had come out of their cozy quarters and eagerly devoured their food, and now they were happily rooting in the soft earth they were rapidly turning into a mud bog. With their cheerful, dirty faces, the mud-streaked little porkers reminded me of children playing in the mud!

My gaze went to the two goats in their corral.  Their winter coats were absolutely dazzling, having grown full and luxurious with the coming of winter.  Especially the male goat, long black hair glistening in the sun against the white of the rest of his coat.  His sire was from the high mountains of Mexico, a magnificent, if somewhat forbidding animal with his dagger-like horns.  Hopefully our goat will take after his domestic mother, also the mother of our female goat whose white coat, with splotches of brown, was reminiscent of an expensive cow-hide rug.

The goats frolicked  up and down a ramp the guys had made, then reared up on the fence as if looking for admiration.  Once in a while the red rooster wandered too close to them, and they would make a threatening dash toward him as he scurried to safety in a flash of flapping wings.

The chickens had been released from their quarters for scratching and foraging in the barnyard.  They pecked and strolled contentedly, and I couldn't help noticing what beautiful birds they had become.  From the little mail-order balls of brown fluff that had gotten their start in a basket in our house, they had become these shiny, gold-streaked, sleek fowl, holding their own with the big kids (no pun intended!).

Best of all was the farmer wanna-be slouched against the fence eyeing the creatures appreciatively.  I had to go and join him for a closer look.  I thought of the words from a song, "All things bright and beautiful, all creatures great and small, all things wise and wonderful, the Lord God made them all." And of the scripture, And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good," Genesis 1:31.

The Fountain of Youth

My husband received a special Christmas present from our granddaughter Bethany when we were in Tennessee over the holidays.  It was a volume of 300 hymns and their history!  He was ecstatic, but now I think I love it as much as he does!

I was reading the hymn-story of one of Fanny Crosby's songs, of which she  has written an amazing 3,500!  An ever-youthful soul by all reports, I liked what she said in her later years: "It means nothing to be eighty-four years of age, because I am still young! What is the use of growing old? People grow old because they are not cheerful, and cheerfulness is one of the greatest accomplishments in the world!"

Well, I'm all for cheerfulness, but it may be something I need to work on!  I was cheered yesterday, though, by a purchase we made. Ever since we moved here eight years ago, we have bought bottled water.  We just don't like the taste of the tap water here. Then a Facebook post by a resourceful niece, excited about a faucet water filtering device she had bought, prompted us to get one!

Why didn't we do this years ago!  The difference is amazing! I read on the enclosed brochure the many particles and substances filtered out for safety and improved taste. This morning I drank some of the filtered water, then tried a sip of tap water for comparison. Ugh! I quickly drank the other water that was so refreshing!

I thought of the story in the Bible when Jesus was offering the woman at the well living water.  His Living Water offered life as she had never known it!  She could be through with a lifestyle polluted with the carcinogens of sin, misery and futility, plus the poison of worthlessness and hopelessness. His refreshing Water gushed through her soul.  Overflowing with the vitality coursing within, she couldn't wait to bring others to Jesus!

"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst,  let him come unto me, and drink, He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water," John 7:37-38.

Jesus said this at the Feast of Tabernacles, when the Jews carried water from the Pool of Siloam to pour into a basin at the altar of burnt offering. They did this every day for seven days.  Then on the eighth day, Jesus made this proclamation of  the offer of eternal life!

(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.) John 7:39.

The best way I know to stay young!  He is the Fountain of Youth!