Make the Moments Count
I just have to blog about a tragic accident suffered by the family of well-known Christian Music artist Steven Curtis Chapman I just heard about. His youngest of six chilren, 5-year-old Maria was accidentally struck and killed in the families driveway by one of the older teenage brothers! I not only pray for the entire family, but a special prayer for the young man who was driving the vehicle. Lord, please don’t allow Satan to use guilt and blame on him. For God, we KNOW that you have control over ALL things. Little Maria was on this earth for a short time, but had a profound impact while here. She was instrumental in her father’s writing a powerful song “Cinderella” which reminds all of us to not rush through the raising up of our children. She has undoubtedly given the Chapman’s many hours of laughter and memories.
Please join me in upholding the family during this time of profound loss. May God’s comfort shine through them, may the general public give them space to grieve and just support one another. Above all may God be glorified and His purposes be accomplished in a way that even the atheist cannot ignore.
Here is a link to the video “Cinderella” by Steven Curtis Chapman, written only about w years ago… be sure to listen to the story at the end about the story behind the song.
4H: What is it? How can I join?
I really believe in 4H. It is a youth organization that was started and upheld by Purdue University and Land Grant structure. The regular 4H clubs offer children the opportunity of “learning by doing”. Traditionally, people associate 4H with showing cows, pigs, horses and sheep or sewing, food, needlework and canned goods at the county fairs. But 4H is so much MORE!
Today’s 4H offers Mini clubs for children who are not yet in the 3rd grade to learn even more simplified lessons while having fun in a structured, nurturing club setting. The total number of projects offered has skyrocketed over the almost 30 years since I was a 10 year 4H member. The offerings now include such things as collections, writing, personality, health, woodworking, woodcraft, computer, animal posters, wildlife, forestry, genealogy, bowling, gardening, clothing design, sewing, miscellaneous crafts, recycling, pottery, ceramics, electricity, and independent study projects. These are only some of the offerings. Chances are, if your child is interested in it, there is a project for them. If you have knowledge of it, there is a 4H leadership opportunity for you.
I was a farmer’s daughter and a former FFA member at my highschool. Besides taking part in animal projects, vet science, livestock judging, fine arts, soil judging, parliamentary procedure, sales demonstrations, speech, choir, wildlife management…etc, I developed skills of leadership, cooperation, community awareness and civic responsibility.
Now, that I am raising my daughter in the city, I got plugged into 4H anew as a leader. My first love is in leading a local 4H Dog Club. We offer obedience training which all members must participate in, then, optional Showmanship and Dog Agility. My husband and I have made most of the equipment, but are in need of obtaining more as our program advances. The parents of the kids in our club are ACTIVE participants. Together we are a family. Like a pack of dogs, we show one another respect, learn from each other and experience successes with one another. All the while the kids are learning that I am not there to train their dogs. We are there to help THEM to train their dogs. Even the most timid little child learns how to take charge, communicate clearly (even nonverbally) and grows in understanding and confidence. It truly is a wonderful thing.
Our particular dog club is open to any child grade 3 through age 18 at the beginning of the school year. They first register as a 4H member, pay a nominal membership fee, and sign up for as few or as many projects as they believe they please. There is the Dog Poster project available for even the child who may not own a dog, but want to learn and exhibit. Many materials are provided by the County Extension Office through trained and certified volunteers who schedule and lead meetings. There are also record sheets to be filled out to assure orderly organization and team the skill of record-keeping.
The 4H year culminates at the County and State Fairs where the project(s) of the child can be viewed by all. At the fair, projects receive ribbons and the appreciation of the general public. A sense of accomplishment is instilled in the growing minds of our communities children thanks to the program of 4H, the service of volunteers, involved parents and leaders, and the effort put forth to “make the best better”.
If you have questions regarding signing up a child in 4H or becoming a volunteer leader or resource assistant, please contact your local County Extension Office Agent and inquire. The number for your area is in the blue pages under county government or just search on the web for “County Extension Office AND (the name of your) County.”
Growing and Helping Grow
Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve always enjoyed the garden. I like the idea of helping to make the magic of a garden happen. My brother and I would have some really awesome dirt clod fights as we prepared the seed beds. We did have to put a size limit on what an acceptable dirt clod looked like, or else welts would appear after being pummeled by a hunk of Indiana clay that acted more like granite than dirt. OUCH!
Oh, and the fun times I had as a teenager, driving the tractor as my dad screamed “quit driving so crooked… straighten it up… what are you doing?” Have YOU ever tried to steer a hopping tractor in a straight line when it’s bouncing across ruts and valleys?? Well, it’s not easy. The stripping of the gears and popping of the clutch, the smell of the diesel spewing out of the exhaust that mixed with the smell of the nearby hay, these are but a few of my farmin’ memories.
But after we got through the hard part of removing any boulders or rocks or stumps, turning over the soil, plowing and then discing so that the soil became workable, then we would use the harrow and even out the topsoil. We three older kids got to ride on the top of the harrow on a platform to help weigh it down as Dad pulled it along. It no longer looked like the same landscape. The soil was prepared. It looked receptive. Ready to bear whatever we planted.
That’s when the real fun began. We’d take out the kid’s wagon full of supplies. Seed packets and a few seedlings we’d started inside to be transplanted in our new garden. Dad would lay out some twine between a couple of twigs and hoe a beautiful little furrow. He always knew just how far apart in childrens hand-breadths and how deep in kids finger depth to place the seeds. So we kids were entrusted with the responsibility of following those directions exactly for the crop he had us working on, while he went on to hoe another row. Seed down in the furrow, next seed, cover with dirt, press down firmly and a cup of water to drink… and so the pattern continued for most of the day.
Yes, my father did a wonderful thing in that family garden. He taught his children to appreciate good, hard work. The joy that comes from being a caretaker and a partaker of the fruits of personal labor and God’s gracious miracle of provision.
The Good Book talks about how a seed must die, before it can live. But once it dies in the ground, it sends out a brand new sprout which seeks out the light and pushes it’s way up through the soil. Then it stretches toward the sun and sends out branches and leaves, pods and beans, fruits, etc. All of these in turn, produce even more seeds!! Not to mention some delicious eating for some growing children.
I used to hate it, when Dad would make us go and pull weeds. Especially cutting down thistles that were as tall as I was. But I learned the importance of keeping the weeds down so that the soil’s nutrients would not be robbed from the crop that we desired.
To this day, I so enjoy the feel of the dirt when it is just right. The soil is warm and moist to where I can pull even the deepest dandelion before it sends up colonies of weeds. I love the feel of the dirt on my hands (I only use gloves for the hardcore stuff). Even dirt under my fingernails is not as annoying as it once was. I can smell the minerals in the soil, especially after a nice springtime shower.
As I relive all these pleasant memories, I can’t help but recall all of the similes that are found in a garden. God chose to start His creation of man in a garden. Provision and beauty abounded. There was purpose and fellowship, joy and love in that garden. Yes, the garden is a wonderful illustration of the Marvelous Master Gardener and His loving, nurturing care for me and those I love.
No wonder I love to garden so.
Weathering the Storm
Right now the wind is really howling outside my office window. It makes me think about the storms of life and about the sermon at church today.
The sermon was about Jonah and how he hired a boat to take him in the opposite direction of where God had told him to go. Jonah understood that God was telling him to go to Ninevah to give them the message to repent from their great wickedness and that God would then show mercy on them. Jonah understood, but that is not what he wanted. He wanted God to punish their evil, not show mercy. So when faced with doing something other than what he knew he should do, Noah ran away.
How many times does that happen to you? You have already set your course and God throws a Ninevah assignment at you.
What did happen to Jonah? Well, the poor sailors that were transporting him were threatened by the very same tremendous storm that God brought up to stop Jonah’s defiance. Once it was revealed that it was Jonah’s fault that they were in danger, the sailors asked Jonah what they must do to appease God’s wrath. Jonah instructed them to throw him into the turbulent sea.
You see, Jonah would rather die than just tell the sailors to turn the boat around and sail to Ninevah. But God kept pursuing Jonah and helped him complete His assignment by providing alternate transportation in the form of a giant fish that swallowed Jonah whole.
Swallow a man whole you say? There isn’t a fish that big. Well, my God is the God of all creation and I believe that His Word is true, so I believe that He did send that giant fish on a mission of its own. I would imagine that the fish wasn’t real keen on swallowing this guy, but at least he obeyed.
So three days of pondering in the belly of that great fish probably had some impact on Jonah’s acceptance of the mission. And the fact that when he was spit out by the fish, it was onto the shore of the land God had told him to travel in the first place… well, that should have been a major clue. No matter what YOU want, it’s what God says that needs to get done.
So here are some questions to ponder:
What assignment have you been sent on with which you have refused to comply?
Why not just do it? Fear…. stuborness… inconvenience… pride?
Do you see sudden storms or alternate routes arise due to your defiance or denial of who is really in charge?
What is it going to take for you to accept the mission?
As I am about to go through another surgery, I am viewing it as an assignment. I am laying aside what I was striving to do: “I NEED to get a paying job, do more for my family, pay endless bills, clean up my office, update my computer, clean up the clutter and prepare our taxes.”
Yep, it’s time to turn this ship around . . . it’s going to be God’s way. I’ve never been very keen on the smell of fish.
