The Chicken

       She sat there all alone .      In a corner on the steps .  I walked by her a few times  not seeing her . The dogs and cats didn't care . She was alone . No one wanted her , and  no one or nothing  cared . ...when I finally saw her , I was appalled .........  , scared , featherless back , ugly , sloppy, dirty  tryin to hide , yet to be accepted , but she had NO business being up there by the patio where she was . THE Chicken ! ...... when I finally saw her in her hiding place , I told her in no uncertain words " that she did NOT belong there"! ..... I wasn't willing to touch her , move her to a safer place , I looked around toward the barns for  a human male to help me out . No one . ! I let her sit where she was for the time being ....she was the lone Chicken that had survived  heading for the slaughter house . I had seen her  roaming around the barns all alone  days earlier , sometimes the dogs were after her and played with her , but never doing what dogs usually do best with a chicken ........  How she ever made her way  and WHY , up to the patio ,  will  remain one of life's mysteries . But she was very out of place , very much so . 

    Did you ever feel like this chicken ?

     Ever been where you felt  out of place ?  or all alone ? or no one cared ? not even the animals ?  featherless ?   trying to hide ?  scared ? ............ I have ...I'm as human as you get em'  .......  Do I need to feel this way ?  ah huh .... sometimes .... maybe ....  ok, it's good for us  a wee bit , but not all the time  , gets depressing .......  the  thing is , ' this hen  had been in with 10,000 more squawkers  , but she got lost in the crowd ..... once those all left , she felt rejected (if chickens have feelings )  she went into hiding , wandering , lost and couldn't find her way . So she hung out with the dangerous crowd, 'the dogs' .  Finally they got use to each other and  were in a comfortable zone , so they were friends . She knew the dogs wouldn't take a bite out of her ! 

    How often do we as humans  do what this chicken did ? ... a young person who  leaves what they'd been taught by godly parents , parents who cared ..... parents who prayed daily for the child ,  parents who hurt when their child chooses the ungodly ways ..... the prodigal  has chosen the way of destruction . out in the world trying to gain acceptance . Wandering about not knowing where  they are going , yet seeking and seeking for  something  they don't know what .  They find someone who gives them attention ,  be it ever so wrong ,... they feel accepted  and on goes life . ..... so they continue to live in sin .

     How many times do I  pass by someone and not  pay attention ? How many times do I  make someone feel rejected cause I haven't done what I could have ? ...How many times could I have said  a word of encouragement to  someone and didn't "  or given a smile and didn't ? or  said 'Hi' and didn't ?

    Sometimes no matter how much we do for someone they still chose to go their own way ...... like the chicken , maybe they tried to catch her and put her in the coop and she flew off  ...who knows ?

      Be an encouragement to someone today ...however small or large it is , do it ...... don't let them be all forlorn like the  ' sittin on the patio step chicken ' was . Give them some attention , they need you .

     And if by chance you  are feeling like you are the out of place  chicken  ,  get out of hiding ,  clean your feathers , find someone who  gives you a smile , someone you can trust and go for it , someone who will be a help and not a hinderance ..... reach for the highest goal you can  ..... most people care ,.... I care ..... most of all God cares , He's the one that counts , He wants your attention , He wants you  and you need Him .....

     Be a good chicken , produce till you die ! ( dying for them , means chicken soup for us) ......    

    by Miriam Bontrager 7- 5- 2009 ...... (by the way , " my man" removed the chicken!")

June Happenings

    I keep hearing this  noise in my head when I'd read my xanga subs , " time to post , time to post!" ...but when life hits you with  the busy parts , then  no posting is the ans ...... 'my man' got up early with the 'chickens' this morn..... the alarm clock was not friendly to me as it blared out its sound at  5:30 , and I asked him why he's gettin up so early , to which he replied " I have to see what is going on in the barns with the hen feeders".... I decided sleep was gone , and  got my bods out of bed , , got laundry started , and time for dev's. , and on goes the day .

     June has been a busy month and  I think I am ready to hibernate starting  about next wk..... I am working  on getting the Benefit  Haystack supper organized for our friend Judy Estes who had a supposedly cancerous uterus , but surgery says " only a small spot was found , ! We sat there and praised the Lord for His goodness once more  when the dr. told us the news .... and no treatmenst needed .....   we all know God healed her ...... her husband  had a stroke some yrs ago, they have no insurance , so  this is one way of helping them with the bills .  Its this comin up fri nite.  Yest . DIL Jos and I went to Sams and got the food , 2 LOADED carts ! what a blessing she went with me ! Afraid I'd of had to sleep at Sams overnite  and continue the shopping today , had she not taken  part of the list and filled the cart !

    We also had our fam. corn day , where everyone takes off  their farm duties , and helps along . The men do the cooking and cooling , and we ladies  whatever ladies do . Our big de-silker does the cleaning  and with our huge cookers  , we had the cooking done , 25 bu.,  by 11:00  and cuttin and clean up was done by 1:30 ! ... Then LB got the big plastic spread  out in the back yd., the sprinkler going ,,  and the grands had a water slip and slide  for 2 hrs or more . ! They had so much fun ! ...we ended up  the day with our traditional pizza supper ...... We had local friends join us this yr.  who enjoyed  it as much as we did . They are true southern people who we have learned to love dearly .....

    God has been so good , There are those out there who  are hurtin , searchin' for ans. and don't know which way to turn .  I want to take them in my arms for a big hug and  search their inner heart and tell them to  let go and let God ..... I wish it was as easy to do as its to write it .... Sometimes God wants us to put to practice what He's trying to teach us , sometimes its a process we alone have to go through , sometimes we need help , sometimes .........   fill that in yourself ......  whatever it is you are facing , find someone  trustworthy to talk to , everyone needs someone , no matter how indepentant  you are ,  find someone ..... most of all talk to God and  pour out to Him ......

    I am rambling , ....... right now I need to get off of here and on with the day .

     God's peace and  joy blessings....    

" Let Go and Let God "

     A mother lays on her bed with 2 broken arms and 2 broken legs . She's at the mercy of everyone else . ..... A daughter  has a broken knee cap ........   another mother was driving along with her 3 children , gets hit  by another vehicle and was killed  leaving her family behind ....... a young, sweet  girl , who had just come home from winter BS, on fire for God ,  has  now chosen  to rebel against God , her family ,   running with an ungodly , divorced man  , running away from life's hurts , seeking  worldly acceptance and finding none ....running , running , running ...... Sometimes God says , " Let go and let Me."

    How do we cope with life's hurts ? Where is God when it hurts the worst ? The mother with the broken limbs can easily endure  her physical  pain , but the emotional ,  heart wrenching inner pain of  one's straying , running  daughter is far worse than the physical  pain ....... It's a deep hurt that isn't easily cured ... no meds will heal  the dau's spiritual condition . A 5 hr. heart transplant won't help . ......  talking doesn't help ... sometimes we feel God isn't answering our prayers that we want answered now , before the girl gets  into deeper sin  .  We want action now ....... sometimes God says , " Let go and let Me." .......

    How do I let go and let God ?  Not easily answered .  .. When we fall on our knees before our Heavenly Father  , with our hands out-stretched to Him , holding our problem in those hands and giving the problem to Him , telling Him  it's His  to deal with and in the meantime we will pray and keep asking God to do His will  in His time and not ours .  Sometimes we have to "Be still and know that God is God " Ps. 46:10 , and the rest of the verse is comforting ...... that GOd will be exalted among the heathens and the earth ! Sometimes God says " Let go and Let Me."

     Once we go back to our ever security of  the 'Secret Place of the Most HIgh." Ps. 91:1 , God will cover us and the problem with His shadow and His feathers  and underneath His wings is safety , and trust that we are secure in Him . That;'s where I place this wayward girl ,  under His wings . It's the safest place to be ... even tho at the moment she may not realize that God is watching her  , we , as prayer warriors can place her under God's care , and  in the silence while God is working ,    we  , " Let Go and Let God."

      Emotional Running :   running , running,  it gets you  somewhere , yet you never get anywhere . Running away from an inner heart problem , running , running ,  you are wore out , breathing hard, thinking , just across the way is happiness , will I make it ?  ...I run  more , seeking , looking , ... happiness ? I get  across the hill, and its not there , I run further , hurting more people and myself  as I go,  looking for happiness , I don't find it .....   running on emotional -self strength .  So I keep running .............. I don't find happiness.. It can't be found while running , they are too busy looking straight ahead  seeking for something they can't have ......( this is the inner mind of an emotional  runner) ......

     My verse for today is Ps. 83:1  "Keep not thou silence , O God: hold not Thy peace , and be not still, O God."

    Where is God when it hurts ?  He's right in the midst of us , beside me , inside of me ,  right where it hurts , in my heart  sharing the pain and He asking that we "Let go and Let Him ." ...for He will be exalted .....

      God's peace and joy blessings

My Daddy Taught Me

   One more time !

      "Come on let's go fishing in the ditches , Memaw",  said Kent and Grant .  They had been at our house for lunch and  had helped clear the table and  were ready for some action . We loaded  our gear  onto "Herbie"  and away we went . The ditches had a nice amount of water and  made for some small fishing .  IT wasn't long till Kent had a fish , then another and another . Grant and I didn't have any nibbles , the fishes all liked Kent's style of fishing better . Didn't it hurt so bad when he hooked them , or was he more gentle with his pull  that the other fishes told each other ," bite this hook, he's a good fisherman , ...ummm , don't know what it was ... don't know fish talk ....(do fish talk ?)  whatever it was , he was  catching them .Nothing humongous  .... just a fish .... I finally asked him how he does that ? He quickly replied , " My daddy taught me how ." .... Beautiful words I loved to hear  .... and of course my mind went to more deeper things . " MY daddy taught me " .....  Daddy took time to take his son fishing , took time and patience  to show him HOW to fish , talked to him while they fished .... did this all happen in 15 mins? No,  I am sure it was a slow process that required showing him over and over , patience and more patience .  But Kent could say , " My daddy taught me how ." ... They  went to the river a few nites ago and had a wonderful time  fishing  , coming home with   gobs of  big bass , which Kent had caught 11 of them . When I heard he caught the most , " Daddy taught me how " rang through my mind ........   Is that what we say when our Heavenly Father  teaches us  a lesson ? (Not fishing mind you , but other everyday life things )......  Perhaps a trial we are facing ,  God has to show us over and over how to gracefully go through that trial so we can be a better person  ...and once we have  gone through the 'tunnel of trials"  , can I say , " My Heavenly Father taught me ?"  and once the next trial  faces  me , can I  remember the lessons He gave me , so I can " fish"  better ? and become a better person again ?

     OUr grands all love fishing as do their daddys and  of course their memaw loves it too , so why not go fishing when the weather is great and the fields are too wet to  work them ? ... Lanell took his children fishing the other eve. and it took me back memories lane when our boys were young , how we'd  take them fishing in the eve. and what fun we had ...... then my mind went  back to when I was a little girl and what my daddy taught me ..... he taught me how to ride a bicycle , with him sittin on the seat , he peddled one side and I the other one , then he'd let me guide , and it wasn't long till I knew how to ride bike  , he also taught me how to mow the yd ..... " make straight lines , look down the other end when you start cuttin and know where you want to go, keep your eye on the spot and go for it ." .....  don't cut the grass the same direction the next week , do it opposite .... gives the grasses a better cut "........" My daddy taught me "

      This is what Our Heavenly Father wants of us .... to listen to what He is  teaching us daily . He's very patient and gentle and loving .He cares about our ' little things" we face . His utmost goal is to teach us , and if it takes  tears ,  a broken heart , an answered prayer or whatever it is  to be a better person for Him , then He must do it . .... just as we guide our children , so our Heavenly Father  guides .

     GOd's peace and joy blessings to you

Writer's Block

      I hate when that happens ...want to write but don't know what to write ...nothing comes , blank , silent , zero , empty , nothing is nothing .....  writer's block ..ugh ! sometimes I have so much to write I don't know where to start , and its about the smallest things that don't amt. to much ,but at least  my mind writes . I have often said 'once I'm dead and gone" my children will be able to read some of those things and wonder ' what  made mom write this ?"  maybe it will be a legacy passed on down ..... who knows ?

   Have any one else out there had writer's Block / what do you do about it ? ....want my ans. of what I do ? I usually pray and ask God to give me 'un-writer's block' ..... ok,  I know thats not a word , but new things are always cropping up, and  thats one for the new dictionary that may be coming out  that I don't know about .

    thats all ....