April 24, 2007

Well here it is getting onto the end of April and I have not posted on the old blog in a good long time. I would like to say it is because I am so busy but it is more like I am so lazy. Actually life has been busy and full around our home. What has been happening?

My son turned 10 last week. We celebrated by havin a nice supper and he came with the wife and I to a poultry seminar (which he fell asleep at but only after he filled up on donuts and juice).

We had a great Easter. It was celebrated with family and our new church. Speaking of which our family is enjoyin allot. Maybe I will talk a little more about it later in this post.

Oldest daughter is beatin the bushes lookin for a summer job. No luck yet but she has a couple of interviews this weekend.

Been servicin equipment, getting ready for the season.

Taxes are all done and sent in.

Flu bug went through our house like wild fire. Everyone but yours truly caught it. It was a nasty one.

Oldest daughter made her first big purchase ever. Bought a new (used) computer last Saturday. Man was she excited. She bought it from a local store (good people). I’m glad and proud of her for doin that. She didn’t go to the big box stores. She thought of it but decided to spend her money in the community. Good for her.

Things have/are dryin up pretty nice around here. The odd pile of snow in the bush still. No one is plantin anything yet though. I know some of our neighbors to the south are plantin already but up here in Canada we can get heavy frost well into May (and usually do). That is about all the news form here.

My son is out workin tonight. Its beer can season. When the snow goes and the water in the ditches start to dry up a young fella can make a small fortune collectin beer cans. He gets a big bag and his bike and he works his way down the roads makin his fortune. He gets 10 cents each for them. He collects pop cans too but ya only make about 50 cents a pound for them. Its good honest work and he cleans up some trash to boot.

I want to talk about somethin that I learned in Church last Sunday. I am not sure I learned it or if I always knew it and hadn’t come to terms with it. As I had mentioned earlier we have started attendin a local church in the area. People are real nice and have made my family feel so welcome. The atmosphere is a little different than we are used to. Very relaxed, no formalities, no stained glass, no big fancy doors, tons of young people, ya all get the picture. The Pastor, I’ll call him Pastor Norm (because that is his name) and his family put this deal together 4 ½ years ago. They have been in various locations over those 4+ years but have ended up on the Pastor’s land in a barn on the banks of Cooks Creek. I don’t think Jesus himself could have come up with a prettier setting. Come to think of it, he did come up with the setting. What was I thinking? The barn has been renovated somewhat to accommodate a bunch of good ol country people a place to worship Jesus, praise the Lord and have fellowship. Last Sunday after church we stayed a spell to help clean up and when we came outside there were yung uns everywhere. Playin soccer, talking in little groups, playin on an old rope swing. I immediately thought of Little House on the Prairie. I’m sure I saw a scene like that in the shows many times. Anyway, that’s not what I want to talk on. I want to tell ya all what I learned. The Pastor preached a little on grace and peace. I want to talk about peace and what that word means to me (after last Sunday). Do ya all have peace? Maybe some other words for peace could be contentment, joy and satisfaction. How do ya measure if ya have peace in your life? There are many ways. How do ya sleep at night? Do you worry? Is your happiness or your joy based on material possessions, a vacation, your appearance (read attractiveness)? What crutch (money, drink, drugs, food, anger, temper, humor, purchasing) do ya use to get ya through a day? All of these things may be an indication as to where you are at in obtaining peace in your life. Don’t get me wrong. Most of the things mentioned above are not a problem as long as they don’t become a necessity in you finding value in your being. The problem comes when the peace (satisfaction, contentment, joy) you find in life depends on something (money, vacation, possessions, etc.) or when ya lay down at night and can’t sleep because your mind is obsessed with worry. Let’s take this one step further. What if we used a person’s peace to measure a person’s success? The more at peace you are the more successful you are. How could that be? Everyone knows success is measured in money, possessions, personal appearance, education and social status. I don’t think that should be the way success is measured. Peace would be an excellent way to measure success. Would you not agree a poor person that has true joy and real peace is more successful than a rich person who is obsessed and stressed with possessions and social status. I’m not sayin a rich person can’t be successful. I am sayin the rich person’s success has nothing to do with his money (at least that is how I see it). How content are ya? How much joy do ya feel and share. How satisfied are ya all? Wouldn’t that be a great way to measure success? This is getting pretty long so I won’t go into how to obtain the peace ya need to be successful. That will be for another post.

Lets lighten things up a bit. How about one of my bad jokes. Here goes.

A very enthusiastic soul-winning young preacher recently came upon a farmer working in his field. Being concerned about the farmer's soul the preacher asked the man, "Are you laboring in the vineyard of the Lord my good man?"

Not even looking at the preacher and continuing his work the farmer replied, "Naw, these are soybeans."

"You don't understand," said the preacher. "Are you a Christian?"

With the same amount of interest as his previous answer the farmer said, "Nope my name is Jones. You must be lookin for old Jim Christian. He lives a mile south of here."

The young determined preacher tried again asking the farmer, "Are you lost?"

"Naw! I've lived here all my life," answered the farmer.

"Are you prepared for the resurrection?" the frustrated preacher asked.

This caught the farmer's attention and he asked, "When's it gonna be?"

Thinking he had finnally got through to the farmer, the young preacher replied, "It could be today, tomorrow, or the next day." Taking a handkerchief from his back pocket and wiping his brow, the farmer remarked, "Well, don't mention it to the wife. She don't get out much and she'll wanna go all three days."

Ya all have a good day. Talk to soon.