Baby It's Cold Outside

One of my favorite Christmas cd's is Martina McBride's. She sings a duet, through the magic of technology, with Dean Martin.  The song they sing is "Baby It's Cold Outside."  It's a fun song.  The words have been sticking with me for a few days now, ever since the windchill dropped the already cold temperature down to around the -25 mark. And then this morning when I woke up the temperature without the windchill was -25. So guess which song popped into my brain when I saw that c-c-c-cold temperature displayed on the thermometer? Yip, baby, it IS cold outside.  The good thing, living where I do, with a temperature like that, is that I know that 1 of these days the temperature will warm up. The winter will melt into spring, the spring will morph into summer, and then the long hot summer days will be replaced by the beauty of fall. And so the seasons go.  I am so glad to live here.  I love the changing seasons. Life followed by death followed by life.  And so the cyle goes.

Today is New Year's Eve.  Always a time, for me at least, to reflect on the past year. This past year has been a good one for me. My family has stayed relatively healthy. Not one broken bone. Nobody has been hospitalized. And no one from my side of the family, or my husband's side of the family, has died. We have travelled. And we have come through the floods of the summer relatively unscathed.  Our crops survived the seemingly never ending rains. We got through harvest just fine.

Each season of the past year came and went just as seasons tend to do.  And so I look forward to this new coming year optimistically. But I also wonder what will be in store for me in the New Year. Nothing is for sure. Life is fleeting.  Tragedy could occur.  Hopefully it won't. Bad things could happen. Hopefully they won't.  But if bad things happen, then what?  Well, more than likely, bad things will happen. Maybe someone I love will die, maybe someone I love will be diagnosed with some dreadful disease.  Maybe we will have a crop failure.  Maybe .... Maybe.. maybe...maybe...

Regardless of the "maybe's" my hope is in the Lord. In Him I have put my hope and my trust and my life. Jesus has promised me that He has conquered the world. What hope!  Check it out - John 16:33.

So, while it is cold outside, I take heart in knowing that it will be warming up. If it's cold in your life, why not ask Jesus to enter  into your life and offer You warmth through His love, His presence, His forgiveness, His abiding peace?  Enter into a new season of grace!

And Happy New Year!

After Christmas

I'm just figuring out what I can and can't do with this blogging.  I see I can post photos!  That's good!  It's a start anyway. And looking at this picture of Chico under the Christmas tree makes me think I should start un-decorating. Even just 1 decoration down would be a start. I have plenty of decorations. It's more exciting putting them up - then you know Christmas is coming.  Taking them down is another story. Christmas is over. Family has left. Food is gone - well, the once a year treats are gone. School will be starting up very quickly; that means the spontaneous movie watching, game playing, shopping trips, general fun with the gang stuff is over too. Then, back to the old routine. I wrote a song a few years ago about the after-Christmas stuff.  It was inspired by a book I  read by Elisabeth Elliot. In the Shadow of the Almighty. 1 sentence popped out while I was reading and a song idea was hatched.

After Christmas

presents have been opened,
neighbors have dropped by,
family who came to stay have just said good bye,
the house is now as quiet
as the newly fallen snow
and in the stillness of my heart God wants me to know

that the day after Christmas
He is still with us,
He's not a baby in the cave,
but the God who came to save.
Emmanuel, with us to dwelll,
the Living Lord,
who we adore,
Emmanuel..

The manger set is packed up
in a box for 1 more year,
the Christmas tree is put away,
the season disappears,
but in my heart I know that
Christmas never ends,
for on that day
He came to stay
forever with us.

and on these days after Christmas
He is still with us,
He's not a baby in the cave,
but the God who came to save,
Emmanuel
with us to dwell,
the Living Lord
who we adore
Emmanuel.  Emmanuel.. Emmanuel...


Maybe I will put a decoration or 2 away now.  Maybe I won't.  Regardless, Christmas is over for this season, but the Christ, the Savior, whose birth we just celebrated is still with me.. With us... Emmanuel..

A Well Oiled Machine

We farm.  I married a farmer.  I am a farmer's daughter. Well, I WAS a farmer's daughter. Then I became a farmer's wife.  Now I am a farmer.  Well, sort of. My husband is the farmer and I am his helper.  We're a team! Our children play a vital role in the farming operation. Our son has been seeding, and rolling, (rolling is the process of taking a big thing much like a huge rolling pin attached to the tractor to smooth down the seeded crop to smooth out bumps and lumps to make it easier to combine at harvest time) and combining for a few years now.  Our daughter kind  of takes over the household chores at harvest time.  We work together as a team.  Not one part of this team is more important than the other. We all have our very important jobs to do that need to make the farming successful. We work together like a well oiled machine.

Our combine, in order to work, has to be greased every day before use at harvest time.  Every single part has to work with all the other parts in order to operate.  My husband spends a good deal of time every morning during harvest, greasing. The combine becomes a well oiled machine. Every part of it works in tandem with every other part. 

I got this laptop as a Christmas gift from my husband. Although I am fairly adept at finding my way around the computer ~ I know how to do searches, email, that kind of thing...I consider myself extremely inept at other aspects in this computer, technological world that I live in. And so, I have relied heavily on the expertise of Braden and Emily.  They have become my essential helpers in navigating around when I don't know what to do. To be honest, I wasn't sure how to post this, my 2nd blog.  I couldn't have done it without Em's help.  She discovered my problem and told me the solution.  All I needed to do was "sign in"!  And without Braden's help I wouldn't know how to post pictures, get a password - stuff like that. Their help is essential for me. We're working together as a well oiled machine.

The Bible explains very clearly how the Body of Christ works together as a well oiled machine.  Not one part of the Body is more important than the other.  We need each other to function and to carry out the work of Christ. Sometimes I feel like a little toe, that's just there, sometimes in the way, sometimes getting stubbed and inflicting pain. But the little toe is  important. Just as important as the eye. And the heart. Every part needs each other. 1 Corinthians, chapter 12, verses 12 - right to the end of the chapter teaches that. Look it up!  And be encouraged.

Boxing Day

Merry Christmas!
I'm new to blogging, but since 1 of the gifts I received for Christmas was a laptop, I figured I would try my hand at blogging and put my gift to use!

So today is Boxing Day.  I'm not sure as to the origin of Boxing Day, and what, if any, connection it has to Christmas Day. Perhaps someone deemed it "boxing" day because of all the boxes laying around the house after gifts have been open.  Or, maybe, it has to do with all the chocolate boxes scattered throughout the house - some empty, some half full, and some that had been used to disquise Christmas gifts. Or, was there some big boxing event scheduled for December 26 many years ago? Really, I don't care as to how it started, but it did give me something to mull over for a paragraph.

Some of my family are braving the crowds today.  They decided to leave the farm and head to the city. I decided to stay on the farm and enjoy the peace and tranquility. I like quiet. I like to be able to "be still". 
Yesterday we hosted Christmas. There were 9 people here.  People who I love very much and people who love me. Family. Not all the family though. I have 2 brothers ~ neither were here.  My husband has 3 sisters ~ they weren't here either. But my mother, and father in law, uncle, cousin, cousin's son, and my husband and our 2 teenagers were here. We ate, we visited, we played games.  We enjoyed being together.  Sometimes it was noisy here with all the laughter, but sometimes it was quiet. Not too loud, not too quiet, just right. Peaceful. Christmas was very peaceful on the farm.

I would imagine that it is not quiet in the city today. Isn't Boxing Day 1 of the busiest shopping days of the year?  Sales, gimmicks, deals to be had, and crowds. It might have been appealing for me to head to the city if it weren't for the crowds.

Reminds me of a busy town filled with crowds over 2000 years ago.  Bethlehem. Joseph, along with Mary, his young pregnant fiance, had to make the trek there for the big census. It would have been crowded.  And noisy.  And smelly.  But they went.  And there the Prince of Peace was born.