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12 Feb

Waiting on Spring

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: gloomy weather, nature, plants, plants flowers, soggy soil. 4 comments

It’s February and around here it is….not really winter….but not Spring either.

The days are getting longer….YOO-HOO. I do love that!!!!!

However, the days are lately….wet….or cold….or both. Lots of GRAY skies and soggy soil.

We need the rain…we need the different seasons….I am truly thankful for all of them. However, we also needed a little Vitamin D….that the sunshine provides.

Sooooo…..we took a little break and got away from the gloomy weather……and headed for places where

the sky was BLUE….and the palms were plentiful…..

The native trees were not the same as they are around our neck of the woods.

The water was green…. and blue….. and absolutely beautiful.

The sand was “different” than I am familiar with….as well as the shore line….

Yet….absolutely stunning.

I love to see how God spread beauty all over the world. God’s blessings are for everyone.

It doesn’t matter if you have a million dollars or not a penny to your name….His creation and all the beauty that goes with it….is for everyone.

Beautiful fruits….

trees….

plants….

flowers…..

and animals.

It seemed everywhere I looked…..I saw God’s amazing creation..proclaiming…. HIS MAJESTY.

I am always just in awe at the detail He put into everything.

I couldn’t help but reflect on this verse.

Romans 1:20

²⁰For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

What a Mighty God we serve…….

9 Feb

A Beautiful Day….

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: animals, nature, outdoors. 2 comments

Today was a beautiful day. It was the perfect day to be outside. We are supposed to have rain, rain, rain for the next few days…so everyone was outside around here…..enjoying the sunshine.

We had some of our kids and grand kids come out for a walk and to take a peak at the new goats.

We had a bit of excitement yesterday afternoon. Our little baby girl decided to start walking!!!!! I was sooooooo excited.

She has to be on a rug or on certain fabric….but she is walking. Yesterday when she would venture off the rug all four legs would slide in a different direction. Today she could walk on the hardwood a little bit better…but the rug is still her best place…. for now. She drags one of her back legs a little bit….but all in all she is amazing me more and more each day.

We took her to see her mother and brother. Once again I had to set her down and move back. Shortly, her mother came up to check her out. I was so proud of her….she was able to stand up on her own most all day. She even showed her mother how she could walk.

Surely her mother was impressed with her progress…….

Here are brother and sister, aren’t they cute together?…..

You can see that the boy is a good bit bigger…but this next picture will really show the difference in their size.

Isn’t that amazing……

Mothers nurturing is the best….but at least we are trying. Although Mama spent a little time with baby girl it is still obvious that she really isn’t very interested in her. At least not enough to tend to her needs.

Last night Billy and I noticed that baby girl was making a little noise….it sounded as if she was sneezing or something. We both looked at each other like…oh no….that’s not good.

When Billy gave her a bottle he said….it looks like her nose is clogged. Sure enough it was. I applied a warm wet cloth to it….and things loosened. It just might have been dried milk or something. She likes to bump the nipple of the bottle several times before she takes it. Of course she ends up with milk on her snout. Mama goat probably cleans her baby after all that….I don’t know. I do know that once the nose was cleaned good….the sneezing noise stopped. Poor baby. This morning I noticed that one side of her nostril swelled a little….but I think it must feel better all in all.

She also has a little under bite.

I personally think she is just a little beauty…swollen nostril, under bite and all.

She is a brave and courageous little critter. So far she has put up a good fight for life.

Once again we milked Mama and Riley was able to feed baby…

I am so glad the grand kids get to see nature and have a part in taking care of God’s precious creation.

I can’t help but think that these things make God smile…..I know they do me.

Genesis 1:26 (King James Version)

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

8 Feb

Making Progress…..

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: health, motherhood. 2 comments

Thought I would update everybody on the goats.

May did deliver her afterbirth later Sunday evening….and is apparently nursing the baby boy. Mom seems to be recovering very well, pretty amazing after delivering 4 babies.

At our house…..Billy and I have been taking turns getting up with the little one. She is precious.

When Billy comes in at the end of the day….he always wants to know if she is ready to eat. I think he really likes that time with her.

Seems they both enjoy taking a cat nap after a really long day…..

Here she is 2 days old….and still pretty weak.

It is amazing the difference in her and her brother. Here her brother is 3 days old.

You can see how much stronger he is. He even jumps around a good bit.

May is taking good care of him. When I pick him up…. he feels like a puppy with a fat belly. He is probably 4 pounds or so…..It is my guess that baby girl probably weighs 2 pounds at the most.

Monday when we started taking care of his baby sister she couldn’t stand. Her little legs were just floppy. Billy and I wandered if she would ever be able to walk. We were encouraged to see her continuing to at least try to stand….so we would help her just a little by balancing her. She is gradually standing more and more on her own.

We tell her what a good girl she is when we see her standing.

Yesterday morning….bright and early… Billy and I decided to take baby girl over to her mother and try to get some milk from her. We figure it has to be better for her than any formula. I laid the baby girl down and backed away. May, made her way over to sniff and lick her a bit. I was glad to see that she showed her some interest. Although she wouldn’t relax enough to nurse her. Baby girl still has to be warmed because she is so small so I couldn’t let her stay out in the wind for long. But Billy and I was able to hold May long enough for me to get about 1 ounce of milk from her. I had brought the bottle with me, so I instantly fed the baby while the milk was warm from the mother. She gobbled it up….when we returned home, she took 2 more ounces of formula.

It was cute to see her brother come over and sniff his sister. She in turn showed interest in him as well.

We haven’t named either one yet. Somehow that just hasn’t been top on the list this week. Although we have been running a few names by each other. I guess we will settle on one soon. Meanwhile they are just baby girl and baby boy.

It is our hope that we can get baby girl strong enough to go over and visit with Mom and brother each day….and eventually have her be able to stay. Of course the best scenario would be for her mother to start nursing her….but if she doesn’t…I suppose we can still let them stay together and feed her with a bottle at the farm.

This was last night….at dinner time. She was practicing her standing skills.

She is definitely stronger.

She doesn’t seem to mind the taste of the formula.

Just a day or so ago she was only taking an ounce at a time….but now she takes 2 to 3 ounces. So we are seeing progress.

Billy was funny last night when he said…..do you think she will sleep through the night. We aren’t to that point yet…but she has only been getting us up once during the night….so that isn’t too bad. Billy has actually gotten up with her the last 2 nights….although I hear her…and always ask if she ate good….I am able to go right back to sleep. It sure has been nice!

We are really glad she is getting better….but we have a long way to go.

Somehow….I do think she is alright with her care givers. She sure seems content.

5 Feb

The Baby Goats are here…..

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: animals, motherhood, nature. 4 comments

You might remember that we had a goat named May that was expecting. I thought that she was going to have them a long time ago….but I didn’t know her official due date. She just kept getting bigger…and bigger….and bigger. Until she was big as a barrel. Saturday….Billy and I said surely she can’t get any bigger, she has to be close.

She finally delivered in the early morning hours this Sunday. She had four babies. 2 girls and 2 boys. One of the girls was still born. I hate to see that happen.

The other three seemed to be doing fine.

I couldn’t believe how cute they were.

Layla and Poo-pa checked in on them and gave them a little love.

They also decided to name the little girl goat that was still born Angelina. They buried her while I checked on Mama goat…May. The babies seemed in pretty good shape, but it didn’t seem like the mama was giving them much attention. She was still trying to pass her afterbirth. I think she was too preoccupied with that to care. We watched them throughout the afternoon, but never saw them nurse. Billy got a rope and as Layla said….Poop-pa Lassoed her. He did a very good job at it too. He’s looking more and more like a real cowboy these days. May has always been very skittish. We bought her back in May…hence her name. And she never has let us touch her. She is getting to where she will get closer to us….but just not too close. Billy gently lassoed her and then petted her while I milked her. The babies must have the colostrum from the mother within hours or they will die. Not knowing if she had nursed earlier or not….we felt we had to try to help.

She produced about 3 1/2 ounces for me. We gathered the babies up in a crate and took them to the house. It was a cold day although it was warm if you were in the sun. I felt like they needed a little warmth and some warm food in their bellies to give them a good chance at survival.

It took a while….but I was finally able to get them all fed. We made the tough decision of returning them to their mother for the night. They were much stronger now and would be able to climb toward their mother if she would lay near them. She was laying down resting and eagerly greeted them when we brought them back to her.

Billy and I couldn’t help but worry about them…..

Yesterday morning bright and early….Billy checked on them. Everyone was fine….whew…what a relief.

A little after nine, I checked on them….things weren’t fine.

The black and white goat who was the biggest of them all had died. He was laying beside the runt of the litter, who is the other little girl. The mother and the other baby boy were on one side of the hay bales and these two were on the other side. The runt seemed alright so I placed her near her mother and brother and quickly grabbed the black one up and tried to revive him. I cuddled him up in a soft towel and held him close to me inside my jacket and brought him to the house. I warmed his body with the warm air from the blow dryer…all while giving him breaths of air and massaging his little chest. But it was just too late.

This is a picture we took on Sunday afternoon…he was a cute little thing.

After working with him I decided I had better go back and check on the baby girl (runt) that had been laying beside him.

(This is the baby girl…. runt…picture taken on Sunday)

By this time about 20 minutes had passed by. She looked very weak. Apparently Mama wasn’t letting them nurse.

The baby boy goat that had been laying next to her must have been the only one she was taking care of. He was very strong and was wiggling his tail….which is a good sign.

(This is the boy…picture taken on Sunday)

I gathered the runt up and once again wrapped her up in a towel and put her inside my jacket. I didn’t have time to try to get colostrum from the mother so I headed to the feed store with the baby. I was able to buy some. She was so weak she could barely hold her head up. She wouldn’t even try to take the bottle. I squirted a tiny bit in her mouth and hoped it would ease down her throat. Little by little I was able to get some in her. Back at home I arranged a bed for her complete with a heating pad under a pad of towels. She laid so still it was pitiful. Every once in a while she would cry out…..sounding like a little baby.

Through the afternoon I pampered her, loved her, held her and fed her. She slowly started sitting up and seemed to be gaining strength.

Finally by suppertime….she started taking the bottle.

She ate real well.

Soooooo…..Last night I went to bed with a box on the floor beside me…complete with a baby goat. I woke up sometime during the night and just had to laugh. The next time I woke up it was to the cry of that baby wanting a 1:30 feeding.

I know……What do you do? I couldn’t let her just die. So even as I type this blog she has given the I’m hungry cry.

I just took this picture while holding her….she is much stronger today.

Thankfully, I was able to also buy some goat milk supplement . She is supposed to graduate to drinking that today.

Meanwhile….we wait for the bottle to warm!

17 Jan

Hmmm. It’s Winter……

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: nature, rain rain rain, weather. 2 comments

Here are Pokey, Zippy, Jack and Moses enjoying some of the warm days we have had in the early part of January.

Jack is becoming more friendly. We have eased into petting him, whenever we could get close enough. Now, I think he has decided he kinda likes us!

The hair on his forehead feels like a stuffed animals, super soft….just like his father Moses.

This weekend the weather was in the 70’s….and I loved every minute of it. Especially since the forecast was for RAIN, RAIN, RAIN…in the coming days.

Billy and I worked on every outside chore we could while the weather was nice.

And squeezed in a little leisure walk in the woods too!

I love seeing the moss and wild ferns grow on and around the rocks….

Reminds me of lush carpet.

Then the RAIN came….

And it poured down rain for several days. The rivers around here are WAY out of their banks and they haven’t even crested yet.

Poor Zsa-Zsa….

and Brandy….they looked as if they wanted it to stop already…but…. it had only just begun.

It was just about 3:30 or 4:00 when I left the pasture and checked on the hens….but they were not outside….

So, when I went to the front door…I saw all these little wet chicken footprints…..and sure enough….

they had already gone in for the day……I suppose if chickens wore pajamas and robes they would have had theirs on. They had no intentions on going back out in the rain.

But they did leave me a couple of eggs.

They like to use the same little box to lay in…but on this day they spread out a little…

I suppose since they had called it a short day…that is why I only had three eggs. However, they made up for it the next day and gave me 5…all in one box.

The goats haven’t cared much for the rain either….

When I arrived back at the house they all looked pitiful at the fence. It has been a while since I have had a picture showing how much Hoot n Nanny and Jethro have grown. Hoot n Nanny is the one on the far left…Jethro is the one right in front of her. It always amazes me how quick the goats grow. Freddy is the reddish goat in the middle and Pearl..which is Hoot n Nanny’s mother is the white goat on the far right.

Since we had a lot of nice weather before the rain….the Jonquils are popping their heads up a little earlier than last year.

Sooooo…they forecasted that we just might get a ban of snow…..

and as I began to type this post…..it started snowing……

104_3006

it is pretty…..but I hope it doesn’t hang around.

The goats have invaded the dog house….all five of them! They too hope it quits soon.

It is rare that we get an accumulation of snow…the schools have already sent everyone home early. Around here if snow is coming everyone runs to the store for bread and milk….and hunkers down for a long winters nap.

Thankfully, I went to the store yesterday. I have milk and bread…although I am not real sure why everyone wants that to eat when it snows?

I seemed to have lost my touch for cooking….hmmm…come to think about it….maybe I never really had it to begin with. But…thanks to google and all these other ladies that have blogs….and seem to be good cooks…… I am attempting to make beef stew and a new cornbread recipe. Now THAT is comfort food.

It is smelling really good right now!

However, if it turns out ..like everything else lately….we may be having that milk and bread!

11 Jan

A full year….

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: animals, lifestyle, nature, plants. 1 comment

Christmas marked a full year since I became a . com.

I thought it would be neat to reflect on a few of the things that happened this last year on the farm.

In January of 2012

Our first goat was born.

We named him Jethro…..

and he stole our hearts!

In February….

I reflected on being married for 16 years….

and how we went from”City living”….

to living out an episode of “Green Acres”…and loving every minute of it!

In March…..

Cupid delivered a beautiful baby girl…that we named…Toots

and the very next day….we were blessed with our second goat….

Hoot- n- Nanny….

In April…..

Billy delivered his first calf…..

I suppose this was one of the most beautiful moments we have experienced so far. We had lost a cow named Jett and her calf…black beauty…. in labor just a day before this delivery. It was exceptionally special that Billy and I were able to help Zsa Zsa in her time of need on this particular night.

I love this picture….I just happened to catch an exhausted Billy….. thanking God for a healthy Mama and baby.

Precious…Precious

We named her JOY!

In May….

We had a new dog join us. And of course there was all kinds of new excitement with her.

and as puppy’s do….she grew

and grew….

and grew…..matter of fact…I think she is still growing!

In June….

We picked beautiful blackberry’s from the very bushes we planted a few years ago.

It was soooo exciting to pick containers of fruit each day…. for weeks. But…. man…. those thorns HURT!

I had a very interesting time making my FIRST batch of blackberry Jelly.

Then I made Blackberry Jam and well let’s just say……before long we had many, many jars of jelly.

In July….

Our first donkey was born….on July 4th!!!!!

He is a real beauty…. we named him Jack.

In August…

Every where you looked…you could see the area….was covered in wild flowers

Even the things you see everyday…seem to have an extra beauty about them…..

as the flowers turned ordinary into extraordinary.

even fields that were without flowers….had their own beauty….

In September….

We brought chickens home to their new house.

they seemed to settled right in….

and we have enjoyed them….very much. I never knew chickens had personalities….but they do.

In October….

Beautiful colors came to the mountain…..

and yet….these pictures cannot truly show you just how beautiful the colors really were.

I found that a walk in the woods was the only way I could absorb it all.

In November….

Billy received his Buffalo head mount …..

Billy said it all…. when he saw him…..WOAH…..he’s BIG!

Funny….the animals just don’t look THAT big in the field.

In December….

We celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ….

I love seeing country churches…especially at Christmas.

We also enjoyed a nice country breakfast with our family.

Our neighbors shared their fresh homemade sausage with us.

Billy also cooked up some bacon

and we enjoyed fresh eggs from our hens….

Of course we also had a nice selection of Jelly and Jam to choose from too!

It has been a fun year experiencing all the things that the country has to offer.

Everyday is a reminder of this verse….

I was shocked that the blog had over 7,000 views this year.

I was equally amazed that it is being seen all over the world, places that I have never been to in person. I find it interesting that most people like to just read and not comment. I am that way myself with the blogs I visit. However, I love reading what other viewers think about a post. So please feel free to comment.

Thank you for taking this journey with us this year…I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.

Have a very Happy New Year,

Billy, Sonya and all our critters!

5 Jan

Catch up day

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: food, free range eggs. Leave a comment

Today was a day of catching up on all the things that have been put on hold during the holidays. First and foremost on my list was to clean the chicken coop. It hasn’t been very long since I cleaned it and it hasn’t seemed to bother the girls any…..they have been laying plenty of eggs.

It is my understanding that they normally slow down in the winter time. However, I have a friend/neighbor that remembers a wives tale from her mother. Several other neighbors have told me the same thing…so there must be something to the tale. It is said that if you put hot pepper in corn bread and feed it to the hens it will make them lay more eggs.

Now….I don’t know if there is any truth to this or not….but the girls sure seem to be steady. My neighbor cooks up a batch for them every so often. I have been collecting 3 to 4 eggs a day. That means that I am gathering around 21 (or more) eggs a week. Not bad….especially since I only have 6 hens.

Free range eggs are supposed to be healthier. There is actually less cholesterol…. more vitamin D, less saturated fat, up to 2 times more omega 3…. just to name a few things.

Ironically, I am not an egg eater. I know…I should be ashamed. But I do like to eat things that have egg in them. Like fried rice and stuff like that…I just don’t care for egg by itself. I am going to work on that though. So, I started the other day. I cooked one of our girls eggs next to a store bought egg. I just wanted to see the difference.

Store bought on the left and free range on the right. The yolks are deeper in color…almost orange looking.

Chickens love to eat bugs and worms and all kinds of creepy crawling critters. All of that natural eating from things found in the ground are the very reason why they are better for you. Of course in the winter the bugs are a little more scarce than they are the rest of the year. Today, while cleaning their house I moved a bale of hay that I had sitting by the porch. They went NUTS….they found worms and little black bugs and all kinds of things that were either under the hay and in the hay. I had given them some chicken scratch this morning…but they ignored it and went straight to the spot where the hay had been.

I have these little critters on hand for those cold days….when I think they would like a treat. They are mill worms….dried.

Isn’t that just crazy? I am finding that there are a lot of things that I do that are crazy since I moved out to the land. I often have baggies of these mill worms in my car. And I find that I kinda like the smell of sweet feed that I take over to the cows. I have containers of cut apples for the donkeys and ponies in the fridge most of the time…and I am constantly setting aside food scraps for the goats. I try to make sure I label what they are for….afraid Billy might think it is something for him to munch on. It wouldn’t take but one good bite and he would know that it wasn’t…but I would hate for that to happen.

I got tickled yesterday when Billy put on some coveralls that he wears when it is really cold out. He had them on about a week ago and they had been in the garage until yesterday. He reached in his pocket and pulled out an egg….we both busted out laughing.

We are really enjoying farm life.

The girls are getting bigger combs….it has been neat watching them grow.

This is usually what you see when you pass by the fence. All tails….that means that they are happy, happy, happy!

25 Dec

It really is…all about the gift

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Leave a comment

We get together for breakfast with all our kids during the Christmas holiday. We always enjoy that time. Billy likes to be the main cook that day.

Our neighbors shared some of their homemade sausage…and some humongous biscuits with us.

Since the wood stove was all stoked up, it made the perfect spot for the sausage to cook…..

Meanwhile….Billy worked on preparing a nice helping of thick cut bacon….

Our girls have been really busy lately….so we had plenty of eggs.

Man…it was smelling wonderful when I set the camera down…to pull the biscuits out of the oven…and well….I forgot to take anymore pictures of the food.

However…this is afterwards….and everyone was content….VERY….content.

We usually open a few gifts. The kids had helped with the tree …by making a pretty green chain out of construction paper. I think it just may have been the best looking tree I have ever had. Seems like these days…I would rather have these things that the kids do over all those fancy, smancy ornaments.

Especially, since I sat in the floor with them….listening to all their little chatter as they worked.

We try not to get all wrapped up with gifts….(no pun intended)…..but we do have some. It is always fun trying to find the things that the kids will really like. Sometimes though, by the time I start shopping…I get overwhelmed with all that is on the market. There are so many choices and all at different prices, all shapes and sizes.

By the time it was all said and done….there were games that buzzed and beeped….and dinosaurs that could talk. I usually try to get them things to make too, crafty things that require some thinking and doing.

There was one gift that I picked out for all three of them, back a few months ago. It’s one of those things that as soon as I saw it….I thought they would like it. I picked out a different color with different character pictures… that I thought would appeal to each of them. I tucked the bag away in a closet…and…. almost forgot about it….until Christmas rolled around.

We were all visiting with one another as the kids finished opening their gifts. One by one they started bringing packages over to me, so I could help them. Of all the things…you know what it was. All three of them wanted to open the gift that was just alike. It was a little knee board for kneeling in the dirt…a pair of gloves…and a hand shovel.

Out the door they all three marched…..

A few minutes later I happened to see these guys out the window….

I thought this was just precious….they were all looking for some dirt…somewhere under all those leaves.

I had to snicker. It wasn’t how much something cost or didn’t cost. It was probably the simplest gift they unwrapped. It was just that they loved the gift….and it showed…because they couldn’t wait to use it.

Christmas is similar to that very thing.

God gave us all kinds of things in this world. There are some neat things out there that catch our eye. Things that buzz and beep and compete for our attention. But there was this one gift that God gave to each of us…and although it is the same gift….it appeals to each of our personalities. It…like the other gifts…didn’t cost us anything. But was freely given to us out of love. All we have to do is accept it…and be eager to experience all that it has to offer.

It always blesses my heart when I see the kids….really, really, like something I give them. It says in Scripture that even the angels in heaven rejoice when one is saved. I think that sums up how much it pleases God too….when we accept His gift.

If we aren’t careful though we might tuck the cute Christmas story away and… almost…forget what it really is all about.

It is…. all about the gift…the gift of Jesus…given to us by GOD.

Luke 15:10 (New American Standard Bible)

“In the same way, I tell you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Merry Christmas!

22 Dec

Praying

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. 1 comment

This week as I was busy going here and there….I stopped for some traffic to go past…it was then that I suddenly noticed a flag directly in front of me…. flying half mast.

Instantly, I knew why………..my heart sank. I didn’t know it had much further to sink….

My heart has hurt and my stomach has been sick since the tragedy happened last week in Newtown. It’s that looming gross feeling that you just can’t seem to shake.

I can’t get the families off my mind….so I pray… extra special prayers for them.

With Christmas just days away…. I ask you to please pray.

May God comfort them and wipe away their tears as only He can do.

11 Days before Christmas 2012
T’was 11 days before Christmas, around 9:38

When 20 beautiful children stormed through heaven’s gate.

Their smiles were contagious, their laughter filled the air,

They could hardly believe all the beauty they saw there.

They were filled with such joy, they didn’t know what to say,

They remembered nothing of what had happened earlier that day.

“Where are we?” asked a little girl, as quiet as a mouse.

“This is heaven.” declared a small boy. “We’re spending Christmas at God’s house.”

When what to their wondering eyes did appear,

But Jesus, their savior, the children gathered near.

He looked at them and smiled, and they smiled just the same,

Then He opened His arms and He called them by name.

And in that moment was joy that only heaven can bring

Those children all flew into the arms of their King.

And as they lingered in the warmth of His embrace,

One small girl turned and looked at Jesus’ face.

And as if He could read all the questions she had

He gently whispered to her, “I’ll take care of mom and dad.”

Then He looked down on earth, the world far below,

He saw all of the hurt, the sorrow, and woe.

Then He closed His eyes and He outstretched His hand,

“Let My power and presence re-enter this land!”

“May this country be delivered from the hands of fools,”

“I’m taking back my nation. I’m taking back my schools!”

Then He and the children stood up without a sound,

“Come now my children, let me show you around.”

Excitement filled the space, some skipped and some ran,

All displaying enthusiasm that only a small child can.

And I heard Him proclaim as He walked out of sight,

“In the midst of this darkness, I AM STILL THE LIGHT.”

Written by Cameo Smith, Mt. Wolf, PA

( shared from CBS Connecticut WTIC News Talk 1080 site)

20 Dec

Seeing stars…..

Posted by ivegonecountry in Uncategorized. Tagged: outdoors. 1 comment

The other day I had heard that it was going to be a great time to see a beautiful display of stars. I made a mental note to be sure to take a look that evening. The day progressed and….well….”the ole brain ain’t what it used to be”…. I forgot. Around 8:00 that night I was puttering around in the kitchen and Billy went to the car to get something. He came rushing back into the house and said…grab some coveralls and come see this!

If he says coveralls…then he thinks its cold….if Billy thinks it is cold….then it IS cold. It dawned on me what the excitement was all about….. the stars. I turned the stove off, hurried to the closet for coveralls….rustled through the drawers to find gloves. Oh…wait…maybe I should get an extra sweater to wear under the coveralls. It was about that time that Billy came back in and said….what in the world is taking so long? He quickly grabbed a hat for each of us and out the door we went. We loaded up on the golf cart and took a ride to the lake. It was dark there…we were away from the street lights and the glow of any city lights. We were pretty sure we would have a good view.

We unloaded from the cart, tilted our heads to the great big sky, waited and watched. The stars were numerous and bright. In just a matter of minutes I saw a streak of light shoot across the sky. It was so fast I couldn’t even point to it before it was gone. This happened several more times. We counted each one as we spotted them. We never could tell the other one where to look, before it would disappear. But inevitably…. we would try. Funny….the cold wasn’t a problem…seems that paled in comparison to the event unfolding.

I had only seen one shooting star before this night. Billy and I had gone out for a boat ride, a date, the second time we had ever gone out together. Over 18 years ago. We went to a cave opening… by water… and watched the bats make their great exit at dusk. As we were leaving we came up on someone who had engine trouble…so we towed their boat back. It became very dark….there were no city lights, no other distractions. All that to say that it was dark…..and we were going slow……..so we had a lot of time to talk and star gaze. It was then….on that date….that I saw my very first shooting star. I remember there seemed to be a million and one stars in the sky that night. I thought it was amazing that I just so happened to be looking in the right direction… at the right time… to see it.

I wonder how many times there had been some, but I never, ever saw them…..in all those previous years of my life. I just never really looked for them. Too busy with other things that surrounded me…..distractions….and no real desire to look.

I went to see our granddaughter Layla in her Christmas program last week. I didn’t know that she was a “star”….in more than one way that day. Of course she in turn made me beam as she reached through the only opening she had…at her face…waved her little hand and said…..hey ME ME!!!…when she spotted me in the crowd.

There she is…with the shepherds.

As I looked as those precious stars and adorable shepherds….I thought about ” that” night. The night that Jesus was born. I am pretty sure the shepherds were used to seeing a million and one stars in the sky…night after night. I wonder if they happened to be talking and actually star gazing…on that particular night. Or was it only after an Angel of the Lord came to them …when the Glory of the Lord shone round about them…..that they really noticed all the stars that were in the sky.

And what about the special star that was set in the sky…to show the wise men where they could find Jesus. It must have been remarkable…surely others saw it….wonder why others didn’t come. Maybe they weren’t looking for anything special or were too busy with their surroundings to notice anything really different. Or just didn’t care to look.

It was pretty precious seeing all these little ones portraying the Christmas story. These angels were sweetly singing.

Scriptures tell us….the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men”. Now that is remarkable. Can you even imagine. It says that the shepherds were afraid. I can certainly understand why. Then they were told not to be afraid….that a Savior was born that day…and where they could find him.

I think that is pretty neat….because they didn’t let fear stop them. Even the fear of what others would think of them….they just went….. they searched for Him. Think about trying to explain all that to someone else.

Layla was one of the stars near the stable….but not the one directly behind it.

Before the children exited the stage…I noticed Layla quickly ran over to take a good look at baby Jesus….laying in the manger.

I suppose curiosity got the best of her.

It reminded me of the first night I ever saw a shooting star. I once again felt fortunate. Fortunate that I just happened to be looking at the right time….to see this “precious star”….looking for Jesus. It melted my heart that she just had to go see Him….for herself.

That is exactly what the shepherds did. Scriptures tell us that …as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.

And they came with haste, and found Mary, Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. Just as they had been told.

A few weeks ago…I helped Layla hang a few ornaments on the tree at their house. She could hardly wait until it was time to put on the star . Finally, it was time. Her father lifted her up onto his shoulders… she eagerly… but carefully placed the star on the very top of their Christmas tree.

I helped secure it and took that time to explain what the star symbolized. I couldn’t tell if she fully understood.

So the other day when I saw her in her costume, I thought it was really neat that she was able to play the part of a star. She was able to hear the good news of our Savior’s birth….and go check out for herself….what was in that manger.

I think telling others about Jesus is a lot like Billy and I trying to tell each other about the beauty of the shooting star. It is impossible to fully explain. I know I had to do like the shepherds did. I had to go….and see for myself what the Lord has made known to us…..through His Word. I let curiosity get the best of me.

I started searching the scriptures..I saw things for the very first time….things that were remarkable.

Sometimes God shows me things when I’m not really even looking for them….but, I really see amazing things when I truly search… by studying His Word. I have to focus on Him…and not let the distractions of things around me interfere.

God reveals himself to each of us even today…if we take time….. to look.

Just as He revealed Himself so many years ago.

Remarkable!

Jeremiah 29:13

And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

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