Ma-aax Moving On…

 

There comes a time in every goat owner’s life where they have to make a decision between passing a lovable pet on to a fellow goat lover and sweeping goat pellets (waste) off their back porch forevermore.

We’ve “had our fun” with Max as my mom put it.  He was playful, fun, and downright hilarious.  He did, however, grow to be three times the size we expected, and as he grew and grew, he also became a little more aggressive.  He had gotten to where he would rear up on his hind legs and then come down and swoop his horns at the kids and it was making me a bit nervous.  Jaiden was strong enough to grab him by the horns and push him away, Jeryn on the other hand, was not big enough yet.

We had told the kids that we were looking for Max a good home.  They seemed okay with it, but I had mixed feelings.  Our co-worker, Katie and her husband agreed to give Max a good home.  They had mentioned they wanted another goat, and Mario was quick to offer ours.  Not sure if she was completely serious,  I sent Katie the following picture in a text that said,

“Dear, Katie, I would like to come live with you starting tomorrow.  I’m an easy keeper, funny to watch and even know a few tricks.  Sincerely, Max “

We waited, holding our breath, for the response.

In a few seconds a text back said,” Lol that is so cute!!!! How can we resist that.”

I texted back, “What time should I be there?  Are you serving dinner?” 

The next text said, “Whenever you want to come, dinner will be waiting.”

“Perfect!” I thought…Everybody wins here.

Everyone was on the same page until right up till time to leave.  The kids all of a sudden didn’t want to give Max up, and as I petted him and he nibbled on my hair, I felt tears welling up in my eyes.  The kids were crying.  I was sniffling. Mario, on the other hand, couldn’t get him loaded fast  enough. 

I thought about the night he showed up at our house with Matthew.  And how sick/weak he got, and how we nursed him back to health.  I thought about worried I was about him. 

I thought about petol bismol on his lips.  And party hats on his head.  I thought about him on the table finishing off the barbeque at Jeryn’s party when we left the table.

 

I thought about his little tricks and how he first played with the kids.  How he came to the arena with us to rope.  And how patient he was as Jeryn practiced his tying.

Then I thought about how disgusted we all were three weeks ago, the night we came home after a long hard day to find that the goat had spent the ENTIRE day in our house demolishing every square inch of it.  (Our dog has learned to turn the handle of our back door and open it if left unlocked.  Obviously, we left it unlocked that day.)  There were vases turned over, vases broken, indoor plants shredded, straw mats even MORE SHREDDED, trash cans tuned over…and a trail of goat pellets into every room.  Mario actually made it home before me that night.  He was mad at the dog for opening the door, but more mad at the goat for destroying that house I had stayed up till midnight cleaning.  He texted me saying, “Say a heart felt prayer for your dog and goat.”  I laughed, thinking, what in the world?  Another text told they had been in house all day.  I laughed again, thinking, “What a ridiculous prank to play on me.”  I checked out my groceries and headed for home.  When I walked through the front door, I realized he wasn’t kidding.  He joked (sort of) that he never knew goat meat was so good on the grill.  That night I stayed up until 1:30 a.m. washing, disinfecting, mopping, cleaning, dusting, etc every nook and cranny of the house AGAIN. 

I wiped the tear off my cheek and told the kids to let Daddy load Max.

 

Jeryn was too terrified to get in the picture because Max always butts him and stands on his hind legs with his hair raised up all over.  But he did, however, muster up the courage to swing his rope and drop a loop on him one last time after sissy had him caught.   haha

And so Max was off to a new home, just a few miles down the road.  At least we can go see him if we miss him too bad.  I am happy to report he is doing well and likes his new home!

Much Prayer; Much Power…Prayers for Elizabeth

In the last couple of days I have revisited some material about prayer in a book that I actually read several years ago.  I have always believed in the power of prayer, and my parents taught me to pray at a young age.  However, in my junior year of college, my mother-in-law, Sandra, really inspired me and helped me grow as I observed her faithfulness to pray.  There were several things and people in my life at that time that I really needed to pray about, and I can think of a couple of occasions where she got out her bible to show me stuff in the Word or other times that I would just show up to pray with her when I needed someone to stand in agreement with.

One of the most exciting (and rewarding) things we can do as believers is to pray and watch God work.  It can also be one of the most difficult things to do consistently. And it can also be frustrating when you feel like God has turned a deaf ear to you and that your prayers are not being heard. 

Several days ago, a dear and precious girl whom I have had the pleasure of knowing and even working with (up until this past May), was critically injured in a very bad automobile accident.  I know that people everywhere are praying, but the last few days have been very difficult with not near the progress we had all hoped for.  I am ready for some major progress.  Ready to see God move in a mighty way.  Ready to see our prayers answered.  And ready for Elizabeth to wake up and come home.  So, today I am posting some information about prayer that I have been looking over…and why it is a MUST as brothers and sisters in Christ that we lift one another up continuously and go to the Lord in prayer continuously!  The following words (in purple) are taken out of a book I have read and reread.

“Some prayer; some power.  More prayer; more power.  Much prayer; much power.”  I have talked with prime ministers and presidents.  To talk to one of these people, you must make an appointment way in advance, and your time is always strictly limited.  They have great power, but at the same time their power is limited because they are men controlled by other men.  But I can talk to God Almighty at any time, for as long as I want, and when I’m finished He doesn’t shrug His shoulders and say, “I  can’t help you, John.”  He says, “I will make a way where there seems to be no way.” (See 1 Corinthians 10:13.)  He says, “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things, which you do not know”  (Jeremiah 33:3).

Why pray?  Because prayerlessness is sin.  1 Samuel 12:23 says far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you.  This particular part of the book addressed the faithfulness of the author’s mother to pray for his salvation.  Once he surrendered his life to Christ, he preached the gospel for over 45 years across the globe because his mother “went to war with the devil for her son’s soul in her prayer room—and the devil lost.  She prayed me out of the fires of hell and into the arms of God.”  Who should we be praying for?

A prayerless Christian is a weak Christian.  A prayerless church is a weak church.  A prayerless nation is a defeated nation.  A prayerless family is a divided family.

Why pray?  Because God answers prayer.  This section had a really touching story about a ten year daughter (Lizzy) of the music minister in his church that was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor in the center of her brain.  The physicians, including one of the best oncologists in the nation gave absolutely no hope for her survival.  The church, grief stricken, got on their knees and went to war for Lizzy’s life.  In spite of their prayers over the next several weeks, she grew progressively worse.  The doctors said, “The last sign will be that she will have such severe headaches that she will be unable to attend school.  Once she comes home from school, she will not go back.”  He went on to write that he remembered it as if it was yesterday when Lizzy’s father came in to his office and said, “The school called and said, ‘Come get Lizzy.  She has a headache.’”  He put his arms around her father and they prayed together, yet again, for poor Lizzy.  The pastor felt a surge of faith like he had never felt in his life before that point in time.  After their prayer, he instructed him to “Go home and give Lizzy an aspirin like it was an ordinary headache, and see what God does.”  The next morning, Lizzy woke up without a headache.  Her left eye began to come back toward the center.  Her hand/eye coordination began to dramatically improve.  Her eyelids, which had been droopy, were back to normal. Her parents were fearful of being overly optimistic because of such negative pronouncement by the medical community.  They soon took Lizzy in for an MRI which revealed the tumor was completely gone.  HEALED in Jesus’ Name!  That was some thirteen years+ ago, but she has since been married to the love of her life and her future is as bright as ever because of the miracle-working power of God!

Why pray? Because we are commanded to pray.  The tragedy of our day is not unanswered prayer, but unoffered prayer.  Matthew 6 says “When you pray,” not “If you pray.”  The apostle Paul told the Thessalonians, “Pray without ceasing.”  Many Christians know the power of prayer, the priority of prayer, and the purpose of prayer—yet they do not purpose to pray.

Why pray? Because anointed prayer rises above.  The apostle Paul was stoned and left for dead.  Yet he didn’t ask the church to pray for the rheumatism that was caused by the stones that broke his bones.  When he was jailed, Paul didn’t say to the church, “Pray for me.  I’m in jail.  They have whipped me with a Roman cat-o’-nine-tails.  The blood is running down my back and onto the floor in puddles.  I’m going to be in the news again as a fanatic and in handcuffs.  Paul did say, “Pray that I might speak the Word of God with boldness” Act 4:29.  If there ever were a time in America’s history when Americans need to speak the Word of God with boldness, it’s right now!  An almighty and all-powerful God is sitting on His throne in heaven with His hand cuffed behind his ear to hear the petitions of His children.  He’s listening for us to ask Him to do “great and mighty things,” to show signs and wonders of the power of God.  He’s listening for us to pull down the strongholds of the addictions that enslave our children, our husbands, and our wives.  He’s looking for us to pray for a national revival that will turn this nation away from the moral sewer in which we find ourselves. 

When you get down to pray, remember that you’re talking to almighty God. ( I love this part!!)  The blast of His nostrils can split the cedars of Lebanon.  He holds the seven seas in the palm of His hand.  He weighs the mountains on a scale and the hills in the balance.  Ask Him for things so staggering, so big, that God slides to the edge of His holy throne and says to the angels, “Did you hear what that kid asked for?  “Do it, angels!  Faith like that excites me!  Get down there with the answer!  Move those mountains of impossibilities.  Heal that incurable disease.  Restore that dead marriage.  Set her addicted son free!”

Do you need supernatural wisdom to make a difficult decision? Do you need peace that surpasses understanding?  “Nothing is impossible to them that believe.” 

Do you need to experience the impossible?  Open your mouth in faith believing because you’re not talking to the president of the United States.  You’re not talking to a billionaire of limited means.  YOU’RE TALKING TO THE UNLIMITED CREATOR OF HEAVEN AND EARTH.  HE HAS THE POWER TO DIVIDE THE SEAS, AND HE WILL NOT FAIL YOU. Ask Him for the impossible!  Ask Him to defeat the giants in your life because our God is a giant killer.  Ask Him to divide the Red Sea before you, which will bury Pharaoh and his army.  Ask Him to send fire from heaven as He did for Elijah.  Ask Him to walk you through the fiery furnace as He did with three Hebrew children.  Ask Him, for He’s the God who cannot fail, and He’s waiting to show you His mighty power!

If that doesn’t get you excited about who you’re praying to, what will????!!!!  I don’t know about you, but the God I serve is strong and mighty!  HE IS MOST HIGH!  Can I get an amen?!  :)

PRAY SCRIPTURE.  The author writes that his mother was the greatest prayer warrior he’s ever known.  As a child, she would pray the Scriptures because they are the promises of God and will not return void.  He gives several examples of how to do this…What is your problem? Your burden? Your crisis?  Find the verses in the bible that relate to what you’re going through and pray those verses.  (I have done this time and time again and it is powerful.)  Don’t be intimidated if you don’t know a lot of scripture.  Consult a concordance—for instance, look up the word worry, and then find passages that apply.  As you become more and more familiar with God’s Word, praying scripture will become automatic.  Here’s his example.  If you are going through a dark valley of sorrow, grief, and perhaps depression, praying scripture could sound like this:

Heavenly Father, I come to You in the mighty name of Your Son and my Savior Jesus Christ.  You know my heart is full of grief, and so, according to Your Word, I’ve come before Your throne to rejoice.  Father this is the day that the Lord hath made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.  I delight myself in You, Lord.  You are my shield and buckler, my fortress, my high tower.  You are the bright and morning star.  You are the Prince of Peace.  Happy am I because God is my refuge.  Father Your Word declares that You rejoice over me with joy and that everlasting joy is upon my head…Father, my mouth shall praise You in the day of trouble, for You are the strength of my life; in whom shall I be afraid?  Though a host should encamp against me, I shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident.  For in the time of trouble You shall hide me in Your pavilion.  You shall set me upon a rock.  And now my head shall be lifted up above mine enemies; therefore will I offer sacrifices of joy unto You Lord.

(And this isn’t in the book, but I’m just saying…don’t worry if you don’t have the scriptures you are reading memorized before you pray.  You can be face flat to the floor with just enough room to slide your bible between your nose and the floor and enough room to read it out loud or sitting in your car in the parking lot with your bible open praying Scripture!)

Prayer is getting you prepared to do God’s will.  God never forces you to do His will, but He often places you in extreme adversity that drives you to your knees and prepares you to do His will.  Example here in Acts chapter 9 of Saul being blinded.  Three days in darkness saturated with soul-searching prayer, then God told Ananias, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying.” Saul’s prayer was not getting God ready to do Saul’s will, which was to put Christians in prison.  Saul’s prayer, in the sanctuary of blindness and forced helplessness, prepared Saul to do God’s will.

Consider the power of two—Matthew 18:19 reads: Again I say unto you, that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  Paul and Silas demonstrated the power of two.  If you are wondering when God is going to do something about your situation, remember he has placed the responsibility of taking action squarely on your shoulders.  Find a believer that will stand in agreement with you in prayer…if you take initiative, the power of prayer will move the hand of God to bring the perfect answer.

Tonight, and in the days ahead, would you join me in prayer for this sweet child of God and sister in Christ?  She is someone’s daughter, someone’s sister.  She is a friend to many.  I assure you that she is even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the out.  Many people have known Elizabeth for much longer, I have only one had the privilege of knowing her just three short years, but one thing that has always been evident to me about her is that she loves the Lord. 

Here are some of my favorite pictures of this sweet family.  I had to post the fish picture because it just shows how awesome she is :)  And her and her sis that was recently married…

The following is something that she had as a favorite quotation on facebook:  Your never too messed up, broken or far gone that your creator can't bring you back, heal you and put you back together again! ♥- liz boedeker

I believe with all of my heart that God is going to heal her and bring her home to her family.  I just know she has lots left to do in this life for Him!  PRAY. PRAY. PRAY!  

This has been the world’s longest post, but it is wonderful to see children seeking the Lord.  My babies have been praying a lot for Elizabeth too, and today when Mario picked J up from school she told him, “Today when I went to the bathroom at school, I wasn’t supposed to be talking, but I prayed out loud for Elizabeth in the bathroom.”  It was so precious to me.  I pray that your faith will be built up in this time and that God will do great and awesome things!

You can read the updates at:  http://www.prayingforliz.blogspot.com/

Thanks for your prayers.

Like a Good Neighbor…Even in 100+ Degree Temperatures

I don’t think I ever posted that I changed careers.  In April I went to work for my husband, and I am so thankful for that opportunity.  We really enjoy working together, and it has worked out great for us. 

This summer we have also had the privilege of having two college students work part time in our office, and we have enjoyed them so much! 

One is my lil sis-in-law and the other is her best friend, Carter.  They are good help and they work hard, but you seldom see one without the other.  They also are hilarious and so boss man has nicknamed them dumb and dumber :) 

The two of them worked out for us to have a tent at a new apartment complex’s college move-in day.  IT WAS SOOOOO HOT we nearly melted.

Mario & Brent, our sweet neighbor kid, icing down the drinks…

We starting getting stuff ready around 7:30 because thye told us the first wave of people would be checking in from 8am-10am. 

About 8:30am, one of the poeple with the apartment complex remembered to fill us is in that they had changed check-in time to 12-2pm.  That was nice of them.

So we broke for about three hours and went back to the office to hang out and stay cool and run some other errands.

We put some bags together with a few goodies and brochures on auto and renters insurance and gave them out to the students moving in…

  

Jeryn spent most of the morning in the candy/gum basket opening gum and putting the wrappers back in the basket….

 

Mario and Carter…

When we were back at the office, Brent showed Jaiden how to call from desk to desk and she spent the next three hours calling her daddy to say, “I love you.” 

I thought she looked so sweet sitting at the desk :)

Around noon, we made our way back to our “spot” under the tent.  It was ten times hotter and we were all miserable…

  

Bridget had planned on getting in to the State Farm Good “Neighbear” suit…but when the time got changed, I was afraid she would pass out in it at that time of day.  When we got back to the office to unload everything, we had a little fun with the bear head anyway!  Jaiden looked so cute peeking through the eye…

Bubby wanted a turn and it was so funny because it swallowed him and he was just being real still in there.  He was walking around really quiet with out saying a word.  We’d say, “Jump Bear!” and he’d take a little hop.  He was so cute!

On the way home, Mario treated us to lunch at the Japanese Steakhouse. Jeryn fell asleep on the way home and so I carried him in to the bed.  Jaiden laid down next to him and fell asleep.  I was walking through the house and somehow heard “Ma-ax.”  When I found Max, he was in some serious distress.  It was blazing hot and he had somehow managed to get himself penned underneath the deck where there was only about a foot of room.  His head was twisted back and he couldn’t move it.  His little face was mashed in the dirt.  His body was wedged and I felt so sorry for him but I was also panicking because I couldn’t budge him.   I have also heard that goats get really stressed, and let me tell you, he was STRESSED.    By the time Mario got him unstuck, everyone was back awake.  So much for their afternoon nap.  Max looked sort of rough:

 

This goat has like TRIPLED in size since we got him.  For some reason I was thinking he was full grown when we got him.  Meanwhile he grew up and out, and his horns are really long (and we actually had an inch trimmed off about a month ago because Mario was worried the tip of them would hurt one of the kids because they were pretty sharp.

 

We headed out to a rodeo that evening, and while Jaiden was running exhibition barrels, Hot Sauce tore out bucking with her!  He hadn’t done that before, it scared me too death, but she managed to ride it all out and was still in the saddle when he stopped.  The crowd was cheering for her and I had part of it on video because the tape was rolling. I shut it off for a few seconds because I was trying to figure out what I needed to do.  Then I saw Mario running into the arena I turned it back on.  When I watched the tape back, there was a lady in the bleachers screaming, “Ride ‘im!  RIDE ‘IM!”  It was sweet because people were rooting for her :)  Then, just as we were leaving the rodeo, two guys got in a fight at the concession stand.  One was rolling around on the ground next to us, the other was griping at the guy that he had pushed down.  These were grown men fussing over a hot dog that didn’t actually get shoved in anyone’s mouth, only pretended to.  Needless to say, our day was not uneventful..  I was ready to just get home and into bed.

The highlight of my night came during the prayer that was said at the beginning of the rodeo.  I peeked over at my son, and this is what I saw:

I love these kids!  That little spot in the upper right is the sliver of moon.

I still can’t believe it’s time for school already.  I spent the better part of this afternoon labeling school supplies and getting everything ready.  We have orientation and open house this week, and then the real deal!

Funtainers, Fillings, and Other Small Talk

Ever heard of a “funtainer?” I hadn’t.

I’m guessing I may be a little behind the times.

I pretty much picked out J’s school stuff, but when I mentioned needing to get her a new water bottle, and that I would let her pick it out, she knew immediately what she was in the market for.

Five stores later, we found it. Jeryn needed one too. He is required to bring a water bottle to school also, and it must have a built in straw.

Perfect! The funtainer has a push-button to pop the top open, and then a nice built in straw. I would’ve liked a different design better, but beggars can’t be choosers. The funtainer supply was a little scarce around here just a few days before school starts. Jeryn had a funtainer under each arm and annouced, “This one’s for Daddy!”

I told him he could share. I hated to spend another $12. Even if it does stay cold for 12 hours.

I think we have all the necessary school supplies now. I have a few labels to make, and then everything will be ready!

I can’t believe the summer is nearing an end, and we are getting back into the school routine.

Before a trip to the dentist Tuesday morning:

Things were quite dramatic when I found out that Jeryn had numerous cavities a while back. So we went to a pediatric dentist and the evaluation went great. We came back the next week, and Jeryn wouldn’t sit in the chair and wear the mask, so we had to delay the fillings for another month. The dentist decided he would need to be somewhat sedated to complete the dental work, and gave me a prescription and rescheduled him. I had strict instructions to follow: No food or drink after midnight, arrive at 8am, weigh in, administer the medicine, wait in lobby for one solid hour, be called back at 9am, and complete dental work. I was nervous about having a hungry little bear on my hands and not being able to do anything with him for an hour, on top of worrying that we wouldn’t be able to complete the dental work. But it all worked out.

Jeryn was a little angel. He was so sweet and he got three little fillings.

He never was completely out, but he was pretty drowsy. They let him breathe grape “silly gas'” after the medicine had kicked in and he laid in the chair nice and still. I sat on the chair next to him the whole time, holding his hand and rubbing his little legs.  The cavities weren’t very deep, so they didn’t even have to numb him. I think the gas did make him a little loopy because at one point he was humming and singing a little tune. It was so pitiful and cute at the same time. After one filling he said, “Thank you…” to the dentist. Here he is after we were done, proud of the tooth ring that he picked from the treasure drawer:

He has really grown up this summer! Even looking at that picture of me holding him the morning before we left for the dentist, I cant believe how big he looks! He talks all the time about random stuff and we get the biggest kick out of some of the stuff he says.

Tonight during dinner, Jaiden asked, “Is he going to talk that country at school?”