In memory of Mocha

The title may sound funny, but it is true. On Valentine's day our milk cow, Clarice, gave birth to a cute little heifer. Unfortunately, the little thing died a few days later. Here is a picture of her.

Clarice has been giving us 3 gallons of milk a day. We only milk in the morning, so we needed some calves to milk her at night. Another nice thing with having the calves is that when we need to go places (and we have bull sales coming up) we don't have to ask the neighbors to come and milk! So, without further adieu, here are some pictures of the new babies -both are bulls- Mocha and Latte. =D Mocha is the darker one.

Mocha

Latte

Full milk pail!

Clarice is not a very tall cow. Her udder hangs very low to the ground, and we have difficulties trying to get the calves to nurse her. So, at almost 10 pm, we kids were out at the barn, trying to figure out a way to get her up higher. The solution? A riser. So, we all trooped over to the shop. Now, picture us in our Duckies (really called Dickies, but we prefer the other name), mud boots, etc. Josh's and my coveralls were way too big for us, so I imagine we looked rather funny. So, we are out at the shop. Becca is cutting the boards, I am drilling holes, and Josh is screwing in. Our platform was finished in a matter of minutes. Quite proud of ourselves, we headed back to the barn put the riser in and tried again to get the calves on. This time it worked! Hurray! So now we simply milk Clarice in the morning and then let the calves onto her. Easy? No and yes. We still need her to adopt the calves. She isn't too fond of them at the moment, unfortunately. So this practically defeats the purpose of getting the calves. If we have to put her in the stanchion every time we put the calves on, our neighbors will still have to come out when we are gone. So, please pray that Clarice will take the calves. She is starting to warm up to them, finally, but we still need her to be their mother.

This morning's milking was rather... interesting. The cow kicked over the pail several times, thus, we didn't get as much milk this morning as we would have liked. One of the times she kicked, I tried grabbing up the bucket and ended up getting my hand stepped on. Let's just say I wasn't very happy with the cow at that time and wasn't feeling any remorse as I yelled at her. I calmed down, prayed, and sat down to milk again. Whoosh came the foot, and there went the pail. I am rather ashamed of my actions now. I can't say I acted kindly as I once again felt anger rising. I do believe that The Lord uses milk cows as his trainers for us to learn to be patient. Clarice finally settled down, after I calmed down (which shows you another thing.. cows can really understand how you feel and will act upon it) and we were able to get a decent amount of milk. So, needless to say, I learned my lesson. :-)

All praise and glory to Him,
Sarah

The Lord has blessed us, and kept us!

I just wanted to share some of the wonderful things the Lord has done in our life. My heart is brimming with thankfulness!

First of all, Dad quit his mortgage job and, therefore, was unemployed for a while. However, after praying a lot about different job options, Daddy is now training with Northwest Mutial (life insurance). He has a lot of work to do, but we are all very pleased with how it is going. The Lord has certainly guided him and Mama as they decided what would be the best option.

Secondly, some dear friends of ours have been so kind and truly blessed us by buying us lots of groceries. Rice, beans, vegetables, fruits, laundry soap, dish soap, and all the other things that are more necessary. God has truly blessed us in such a rich way.

These things have reminded me that He will never forsake us! He is always looking out for us, and it is through our weaknesses that He is made perfect.

I have been blessed with a WONDERFUL family as well. A Daddy and a Mama who love me dearly, and who are doing their best to bring up their children in the Lord. They have been there for me countless times. Daddy is always giving advice on life matters and other things. Mama is my best friend and confidant. She and I have had so many wonderful, intellectual conversations, cried together, and have gone through many growing experiences together as we both strive to encourage each other in the Lord.

I also have 3 wonderful siblings. 1 sister, who is my favorite big sis, and 2 sweet, funny, ornery brothers. Rebecca is my "bestest" friend and has been SO encouraging through my growing up years. She shares different encouraging thoughts with me that help me in my Walk with Him and is always there for me when I just need to talk and cry on a shoulder. She is also always interested in the things I make, write, or do.

My two wonderful brothers help me keep up my spirits when life gets me down. Those two goofy, rambunctious, loveable boys are 2 of my biggest fans in the many things I do. They will always sit on my bed and listen as I read some of my stories out loud to them or just want to talk. We have had lots of fun with each other and several interesting experiences. If one is in trouble, it was usually all of us in trouble. We do a lot together out on the ranch. Chase cows around in the pasture, swing in the barn, play swords (I am always the lady in distress while my two handsome knights come and save me), jump in the hay, and have competitions of various sports. Many times they have been the source of my "giggle box" being turned over.

I am thanking the Lord for the many things He has provided me with. I have clothes to wear, food to eat, a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, a family who loves me, and, most of all, a Heavenly Father who is always taking care of me.

In our Lord Jesus Christ,
Sarah

Thomas is the model of all..

Hello friends!

Our family has recently joined up with BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) in ABQ. We have been working our way through the book of John. For this week, we studied John chapter 11, and I found some rather interesting things in this chapter that I had never really thought about before.

So, this chapter is talking about the death of Lazarus. Jesus hears the news that His friend is sick, but He doesn't depart from the place He was staying (near the Jordon where John was baptizing). Why? If He had gone right away, He would have been able to save Lazarus from death, true, but because He didn't leave until later, He was able to give more proof that He was indeed the Son of God by Raising Lazarus from the grave. Now, here is the part that really intrigued me. Verses 14 and 15 say "So Jesus said to them plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there so that you may believe; but let us go to him.'" Now comes verse 16. "Therefore Thomas, who is called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 'Let us also go, so that we may die with Him."

This Verse may not have a lot that people ever really notice. However, our Bible study question was "what were Thomas's strength and weakness in that verse". Now, I am thinking, "what weakness?" But when you take a closer look, you get a better view. Thomas was faithful and showed a strength by being willing to go with Jesus. However, his weakness was DOUBT. For me, that is a tough word. It means we aren't totally trusting in Jesus. I know several of you, if not everyone, have had this struggle before. We want to do thnigs on our own and not trust Jesus to the utmost. We don't need Him for everything, surely?? I mean, can't we take care of a few things ourselves? No, I am not talking about whether we are having PB&J for lunch, but other areas in our life. For us right now, it is trusting that God will take care of us and give us the buyer that we need for the ranch. However, it is rather difficult as we count down the days until we will need to move off the ranch completely.

Now comes another interesting part in this verse. Who was it that doubted Jesus? Thomas. He didn't think that Jesus could go into Judea again without getting caught and killed. Jesus obviously had other plans. Now, let's look at John 20. In verses 25-25 we see that Thomas was not with the 12 when Jesus appeared to them after his ressurection. So, the disciples are telling Thomas that they saw Jesus. Thomas once again doubts this. He said that "unless I see in His hand the imprint of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."  Now comes the neat part. Jesus once again appears to them and talks to Thomas. Jesus tells him to reach and put his fingers on His hands and to touch His side. Thomas now believes. What Mom and I found rather interesting is that Thomas SAW Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet he doesn't believe that Jesus Himself rose from the dead.  I think that Thomas really is the model of what some Christians are today. God often shows us "miracles and wonders" and answers prayers, yet we often do not Trust Him still.

So, my lesson from God this week was quite an eye opener.  I think that Thomas really hits the nail on the head, so to speak, for me any way.  I am going to try to learn from His example of doubt and not repeat it!!

God bless all of you, my Fellow warriors for Christ!!

Sarah