Simple Act of Kindness

I have to share how my son blessed my day today, as well as a senior saint and a cashier at Sam's.

We were behind a senior saint this morning in Sam's.  Christopher leans up towards my ear and asked, "Is it OK if I help unload his buggy?"  Of course I said, "Absolutely!"

The senior saint smiled and thanked Christopher.

Christopher smiled his precious dimple smile that we don't see too often.  He then thanked Christopher for helping him.

When we got up to the cashier, she then looked at Christopher and thanked him for helping the customer and raved about how nice that was.

Simple acts of kindness don't go unnoticed, and even if it did, what Christopher did today has eternal rewards.

I am so proud to his momma :)

Chic-Chic-Chickens!

I've been wanting chickens for going on two years now.

But God said wait.

So, I waited.

Until this year.  I was gifted with cash for my birthday and was told, "do not spend it on kids, bills, husband . . . . only for you."  So.  I obeyed :)

I search Craigs List regularly for freebee items for things around here . . . . and for chickens!

One day, after not searching for chickens lately, something told me to search.  So I did.

And there they were!

Three hens, a coop, and feed for $50.

Now, once I got them home, thanks to my friend Jenny and her son Branden, I realized their coop wasn't all that . . . . . but that's OK.  As the pictures will show, I have learned to be quite creative on a skimpy budget AND my mom chipped in and bought some wire along with some boards for Chris to build some protection for them.

I asked Jenny how the people around her were looking at her as she was driving down Davis Hwy . . . . .  She said, "I didn't look."  :)

I am not sure which theme song is more appropriate, The Beverly Hillbillies or Sanford & Son's . . . . so you can take your pick.

As soon as I saw this, I laughed out loud!  

She loves me :)

 

  

 "Oh geez."  

 "Now what do you want to do?"  hehe

 (Christopher took this one of Branden working hard.)

 Everything I've read and everyone I've talked to said not to expect any eggs for several days; even up to a few weeks.  Well, we had one within a few hours!

 Chris is checking out the new addition . . . 

 She hasn't met an animal that doesn't adore her. 

 Now.  Let me explain this. lol.  We decided to put the chickens on the side yard that is NEVER used and was really bad over grown.  The problem, we put the senior dog, Shelby, in the back yard and we needed a way to keep her away from the chickens.  We had pallets left over, so my husband used them to make a fence with a gate to protect the chickens.

We decided the little bitty green run the the chickens were in before was too small for them.  They needed a nesting box.  After mulling it over for a bit, I came up with the idea of using my old toy box!  This is it!  It still has the sticker on the back from 1979 when dad was transferred and the military moved us!  

 Punched out the bottom of the toy box and put a wire grate as the bottom for air circulation and for ease in clean up.  Then layered shredded paper and feeding straw in the bottom.

Chris added four legs to get it off the ground.  Used a board and more wire for the steps :)  and we had a ramp!

 Drilled some holes in the side for more air flow.

 Removed the front left panels and switched them around to make a door opening.

 And we have a nesting box!  The lady that had the chickens had them sleeping and laying their eggs in the same area.  I hadn't figured out what to do or not to do, so this is what they had for the first week.  We kept them enclosed in a fencing area and let them out for an hour or so a day.

 Valentine wants chickens!

 Clearing more debris :)  (YAY!)

 Then today, mom brought some plywood by for Chris to make a nesting box since really and truly they are supposed to be nesting and sleeping in two different boxes.  They loved it!  I added a bar to the toy box for them to be able to roost in.  When we checked on them tonight, they weren't liking that too much.  They have been going without a roost since they were 1 day old, so I am sure they are confused.  Tomorrow I will remove it and they can keep being confused chickens. They will fit right in over here!

The drill died so Chris only got one hole in the side.  More to come; but for now, they have another nesting box that is a few inches off the ground and a place to go if it rains.

So that is it.  Nothing fancy.  But it works.  

The chickens have been giving us three eggs a day since they arrived.  

I think they are happy, don't you?!

:)

Son's of God

Many years ago, when I was cleaning houses full time and going to school, I cleaned for a senior saint, Mildred Parks.

I adored her.

She always had something to share with me, always wanted to teach and always had something wise to say.

One day she was completely out of character and suggested I clean all her pictures with a wet washcloth!  I thought she was crazy, but she insisted, so I did.  I had to redo the pictures the next time I cleaned because they were so dirty.

Besides the picture frames, there is one other "thing" that sticks out when I think about Mildred Parks.

One day, she reached for her Bible and opened it to I John 3:1.  I had a different translation, and that wasn't what she wanted.  She wanted the King James because of the wording.

As I started to read it, she said, "No.  You are reading it wrong.  The word, 'Behold' needs to be read with boldness."

"BEhold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that WE should be called the sons of God . . . . ."

In other words, "What an honor, that we, are loved so much, that we should be called, sons of God."

If that doesn't make you smile, I don't know what will!

So Simple, Yet So Profound . . . .

This morning, for the first time in MANY months, I listened to the Holy Spirit and opened The Word of God before getting on the computer.

I'm glad I did.

I actually sat down, at a loss of even where to begin.  Isn't that strange?  Someone that has been walking with the Lord for 15 years doesn't know where to begin because they've been lazy and not spending time with the Father.

Shameful.

I sensed the Spirit stopping me at Matthew 5.  One of my favorite passages.

The Beatitudes.

For those that do not know, The Most Excellent Way (MEW) is a Christ-centered drug and alcohol recovery program.

Below is a copy of the "steps" taken in MEW.  They are taken directly out of the Beatitudes.  You will have to zoom in to read them, but I do hope you will make that effort.

Here me, and here me loud and clear.  These "steps" can be applied to any and all areas of your life that are out of wack.  The first step to anything is admitting there is problem.  Watch too much television   Admit it.  (Humility).  Eat too much.  Admit it.  (Humility).  Put your kids before your husband.  Admit it.  (Humility).  Watch porn.  Admit it.  (Humility).

You get the point, I'm sure.

While all this is fantastic and resourceful information, re-reading the Beatitudes and the "Ten Steps to Victorious Living" is not what the Lord really wanted me to see.

It was quite simple, and a point I have always known, but one He showed me in light this morning.

It's the verses before the Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount) that He spoke to me about.

Matthew 5:1-2, "When He saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain, and after He sat down, His disciples came to Him.  Then He began to teach them . . . . ."

Do you see it?

As I type my stomach is in knots.

Something so simple but so profound.

Jesus couldn't teach until His disciples came to Him.

Now go read the scripture again.

Maybe it is just me, and maybe none of this meant anything to you, but for a woman, a wife and momma that has put her family and fostering animals before her time with the Lord, it was my Father in Heaven's gentle way of ushering me back into the flock.

Oh I pray you will spend time with Him today.

I'd love to hear what He shows you.

Shalom my friend.  Shalom!