Relaxing? Praying? Waiting?

Jim and I are trying to relax while the boys are home over the Christmas break. They went home on the 21st and will return to the ranch on the 2nd of January. One of the boys parents called today and said he was in the Emergency Room with one of our boys. We found out after a ct scan that he has a kidney stone and infection. They will treat the infection and he will need to drink plenty of water to try to pass the stone. Please pray for him, that he will be able to pass the stone with no complications.

We are also waiting for 3 more cows to have calves that are due on the 31st. The dairy barn has been flooded 3 times since the boys went home, our daughter went to the hospital with a false alarm, because she is due on the 11th of January. Her doctor said she will probably not see her at her appointment on the 2nd because she will probably have it before then. So we are waiting for another grandson to be born anyday.

We are also praying and waiting for our friends, they have a 25 or 26 year old daughter, who just had one of her lungs removed due to a growth that was in the lung. She is on a ventilator, in ICU. Please pray with us for this family. God knows who they are, just lift them up with us please.

We really are trying to relax and enjoy our time off.

Isaiah 40:27-31 "Why would you ever complain, O Jacob, or, whine, Israel, saying,"God has lost track of me. He doesn't care what happens to me"? Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening? God doesn't come and go. God lasts. He's Creator of all you can see or imagine. He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath. And he knows everything, inside and out.He energizes those who get tired, gives fresh strength to dropouts. For even young people tire and drop out, young folk in their prime stumble and fall. But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles,They run and don't get tired, they walk and don't lag behind." THE MESSAGE

So pray for us that we will WAIT upon God, get fresh strength for when the boys come back, that we can continue to run this race and that we won't lag behind.

Relaxing, praying and waiting in the arms of our wonderful savior that came to this earth as a babe so that He could die for our sins.

A new tradition!

Tonight we had our Board Christmas Party! We had taco's and they sure were good. We also had, cookies and more cookies and too many cookies. We started the night off after we ate with a short business meeting, then I, Cathy, held up the most beautiful present under the tree and it was to: JESUS!

I'm not sure what I said, because when you stand up in front of people you sometimes get tongue tied well, I tried to say something like. Jesus should have the best present because he is the reason so I want everyone to write down on the index card what they want to give Jesus for a present for next year and then put it in His present. I had cut a little slit in the box under the ribbon, and everyone put their gifts to Jesus in His present. Then we sang Happy Birthday to Jesus.

As, our own children were growing up, the tradition was always we had to find baby Jesus before the Christmas Story and then we could open up presents. We still do this every Christmas morning, I'm sure our kids think they are a little to old for this now, but we will probably still carry this on because now our grandchildren are old enough to start hunting for baby Jesus.

I've tried to think of something to do with the boys here at the ranch that is different than our own family tradition and I finally came up with this new tradition this year that I read some where, not even sure where, but I hope that it gets the boys here at the ranch and us adults to really think about what Christmas is really all about. It's not about, gifts, Christmas trees, lights, food or cookies but it all about JESUS! HE is the REASON for the SEASON!

The Boys Say: MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Show and Tell!

I just have to show off 2 of our grandchildren. Heaven (3 1/2) is Cassie our daughter's, step-daughter, and Dylan (19 months) is her son. They are pretty precious don't you think? We are about to have another one as you can see in the picture below.

Cassie's due date is January 11, but I don't think she will make it till the New Year. She is having another boy but we don't know his name yet. Just had to show and tell a little about our personal side of our life. We do have fun with these precious lives God has blessed us with. It is a lot different being a grandma and grandpa than mom and dad. We sometimes tend to spoil them just a little. It's a lot harder disciplining grandchildren and keeping a straight face than I ever remember with our children.

Mary, my unsung hero!

About a year ago I wrote this little writing for a christian writing contest, didn't win, but thought I would share it with you this Christmas season.

"Mary, my unsug hero"

I can’t imagine being a young virgin girl, taking care of my everyday chores and suddenly a stranger just appears in my house. This stranger says something like, "Look at you! God has looked upon you as a special woman. God is with you!" Wow, I think if that happened to me that I would have to sit down and take a deep breath, before I fell down. Then I would be wondering why me? I’m just an ordinary girl. Why would God say that about me?

Then out of the blue this stranger says, "Hey, girl, calm down, it’s okay, God has picked you out of all the girls around to have you carry his Son. You will give birth to this child and you will call him Jesus." Wait a minute, that is so far fetched, there is no way, I have never slept with a man, how can this happen? The stranger answers "Yes there is a way, young one. The Holy Spirit will come down on you and the power of God will cover you. Anything is possible with God."

I can’t imagine I would tell this stranger that I understand everything he is saying and I do want to serve God with all my heart. So I will wait for this to happen.

How could I show my face when everyone knew I was not married, but pregnant? Then when the time came to have this baby holding him in my arms, knowing that some day I would watch him suffer, a very brutal death, to save the world. How could I do that?

How could she have possibly done this? As we approach this Christmas Season let us remember Jesus is our "HERO", He is the Reason! As an empty nested mother I would have to say that Mary is my unsung hero this Christmas, because She gave birth to Jesus and later let go of him trusting God to finish her job.

Thank you God for choosing Mary and not me!

I may not be a true empty nester but my blood children are all grown up now and it is hard to let them go. Not only have my own children left here but I have had to watch several boys that I have grown to love leave and let go of them trusting God to finish. I just want to revoice Thank you God for choosing Mary and not me!

2 Pins equals 1st Place and 3 Nails equals 1st Place!

Andy says, "If I was not at the boys ranch right now I would probably be smoking cigarettes, drinking or in jail, but instead I'm out for wrestling and with the help of Jim and Curtis, I just got 1st place at my wrestling tournament yesterday." He pinned both of his opponents.

Andy is doing great and we are proud of the fact that he went out for wrestling. His record so far is 3 wins and 3 losses, his 3 wins are 3 PINS. He didn't wrestle last year because he was to busy trying to find trouble but we thank the Lord that he came to the ranch so he could change his life around.

He has a great personality, a great heart and has had a life changing experience so far here at the ranch. When he first came he had a no care attitude, when ever we gave him consequences he would say I don't care. He soon found out that you don't challenge Jim to have him help you care, because Jim doesn't give up trying to teach a young man that they need to care. I think Jim won that match, because Andy now cares about a lot of things.

Andy also wanted me to share with you his future plans. He is only a Freshman this year but he plans on staying on at the ranch until he graduates from High School. Then he says he is going to stay here at the ranch and help boys like him change their lives. He loves milking the cows and riding the horses. He wants to help Jim teach the boys how to milk the cows and work with the horses. This is a totally different boy than when we first met him. He now not only cares about his own life but is already making a public comment that he cares about other boys like him.

Jesus got pinned to the cross with 3 NAILS (pins) and won his match for all of us, if we only let him take us down to the foot of the cross and give our life over to Him. He is the ultimate winner and he definately won this match with this young man's life. Please remember to pray for Andy as he finishes the ultimate match, his life living for Jesus.

Down and Out!

I'm down and Jim is out! One thing Jim looks forward to every year is deer season, he loves to hunt and he enjoys supplying food for our table. Today is the first day for shot gun season. What a nice day for him to be out in, ICE and COLD. So that's what he is doing today OUT enjoying the ICE and COLD while I am down on the couch or recliner because my back is out. If you think about us please pray for my back, Jim's cough, (especially being out in this), the boys so I don't have to call Jim while I'm down and he is out.

Really, what I really want to share is it is times like this that the true heart of these boys show. They have been a huge help today, I haven't had an ounce of trouble. Sometimes when Jim is out hunting, the boys push me to the limit to see what I will do. I guess God knows what he is doing when he put me down with my back this time, I guess I needed some peace and quiet while Jim was out hunting. Seriously, though, it isn't fun and very painful so if you could send up an extra prayer please do.

Thanks for your prayers,