Blizzard Outside--Blessed Inside!

Last night Jonathan spent 1 1/2 hours getting home from Black Forest, a trip that usually takes half an hour. Cars were in the ditch and the roads were a terrible mess. There had been blizzard warnings,

and we had cleaned up outside again and battoned down tarps where needed.

Inside some of us were still recuperating from this awful cold and congestion.
I had some leftover homemade chicken soup I'd made Sunday.
It was so good!

We were so thankful when Jonathan got home safely.

With the blizzard outside, there was something so cozy about inside.
I made popcorn.

We added cayenne to it because of our colds and sore throats.
Nice pizzazz.

Timmy cuddled in with some comforters and blankets, reading.

Jonathan's throat was better than mine last night, so he took a turn reading the bedtime story to the little ones.

Carrie decided she could make her own decision about making these chocolate covered peanut butter balls.
She made 55 of them.

  Don't ask me how many are left. 

Here's something I read the other day.

Keep a sense of humor

"Have you ever noticed that when things aren’t going the way we planned, even the smallest things can start to cause stress? When under stress we become overly serious and neglect the many moments of pleasure and gratification that surround us."

The girls and I enjoyed decorating a bit for Thanksgiving. We reused these orange bows we'd used for Int'l Day of Prayer for the Persecuted church by hanging them on our wagon wheels.

I bought this at Hobby Lobby. 

Going to Hobby Lobby is dangerous.

Usually I don't buy much if anything, just look and drool. But this time I wanted to have something meaningful in our home for Thanksgiving.

 Give Thanks With a Grateful Heart," it says.

And I also bought this little pumpkin that says, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

I loved it.

So that became a door hanging, and on the refrigerator we hung some samples of the turkeys the younger children decorated for home school art class. 

I loved this one done up with dry beans, sunflower seeds, and bow tie pasta.

We didn't have enough of the turkeys from the books, so some of the children traced the pattern, and made their own turkeys on plain paper. 

This one turned out really unique.

So did this one.

Here are the fifty pumpkins Jonathan got at Walmart one day for just

50 cents!

Thanks to his sister Esther for texting him about the deal!

Our steers and pigs love these.

And While the Blizzards Roar

This morning the blizzard continued, leaving behind huge drifts several feet high in places.

 The children had to get through or around these drifts to care for the animals this morning--and all while the snow was still blowing. This picture is after the storm calmed.

Most main roads around us were closed, including Rt. 24, Rt. 94 and the Interstates, with many cars stranded. Here the wind blew like crazy, and sometimes it was whiteout. It was hard to get the temperature in the house up where it belonged. Air was rushing through and out through the cooler vent.

So the boys cut a piece of foam and Sam climbed up to stuff the vent, which did the trick.

Suddenly the house seemed more still.

It was hard to concentrate on schooling or other things when the wind was roaring and snow was blowing. We kept wandering from window to window gazing at the storm.
We were so thankful for our snug home.

About noon the storm cleared out and the sun started shining through. 

After lunch most of us, including me, dressed up to go explore the mammoth drifts and see the amazing sights.

Checking the bees.

The south end of the house with a few feet of snow drifted in front of it.

Drifts carved around the splitter and woodpiles.

Danny getting ready to shovel.

How high the drift was near the van.

A huge drift lined the front of the front yard. 

Another drift just down from the porch, cut across by the wind from the tree.

How the wind carved drifts around a shed.

Jonathan taking pictures.

A Thousand Trees and Bushes--Ft. Myers Spanish Church in FL

Jonathan hit the ground running Monday afternoon at the Ft. Myers Spanish church in Florida. 

This church has been struggling to get things finished to where they can obtain the certificate of occupancy. But one of several things lacking was that environmental codes insisted on about one thousand trees and bushes to be planted around the property in exactly certain spots before the church people can obtain the certificate of occupancy and begin worshipping there. 

Here one of several semis loaded with trees and bushes is arriving.

Since Bro. Wheeler had arrived earlier and was already supervising, Jonathan asked where he should work. 

Bro. Wheeler sent him inside the church to take care of several inside jobs that needed to be done, 

such as patching drywall, installing water fountains and restroom door closers, etc.

(It's no wonder the Spanish men couldn't read or understand the directions for how to do some of these things. Jonathan said the instructions must have been written by a foreigner, because it said to put "four (6)" things in such and such a place. The instructor didn't even know his numbers!

But Jonathan still managed to get a few pictures of what was going on outside. 

Here to the right,  two guys are toting a tree in a cart.

Lots of work and lots of help.

Jonathan called this photo below "Paperwork Time."

The Mission Helps crew goes over the blueprints spread out on the front of the van, 

while the pastor goes over other papers.

Tons of mulch.

So many men showed up this week that all the trees and bushes were planted by Thursday evening.

Praise God there was a mind to work, and the huge job was accomplished.

Trimming an existing palm tree.

Mission Helps crew members marking and staking spots for trees and bushes, while some get ready to plant the trees.

Inside the foyer of the church, Jonathan tried to repair a part of the beautiful chandelier that had gotten broken, He could not see inside the part, so held his phone up to take a picture to try to help himself figure out the problem!

He also helped a lizard find its way out of church.

And we were very happy to have Jonathan back Thursday evening.  He'd been told there was enough work to keep three or four skilled men busy for two weeks, but praise God, so many Spanish folk showed up to do most of the work that they were able to accomplish in a few days what had been estimated to do in a couple weeks.
We praise God most of all for His help and blessings. He is the One Who gives the mind to work and helps His people until their piddly energy is multiplied and amply meets the need.
Jonathan suffered a lot of sinus pain on the one flight, as he was coming down with a severe cold and congestion. Hannah and I are sick today, too, which is why we three stayed home from church and I'm able to share this update.

At Home Under Rooster Wings

So when you think of God, are you at home with Him?

Or do you feel as out of place as a chick under rooster wings? 

The other day our goat stepped on the rooster and broke its leg,

so we had the rooster convalescing in the garage until its leg mended.

 All at the same time, we needed to move our five little chicks to the garage, too.

Well, with a broken leg, the rooster was not so feisty and perhaps he was lonely, 

for he accepted the chicks into his pen! 

A couple days ago as I was outside cleaning up the yard and getting ready for the coming storm,

one of the children hurried up saying that the heating lamp had gone off in the garage, 

and when they checked on the chicks, the chicks were huddled 

under the rooster's wings!

There they were. Someone got a picture of it happening more than once.

And I can't help thinking that sometimes our concept of God can be about as wacky as a chick under a rooster.

 And yet God can even use an upside down situation like that to give us a little picture

of Himself.

Himself--the Wounded Healer,

the Broken Mender,

the Beaten Refuge that takes us, cold, defenseless, helpless and weak,

under His wings.
He became weak so that He could understand our need.
He was broken so He could know what it feels like when our hearts break.

He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities.

He was stepped on and broken and rejected--so He could know what it feels like.

And when we in our darkness, cold and miserable, simply come to Him,

He shelters us.

Rejected Himself, He could reject us, too.

Instead, He receives all who come to Him.

His wings and warm feathers give us a message:

"You are loved,"

as this sweet card said underneath the orchid centerpiece at a birthday party our little children and we parents attended last week.

And although God, being God and not human, probably can't be exactly lonely,

He yet desires fellowship with us--

us poor, weak, helpless humans. 

And when we believe on Him and seek His face and respond to Him,

He celebrates us!

So the next time you feel like a chick under rooster wings when it comes to God, 

don't let it bother you.

Just snuggle up close and be warm!