#26

3/27/2010

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Another year has come and gone, as they always do, and yesterday we celebrated my 26th Birthday. Thankyou to all of you who wished me well on my birthday, it was one of the best so far!
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All of my endevours of loosing weight were suspended for a glorious feast at Texas Roadhouse in Sherman. It was also a reminder of just how different life is now. It used to be that we would go out to dinner, have a good time and get home whenever. Last nght, however, we got to the resturant and Mattie immediately needing feeding. As soon as we got our drinks, she needed changing! We got done with dinner. went to Sam's, then headed home. We got home at 11, which a couple years ago wouldn't have late at all, but now it may as well have been 3am! Man, I am getting old...

None the less, it was a great birthday.  After all, its the first time I ever got my name in lights on my birthday! No, really! Look!
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What can I say, its a small town.
Now, on to more important things...
Yesterday afternoon, while working in my office, I spent a little while just reflecting on my experiences of the past 26 years. Out of my wanderings of the mind I came up with a list of 26 lessons that I have learned.

For your enjoyment::
 
26 Things I have learned by age 26
1. I am not the center of the universe.
2. I don't deserve half the things I thought I did.
3. If you get in trouble at school, you're in trouble when you get home.
4. Telling lies only makes things worse.
5. Mom doesn't have to be a big woman to make a switch burn like the devil!
6. Parents say no a lot, but don't dare say it back!
7. If you deserve a lot of spankings, chances are you will get one you didn't (don't play the odds.)
8. When in doubt, don't do it.
9. Mom and dad are watching your back, even when you don't know it.
10. Jumping backwards on a wood burning stove after a bath is a very, very bad idea.
11. Eating junk food will make you fat, fat, fat!
12. At one time or another, we are all a small fish in a big pond.
13. Give your dad a hug and tell him you love him every chance you get.
14. Be careful where you aim your bb gun, escecially where a neighbor's bird feeder is concerned.
15. Don't break your mother's heart, watch what you say to her.
16. Sometimes there is a cop with a radar gun on that stretch of HW 107 at night.
17. I am not invencible.
18. The world is a lot bigger than High School
19. You can't go home again
20. Concerning home burglery, it can happen to you.
21. Mountain biking down a steep set of steps is not a good idea, excecially the 2nd time
22. Being married is a lot different than dating.
23. Always wait 24 hours before reacting, especially when you don't want to.
24. Plans change, be flexable.
25.You don't really understand the love of God until you have a kid. 26. Things are not always what they seem...
  

Funny thing is that a lot of these the number lines up with the year I learned the lesson.

Anyway, I am sure there are many more lessons to be learned this year.

Have a great weekend everyone!
 
So, we came out of the house after lunch time today, to head back to work, when Sarah noticed our one remaining Rhode Island hen was in the brooding box. Sarah said something to her and when she moved we found this!
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In case you can't make out exactly what it is, that is a perfectly shaped, large, brown egg.
What is exciting about it is this is the 1st egg we have ever gotten from one of our own chickens! It might seem dumb, but to us, this is really exciting!
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Thats Lucky. Lucky was named by Danny, one of the men from our church. She is named Lucky, because well..., she is one lucky chicken. When Lucky first arrived as a day old chick, she had 15 siblings. At first, heat lamp problems brought about the untimely dimise of some of her siblings, then one by one, due to various varments, the flock was thinned. Alas, one day there was only one left, hence the name "Lucky."
Needless to repeat, we were overjoyed when we saw that Lucky, the survivor chicken had layed her first egg!

Good chicken Lucky, good chicken!
 
OK, I promise that every post is not going to be as Sunday School, but I have been ruminating (a little goat pun) on something for a while. For those of us who call ourselves Christ-followers we are used to hearing the word faith thrown around a lot. After all, it is used in so many ways. We use it to describe Christianity, we call it "a faith," or "our faith." We talk about having faith, but do we really understand faith? Hebrews 11 tells us that "faith is the substance of things hoped for, the certainty of things unseen..." but what does that mean?
The truth about faith is that it cannot be summed up in one short, sweet statement of doctrine. I can tell you what faith is not: Faith is not a secret handshake that opens the door to have whatever you want. Faith is not a club to be used to beat people over the head. Faith is not something to be possessed, it is something to be learned and understood piece by piece.
As time goes by, I am learning more and more what it means in Habakkuk 2:4 when it says, "The righteous will live by faith." The truth in this statement is profound, and when you catch a glempse of what it means, it opens up a whole new world. It goes hand in hand with another phrase that gets tossed around, "the will of God." What a strong faith really is is a certainty that God's Will will be done. In other words, its knowing that God will do what He says He will do.
To possess a strong faith we have to learn to let God give us new passion and new desire that we will want His will and not our own. Until we learn this truth and make it a part of who we are, we will always live in disappointment, despair, and discontentment.
This really is a tough thing to grasp! To be willing to let go of what is not what God wants is often hard. It takes time it takes practice (and here is the key), it takes being willing to trust that He has what is best for you in store. You may not see it today, tomorrow, or a year from now, but one day you will see that His plan is best!

Grace & Peace,

Pat
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    About Pat Ward

    Pat is a graduate of Southern Nazarene University with a degree in Theology & Ministry and Equine Business. He has worked as a pastor, ranch hand, and a veterinary technician. His current occupation is Route Sales Representative for Schwan's Home Services.

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