NOW.....THAT'S GOD!

It was one of the hottest dry season, we had not seen rain for almost 2 months.
The crops were dying and the cows were dry.
All the creeks and streams had been dry for months.

If this kept up, a lot of farmers would go bankrupt.

Every day, my husband would go and do the task of feeding, and trying to get water to the stock.
This actually involved a tanker that first needed to be filled, and then taken to the paddocks to water the stock.

If we didn't see rain soon.....we would lose everything! AND....
it was precisely on this day, that I saw the greatest miracle I ever witnessed!

I was in the kitchen making lunches for the men....when I saw little Billy walking towards the woods.

He wasn't walking like he usually did, no, he had "purposeful strides" like, he had a job to do!

I could only see his back, but he was obviously being very careful, doing........something!

Minutes after he had disappeared...he came running back again, towards the house.

I kept making the lunches.

About 20 minutes later.....there he was again.....doing the same careful walk.....

This went on for an hour, and it was getting too much for me, so I sneaked out and followed him, being very careful not to let him see me.

I watched, as he was cupping both his little hands in front of him, being careful not to spill the maybe two spoonfuls of water that he held in his cupped hands.

Branches and leaves slapped in his face, but he ignored them. He had a bigger job to do....and he was doing it!

As I got closer.....I saw the most amazing sight!

Several large deer loomed up in front of him...and Billy walked right up to them.....

I nearly screamed......for him to get away........

a huge buck with large antlers was so close......but he did not threaten him.
He did not even move.....as Billy knelt down.

And then.....I saw a tiny little fawn.....lying on the ground.....it was obviously suffering from heat exhaustion and it lifted it's tiny little head to lap the precious water from my beautiful little son's tiny hands.

When the water was gone....Billy jumped up to run back to the house....I hid behind a tree.
I then followed him back to the house, and there, at a tap round the back, he turned it on full blast, but.....only a little trickle came out.

Drop by drop....he caught it in his little hands, ( it took 20 minutes....easy) and off he took again, back to the little fawn.

It suddenly became clear to me, the trouble he'd gotten into, last week, when he'd left the hose running and the lecture he'd gotten for wasting water....he was not game to ask me to help him...

After the 20 minutes of filling his cupped hands...he stood up.......and there I stood....right in front of him!

His little eyes filled with tears....."I'm not wasting water..." was all he said and went back to "doing his job"
I went with him. As I stood and watched tears came to my eyes.

I was watching the most beautiful heart in action!

And....as my tears fell....there were drop.....drop.....drops in the dust!

It was as if God Himself was crying too....weeping with pride!

Some will say it was all just a coincidence, that it was bound to rain anyway and I can't argue with that....the rain saved a little fawn and it saved our farm!

But I say.....In all that we do....we need to totally give Him thanks and then our blessings will continue to multiply!

Don't tell God how big your storm is.....tell your storm how big your God is!

HAVE A BLESSED DAY....

Yaddy

PROBLEMS....?????

Problems are either stumbling blocks or stepping stones.
If you accept them as stumbling block....you'll grow bitter.

If you accept them as stepping stones....you'll grow from them.


AN OLD FARMER'S ADVICE!

1) Life is simpler, if you plow around the stump.

2) A bee is considered faster than a John Deere tractor.

3) Meanness don't just happen overnight.

4) Forgive your enemies....it messes up their heads.

5) You can not un-say a cruel word.

6) Always drink up stream from the herd.

7) Every path has a few puddles.

8) The easiest way to eat crow is when it is still warm, cause the colder it gets,
the harder it is to swallow.

9) Most of the stuff people worry about ain't never going to happen.

10) Letting the cat out of the bag is a lot easier then getting it back in again.

11) If you're thinking you're a person of some influence, try ordering some one
else's dog around!

THE TAXI RIDE!

20 years ago, I drove a taxi for a living.
When I arrived, at 2.30am, the building was dark, except for one single light in a ground floor window. Now, many drivers would have honked once, maybe twice....then just left, but I had seen too many poor people who depended on taxis as their only means of getting anywhere
and unless the situation smelled of danger, I usually went to the door.

"This passenger might need assistance," I argued with myself.

So I walked to the door and knocked.....

"Just a minute..." answered a frail elderly voice.

I could hear something being dragged across the floor.

After a long pause......the door opened.

A small woman, in her eighties stood before me. She was wearing a floral dress, and a small
hat, with a veil....like someone out of a 40's movie.

She was carrying a small suitcase.

The flat looked like no one had lived there for years.

Everything was covered, no utensils, no photos, no anything except for in the corner where
stood a box filled with packed stuff.

"Could you carry my bag to the taxi?" She asked. I did....then came back for her.

We slowly walked back to the taxi and she kept thanking me for the trouble.
I said it was nothing and was glad to be able to do it.

She gave me an address....then asked, "Could you drive through the town?"

"It's not the shortest way..." I answered quickly.

"OH, I don't mind..." she said, "I'm not in a hurry, I'm on my way to the hospice...."

I looked in the rear vision mirror and noticed her eyes were glistening.

"I don't have any family left," she continued, "And the doctor says I don't have much time left"

I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
"Which way would you like to go?" I asked her.

For the next two hours we drove through the city.

She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator, we drove through the neighbourhood where she and her husband had lived, when they were newlyweds.

She made me pull up in front of a warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as a young girl.

Sometimes she'd ask me to slow down in front of a particular building or corner....and would sit
staring into the darkness....saying nothing.....

At the first hint of sunlight she said, "I'm tired....let's go now!"

I took her to the address she had given me and when we arrived, two orderlies came out to the taxi as soon as we got there. I got her small suitcase.

She was already in a wheel chair.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, reaching into her purse.

"Nothing..." I said....
"You have to make a living..." she answered.
Almost without thinking.....I bent down and gave her a hug.....

:You gave me a little moment of joy...thank you..." she said.

I didn't pick up any more passengers that shift, I drove around, aimlessly, lost in thoughts.

For the rest of the day, I could hardly talk..."What if she'd gotten an angry driver?...or an impatient one?"

I felt that I had never done anything more important in my whole life!
To me, it was a divine appointment.

People may not remember what you said or did, but they will remember how you made them feel!

God Bless you...

Yaddy

DESPERATION CAN DRIVE US......

The call came....late at night. It was from a friend who was visiting her mother, who lived in the same end of town still, where she grew up.
Her mother had cancer....that's why she'd gone home.

She found herself in the small church of her youth......and ended up on her knees.....eyes filled with tears!

"I was praying for my mum, " she said,...."And then I felt so guilty.......WHY???
Because I'd been away from church....and God, so long...and now.....when I'm desperate, I'm back in church and praying!"

EVER BEEN THERE?

I'm talking about DESPERATE prayer?!

The..."I-just-got-sacked-and-the-bills-are-overdue"....kinda prayer.....
OR the cancer prayer.....or the heart surgery prayer......

YOU CAN SPEND A LIFETIME IN CHURCH..... go through all the motions......and never call out to God as you do.....in pain......and suddenly......you feel guilty!

It's almost as if you've been ignoring a parent....but now.....there's a problem!
A big PROBLEM!
Too big for you to handle so, now, you're bringing it to mum and dad.
You're begging....and through it all you feel so much like a hypocrite.....at least....I do!

I'm supposed to know something about faith and prayer. I talk about it a lot and yes, I pray with others about it, but when I get desperate and really plead with God to do something, I feel like my friend did....in her old church.

It's almost as if God is saying..."Now you're in a mess you come to me..." or...is God saying.....

"Where have you been?" or is God saying....."So, you're not as strong as you think?"
or, as my friend said.... "I just feel I should get my act together, before going back to church..."

I gave her the theologically correct answer..."Going back to God is how you get yourself back together, God does it by forgiving you, then giving you the power and grace to get through it.
It's a fresh start!"

I BELIEVED EVERY WORD AS I SAID IT.....I still do....right now!

My friend told me later that this conversation was one of the keys to her returning to faith and church.

THAT'S A CELEBRATION!

But...... do you ever find that the advice you give some one else, seems to work better for "them"
then what you tell yourself?
Whenever I am in a tough spot, the first thing, ( make that the first few things) is to try and figure out how I can do it myself.

I don't pray first....I don't like to ask for prayer.....
It's like I'm afraid of those "real heart pounding desperate prayers" followed by waiting....patience!

It forces us to do that though, because....we can't fix the cancer.....we can't make money with the snap of our fingers.....we have to wait....we have no other choice...as some one once said..."We find out that God is all we need....when God is all we've got"

In desperate prayers we get closer to God, and that is what He wants.

God longs, yearns to have real conversations with us....not just a quick "hello" followed by asking favours. HE wants to connect with us.
That seems to be the main story lines of the Bible!

It's just a shame that too many have to get desperate, to do it!

Bless you...
Yaddy

THE THIRD MAN.........

Last night, I dreamt I took a walk on Calvary's lonely hill.

The things I saw with my own eyes could not have been more real!

I saw upon three crosses.....three men...in agony!

I cried out for mercy.....and the third man.....looked at me!

And, oh, the hurt....in this man's eyes just broke my heart in two
it seemed that I could hear Him say, "I'm doing this....for you.

I knelt beneath that third man's cross and slowly bowed my head
and, as I reached to touch His feet....they stained my hands.....with red!

Then, when I heard Him cry with pain, I raised my eyes to see
blood spilled from the third man's side.....and some of it spilled on me!

The third man wore a crown of thorns....spikes held Him to the tree and I heard Him say,
" O God,...My God.....hast Thou forsaken Me?"

And there, within the mighty crowd, were ones who mocked and cried,
" King?.....save thyself if thou art king.....and then....
the third man died!

Suddenly I heard the thunder roar....saw lightning pierce the sky
the third man ws still hanging there...and I began to cry!

I saw the wall was falling and heard the breaking....in the crowd
and then I woke and thought I'd dreamed, I touched my cheek
and found my eyes were wet where I had cried, and in my mind I knew....

I still can hear the third man say..."I'm doing this.....for you..."

Bless you...

Yaddy

WHO KNEW THIS???

The most selfish one letter word is....................."I" avoid it!

The most satisfying two letter word is..............."WE" use it!

The most poisonous three letter word is........... "EGO" kill it!

The most used four letter word is...................... "LOVE" Value it!

The most pleasing five letter word is................ "SMILE" keep it!

The fastest six letter word is............................. "RUMOUR" ignore it!

The hardest working seven letter word is...... "SUCCESS" achieve it!

The most enviable eight letter word is........... "JEALOUSY" distance it!

The most powerful nine letter word is........... "KNOWLEDGE" acquire it!

The most essential ten letter word is............ "CONFIDENCE" trust it!

THE TWO MOTHERS....

A long time ago, so I have been told, two mothers once met, on streets paved with gold.
"By the stars on your crown,...." said the one to the other, "I see that on earth, you too were a mother. And by the blue tinted halo you wear....you too have known sorrow, and deepest despair!"

"Ah, yes..." she replied, "I once had a son, a sweet little lad full of laughter and fun...
but..... tell of your child...."

"Oh, I knew I was blessed from the moment I first held him close to my breast and my heart
almost burst with joy....on that day...."

"Ah, yes..." said the other...."I felt the same way..."

The former continued..."The first steps he took, so eager and breathless.... the sweet startled look which came over his face....he trusted me so..."

"Ah yes...." said the other...."How well do I know..."

"But soon he had grown to a tall handsome boy, so stalward and kind and it gave me so much joy
to have him just walk down the street by my side..."

"Ah yes, " said the other, 'I felt the same pride..."

"How often I shielded and spared him from pain, and when he for others so cruelly was slain.
When they crucified him....and spat in his face...how gladly would I have hung there in his place!"


A moment of silence......"Oh...then you are she.....the mother of Christ...." and she fell on one knee!

But Mary raised her up, drawing her near, and kissed from the cheek of the woman a tear!

"Tell me the name of the son you love so... that I may share with your grief and your woe?"

She lifted her eyes looking straight at the other....

"He was Judas Iscariot........I am his mother...."


Bless you all...

Yaddy

BUT GOD....LOOKS AT THE HEART!

I have two cousins, one is older, a good deal older then the other. Lets call her Joan, the younger one we will call Pat.
Joan visits her mum on a regular basis, say roughly every 5 weeks or so. Her mum is a widow.
Uncle died two years earlier. It's a good one and half hour drive so the visits are not all that long.
Pat lives close by and keeps her eye on her mother.

Aunt is getting on in years too, she will be 90 soon, and her eye sight is not what it used to be. She had a cataract removed from each eye which did help, but, well, you know how it is!

Pat has younger children and they love running through nanna's house, which nan does not mind, but, they also have left vegemite finger marks all over the hall way wall.

So, Joan noticed this on her last visit, and has decided that next visit she will bring a bucket and brush and spray cleaner, and when her mother is getting lunch ready, Joan will clean up the wall a little for her mum.

She puts the gear in the car and off she goes.

As she arrives and she has a coffee with her mum....... Pat also arrives.

This is nothing unusual as it is a good opportunity for the 2 sister to also have a chat and a catch up. Besides their mother loves to have the two of them there too.

Pat comes in and after she's had her coffee, calls Joan aside and explains that....

"I noticed mum had some marks on the hall way wall, so......while you chat with mum, keep her busy, I will go and clean the wall for her so it won't look so bad"

Meanwhile......three ladies from aunt's church arrive, to also have a visit and coffee with my aunt.

They are let in by Pat, and see Joan sitting, talking to her aunt, while Pat is busy working her fingers to the bone.

They say nothing while visiting, but, as soon as they all leave and get back into their car, the conversation starts.

"Did you see poor Pat doing all that hard work while Joan is sitting there not doing anything, just chatting with her mum?"

Now tell me........isn't that how gossip starts?

Those ladies had no idea what plans Joan and Pat had...... before they arrived....

Aren't we blessed that GOD LOOKS AT THE HEART AND OUR INTENT?

Bless you

Yaddy