The Trilogy of: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Guy!

"Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrow will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets it's death.
And when he shakes his mane we shall have spring again."
'The Chronicles of Narnia' C.S. Lewis

As we read through Chapter 8 tonight, this poem was a topic of discussion. Now in the first book, 'The Magicians Nephew,' Aslan had created Narnia. Here, talking about what it meant for "winter to meet death," Cowboy came to the conclusion this was in some way, how God was going to defeat Satan. We talked about how man brought "evil" into Narnia in the first book, and he made the connection there of the fall of man, although that's of course, not how he put it :) Eventually, he bridged that fall of man and "winter meeting it's death," with the only logical thing, (to us) the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

"So .... " I wondered aloud, "The poem says that Aslan is the one who will break winter and bring spring. If that's Jesus, then what's up with this? Isn't Aslan also the one who created Narnia, so wouldn't that be God? If it's Jesus who will defeat the winter, then why does it say Aslan?" Cowboy said, "Oh Mama, you're forgetting about the trilogy! (He meant 'Trinity", haha). He said, "It's God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Guy!" hahahaha ...... True indeed!

I was so impressed he remembered this :) And then could actually explain and connect the two. We learned and talked about the Trinity last year in First Grade. Now believe in the Trinity or not, that's your choice ..... it's MY blog :)

The part in Chapter 9 that peaked his interest was this ..... It talked about how Edmund had made the decision to go looking for the White Witch (as in leaving the comfort, warmth, and company of) the cabin which he had been in, to go where he most felt comfortable. We had a brief discussion of the hardship of the journey, but how his hate, desire for revenge, and promise of power, kept him moving on ..... and also, how deep in his heart, he knew the White Witch was bad. This was a good bridge to the open gates .....

Cowboy asked me specifically, why the gates of a castle (the castle of the White Witch) had been, not just, unguarded, but wide open. Even a 7 year old knows the gates of any castle are protected. So I asked him, "Do you think that the devil cares who enters?" He said, "Well YEAH! If it's God, he would be afraid!"
I said, "Yes, but why would God chase an enemy who is already inferior and defeated? Is there any reason for him to enter the devils' castle?" "Oh, I guess not," he said. (We have not talked about the 3 days of resurrection, keys of hell, etc yet, too deep at this point!). So, I asked, "Why would the devil leave his gates open?" He said, "I guess because he wants everybody to come in!" Lesson achieved!

So Chapter 9 basically ended there, and as I sum up, I'm facing a difficult situation (as most of us are and do at some point), on standing firm. One of our scriptures this week is, "And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit IN HIS SEASON, his leaf also shall not wither, and whasoever he doeth shall prosper." Ps 1:3

When it seems like all the world is against us but we know that we know, we are being faithful to our calling ..... although our full season has not yet come, sometimes, we get a little morsel, a bloom, of the fruit we are producing. Cowboy is my fruit. His little spirit man growing, learning, wanting, and needing ..... God. My leaf will NOT wither, and what I'm doing SHALL prosper! In Jesus name .....

Can You Hear Me Now?

Do you ever feel like you go through a period where you hear the same teaching and read the same message over and over again from completely different sources? Sometimes we may be in a particular circumstance, and it applies right now. Other times, you keep hearing it, and you're not quite in it yet.

For me, it's been a message of perseverance. It's been about keeping to my calling, protecting my anointing, and not letting anyone or anything distract me from, or dictate God's will for my life. Although resistance in this area has been relatively low lately ...... I picked up on the consistency of what God has been trying to tell me. I was like, "Oh NO! Not again! I don't want to DEAL with this again! I can't, I can't go through this again!"

Ha! The enemy is a slick, slimy, booger-head isn't he? Fear. That was my first reaction. About 5 minutes later ..... I remembered something a pastor of mine used to say, "I'm telling you this, not to scare you, but prepare you."

Considering and praying about this made me realize how insensitive my "hearing" can get. I'm so distracted by the many areas I'm growing in (and believe me, I gots A LOT of growing to do!), that I was missing what was right in front of me. When I finally realized God was going, "HELLO! OVER HERE!" waving, jumping up and down, and shouting for my attention ...... I'm trying to cover all bases all the time, when He wanted my focus HERE. HERE, He can prepare me, equip me, encourage me, and give me the strength I need for the coming battle.

How much chance would an enemy have if you knew they were coming and you knew their tactics? NONE!

Just because we face a difficulty once, doesn't mean we won't face it again, especially if it is an area we need to grow in, or dare I say, it's ALWAYS an area we need to grow in. How many lessons are there to learn from one circumstance? Faithfulness, steadfastness, patience, compassion, full dependency on God ...... the list could go on and on. 

And so, I have thoroughly committed my attention in this one area. I have preparations to make, I have battle lines to draw, I have my heavenly strategist to consult, and I have a battle to win! This is war, better polish and oil every kink in that armor of God, and let Him ..... take the lead, I only take orders.

What is your Turkish Delight?

As most of you know, I've been reading 'The Chronicles of Narnia' to my Cowboy. Although I've read all these books before, they surely take on a new meaning when teaching your child the symbolism and practicality of present day. As we summed up and discussed the fourth chapter of, 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe,' I must say, I was pleasantly surprised in little man's understanding.

We read about Edmund, the next to youngest child, who was tempted by the White Witch. She promised him power, Kingship .......  mostly, and to his immediate satisfaction, Turkish Delight. A temptation of a fine, sugary substance, that kept him wanting more and more ........ in exchange for his brother and sisters ..... the Son of Adam and Daughters of Eve.

The association between the White Witch and Satan, was no contest for my Cowboy, as it would be for any child deciding between good and evil. But I pressed further and asked him, "What would your 'Turkish Delight" be?" Examining his heart and evaluating how available sugar and Little Debbies are in this day and age, I challenged to push further, and think about the thing that the enemy could use most to tempt him right now. Without a second thought, he said, "Video games."

So I asked him ..... "if you were offered, as Edmund was, the ability to play these games, without "Mom rules" and conviction, and you were told you could play anything at all you liked, in exchange for what was most precious to you, what would you say?" He said, "What do you mean by most precious, what really does that mean?" I said, what matters most to your heart. So, ask yourself, what DOES matter most to your heart, and why? He said, "You Mama, you matter most to me." I said, "Truly, I am honored, but is that really how you feel? I only offer you love and care. What else do we need, what else is more important than that? He said, "Heaven. I want to live with Jesus." I asked him, "Can I give you that?" "No Mama, you can't, but God can." So I asked again, "What is most precious to you?" He looked at me, kinda questioning, almost to make sure it was ok with me, and he said, "God Mama. God is most precious to me."

I smiled and said, "OK, so, if you were offered to play any and all games you wanted, without rules or conscience, in exchange for giving up God and what you know He wants you to do ..... would you do it?" "OH NO Mama! I wouldn't!" I asked him, "Do you think it was easy for Edmund to give up his brother and sisters? Do you think he thought also, 'OH NO, NEVER! I could never do that?" After some consideration Cowboy said, "It must have been hard for him to say that." I said, "Yes, it must have been. But did his desire for his Turkish Delight (which has now been established as sin) over ride his desire for what was right?" "Yes," he said, "it did."

So ....... I asked him, "Now, how do you think the enemy will tempt you? Is he going to use something like Little Debbies?" "Well," he said, "yes, but Little Debbies would be easy to say no to." "BUT" he said, "He is going to try again and tempt me with what is most in my heart. What I want most."

That's as far as we got tonight, all I can say is, God is working!! A little at a time, my baby boy is connecting the dots between living righteously, and what to expect from the enemy. I am so blessed that he has such a greater understanding! God is truly in, and with him!

Hope for the Future, .....HOPE FOR MANKIND!

Before Christmas, hubby was diligently trying to get my kitchen in so I could cook Christmas dinner. I love to cook and especially bake! Living 2 years without a real stove and oven has been terribly painful for someone like me. I learned to adapt however, and I can make some mean Shrimp Croquettes in a tiny little toaster oven! Being numb with inconvenience, the idea of having a fully functioning kitchen was just too much to conceive!

By Christmas, he was good to his word and not only did I have my stove/oven installed, but a counter as well! There are no drawers, doors, or shelves mind you, but who's complaining? I don't have to bend over that low, craft table I've been using to do my choppin' and stuff! He did not, however, get the sink installed. He bought a pretty porcelain sink, put it in the hole of the counter, and that's how it's been since Christmas.

Yesterday, he brought home the faucet and some plumbing stuff and immediately got to work. I had picked out this very nice, touch faucet by Delta. I wanted this thing bad! This kitchen is very small. Like an apartment kitchen, and will not be my main kitchen when my house is done. I call this the downstairs kitchen as we will be living upstairs, someday ...... before I'm old and gray (oops, almost there!) hopefully. My intentions are to use the downstairs kitchen, and the entire downstairs, not just as an apartment for company, but also, I wanted that room where the kitchen is, to double as my craft and project room. It's big and spacious, and a touch faucet is perfect for goopy hands with paint, glue, etc.

So I go into the kitchen after hubby's done banging around in there, and see, not my beautiful Delta faucet, but the most gorgeous, shiny, gleaming in the light, cheap $100 faucet! Now, I could have gotten all bummed out. But you must understand how I've lived for 2 years. I've had to fill my dish tubs in the restroom because there's no running water in the "kitchen." I also had to dump dish water (and anything else like old coffee, noodle water, etc) in the commode. Talk about 100 steps to complete a simple task! If you're gonna wash dishes, make tea, and cook dinner ...... well honey, you might as well call it a cardio workout!

For a long time, I would take my dish water outside to dump it. I didn't want any 'chunky' stuff going down the toilet and into the septic system. One day it occurred to me, "HELLO! "chunky" stuff goes down the commode everyday (if you're lucky, ha!) a few grains of rice or pasta isn't gonna hurt it!" So actual running water out of ANY faucet, is like a river of living waters!

As I leaned against my tile-less counter this afternoon, admiring my shiny faucet (COMPLETE WITH A SPRAYER THINGY!), my eyes glazed over in delight ...... I walked over, and knowing the water pipe hasn't been connected, I did it anyway ..... I turned the faucet on. A smile crept across my face and I imagined clean, running water from a magical source, filling my sink and my heart with hope.  Hope that tonight ...... tonight might be the night ...... tonight I might be able to wash dishes in a real sink, with water, not from a fancy touch faucet, but from a shiny, pretty, gleaming oasis of ready made water! Hope for the future, HOPE FOR MANKIND!

And thus it stands ...... I wait in anticipation for the next several hours for hubby to get home. I wait for my future. Will I bask in the delight of a functioning kitchen sink? Oh the wonder! the sheer joy and convenience of such a thought! Tonight ..... we shall see!

Don Williams Emmy Lou Harris - If I Needed You (with text)

Meeting Holly Mountain

OK, as we are having a rare day off around here, things are in a lull, but don't be fooled, this is merely the calm before the storm! I wanted to play around and practice this blogging stuff. I still have no idea how people will know that I've written anything as I haven't taken time to add people or send emails, or whatever you're supposed to do. But, I wanna practice nonetheless! So, I shall share with you, our coming to Holly Mountain.

When Cowboy was 6 weeks old, hubby deployed to Kosovo for a year and a half. I was still in Texas at the time and still had 2 of my 3 older (most beautiful, handsome, and awesome) boys living at home (I have 4 boys total). During his deployment, we bought some acreage in Arkansas. We had vacationed there and fell in love with the area. All through his Kosovo deployment, I pictured late nights, sitting outside around a fire with the stars beaming above, planting a garden, canning, growing herbs, living off the land and loving the comfort of my log home with the blazing fireplace and all the hearty smell and feel of natural logs around me.  This, is how it ACTUALLY went down ..........

We had lived in a nice, warm, cozy 3 bedroom rent house in the little town of Clinton, Ar for 2 years. Most of that time, hubby was deployed to Iraq.  So basically, he returned from 18 months in Kosovo, had just enough time to dump me off in Arkansas, and deployed for another 18 months to Iraq. So, there I am, having lived my entire life in Texas, always close to family, lifelong friends, and knowing even the unknown faces in the grocery store, alone, in a place where there only person I knew was ....... my realtor. She turned out to be the most awesome friend too!  Even so, I continued on with the fantasy of my log home. When hubby returned from Iraq, we spent many nights, weeks at a time even, camping at the property. Hiking to the creek to bathe and collecting water to wash dishes and such. It was such great fun!

Hubby got to work on our log home, and although it seemed to drag out forever, one day, he said it was time to consider moving out there. According to my darling hubby, the house was "livable" in one room, and he would get the downstairs done shortly after. Convincing me it didn't make sense to pay rent when we had a "house" to live in, I agreed to move out here. So, keeping in mind, my above visions of glorious mountain living, this is what the actual experience was like.

Wouldn't you know it, we decided to move to our property on Holly Mountain in the dead of winter, a very harsh winter. Cowboy was in Kindergarten in a private school in town. As I started packing and moving a little at a time, I realized what a challenge it was going to be. No running water, no restroom, no TUB, just one room, for all three of us to share. So, we're talking ..... cooking, sleeping, bathing, and day time activities all in one 16x16 bedroom. 

OK, I set my mind to it. I can do this. Sometimes you have to take a few steps back to move forward. For 2 months we hauled water by the 5 gallon jugs, my refrigerator was 2 ice chests, my kitchen was a camp stove, an electric skillet, and a tiny convection oven. Our bathroom ....... well, they guys went outside, in the snow. After his first experience of trying to poop outside, and the horrible ultimate FAIL of him pooping in the potty bucket, (let's not relive THAT nightmare!) Cowboy decided he would wait until he got to school to "go to the office" which is what he calls, doing his poopy business. Yay, problem solved, haha, so long as no one got a tummy virus, ha! As for me, all I can say is, I learned that the body can only produce results between certain ranges of body angles, cold definitely delays results, and privacy is a must, even if you have pucker up and face the elements!

Bath time was an ordeal! We only had 1 room to keep warm in the nightmare of the 'winter wonderland' we lived in, so that wasn't too bad. But, heating the water, using one of those big plastic storage containers, and taking a bath before your water got cold, now that was something! Ever tried to wash 4 feet of hair in 2 gallons of water? I assure you, it CAN be done!

Cowboy loved it! He thought it was a great adventure of camping and living tough (tough = Daddy). But Mom ...... oh Mom, she had a totally different perspective! With a 2 burner propane camp stove and a coffee pot to heat water, it was a scramble to get enough water hot all at the same time, adding just enough cold water, and having more hot water in reserve, just to get one bath going. Bringing the heater in close, preparing soap, shampoo, wash rag and towel all in advance and praying someone didn't open the door and let in a gust of cold air, you were sure to not only conserve water, but to get your junk cleaned QUICKLY! It didn't take long before I learned to take my bath during the few hours Cowboy was in school in the morning! It also didn't take long ....... for this crap to get OLD!

After 2 months of living in the same room, and under these conditions .... after 2 months of feeling like I was taboogan(ing) up and down our drive way that looks like this / in snow and ice and thick, clay slippery mud (when we had the fortune of a brief thaw), one day, the final straw came. It was a simple, uncomplicated inconvenience. I had to clean out the ice chests everyday. It was the weekend and I couldn't get out, we were iced in. My one comforting thought was, I was going to grill us come sandwiches with some yummy, special cheese I had bought, and had just enough left to go with some soup. As I was cleaning the ice chests, I noticed there was water in my cheese container. Looking closer, not just water, but ..... something slimy .... nasty looking. Oh my goodness! You would have thought someone kicked my dog and insulted my kid! I was SO angry! I was doing the Fred Flintstone all over the place, "rockerfeller, dangthe, stupidcrap, downstairsdoneshortly, coldass, freezin'poopin innabucket!"  .......... I was done. I stopped, marched outside in the sleet and snow, and told hubby, "If you don't get me another room, a refrigerator, and above ALL, and frikkn BATHROOM, RIGHT NOW, I'm moving back to town!"

Needless to say :) within a few weeks, not only did I have another room, in which to put a makeshift kitchen (complete with frig) and a bedroom for Cowboy, but I also had a restroom, complete with tub and commode. Some day, I will tell you about our first meeting ....... between my toilet and I. :)

And we're off ......... !

We're going to give it a go! After several people have suggested I blog, either because my over-posting of my stories and adventures on Facebook, or perhaps because they feel I have something to say, I'm gonna give it a shot!

I live on Holly Mountain in Arkansas. Six years ago, my hubby and I moved our little boy, Samuel (aka Cowboy, aka Little Man, aka, Pookie Darling, etc, etc), to Arkansas. Here, we are building a log home (using the term "building," loosely, as that would require the constant act of, which it's NOT) teehee.

To say we are homesteading is pretty true. If homesteading means, living off the land as much as we can, and living without some modern conveniences we previously took for granted, then I reckon that's what we're doing. I do have 2 wonderful luxuries out here ..... TV and internet, both satellite of course :) These 2 things help me keep my sanity on those long stretches of being snowed or iced in, and the simple fact that I live and love the life of a hermit, ha!

The first 2 months we lived on the mountain, we had no restroom. I'll spare you the details, but let me assure you, such an inconvenience is much easier on a man than a woman! The day our commode was installed was one of the happiest days of my life! It was the prettiest toilet I had ever seen, and I have not taken it for granted a single day since!

I hope my stories of living out here, homeschooling Cowboy, and the all around adventure is helpful to someone, or amusing at least. I will be adding some previously written funnies and adventures soon.