It's hard to believe we've only got a week left of January 2008. Even with the cold there has been plenty to do keeping Norman's books, cutting out quilts for my mom, picking out pecans and running kids too and fro. I've a new bee helper, a boy from church who loves nothing better than to be outside catching chickens and the like. We spent a warm Saturday checking hives for food reserves. One was doing poorly and we took measures to keep them safe and fed. Hopefully they'll make it. We've had colder temperatures this year with temps dropping into the twenties several times. Montgomery even had snow!

So there has been a lot to do. Norman and Becky have seen to the cows. He's staying wrapped up with LocalHelpWanted and truck sales. Becky has been occupied with school, music, the school yearbook and friends as time allows. She had her senior portraits taken last night. She's going on a missions trip to Costa Rica this summer and is getting started on her fund raisers.

We found out yesterday that her cousin, Zack from Phoenix, is going too. What's that saying Cindy had . . . . "Horton, party of FUN." Yes, it's a missions trip and it will be serious, but where two or three Hortons are gathered together a party usually breaks out! I have no doubt the laughter will break down barriers so God can really speak to the kids. It will be good and I wish I were going!

I may not be going to Costa Rica but I am going to Auburn. Dr. Tew asked me to teach a workshop on Gardening at the 13th annual Beekeeping Symposium Feb. 2. I've been doing a lot of research for that. Earlier this week I scrapped my original outline and started from scratch with something that flows better. Phillip Carter reviewed it for me and gave it a thumbs up. Now I've just got to get the power point part of it done.

Workwise I'm happy to announce new packaging for Fire Ant First Aid. It took a bit of creativity to make it happen but it's now available in .15 ounce tubes. Westside Pharmacy has already switched their inventory to the new size and I've got to make more before I approach the other stores. I REALLY like it. The tube is small enough to keep in my pocket and I don't have to touch it to apply it. It always bothered me a bit that I seemed to waste a little when I wiped my fingers after applying it. The other plus is that it's much more affordable.

Another interesting thing with Fire Ant First Aid - I've used it with wonderful results on two spider bites this year. My friend Joe told me they were brown recluse bites but I can't confirm that as 1) I didn't see the spiders and 2) I didn't have the classic necrotic symptoms. But I did have small painful ulcers with huge red whelps around them. Both times I applied the cream, covered it with a bandage and repeated that step several times. The redness went away within a few hours and I discontinued treatment once the ulcer made a scab a couple of days later. They heal slow, but thank the Lord, they DID heal.

What Happens to Your Body Within an Hour of Drinking a Coke

Do you want to be healthy? Drinking soda is bad for your health in so many ways; science can’t even state all the consequences. Here’s what happens in your body when you assault it with a Coke:

Within the first 10 minutes, 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system. This is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake, and the only reason you don’t vomit as a result of the overwhelming sweetness is because phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.

Within 20 minutes, your blood sugar spikes, and your liver responds to the resulting insulin burst by turning massive amounts of sugar into fat.

Within 40 minutes, caffeine absorption is complete; your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your livers dumps more sugar into your bloodstream.

Around 45 minutes, your body increases dopamine production, which stimulates the pleasure centers of your brain – a physically identical response to that of heroin, by the way.

After 60 minutes, you’ll start to have a sugar crash.

BOTTOM LINE - Don't touch the stuff.

A group of graduates, well established in their careers, were talking at a reunion and decided to go visit their old university professor, now retired. During their visit, the conversation turned to complaints about stress in their work and lives. Offering his guests hot chocolate, the professor went into the kitchen and returned with a large pot of hot chocolate and an assortment of cups - porcelain, glass, crystal, some plain looking, some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the hot chocolate.

When they all had a cup of hot chocolate in hand, the professor said, "Notice that all the nice looking, expensive cups were taken, leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your problems and stress. The cup that you're drinking from adds nothing to the quality of the hot chocolate. In most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink. What all of you really wanted was hot chocolate, not the cup; but you consciously went for the best cups...and then you began eyeing each other's cups.

Now consider this: Life is the hot chocolate; your job, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain life. The cup you have does not define, nor change the quality of life you have. Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the hot chocolate life provided us life makes the hot chocolate, man chooses the cups. The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just make the best of everything that they have.

It's Monday, and the first day of the first normal work week of the new year. I would have never thought to be saying it, but it's good to be back to our crazy version of normal. I spent the bulk of my day in the office doing office things. Normally I detest balancing a zillion accounts, mailing a zillion different things and the like, but today I actually enjoyed it a bit. I had hoped to have all that done for the week but with closing out accounting years for three or four sets of books it didn't happen and probably won't tomorrow either.

A few days ago I reflected on 2007. Presently I'm reflecting on our holidays here as they were so different than they've been in years past. I don't want to forget anything so what follows is for MY benefit only.

12/6 Beekeepers Dinner, I turned presidency over to WGM (big smile)
12/13 Becky's piano recital
12/14 Ladies Luncheon at my house
SS Dinner @ Carrolls
12/18 Justin Saunders band concert
12/20 Packed prison bags with McHughs and Greenes
Teens came to our house for overnight party
12/21 I took the plunge and changed my hair color
The teens volunteered for Salvation Army
12/23 The three of us delivered Prison Bags. NH and Beck went into the jail for the first time
The three of us went up to Moms. I got to see the lights in Wedowee again.
12/24 Norman and my annual day out. We visited Rhenda too.
Becky and MaMaw had a good day together
12/25 Christmas with Mom and Dad.
Visited Uncle Jimmy in the afternoon
12/26 Came home
12/27 Dennis, Tony and my Grandbaby came for dinner
12/30 Lunch and a good visit with Amanda
12/31 Church New Years Eve event. Becky & Karyn did "You're Not That Far Away"
1/1 I visited Kammi's house!
1/4 Hillary came.
1/5 A good regular Saturday with the three of us, Hillary, and (ahem!) doing church and farm stuff topped with good home cooked Chinese food.

Even with all the hustle and bustle we loved Jesus most through it all and I've had to conclude that His love is what makes being with those you love this time of year so special. One of the best parts was rocking Little Dennis to sleep. He's not my biological grandbaby, but every bit mine in a spiritual sense. The evening they were over he was fussy so Mamma Horton took over and rocked him to sleep. He let out a big sigh and slumped into a deep slumber when he heard the tune to Amazing Grace. I was so blessed that he's being raised this way.

So - it's off to chasing lions this year! I'm presently going through Mark Batterson's book a second time and enjoying it every bit as much as I did first time around. My mom and sisters and I are coordinating on a big quilt project which I'm in the process of cutting out. I'll be teaching a class in Auburn early February. Cookie, Kammi and Naomi and going to Kuwait the end of this month and I'm so jealous. Brian graduates college early May, Becky graduates a couple of weeks later, goes to Costa Rica in July and starts college in the fall. Norman and I are choosing shows to do this spring. Whatever happens, if we thought 2007 had a lot of changes 2008 has more in store. I don't know if I'm ready, but Sword in hand, I'm charging full speed ahead.

Year End Thoughts:

This is it - today is the last day of an amazing year and my thoughts this morning are more about what to do today than they are contemplating the ups, downs, ins and outs of 2007. So far this morning I've 1) made a bed, 2) made coffee, 3) written a commercial for the farm, actually a skit for our New Years gathering at church, 4) been stalked by chickens, and 5) have slugged two cups of coffee.

It's a beautiful day. I'm enjoying the sun room more and more, though I must admit seeing the poor condition of my garden makes me want to go out there and overhaul the thing, starting with the greenhouse.

I guess I should hit the highlights of the year:

We survived a tornado
Cindy and Becky made a CD
Mike and Heather got Married
Norman got Local Help Wanted up and running
Thanksgiving in Phoenix and the Grand Canyon
Brian had knee surgery
Norman and Becky going to jail with me

Actually, the real highlights are more like this:

God protected, preserved and provided for us during a natural disaster
God protected my daughters heart and gave her strength to face trials
God preserved my son and his bride's chastity - they both should have worn white at their wedding
God has poured beautiful music out through both the girls
God has blessed us with amazing relationships with unique young people that we relish watching grow in faith and maturity
God gave me back my best friend from thirty years ago
God has helped my oldest son through multiple trials and has loved and sustained him through an incredible young woman
God helped my dil with deep seated health problems.
God has challenged us in unbelievable ways through the people we've met, the books we've read and an exceptional church family
God has wiped our tears
God gave me a grandbaby - no, not a biological one but a spiritual one. And he went to sleep on my chest Christmas week to Amazing Grace.
God has provided for our needs.
God let my husband spend the first Thanksgiving in 34 years with his family
God let me see my uncle and daughter meet for the first time.

There are others no doubt, and I may add more to the list as I think of things, but all in all, God was the center of 2007. I like it that way, and hope and pray He's even more so in 2008.

Jesus, I love you. It’s hard to fathom the infinite you left to become finite like us, to understand our sufferings, to live as we live, to feel as we feel, to experience life in an infested corrupt world where we’re bound by time and gravity and our own fears and selfishness. And to think you wanted to do this . . . so I, we, could be reunited with you.

What was it like – to be eternal and all powerful trapped in a little baby’s body? What did you feel as a sinless three year old and the other kids wouldn’t share their toys with you? Were you ridiculed as a “momma’s boy” because you were obedient and did as you were told? Did you ever have to watch your younger brothers and sisters and did it break your heart to see them misbehave? Were you close to Joseph?

I must confess I can’t wrap my mind around your infinity – all powerful, all knowing . . . all those omni’s used to describe a fraction of you. But I do know this, that for you to become like one of us, mortal and finite, just so you could die to get us back – its beyond extraordinary. But it’s Who you are.

And I love you for Who you are. I can’t give you gold, frankincense or myrrh like the wise men did when you were flesh. But I offer you my heart anew and ask that you help me live with eternity in view.

It’s not that far away.

Book Review

I listed Mark Batterson’s book, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day, in my 2007 books a bit prematurely as I’ve only got through chapter three thus far . . . but WOW, what its said so far! I’m taking this book in slowly so I can drink it all in.

This morning I read chapter three, Unlearning Your Fears, a second time. It hit me square between the eyes, again, as fear has been an ongoing problem in my life. It’s a sin I cannot conquer without divine help and I find myself regularly going to the Throne of Grace to deal with it. I’ll spare you the details of how it started and gained a foothold, the various fears that assault me, etc.

To the good stuff!: My favorite excerpts from this chapter:

Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning. . . Unlearning is twice as hard, and it often takes twice as long.

Faith is unlearning the senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us captive. . . Faith is rewiring the human brain. . . Our minds need to be defragmented . . . . The way to upgrade your mind is to download Scripture. . . . (Part of ) faith is the process of unlearning your irrational fears.

Lion chasers . . . unlearned the fears that kept them captive . . . by chasing their fears instead of running away from them. They exposed themselves to the very thing they were afraid of.

Your fear is worse than the actual thing you’re afraid of. . . When you put yourself in a defenseless position, it sets the stage for God to show up.

I’m concerned that the church has turned into a bunker where we seek shelter when we’re actually called to storm the gates of hell.

The alternative of fear is boredom . . . If you’re bored one thing is for sure: You’re not following in the footsteps of Christ.

Junk and Crown Jewels

I love old junk and I love junking. There, I've said it. I love it so much that a few days ago I dragged a bunch of old stuff out of the barn, out of closets and even the yard, cleaned it up good and decorated my house with it. And it looks good.

Even better is the occasional freebie. I ran across an old quilt block this week I'd forgot I had stashed and contemplated how good it would look in a frame on my wall. I didn't even ask and God gave me a frame the very next morning. So what that He had it strategically placed on the side of the road so I would find it - it was too amazing to be coincidence. I knew immediately how I was supposed to mount and display the quilt block when I saw it.

Another favorite freebie is my black skirt. It was rescued from a "help yourself" box at a thrift store in Tennessee a couple of years back. It was in perfect condition, is a classic cut that will never go out of style and fits perfectly. What more could you ask for?

There's a certain feeling when you acquire something almost supernaturally - something unexpected that costs you nothing. Sometimes it's something tangible, like the frame or the skirt, sometimes it's an inspiration that you run with and see amazing results, or an idea that sparks your imagination and concludes with being a great blessing. These are not the humdrum every day things of our lives but those where God intervenes to show us that there is so much more.

I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil. Psalms 119:162

There is so much more - so much more He whats to show us, so much more He wishes to bless us with, and I'm not talking about material things here, I'm talking about relationships, experiences, and opportunities to be used for His kingdom. At nearly fifty I'm relearning that the Christian life was not meant to be a life of ease and safety, but one of casting your bread on the waters and praying with expectation that ax heads will float.

But it all starts with his Word - that transforming power that defrags our stinking worldly thinking and reprograms us with the mind of Christ. I have to ask myself today if I consistently rejoice over the truths of the Bible as I rejoice over the unexpected spoils God has blessed me with. I truthfully can't say yes. Sure, I do my daily reading and even regular studying, but it's been a long time since I found a beautiful nugget of truth that I wanted to share with everyone.

Maybe it's time I re-evaluate how I approach God's Word. No, it's not spoils and just because it's free doesn't mean it's not precious and valuable. Something as beautiful and pure and good as the words of God should be guarded like crown jewels; kept under lock and key to preserve and protect it. But God chose not to do that, He made it available to all mankind and has done a fine job of protection and preservation without any help from us mere mortals. I however, should appreciate it above crown jewels, protect it as if my life depended on it (it does!), cherish it above all else, and most of all, rejoice in what's spoken to me.

Christmas is over . . . at least the family part that we have cherished for as long as Norman and I have been married. Things got turned around this year. With two sons married now and Cindy very involved in her own life none of the older three are coming home this year. It's kind of sad in a way, but to be expected with jobs, other families to consider and responsibilities.

But we did have Christmas, just on December 1 instead of the 25th. Mike and Heather and Cindy all came and we went through the standard good times - Christmas Dinner, worship time, presents and fun. Lots of fun. Kammi, Naomi and Vickie came for dinner which made things all the more special.

That being said - the following I write just for myself so I won't forget the special moments of this Christmas.

1. The stockings - with a new one for Heather-hung by the chimney with care.
2. Becky and Naomi playing "wolf" in the back yard.
3. Naomi smiling.
4. My baby sister looking fabulous and having a sound mind and heart despite going through a (excuse my French) hell of a divorce. She questions how sound she is most days, but that's a sign she's got her head on straight. I'm very proud of the woman she is and pray for her constantly.
5. Mike and his outrageous jokes. He hasn't changed a bit and still loves to get a reaction out of his Momma.
6. Worship time. Always the best part.
7. Baked Brie. Have to get that recipe.
8. Sending some of my father's skins home with grandkids and great grandkids. Naomi, Cindy and Mike each took a gray fox pelt. (I write this to keep up with who has what)
9. Cindy's music. She brought Amelia, her guitar, and played some of her new songs. The girl has a gift and I'm glad she's developing it.
10. Laughter.
11. How can I forget Heather covering my sofa and love seat for the fun of it? I'll see this act of love for years every time I walk into my living room.
12. The thickest homemade (as in from scratch) apple pie ever. Cudos to Heather (again) for making Norman one happy man.

These are the kind of things Christmas has been in the past, the love of God and the love of family we have cherished for years. Everything we did in December led up to it. And now it has passed and all of December is before us. I'm thinking that maybe this is a good thing, almost liberating in a way. We're free to concentrate on serving Jesus without worrying about who's going where, how we're getting together, buying the right presents or anything like that. Who knows, maybe an early "Christmas" was His gift to us. It will be a good month for sure.

A Thanksgiving to Remember

We got back from Phoenix (as in ARIZONA!) last night. Talk about a great trip! I think if we'd have stayed any longer we wouldn't have been able to stand it. Norman, Becky and I flew out a week ago today and the whole trip up till we boarded the plane was pretty much of a whirlwind. We were able to visit with each of Norman's three brothers who live there and their families. We do good to see any of them once every two or three years so it was a big deal for everyone.

Mom and Dad Horton were there too. There were too many Hortons for us to overnight in the same place at the same time with them, but we spent both Thursday and Sunday with the four families and them. Thursday was Thanksgiving of course, and Sunday was nephew Ryan's 21st birthday. Both were held at Keith's house. It was the first Thanksgiving my husband had spent with his family in 34 years.

Cindy came too. Where the kids were concerned . . . she may be 27 but she was the biggest kid there. It was wonderful to see them get to know each other again and bond. Seems to me there was a lot more bonding this time. Beck's hoping Zack and his family can go to Costa Rica with the church youth group this summer.

My personal highlights were getting to visit with everyone. It was neat to see what God was doing in their lives and share the different things we've learned as believers in Christ. We saw a lot of the area in and around the city. Three families and the parents bussed down to Glendale Glitters on Friday night. Ten of us spent Saturday at the Grand Canyon - an unbelievable place. Flagstaff was COLD and it's very dark out on the desert at night.

So we're weary today, but glad to be back in one piece and looking forward to another visit west some day.

Mama Roz's Economic Indicators

This week Starbuck's reported a loss of sales and now it seems the whole country is in a panic because a decline in latte sales means the nation's economy is in trouble.

What????

Seriously! Starbucks was one of our country's great success stories. Some guy started a coffee chain, gave the sizes funky names, provided a lot of options, decorated the places kind of funky, provided wi-fi and made a fortune. It was "the" safe trendy place for the young and young at heart to drive through or hang out. Lord knows my own kids have contributed to their bottom line. And I'm glad of it. Starbucks or a club? Starbucks, any day!

But as a non-Starbucks person, I have my own economic indicators. Four years ago it was the observation that people were selling items they had spent years collecting on eBay. More recently it's been that lease and finance companies have lowered themselves to making cold calls they're so desperate for business. My dh and I have always kept an eye on the trucking sector of the economy. They've had to operate leaner and meaner for some time to survive. For the companies who finance them to beg for business screams that the same otc companies aren't buying. Is it any wonder with the outrageous price increases in steel?

Today I had a show in Georgia. I sell several of my honey products, candles and other bee related items. Last year it was quite successful. This year . . . well, it didn't do so well. I've not counted sales yes, but I figure I'll do good to break even. Part of it had to do with the weather, part of it had to do with having a booth stuck in a bad location, but a most of it was that people just weren't buying. I take that back . . . I saw a lot of women buying frivolous overpriced items in trendy colors and styles. Sigh . . . maybe I need to be looking at priority indicators.

But that's life. I met some nice folks and made some promising business contacts. It may even out, it may not. But we had fun, that's for sure, and if nothing else I didn't have to stand in a long line for the Corn Dog Man.

Iodine and Health

This morning as I put together my next two weeks of supplements I realized that I've not said jack squat about iodine. Duh!

It was about a year ago that I had a health crisis. God graciously led me to a PA who incorporated holistic medicine in her practice and got me out of danger. One of the things I was ordered to do was read a book and start taking an iodine supplement. It didn't make a lick of sense at the time, but I didn't have anything to lose (besides my life!) so I followed orders.

What I learned shocked me. Not only was I iodine deficient, it was shockingly clear that the entire country probably is. Several facts I learned:

1. The iodine in our table salt is not enough.
2. The iodine in our table salt does not contain the types of iodine our bodies need.
3. Other substances, toxic halides, take the place of iodine in our cell structure. Our cells require iodine and when there isn't enough, fluorine, chlorine, bromide, all present in our daily life, take its place. Result - improperly working cells . . . result - many types of disease with very few traceable to the underlying cause . . result - medications that treat symptoms and cause other problems, and on and on and on.
4. Lack of iodide (a form needed by women in particular) is a precursor to breast cancer.
5. People with medically diagnosed thyroid problems need iodine too, in fact they may need it more as a deficiency probably led to their condition.

Getting on an iodine supplement changed my health. It took a couple of months to detox the halides out, but it's made a world of difference. My immune system is stronger than it's been in years; I went through the winter of 06-07 with barely a sniffle. I take Iodoral, an otc product that contains both iodine and iodide.

I continue to be alarmed about this issue. Earlier this year I learned that a cousin was dealing with breast cancer. Turns out an md. had misdiagnosed her with a thyroid condition and she'd taken medication that interfered with iodine absorption for 15 years prior to the cancer. I wanted to scream. More recently a beautiful 21 year old niece was diagnosed with Graves disease, an old people's thyroid conditon.

For anyone who may wish to learn more don't take my word for it. Do your own research, prayerfully consider what to do, and start slow. I built up to a full Iodoral tablet over a couple of weeks without noticing a thing till one day I realized I felt 25 again. The book I read was Iodine, Why You Need It, Why You Can't Live Without It. Dr. Brownstein who authored the book has written another one that I've not read, Overcoming Thyroid Disorders. I would recommend it as well.

Thursday Blessings

While a lot of life is humdrum, just doing our daily thing with work, errands, responsibilities, etc, once in a while God sends a special day our way - sometimes for encouragement and sometimes to remind us what's really important to Him, people! Today was such a day for me. Without doing a blow by blow account, God arranged for me to talk to a couple of ladies that needed encouragement and also encouraged me. I got a call that one of my kids (one of the ones I didn't give birth to) went into labor with her first child. (I'm still praying for this wee slip of a girl and the baby!) I ran into another of my kids the next county down that we'd lost track of when God had me turn the car around and stop for lunch. And of all things the teacher at the seminar I had to attend in the afternoon was an old business associate, actually the head of a state agency who had helped me sort through all the oddball title transactions that landed on my desk over the years. We'd never met face to face, but he certainly remembered me.

So thats what when on today. You just never know what God will do with a day when you give it to Him. The main thing is give Him first place in the day. He's certainly capable of taking us and every situation where we're supposed to be!

My baby is seventeen today. It hardly seems possible that so many years could have gone by but seventeen she is, and more of a woman than a girl I'm afraid. Every year with Becky has held it's own particular issues and challenges, this last one more than we would have ever imagined in our wildest dreams. While none of us understand it all at this time, by faith we know God's purpose is good and right and look forward to the day when we "understand it better by and by." At this writing she's written off a half a dozen colleges and is pretty much settled on Northland. There again, God knows what he's doing and is giving me a year to get used to the idea of such a great separation. I'm reminded that my own parents let me go to the Chicago area completely by myself. At least Beck will have friends there already.

So that's what's going on and is today's Big Deal. We'll go to the Peanut Festival tonight (Farmer's Night - no charge!) and will eat World Famous Corn Dogs and drink hot cocoa. I'll hunt down my annual chocolate covered banana on a stick and Beck will probably get one too as she learned the joys of this thing last summer. It will be fun; one last peanut fling with the baby. She'll probably go again later this week with her friends. It's all part of that growing up and breaking away thing.

Blessed Saturday

Today has been one of those Saturdays I live for. Let me rephrase that, I don''t live for Saturdays, but once in a while I have one that leaves me quite fulfilled. Today was such a one. I didn't accomplish everything I hoped to do but that's ok. What was done was worthwhile. Highlights:

Hitting the Mother of All Good Yard Sales. Good products, good prices. Among other things I purchased three cast iron skillets (0ld seasoned ones!) for $2.75. Sweet!!!

Cooking for the masses. I have breakfast for our Sunday School tomorrow. Part was cooked today, part will be tomorrow.
Chased chickens off the porch

Cleaned Sewing Room. It needed it bad.
Set up table for Beck's studio.
Awesome quiet time with God.
Chased a chicken out of my kitchen.

Cleaned back porch, sort of.
Reorganized screen porch, at little.
Decorated front porch. It looks real nice now.
Fed the cat.

Hauled stuff to the barn.
Took clean empty supers off beehives and put them into storage.

Scored points with the cows by giving them hay. Lost points with the horses by not letting them bully the cows to get said hay.

Mowed the grass.
Made supper.
Loaded more stuff in the truck to move

Stung Norman and myself. Yeah, that sounds strange. I did confer with L. Thompson about it beforehand as he's the apiatherapy expert. Norman had been wanting me to do it for something like a wart on his arm. I had something similar on my calf so took a hit too. It's one thing to get a random sting when you aren't expecting it. Picking up a buzzy little girl with a pair of tweezers and deliberately putting her pointed little rump in a specific spot is a whole different experience. It's not easy to pick up a wiggly bee without squishing her. Anyway we each took one sting tonight. Monday we'll each take two an inch apart on either side of said wart thing, then three in a triangular pattern around it on Thursday. He called it "circling the dragon." After that we'll see what happens or what else needs to be done.

The best part of the day was laughing and working with my family. Beck was gone most of the day but Norman and I had a good time doing stuff. He followed me around the yard on the big tractor for a while just for laughs while I was mowing. Passerby had to think we were nuts. I'm glad to have that done as it will make getting pecans so much easier. Looks like a bumper crop this year.

Presently I'm fixing to (that's a southern term for "about to") pass out. I'll finish that cooking in the morning before church. G'nite all.

Since I had to write a report for our local beekeeping newsletter I'm giving it double duty by republishing it here. The event took place one week ago today and what I didn't mention was that I taught one of the workshops. My topic was Teacher's Toolbox and it was basically sharing ideas for people to talk to groups about bees. I was the only regular club member from our area. One of the state inspectors let me ride up with him (thank you Randy!) and Rachel brought me back Friday night.

The other thing I didn't mention was that I played a couple of numbers (harmonica) with that bluegrass group. Wicked good fun worth staying late for!!!

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State Meeting Report
Ros Horton

This Year’s Alabama Beekeeper’s Association annual meeting was the best I’ve attended in three years of going to this event. Ron Sparks, our state Commissioner of Agriculture spoke to us at the opening. He acknowledged the importance of honeybees and pollination and shared how he helped with his grandfather’s bees as a boy. He pointed out that it was Alabama to catch China importing tainted and toxic products to America several years ago when we found their honey contained unlawful chemicals. Many Chinese products since (fish, toys, baby products, etc.) have followed suit. He also announced the state’s intention of setting up our own laboratory for honey and bee related testing.

Dr. Jerry Bromenshenk was our main speaker and he shared the background, techniques and technical development of using honeybees to find landmines. The University of Montana pioneered research in training bees and is working in partnership with civilian companies to do this around the world. This project is close to his heart as it has the potential of saving many lives for many years around the world. The same techniques used to find landmines are being applied to research for finding meth labs and buried human remains.

Another nationally recognized speaker was Dr. Elizabeth Cantrell, a naturopath physician who spoke about the health benefits of honey, stings, etc. This presentation was a bit disappointing to me. Everything she presented was a generic version of the information we received at our September meeting when Lawrence Thompson spoke to us on the same topic.

There were several breakout sessions during the day that included soap making, lip balm and candles. Even though I’ve attended these type workshops before I always learn something new.

Kelley’s, Rossman, Brushy Mountain and Daniel’s Scientific were all present with many products. If nothing else attending a statewide meeting is a great way to save on shipping costs. Many nice door prizes were given out and the day ended with a steak dinner and fine bluegrass music. Even though I was only able to attend the one day, it was well worth the trip and I look forward to going back both days next year on October 10 and 11, 2008.

Rescue Remedy
Third in a Series

How do I start. This product is amazing, and I don't even use it for all the stuff it's good for. I'll just give you my history with it, a few thoughts and some links.

A couple of years back or so my sil and friend, LK were visiting and mentioned RR in passing where they had used it for something. "What's that?" I asked. So they explained the product, the concepts behind it and shared experiences with it. My initial thoughts were "this is some kind of new age witchcraft product and they're duped." Flower essences . . . yeah, right.

A year later at the same sil's house my precious and fragile mil had a terrible knee injury where she hit and scraped it good. Right away she cleaned it and sprayed it with RR explaining that it would keep it from bruising. "Right" I thought. "Nothing will stop that thing from being purple in the morning."

Was I ever wrong! Not even a hint of bruising. Three months later my own mom took a terrible fall on a knee that had been replaced. I knew what to do and she too never bruised, at least not the knee. The shoulder that had taken a little of the fall had a bruise the size of her fist. It was obvious that immediate and frequent application of RR the first few hours after receiving blunt force trauma relieved stress on the capillaries so they didn't break.

Topical use of RR isn't the norm, in fact I think it's only been within the last few years it became popular as both cream and spray formulas have come out. The main application is still internal - a few drops in water to relieve stress. For what it's worth, when my son was in an auto accident two days before his wedding RR cream is one of the natural products we used to help him function through rehersal and his wedding day. He danced with his bride very naturally. You'd have never known he couldn't move the morning of his rehearsal.

http://www.rescueremedy.co.uk/about_whatisrescue.htm
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/75640.php

So, that's my endorsement of Rescue Remedy. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself and I have used it many times since. I generally make my own cream with it which has greatly helped my daughter's vollyball teammates with bruising, soreness, etc. I just don't leave home without it - you never know who or what will need help.

More Adventures In Kefir

No, Kefir is not a place or a new age stage of mind. Those who've been around me the last year or so know it's the latest phase of my off beat healthy lifestyle. I learned about kefir from Jordan Ruben (The Maker's Diet) but had no idea what this strange stuff was. Then I learned a friend in NC made it, and closer to home, my sister in Pensacola. It was a blessed day when I got my first kefir grain and I made and used it all last winter.

Warming weather and time constraints forced me to dehydrate my grains for summer storage. It was making far too fast with the rising temps and I wasn't using it fast enough. Plus I suspected my grains had picked up a contaminate. So we retired for the summer.

But now we're back at it. I got a fresh new grain from my niece and with some inspiration from a set of websites she told me about, am kefir crazy again. I've not even had regular kefir so far. I've been doing some crazy stuff with it.

1: Pollen Infused Kefir: Let it ripen 24 hours or so with 1 tbs pollen per pint. Sweeten with honey. This is supposed to make the pollen digest easier providing a powerful protein and providing immune boosting properties.

2. Kefir Cheese. I missed changing my grain out this morning and the curds and whey had separated . So I ran them all through cheesecloth, mixed a little rosemary and salt with the curds and let it hang in the cheesecloth to drain a bit longer. It's odd, but not too bad for a first try.

And the whey - it's in the pumpkin bread that's in the oven as I type. I'm nuts for being up this late, but hey, it's fall and I just felt like baking. I will pay for it though. I will pay.

WET PANTS

Come with me to a third grade classroom..... There is a nine-year-old kid sitting at his desk and all of a sudden, there is a puddle between his feet and the front of his pants are wet. He thinks his heart is going to stop because he cannot possibly imagine how this has happened. It's never happened before, and he knows that when the boys find out he will never hear the end of it. When the girls find out, they'll never speak to him again as long as he lives.

The boy believes his heart is going to stop; he puts his head
down and prays this prayer, 'Dear God, this is an emergency! I need help now! Five minutes from now I'm dead meat.'

He looks up from his prayer and here comes the teacher with a look in her eyes that says he has been discovered.

As the teacher is walking toward him, a classmate named Susie is carrying a goldfish bowl that is filled with water. Susie trips in front of the teacher and inexplicably dumps the bowl of water in the boy's lap.

The boy pretends to be angry, but all the while is saying to himself, 'Thank you, Lord! Thank you, Lord!'

Now all of a sudden, instead of being the object of ridicule, the boy is the object of sympathy. The teacher rushes him downstairs and gives him gym shorts to put on while his pants dry out. All the other children are on their hands and knees cleaning up around his desk. The sympathy is wonderful. But as life would have it, the ridicule that should have been his has been transferred to someone else - Susie.

She tries to help, but they tell her to get out. You've done enough, you klutz!'

Finally, at the end of the day, as they are waiting for the bus, the boy walks over to Susie and whispers, 'You did that on purpose, didn't you?' Susie whispers back, 'I wet my pants once too.'

It's Monday Again

And I can barely move. It's a good kind of soreness, the kind you experience at the end of a hard task, almost a sort of euphoria.

I spent the weekend extracting honey. This is the first time in all these years of beekeeping I've tackled the task by myself, and as things turned out, the largest extraction to date. I'm guesstimating that by the time I strain what's in the bottom of the big extractor and the cappings finish draining we'll have around 300 lb. The task itself is not that difficult, for me it was just a lot of lifting and repetitive motion. I'm feeling it mostly in my right shoulder from all the uncapping.

This was a good learning experience for me. I extracted on the screen porch with the cracks around the door sealed (with a towel) to keep curious bees out. It worked well. The weather was wonderful though I did have to shut it down earlier than planned Saturday. Once it got dark the bees that were trapped inside with me (the few that had come in with the supers) started buzzing around the light on the ceiling fan directly above me. That wasn't good. Also the honey practically refused to sling out because of the dropping temperature. So I had to finish Sunday afternoon when it was daylight and warm.

Another thing I learned was that the right equipment makes the task go much faster and smoother. I borrowed new uncapping knives and an uncapping tank this time in addition to the club's electric extractor. I couldn't believe how fast the uncapping went. I had several buckets of uncapped frames waiting on the extractor by the time it was all said and done.

Next time I'll cover my tables with plastic as removing melted wax wasn't fun. I'll enlist a vacuum cleaner for the bees that are trapped inside with me. They all congregated on the screen attempting escape and left yellow bee poop on the ledge under them. And I'll definitely cover the floor with paper.

Today all the curious bees that were trying to get in are feasting. I put the uncapping tank outside for them to clean before I tackle it with soap and hot water. No need letting all that honey go to waste when they will gladly remove all the sweet sticky stuff.

It's been a long time since I stayed up so late on a Friday night. One of the things about growing older is that I fancy my sleep. It's not a lazy thing, it's just that I function much better when I've had a good night's sleep, and I like functioning. I don't fancy ceasing to function.

It's been a tough but good week. Norman turned 51 without a lot of fanfare. We made him the coolest plaque ever . . . "When Chuck Norris goes into a sauna, the sauna sweats." It will go on the door of his new sauna.

Kammi and Naomi spent one morning with me. We had a great visit while designing and making two Indian dresses for Naomi. They're learning about native peoples right now. It blew me away when Naomi recognized and understood the purpose of Uncle Norman's "sweat house." She's so adorable and looks like a princess in her moleskin (white) and buckskin (brown) dresses. Her Mom did a good job on the designs.

As I write I just put about 5 quarts of honey in the oven to heat up. I'll cool, strain, mix and jar them tomorrow to make cinnamon creamed honey, a fall favorite around here. Its a big seller too. Last year I pestered every beekeeper I know trying to find light honey. This year I bought five gallons from Jeff Dayton in Tennessee. It's some fine tasting stuff. I'm experimenting with a couple of pints my mom dug up from somewhere as well. It don't have nearly the taste Jeff's has.

And I'm extracting tomorrow too. I've had 3 supers in the freezer a few weeks and robbed three more today. By the time I get the hives here on the farm robbed I should have in excess of 200 lb. I plan to extract on the screened porch. I think as long as I stuff rags under the door we should be ok as far as bees trying to get in. My bee room in the barn is currently a wreck in bad need of cleaning and organizing. And the weather's so beautiful the screened porch will be nice to work in. This time I'm using two extractors, the club's electric one for the bulk of the honey and the little hand crank job for the light honey

Workwise the week has been frustrating. We've wound up changing out both the modem and router at work. I liken working without internet to working with one arm and one leg tied behind you. It's worse than tough.

One bright spot is that Norman has got most of the 200 LocalHelpWanted.net sites up and running. It's the absolute most awesome job board ever. And we got our first check from a customer for the site. I'm tempted to frame it!

Our kids Dennis and Toni will be parents of an active little boy soon. Tony might be 100 lb. soaking wet so this has been quite an ordeal for her. And my friend Connie's oldest son and his girlfriend will be baptized Sunday - talk about an answer to prayer! He was very hostile to the gospel when he left for basic and God did a beautiful work in his heart.

And our professor friend made it back safe from Malaysia where he shared the Christian faith with ten accounting students who had "no religon." He's got a knack for making friends wherever he goes. One of the young ladies cried when he left.

I can't think of anything else. G'nite all!

Miscellaneous Monday

Well, we're back. The Far Above Rubies retreat our women's group returned from Saturday was wonderful. I've lost track of how many years I've gone now. While it's great to "get away with the girls", it's even better to be refreshed and challenged spiritually. This year's theme and agenda had to be one of the best, but I was very disappointed there was no altar call at the closing session.

I spent yesterday chilling with my family. Becky had spent a couple of days visiting a Christian college in the area and rode back with us Saturday. It was good to catch up.

So I'm back at the office today. My neighbor (at work), Liz, has been by several times. She's a botanical genius and a neat lady. And she loves my bees. Actually, I think my bees love her. She keeps several bird baths with water for them and they've been known to head butt her when the water got low. Once she refills them they're all as happy as can be. Liz and Ken are the ones who rescued the rat snake that got in the office last spring. As far as I know "Ralphette" is still thriving on the mice in my barn where we turned her loose.

For my own benefit I want to jot down some highlights from our trip.

First, an ongoing issue/topic of discussion with a friend took an unexpected turn when I found myself in a workshop face to face with someone who represented our conversations. God used this person to bless and challenge me, and also to remind me that my citizenship as a believer is in heaven, where we're all blood bought sinners regardless of differences imposed upon us in this world. It's all level ground at the foot of the cross!

I didn't flub the monologue Renee asked me to do. (Thank you Lord!)

It was neat to play harmonica with TC again. Talk about a gifted musician! This is the second year we've done the campfire music with her leading on guitar.

This year's theme was Traveling Light. A lot of things in our sessions hit home. Our speaker ran with the theme and spoke on checking baggage ahead (good works we lay up in heaven), things that weigh us down to leave behind (bitterness, anger, etc) and carry on luggage (the rest of the Lord). It was pretty neat. For what it's worth I had already been working on simplifying life. I seem to have accumulated a lot of clutter, both literally and figuratively. Time to clean house!

Today's been pretty neat. I like government holidays that aren't holidays for the rest of us. It's a little less stressful and easier to catch up on paperwork. So what am I doing but sitting here blogging instead of working! Shame on me!

This has to be fast as I'm on a tight schedule to get everything done before I LEAVE tomorrow! It's our womens group's annual Far Above Rubies retreat. I've lost track of how many years I've gone to this but it's still great enough I don't want to miss. I never leave without being challenged and refreshed.

OK, so I was going to share some of my various potions and remedies . . . so here's a jewel of a quickie: Arbor Oil

I've been using this magnificent product several years now, mainly for cold and sinus related problems. I've use it by spraying it a time or two on the tissue then inhaling the vapors off the tissue. When I catch a sinus or cold condition coming on it will clear my head and kill bacteria which prevents the condition from worsening. One friend uses it on airplanes where the air is recycled.

Weekend Wonderment

As the weekend draws close I find myself musing about some of the small, and not so small miracles in our little corner of the world.

The one that has blessed me most is the miracle of music. After a long dry spell and some heart rending experiences our Becky is composing again. Part of the hiatus has been merely the busyness of life, but part is out of deep emotion too. Whatever the case what I'm hearing is more beautiful than anything that's come before and I stand in awe of what God does through this child.

On a less dramatic note, our sterile chickens are laying eggs. It took a year and a half for them to develop from steroid stuffed nearly dead fryer rejects to real chickens. But grow they did. They've been free range all summer, sharing the pasture with the cows and reclining under the shade of the big pecan tree during the heat of the day. Silly funny pets, that's all they were. I guess the good life agreed with them.

And Norman has successfully transplanted Tennessee rhubarb to southeast Alabama. His biggest obstacle has been . . .chickens. I don't know if rhubarb is to chickens like catnip is to cats but they won't stay away from it. He planted it under the aforementioned pecan tree and well . . . hmmm . . . I wonder if it had anything to do with the sudden appearance of eggs.

Sharing the Love

That may not be an appropriate title. More like sharing knowledge, or understanding, gifts of love that God gave to me in order to help others. Ok, so maybe the title will work.

This particular vein has to do with natural means of health and healing and my intent is to write about the things God has and is showing me. It's pretty well known among my circle of influence that Mrs. Horton probably has something that will fix your boo-b00, whether it be a bug bite, a bruise or whatever.

In the beginning . . I was a new beekeeper and had to do a presentation. I chose to speak about something I knew - STINGS! In the process of learning about stings I learned about propolis, also known as "bee glue" to beekeepers. It's a brown substance that looks like dog poo in large quantities. Bees make it to seal the hive and maintain it as a sterile environment. I could park here and spend the rest of the day writing about it's amazing healing properties, but suffice it to say the thing that caught my attention was that it was good for psoriasis which my dad suffered from.

My first attempt to make something to help Dad was both a success and a failure. The tincture was wonderful. But the alcohol dried his skin and which negated the good results from the propolis. Round two found me using knowledge of this product that God had showed me and modifying a lotion recipe to make a cream. What we learned immediately was nothing short of amazing.

During the tincture stage of my experiments I had learned that propolis would help fire ant bites. A girl had several bites on her back and they did well with the tincture formula. I didn't give it a lot of thought. When my husband came in covered with bites while attempt #2 was still cooling off, we put the cream on his forearm where he had received 30 or 35 bites. Poor man was in some kind of trouble, but something happened. The arm felt better. And the next day it looked good. The second day we were dropping our jaws that he had no blisters.

That is how Fire Ant First Aid was born. After additional research, field testing, and more research we launched it in April 2006 on the internet. Several stores picked it up that summer and more have followed in 2007. The list of things it's good for keeps growing and we hope to expand the product line within the year.

Doing My Time

Today is Sunday and I'll be going to the jail to "minister" to the women there. I use quotations because as a Baptist (no women preachers) hearing myself called that by the personnel at the jail took a bit of getting used to. So unofficially I am a minister. Officially I'm just a woman fulfilling my calling to (admit it) minister to the female inmates.

My lessons have been about women in the Bible for three or four years now. I taught on Eve one January and kept on going. It's been very revealing for myself. I think the most profound lessons have come from the lesser known Bible characters. None of the inmates have been in on more than a few consecutive lessons, but with the repeat offenders coming and going, it's pretty well expected that Mrs. Roslyn will teach about a woman in the Bible.

Today's lesson is about probably the ultimate villain - vixen in scripture - Jezebel. Yuck, yuck and more yuck, yet we all carry the potential to be like her. It will be an interesting morning for sure!

Daddy Issues

I'm writing a hasty note to tell myself to take a chill pill. I found out last night that my dad was admitted to the hospital. I found out this morning he has pneumonia.

Ok, lots of people get pneumonia. You take antibiotics and get well. Happens all the time. But my dad isn't your typical patient. He's been bedridden, a COPD patient with empyemia, for around five years, getting worse the whole time. Even with oxygen his lung capacity is 92-93%.
89% lung capacity is considered danger zone.

We've known for a long time that anything could really send him into the next life. He chokes several times every day and manages to gain control. There's nothing to be done, but each time could be the last.

So why am I freaking out? I don't know. Maybe because despite the fact that he's been a scoundrel his whole life and we all know he's in this condition because he abused his body with everything nasty he could get his hands on, he's still Dad. If nothing else the position he holds is still one worthy of respect whether he was respectable or not. And he's not.

Part of me wants to run to Ashland. Part of me says "be still." I think I best concentrate on getting my work done and see what Mom says tonight.

Bad news for Men

A recent article on Men's Health dealt with the phenomena of declining testosterone levels in men. This should come as no surprise. While the use of bio-identical hormone replacement therapy has been gaining popularity among women, the corresponding issue in men is somewhat more serious. It's natural for a woman's endocrine system to change as she ages. The alarming decline of testosterone, and especially for men in their prime, is not normal, and is downright scary. It lends credibility to futuristic si-fi films like Children of Men and Stargate episodes dealing with the end of humankind because we fail to reproduce.

The good news is that the condition is treatable. The bad news is that we continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with new chemicals that come out at an alarming rate. They pass FDA approval because they aren't found to cause cancer, but are not tested for how they affect us otherwise - the endocrine system in particular.

The human male is a complex being who's chemical makeup is every bit as sophisticated as the female. Real men, those who are strong in will, character and integrity, are priceless and few. God forbid that they cease to be men physically as well.

CCD Cause Found?

It's out, though it's not conclusive. Colony Collapse disorder has been linked to Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus. While it is probably not the only cause, it has been found in affected hives. More study is on the horizon in continued research about this. More information can be found here.

Today was my second day this week playing with bees. It's been good for my heart in more ways than the mild aerobic workout I invariably enjoy. I spent most of yesterday with our state inspector who my eleven hives a thumbs up and good bill of health. We found one to be queenless which was remedied by giving them young brood to grow a new queen. Then today someone gave me a small swarm which I'll merge with the same hive. Either way they'll have a queen.

Today was spent teaching with fellow beekeepers at Landmark Park. It was a lot of fun as usual and our new teaching tools were a great help.

Today is a difficult day for our family. A dear friend is wounded and while there's nothing any of us can do more than pray, we do feel the pain and confusion he/she is probably dealing with. We pray for understanding, wisdom, and that it will ultimatly be one of many events that lead to great good for this person.

Several passages come to mind:

And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Romans 8:28 & 29

This gives me hope because I know my God can take the most awful thing imaginable and use it to further his glory in the lives of those who love him.

The other passage is Jeremiah 9: 23 & 24:

Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.

This gives me comfort because I know my God is good despite the tears, what any of us feel or how things appear.

Lastly, Psalms 145:17

The LORD is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works.
The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth.
He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.
The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.

This mortal does not have any answers to the big questions of the universe - who, what, when, where and the biggest of all, WHY? But "WHO", (big H), I do know and know well. He is good, he is kind, and regardless of anyone's finite reasoning, loves us even, and especially when we hurt. So with the Sprit's help and in the name of Jesus I cry "Abba!" and cry to him till this cup passes.

Back to the Grind

I've not posted anything lately largely because of being absent and being swamped. Norman, Becky and I spent the last week of August at the time share in Tennessee trying to have a vacation. The change of weather and change of pace were much appreciated. We visited friends and familiar places, went to a play and the county fair, visited the Mennonites and messed around a lot. We also visited three Christian colleges in the area for Becky's benefit. On the way home we stopped by to see Mom and Dad and got a double treat as my sister and bil were there as well.

It's good to be home though. Labor day was spent in labor, working to put our poor house back in order. Everything was still covered in sheetrock dust from all the tornado repairs and the yard was horribly overgrown. We've still a ton of work, but the end is in sight. The floor and baseboards in the back have to be done before we can move furniture but at least there are no more huge messes on the horizon.

Work wise I'm slowly getting through the mountains of mail that piled up and trying to figure out how the bill situation stands. Norman spent the whole day yesterday returning phone calls. The only time we stop is to pass out at the end of the day. Then it starts over.

So that's whats going on these days. I've got a meeting for our upcoming Honey Festival this afternoon and WBA meeting tonight. Next week will start the annual honeybee workshops at Landmark. It will be an interesting fall, that's for sure!

Happy one year Anniversary

I just bumped into the fact that I've been keeping a Blogger for a scoch over a year now. (Spell check is telling me "scoch" isn't a word but it has to be - we use it all the time!) Anyway for the sake of consistency and conciseness I'm reposting some of my early ramblings here so I can eliminate an old blog under an unwanted url. The ramblings are ok, I just had to regroup and start fresh because of some problems.

So here it is: Post # uno from August 21, 2006. I'll get the others listed over the next few weeks.

Monday, August 21, 2006

I've been pondering the meaning of "bemeusement" for a while now. It's one of those double edge words. The old English prefix "be" has a couple of meanings:

1. choseness such as "by" or "near". Eg. 'be-fore'.
2. an intensive thoroughness. Eg. "be-wail'.

Muse of course means to think.

And the suffix, "ment" changes the verb and/or noun (however you wish to use the word) and shows the result or product of an action'. Eg. 'refreshment'; 'atonement'.

So the question is, am I close to having a thought or am I intensive and thorough in thought? I like to think the latter applies but in all honestly must admit it's not always the case. One of the skeletons in my emotional front hall closet is a much hated nickname - "squirrel bait." I still don't think too much of the person who came up with this good natured insult. But then, I was a ditzy kid.

Sometimes I'm a ditzy adult. Now that I'm approaching 50 I can blame it on age. My Mike will tell you it's the blond highlights. (My response is that it's meant to disguise super intelligence!) Whatever the case I sometimes find myself wishing I didn't know about some things. I'd much rather have a close (impersonal) knowledge of some things than the heartache of intensive thoroughness.

But then, I'm thankful for the hours spent at the back of Subway crying with my friend who's child was arrested. I'm glad I was there to support the friend who had to flee with her children because her husband crossed the line to molest a child. These are ugly things. I find myself bemused, as in dazed and bewildered, at the idiocy and level of sinful indulgence people can get themselves into. Squirrel bait? Maybe. I don't WANT to understand!

But then I do. I was blessed to be brought up by the Word. We didn't have Awana. Shoot, I was in my teens before I even heard of Wednesday evening service! Nobody knew we were supposed to have family devotions. We went to church on Sunday Mornings and that was pretty much it. Except - every generation (at least in one part of the family) lived the Word. And we kids were taught right and wrong based on it's principals. I can't say we were raised in the Word, but we were certainly raised by it. And without exception we all dug into it and embraced it as our own as soon as we were old enough to appreciate it's impact on our lives. Even my old heathen, citified, cousin dragged his younger brother to the Cross as he approached death. The Word did it's work. The circle won't be unbroken.

But back to understanding. Prison ministry has taught me many things, one of them being that we were privileged beyond measure. Without exception all the people we minister to in the jails had little if any real anything real or good up to landing in jail. Granted, each person is responsible for their choices and their actions, yet when darkness is all you know and all you've ever known, well, walking in light is out of the question. Some just walk in deeper darkness than others. And all need the same thing: redemption, atonement, forgiveness. But for the grace of God, I could be one of the women waiting to be transferred out of a hell hole, living for mail call, abandoned by my family and trying hard to stay out of fights or worse. That much I understand. I don't need deep pondering to get it.

So - as apparently I'm starting a new blog unbeknownst to anyone but myself, I'll try to offer real thoughts. I may even play with my word. After all, the misspelling is intentional, but that's another topic for another day.

WHITE LIE CAKE
(from this morning's email:)

Have you ever told a white lie? You are going to love this, especially all of those who bake for church events.

Alice Grayson was to bake a cake for the Baptist Church Ladies' Group in Tuscaloosa , but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered the morning of the bake sale & after rummaging through cabinets, found an angel food cake mix & quickly made it while drying her
hair, dressing, & helping her son pack for Scout camp.

When Alice took the cake from the oven, the center had dropped flat and the cake was horribly disfigured. she thought, "Oh dear, there is not time to bake another cake."

This cake was important to Alice because she did so want to fit in at her new church & in her new community of friends. So, being inventive, she looked around the house for something to build up the center of the cake.

Alice found it in the bathroom - a roll of toilet paper. She plunked it in & covered it with icing. Not only did the finished product look beautiful, it looked perfect.

Before she left the house to drop the cake by the church & head for work, Alice woke her daughter Amanda & gave her some money & specific instructions to be at the bake sale the moment it opened at 9:30 & to buy the cake & bring it home.

When Amanda arrived at the sale, she found the attractive, perfect cake had already been sold. She grabbed her cell phone & called her mom.

Alice was horrified - she was beside herself. Everyone would know! What would they think? She would be ostracized, talked about, & ridiculed! All night, Alice lay awake in bed thinking about people pointing fingers at her & talking about her behind her back.

The next day, Alice promised herself she would try not to think about the cake & would attend the fancy luncheon/bridal shower at the home of a fellow church member & try to have a good time. Alice did not want to attend because the hostess was a snob who more than once had looked down her nose at Alice because she was a single parent & not from the founding families of Tuscaloosa . But, having already RSVP'd, she couldn't think of a believable excuse to stay home.

The meal was elegant, the company was definitely upper crust old South &, to Alice 's horror, the cake in question was presented for dessert! Alice felt the blood drain from her body when she saw the cake! She started out of her chair to tell the hostess all about it, but before she could get to her feet, the Mayor's wife said, "what a beautiful cake!"

Alice still stunned, sat back in her chair when she heard the hostess (who was a prominent church member) say, "Thank you, I baked it myself."

Alice smiled and thought to herself, "God is good."

I can't remember the last time my house was this much of a wreck. We're down to the home stretch on all this insurance repair work. Half of my living room is covered with a big plastic sheet where the guys have been mudding the skylights they replaced when they did the roof. There's a pile of sheetrock rubble at the end of the hall where they patched the hole Becky made with her foot when she couldn't stop (some years back). I knew the house had wear and tear from rearing and launching three of our four, but hadn't really paid attention to how bad it was till all this started. Now I see rooms and trim that need to be repainted, carpets that need replacing, etc. But mostly I just want to CLEAN!

Things will be better once all this is finished. No more drips during rainstorms, the barn repaired, fences will be mended. I'm looking forward to cleaning closets and having a huge yardsale.

For the moment I'm enjoying sitting across the table from Beck, listening to Sufjan Stevens and contemplating the shower I need to remove white paint splatters from my arms. (Had to paint the trim on the barn door!) She's struggling through chemistry and I'm enjoying my friend Rachael's new blog. Check it out, http://ccaschooldaze.blogspot.com/. Rach is one of our kids, an extraordinary young woman. We'd keep her but she's needed upstate to teach. Rachel is a recipient of our redbird special. We forgot to tell her about the insane cardinal that flys into the windowpane of the guest room every morning. I'm told she hit the floor standing when it happened.

I guess I better mosey back and get started on that shower before this paint gets any harder to scrub off.

Reflections on a busy Sunday

Irene and I switched weeks for prison ministry this month because of a schedule conflict. She's gone on the third Sunday and I've gone the fourth for quite a few years now. We pretty much have a routine - I load her up with Bibles and Bible lessons prior to her going, then get many lessons back which have to be checked and delivered along with new lessons when I go a week later. Very seldom do I get to give out Bibles as she makes first contact with all the new prisoners.

There was little of that today. Everyone had a Bible, and only a couple of students needed new lessons. It was nice to be able to concentrate on their needs, answer questions and focus on the lesson. Today's study was on the wife of Jeroboam in I Kings 14. It was a difficult lesson to study, and even more difficult to teach, especially having to do it three times consecutively. At one time long ago we had "church" in the library with only the women who wanted to participate. Those who didn't remained in their cells. We never went past a certain door that went into the female section. Then one Sunday the rules had changed. We were taken through "that" door to the individual cells and things have been very different ever since. It's been that way three or four years now.

It was a good change. We have access to EVERY woman in the jail. Even if they chose to ignore us or sleep during church time, we are at least able to leave a tract or volunteer to pray with or for them. The down side was that we had limited time with each group of ladies. God graciously fixed that around a year ago when they changed visitation days for the women. These days I'll wait or teach through lunch, but can stay as late as I'm needed. The biggest challenge remains following the spirit's lead to give a fresh lesson on the same material with three very different groups of women. They each have different questions, they each have different needs.

Today had several highlights:
1. HA, my best student ever is finally gone. She was one of the only female trustees ever at our jail and is being reunited with her daughter while in rehab. This is an answer to many months of prayer.
2. TB is gone on to rehab too. She was another good student and a trustee.
3. SB, an in and out inmate for quite a few years delivered another classic one liner during a lesson. Concerning Jeroboam's wife, "She done got busted!"
4. KC, a girl I led to Christ some years back and CCJ's only female sex offender, is back. This is not good news. Don't ask me how it happened but the year I knew her before she developed a relationship with a man "outside", supposedly a Christian. Somewhere in the years between she married him and had two children. Now he's dying of cancer, her babies are in foster care and she's behind bars again. She looks awful. We wept as we prayed for him.

Many things will change between now and the end of September when I go back. At least eleven women have court this week and several more are waiting for court dates. Some will make bail, some will go on probation, some will go on to Tutweiler. I make it a point to never ask why or where as it's irrelevant to my purpose for being there. It's still good to see it go well as in HA's case. Seeing lives healed is what it's all about.

It's around 10:30 pm August 11, 2007 and our youngest son is officially a married man. Hallalujah and Amen! The bride was beautiful, the bridesmaids lovely, the the groomsmen spiffy, and the wedding a wonderful mix of sweet, funny and sentimental. It was uniquely them.

So now the former Heather Truitt is a Horton and we couldn't be happier. We've loved her from the start and am so happy God led our son to such a wonderful young woman. We have two awesome daugher in laws now. Bonnie Carrigan married our Brian a year ago. They were down from Raleigh for the wedding and it's been great getting to spend time with her during all this.

Every wedding has it's bumps and lumps. The ones for this wedding involved Mike's car. He spun out on a slick exit ramp and took out a rear fender and tail light two days before the wedding. This resulted in a very beat up Mike for which we had to seek professional help and a truckload of holistic products to get him through the wedding. The other bump/lump involved his engine going out after Wal Mart goofed up on his drain plug during an oil change. This involved an investigation, filing a claim with Wal Mart, and securing a rental car, all of which had to be done with a heat index of around 110 and Mike in great pain. Norman and I concentrated on helping Mike while Cindy, Brian/Bonnie and Becky concentrated on helping me pull off a rehersal dnner. With God's help everything was done, Mike was able to stand during the serivce and dance during his dinner.

Fyi, I posted a few photos on our farm site. Be sure to check the lower left one.

That's it for now. I think I need to locate our stray children and get some sleep.

I've nothing profound to say today. Some days are like that - full and rich but not necessarily profound. That's a good thing. I think if we had to deal with outstanding events, outstanding thoughts and outstanding people every day the profound would become mundane, hence the mundane is key to our appreciation of the profound.

Last night however was profound. Mr. Elmore Herman who is the current president of the Florida Beekeepers Association, spoke to WBA and it was a most excellent meeting. We hope he returns often. As close as he is (40 miles from Dothan) several times a year wouldn't be too much. The other profound bee item was that the amendment I proposed and lobbied for within WBA passed unanimously. It puts me out of office this December but will be good for the club in the long run.

The other profound things had to do with people - profound conversation with a friend, and a surprise visit by our Cindy. Good things!

I don't know it it's profound but I had an ionized foot detox yesterday. It was very painless and relaxing, till I saw the water. I'll spare you the disgusting details but suffice it to say that it was so effective I hope to do it again soon.

Today is business as usual, sort of. My friend Donna is finishing her first sandwiched quilt, that is, one with a top, lining and batting. It's been a delight to work with her. She has the capability to become a world class quilter.

And I'm back at my desk on the computer playing instead of balancing accounts (can you say "blech" !?) From the looks of my pile I'll be here a while. (Blech!) Another work related item is that Terri's dad went to hospice and they put him on morphine drip this week. We continue to hold them up in prayer. She told us some months back that he had made peace with God so we pray his homecoming will be as easy as possible for the whole family.

Mike will marry one week from tomorrow. What a blessing! We're getting another daughter!

And the work on the back part of the house is coming along very nicely. You can tell it's an actual room now. I think we've got a color picked out and will be looking for tile here soon, after the wedding no doubt. I've been making cheesecakes for the reception like crazy the last week - 8 made so far and I sacrificed one of them for last night's bee meeting. It was the new white chocolate raspberry flavor (my recipe) and there was none left. Not even a scrap. I've concluded that I like shortcake crusts better than graham, but will be doing graham for the New York ones I'm making tomorrow. Transporting these things frozen to Pensacola is going to be the biggest challenge.

No more rambling! All the talk about food has made me hungry and besides that, duty calls!

The Least of these my Brethren

I received a few stray prison lessons in the mail today. Whenever the girls get mixed up and send lessons to the publishers in Pensacola Brother Jeff graciously sends them to my home. Ordinarily they go to the church, but either way the lessons make it to us.

Carol M, a student from two years ago was back in cell #46 last month after a year and a half absence. (Absence is GOOD - everyone should want to be absent from jail all their life!) She barely let me see her, preferring to listen from her mattress inside the cell during the Bible lesson, but she did stick her head out long enough to say hi, and was surprised when I called her by name. She'd always been a tad shy and reserved. Last week when I went on my scheduled day for July she'd been moved to the trustee cell. And she was no longer just another woman on a mattress, she had taken the role as the spiritual leader of that cell. I was blown away. A big group of ladies hungry to hear from God joined us and Carol no longer hid away, ashamed at being found in jail again, she sat across from me and helped lead discussion.

I was amazed at the transformation in this woman. Here she was, probably in for a drug violation, but stepping up in the worst possible situation to be what God had ordained her to be all along, a natural leader. She'd been leading the cell in Bible study, with nothing but their Bibles, for days. Every woman there was hungry for more of the Word and I wound up leaving many complete lesson sets for them and a couple of Bibles for the newer women.

I'm reminded that God uses the foolish and base things of the world to confound the wise. There's certainly no news camera's going to pick up on this story, I'm just glad I got to see it. My prayer for Carol is that she'll become on the outside what God has shown her to be on the inside, both literally and figuratively.

And I'm a Little Kid at a Three Ring Circus . . .

Life feels like a three ring deal these days. I find myself going through motions a lot and looking forward to less stressful days.

I have to preface what follows with acknowledgment to my daughters and Toby McKeenan. March and April this year found me under all out spiritual attack. I'll pass on what the attack was, but suffice it to say it blindsided me and has given me tremendous compassion for others who are taken and fall in the same snare I struggled with.

The day before Easter (with my head still spinning) I heard what sounded like devil music coming from my daughters room (anybody who knows my daughter knows she's a spiritually minded child so it was more annoyance on my part than a need to chastise) Cindy was visiting and it turned out to be her new Toby Mac cd. "Allright, I know he's scripturally sound, but please keep it down, you know I don't like that stuff"

"Here Mom, listen to this one" Becky fiddled with her cd player, and left me in the room alone. What followed can only be described as a worship service as God spoke to me through the lyrics and I tearfully embraced his message to me. So here's my personal version of the first verse of Lose My Soul:

Father God, I am clay in your hands,
Help me to stay that way through all life's demands,
'Cause they chip and they nag and they pull at me,
And every little thing I make up my mind to be,
Like I'm gonna be a (momma) whose in the mix,
And I'm gonna be a (wife) who stays legit,
And I pray that I'm (a woman) who rises above,
The road that is wide and filled with self love,
Everything that I see draws me,
Though it's only in You that I can truly see that its a feast for the eyes- a low blow to purpose.
And I'm a little kid at a three ring circus.

(Chorus) I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul
(repeat)

Two months later the three ring circus is exactly where I found myself. Norman took me to Calloway Gardens on a Sunday afternoon and we attended the circus they have on the beach during the summertime. It was beautiful and well done. We sat on the front row almost dead center of the middle ring. The show was great and the whole time I kept remembering the lyrics wondering if there was something I was missing that God was trying to teach me.

That was a month and a half ago and looking at things now maybe it was prophetic as life sure seems to be a three ring circus these days. Between problems at work, the house repairs and Mike's impending nuptials there's just no letting up or catching up.

I'd love the be the little kid watching all this play out but for now I feel more like the tightrope walker who'll plunge to the depths below if I miss a step. I've had to accept that II Corinthians 9:8 doesn't mean I'll get EVERYTHING done EVERY day. "All sufficiency in all things" means the things of God's choosing, not mine. I cling to the verse that God will not give me more than I can bear. I close with the last words of the song and the rest of my prayer:

Lord forgive us when we get consumed by the things of this world,
That fight for our love, and our passion,
As our eyes are open wide and on you.
Grant us the privilege of your world view,
And may your kingdom be, what wakes us up, and lays us down.

The sky fell and we're picking it back up again.

You think by now I'd know to pay attention to quiet little warnings, but on June 30 I was in such a hurry to get out of Dodge I thought, "ya, that's something we need to do," packed up and left. The following Monday I came to work and nothing worked. Nothing. No phones, no internet, the computer wouldn't turn on. I'd been told to disconnect everything and ignored it. And now we'd taken a serious lightening hit.

My dh has steadily been rerouting wires, connecting hubs since then and today after much frustration, my intenet cable came to life and I'm not able to access from work via an ethernet connection. Thank you Lord! It works as long as the poor worn plug connects, that is. Hmmm . . something else to fix!

We wound up going with a laptop and I'll be learning to FTP my data to a secure server from here on out. The biggest challenge has been getting my old software to work with Vista. Me no like Vista, but scraping it and going with XP is even riskier.

Anyway I give a hearty thanks to God who prevented my old hard drive from completely going up in smoke when everything else in my old computer was burnt toast. We were able to save the data and by His mercy, will install it tonite. He even help my DH get Peachtree 2003 installed on this thing. Amen for no small miracle!

Seeing how it's almost 1:am this will be short and sweet. This is the first entry on my new computer. The old one partially fried when the office took the brunt of a lightening storm that took out phones, internet, network cards, switches, etc on July 1. It was a major answer to prayer last week when Norman was able to retrieve my data off the hard drive, but the machine itself is toast. So we're slowly getting back up. I'm excited about having my own notebook.

Briefs on what's currently going on: Becky is in Raleigh with Bonnie and Brian enjoying time with them. They'll take her to the Wilds on Monday where she'll be CIT for two weeks.

Mike and Heather will come next weekend for their wedding shower. Interestingly enough I didn't get an invitation, lol. Bee picnic is the morning of the same day.

Found out tonite that ABA meeting is the same weekend as Honey Festival. How did that happen? So maybe I'll teach on Friday and be in Dothan on Saturday.

Amanda S. spent Friday evening and Saturday with us. We worked hard and had fun too. Military dinner is tomorrow. We're expecting 15-20 people.

That's it. Signing off.