To Cherish My Children

I love cutting my grass. The smell of a freshly cut lawn brings me back to comfortable memories of my childhood when my father would mow our yard. 

Not only for the smell, but also for the time to think do I love mowing. I have a pretty big yard and it takes me just about two hours to get the whole thing done on my riding lawnmower. It's too loud to listen to music or sermons as I do when running, so what else am I going to do to pass the time but think? :)


What I've been pondering today is motherhood and cherishing my children. 

I live in a society that seems to turn from cherishing our children to viewing them as just a possession, a bother, a mistake. True, some days are very hard with my children. Some days I really miss pre-kid time with my husband, but it only lasts for a short while because I make a point of looking at the blessing that they are. The Bible says that children are a blessing. A blessing is a good thing. One to give thanks to the Lord for. 

I have been privileged to have two blessings. Others have more, others have less. Each should be a blessing to that family, not a curse. No matter the circumstance in which the child was created, God saw fit to place that child in the care of the parents that are raising him or her. He saw fit to give them life. He saw fit. 

I recently was part of a conversation in which someone mentioned a family they know that has 15 children. Most were natural, some were adopted children with a disability. A comment was made about how many children that was! Yes, it is a lot. Yes, our culture looks at it as weird. But God doesn't. He saw fit to bless that family with all 15 of those children. He created every single one of them. He created them to be cherished. Not criticized for existing.

Sometimes I think about the things my husband and I will be able to do after our kids are grown and gone. Sometimes I hear society say the same thing, we think life finally begins after the children move on.

In the past month, I read a blog post (that unfortunately I now can't find) about a woman who worked at a grocery store. So many of the mothers who came in with their children spoke harshly to them while shopping. The author spoke of the need to cherish our children, even on hard days. 

      It made me really consider that  

how I interact with my kids shows how much I cherish them,

                  even to a stranger.

Who knows what memories a child will retain? 
Will mine remember me as a mother who got upset over spilled ice tea on the brand new Lazy-Boy? 
Or will they remember me greeting them each morning with a smile because I love them and am eager to see them that day?

Maybe, just maybe, the more I exude an attitude of cherishing them they will remember that. The less I allow myself to be frustrated, maybe they won't remember the times that I forget.

I picked up my current read this morning (Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst) and was transported to a time when she served at a homeless shelter for a week in LA. Sometimes I get bogged down with being a stay-at-home mom. I used to live in an area where I served in a homeless shelter. I can still remember one of the wonderful conversations I had with a woman there. Right now, I don't live in an area with soup kitchens, or homeless shelters. My church is small and doesn't have a whole lot of outreach ministry opportunities that I'm able to help with at this time. I live in a small community and my home is out in the country. 

As I was thinking these things and reading this part of the book, my heart longed to be able to do this kind of service again. To serve others with these two hands. To see lives being changed before my eyes. 

While reading this book I was nursing my baby and my three year old was happily playing with his plethera of tractors. He made a one of his tractor noises and I glanced up at him playing. 

                    My longing heart swelled. 

Right now, he is my ministry. Right now, my nursing baby is my ministry. I can serve these two precious children with these two hands. 

I can start by cherishing them. 

These are some ways I have been intentional about right now:
1) smile and hug my son, even when he wets the bed for the third time this week and I need to change and wash the sheets, again
2) tenderly help him put items in the shopping cart as we pick out groceries
3) praise him for his efforts in trying to help, even if it spills
4) rejoicing in a crabby baby as a chance to yet again cuddle before she's grown and gone
5)  quietly correct disobedience in the presence of others so as not to make him feel ridiculed and embarrassed for his faults (read this in Tedd Tripp's book, Shepherding A Child's Heart)

In what ways do you show your children that you cherish them?

To those who are Anti-GMO

Ok. Here goes. I generally like to shy away from controversial discussion because I don't like creating problems and am terrible at debate. But, I've decided to get my feet wet in this one.

To those who're Anti-GMO:

Before getting too excited about posting and blogging about your obvious dislike of GMOs (genetically modified organisms), I highly recommend you sit down with my husband and hear the "other side" of your debate. 

Sit down face-to-face, not Facebook or email. 
Come on over, have a nice glass of freshly brewed ice tea and civilly discuss with a kind, manly man this issue in its entirety.


The research that you've been reading is not 100% accurate in its studies against Monsanto and it's Round-Up ready products. All the studies are funded by someone who's already biased and has an agenda against this globally benefiting company.

While you have the choice of what you fill your four-walled kingdom with, there are millions of people globally that have a much smaller choice than you do. Their choice is either to live another day by eating GMO food, or die. Your choice is much more extensive. You can pick the products that you like and don't. Your choice of food does not cost your life. 

There is the possibility that genetically enhancing a seed in order for greater productivity to feed more people could maybe cause cancer in some, or maybe create infertility in others or maybe destroy the ozone layer or maybe kill some stupid insect that I would just squish with my bare fingers if it crossed my path anyway! (please note all the italicized maybe's)

We are ALL genetic modifications of our parents and their parents and their parents and...

I'm tired of this blame game. While people sit at their computers and read articles and even this blog and think "Oh, every thing must be true! We're all going to die if we eat this stuff! It's all so-and-so's fault! Ban them from the world!"

Well, guess what? We ARE all going to die. But, not because of Monsanto. Because of SIN. 

Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 1-6). The perfect place. No hard labor, no death, continual unbarred communication with God, the Creator of the Universe. The only thing He told them not to do was to not eat from a certain tree. 

They disobeyed and ate anyway. And since then, we've been living in a world marred by SIN. Cancer is not a direct result of GMO's, its part of what happened to this world by sin. We no longer live in a perfect world. We live in a sin-filled world. *

So yes, it's possible. Eating GMO corn, or soybeans or wheat or sunflowers could maybe aid in detrimental illnesses and the like, but they are not and never will be the sole reason. Driving your car could maybe result in leaving one paralyzed, but we don't ban cars.

Companies like Monsanto have genetically enhanced a seed in a lab in order to resist weed killing chemicals, so that when it's sprayed shortly after planting that all the weeds will die, leaving the crop to grow and flourish and have an abundant harvest. More abundant than if the weeds grew up along side it and the crop struggled to grow and there wasn't as large of a crop. (Can you imagine the cost of paying workers to hand weed a 150 acre corn field?!) 

More crop with less input equals more people getting to eat.
More people getting to eat equals less global starvation, food at a less expensive price. 

That single Mom can afford to buy a $1.70 loaf of bread** to make her little boy a sandwich for lunch. You go ahead and keep buying your organic, GMO-free, gluten-free $8 bread. You apparently can afford it. While she works two jobs, struggles to pay rent and deals with her alcoholic ex who won't help take care of his child, you go on and enjoy your "better" food. But remember, there are others out there. Others who're more than grateful for $1.70 bread and a company that helps her through one more day. A company, I might add, that from where I sit looks a whole lot more Christ-like in helping widows and orphans (James 1) eat. One. More. Day. 

I have written this not to spark irritation and more debate. I don't want my in-box flooded with hate mail and your reasons for buying non-GMO. I already know your reasons, you've made them very clear. I'm just trying to help you see the other side and the good in it.

If I have peaked your interest into the bigger picture of this discussion, I again welcome you to converse face to face with my husband. He is much better and more eloquent at explaining this issue than I am. And, maybe he'll even let you take a ride in the combine. :)

Cheers! :)

* I'm most happy to share about how though we live in a sin-marred world, we haven't been left to just fend for ourselves. Another chance to sit and enjoy some fresh brewed ice tea. :)

** Mandating the labeling of GMO foods will also raise the price. Companies that wish to have to charge more for their products. That single Mom should still be able to purchase cheaper bread, while you can choose to buy from other more expensive bread companies who can choose, on their own, to mark their packaging.

~Four Months~ A Sweet Baby

 My little sweetie is four months already! 

She truly is a sweetie and I just love her more each day!

To all those who've seen pictures of me this age, I assure you, this is not me. :)

A Golden Opportunity to Experience the Ranch Lifestyle

It's that time of year again! Cattle work and branding season! 

We're planning our Cattle Working for May 10! We'd love to have you come for a visit and try your hand at a cowboy's work! 

Rounding up the herd?

Calf wrestling? 

Maybe roping?

There will be made-from-scratch food, featuring our home-raised beef, of course!

There will be lots of hard work. And lots and lots of fun! 

We are in the heart of South Dakota. In the case of flying, we are one hour from Pierre, two hours from Rapid City, and three hours from Sioux Falls. 

There are several excellent hotels in our community. Please contact me for my recommendations. Or, our home is available for a small group (4-5) or a few single persons. Another 10 years and my Bed & Breakfast cabins will be in full swing! :)
 
I realize this is last minute but we just decided which day to do this, yesterday. :)

Please contact me with any questions!

To my consistent readers,

I apologize for the recent frequent changes to the blog. I haven't been happy with it and now found a template where I can display my own photo as the header. :)

Thank you for reading! :)

Three Years {A Photographic Story}

Headed for the hospital.

Few hours old.

One day old.

One month.

Two months.

Three months.

Four months.

Five months.

Six months.

Seven months.

Eight months.

Nine months.

Ten months.

11 months.

11 months.

One year.

Two years.

Three years and three months.

A Critic of Myself

I'm an observer.
I watch.
I calculate.
I weigh.
I ponder.
I critic.
I criticize.

Criticize. This seems to be an ongoing theme with me. Why do I criticize? What does it matter what other people do, or how they do it, or why they do it? 

To criticize is not always negative. I will critic how I originally made a recipe, and change it.

Sometimes I like to figure out why people do things. Sometimes I'm curious if I can do the same. Sometimes I'm just plain judgmental. 

I live in a highly agriculturally rich area. Not one family business is structured the same. Some wives work in town, some work right along side their husband, others help out when needed (like me) but are involved in other aspects of the family business. Some husbands work in town, in some families both parents work in town, some families don't have children, some have a more than others, some mom's stay home. 

All these families function. All these families work - for that particular family. 

Sometimes I hear criticism from others about how another family functions. Sometimes I do it myself. 

Why does it matter? 
What of it?

Is how another family works, whether they're similar to mine or not, really something I need to even worry about?

I think not. 

My energy (and I'm talking about me specifically, this might not apply to you but you still might consider what I say :)) needs to be put into tenderly nurturing my children. How can I nurture my kids when I criticize others? 

My energy needs to be put into aiding my husband. Whether that be welcoming him with a homemade warm apple pie on a really tough day, keeping his sock drawer stocked with fresh clean ones, lending a hand in putting in a new fence, holding my tongue when we're late (and I hate being late, but I'm getting better about stressing over it).

My energy needs to be put into being an example to my children of what a Christian looks like in word, thought and deed. How can I do that when I openly criticize what someone else does, or what my husband does that I don't particularly care for at the moment?

I need to be living in such a way that if other people are observing me, what they have to criticize will be nothing that I would be ashamed of or that would dishonor my Lord.

What a load to bear. I better prepare another one for the wash.