Stop Playing Church

CAN I GET AN AMEN!!!!!

DriButts

Today I'm sharing a link to the wonderful blog THE LETTERED COTTAGE!  If you don't "follow" sweet Layla you should.  She is a beautiful young woman who loves the Lord and she and her husband, Kevin, are in the final stretch of adopting a sweet baby boy from Haiti.  

Today on her blog she posted about DRIBUTTS.  DriButts provides reusable diapers to babies in Haiti who DON'T HAVE DIAPERS.  That's right.  There are mamas in Haiti who don't have diapers.  Babies who have never worn a diaper.  

This is unimaginable to me.  And I don't have to describe to you how this affects the UN-CLEANLINESS of the house these babies live in.  No wonder so many babies die from disease. 

So this morning I logged on and donated $30 which will provide TWO DIAPERS for a baby in Haiti.  These diapers are washable and reusable and will last about two years if properly cared for.  And part of what DriButts does is educate these mamas (and daddys) about the importance of keeping their babies clean and how to use and clean the diapers.

Please search your heart as you read this and see if the Lord will lead you to make a donation to this incredibly worthwhile project.  You don't have to travel to Haiti to make a difference in Haiti.   Go to Layla's blog, or visit the DriButts website to read about how YOU can make a difference in the lives of families in Haiti!!

WWW.DRIBUTTS.COM

Wonderful Trip - Part Two

Well I wish I could give you some suitable excuse for taking nearly TWO MONTHS to post on this blog o' mine.  But I don't have one.  Can I just say "I've been really busy" and we'll forgive and forget.  I mean we're friends, right??

Part Two of my California trip was equally as wonderful as Part One.  I flew from San Diego to Oakland on Wednesday to spend a few days with my amazing cousin who lives in Lafayette, just outside of Oakland.  She and her mother (her mother is my dad's first cousin) picked me up at the airport and away we went!!!

If you've never visited California you should know that "Northern" California and "Southern" California are completely different.  Different in terrain, different in the "vibe" of the people, different in climate.  It's hard to image you are even in the same state.  

We took a drive through the Sonoma Wine Country and had lunch at the Korbel  Winery.  One of the most beautiful places I've ever seen.  I've never been to Italy, but I can imagine it looks something like this . . . 

We drove to Ocean Beach near the Presidio.  Words cannot describe how completely gorgeous this area is. 

The Golden Gate Bridge is just AMAZING.  If you've never been to Northern California you simply MUST GO.  It is breathtakingly beautiful.

I had a wonderful visit with my cousin.  She was the best hostess in the world.  We ate, we laughed, we ate some more, we watched her son play high school football, we did a lot of sightseeing and spent time with her family.  We ate at the Cliff House overlooking the ocean and it was just one of the most amazing days of my life.  I'm HOPING she is coming to Missouri for a visit this spring!!

Since I've been back it just seems like the days have flown by.  And our beautiful daughter, Alex, has been back for a visit and already gone home.  She was here for a week just after the first of December.  Plane tickets are SOOOOOOO EXPENSIVE at Christmas time, they decided that the two of them wouldn't come home for Christmas but that she would come for a week while our son-in-law had a training mission in Southern California (freedom isn't free). We are so thankful for her visit and look forward to seeing her again sometime in February!  We are counting the weeks!!!

It was WONDERFUL having her home, but the week just went by way too fast.  I still can't believe she was here and it's been nearly two weeks since I took her back to the airport.  We talk nearly every single day, and we text EVERY day.   I miss her.

I have all my Christmas shopping done, and tonight I will try to get the wrapping completed.  I'm gonna be honest and share that I didn't put up a Christmas tree this year.  Alex coming home early threw me for a loop and got me off schedule!!  But I feel absolutely NO GUILT.  Christmas is not about the tree.  Christmas is about Jesus.  A baby born a King.  A Savior King.  

My prayer is that God will bless each and every one of you.  I don't know what you're facing.  I don't know your past.  I don't know what is heavy on your heart.  But I know the One who can meet every need.  Put your trust in Him.  No matter what the circumstance, Jesus is the answer.  I pray for everyone who reads this blog, that Jesus will meet your every need and strengthen you and encourage you!!

Merry, Merry Christmas to you and your family.  I am really praying about what God has in mind for Down On The Farm blog in 2016.  I want everything I do to bring glory and honor to Him.  

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas songs, "The Night Before Christmas" by Brandon Heath.  So click on the video and remember that first Night Before Christmas over 2,000 years ago!! MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Wonderful Wonderful Trip - Part One

I am SOOOOOO sorry I'm just now posting!!  I've been back for a week and a half and I don't feel like I have stopped since.

I could go on and on and on about the WONDERFUL time I had in California.  But I think I'll let the pictures do the talking!!  The trip was a long one, and really too much to cover in one blog post, so here is the first half of my amazing trip to California!!!

It was a beautiful day for a flight from St. Louis to LAX!  Smooth as could be, and a 4 hour flight only took THREE HOURS!!!  The flight was only half full, and no headwind!!  My kind of trip!

Alex and Cole were there to meet me at the airport.  It was so wonderful to see them looking so happy!!  We hit the ground running for a whirlwind tour of some sites in Los Angeles that we really wanted to see. 

We drove down the famous Rodeo Drive!!  It was stunning.  The landscaping and the shops were just unimaginable.  No, we didn't get out.  No, we didn't see anyone famous.  But it was definitely a "Bucket List" item to check off.  If money was no object, it would have been a fantastic place to spend the afternoon. 

We saw the "Hollywood Sign."  Another "Bucket List" item.  It is hard to make out in this photo, but you can see it above the "Auto Zone" sign.   Actually it looked much bigger in person and was visible from just about everywhere we went. 

This is me and Frank.  Frank Sinatra that is.  I love old blue eyes. They don't make 'em like that anymore.  And if you don't think you like Frank Sinatra, do yourself a favor and YouTube some of his hits.  "Fly Me To The Moon"  "Luck Be A Lady"  

Just listen and I know you'll be a fan, like me!!

And yes, this was another "Bucket List" item to check off!

My beautiful daughter and handsome son-in-law at the front door to their apartment.  They live in a brand new complex just outside of San Juan Capistrano.  Their apartment is beautiful, but small . . . and very expensive compared to rent here in Central Missouri!  

Sunset overlooking the Pacific in San Clemente.  This was just a beautiful, beautiful location.  I thought the water was chilly (we dipped our toes in)  but people were swimming and surfing like it was the Fourth of July!  The weather was gorgeous the entire time I was there.  It was warm, with temperatures in the upper 90s, but there is no humidity so it was MUCH more more comfortable than 90 degrees would have been in Missouri!  Can you say HUMIDITY!!!

During the evenings it actually cooled down enough that the gas fire pits at the apartment complex felt good.  We spent every evening sitting out there visiting and just enjoying being together.  It feels like she's been in California forever . . . and yet when we were together it felt like she hadn't been gone at all.  And all you mamas out there know what I mean.   It was wonderful spending time with her.  A gift that I am so thankful for.  She is so happy, and I'm so happy for her!!

We drove down to San Diego to La Jolla.  Wow!!  What a beautiful area.  We had lunch at a little restaurant overlooking the Pacific.  The water is so blue.  Just a stunning place to be.  

Isn't that one gorgeous view??!!  

It's really not possible to describe what a fantastic time I had visiting Alex and Cole, and the pictures don't do any of these locations justice.  They are doing great and enjoying their time in California.  We did a lot of sight seeing and a lot of laughing and a lot of apartment decorating.  I enjoyed every single second of my trip and am so thankful for the opportunity to get to visit her.  I wish my entire family could have gone along.

So stay tuned for pictures of the second half of my California trip when I headed North to San Francisco!!

I'm Leavin' On A Jet Plane!!!

Saturday morning I'm flying from St. Louis to California.  When I get off that plane my beautiful daughter will be waiting for me!

I can't wait to see that beautiful face.  Saturday will be four weeks and three days since they headed west for their two-year "California Adventure" as our son-in-law finishes his time in the U.S. Marine Corps (FREEDOM ISN'T FREE!)

 San Diego Skyline

They live about halfway between San Diego and Los Angeles.  Since I'm flying into Los Angeles I told them one of my "Bucket List" items is to see the Hollywood sign.  So I'm hoping we can do a drive by!!!

In case you're wondering why I'm flying into Los Angeles . . . I couldn't find a flight that landed in San Diego before 4:00 or 5:00 p.m. and I don't want to waste a day!!!

I'll be staying with them until Wednesday, then flying up to Oakland to spend a few days with my beautiful cousin and her family before I fly home to good old Missouri.

Golden Gate Bridge

 

I would appreciate prayers for a safe trip out there and back, and for God's Light to shine through me while I'm away. I want my life to bring glory and honor to Him.

So I'll be back week after next with stories to tell and pictures to show!!  Stay tuned!!!

And if you could, please pray for good health for me.  I finally went to urgent care yesterday after being sick for 7 days.  I have a sinus infection and have just felt horrible.  The Z-Pak and the steroid pack are helping and I'm a little better today, but I want to be 100% when that plane lands in California!

Thank you all for your prayers!!!  

BEHOLD OUR KING!!!!!

MY NEW FAVORITE SONG!

BEHOLD OUR KING!!!

GOOGLE, AMAZON, YOUTUBE AND MY WASHING MACHINE

A couple weeks ago in the midst of Sunday afternoon laundry, I heard my front-loading washer go "BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP" in the middle of a load.   It's not supposed to do that.

So I walk in there, take a look, and I see an error message that the door is open???

The door is NOT OPEN.  The washer is full of soaking wet sheets.  And it won't work.

Now just remember, it is Sunday afternoon.

I recently bought a new dishwasher (KitchenAid -- I LOVE IT) so I called the man who installed the dishwasher.  He tells me he doesn't do repairs, only installs.  He gives me the name of a person he knows who does repairs.  He says "he's pretty expensive, but he does a good job."

My washer is nine years old.  I do not want to hear the words "pretty expensive" in the same sentence as that nine year old washing machine.

So I did what any resourceful woman with a load of wet clothes and an IPad would do.  I "GOOGLED" it.  And the "GOOGLE" search results seemed to indicate that the "sensor" that controlled the electronic door lock had gone bad.  And wouldn't you know it, there was a YOUTUBE video showing just how to fix it myself.  I entered the model number of my washing machine and pulled up the parts list.  There on that parts list was the sensor.

I then went to AMAZON.COM and ordered a new sensor for $27.00 and FREE SHIPPING!!!

Then I packed up the wet sheets and headed to my sweet mama's house to use HER washer!!!

A few days later the new part arrived.  I watched the YOUTUBE video one more time and literally just a few minutes later I'M DOING LAUNDRY AGAIN!!!!!

So the next time something in your house breaks, take a few minutes and check the internet to see if it's something you could fix yourself.  There's NO WAY I could have even got a repairman to come to my house and see what's wrong for $27.00.  I guarantee you he would have charged me for two service calls, and at least doubled the mark up on the part.  

Some things I can't do myself.  But the things I can, I'm going to!!!

I'd rather spend my money on something FUN than a repair man!!

Blessings to each of you from dry Missouri!  

WE NEED RAIN!!!!!