And The Winner Is.......

Charlie did the honors tonite, and the winner of the Tommy Nelson Chronological Study Bible is Sue Johnson! Sue and her husband Rick are some of my parents oldest and dearest friends.(They have known my parents longer than I have). I was able to meet this sweet couple in October, when we celebrated my parents 50th wedding aniversary in Annapolis, Maryland. Incidentally, Sue is the co-author of, GrandLoving, a book full of ideas on how (if you are a grandparent) to connect and make memories with grandchildren, especially when distance may impede a close connection.

Congratulations Sue :).......enjoy! (I will have your prize in the mail ASAP, so you will only be a few days behind in reading).

Be Blessed in 2011~ Liz

Passing the Baton / Challenge

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Rev 22:21)

(new readers: free offer at the end of this blog post...keep reading!)

Almost one year ago (360 days to be exact), our Pastor, Phil, issued a challenge that I took personally. Well, maybe it wasn't a challenge......maybe it was encouragement, or a recommendation..... definitely it was advice. I don't remember all of the context of the sermon (Sorry Phil, it was a year ago!), but his words spoke to me, and given that it was the beginning of a new year, I decided to add it to my list of New Year's resolutions for 2010. I can't remember any of my other resolutions this year (so I'm pretty sure I didn't keep them :)..... but I did keep one that I will finish today: reading the Bible (cover to cover) in one year. Amen.

Coincidentally, Charlie and I were given The Chronological Study Bible last Christmas, so God was definitely "giving me the nudge" to Do This.

On January 3rd, I started my journey with this FABULOUS Bible. In addition to actually reading the entire Bible, I also got an enormous dose of World History, Christian History and Middle Eastern Archeology and Anthropology. I mean, WOW. Not to say it's been easy all the time. Truly, even with interesting facts and tidbits imbedded thruout this NKJV study Bible, there are tedious sections, so perseverence is key (Even tho lineage is terribly important for the history and birth of Jesus, reading about who begat whom can get to be a little dry........). I am content and joyful with regards to this milestone in my life, and a little sad that I've ended this journey. The good news is that this past year has piqued my interest in a number of Biblical subjects, so I have some investigative work to complete in 2011 and beyond :).

Yesterday, I decided that I wanted to celebrate the completion of my journey by "passing the baton" and by being an encourager for someone who is just waiting for this challenge to cross their path at the right time in their life. So, I have purchased a new Chronological Study Bible (the same one I've just completed), and I would like to give it to someone who has serious intent to rise to the occasion.....to be part of the 10% of Christians who have read the entire Bible. Everyone who leaves a comment on this blog and expresses an interest will be entered in a drawing for this Bible. I don't care where you are in the world....I will mail it to you if you don't live in our area, or deliver it in person if you do :). Make this YOUR New Year's Resolution for 2011. I will be drawing the winner on January 1st and will get your Bible to you ASAP.......I can promise that you won't regret this. With love and blessings~ Liz

PS- Charlie has told me that he is accepting this challenge in January 2011 too.....with our copy :)....I am very proud of him for this as he doesn't find reading as enjoyable as I do.

A Little Donkey Carried Mary.......

This is the perfect time of year to wear your Christmas Spirit where all can see. We wish you joy, love, and the Peace that passes all understanding this season. Merry Christmas everyone!

Brought to you by Donkey Boy.....

("whew.....I'm going back to the barn....lose the wreath, and grab another cookie. The things they make me do around here....")

Connections

Recently I have grown deeply grateful for the ability to connect with friends, family, and new acquaintances on the Internet. I have relationships with so many people who live internationally, and without email and skype and somewhat inexpensive phone calls, I doubt we could (or would) remain close. With this ability, I am able to give and receive support as friends and family do in times of need.



This year I've made the attempt to blog more, not because I need to document or express myself, but to give those who care another avenue to explore what is current in our life out here. Earlier this year, I found a neat little widget to add to my blog (it is in the upper left corner). By clicking on the icon, you get a 24hour snapshot of general locations of blog visitors. Surprise!!! There are apparently people I don't even know who have at least a passing interest in my little corner of Texas. (Hi! to all you unknown friends out there :). For the most part, visitors are quiet and never give any comments or feedback, and that's fine....as I said, blogging for me is not a narcissistic release.



However, I'd like to try something rather global. It may fail, but my hope is that it succeeds this Christmas season. Back in August, I made a brief reference to some dear friends who were moving to Honduras to begin a life of humanitarian mission work. Alex and Laura are the most selfless giving couple I personally know. They formerly had great careers in one of the wealthiest areas of the United States and have sold everything and moved to Honduras to assist with orphans in the most remote corner of the country. Did I tell you that Honduras is the 2nd poorest country in the world, and that this area is even poorer than that country's average? They have founded an approved 501c3 non profit called Reach Out Honduras to raise money and awareness for this group of forgotten people. (please click on ROH to learn more). Charlie and I are both directly involved in ROH stateside, and we believe strongly in what Alex and Laura are doing for people who literally have less than nothing. This Christmas season, ROH is attempting to raise money for some very specific projects to help people help themselves (think, gardens, chickens, education etc). Donations of any size are so appreciated to this worthy cause. Please consider making a 100% tax deductible donation to ROH, by going here or here . I think it would be an amazing miracle for ROH to have "their flipflops blessed off" by having donations made by people all over the world. In a primarily selfcentered society, isn't it the perfect time of year to give without the expectation of something in return?



If you happen to have popped in accidentally and are reading my blog for the first time, Welcome! I hope you come back. :). The world really isn't such a very big place with connections.



God bless~ Liz

Gobble!

From our turkey (George) and the rest of us at Ararat Acres to yours this happy Thursday......Happy Thanksgiving to all!

**note: George is especially happy because he is out in the yard, and not on someone's table today. He is an adoptee here, of course :)

Giving Away

A couple of weeks ago, we began our fall cleanup of annual plant debris. My dear Dad helped us tremendously by taking down the brown and withered vines of this year's crop of formerly glorious Morning Glories. I asked him to save me a few seeds to pass on to some of my friends who have admired them in summers past. These viney lovelies are grand, beautiful, and bountiful!

Some people even go so far as to call them a weed. A weed, however, is only a misplaced plant.....but I digress~ My Dad, ever the man to complete a task well done, provided me with THOUSANDS of Morning Glory seeds. If you....any of you, out there in cyberland.....would like some seeds from these beauties (or if you are interested in starting your very own pink spotted hawk moth sanctuary), please let me know, and I will mail you some of your very own. Just making the world a prettier place, one seed at a time :).

Oldest Pig on the Block / Ode to Piggy Sue

I was reading in the Dallas Morning News earlier this week that the "Oldest Pot Bellied Pig"(documented by the Guiness Book of World Records) had passed away at the ripe old age of 21. Turns out, Oscar lived just 1 & 1/2 hours away, in Dallas. Who knew??? In the article, the writer also mentioned that the normal life expectancy of a PBP is 12-15 years. This I did not know, and apparently, Piggy Sue doesn't know either :)....and I'm not going to tell her :).

Piggy Sue has been known as our "Grandma Pig" around here for the last few years. She is roughly 17. Piggy Sue was our first rescue when we moved up to this area 16 years ago. She had been living in an apartment with a well-meaning young guy who had followed the "trendy pet of the year" gang, and had bought her.....and had also bought in to the misconception that pigs make great apartment pets. Uhh, right.

Pigs are brilliant creatures, and can be taught pretty much any trick you could teach a dog (within their physiological capabilities!). I personally can attest to the fact that a pig can and does hold the ability to reason (I've seen it in action). However, while you CAN give a pig an education, you cannot take away their instincts. I will leave it up to your imagination what kind of damage a pig, whose natural instincts include rooting and nesting, could inflict on an apartment or house if left unsupervised. Heck, I guess you could say that about kids too...who am I kidding???

All this to say, we ended up with a sweet yearling piglet whom we renamed Piggy Sue (I honestly don't even remember her original name). And in the last 16 years, we have loved sweet piggy.

She's kept us laughing as she hung out with the other animals that have passed thru Ararat Acres' gates. In her younger years, she outraced Charlie in a footrace. (Charlie will never admit he was beat by a pig...he claims to have been tripped.)Piggy Sue learned to use the doggy door, could sit for a treat, and wore matching bandanas with her doggie peeps.

Piggy Sue can pick up on emotions almost instantly. When she was a younger pig, if a farm guest was afraid of her, she would puff up her hair and grunt menacingly (although harmlessly!), as though she knew she could convince the visitor that their fears were valid. Not! However, if a guest showed zero fear, she would be sweet as pie to them. Honestly, I think she got a kick out of making kids (and adults) think she was one big bad pig..... when she thought she could get away with it.

A few things we have learned about pigs:
Truly, given the option, they DON'T like mud, especially if it's cold wet mud. She would tiptoe out to eat and pee, and then go right back into her room.

Pigs have a large and distinctive vocabulary. Every grunt has a very specific meaning based on tone, pitch, and cadence. In a split second, I can tell you if she is happy, angry, content, hungry, territorial, in pain, or pleased with herself (just to name a few).

I am not a vegetarian, but I don't eat a ton of meat. Living with an intelligent pig has reinforced my belief that all animals deserve to live a dignified life in the surroundings that they were meant to live (ie- in a pasture with fresh food and water. NOT in a feedlot). I've just seen too many irrefutable examples that animals do have feelings, which do include fear and despair.

Piggy Sue has terrible arthritis now, and she sleeps most of her days away. A couple of years ago, we had to move her to a bedded down stall (we always leave the door open). She had decided that no old woman should have to go outside on a rainy cold day to go to the bathroom. (This did not jive with our belief that one can have many animals and still be clean folks.) On a beautiful day, she may come out and sleep in the sun. I think she has three teeth left. Because of this, her daily diet now consists of small food pellets and bananas. She loves her bananas.
I figure, in pig years, sweet Piggy Sue is roughly 96 years old. That's pretty dang old.....even for a sweet loveable pig.