If I took the time to write out all the things that I do NOT have, even Wally’s would have a problem accommodating…
Having things simply isn’t MY thing! Most days I must choose one thing over another thing, because we simply cannot afford to replace the thing we ran out of at that time. Things come and things go, so I just make due with whatever things I have at the moment, trusting that when the thing is gone, another thing will eventually replace the previous thing. Some things are expensive, while other things are cheap or free, depending on the moments needs. Some things are quite big, but most things are very small and much more desirable than the big things. At times, I find that a thing I have may suit someone else better, so I give the thing away to make room for some other thing I may soon need.
If my thinking about things has you thinking about things, then I think I’m sharing about thinking about the right things! Shopping sprees are rarely what they seem to be, often leaving us with a great deal of useless things that we once thought we needed, with only a credit card statement to show record of the things we thought would make us happy… I say we stop overthinking about the things we don’t have, and focus on the things we do have… just sayin!
Sometimes life feels like a very, very long highway…
Just yesterday, as I was walking on my trail, my thoughts were swirling around memories, some old and some new. I take so much comfort in seeing God’s hand throughout my journey. I can fully attest that it is by God’s faithfulness alone, that I sit before this keyboard today!
With the truth of things wrapped lovingly around my spirit, it is impossible for me to NOT believe in what God has done for me… but oddly, there are still times that I am faced with things that are out of my control and confusing! Reality tries to steal my hope! Will He once again be there for me, as He has in the past?
This line of thought ran head on into the very scripture I’m using for today’s note…
Note to Self #28
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
When I considered the meaning of this beautiful affirmation, for some strange reason, my mind went to driving cars. When we operate a motor vehicle, we do several things without fail, to make it work safely and properly. Obviously, we need to keep our foot on either the gas pedal or the breaks, for steady propulsion. The other very valuable thing we do is to use the steering wheel… without fail. We all seem to know, for safeties sake, to keep both hands on the wheel!
What might traveling be like, if everyone stopped trying to steer their cars in the proper direction, or simply let go of the wheel when we hit bumps, potholes or tight turns?
I suppose I consider my journey to be like a highway, of sorts, and my faith is the steering wheel. With this in mind, I reread the verse again. Like an automobile navigating the roads, I will drive down life’s highway, steadily traveling with an unswerving hold on the steering wheel of my Jesusmobile! God has already paved the highway for our cars, given us the knowledge to get in and buckle up, and made the ride as comfortable as possible for us… our job is just to steer our little boxes with wheels down the road in front of us.
If I am bold enough to climb behind the wheel and push my foot down on the little GO peddle on the floor, then keeping my hands on the wheel is what needs to follow, in terms of my faith! While I could simply place the car in autopilot, as I know my God is carrying me home, what good is having faith and hope if I take my eyes off the road, overlooking the joy in the journey?
God is the ultimate Insurance Plan, as He fuels my car and handles all the repairs and maintenance. My car is theft proof, as He lowjacked me with Jesus, so there will be NO risk of theft! All I have to do is hold onto the steering wheel, while God does all the rest! Just to make sure you don’t mistake my meaning, I’m not actually controlling the steering wheel… God just told me to hang on!
Last night I took a peek at todays prompt question, just to give myself some extra time to consider my answer. The question I was met with, I’ll be honest, irritated me right off the bat!
Now, I understand that these are nothing more than an electronically generated question rolodex, with no one actually manning the wheel… at least, this is my belief. The problem I have isn’t with WordPress asking, but rather, I know that there are many phishing worms out there that just love to know anything factual or personal about us, as well as any of our favorite things.
Ask yourself what kind of questions are asked of you, while generating any new account log in information… who was your best friend from high school, what was your dogs favorite name, where did you go to school, what is your mothers maiden name, etc. This list goes on and on…
If we are all being truthful here, who all really wants to know our middle names? Would you really be interested in my middle name, along with why I have it? How many of you find it thoroughly entertaining and engaging to read all of the chapters of lineage names within the bible… whosit begets who? I am not lessening the value of the information in scripture, as it is there for a valuable purpose, but it is still tedious to get through, none the less.
Back in the day, folks usually had a single name… one name, followed by your house, clan, or tribal lineage name.
In honor of the old ways, I shall stick with my known and recognized name, here within this community… Wiwohka, meaning, rushing or roaring water!
If you wish to know further, of my lineage, take it to scripture! Beneath the single recognizable name of Wiwohka, is simply a woman of God… The righteousness of God, IN Christ Jesus!
I think that should be enough information, don’t you?!
Aside from a slight limp, which the doctor said will subside with time, Boomer is doing much better! He doesn’t even need to keep the leg wrapped anymore, because the doctor wants him to use the leg, so it will get exercise and heal faster.
I wanted to give you an update on Boomers leg, before telling you about what happened this morning. Don’t worry… it’s something wonderful!
When I got to the barn this morning, all the babies were up in arms about what I had said yesterday, regarding the ants. Apparently, when they saw what I wrote about battling and squishing ants, it upset them greatly! Tilly was fit to be tied, because the barn was supposed to be a safe and happy place, where all animals were welcome. She lectured me soundly, regarding our policies to all wildlife, here in the Barnyard. My outburst yesterday had obviously set all the babes nerves on end!
I will be honest in saying that it made me feel downright guilty about all the things I said about ants. Dinky made a point to remind me that I had, indeed, found her inside a boot… and I didn’t squish her or react in anger! Point taken little lady.
Once I apologized for my previous, and apparently, unjustified attack on the ant kingdom, all the babes seemed to come to some form of unspoken agreement on the matter, and the entire clan made a bee line for the barn. Out of curiosity, at their odd behavior, I got up and followed them inside.
When I came through the doorway, into the barn, the whole of the group was huddled around a small box, resting up against the wall. Wondering what all the interest was about, I knelt down and peered inside the box, through a small hole cut into the side. I was taken aback by what I saw…
At first, when I saw the ears, I assumed this was some form of small and unusual bunny. After taking it outside, where the light was better, I discovered that this was no bunny at all!
Laugh if you will, but I am certain that this is some form of Ant/Bunny Hybrid… I know, crazy right? After further examination, I am almost certain that this little thing is more ant than bunny… the ears are really the only big bunny giveaway!
And… when I introduced myself and the babes, the tiny creature visibly relaxed, and then introduced herself…
Ladies and Gentlemen, I wish to introduce you to our newest Barnyard Baby… Lilly!
While I don’t, as of yet, know all of her story, there isn’t a great amount of information that I can give on the adorable little thing. I assure you, however, that I will discover who and what she is, over the weekend. All of us here in the yard plan on spending our time getting to know Lilly, and I’ll fill you in as soon as I know her a bit better.
Have a great weekend everyone… Hugs from all of us, here in the Barnyard!
I can be all the way in the back of the RV, enjoying a snack from the comfort of my bed, only to be approached by a cheeky ant out of nowhere… as if they just magically arrived! No… they are not harmful, nor aggressive, but I disdain them nonetheless!
Ants and I go back a long ways, if you remember the time I wrote about the midnight Kool-aid incident of 2007. Grabbing a glass to take a drink, while in darkness of night, I swallowed a mouthful of more ants than I care to remember. I never could get the red stain of spit Kool-aid from off my comforter. We have been sworn enemies ever since!
I will hunt them down like a bloodhound, indiscriminately squishing them with my fingers, all the while, giving out loud warnings to all their kin! It’s now heading toward warmer weatherish, so they are getting active! I have learned recently that the best way to eat anything safely, requires keeping all food out of the bedroom. Don’t laugh, but when my husband brings home a snack for me, I will eat it in front of the trash can, just to ensure that all incriminating evidence lands only in the bin.
Night before last when my husband had his container of cinnamon rolls on the counter for like 15 minutes, I swear, I went to steal a bite and nearly ate a family of ants! What is the lesson that I most recently learned… nothing is safe when there are ants nearby!
From the time that I was a tiny girl, dreaming in full color on a nightly basis was my life. Unrelenting, the dreams came, some were good and some were not! To this day, I have full memories of a handful of dreams that repeatedly visited me in the night.
While you may think this is awesome, having constant nighttime entertainment, it has actually been more of an exhaustive burden! Isn’t it sublime to awaken on a sunny morning, discovering that you hadn’t moved at all throughout the night; you feel like you just laid down to sleep… sooooo restful. Well, I didn’t have this luxury for most of my life, until our RV came to rest in this very spot last year. Suddenly the dreaming stopped!
For over a year now, my dreaming has been nonexistent, MIA, if you will! It just suddenly disappeared! At first, I assumed it was because I had been exhausting myself with all the writing that was gushing out of my brain onto the page… my writers block had definitely been miraculously removed, for which I am eternally grateful. After a time, as the writing began to amp up, I found myself on the other side of the sleep number coin… insomnia! I had so much that I wanted to write down, I lost the ability to shut my brain down long enough for a decent amount of rest.
Aside from feeling exhausted, I didn’t actually mind not sleeping… you can sleep when you’re dead, as they say. I settled into a routine of writing til I dropped, tossing and turning for 2 to 4 hours, and back at it with coffee in hand! For a girl with a history of childhood trauma and nightmares that would make you cringe, the silence was glorious! Gradually, as the words emptied out of my overflow brain bags, sleep returned… just the sleep, without any dreaming at all! It’s been like this for a while now.
I want to say that it was maybe 4 or 5 nights ago that I dreamt for the first time in over a year. When I woke the next morning, I had just a brief realization about some kind of dream, but it was gone in the blink of an eye. I wasn’t bothered by any particular memory or feeling, aside from the disappointment of dreaming… I liked the quiet of sleep.
I have had some form of dream now, every single night, but with no residual memory of it… weird right?!
At first, the fact that I’m dreaming again bothered me deeply. I think it comes from having no control over where my mind goes when I surrender to sleep. This made me realize something I hadn’t thought about before. Though I believed I’d given every part of myself into Gods hands, I had yet to fully trust Him to protect my unconscious mind. There’s a lot of scary stuff rolling around in there!
Throughout my entire life, every bad dream brought forth many residual emotions of fear, shame, guilt and loathing about whatever occurred in the dream! I truly felt like I needed to be forgiven for things I didn’t actually even do. Have you ever dreamt that you did something very bad or embarrassing, only to wake up feeling so glad nobody saw what you dreamt? This has been my track record… until now.
So far, there hasn’t been any residual memories, or overwhelming self-loathing to follow me throughout my day. I’ve no idea why the dreaming has returned, but I do know in whose arms I rest my spirit within, while I’m sleeping! I do know that my spirit is much stronger today than it was even last year, so I believe that God is producing growth within this vessel. When one replaces fear and loathing with faith and grace… the cloying darkness has been replaced with peaceful freedom within my dreams.
In truth, there really isn’t anything that I hate to be asked! All one has to do is browse through some of my writings, to discover that I tend to be the over-sharer… the T.M.I. giver… the disclaimer girl!
I make every effort to be as transparent as possible, as I seek to reflect a clear level of candid honesty with anyone that might stop by the Lobby. This is my choice… my way of being real!
If I’m to hate anything, it would be one of two things… it is much worse for no one to ask me questions at all, and for those that do ask questions of others, it would be the way in which the question was delivered!
When one doesn’t bother to ask valuable, and often deep questions, before judging, criticizing or condemning the person they should have taken the time to ask… I consider it a lazy character, in the one not asking!
When one does take the time to ask questions, if they ask another a question only after they’ve already made a judgement… it is very apparent to the one being asked!
**EXAMPLE** How are you feeling today? vs Is there a reason you’re being a jerk today?
Social Media has played a very big part, in my humble opinion, to creating the off the cuff, judgy remarks and Karen accusations that so many people get all over their literary faces from each other. No, this is not an attack on any platform in particular, as those are nothing more than tools to be used for either good… or sometimes more nefarious purposes. We humans still retain the ability to choose what we think, say and do! Nobody is going to get a free ride on this cookie filled prompt answer… not even myself!
God sent his only son to earth for us, where we promptly crucified Him, so one might assume that this was a big epic failure! What did God do? He resurrected Jesus and rolled that stone away, leaving an empty tomb!
God has been righting our wrongs, healing our wounds and miraculously turning our failures into successes from the beginning of time! The Bible says that God is faithful, so logic dictates that only success will follow, from both our triumphs and mistakes.
I am a work in progress, and as God is not done with me yet, failure is just a means for Him to continually show me how He can do anything… the sky’s the limit, as they say!
My future is very bright, as the bible confirms…
“For I know the plans I have for you”, declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future”. Jeremiah 29:11
Well, we’ve had a bit of an accident! It’s ok… Boomer will be alright, if he keeps his leg elevated. At least, that’s what Tilly recommends for the fastest recovery.
I was in my office working on today’s projects, when I heard a very loud cry coming from out by the hay loft. Before I could even reach the doorway, Dinky came bursting into the room with such a look of panic on her face! All she could manage to say, through her own tears, was that Boomer had fallen!
When I got to the loft, where I’d heard the cry only moments before, I discovered Boomer laying with his little back leg stuck in a bale of hay. He was crying something awful, which brought tears to my eyes as I tried to gently pull him free. I quickly discovered why he was putting up such a fuss… his tiny green leg was swelling more and more, by the moment.
I gently picked him up in my arms and carried him back into my office, followed by an entire line up of sniffling, crying and generally unhappy babies. I lay Boomer down on a pile of hay to examine his injury, while Tilly sat right beside me, offering encouraging words of support. While I didn’t believe that it was broken, his leg did look very painful and swollen. Tilly helped me wrap it, being careful not to cause Boomer any more pain than was necessary.
The babes are sitting with him now, while we await the arrival of the local doctor. Although it’s most likely just a sprain, I have no desire to rely on my own judgement in this situation, as I am not a Veterinarian. I assure you that he is resting comfortably with Tilly busy mothering him.
From what I’ve gathered, by questioning the rest of the babies, Boomer tried to fly! The problem is, unfortunately, that his tiny wings are much too small and underdeveloped, thereby, allowing him to lift and hold his chubby body in the air.
Off to one side of our little group, I spied a very sad and sorrowful looking babe, trying to melt into the wall. I left all of the other babies to comfort Boomer, while I crawled over and sat down next to Squagon. I didn’t even get a chance to question him, before he tearfully confessed what he believed was all HIS fault!
You see… Squagon IS able to fly! Yes, my little squirrel dragon has a set of his own fully operational wings. The big difference is in the size of my winged compadres! Boomer is much bigger and chubbier than Squagon, being nowhere near ready to experience lift off, as I call it! My poor tiny flyer thought it was all his fault that Boomer followed him up to the rafters, where he usually took flight.
The young dragon had never tried to fly before, so Squagon jumped off the ledge and took flight, never thinking that Boomer might also jump! My tiny furry flyer collapsed in a fit of sobs, dropping his head onto my knee and blowing his nose on my pant leg… I know, gross! Squagon really did think that he had caused all this!
Only after I soothed my young friend, assuring him that it wasn’t his fault, did Squagon finally stop crying. I explained that accidents happen sometimes, through no ones fault at all! Unless Squagon felt that he had taken Boomer up into the rafters, with the purpose of pushing him off intentionally, it was not his fault. When I explained things to him, my little snot maker brightened up immediately, hugged my hand fiercely and ran to be with his friends.
While we all wait for the doctor to arrive, I’ve opened up one of those giant tins of multiflavored popcorn to keep everyone calm and happy… everyone loves popcorn!
Never fear folks, as I hear the doctor arriving as we speak… I’ll update you as soon as I can…
Journey With Me! 