"The Senator Update"

"... and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us ..."
Hebrews 12:1

On our last update regarding "The Senator" and his new residence at our home, we indicated The Senator's need for groceries and love... Well, The Senator has a fully belly, lots of love and has exceeded our expectations and now has a permanent home on our ranch.

We continue to watch his leg and give him extra special care. So far, so good!

Sadie has just recently been letting him go full throttle...She was able to place 4th on Sunday in the Poles with a time of 22.33 seconds. As soon as Sadie and the Senator get their timing down, we are hoping to shave some time off and land higher in the ranks!

God truly is a God second chances, third, forth, fifth and ....you get the picture! The Senator has been given his second chance. I thank God every day for the second chances he gives me. As I get discouraged with myself, I need to remember Hebrews 12:1, "... and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us ..." Life is a race and I plan to finish well! Just like The Senator!

Quick Update

It's been a long while since I've posted anything on the blog. Wanted to give you a quick update of the happenings around the ranch...

The kids only have 20 plus days left in the school year. Dee works through June, but the school year is winding down! It's been a really good year. Jono has been busy helping dad with machinery. It won't be long and he won't know which end is up because he will be working so hard trying to get the crops in the ground! He also celebrated a milestone...his 50th birthday! The church had a party for him and did some other really thoughtful things for him! The family is going to celebrate when Twila gets here in May!!!!

We now have an eleven year old in our home! Samuel is into baseball this season. He is one of the youngest on his team this year, some of the boys look like full grown men! I still think the experience will be important for him, if he just doesn't give up...Sam will have a bull riding clinic soon. He is pretty pumped for rodeo season to begin!

Sadie has been busy getting her horse and herself ready for rodeo season. A very talented young lady in our area is giving Sadie lessons and is teaching her how to rope; which I have to say has helped tremendously! She is also working with my good friend, Shelley. The only problem at Shelley's practices is Sadie is too distracted with her friends.. I wonder where she got that???? Sadie is also into music. She's taking voice and flute lessons. State contest is this weekend!

God has blessed me with opportunities to sing and speak lately to a variety of audiences. Peggy Quick and I were in Greenville, Il for a Women's Conference a couple of weeks ago. We met some amazing women there! This past weekend I sang for the Relay for Life in Mount Vernon, Il. Peggy and I have some other dates coming up. You can view our "gigs" at www.gospelgigs.com/deeann

We'd love to hear from you!
Dee

Cancer Survivor 101

My sweet sister-in-law, Bridget Schnautz, is a recent survivor of lymphoma. She has learned some lessons that will be helpful to us, regardless if we have or ever will have cancer. Her insight can help us take a glimpse and make adjustments now, before having to go through a life changing event!

Cancer Survivor 101
What I’ve Learned

By Bridget Schnautz
Thursday, November 27, 2008

I’ve learned:
~that a bunch of people genuinely love me and care for me; even when I’m bankrupt of anything to give in return.

~not to take the freshness of a new season for granted or any of the splendor of God’s creation.

~I’ve had a control problem that I’ve spent years calling other things. Like being organized, getting things done, leadership and at the root of the problem have been trust issues.

~that it’s OK to rest even when you have a lot to do.

~that being too busy stunts your spiritual growth.

~how to accept kindnesses graciously.

~what the power of the prayers of many can do.

~that dependency in the right context is a strength, not a weakness.

~that we are closest to God when we surrender our deepest fears to him.

~that God is not only with us in the present but is ahead of us as well.

~to take greater joy in little things.

~that bad things don’t just happen to other people.

~that optimism brings a lot of emotional sunshine to rainy days.

~I see the world more clearly.

~I feel with greater intensity.

~There is an enrichment in life simply by the awareness of its preciousness.

Parent Teacher Conferences

Parent Teacher Conferences! Have you ever been involved in a parent teacher conference? Were you involved as a parent? A grandparent? A guardian? A teacher? An administrator? An aunt? An uncle? A sister? A brother? Never involved and never want to be? Would love to be but have never had the opportunity?

As a woman raised on guilt and a healthy dose of fear, there has always been a little fear and trepidation involved for me personally when it comes to parent teacher conferences. As a parent...What if I find out my child has been taking after our family members we don't claim? (Just kidding!) What if the teacher says, "Oh, when he stops choking the kids who cut in front of him in line, it will be OK! No worries!" Am I expecting too much? Not enough? Have I scarred my child for life?

As a teacher, I always experience some fear and trepidation before parent teacher conferences. Did I mention I was raised on guilt and healthy dose of fear??? It causes me to ask myself, "Self? Have you really communicated with this family already so the things we're discussing won't come as a shock? Do you have enough documentation and evidence to show parents their child's progress? Have you started the discussion with a positive? Progressed to areas of needed growth? Have you reiterated the positives and a plan for the future??? Have you remembered these parents are entrusting their greatest gift to you???"

As an administrator, I ask myself, "Self? Have you given your teachers all of the tools they need to have successful conferences? Do your staff members have a meal to eat so they can focus on preparation for the conference and not where they'll eat? Are the secretaries prepared with the info they need? Have you made yourself available to parents? Teachers? Are you doing what's best for kids? Are you supporting your teachers? Are you providing usable information to parents? Does the community know what great staff you have?"

As a Christian, I really wish I could have a Parent Teacher Conference with my Father and teacher, God! I wish I could sit with Him and hear, "Dee, I'm so glad you were able to meet with me! I just want to compliment you for taking the time out of your crazy busy life to meet with me. Dee, we also have some areas to work on in the future. Dee, you may not be as patient as you need to be. You know your temper can get the best of you at times. Remember, not to sin in your anger. We also need to have a little talk about your priorities. Are you really setting a positive example for those sweet punks I've entrusted to you for the next few years??? Ouch! Now, Dee, let me just finish up. Remember, you have great potential. I have a plan for you... Here's the plan in detail!!!!

Sometimes, I would really, really, really like to see that plan in DETAIL... As outlined by God. Am I doing what God wants of me??? If I'm honest with myself, I already know the answer. The elementary/simplistic answer would be, "Dee, just be faithful and finish the race well!"

Here's the challenge...Please use the gifts you've been given. It's a complete and total cop out to say, "I don't have a gift!" Use your gifts! Finish the race well!

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through Him." Colossians 3:17

The Senator and Second Chances

2 Corinthians 12:9, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Meet my gal and her new steed, The Senator! His real name is "Grey". Because we thought his name was boring, I decided we should name him "The Senator" in honor of our retired Southern Illinois Senator Gray!

Let me tell you a bit about The Senator. Over nine years ago The Senator broke a small bone in his back right foot. Ouch!!! This is never good for any animal, but especially a horse.... The people who had him were so fond of him they did everything they could do to make sure he wasn't put down. The Senator spent some time at the University of Illinois...From there, the story is a little fuzzy. But my point is, he was loved enough and had enough value to his original family that he was given a second chance. So my gal, is giving him a chance as well. She understands he will need extra special care and she is willing to give it. You may ask, "That horse can't run barrels and poles!" I beg to differ, he has been running amazing times and has remained sound. He just needs some groceries, a little extra joint supplement and some horse Tylenol called bute.

Let me ask you this, "Has God given you a second chance? Have you ever made a mistake and thought, 'Man, I'm just not worth much. I may as well quit. How could God forgive this? I'll just chuck it all, lower my standards and do my own thing. Maybe I won't be as disappointed.' " I think at one point or other we have all been in situations either by choice or circumstance that we have wondered if we could make it through the tough times. Let me encourage you, God is a God of second chances. If you are feeling down and out, remember, like my gal has faith in The Senator, our God has faith in you! Why shouldn't He? He created you!

A Sunday Ride

Our dear friend, Phil Bean, is great about calling all the horsey folks at Happy Church to see if they would like to ride horses to church on Sunday mornings! (I will have to take pictures of the hitchin' post...Truly, we have a hitchin' post at church and at the bank!) Well, needless to say, my gal is always ready to ride and so are her friends. It was the PERFECT day to ride... and a great time was had by all. I even think the horses enjoyed being out and about today!

Cat Claws and Dog Paws

OK, call me a bad mom. But really, if I can eliminate drama, wouldn't you think that would make me a good mom??? Well, let me tell you, it has been over a year since we lost our beloved cat...Sadly, I can't remember his name. Really, honestly, we did love him, he was a long, dark haired feline. (Since I posted this post, my gal reminded me his name was Smokey and the one before that was Prince... They both ran away! Imagine!) It's 11:32 pm and can you really expect me to remember? I've been insisting for a year we would love a cat, but why should we get a cat if our dogs will just insist it leave the premises???

Well let me tell you, our great friend Cathy does not want to be known as the cat woman. (She really is NOT the cat woman.) Out of kindness she said she would give us Pumpkin, a beautiful long haired, orange, neutered Kittie! One condition we insisted on was this cat be MEAN or in other words, able to defend itself against two canines who not only try to herd cats, but like to eat them for lunch.

Needless to say, all did not go well! Pumpkin made it here for a total of 5.3 seconds. He was in the vehicle. As Cathy and I unloaded his paraphernalia, Pumpkin made a bee-line for the door, made it out and past Sheba...Sheba is a LARGE collie, she thinks she owns the world. She DOES own the world... Or at least her part of the world, here on the farm.

Prior to this, my little munchkin and I made a special trip into town a good fifteen miles from here, to purchase new dog collars at the local Rural King....Shep has his new John Deere collar. The yellow looked great against his tan and black fur...Sheba's looked lovely with her green John Deere collar against her sable and white fur... However, Miss Queen of Sheba finagled (Is that really a word? Did I really spell it incorrectly?) her collar off of her slender neck and high tailed it across the timber after Pumpkin. Let me tell you, the shrieking began. Oh, and it wasn't the cat, I think it was me!

Pumpkin ran up one of the many trees only to jump down and chase Sheba!!!! Then Sheba chased Pumpkin through the timber...several acres of timber... and the rest is history...Sheba has been relegated to the garage, Shep to the horse trailer and we've left the porch light on for Pumpkin.

We hope to see Pumpkin soon. We didn't even get to pet him or give him treats. The front porch has his food, water, bed, toy mouse, just waiting. And my youngest yahoo prayed for Pumpkin tonight. He started to say Pumpkin's name, then said, "Oh, it's just a cat." The Big Daddy said, "It's OK. You can pray for him." I have sad children tonight, a lost cat and two miserable dogs. We're all praying he comes back!

Next time, would someone remind it's OK to say no...we really don't relish the drama around here! I'll keep you posted on doggie obedience school, my children's therapy and any news on missing and exploited cats!