Good Quote

“I think agriculture the most honorable of all employments. The farmer has no need of popular favor, nor the favor of the great, the success of his crops depending only on the blessing of God upon his honest industry.” Benjamin Franklin - 1789

Found this quote at the following website, which is also worth taking a look at.

http://the912project.com

A person's a person, no matter how small

Happy Anniversary Mark!

Happy Anniversary today to my hubby! I remember when I told people the wedding date they chose they often asked if we were Irish, since it is of course St. Patrick’s Day as well. The answer is definitely no. It was just the right date. It is hard to believe that it is already eight years ago. I love you, Mark! I hope and pray that you are aware of that each and every day and that my love has somehow helped to make your life better here on this crazy place we call earth.

Puppy pics

Here's a few cute pictures of my puppies I took today. Molly inspired me by how cute she looked laying on the big pillow that is the back of the couch. Then I tried to take some pics of Major giving Molly sugars, but he never slows down enough to make sure it's completely clear.









Here's a picture of a "Money Tree" that Mark received from the company that helped place him in his current job. They gave it to him about two years ago and I would say it has tripled in size. I've transplanted it twice already, but it basically has no root system. It's pretty neat looking. I guess they can get quite large so we'll see!

Watch This Video...

I think everyone should watch the following video, especially if you think that the ginormous spending bill that was just passed and signed by the President is a good thing. Not only is it not a good thing. It is immoral. Check it out.

Evil

Why is it so hard for us to believe in a loving holy God that is worthy of all our praise and adoration? Why do we let evil people who do evil things cause us to question not only the love of God but His very existence? When a gunman pulls out his rifle filled with deadly ammo, and shoots ten people dead in Alabama, why do we immediately cry out and question God as to why He would let this happen? Don't get me wrong, I do understand why we question in the midst of such unholy, unfair, absolutely evil circumstances. But I would challenge you to be cautious of where you place the blame. God did not make that man get up yesterday morning and tell him to shoot those people. God did not load the gun. God did not aim the gun and pull the trigger. In all reality, this occurred because one single man turned his back on God, whatever his reasons, whatever his pain and whoever he felt was to blame. The only way evil will decrease is for good men, those who believe in a loving God and a loving way of life, to continue to love all the more when these things happen. There is a very famous quote that says something like this, "All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." Don't believe the evil lies of Satan. There is a good and loving God who had a good and loving plan for your life - ultimately that you would spend eternity in heaven with him, when all evil shall be sent where it belongs - to hell.

An Unexpected Path

I have been mulling for some time over the idea of starting to walk my dogs in the morning before work. Being normal (or at least I think I am), I have come up with numerous excuses, first and foremost being that we just don’t seem to have a good place to walk near our house. There is too much traffic or too many houses with dogs.

Well, this morning I decided to take the plunge. I headed a different direction than I normally have in the past. Well, not really different, but I ventured along the road farther. I have driven on this road many times to go take my garbage to the dump and always thought it was too windy and therefore dangerous to walk on. Lo and behold, when I actually walked it there was only the first curve that you have to get past and then a long straight stretch that was the exact distance for me to get to the end, turn around and have walked a total of thirty minutes by the time I got back to the house. There was an abundance of room on the side of the road for the dogs to sniff and “do their thing” to their heart’s content. Plus, it was sooooooooo peaceful!

In front of our house is a large area of farmed land that I have always enjoyed, but once you take the first turn on the road you enter into a more wooded area and it was beautiful. On my right there were two friendly brown horses that my dogs weren’t sure about. The one came immediately up to the fence and ran along beside us till he could run no farther. I had to scold the dogs a few times not to bark, but it was fun. We used to take Molly for rides in Wisconsin and show her the “horsies and the cows,” so I enjoyed pointing out to her the horsies. Her ears immediately perked up when I said the word.

Farther down on the left was a wooded, hilly area that was still blanketed with orange autumn leaves and reminded me of the woods in my beloved Minnesota. I came across a cemetery that is literally someone’s front yard, which I had never noticed before. The last part of the road stretched out with some more open areas and springtime blooming trees. I also enjoyed the sunrise as it was about 7:30 and the eastern sky was waking up. The temp was perfect at a balmy 68 degrees and the birds were singing me awake.

So, needless to say, I will be making this trek another morning, hopefully many more mornings. I was so at peace and thankful to God for this path that took me over a year of living in this house to find. Since this blog is entitled Melba’s Musings, let me muse on that for a minute. How often do we avoid paths in life because we see one turn that looks somewhat unknown or maybe even dangerous, and we miss out on all that lies beyond? I ask God that He would grant me more courage to go into the unknown and stop listening as much to my human voice that tells me I think I know what lies ahead. Only God knows.