Off To The Races

Well, I was planning on leaving about ten minutes ago but that didn't happen. I had to clean the house before my wife comes home. We, VOP, has a big day of practice tomorrow with most of the former members present. We are working on a Reunion album for our 20th anniversary which is in 2007. I will talk more about that later. So, we practice tomorrow and sing in the morning for about 30 minutes. In the afternoon we are singing at Tim Rumsey's composition recital. This is a first for us and we are afraid we don't know the music...... I am afraid I will hit far to many Random Pitches......
Till next time
The Random Pitch Maestro

Katrina

I learned something this evening. Do you know what Katrina means? Katrina means to purify. Did you know that the Wed. after Katrina hit New Orleans our nations biggest gay and lesbian bash was to begin, in New Orleans? New Orleans is admittedly the nations most wicked city, or so I am told. So was hurricane Katrina a random act of mother nature? Or did daddy God tell mother nature to purify New Orleans?

Fund Raising

Some of you know that we have adopted three children. Because adoptions are rather expensive we have been trying to raise money to help with the cost. For two summers we grilled and sold chicken at a location up in town. Church ladies were very thoughtful and donated baked goods and we were able to make some headway in the financial arena. (My sister and her husband have also adopted and we did this together, splitting the proceeds.) Last summer we discovered the health department had some restrictions we would need to follow so we were unable to grill anymore chicken. We have been trying to figure out a good way to raise money. Do you have any ideas? We have started another blog, Adopted Treasures, that will be used as our website. We will be focusing on fundraising, adoption stories, and pictures. To visit that site check out my links on the sidebar.
What fundraisers are you aware of that have worked for others?

Ravaged

What is that annoying sound, I wondered, Oh man, time to get up already. I drug myself out of bed, dressed and stumbled for the door. After slipping on my boots I stepped out into the blackness of night. The first thing to penetrate my feeble brain was the insistent howling of dogs. I was instantly wide awake. Those dogs are after my calves. I began to run for the barn when I decide I better take the truck. I had no desire to be dog food. As I am pulling into the farm drive I see nasty, half grown, black dog heading for the back 40 at top speed. A split second later a white half grown cur came flying across the lane right in front of the truck. I jacked the steering wheel hard to the right and floored the truck chasing the dog across the lawn. I didn't want to alarm those who were sleeping in the house so I let the dog go and went back to check on the calf. At first glance I thought she was dead but after further inspection I noticed her ribs were moving. I could see a spot on the right hip were a chunk of flesh was missing. Her eyes were wide with fright as I knelt down beside her. My mind and heart were full of intense and, I think, righteous anger. I laid my hand on the calf's abdomen and she started bawling. I knew she was in incredible pain. She would not move a muscle. I decided to leave her till daylight so I could see what was actually going on. As soon as I was done milking I went and checked on her. The spot on her hip was much worse than I anticipated. I could see the ball socket were the hip bone attaches to the pin bone. She had multiple lacerations to the ribs and abdominal area. Her ears had been gnawed on and were bleeding. I knew there was nothing to do but end her misery. I headed for the neighbors to see if he would take care of the grisly task. She succumbed to her injuries before we got back with the gun. Those dogs will be looking at the small end of rifle next time we see them. They usually do not stop with one. Once they start they continue……

DHIA

Tonight is our annual DHIA meeting. For those of you who are unaware of this organization let me fill you in. DHIA stands for Dairy Herd Improvement Association. (I think) An individual, Diane, comes once a month, if i'm lucky, and tests the cows. This consists of putting meters in the parlour that are attached to the milking system. As each cow is milked it measures the milk. These numbers are then pumped into Diane's lap top which calculates my milking times and spits out the bottom line numbers. For instance, if Jehu milks 50 lbs at one milking the computer will calculate the previous milking time and somehow come to the conclusion that Jehu milked 121lbs that day intead of 100lbs. Also they will give out awards to people who own cows that make lots and lots of milk. I do not expect to recieve any awards. Uncle Delvin usually gets them all:)
So tonight I go to the meeting, which is being held at Golden Corral in Lynchburg. This means free food. (goody) This meeting is being held in conjunction with Select Sire Power an AI company. They come around once every 6 weeks and try to sell me semen. (I DO NOT HAVE A HERD BULL) Anyway, there is a new fangled thing they are trying called sexed semen. This means they try to separate the males from the females. If they could get this perfected and all my heifers were carrying heifer calves.....
Why did I tell you that? They are having an individual, David Whitlock, expound on the subject tonight. Should be very interesting......
Gotta run, don't want miss any free food.......

Making A Fool Of Myself....

As you know VOP was on a very short tour this weekend. This afternoon I was waxing eloquent over the song Am I A Soldier Of The Cross. I was telling the audienece about the famous picture of Dirk Williams rescuing his pursuer. (He fell through the ice in a lake and was freezing/drowning.) Knowing he would be killed afterward because he was a christian. The problem was I could not remember Mr. Willams name and thought it was William Tell, of all things. I was sure I was wrong but I was having a very good dose of brain lock. After the service I was informed by my fellow singers that I was very much off base.....
I must say I had a very enjoyable time visiting with my fellow bloggers.
We also had a very grand trip home. Three guys, my brother, brother-in-law, and myself. Great discussions on the way home. Gotta love it.
Well, my wife is gone and the house is very empty and lonely. I am very tired and worn out so I am off to sleep.
Good Night

Weekend Plans

We will be leaving here in a few minuets. My wife will be going out to Ohio for the week. I will be dropped off in Breezewood or SMBI. VOP has service there Sunday AM at 10:00. We will then be traveling to Goshen Mennonite church in Laytonsville MD for a 3:00 service. I believe I will have the privilege of meeting some fellow bloggers. Mr. ITF is planning on being at SMBI and Cretora's Journey Through Life will be there Sunday afternoon. (It is to much trouble for my feeble mind to take the time to put the links in the post. If you are one of the few that have not visited these blogs then please click the link on my side bar.) Now, where was I? We will be heading home Sunday evening after the service. Your prayers concerning our safety would be appreciated. Till next time.....
GZ

Cemetery

This morning Dr. J. Vernon McGee was preaching on Revelations. He made the comment that "This world is really only a big cemetery." He said he asked an engineer one time where it was the hardest to build a road. Over mountains, through the valley, or over the river? The engineer told him the hardest thing was missing all the cemeterys.

Bull Calves

Last Fri. evening my post concerned a cow in labor. The calf on the left was the result. The head on this animal is very interesting. Aside from being rather large, the coloring is also very unique. It is unusual for the head to be this white. The calf on the right was pulled around 4:30 Sat. AM. These calves less than 12 hours apart but the size difference is immense.

Honest Opinion

I will now finish this offspring debate. I am going to give my feelings on the issue and leave it at that. I am very aware that not all of you, maybe none of you, will agree with me.
I don't believe God opens and closes the womb and here is why. Things that God has put into motion he won't stop, as a general rule. Nature takes it course. It always has and it always will. Now I am not saying that he cannot close the womb. For example, there is the account in scripture where a Godly man, I cannot remember the mans name, was in battle and asked God to not let the sun set. As you know the sun stopped its course through the sky. So what I am saying is that God can open and close the womb but I do not think He chooses to do this as a general rule.
As far as how many children to have? This one is a puzzle. I think there are things that need to be taken into consideration.
1. The mother's health. Is she able to endure the pregnancy, not to mention delivery.
2. The mother's emotional health.
3. Other children in the family.
4. How much is the father at home during the day?
5. Are the parents able to meet the emotional, material, and medical needs?
I am becoming more and more convinced that having lots of children is not always a good thing. In fact, I would say it usually is a bad thing. I have heard and am aware of far to many situations where the parents basically hate each other and they have 10-15 children. Now, I am fully aware this can happen with one child. It happened to my wife and I. If we would have had 5-10 children it would have been very difficult to put the pieces back together. It was bad enough the way it was. So, I am saying these are the things I believe should be considered and if they are not you may/are doing your children a disservice. I believe each couple needs to decide where this limit is. May God give you wisdom as you lead your family into Christ like living.

A Very Deep Question

If an individual is seriously seeking God's face or is diligently longing for God's will and wants to do what is right: Can this person make the wrong choice?

Out Of The Mouth Of Babes

Here are a couple of quotes from my oldest daughter.
While eating cold cereal yesterday morning she had the sudden urge to use the restroom. As she jumped of the chair she told me to "Watch her cereal so it doesn't get soggy."

This morning Sierra was playing with the lincoln logs and asked Rachel to "Please help me build this blog house." Instead of "log house".

Farm Part II

Same scene
I take no credit for these pictures. My cousin, I was told to withhold his name, took them.

 

Farm

This picture was taken from behind Sonny's house. (For those of you who know where that is.) Sorry it is so small. I had to scan it into my computer.

 

Young Help

Gotta start 'em young and on the right color......

 

Family Picture

Here you can see her cast a tad.....

 

Karey

One year ago today this little lass was placed in our home by social services. She had been physically abused and her thigh had been broken. She is in a full body cast from the waste down however, you can't tell that by looking at this picture. We were told we would have a very good chance of adopting her. She lived with us for three months before being placed with a distant relative. We wonder about her and how she is doing. She was a very sweet little girl and I think about her off and on and wonder what her life is like, would't you? Do you ever wonder if God really does know what He is doing? I do......

Will The Day Ever End?

I noticed a cow, Shaq, appeared to be in the process of droping a calf about lunch time. Due to the fact that no feet or other body parts had made their appearance I decided to have a feel inside. I found nothing..... Now I wait.
After milking this evening I had another feel. Everything is where it is suppose to be, however, the feet seem to be rather large. I will be going over in 30 min. or so to see if the calf has dropped. If not I may be in for quite a game of tug of war. I am only glad I will not be in the middle......


Here is a poll question for you.
How many of you purchase your milk and what are paying per gallon?

Grandpa

Aleya and Grandpa Zehr

 

Pondering

I now ponder the fact that perhaps I have totally enraged people. I hope this isn't the case.....
Maybe folks are contemplating retalitory statements.

Offspring Part III

First I want to thank each off you who commented on the previous post concerning offspring. I realize this is a rather controversial issue to say the least.
I do have a few more ideas that I would like you to consider and comment on if you wish. Once again I want to make it clear these are my opionions only and that I believe every situation is different.
I will begin by responding to some of the comments that were made. I did not feel attacked in any way for the thoughts I had and I thank you for your kind disagreement. The subject of God closing the womb I found interesting and I have several questions on the issue. The suggestion was made that for couples to make a decision to wait to have children is a sin. (I realize I may be paraphrasing this but that is the way it sounded.) The reason given was for us to tell God when we can or cannot have children is wrong. God has no reason to let us conceive when we decide we are ready to have children. How then do we explain teenage pregnancy or pregancy that is a result of rape or sexual abuse? Certainly this would not be in God's plan, would it? If we are going to say God opens and closes the womb how do we deal with the realm of infertility? Is adoption a sin? You know of our infertility struggle. You also know that one of our children is biological. We decided not to try to get pregnant for several years before we ever began trying. So is our infertility a result of that decision? If we are going to say that God will open and close the womb don't we also have to say that adoption is wrong? This has gotten to long as well and there is one more issue I want to discuss. That issue will need to wait.
Once again I am only asking questions and I am not upset with anyone.
God Bless

On The Board Walk

A trip to Manatee Park outside of Fort Myers FL.

 

Offspring Part II

I have noticed that people are not commenting on my previous post. I shall now stick my neck out give my opinion. The views that are stated here are my thoughts only and if you disagree with them that is fine. I am not attacking anyone who has proceeded differently than we have.
There is one thing I feel very strongly about. This concerns the speed with which some couples decide to have children. I believe it is better for couples to make a decision stating we will not get pregnant or try to get pregnant until we have been married for at least a year. Now, some of you are seriously considering deleting this blog from your computer favorites. Let me explain why I feel this way before you decide to make such a move.
I believe it is better for a couple to live together as a couple without all of the interesting emotional and physical changes a pregnancy will bring to the marriage. I believe that it is best if you can live together solidifying the marriage with out the aforementioned additional stress. There are enough things that couples need to adjust to without adding a pregnancy or a child into the mix in that first crucial year.
This is getting to long so I will not take more of your valuable time today. I will continue to give my view in my next post.
Also, let me say once again that this is only my personal opinion and if you and your spouse have a different opinion than God bless you. (Maybe God has given you more grace than He has given us.)I would love your comments but I am not going to get into a fight with anyone on the issue.

Bath Time

Do your children loathe, love, enjoy, look forward to, despise, or like their baths?

Chicken Litter

I was spreading chicken litter this morning. While I was occupying my time with this lovely task the wind was blowing. Actually, I would say it was very forceful gale. So, depending which direction across the field I was going the wind would blow the litter back across the tractor and its driver. This was a very annoying to say the least. I have also discovered that yelling at the wind doesn't help. It continues to blow.
Why isn't cow manure called cow litter? Or why isn't chicken litter called chicken manure?

Apple Pie & Lambs

We were eating apple pie for dessert tonight and suddenly Aleya said there was a lamb in her pie! She wanted to pet it. We told her to eat the lamb and that she couldn't pet it because her fingers would get all sticky. I don't know if one of the apples resembled a lamb or what she was seeing but it sure made us laugh.

Offspring: How Many?

How many children is the right amount of children? Does the Bible have anything to say about how many children couples have? He, God, said to replenish and multiply this would bring the total to four children. Of course maybe God doesn't care. What is your opinion?

The Candle Burns @ Both Ends

I had mentioned several months ago that my hired hand had found another means of employing his time. He began to take his time up with construction on March the 1st. I have talked to several different people in the hopes of filling this void and have not been succesful. I have now been managing the farm by myself for one week and I have been worn to a frazzle. I am hoping my body will adjust to this schedule and I will begin to not feel so frazzled. I think I have averaged 13-14 hours a day this past week. I must admit that I find myself wondering why God has put this bump in the road. What is His purpose for this turn of events? Why have I not found a replacement? What does God have in store for our future? So, at times I am frustrated with God and His plan and yet deep down in my heart I want what He wants.

Question

I thought of this question during a sermon several weeks ago.
Will God allow an individual to understand a scripture that he/she is unwilling to embrace or believe?

It's A Crazy Life

I got home from the barn at 9:15 this morning. (Church starts at 10:00.) I am home with three sick children this morning while my wife goes to church. This afternoon I will race over and feed the cows. VOP has a program about two hours from home this evening. I need to be ready to leave my house by 2:45. Rachel will be home with all the children the rest of the day. You can pray for her if you think about it. Sick children can be very taxing. It will be after 11:00 till I get home tonight and tomorrow will be upon me very quickly. One thing I learned this week. Staying awake till 10:30 while sitting in an easy chair reading a book is not the same as staying awake till 10:30 and milking/working.

Jayden's Birth Family

L-R
Jennifer, Cherly, and Jayden

 

Aleya

Playing on the shores of the ocean...

 

Publix

While we were in Florida, Sierra and I went to a Publix supermarket one morning to purchase some doughnuts. While I was paying I noticed complimentary coffee. I was very impressed. I have never been in a grocery store that made coffee available to their customers for nothing! I decided this was a very cool store. Several days later I took both girls along and as we were checking out the fellow bagging the goodies gave the girls some coloring books. Just before we left he told us to wait a minute and he would run see if he could find us some crayons. He was unable to locate any but I was very impressed. The grocery stores I frequent don’t seem to care if shop there or not. If there was a Publix in Lynchburg I would shop there. Do you have a really nice and friendly supermarket or are you stuck shopping at the Wal-Mart super center?

Trucking Stories

A fellow brought a load of hominy today. He began telling me some stories of his trucking life. One story that I found very interesting concerned the government. He said he picked up a load of plastic in New Jersey. He got to the plant after dark and backed up to the dock. They told him not to get out of the truck. They loaded the trailer, shut the doors, and sealed it. (I believe the seal is a plastic band. If this band is broken or cut you have to have a very good reason.) The load was suppose to be in DC at an air force base before dawn. He told me that when he to the base he backed up to the dock and once again was told to stay in the truck. The air force personnel broke the seal, unloaded the truck, and shut the doors. He never did know what was in the trailer. He also believes that someone followed him to make sure he did what he was supposed to do. He also mentioned that he was not suppose to stop on this trip. He was told to have the truck full of fuel before he loaded in New Jersey. This sounds very interesting to me. I wonder what was actually in the trailer..... Don't You?