Simple Praise

Our church choir sang a song for our community Thanksgiving service last Sunday titled  Simple Praise.

As I sit at my computer ...

As I've ridden the 4-wheeler to help move cattle ...

As I've baked and chopped and stirred ...

The words and music of this song have drifted through my mind, over and over again.

And when I've been at choir, pictures have floated into my mind as we've sung the words.

It's about thanks giving. Not necessarily Thanksgiving, though it's certainly the perfect time to recognize God's gifts and blessings all around us. But our thanks giving should be every day, not just on the fourth Thursday in November each year.

I found one choir had uploaded Simple Praise by Craig Courtney and Pamela Martin to youtube. If you'd like, listen to the song (the link is at the bottom of this post) and look at the illustrations that have been floating through my mind and are now assembled together, kind of like that other favorite song of the season, We Gather Together.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours from The County Line.

 For a canvas of colors

For a concert of sound

For the unfolding seasons

The earth spinning round

 For the birth of each sunrise

For the sky set ablaze

For these simple gifts

We give simple praise

 Simple praise for the Giver

And thanks to the One

Who has given us breath

And given His Son

 

To the Giver of blessings

For all of our days

  For these simple gifts

 
We give simple praise

For the love of a mother

For the touch of a hand

For the deeper emotions

We can't understand

For the lessons we learn

From the trials we face

For these simple gifts

We give simple praise

The heart of the Giver

 The hand of the One

From whom every blessing

Of living has come

 For measureless mercy and limitless grace

For these simple gifts

We give simple praise.

This was updated from a 2012 post.

Thankful

Sunrise, November 18, 2015

A Time to Think

A grateful heart is one that finds 
the countless blessings of God 
in the seemingly mundane everyday life. 
–Anonymous

A Time to Act

Thank the Lord for the possibilities of a new day.

 Portion in blue from an email devotional from Guideposts

"Just tell me if you need to stop."

My Farmer said the words as we were driving toward the cattle lots to round up cattle before the veterinarian arrived. We had just left home, so his solicitous remarks weren't aimed at an emergency bathroom break or the need to stop to stretch my legs during a long journey.

He looked at the eastern sky. He looked at me. And he knew that the beauty stretched across the horizon would have me itching to push the camera's shutter button.

I waited a beat. And I said, "Yes, I think I do need to stop."

So, less than a half mile from home, he pulled over so that I could capture a moment ... even though we had things to do and places to be.

I am blessed.

It was the second day of running cows through the working chute for pregnancy checks and vaccination updates.

 

On that day, the lot was sloppy with mud and manure after a total of 0.95" of rain had fallen. It may not have been ideal on tennis shoes, but it was great for a thirsty wheat crop. 

 

It was a chillier day than the first go-round, and the wind cut through layers of t-shirts, sweatshirts and gloves. But the cold temperatures made the cattle's breath look like mini rainbows through the camera lens. 

 As we ushered the cattle down the lane and into the chute, a chorus of geese sang a serenade.

Pelicans kept circling overhead, bucking the chilly breeze and coming back around as they left from their overnight stay at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge just down the road and searched for leftovers in nearby corn and milo stubble.


We didn't have any cattle jump a fence. The majority of the mama cows were pregnant. No humans or animals were hurt. We got the "ladies" where they needed to be.

 

It was a good day all around.

And it ended just like it began. This time, I was pointing the camera to the west, capturing another expansive Kansas sky.

There's a theme in the devotional reading material by my recliner these days. I've pulled out Ann Voskamp's "One Thousand Gifts," a book I've read and re-read three times. (I've shared quotes from that book here several times before - here and here among them.)

I borrowed "The Gratitude Diaries" by Janice Kaplan from the library, and I'm about halfway through it. The subtitle is "How A Year Looking on the Bright Side Can Transform Your Life." And, earlier this year, I ordered the book, "Help, Thanks, Wow: The Three Essential Prayers" by Anne Lamott. I have several little green Post-It tabs stuck in the margins of that book, too.

"The notion of gratitude cuts across all generations, ethnicities and social or economic boundaries. Gratitude is universal, and it's the one thing that can pull us together."

 Doug Conant, Former CEO of Campbell's Soup Co.

Interviewed by Janice Kaplan 

Sunset, November 18, 2015

Do I practice gratefulness always? I admit that I struggle some days more than others. But, on this eve of Thanksgiving and as we approach another Advent season, it is a worthy goal, don't you think?

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! May we all be thankful.

A Time to Pray

O Great Creator, may I see Your hand today
in something ordinary and amazing.

Sky on Fire

Sunrise, August 25

Remember those bins of rubber balls in the end-cap display at the downtown five and dime when you were a kid? As I've looked at the sky the last few days, it seems like one of those balls has escaped from the bin and has rolled across the horizon, bouncing higher or lower as the day begins or ends.

It's been beautiful, almost like the sky is on fire. And unfortunately, the red sky at dusk and dawn has had fire as its source, according to meteorologists.

Sunrise, August 25

Recent red sunsets and sunrises will soon diminish as smoke particulates from western-state fires in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho and California are expected to disappear from the atmosphere in Kansas this week. A cold front this past weekend carried smoke from multiple western fires to Kansas, said Jeff Hutton, warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Dodge City.

Sunset framed by trees, August 24

There’s been smoke in the atmosphere for the past few weeks, into even a month, Hutton said, but it’s not always easy to see. The air quality across the plains is fairly good, and air quality “is not really an issue” due to the strong Kansas winds.

Sunset, August 21. I wondered if the smoke made this sunset hazy.

It's too bad that such beauty in my backyard is tied to such destruction for others.

Pastor Nate has asked us to pray for a California church camp, Hume Lake, where he spent many happy summers. This long-time church camp has been threatened by wildfire. They are not alone. Prayers for those who've lost so much in the fires - even their lives - and for the safety of the firefighters combating the blazes.

It's a reminder to celebrate the small things every day. The small things often become the big things.

Lilacs in Bloom

My lilacs are blooming. That hardly seems to be earth-shaking news. Many farmsteads have the old-fashioned blossoms. But it's been five years since lilacs bloomed beneath the shadow of our backyard windmill tower.

In May 2010, I took one of my favorite spring photos. It was a May Day basket filled with lavender lilacs and spirea. But soon after that photo, my lilacs met an untimely death with a too-close encounter with some weed killer.

Randy knew that the lilacs were among my favorite backyard flowers, so he's been trying to reestablish them ever since. This year, for the first time in five years, I have lilacs again.

They are still a bit straggly and spindly. They aren't the well-established crop that once filled our backyard with color and fragrance. But it's a start.

In each little unopened bud, there's the promise of more to come. And that's a good message for the beginning of another week.

Randy also planted lilacs south of our drive. And while they aren't blooming yet, the sturdy green plants dappled in sunlight and shadow are a reminder of love and caring.

The pleasures in life can swiftly pass unnoticed when you don't take the time to enjoy the beauty and sweet aroma that surrounds you.

Laura D. Field

The lilacs bloom under the canopy of a huge tree in our backyard. For several days, I'd noticed the play of light and shadow as I walked past the bathroom window.  I went outside for a closer look. The new green leaves were like green lace against a blue sky dappled with springtime morning sun.

The little things in life can become the big things, if you just keep your eyes open.

**

This morning, we are thankful for 1.75 inches of rain that fell Saturday and Sunday nights.

 

86,400 Seconds

As I slipped my mug under the coffee maker's spout, the clouds caught my eye. The sun had not yet risen above the horizon. But the tops of the clouds were already catching the promise of the sun.

Sunrise, November 20, 2013

Isn't it ironic that a sky filled with clouds makes for the most spectacular sunrises and sunsets?

You'd think that the clouds would mar the scene. Instead, they are like diamonds, catching the varied facets of light from the different angles.

When life doesn't go as you'd hoped, it can be hard to see the light through the clouds.

But, a morning like this reminds me to keep looking for the wonder, even in disappointment.

 

The geese's call punctuates the cold air and they make commas in the sky near the barn's cupola. Another day has begun ... another day to look for Light despite the clouds.

Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song. Psalm 95:2

***

We will spend Thanksgiving in Kentucky with Brent. More on our trip when we get back to the County Line.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

Mundane Everyday Life

I looked beyond the back porch window sill with its collection of dead bugs and thin layer of dust. Clouds tinged in cotton-candy pink billowed above the tall trees to the south of our house. Still, I went to the basement to begin my normal morning routine.

As I sat in my wood-paneled office underground and waited on gmail to cycle up, I couldn't quit thinking about the clouds. Emails and blogs and KFRM radio reports could wait for a few minutes.

So many times, we walk past the beauty in life. I don't even remember now why I went to the porch to begin with. It's not a mandatory stop on my day. Maybe I glimpsed the unusual clouds through the bathroom window and decided to get a closer look.

Our house is surrounded by big old trees, so I grabbed my camera and told Randy I was going to drive down the road to check out the sunrise.

Many times, I'm disappointed by the photos. I can't always get the camera's eye to duplicate the beauty and majesty of the Kansas sunrise or sunset. The night before, Randy called me as he was driving a tractor toward home. A storm was blowing through and the sky was unusual. And, try as I might, I couldn't get the camera to capture the moment the same way as I was experiencing it in person. 

July 9, 2013 - Sunset

But I'm persistent. (Some might say stubborn.) So the "failed" sunset photos didn't keep me from trying to capture the sunrise yesterday morning. See, there are sometimes fringe benefits to being persistent.

July 10, 2013 - Looking to the south

A little later yesterday morning, I sat in a pickup cab in an old farmstead yard while I waited on Randy and Jake to round up heifers and a bull on 4-wheelers. I rolled down the windows and listened to the birds call to each other and heard the cottonwood leaves rustle in the wind. Birds played hide and seek in the branches.

Taking photos helps me to "see" the beauty all around me. To tell the story of our farm and our life on the County Line, I look for ways to illustrate the words with photographs.

But it doesn't take a camera in hand to notice the little things. Yesterday, as light streamed through the bathroom windows, the lace edge of the curtains made a pattern on the wall. I caught a glimpse of a bluejay as it darted across the backyard. Three baby kittens played tag in the backyard.

Beauty isn't just found in the spectacular. Neither are blessings. They just require me to open my eyes. And then count them, kind of like that old Sunday School song we used to sing in the basement of the Byers United Methodist Church:

Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

View of the eastern sunrise sky - July 10, 2013

Snippets and Snapshots

It’s funny what happens when you become a grandparent. You start to act all goofy and do things you never thought you’d do. It’s terrific.

 ~ Mike Krzyzewski

Who would have ever thought I'd use a photo with my mouth gaping wide open as my Facebook profile? Not me. But when I was looking through the 193 photos I took when Kinley visited with her parents this past weekend, I decided it was the perfect shot. As my friend, Carrie, succinctly put it: "JOY!"

Yep. That's it all right.

Randy and I were both anxiously awaiting their arrival Friday night. Randy wanted to introduce our new crop of kittens to a girl with an outstanding repertoire of animal sounds, including a fine "Meow!"

Grandchildren are the dots that connect the lines from generation to generation.

 ~Lois Wyse

During this trip, Kinley discovered her own personal race track. A two-doored bathroom makes for a perfect looping path through the bathroom, kitchen, dining room and living room.

She dashed around it on foot ...

... being pushed in Mommy's and Uncle Brent's old Little Tykes car (by four different "motors," I might add) ...

... and she used the same path for her grocery cart.

Kinley loved the swing in the backyard, whether it was flying solo or hitching a ride with Grandma, Grandpa or Mommy.

I was surprised she knew just what to do with a phone that is nothing like the phones her parents have.

But she did. (Yes, we still have that kind of phone - for real - here at our old farmhouse.)

I loved watching my little girl as a Mommy.

And it was fun to bring out bigger toys from Jill's past for Kinley to explore.

I didn't take time to find a photo of Jill playing with her kitchen. But I found one from the wedding slide show of Eric playing in his kitchen, once upon a time.

A grandchild fills a space in your heart that you never knew was empty.

Anonymous

At church, we discovered several of our friends were also entertaining grandchildren for the weekend. All our own children started coming to Stafford United Methodist Church when they were itty-bitty. And here were their kids ... our grandkids.

Steve & Tami Brensing had Reagan and Rylee; Boyd & Kim Volker had Bryson and Liam.

As you can see, it wasn't the easiest thing to get a photo. I don't think we were all looking in the same direction in any one frame, though Randy and Steve get the prize for being the most consistent. But it didn't matter a bit.

Children are born.

Traditions are passed.

The love continues.

Sharon Bibby