The Life and Times of a Simple Woman™

I am sure most of you have heard that Farrah Fawcett died yesterday after her long time battle with cancer--When I heard the news I was sad--I remembered a time as a little girl watching Charlies Angels and wanting to be a police woman--LOL--I have seen many of her movies since that time--The burning bed, small sacrifices, extremities etc..--It kinda felt like part of my childhood died with her--silly I know--I watched her documentry last month and while it was sad you also saw her courageousness, willingness to fight and of course her down to earth attitude--the love that Ryan O'neal showed for her was touching--One thing that I thought of yesterday was that while as little children we look at these people as some how superhuman and even into adult hood we seem to be a bit 'star struck" at times--but at the end of the day(or life) we all become equals--death aludes no one--no amount of money, fame, movies, or good looks will keep us alive when its our time to go--then I heard that Michael Jackson also passed away(not really a fan) something like 5 hours later--it was a sad day for so many families--Driving home last night it was dark and the stars were shining brightly--I was humbled--I suppose with the dying of 2 people that I grew up with I was a bit contemplative and felt so very small in this big old universe God created--I was thinking how so many of us are trying to simplify our lives, become more independant of our world systems, we work hard daily to accomplish that--many times we feel in control of our lives and surroundings, but the reality of it is, God controls it all--at any given moment he could choose to take it all away--I felt like a speck of dust or grain of sand for a split second and realized just how not in control we really are--It's not like I have not ever realized that in the past, but something was different about it somehow last night--I suppose it was an ephiphany of sorts--Very humbling--No matter how self sufficient we try to become, we must realize we are never going to be independant of God and his ultimate control of this universe and ultimatly everything in it and on it--No one cheats death when the Lord decides its time to go and at that point we are all equal no matter what--There are no money or status barriers, just people facing their eternity--May Farrah Fawcett and Michael Jackson rest in peace and may their families turn to God in their time of grief..

We have been under an excessive heat warning for about 3 days now--Our temps are running in the triple digists with heat index of around 110--Our humidity here is awful--its been quite the challenge to keep enough water hauled in for the critters, but by God's grace we are managing--we still have no air conditioing so during the day I go to my Mother in laws--but Friday we will have an air conditioner--now if my fridge will hold out in hot temps and the compressor not go out--It's been along time since we have been this hot and I think they said we are breaking records--

Our house is still not here--having a bit of a problem with it, but all should be resolved shortly--right now I think everyone in our area is simply trying to stay cool--I know that has been our focus--I really don't wanna move in these temps--LOL--

...something changes--Change seems to be theme everywhere right now and I have stated before I do not like change--The very word makes me shudder--LOL--But the change we are getting ready to experience here on the farm will most likely have me convinced that not all change is bad! Let me explain--

When we moved here back in February we had plans of building a small home--we bought 2 small cabins(rent to own) with the hope of connecting the 2 together and building onto them--when it came time to drill the well here the 'powers that be'(cherokee nation) decided that our home at that time was not adequate, we explained that we were building and showed them the plans--then they decided it would be if we used their materials and specs--fine, no problem--the problem came in when we could not get the material that they volunteered to give us--doesn't do anyone any good to volunteer to help someone and then not follow through--and until we got the house built to their satisfaction they would not drill a well--ummmm, hard to build a house with no materials--frustrated does not even begin to describe what we have been feeling lately--it is hot and very humid here in Oklahoma--we have no air conditioning except for a small window one and with no adequate insulation in the cabin we are in it doesn't do much good--conditions here are cramped to say the least so tempers flair--I have prayed so much that somehow this situation get rectified so we could just get things up and going around here and a well in--The Lord was faithful and sent a huge and I mean HUGE blessing our way--I was surfing craigslist the other morning just looking at was for sale and came across an ad for a 3 bdrm 2 bath mobile, needed work but had begin to be remodled but the people walked away from it--it was only 300 dollars--Being the skeptic that I am I almost laughed out loud and thought yeah right--but I felt the Lord was nudging me to call--I did and ask alot of questions--how old is the mobile--is it liveable as is--what remodling has been done etc..--After speaking with the man and feeling he was very honest with me I called hubby and told him about it--he was also very skeptical, but we both felt that it was something we should look into--so night before last we drove 40 miles to look--as we pulled up to it we were both shocked to see it was in good shape--we had looked at homes like this before only to find they litterally needed burned down, so this was a very pleasant surprise--intrigued we leaped from the car and began looking around it, underneath it etc...hmmmmm seems everything looked really good--the floors were all new except for one little spot, the floor joist were all new--we called the man and told him we wanted to look inside--he came about 20 minutes later and let us in--We were even more pleasantly surprised--there are brand new hard wood floors in the kitchen and living room--I was happy as I love hard wood floors--the floors and ceiling were solid--one small place in the ceiling will need some repair but its not bad at all--It does need some facelift type stuff--paint, new carpeting in the bedrooms and hallway--It does need some new cabinets, but we have that covered, we had some given to us, just have to go get them--the master bath is in need of repair complete with new tub, but we have that covered too--It does not have a hot water heater, but alas we also have one of those--I also have a kitchen sink to replace the one in the mobile--the biggest thing it will need is an exterior wall closed in--the previous owners had began building a huge room off the side, the add-on does not go with it--so we will have to close in that wall--but that will not be that difficult as we already have the lumber to do that--we will have to replace siding on the entire mobile so it will all match--We were shocked that it was in such good repair for the price--after leaving we discussed it and decided to buy it--but how would we pay to get it moved??--I prayed and prayed about it that night--finally went to sleep and when I work up I had the answer, well, I wasn't sure if it would pan out, but I also knew God would not lead in that direction and not let it work out--see, my dad owes me some money from when I sold his house--we had made a deal that if I sold it for him he would pay me for my time and work just to help me out--and he did give me a little cash up front, some material items and agreed to pay me the rest in installments--first thing I did was call a couple of movers and get some quotes--again I was pleasantly surprised at the cost--right around the same amount my dad owed me--so after that I called my dad and ask him if he could pay me in full(this was a long shot since I know they are having a few financial issues) he told me he would have to let me know next week--we hung up and 15 minutes later my step mom called back to tell me that within a couple of weeks they would have the money to pay me in full and that they would--WOW!--Now to see if the man that had the mobile would give me that long to get it moved--so I called him--told him we would be that that evening(last night) to pay him, ask if he would throw in the deck and if I could have 20 days to move it--he was agreeable on all fronts and actually gave us 30 days to move it!--I was thrilled, but also amazed once again at how God just works things out--I have to admit I am a bit confused as to why we have been through so much for the past 4 months and why I had to invest money into what we have only to have it not work out--but I suppose its not something I need to be concerned with right now--I will keep one of the cabins and use it for a small shop for hubby, so, not all is lost--Our permanant home should be here in a few weeks, and at that point we should have a well-- I have pondered for weeks why things were just not working out the way they were suppost to--I now have my answer--God had a plan and one so much better than we had--Our home is now litterally payed for--while it needs some work, its paid for and it will great when its all done, and since it is paid for I will have the money to put into repairs--I suppose I need to repent for all my doubt, worry, fears, and anger at the situation and trying to make things happen--But I am only human and sometimes its so hard to see beyond our own wants and desires and understand that maybe the Lord has a better plan--I am now grateful that mine and hubby's plan did not work out--I know there will be rough spots in the road when fixing up the mobile, and I am hopeful that during those times I can pull from this experience and realize God has a plan and HIS timing is perfect--2 weeks ago we would not have been able to make all of this happen--it would not have came together as beautifully as it has--so God's timing truly is perfect--I have seen that so clearly though this--I am humbled and ever so thankful--May I never think again that my way is the best way!

Researchers point out that one of the main differences between the U.S. financial crash and others — for example, that of Japan in the 1990s — was that it was households (individuals and families) that became heavily overindebted. This was not the case in Japan, nor the Asian crisis of the late 1990s, nor those in Scandinavia in the early 1990s. There, it was more the actions of companies and governments that led to these crises. But why in the case of America’s situation, did people became so easily seduced to take on such huge amounts of debt and to accept the vain predictions of perpetual prosperity? Responsibility of stewardship was thrown to the wind and the idea that prosperity and wealth was both eternal and effortless was the common belief.

It may have to do with another main difference. Namely America’s major religion—a post-modern, utilitarian aberration of the Biblical Christianity. This may seem a harsh statement, but I believe that the facts well support it. Most definitely, America is the most Christian-professing, major nation in the world. That religious belief and philosophy had an impact on economies and financial markets is a well established fact. Why do Chinese households save so much? Could it be that their Confusion culture is predisposed to such behavior? Max Weber (see The Protestant Work Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism) and other social economists developed a framework for such religious/economic connections.

Crucially, only in North America do we find such a significant influence of the Prosperity Theology. It is a teaching that will have played an insidious and contributing (perhaps causal) role in America’s final slide into financial crisis and decline. We want to examine this connection further by investigating some of the doctrinal distortions behind this movement which merges Christianity and money into the eschatological timeline.

While Prosperity Theology tends to be more associated with the charismatic segment of North American Christianity, it could be said that virtually all of North American Christianity has been infected with its influences. This perspective co-exists comfortably with the ideology of the American Dream. For centuries the “Christian nation” of America has been a land of opportunity, espousing upward mobility and success for all who seek it.

Prosperity thinking is therefore subtly imbedded in the psyche of Western Christians. It is almost considered an entitlement in some circles. Of course, most will perhaps not swallow the teachings and techniques of the likes of Benny Hinn, Kenneth Copeland, Creflo Dollar and Peter Popoff — he of the “divine transfer” — and many others. After all, some of these more extreme teachers in this community even go so far as to claim that if you have much faith that you can “get wealth.” Just send in your seed faith offering and you may get a “divine wealth transfer” or “100-fold” return.

In this bartering system with God, one is taught to expect that He may choose to reciprocate your seed offering with a monetary or material blessing of some kind. It could be a sizable check arriving in your mailbox from a mysterious source or some other lucky happenstance. Unfortunately, this erroneous teaching about money promotes the notion that God runs His kingdom on the principle of monetary and material incentive. How crass. God manipulates Christians to love Him and to obedience through the carrot of material wealth and well-being? They confuse the realm of Mammon for the Kingdom of God.

False gospels are deadly, their heresies distorting virtually every doctrine, world view and eschatological perspective. In like manner, Prosperity Theology radiates its destruction into many doctrines and perspectives. If its destructive contributions to America’s recent demise were already not convincing enough, there is yet more to consider. A sure sign of all false gospels is their perspective on money.

Every single false teaching or heresy mentioned in the New Testament epistles was associated with greed or an inordinate affection with money and wealth. This is evident today as it was then. If anything is different, it is that some of these heretical perspectives have become much more systemized than they were in New Testament times.

Though beliefs held by certain Christian sects may appear rooted in scriptural teaching, it is disturbing to discover how subjective and unfounded these are. These beliefs simply do not hold up under the scrutiny of all Scripture. This theology even merits an entry on Wikipedia which points out that this “somewhat similar (yet strikingly different) belief appears in most "New Thought" religions, Unity, Religious Science, Divine Science denominations.” It should seem strange that such commonality is found with these other religions.

Moreover, Prosperity Theology does not even pass the test of common sense. If the promises of Prosperity Theology were legitimate and observable, then it should be discovered that its adherents indeed would be wealthier than the general population. Yet, the opposite is true.

According to the surveys of the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life2, the average income level of all Christians is less than that of other faiths. For instance, the percentage of protestant Christians with incomes over $100,000 per annum is 15%. This is less than Muslims (16%), Jews (46%), Buddhists (43%) and Hindus (43%).

Drilling down into comparisons between Christian denominations themselves, the same non-confirmation is evident. If one assumes that prosperity teaching is to be most prevalent in evangelical Pentecostal sects, the falsehood of this teaching is found to be most fraudulent. The Pentecostal demographic is the poorest of all, with the exception of Baptists in the Historically Black Tradition.3 48% of Pentecostals have incomes less than $30,000; only 7% greater than $100,000 per annum. That compares to 31% and 18% in the Christian population overall, respectively.

Clearly, the promises of Prosperity Theology are a hoax. Much worse allegations could be made. It would be considered a financial sham were its promoters to be seen to be preying on the hopelessness of its congregants. In that sense, it would not be much different than the consumer credit business. Just which demographic has historically proven to be the most profitable credit market for financial institutions … at least up until the GFC? The poor. It is these people that are made to pay high loan fees and interest rates and tend to run high balances on their credit cards with exorbitant charges. This gospel is certainly not “releasing the oppressed” as was Christ’s mission. (Luke 4:18)

We have spent the last few days moving from one side of the cabin to the other so we can begin the building of the bigger part of the house--Most of our things have been moved to storage--While this was not our original intent, it has actually turned out better, just a bit more work!--The side of the house we are in now is a bit bigger than the other, which is nice and it has a kitchen area, living area and a very small area for a toilet--Its still all one open area except for the bathroom and its private--we have big air mattress' we are sleeping on, which is not to bad--I am excited that we actually get to being building--it will be slow now that dh has a full time job,but it won't be all that long--we have so many people that have volunteered to help us build--DD will stay with her older sister some this summer which will be nice for her since where they live has a swimming pool on site--WoooHooo!--I know this will be so great when it all gets done, today I actually feel a bit of excitement and not so overwhelmed--

We had a great blessing this morning--some people that live down the road from us stopped by this morning to visit--they attend a local church that dh and I have been praying about attending--We had met these people previously and we seem to have alot in common even though they are somewhat older than dh and I--We have not decided whether or not to attend the church as it is similar to the one we just left--However I must admit the pastor, his wife and all the others I have met that go there are such sweet natured people, you just feel such love from them--It was nice to have such a pleasant surprise this morning and I look forward to meeting with them again.

Hubby has been looking for a job for quite sometime--he has been self-employed for over 10 years and while we file our taxes etc...so may employers do not look at self employment as 'real employment'--with no employer to call and verify work history it has been really tough--the economy has wrecked havoc on his clients as well and things were, well not good at all for the past couple of years--last year hubby began looking for a job, it was unfruitful except for the newspaper route he did last winter to sustain us and kept that job until we moved here--he has filled out countless applications, made countless phone calls, searched the internet, tried temp services etc.. all with no avail--BUT, again GOD had another plan--last night hubby's dad called him and told him a guy that he goes to church with was needing another man on his construction crew--the pay was good and he needed someone right away--Now, I admit I was a bit leary, so many prospects had fallen through over the past months that I suppose in all my humaness I had lost faith--but hubby called the man and while his experience in construction is somewhat limited to building walls and drywalling that man hired him--Hubby begins Monday---a steady paycheck after 10 years!! Wow, what will I ever do---heehee--I will admit that I am still a bit 'scared' that something will happen and this will not pan out. Its just been so hard for a long time and we so need this job, that I am almost afraid to get to excited for fear that it will not work--does that make any sense?? I know I just need to trust God, but again, I am only human and falter daily, including in 'having faith"-- I suppose it is in my nature to be skeptical and especially after so many things have fallen through--I know God is good and he did not carry us this far to let go now. I suppose alot of it is fear, fear that we will continue to fight the struggle as we have for so long--Time will tell, and I know God has a plan and this job is a blessing even its only for a short time--I just to spend time in prayer. Let go and Let God!

I have been doing alot of thinking this past few days about the benefits and blessings of living the country life--there are many-- below are a few--some are silly, but true!

There are so many more benefits and blessings to the agrarian way of life, I could not possibly name them all--I am try to always look at the good when I am facing a hardship or things are just taking to long to get done--I find when I do that it just makes me feel better and my attitude greatly improves. Life is good here on the farm I am truly blessed.

Times are hard everywhere right now, and many are faced with job loss, loss of income etc...While many people are losing homes, cars etc...we are able to survive and provide for ourselves--this economic crisis has affected us, but not as bad as some out there--God has been good to us, somedays I just tend to forget that--But God gently nudges me and reminds me I am to meditate on all that is good....This is a wonderful life.