Slow am. I went to Schleswig, but the free chair was gone. We did get started working on south wall of the porch. We took naps and then back to work. We got a couple of useful tools: saw horses and batteries for power tools. We finished the south wall of the porch. We ate/visited lunch/supper with the Jensens. Good day!!!
I was up and doing random stuff, then I went back to bed until noon. The smoker was doing well. We listened to services online. Denny washed the pickup. Mandy and family and their friends Kayla, Kallen, Wyatt, Effie and Blake came for an early supper. Jensens joined us, too. Fun time watching kids play and showing the visitors around and eating Denny's great smoked pork shoulder butt, seasoned with Butt rub from Fay and Jerry. We served smoked pork, Iowa corn, zucchini and cheese, guacamole, Mexican cheese dip, spinach artichoke dip and layered chocolate cake. Plus fresh fruit from Mandy and dill pickle rollups from Kayla. G'ma Laurie left ingredients for the layer cake she makes, so I made a layer cake for dessert.
Wonderful morning and day. We got porch work done: boxing in structure 2x4’s at roof line along east wall. About 9 pm Denny started smoking the pork shoulder butt. He used mustard and the Butt Rub that we got from Fay and Jerry.
Arrive 7:30 and nice quick chat with Mandy before she heads off to work. We played inside, outside, on swings, along burning weed trail, and in the camper. At lunch I headed to town only to find out the indicator in the Prius said I had a flat tire. Now this was not what I planned. Jason, bless his heart, took it graciously. He loaded up the boys and came to the tire dealer. I took his Jeep with the boys home to nap. He waited for my tire to be fixed, then to work and would bring it to me so I can go home. I am working on the blog while the littles nap. I stopped at Barb H and got some tomatoes then headed home. Phillips folks are visiting and Phillip grilled pork burgers and fixed amazing vegetable sides. After we ate the Jensens went for a walk down the dirt road. Denny told me about his day. Fixing a standing desk for Missy, putting a motion light in the cabin, putting up internet receiver on then tv tower, fixing the four wheeler, going to town to by a nail gun at Bomgaars. Uffda!! Big day. We had cake and ice cream cake for Laurie's birthday down by the creek on the log bar. Fun amazing day!!
Unbelievable that another step is done!!!
We started about 10. It was a lot of steps to brace the porch roof and replace. I wish I could write down all the steps that it took. Uffda!! We worked all day to complete putting in the porch columns. Missy and kids went to Cherokee this afternoon.
Coffee is good in am!! I headed to SC and stopped to return a moving strap to DandC on the way. First stop was Menards. The goal was to get 6 Porch columns for the bunkhouse and trim. Well, the columns I looked at on line were not available. There were 9 left in stock at $25. I told them I would take 8. I figures I would leave them the worst one. I got the trim and paid for all my purchases, and planned to pick up the columns after my appointment with Dr. Mangoes. I drove to EyeMart. The eye appointment went fine. I got replacement glasses because the lenses got scratched. I had ordered them earlier when the warrantee was still in effect.
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Up and outside, taking the humpback trunk to the cabin and filling it. I had devo down by the reservoir and went to OGT. Orville from Early, who just happens to 103 stopped for a visit at OGT. He usually volunteers, but has not since covid. BUT HE STILL MOWS NEIGHBOOR'S LAWNS, irons his own shirts, drives ladies to the grocery store. If only I could be so with it at 103!!! Uffda!! I got a curtain rod for cabin at Malcolms and went to Joann's to get a baby swing. At home Denny had blown grass off the concrete, sprayed for bugs, made swedish torches, and fixed a swing. I washed the dressup clothes and put tablecloths on 9 tables. Then I took a nap. Rachel got here around 5:30. At 6 about 9 families with 60 people came for potluck supper. Beautiful night. I had a great time visiting with Susan.
Beautiful am. Brook brought his cereal out to the patio while we were having coffee. He made breakfast and banana muffins. Oh, dear one pan of muffins got upsot as he was putting them in the oven and we had upside-down muffins. We ate when A and Evan got up after 10:45. it was kinda a brunch. We put breakfast dishes in dish washer after I interrupted Denny. I went to Cabin and napped etc. Denny cleaned the garage after his nap. I put new shoe holders in my closet and tried to work on sheet sets. Missy fixed the enchiladas for supper. It was fun/good to eat on the patio.
Up for devotions, then some demo work and trip tp Doses and Kiron to return some paint. Very slow afternoon. I would work for a while taking boards off the walls of the porch and then go lie down. I watered the cabin plants. May be too late for them to live. Uffda!! Rachel came and dropped off paper products for home school picnic. I think the cottage porch is looking like it has possibilities. Lord, guide the restoration of the bunk house cottage.
Up for devo and then demo. It's quite excelerating to tear things apart. Missy and Phillip had their last appointment in Mayo and got home around 6:30. Lord, grant the doctors wisdom. Anabel dusted in our home to earn $. The toughest pat of the day was under the porch, trying to stabilize the foundation. Denny taught Grands how to ride/drive the four wheeler and made a path with the bobcat.
Uffda!! Early am. Devo and then went to Masters and picked sweet corn. I husked it at home by sheep barn. I found 2 big kettles and loaded with the corn, then filled with water and put by the grill. Brooks and I went to IG. Denny started corn boiling after he made his breakfast. First we went to Bomgaars for dogwood, cat food, 10 concrete cap blocks. Then to Dollar General for copy paper. Then Dose garage sale. When I got home 3 pots of corn had boiled on the patio gas grill, I emptied them and filled another 2 with corn. Kids started school at 11. I kept at corn cooling and cutting all afternoon. I took B&A to Johnsons to play with friends. When Evan got done with school he went to Larsons to play with Jake. Denny kept busy all afternoon leveling dirt around cottage. I bagged 25 - 3 cup bags of sweet corn.
Wonderful day. I got the painting of the foundation of the cottage done. Denny worked on moving dirt around the cottage. I used the meat from farm to family to make 2 pans of enchiladas. It was a great supper out on the deck!! Kids had school from 9 until midnight.
Lord, guide and lead our nation.
Thank you, Jesus, for my husband. I love him so much. I left early to go to Battle Creek and look at a patio table, but it wasn't what I was looking for. Then to OGT and post office and Lewis Drug and Malcolm and grocery store. When I got home the Grands were finishing breakfast. Denny had been working on the foundation and he and I worked until 4 AND GOT IT DONE!!!! Of course there are a few things we might redo, but we could walk away from it right now and never work another minute on it. We chilled and then got cleaned up to go to Sac County Cattleman's with the Grands. Well, it wasn't SCC open, so we went to Dock it in Lakeview. Great meal!!! Nice time with Grands. Drove thru State campgrounds. We have so many good memories from thee. At home we were up with kids until midnight when their classes were done.
I slept awful last night, so I was surprised that I didn't get up until 8. We started to work on the west side of the bunk house. Now that is a job. We went to Kiron for gray paint and a 12 foot 6x2 inch board. Missy and Phillip left about 4 to go to his Aunt Karen's to head to Mayo in the am. He has appointments scheduled for Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We ate spaghetti for supper on the deck. Another great day!!!
Missy and Phillip left about 6:30 to visit Faith Community in Palmer. We ate breakfast at 10 out on the deck. After lunch Denny and Evan worked on his DNA replica project. Mandy and Jason came about 4:30 to get the boys ... with pizza for supper. Jensen kids have moved school from the coop into our computer, living, and sunroom. It is too hard to wait for internet spinning time out in the coop.
Do The Next Thing”
Elisabeth Elliot~“You are loved with an everlasting love.” That’s what the Bible says. “And underneath are the everlasting arms.” This is your friend Elisabeth Elliot, talking with you this time about “Do the Next Thing.”
When I went back to my jungle station after the death of my first husband, Jim Elliot, I was faced with many confusions and uncertainties. I had a good many new roles, besides that of being a single parent and a widow. I was alone on a jungle station that Jim and I had manned together. I had to learn to do all kinds of things, which I was not trained or prepared in any way to do. It was a great help to me simply to do the next thing.
Have you had the experience of feeling as if you’ve got far too many burdens to bear, far too many people to take care of, far too many things on your list to do? You just can’t possibly do it, and you get in a panic and you just want to sit down and collapse in a pile and feel sorry for yourself.
Well, I’ve felt that way a good many times in my life, and I go back over and over again to an old Saxon legend, which I’m told is carved in an old English parson somewhere by the sea. I don’t know where this is. But this is a poem which was written about that legend. The legend is “Do the next thing.” And it’s spelled in what I suppose is Saxon spelling. “D-O-E” for “do,” “the,” and then next, “N-E-X-T.” “Thing”-“T-H-Y-N-G-E.”
The poem says, “Do it immediately, do it with prayer, do it reliantly, casting all care. Do it with reverence, tracing His hand who placed it before thee with earnest command. Stayed on omnipotence, safe ‘neath His wing, leave all resultings, do the next thing.” That is a wonderfully saving truth. Just do the next thing.
So I went back to my station, took my ten-month-old baby, tried to take each duty quietly as the will of God for the moment. One of the very first duties that faced me was what in the world I was going to do about the church. We had 50 newly baptized believers, Christians, who a year before had not been Christians. Jim Elliot had been teaching them daily and preaching on Sundays. Jim Elliot was not there anymore. There was no other male missionary.
Now I happen to be a very firm believer in men taking the leadership in church. I believe that God has clearly defined the positions of authority in both the home and the church as belonging to men. So whether you agree with me on that or not, let me just say that I get my ideas from the Scriptures and that’s where I had to start when I got back to my little jungle station. I was not going to run that church. But I was literally the only person around who had the Scriptures. There was nobody else that could teach those believers. So what was I to do?
One of the last things that Jim had said to me when I said to him before he left, “What will I do if you don’t come back?” was “You must teach the believers.” So I took two of the young men that Jim had picked out as potential leaders in the church. I explained to them that it was not my job to be the head of the church. It was their job to take responsibility. I said, “I’m here to help you.”
So on Saturday afternoon, each week after that time, I would call one or the other of these men to my house. We would sit down together, translate a few simple verses from Spanish and Greek and English and whatever else I could draw on into Quichua. Then these men would get up and preach the sermon, which I had helped them make an outline for. I would draw out of them their own understanding of the Scriptures and try to get them to give me some illustrations from their jungle experience.
They would get up and preach-not a very good sermon. I could have done a better job. But I felt that it was not my job to take over the church simply because I was competent to do it. It was my job to encourage these men so that they would become competent.
Then there was the question of a diesel motor. What did I know about diesel generators? We had one for electricity, which we used sometimes in the evenings for a couple of hours. So I had to figure out how to run the diesel motor. I had to figure out how to keep the airstrip clean. I had to pay about 40 Indians swinging machetes to do that, which made me their foreman. I’d never been anybody’s foreman before.
I was teaching a women’s literacy class. We had a boy’s school taught by an Ecuadorian teacher that I had to sort of supervise and encourage and pay and do various things that I was not used to doing. I had the medical work. I had the translation of the Book of Luke, which Jim and I had finished only in rough draft when he was killed. I was going to carry on with that, because, as I said, there were no Scriptures in Quichua. If the church was to grow, they had to have spiritual food. So I went ahead with the translation of Luke.
The grass in the jungle grows unbelievably fast, so I always having to hire people to cut the grass, to clean out the pineapple bed, to cut the branches away from the trail between my house and the airstrip. And I tried to decide what to do about a hydroelectric system that Jim had just begun to put in. I didn’t know whether I should try to finish that or forget it.
You can imagine how tempted I was to just plunk myself down and say, “There is no way I can do this.” I wanted to sink into despair and helplessness. Then I remembered that old Saxon legend, “Do the next thing.”
I remembered a verse that God had given to me before I went to Ecuador in Isaiah 50:7: “The Lord God will help me; therefore, shall I not be confounded. Therefore, have I set my face like a flint and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
What is the next thing for you to do? Small duties, perhaps? Jobs that nobody will notice as long as you do them? A dirty job that you would get out of if you could have your own preferences? Are you asked to take some great responsibility, which you really don’t feel qualified to do? You don’t have to do the whole thing right this minute, do you? I can tell you one thing that you do have to do right this minute. It’s the one thing that is required of all of us every minute of every day. Trust in the living God.
Now what is the next thing? Well, perhaps it’s to get yourself organized. Maybe you need to clean off your desk, if you have a desk job that needs to be done. Maybe you need to clean out your kitchen drawers, if you’re going to do your kitchen work more efficiently. Maybe you need to organize the children’s clothes.
I know what an enormous job that is for Valerie, my daughter. All of a sudden, the children are coming out saying, “I can’t wear this. This is too short or this is too long or this doesn’t fit me anymore.” What do you do with those things? If you’re going to save them for the next child, you’ve got to put them somewhere where you can find them. So you just do that one thing. Somehow or other, the peace of God descends upon us when we take things calmly, peacefully and humbly as the next thing that God has assigned us to do.
About three years ago, I think it was, my daughter and her husband were going away for a weekend and taking with them the nursing baby. The baby was just a few weeks or months old. Val and Walt decided to go off for a weekend. They asked me if I could stay with the other children. I was delighted. I live on the other side of the continent from my children and grandchildren, and I was delighted for the opportunity.
So I stayed with them. In the first day, I don’t remember ever being so busy in my life. I mean, it was “Granny this” and “Granny that” and “Granny, will you read us a story?” and “Granny, can we have some more juice?” and “Granny, would you pull my pants up?” “Granny, would you pull my pants down?” “Granny, can we have some juice?” “Granny, can we go outside?” “Granny, what time is supper?” Until I really thought I would go mad.
Well, my dear sweet daughter had the good sense to call me that evening. She said, “Well, Mama, how are you doing?” I said, “Wonderfully, Val.” And then I said, “But I’m not sure I can make it through the next three days.” Then I assured her that her children were wonderful children. They’re not disobedient. They’re not unruly. Everything was going along really very well, when you think of the way some households are run. But I said, “I keep thinking, ‘Valerie’s got a baby to nurse. That takes about six hours a day. How does she do it?’ So tell me, Val, how do you do it?”
She laughed and she said, “Well, Mama, I’ll tell you how. I do what you told me years ago to do. Do the next thing. Don’t sit down and think of all the things you have to do. That will kill you. It’s overwhelming. It’s daunting if you think of all the things that are involved in a task. Just pick up the next thing.”
I find this even in the Scriptures. Tucked in the back of the Book of Mark, following the story of the Crucifixion, we read this lovely little story. Mark 15:42: “By this time, evening had come. And as it was preparation day (that is, the day before the Sabbath), Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Council, a man who looked forward to the kingdom of God, bravely went into Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate was surprised to hear that He was already dead, so he sent for the centurion and asked him whether it was long since He died. When he heard the centurion’s report, he gave Joseph leave to take the dead body. So Joseph bought a linen sheet, took Him down from the cross, wrapped Him in the sheet and laid Him in a tomb cut out of the rock and rolled a stone against the entrance.”
Can’t you imagine the disciples and Mary and Martha and the other bewildered women, sitting in absolute dejection and perplexity when their Lord and Master and King had just died? They couldn’t think of one single thing to do. Here came this godly man, who looked forward to the kingdom of God, who bravely went in and asked for the body of Jesus. He could think of one thing to do. He did the next thing. That must have been a tremendous cheer and encouragement to those discouraged people.”
I got up around 5:30. Jack must have heard me and I took him to the bathroom, got a drink of chocolate milk, and tucked him back in bed, He slept until 7:30. I went in to look at Tyler in the dark. Felt portacrib close to door ... no baby ... felt closer to middle of portacrib ... no baby ... Praise!!! he was curled up with cute little butt in the air in the furthest 1/4 of crib away from the door. SO thankful that baby had not evaporated!!!! Denny fixed breakfast and they ate on the deck. Brooks and Evan and A took the littles. I planted some day lilies, and tried to transplant some peonie roots that I dug up at Nancy's. Missy went into IG to get a prescription for Phillip, walk with Ranae, and get books for Evan. Tyler is morning napping and I an blogging on the patio. Beautiful day!!
I met Mandy north of Holstein and exchanged the Prius for their van with 2 boys. After playing on patio we went to the creek. Denny to 3 boys to check for fallen trees at CC. Naps in the afternoon for everyone. Around 4 we had leftover ice cream fro Tyler’s birthday pictures. Boys had baths before they went to bed. Denny is still in pain, pray that the stones will pass soon and effortlessly. So good to have Grands here!!!
Well, Denny has a kidney stone and so I'm heading home. I got up and began to dig some lilies that were in the front yard. Then we went up to pack craft boxes in Nancy’s bedroom. Todd and Hope help load an air conditioner and dresser into the Prius. I left at 2:25 and got home 8:15. Denny was resting in bed. Good to be home.
I went down in the basement when I got up and looked at the low 3 drawer dresser. I took apart the plastic shelving. Then headed out to assess the garage. Nancy came out and sorted. Todd and Hope came and really helped by loading stuff into cars and taking one load to Badgery and one load to St Vincents. We went to Nancy's foot appointment. The Dr. thought she was doing very well. The sores were healing and she needs to wean herself off of the boot. At home Nancy rested and I kept trudging away at the garage. Around 5 YUP!!! we got it done. I went up and showered while Nancy ordered Eat Street.
