Labor Day

     Before I tell about Labor Day in the Ozarks I want to share a few of the early pictures and facts that I have found. In the late 1800's they started a holiday for the laborers of the U.S. to let them celebrate a day off in appreciation of their work. The labor force is what keeps the spokes on this beautiful country turning. But there is a conflict of the founder of Labor Day between two men. Some say it was Peter McGuire the
 secretary of the Brother of Carpenter's and Joiners, others say it was Matthew Maguire that was a machinist. But whosoever came up with the idea, I am sure glad they did because its a great holiday for the end of the summer for the working class men and women to vacation with thier kids (unfortunately many schools these days start before Labor Day but thats another story). The first Labor Day was on September, 5, 1882 in New York City, then it spread from state to state across America. The celebration included parades, picnics, and vacations.
     Well here in the Ozarks it might not be any different from the other parts of the state's but we do have fun. It includes family and friends visiting here at the house or the Branson area. Many people from all over even have a lake house that they come to for the holidays. They get to spend time with thier family's and meet neighbor's and build a new relationship.  I love riding the atv through the lake area resorts and summer homes saying hi to friends that you had ment in the past holidays and they become good friends. So we ride atvs and utvs in the cool of the night enjoying the trails that go through the tree's,  hills and hollers enjoying the nite sky and socializing with each other (last night we had around 20 to 30 riders and thats fun, only just a few of us were real natives from here). During the day most travel to Branson for the shopping and shows or go out on Table Rock lake. Table Rock lake has over 800 miles of shore line that has trees and bluffs with great fishing and water skiing. Close by is a bluff on the lake that has a rope swing that families flock too, it is alots of fun. While you anchor your boat and watch as kids and adults swing from the bluff then dropping into the lake. Some people float our beautiful streams and fish, with canoes, kayaks, or tubes.
    If you ever get a chance to visit us here in the Ozarks make sure you do, because I think you will love it and there is so much to do and enjoy.
    Have a wonderful Labor Day and remember......God, family, country may God bless us

     

My daily prayer

     I have been a Christian as long as I can remember and said my little prayer ever now and then especially when I needed help. I heard on the radio from a preacher about how important it was to get into the bible and read the true word of God and build your own personal relationship with him. So as I listened and read the word of God, I started making my relationship personal with him and praying for protection, healing, blessing and all he has to offers over my family, friend's, children, and country, because he carers about our needs and ask us to bring his word before him. Believe me I am no Bible scholar, just a hillbilly in the Ozarks and some days I dont pray this whole prayer. Sometimes I find myself busy and just say a short prayer or maybe nothing at all. But when those days come I feel like I forgot something or like the feeling of when you miss a child, friend, or spouse. So I try to talk to my Lord and savior, that calls me friend everyday and wow what a difference. I have learned that you can't copy someone else's prayer or time with God, you have to make it your own. But I didn't really know how to pray other than "God I need this and that and bless us and keep us safe, amen". But when I heard this pastor tell his prayer I thought "wow I dint know you could ask for all these blessings and to bring God's word to your prayers". So I just started out reading the word and including it in my prayer and my relationship really started growing with him. This is not a statement that says "hey look at me, I am mr. Christian...lol) but I just feel lead to share my prayer, like someone did with me.
     I come to you Heavenly Father through your son Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior son of the living God. I humble myself before you and I repent of my sins and ask for your forgiveness. Forgive me for anything I've said and done or to hurt anybody or about anybody, thank you for making me slow to anger and guarding my tongue, forgive me for any lies and deception that I have done, forgive me for any grumbling and complaining that I've done I give you praise, forgive me for any impure thoughts, any bad thoughts I've had, my thoughts are on you and your word, thank you for giving me the mind of Christ, please forgive me for any fear or worry or anxiety that I've had, for your words says you did not give us a spirit of fear, but power, love and a sound mind and your word is the truth and the truth sets us free from everything of the enemy and your perfect love casts out all fear. Forgive me for any doubt and unbelief that I have, thank you for giving me the spirit of faith I give you praise and all things, forgive me for not exercising and eating the way I should, but your word says that by Jesus stripes I am headed of all sicknesses and diseases so I thank you for healing my body from head to toe and setting me free from all addictions, forgive me for not always tithing and I thank you providing all my needs through Christ Jesus, please forgive my for my trespasses I forgive those who trespass against me.
     I ask that you watch over me, my wife, our family, friends, children, grandchildren, the men and women who fight for our country and freedom and their families, our countries, Israel and our leaders, our homes, animals, and all that you bless us with. I ask you to put a hedge of protection around us, a canopy of protection over us and give us gaudian angles to watch over us and protect us.
    I plead psalms 91 and all your word over us. Cover us with the blood of Jesus, cover us with his awesome, cleansing, healing, saving blood, I plead his blood over us. Thank you Jesus for shedding your blood on the cross for us so that we can be saved and forgiven of our sins. Thank you for the stripes you took so we are healded of all sickness and disease, thank you for allowing yourself to be made poor so that we are rich, thank you for giving us your peace and filling us with the Holy Spirit, and thank you that we can come to the Father through you.
    Thank you father for sending your son to save us, I thank you for your grace, mercy, love and your forgiveness. I ask that you protect us from satan and his fiery darts and all our enemies, for your word says that if Jesus is for us who can be against and those who are against us shall not prevail. Bless us with good health, prosperity, and abundance. With peace, joy, happiness and forgiveness. With power, love, and a sound mind. With wisdom,  knowledge, courage and strength.
    Thank you for opening up the windows of Heaven and pouring out you blessing on us that it fills up our cup and flows over onto others. I come to you through your son Jesus Christ my Lord and savoir. Amen
    I hope this might help someone out to get into the word and build your own relationship with God, and don't forget he says to bring his word before him. Philippines 4:6 Be anxious for nothing, but with everything by prayer with supplication and thanksgiving let your request be known to God.
     God, family, country, may God bless us.

Shake it off and keep climbing

     I heard a story and want to share it with you. I have no knowledge of this being true but I sure can relate to the story and I hope I tell it right, so you can get out of the story what I did.
     Ok there was a farmer that enjoyed all his livestock and even had them named because they meant a lot to him. One day he was feeding and admiring his farm and animals. As he walked through his farm counting his animals he heard Jack his donkey just screaming for help. (If you have farm animal's you will learn their sounds of distress,  and several farmer's have donkeys because they can single handily fight off coyotes to save the rest of the animal's.) So the farmer ran looking for Jack, he found that Jack had fallen down a old abandon well. As Jack cried he talked to him to calm him down but Jack was not listening because he was scared, the farmer tried to think of how he could get Jack out but he could not come up with anything so he ran to his neighbor's house. So the two farmer's stood at the empty water well listening to Jack call out as they scratched there head's trying to come up with a idea to save Jack.
    The farmer's tried everything and nothing worked so they figured out that the best thing was to fill in the well so that  another animal wouldn't fall into it and to bury Jack at the same time. So as the farmer's took shovels and started filling the well in with dirt, Jack continued to cry for help. After several shovels of dirt had been thrown into the well Jack's crying had stopped. So with tears in his eyes the farmer leaned over the well to take a look.
    As the neighbor continued to through dirt into the well the farmer could not believe his eye's. Jack with each shovel full of dirt that would hit him, he would shake the dirt off his back and stand on it. So as they continued to fill up the well and Jack was ok and he just walked out of the hole that he was in.
    My grandma told me this story and I want to pass it down to other's. She told me no matter what people throw on you just keep shaking it off and looking up, because if you can shake off the dirt you will get to the top. 

    Ok I really didn't think that I could find some pictures of a donkey stuck in a well but with the power of the Internet I did so here you go.
     

Goose on the loose? No a goat

    I was asked to put this true story on here by a friend. This last fall me and my wife purchased two milking goats. They are not cheap, one was a two year old and pregnant that would give us a spring newborn,  and the other was a one year old that we could breed in the summer. Before I get to the story that I want to tell, let me fill you in on some goat stuff.
    About three years ago we were giving a baby female Boer goat, we raised her just like our other animal's, (I think she thought she was a dog). She would jump the fence and wonder the neighbor hood, she wouldn't bother anything and she loved people.  I could just whistle and she would come to me, with raisins we taught her a lot of tricks like you would a dog. Well a buddy worked at the Sight and Sound Theater in Branson, and they were looking for a goat to pull a cart in the story of Joseph, they came and looked at her and now she is a star.
    We had decided to get some milking goats so we could have fresh milk and make cheese. We found some Nubian goats and purchased them, they was not as tame as the goat we had raised. We named them Carmelita and Abby, they where friendly but just scared and we could not get close to them. A few days later, Abby the one year old, got out of the fencing and ran down in the woods. We could locate her but couldn't get close to her, so for several day's we put out food for her and seen she was ok but just couldn't catch her. I would lay in bed wondering of how we could get her back in fear of something getting her. Well God carers for all his creation,  because one nite as I layed in bed thinking of how that little goat must be scared,  it came to me, experienced farmers I am sure already know this but I didn't. Goats like to be in a herd, so if I could just let her find a herd she would follow in. But we only had one goat that was not even making a sound, so I started looking on the internet for some goat recordings. I finally found a three minute sound of goats and other barnyard animal's, so I downloaded it to the pc and put it on a loop. I plugged the pc into the home stereo, then I ran the speakers to the back porch where the goat yard is. We opened the gates and tied Carmelita to a tree and cranked up the tunes from the barnyard sound. It took only about five minutes for Abby to come out of the woods crying for comfort with a herd. She circled about three times and found her way into the gate to Carmelita.
    Since then, with love, food, raisins, and care, they are tame. We can even turn them loose to eat some fresh green leafs on the property without them running off. Carmelita gave birth to a wonderful young buck that is a tan or buckskin color with white on his head, so we call him cotton top. Abby is pregnant and we are looking forward to her offspring.
    I know that people don't have the time or room to raise animals or a garden,  but if you do it is such a wonderful feeling of success. You get to see things grow from seed, little babies born and you get to build a relationship with them. We are truly blessed to get the experience of raising some farm animal's and get to reap the benefits with fresh eggs, milk, cheese, and vegetables. Even if you have a small yard you can build or buy a chicken coop and a few hens without much of a investment and enjoy fresh eggs, you don't need a rooster unless you wish to have babies. If you are allergic to dairy products you can have milk and cheese from goats. If you loose your goat, follow the directions above. Lol.....
     God, family, country, may God bless us.

Give me that Old Time Religion

      I recently heard the song by Tennessee Ernie Ford, Give me that old time Religion, and it brought up some memories, but first I will give you the lyrics in the short form. "Give me that old time religion,  it's good enough for me.....It was good for our mothers, and it's good enough for me....It has served our fathers, and it's good enough for me....Makes me love everybody,  and it's good enough for me....It will take us all to Heaven,  and its good enough for me. I love so many of the newer hymns but I sure do like those classics that I remember my grandparents and great grandparents singing.
     When I think of going to the Old Lampe church or other churches in the area, it was a lot of fun. Most of the time they didn't have a youth group or a children's group with music and video games. There was hard wooden seats so you didn't fall to sleep, and you listen to Gods word with a lots of amen's and praising, it was just so fun. Most of all the old churches was a community center as well as a place of worship. In the time, everyone showed up to build it all by hand and everyone in the community came on Sunday and it didn't matter what your religious background was, you just listened to the word, and praised God with song. "Song" that reminds me, if you was lucky there might be a piano or organ and it might not be in tune. But that didn't matter because everyone sang out loud and we was not in tune either, lol but it was fun and as God heard it, the tune was perfect because it was praise. If you wanted to sing a solo, no problem, you didn't have to try out or be approved,  you just asked and got up and sing your heart no matter what it sounded like.                 

     So I talked with Glen Jones about the Old Lampe church, he is the pastor there and has been for a long time. He said that the land that it sets on was purchased by his sister Goldie who is still alive and well in Oklahoma. She had some pigs die for no reason,  her father told her that God wasn't blessing her because she wasn't tithing. So she sold some of her pigs and purchased the property from the Lampe family for $50.00 cash. She donated the property to the community so they could have a community building and church. Glen said he was just a young boy in the early 1900's when everyone showed up to pour the foundation and erect the building using hand tools and hard work. Goldie was a pastor there along with others over the years, but over the years she and her husband helped out many churches and families all over. The Jones family has always been a pillar of the community. They also had the Jones Trading Post just south of town where people could buy food and supplies. Glenn is the one that baptized all three of my beautiful daughter's in the Kings River and I am very thankful for that.

     My uncle said that he remembers going to the church while growing up here and in the summer time they would open all the windows during church and there would be as many people outside as there was inside. He also said that most everyone came regardless of their religion, it was a community gathering. He said it was fun and outside sometimes the young boy's would get into a wrestling match trying to impress the girls while the old timers would spit and whittle and tell stories. You knew your neighbor's and community and they all came together there, and that results in a strong foundation.   

      Also I was told a story that I thought was funny and it goes to show that everyone was welcome. One time during a evening service at a little church, a man came in that was known to drink a lot. Well he came in and set in the back row for awhile, then he got up and walked to the front, and everyone thought that he is going up to repent for his sins. When he got to the front he turned around and said, "Turn off the lights people this party is over and I am going home". The best part is that it didn't make people mad, they just said a prayer for him and went on with the service. That's how Jesus did it, he loves us all the same.

     As I write this on a touch screen tablet I can't help it to think of how well we have it now, compared to our ancestor's, or do we? They didn't get to see the age that we have, with all the modern science, pc's, cell's that do everything, but we don't know what it was like for them. No indoor plumbing,  no electricity, they depended on their crops and animals for food. Hard work and homemade meals that included family time every day, and looking forward to going to that little old church that they helped build every time the doors was open. They probably had it better than us.

     I put some pictures below of the Old Lampe church that still has it's doors open every sunday, so go by and visit, you will be welcomed with open arm's. Glenn will tell you some great word's from the good book and maybe some fishing or hunting stories, but one thing for sure, you will enjoy it. I also included some pictures from the old church at Silver Dollar City and some other old churches that I found. God, family, country, may God bless us.

     

     

    

Life of a single parent

      When two people join hands in marriage you say a vowel that you will stay together through good and bad in front of God and family and friend's. Well from what I see when the vowels are broken that it seems to affect a whole lot of people, family's,  friend's,  children and yes even pets. There is definitely times for a divorce when it comes to abuse or something in that nature. But the most common one is because people are not happy with themself, or the spouse and think something better is out there. Most of the time when children are involved it is a overload on the children and most usually one parent. I know there are parents out there that share the responsibility between them but not very often. I have tried to think of some humor to put in this but I just can't.  Most all of us know men or woman that is raising a single family, we should try to lend a helping hand in some way.
      We all have seen the effect that divorce has on kids, from grade changes, to getting in trouble at school or the law, or just  psychiatric problems. Some kids pull through this and some don't,  a lot of the time they think its thier fault for the divorce. Kids need two parents to raise them so they can get what the male and female both can offer them to get the full effect of how to relate to them both. But if you dont have both you can still be ok because you have a heavenly father that can give you what you need. Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.
      But what about the single parent? As you work longer hours or maybe even a second job to make it, you pay a babysitter or rely on family or friends to watch them, pick them up, or drop them off. Thank god for family and friend's because it dont seem possible with out them. It seems you are working to have someone else help raise your children but most usually thats all you can do. For some reason it seems that the kids forget all the family time, love, laughter, and fun times that they had, but no one can take that away from you. I came from a divorced home but I remember all the love, fun and sacrifices that we had and we were very close. It must be built in us to want to be accepted and approved by the parent that left us because after a time most kids tend to migrate to the parent that they didn't grow up with. Even though it hurts just keep trusting in God and hopefully someday they will come back to there nest. It reminds me growing up as a Christian, that all God blesses you with constantly watching over you and providing for you, that some day you might become the prodigal child and rebel. But with faith, love, and prayers, your wisdom will bring you back to the one that was with you through it all.
   With all that said I want to give all the couples praise that stayed together through the thick and thin, through the joy and tears, that choose to stay and fight for their marriage,  and not take the easy way out. You and your children will be blessed for it.
    Just so I am not misunderstood, you can still be blessed if you come from a divorced home. Sometimes you just have more than one mom and dad, several grandparents, cousins,? and a big loving family. God loves us all.
    I was just putting on paper about the the life of a single parent and through it all, no one can take the joy that you have.
God, family, country, may God bless us.

                                 OK I GUESS I FOUND SOME HUMOR IN THIS PICTURE
     

This little chick is bornintheozarks too

     One thing about living in the Ozarks is we get to see the blessing of new life being born the same as other people all over the world get to do also. Life is so precious no matter what life it is, a child, or a animal. This little baby chick will give eggs to eat or reproduce new life again. I was so lucky to be able to get this on camera, we have had some in the past but was never able to see the process and get to record it. I don't know if this is a rooster or a hen but since I got it on video I would like to name it but I need some help so if you have a good name leave it on a commit and I will pick the most popular name and keep you updated on it as it grows and I will take pics and you can be a part of this baby chickens life. I also added a picture of the babies after about two weeks.

God, Family, Country, may God Bless Us