A rare event, rain

5/8/14 Thursday

            We had a rare event last night, rain. Not sure how much rain we got but my guess is about a half inch or more. The puddle out in the driveway is pretty big and that is our indicator. The rain gauges I had bought did not hold up to the West Texas weather. Anything plastic does not survive long in this sun and the glass gauge came with a mount that did not hold up in the winds so fell over and broke. This is the first real rain we have had this year. There was some snow early in the year and some light sprinkles that would dampen the top half inch of soil and be evaporated by noon. So I will need to fire up the tractor and disc where I can while the soil is moist and pliable. It will clump up and thus resist blowing away where if I had disced while it was dry all I would do is create loose sand that will blow away. The weeds will spring up with a vengeance now so that will require attention.

            Today I will continue to work on building ramps for Geneva. Not sure what I am doing but will try anyway because she needs them. Took hours to dig out the table saw. My garage has been a repository for stuff for over a year now. The time I devoted to A-1 took so much out of me that by the time I came home there was no energy left and my pain level was often so high it required me to lay down. Now I have lots of catching up to do. This farm has basically sat untouched for a year and now there is much to do in order to plant the melons I hope to get in the ground. Add to that the tremendous amount of work that needs to be done at the Oasis Store project and I have a full plate for sure. Where in there can I find a way to earn a living? To pay the bills? The Oasis will eventually provide that income but the path there will be hard so there will be some big sacrifices required to get there. While I write this the words of a “friend” rise up to bother me. When I had reached out he said I helped him understand Proverbs 26.4 where it says “Do not answer a fool according to his folly, Or you will also be like him. 5 Answer a fool as his folly deserves, That he not be wise in his own eyes”. He proceeded to unfriend me on facebook but still asks, with what appears to be sincerity, “How are you doing Bob?” and is apparently unaware or unconcerned about how deeply he cut me. I’ve learned to smile and keep going, depending on God, not man. Sure I can use lots of help, simple advice and a word of encouragement go far in days like these. I will trust in the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding. I know that if I acknowledge God in all my ways He will direct my path.

            Meantime there is still the books to write. That too has been neglected. Seems that I put my whole life on hold to help the owners of A-1 only to be yelled and screamed at in appreciation, along with losing seven or eight thousand dollars in the back pay I sacrificed to insure they paid their bills. Bills that they did not pay anyway. Actually this chapter of our life will also be a chapter in one of the  books so perhaps that is what God had in mind. That book will be titled  “Do You Really Believe?” and discusses our faith, comparing what I see in American churches versus what the bible says and what we find in other parts of the world, where Christians are killed daily for believing that Jesus died for their sins.

            I need to get out working while it is still nice and cool. Every day there is a big to do list and every day I don’t get it all done. Bye now and we appreciate your prayers.