...thankful

It is a busy time on the ranch in these early spring days. Calves are coming, there is fence to fix(that is a never ending job!) as well as just doing all the regular things. But I am thankful that it has warmed up, that I always have something to do and that God has put me in such a gorgeous place! However, we do need some moisture. April is usually one of our wettest months in this part of Colorado. Please pray with me that we do get some much needed snow or rain. What are you thankful for today? Please let us all know. Take care and blessings to you.

almost spring time

I hope the weather is warming up where you live. We have had some pretty nice days. The calves are starting to come (last night we even had a set of twins!) and, if the weather stays nice, the spring work on the ranch is just around the corner. Spring is always a busy time for farmers and ranchers. By the way...I saw my first robin of the season, yesterday.

In answer to last weeks question, from a worldly point of view, I think 'wanting' is better than having. It always seems to me that when you get what you want then you always want something else and there is no end to it. But when you really put God first, and have Him, as the 23rd Psalm assures us, we will 'want' for nothing. PTL!!!

Take care my friends.

...which is better?

Hi: I hope everyone had a wonderful week. I had a pretty nice one.

As I spoke about last week, I would like to pose a question and I hope you will give this a lot of prayerful thought as you consider it. Which is better...wanting or having? Please think about it from a worldly and spiritual point of view. I would very much like to hear what you have to say. I will give you my answer the next time I post.

I hope you have a very good week. Looking forward to your answers.

...we made it

We had a pretty mild fall and winter up until February. However, February was very brutal! The first morning of the month, the mercury sat at minus 24. It has been a long time since it was that cold here. And the temp never got about zero that long cold day. Within the first ten days of the month, we had a little over 40 inches of snow. And then, the wind began to blow! That really isn't unusual for our part of the world but it did make for some massive drifts. On one part of our country road, the white stuff piled up to about eight feet deep. We didn't make it to church for three Sundays in a row. But God is good all the time. We didn't start having calves until the end of the month when it warmed up just a bit.

I'm hoping I can pose a few questions over the next few weeks for us all to think about. God seems to have given me a very active imagination. I expressed a thought to one of my family members the other day and while giving me a strange look, he asked. "Are you a bit loony?" I assured him that I probably was!

I pray that all is going well for you and may God bless you abundantly.

...Happy New Year

Yes, I'm a bit late but Happy New Year anyway. And I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas. I apologize for being so slow in getting back to this. Thanksgiving turned out to be very hard. In December, I had some health problems ending the month up with a touch of the flu. But I'm doing much better now. Thanks for your prayers.

Choices seems to have turned a corner and is doing good. In any event, the entire project has been a joy to do. But when you do what God has in mind for you, it is always a joy!

I hope in this New Year you will seek God's will for your life. Blessings to you all.
James

...book signing

The book signing on Saturday was excellent! Thank you one and all for the part you had in it. Three books sold before we even arrived that day. The management said they had several phone calls about Choices. One person was waiting for us to show up at the store to buy a book. We were able to see some people we hadn't seen for several years. And when my wife and I were ready to leave, the head manager, Megen, invited me back for another signing in the spring. Again, thanks to all of you for a very special day!

how I began to write

I hope you enjoy reading this account. It is nothing short of a miracle! On August 7, 2001, I found myself in the Barnes & Noble bookstore in Pueblo, Colorado. I had plenty of time as I was waiting for my wife and daughter. So, I decided to go into the kids section, which I had never been in before. When I made the choice to go to that part of the store, before I started to move, a voice said to me. "You don't need to go in there. There is nothing in there that would interest you." I didn't even give the voice a second thought. (I didn't give the voice a second thought for several months later when I realized "Hey! That was really something!!" I strongly believe that if I would have wondered about the voice at the time, the entire upcoming conversation would have never taken place. The only thing I felt compelled to do was to answer the voice, which I did by saying. "You are probably right. I can't argue with you about that. At this point, I pulled out my pocket watch to see how much time I had before needing to be back to the car. I had close to an hour. Putting my watch away, I said to myself again, "I have never been back there. I am going back and look around." So, I headed for the kids section of the store.

At the time and even now, I have a horrid problem with Harry Potter! In the summer of 2001, the books were very popular and the first movie was about to come out. Harry Potter was far from my thoughts that hot August afternoon. But, of course, since I was going into the children's section, I was about to run into-Harry Potter! There were books, games, dolls and all kinds of Harry Potter stuff, which made me stop dead in my tracks. I closed my eyes tightly and thought in the back of my mind: this is going to ruin my entire day. I reopened my eyes and said to myself, "Why did I have to run into this 'stuff' the very first thing?"

As soon as I had said this, I heard the voice again. He asked, "why can't there be a young person that is so in tune with God that He works miracles through them like is recorded in the scriptures?" The words 'young person' are very significant.

With a great deal of puzzlement on my face, I answered back. 'Hey! that is a great idea. I see no reason why that can't be. A young boy about Harry Potter's age would be just perfect."

The voice responded quickly. "What about a girl?" My answer. "That's fine with me. I have no problem with it."

I hadn't been so excited in years! My mind was racing! The voice asked me another question. "How is this going to be presented?" I answered quickly. "In a book." The next question he asked. "Who is going to write it?" A few months earlier I had the opportunity to meet and get to know Jerry Jenkins. So, my response was, "Jerry Jenkins."

Up to this point, all my answers had been silent. But the next answer wasn't silent after the voice made this statement in a much deeper more determined manner. "No! You are going to write it!" Immediately, I said aloud, "Yeah-right!"

He didn't hesitate and came back firm but not demanding and said again. "You are going to write it." "Hey! Come on! I don't know anything about writing. I know very little about basic punctuation and grammar. I don't even spell very well." I replied back silently. The voice responded a third time saying. "You are going to write it!"

At this point , I knew for sure he was not going to take no for an answer. I stood still and concentrated harder than I ever had in my life before I answered. I don't have any idea how long I stood and thought about it. I lost all track of time. During those incredible moments, I didn't even know where I was. I didn't even care! Finally I responded. "Okay! I'll give it a lot of thought. If I do decide to try it and it doesn't work out, I can always go and see Jerry Jenkins." This is the only time I expected the voice to say something to me. I stood and waited for a reasonable time, but I have never heard the voice again to this day.

And that is how Pixie Howard: Her Adventures in Faith came to be. And that is how I began to write. Please let me know what you think and please pray for me. Thanks and may God bless you. James