Ode to Lil Bit

My lil' bit, my baby goat,

How soft and shiny is your coat.

Gone is the click of your hooves on my linoleum floor,
And the loud cry of "Ma-ah-ah-mie" when I walked in the door.

The covers are cold where your warm body once laid,
And now only a shadow where at my feet you once played.

Fed by my hand, I watched you grow tall,
"Going forth and skipping like calves from the stall."

To Moxie and Casspurr, you were their baby to preen,
 Such a sight in your diaper to keep my house clean!.

I loved you, I held you, you were my "baby-boo",
But I know someday you'll be the STAR of the petting Zoo!

 My dear friend, Teresa Harding, wrote the above poem for me yesterday... emailed it to me today.  Just last weekend my parents made the two-hour drive up to the mountains to meet Lil Bit.  One must ask oneself ," How could a little baby goat make such an impact on so many people?"  Read on...

You see, as I have been caring for Lil Bit, I've been thinking about the Passover Lamb.  God - through Moses - instructed His people to take a lamb into their home and care for it for four days... This was so that a bond would be created between the family and the lamb.  Then, they had to sacrifice the lamb and put its blood on the sides and top of their doorway.  This would prevent the angel of death from stopping at their home, and it is a foreshadowing of blood atonement, sacrifices in the temple,  and, the ultimate Sacrifice and atonement of sin - Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
I am sure that each family's love for their little lamb made sacrificing it very difficult.  But, God was showing His people what He was going to do and how great the sacrifice would be when His Son became the Ultimate Passover Lamb.




"... God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life."  John 3:16




SHALOM  Y'ALL - 
  
     TWYLA

Me, Moxie, and Jesus (to the rescue)

Moxie visiting with Miss Congeniality..

     Yesterday upon returning from grocery shopping in town, I stopped at the end of the driveway to get the mail.  I was surprised - no, astounded - no, mortified -  to see that Pretty Face, our Mamma hen, was outside her little broody coop.  She had somehow burrowed under the "courtyard" fencing, and was frantically trying to figure out how to get back to her chicks... She was clucking in a distressful way, and the peeps were peeping loudly.
     Meanwhile, having heard the sound of my Jeep, down the winding driveway comes Moxie the Wonder Dog.  We have been showing Moxie all the chickens, including the babies, every day, and explaining to her that she is their guardian... giving her instructions not to hurt them, not to bite at them, not to pick them up, etc. She is a very good dog, and she really likes the chickens. Even when they peck her nose, she just keeps on wagging that ol' tailbone!  We had, just that morning, put Moxie into one of the chicken coops with the chickens... (She was much more scared  than the chickens were.) She, of course, proved harmless to the chickens. She often sticks her head into the coops when I am collecting eggs and petting the chickens.
     Nevertheless, my heart went pitter-patter at the sight of Moxie bounding down the driveway, with me trying to soothe Pretty Face enough to pick her up and return her to her babies.   ( Oh, my, what if ??? )
My fears were completely ungrounded.  When Moxie got near me, she saw Pretty Face and knew that things weren't quite right.  She went around the pen and herded Pretty Face towards me.  Pretty Face puffed up (a  fear/protective action much like a cat puffing up for a fight), but easily allowed me to pick her up and put her back in the broody coop.  Her babies ran to her, and she covered them and comforted them. I was amazed at the string of events.  It was as if  Moxie and I were meant to rescue Pretty Face - all for the sake of the baby chicks.
     A couple thousand years ago, Jesus, up high on one of the mountains surrounding Jerusalem, looked down on His beloved city and wept.  He cried out, "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem... How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a mother hen gathers her chickens under her wings, and you would not!."  When you look up the word "wept" or "cried" in the Aramaic or Greek translations, it translates "wailed".  Jesus didn't just shed a quiet tear over His people; He wailed loudly.  Love is like that. Protective. Comforting. Of us. His baby chicks.
                                   Shalom, Y'all - Twyla

On Giving Thanks - The Last Day of Sukkot

Porch decorations for Sukkot/Thanksgiving

          Today is the last day of Sukkot. We are going to leave the sukkah decorations up through the month of October, and, possibly November.  Decorating for Sukkot is based on the theme of the harvest, so it stands to reason that I would keep the screened porch decorated with Autumn leaves, artificial fruit, dried flowers, and cornstalks.  We had a great Sukkot - had friends over for great meals and conversations.  We had an extra table set up for our "unseen visitors" - one always invites such persons as Moses, Abraham, and Jesus for Sukkot.  Although we didn't see them in the physical, we can be certain they were present in the spiritual realm.
        
           And, so the next holiday we will celebrate is Thanksgiving.  (Trust me, we will NOT observe Halloween!)  Did y'all know that originally when the Pigrims celebrated "Thanksgiving", they were actually observing Sukkot?  They observed this holiday earlier in the year than what Americans now celebrate Thanksgiving, and it was to thank God for the harvest.  They originally celebrated this day of thanks between Sept 21 and Nov 9, but usually in early October... THAT is Sukkot. See this site for further reading on this subject. The people who came to this land were obeying Torah in their harvest celebration.
           It was many, many years later that President Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday - to be observed on the last Thursday of November. See this site to read more about this.

Nothing like having a little bed right by the dining tables1

Shalom Y'all,
          Twyla