Justice and Mercy International

What is Straseni time? You may be wondering, why do I have a Straseni time clock widget on my blog?

Well, Straseni is a village in the country of Moldova. The Straseni orphanage (state run school) is where Lena (L-eh-na) lives. Lena is my sponsored Moldovan child. Her mother died 5 years ago, and her father is working in another village and unable to care for her and her younger brother (Petru) and sister (Maria). I put a time widget on my blog, so I can quickly check the time in her part of the world.

God put a call on my heart to sponsor Lena through Justice and Mercy International. JMI is based here in Franklin, and I have many friends who serve on the board and attend mission trips to Moldova each year to minister to the kids.

The sponsorship allows Lena and I to write to each other, and for her basic needs to be supplied. Things like warm boots, a coat, toothbrush, underwear and socks are provided for the kids who are sponsored through JMI. Lena is only a couple months younger than Richard, but she is in the 9th grade and she will graduate this June. She plans to attend a school to become a professional tailor when she graduates from the state-run school.

I believe God put her in my life so I may help advocate for her as she prepares to leave the orphanage and live an independent life. Moldova is a place where there are many injustices to women, young girls, and even boys. The statistics say that 80% of girls who leave the state-run schools end up in human trafficking situations or in prostitution. The work of JMI is to help these kids have a chance to form a life of their own. The kids need to know that on the other side of abandonment, there is hope! Someone cares enough about them to write to them and to help them.

One of the first things Lena let me know was that she needs a winter jacket. The sponsored kids got winter coats last year, but she was not sponsored then, so she did not get a coat. This is a huge need for the kids there. Many times the heat inside the buildings is not good. Now that I am sponsoring her, my support will be used to provide for these kinds of needs that she has. JMI will take her shopping for a jacket.

Please pray for Lena, that the people in her life will be good people who will not harm her.

Lena's younger brother, I know, does not have a sponsor. His name is Petru (Petrica). He is 11 years old. He is one of many children longing for someone to sponsor them. It is a good thing, but it does require a monthly commitment and a commitment to be attentive in writing a couple times a month to your child.

If you are interested in learning more about JMI visit their web site. www.justiceandmercy.org or click on the title of this post and it will take you to the JMI site.

A woman on the edge

I got brave and decided to attend a "Women on the Edge" trail ride campout at Catoosa Ridge. Those who know me well may be surprised to think that I would need to feel brave to go do anything on my own. I am quite independent. However, when I am hauling horses around in a 1 ton truck with 6 wheels and a really big horse trailer equipped with all kinds of contraptions for convenient living, I am a little nervous that MAYBE something MIGHT go wrong.

Well, Danny really is protective of me and wasn't very excited that I was going off to spend a weekend with the girlies. He thought that I would have the time of my life and see how easy it is to actually operate all the contraptions on our weekend camper, thus gaining a new independence and leaving him at home all the time.

All was going as planned, and I did find that things weren't too hard to figure out. I learned that it is important to make sure your water hose and electric hoses REACH the hook ups BEFORE you level out your trailer and unhook from the truck.

I learned that the awning isn't something that requires a wrestling match to put up and down.

I learned that I have been very, very spoiled by my husband who makes my coffee and brings it to me every morning.

When it was time to go home, all was going as planned until I tried to hook up the trailer to the truck. I could not get the coupler pin to drop down through the coupler plates! This is what secures the trailer onto the ball hitch. A very important thing to work properly.

I learned that I must make sure the water hose and electric cord are UNHOOKED BEFORE I hook up to the truck. : )

I learned that as edgy as we women are, sometimes you just need a good man around to help out. None of us could get the pin to work, and so I tracked down one of only two genuine cowboys at the campground to come rescue me.

He was able to get the pin to bend around and slip into place.

After I got home, Danny and Rich were "fixing" the coupler pin. I only heard one thing said, and that's all I needed to hear--"It was working fine until Berta got ahold of it!"

Well, Danny, you need not be so worried about my taking off without you any more.

Enjoy the pics from the trails....
Berta


Cody and Me



Me and my shadow!


Ferns everywhere!


Sheryl, Pat, Lisa (Missing from this photo: Leslie Cromwell. We missed you, girl!)



Pat and Lisa make it to the top of the hill!


My good friend, Nora.



On the trail.


Riding with friends.


The bridge.
And the Hill. That is 20% grade folks.



Elizabeth.


Tuffy and Nora


The end!

Hi Sweetie.

Finally figured how to get on this thing and stay in touch. Have been keeping up daily with your blog, though I got the info fast from Linda about your last scare. Thank heavens all is well. Those precious little boys must be proud of their "stuff".

Transformation of a Trailer

Have horse. Will travel. Danny and I bought our Featherlight trailer 5 years ago with a vision of building out the dressing room into a weekender camper for the two of us. It has taken all these years to come up the money and the time to pull it all together. Finally, we are almost finished!

Here's what we started with:



And this is what we have now:



We still need to add the cherry trim, a door to the closet, and the drawers and sink are not installed. But that is all that is left!

See the progress:

Floor installation




Finished floor and wall insulation phase



Ceiling and lights:





Paneling goes in


Corner closet:





Counter top is in!



More coming when we get it all finished!!

Snow Day

Remembering the wonderful white winter we had in Middle Tennessee.




Kolten says "I don't think that's a good idea, Danny. Let me stop you from sliding down the hill. It's my job to protect you!"



"Uh...oh...no...there you go!"



What goes down, must come up.



Hank decides to give sledding a try.



And discovers it's better with a buddy.



"Am I having fun yet?" --Hank



Wipe Out!



"What's so great about sledding? Gimme a spring day and a squirrel to chase!"--Hank



Isn't this sign great? It was posted at Puckett's. That's life in the Fork.

I love trees. They have beauty. They have strength. They sway wind the wind blows. They let unhealthy branches fall. They endure harsh seasons—they continue to grow.
A large, old tree has an aura of wisdom.

I just finished week 3 of a great Bible study written by Beth Moore. And what a week it’s been. God has a lot of wisdom to reveal to me this week. It started on Monday. Danny was laid off from his job of 10 years. The wind of life was blowing hard.

Hardship in life is inevitable. But it’s also one of God’s greatest gifts. Help comes to us in times of trouble, and once I accept my hardship I can redirect my focus from fear to faithfulness. (Thanks Beth!)

We go through trials because that is how God draws us closer to Him.

A few Scriptures from my Bible study that really spoke to me this week:

1 Peter 7
“These trials show that your faith is genuine. When your faith remains strong through many trials it will bring you much glory and honor and praise on the day when Christ is revealed.”

2 Corinthians 4:17
“Our present troubles are small and won’t last very long—they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

Philippians 4:6
“Don’t worry about anything. Instead pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for what he has done. Then, you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

My faith is more precious than gold—nothing can take it away from me. When life’s hardships come, I can be glad. It’s how I will test my faith, and know it is real. It’s how I will grow wise and stand strong—like a tree.

How to torture your dog on a snow day

Yay! We got our first snow of the year. Of course, I had to pop out the camera and take pics for Christmas cards. Hank was none too excited about that assignment.


"You want me to do WHAT?! I am much to intelligent to be treated this way."


"Okay. Fine. But don't expect me to look at that camera."


"I mean it! I am NOT LOOKING at the camera. You might as well put it away."


"Please hurry..I don't want Obie--the short-legged Jack next door--to see me like this!"


"Come on somebody. Open the dang door. Pleeeeeze! It is fffreezing out here. I swear, if one of our neighbor dogs sees me like this...."