The Holy Trinity, Explained

For years I had trouble with the concept of God being three separate beings, yet one being. It just never made sense!

I'm an out-of-the-box thinker (possibly autistic), so I put my brain to work to understand this nearly unfathomable concept. Then, a few years ago, it hit me.

Water. 

Photo by Tobias Bjørkli

Wait a second, I hear you say. What does water have to do with the Three-in-One?

Good question. And now, I can hopefully define the answer.

Water can be broken down into three separate entities yet still be what it is-water. So you have water, ice, and vapor. God is the water, Jesus is the ice, and the Holy Spirit is the vapor.

Let's break this down a bit further.

God:

He is everywhere and in everything. Too much water and we're overwhelmed; too little and we're thirsty. No water at all, and we're dead. We need water to survive, just as we need God.

Jesus:

He is the physical manifestation of water-ice. It can be seen, touched, and has a presence you can feel. Ice can also be broken and crushed by us. Once shattered, it melts, goes back into its natural state (water), and can be remade into ice.

Holy Spirit:

This is vapor. It protects us from the sun (so we don't burn up), and when breathed in, it's absorbed by the body, making us a part of everything around us. Once condensed, it returns to its natural state (water, in the form of rain).

God is there whether we want Him there or not. He's all around us. First, however, we must actively breathe Him in to make Him a part of our lives.

I hope this post helps you understand God a little better. I know it helped me a great deal when He showed me this concept a few years ago. 

So breathe deeply, my friends. He is there. Always!

Saving Snakes and Pear Trees

It's not easy being a hero.

When our pear tree lost a primary branch, our family gathered cuttings, and I'm trying to bring all nineteen of them back to life. Spiders were caught and released into the wild. The same goes for mice (if the cats failed to do their jobs), flies, ladybugs, and even stinkbugs.

But the other day was the most interesting save yet.

My daughter called out that there was a black snake ever-so-slowly crossing the road in front of our house. It came from somewhere under our house, so I have no idea where the thing was sleeping, but the weather warmed enough that it awoke and was looking for a place to warm in the sun.

Image by Storme22k from Pixabay 

The middle of the road isn't the best choice, snake-dude.

Traffic here in the boonies is sparse but not so light that a snake can sunbathe without getting hit. So my daughter, terrified of touching it, was trying to coax it across the road with a stick.

The snake wasn't having it and stayed put. It was still a bit torpid and didn't lash out, but it didn't move across the road either. So I told my daughter to just pick it up by the back of the head and near the end of the tail and carry it over before someone came down the road.

She looked at me as if I lost my snake-pickin' mind.

Now, this is a young lady that can make a bucking, twelve-hundred-pound horse follow her like a puppy in less than ten minutes (truth- I saw her do this!), but she squealed when she was required to pick up a three-foot black snake this is neither poisonous nor venomous.

At the tender age of five, this same child dropped a little white mouse into the tank of a friends' boa constrictor and giggled when the snake got the mouse. Did it matter that she was playing with the feeder mice before this? No, of course not. But sixteen years later, she decided snakes were off her 'cool and touchable' list.

Mom to the rescue!

She backed away as I approached, picked up the snack gently by the back of its head and near the end of its tail, and carried said rabid python of doom to the other side of the road.

The snake barely even reacted to me, and I forgot that snakes are all muscle. It was weird holding its body as I felt muscles flex under its leathery skin. I let it go on the other side of a small ditch next to the road, far enough away from the asphalt in hopes of deterring it from the street. 

Just in time too, because a car was coming.

As I came back across the street, my daughter, dumbfounded, gave me a high-five and exclaimed how impressed she was at my snake-handling talents. It felt so good I thought about sewing myself a little cape and playing the Superman theme.

Okay, maybe not, but it still felt pretty awesome.

Spring in the boonies has been an adventure so far. I wonder what the summer will bring?

In-Deedy-Do!

Sometimes you need to pursue what you want in life. In this case, it was the deed to our home and store.

In October of last year, we were supposed to sign the papers for the property and move in. Unfortunately, there was a mix-up, so the document signing was postponed until November.

However, we'd already made plans to move on October 9th, and we couldn't get out of it because the day we were moving out, the new owners of our old home were moving in.

Luckily, our property owner said we could move in for a security deposit that would be taken off the total purchase amount of the house and store. So we agreed and moved in.

The following month, we signed the documents, and the attorney said we'd be mailed the deed as soon as it was surveyed and registered with the county.

We waited and waited. The locals warned us to not call the county because that would delay things further. So we bided our time and wondered if we would ever get our bakery up and running.

Finally! The surveyor showed up in January. Excited, I went out to speak with him. Unfortunately, the news wasn't good. He told us they were backlogged, and we wouldn't see our deed for another six to nine months.

Months. Not weeks. Not days. Months.

We had to come up with a new plan. Repairs and a few renovations were made to the home, but we had to have the deed to get the grants and loans needed to make any profound changes. The sale of our old home allowed us to pay off all debt and avoid a mortgage on the new place but didn't leave much left once the necessities were purchased. Nearly three months after the move, the money was running thin.

Our daughter got a job. However, during our employment search, we got The Virus, and after recovering, my husband badly sprained his foot. That double blow knocked us out for over two months. During that time, we did a lot of searching for ways to get the bakery started. But it all fell on the premise that we have a deed first.

My husband is a patient man, but this delay was even wearing his patience thin. My patience was almost non-existent from the start, so I kept looking for loopholes. I wanted to call the county, but my husband discouraged me due to the advice of the locals. They know how things work here, and we don't. I complied.

For about two weeks. 

My husband found a job two weeks ago. Last week, they were both working. Being unsupervised, I decided God gifted me with a big mouth and tenacious nature for a reason, and I would call the county while they were at work, thanks to a neighbor who gave me a name and number to speak to at the courthouse. 

I'm also gifted with being polite and tactful (she said humbly), so I knew better than to get on the phone and yell. All I wanted to know was how much longer we needed to wait, so I could make plans to have all our ducks in a row as soon as the ink was dry.

Unexpectedly, the county clerks were super friendly and really helpful! A fifteen-minute phone call clarified everything, and there was some surprising news. Our deed was already registered. It was recorded in early December.

What?

Apparently, the real estate attorney in charge of sending us the deed dropped the ball. Had they sent it in December like they should have, we could've gotten a three-month jump in getting the bakery started (despite covid and his sprain).

Deep breaths, people. Deep breaths.

Sure, we could get mad and badmouth the attorney that made the error, but to be honest, we'd rather put that energy into getting the business started. Much more positive and productive!

Last week when my husband came home from work, I told him the good news and why there was a delay. The next day he stopped by the courthouse on his way home and got our deed. 

WOOHOO!

Sometimes being a big mouth pays off. 

We have a lot of work ahead because our ducks aren't in a row yet. We got distracted with things like jobs because we needed heat and food and other stuff not bakery-related, trying to keep ourselves afloat. Sigh.

The good news is we just got a mentor two weeks ago from SCORE (retired business people mentoring new business owners) who is helping organize our ducks. So now we finally can apply for the funds needed to rebuild the store into our dream bakery cafe and an advisor to help us avoid making dumb mistakes. 

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to start!

Hoofin' It

Some say living in the country is boring. I disagree. In fact, a lot more goes on around here than you think; but unlike the city, these adventures often include our four-footed friends with hooves.

Who...me?

Deer run rampant in the mountains and sometimes wind up on the roads. Unfortunately, many get hit, especially around dusk and dawn. That's usually when people are traveling to and from work. 

Not good for the deer, but a mixed blessing for the driver.

You see, out here in the sticks, if you hit a deer, you can take it home for meat. The upside is that you get enough meat to last a few months; however, the downside is that deer can damage your vehicle when you hit one.

Our neighbor hit a deer on the way home, tossed the five-point buck in his truck, and drove another thirty minutes to get home. He put the deer in his shed and went inside to eat dinner.

After dinner, he and his wife went into the shed to butcher the deer (yes, many people around here are farmers and butcher their own animals for food.)

No deer.

They looked down the road, and their dinner was making a run for it. Talk about fast food!

Apparently, the buck was stunned unless we have zombie deer out here. They let him go without a fuss. If he could walk away, he earned a second chance. Just stay off the roads, buddy!

A few weeks back, I missed an incident with cows, even though it happened right across the street. A cow decided to play freedom fighter and managed to escape the fence by opening the gate. No one knows if the cow unlocked it or if the gate was accidentally left unlocked, but the heifer and a few others made a break for it and took off down the road.

Luckily, they got them back before they got too far. I still can't believe I missed that!

Spring is springing, and as the weather warms, we hear new sounds all around us. Unfamiliar birds chirping, the cries of hawks and eagles, and the occasional farm animal letting farmers know they're hungry.

The other day, I was at my desk and kept hearing my phone go off. I had the phone muted, but the vibrations were on, and every few minutes, I would hear my phone vibrate. But there weren't any messages or notifications.

Frustrated, I restarted my goofy phone. Again, those low, rumbling vibration sounds, but the phone was in my hand, restarting this time. It wasn't vibrating. What gives?

It took me a minute, but then it dawned on me. That sound wasn't my phone. It was a cow.

It was a low, soft moo that sounded exactly like my muted cell phone! I called my daughter downstairs to tell her the story and listen out the window; we both had a good laugh.

Spring is coming. The crocuses are popping up, as are the daffodils. The sun is out, and on warm days, I sit outside and read a book, enjoying the fresh air and gentle breezes. Sometimes I stop reading just to listen to the birds, chickens, and the occasional moo.

I know it was a cow this time because I'd left my phone inside the house!

Changing Gears (Temporarily)

 

Oh, Time, you manipulative beast. How you toy with us! Then, just when you think you've got a plan, Time comes along and pees on your shoe.

The weather up here is much like our lives, all over the place. 

Yesterday it was almost sixty degrees, sunny and warm. Today we're in the middle of a blizzard, expecting seven inches of the fluffy white stuff- and I don't mean bunnies.

Unfortunately, the same thing is happening concerning the bakery. Red tape is sticky stuff and can clog up the works under normal circumstances, but throw in a pandemic and things get downright entrenched.

We have the business registered. We also have the bakery name registered (I'll announce the name when we get the logo trademarked). However, we need the deed to the house and store to move forward. 

I know what you're thinking. Yes, we should've gotten it when we officially bought the place. However, the surveyor still hadn't redefined the property lines (they had to separate our property from the parcel of land of the previous owner), so until they surveyed, the deed was in limbo. 

So we made repairs on the house, excited that it should be only a few weeks before we could start applying for grants and loans.

The surveyor came in February. Yes! We could finally move forward! 

But wait. He told us it would take more than a few weeks. It would take at least six to nine months.

Uh oh.

We paid off everything- including the new place when we moved- so we had zero debt. However, the repairs had cost more than expected (especially when a thousand dollars in building material went from a full skid to barely one-fourth of a skid), and the reserves were running out. Fast.

Time to change gears. We had to start looking for work. In the boonies. Even the locals said, 'Good luck with that!'

Our daughter found a job with a local egg-producing plant. God blessed us unexpectedly because the plant allows us to take home free eggs (as long as it was for home consumption). My husband found a job that was twice the distance, but it paid well. All he had to do was take the safety classes, and he was good to go.

Then things got weird. 

On day two of the mandatory classes, we got The Virus. All three of us. He lost the job because he didn't show up to the second safety class. He was viral. Oh sure, he could've shown up for the class with a 102-degree fever, but the safety class he studied for said not to go to work if you're sick because they work in the food industry. So he was let go for obeying the rules.

Gotta love the irony.

He could reapply, but only after two weeks in seclusion. It was a significant bump in the road, but our daughter said she would do what it took to keep us afloat. I'm thankful that God blessed us with great kids.

He also blessed us with a great church. They didn't know us from Adam (a little Biblical humor there), but they still wanted to help and donated a few gas cards and some food items to keep us going. I can't tell you what a blessing they are!

Almost three weeks later, my husband was in the process of reapplying for the job when he had to fetch our daughter from work. Unfortunately, he severely sprained his ankle on some black ice walking to the van. He was down for the count for at least six weeks.

Honestly, We felt like the Hebrews in Egypt. You need to listen to what God tells you! The first time, he got sick for two weeks; the second time, he was hurt for six weeks. We are not stupid people, and we took the hint that God just didn't want him to work at that job. We weren't willing to see what 'third times the charm' would do! 

The last time he didn't listen, he was in the hospital for eighteen days with third-degree burns. Thanks, but no thanks. We'll listen to the Big Guy from now on.

We found out later that the job required a five-year contract. Yikes!

So now we were back to square one. Should we keep looking for work, or did God have something else planned? We delved deep into business regulations to see if there was an answer. There was, but it wasn't clear what we should do about it. So we prayed. a lot.

Several things happened this week that both clarified and muddied the business waters. When we first moved here, we asked for a mentor from SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) but were told they were fresh out due to the pandemic. However, this week we were contacted by a mentor willing to talk with us!

Mentors help new business owners sort out what they need to start their businesses. His advice was constructive; we're considering changing the dynamics of our original bakery cafe. He also suggested we start out in the cottage industry until we get our business legs under us. He helped clarify a lot.

But we still needed income, and we knew God wasn't thrilled with the last prospect, so being more than a bit trepidacious, we looked for employment elsewhere. 

My husband starts his new job next week, and because we only have one vehicle, I'll be working out of the home, making things to sell at local fairs and online. In addition, I'll be going through what we don't need from the move to sell via a giant yard sale.

It won't be easy, but we will get this bakery off the ground! It might take a year longer than expected, but we know God put us here to feed people both physically and spiritually.

And when that happens, it's going to be awesome.

The Calm Before the Store

(yes- this is part of the actual store!)

Wow- has it been two months already?

How can time pass so fast when the outside world is so quiet?

Maybe it's because of the icy weather we've been having. It's been in the single digits for a few weeks. I didn't even know the van thermometer could go into negative numbers. So glad my husband was able to clear out the garage in time to avoid the snow- the entire yard is a sheet of ice. Yikes!

Much has happened lately, including all of us getting that lovely little virus that shut down the world. My homemade remedy helped a great deal, and though the actual virus couldn't be avoided, the symptoms were significantly less severe after drinking my special blend of tea.

We're over it now, though my husband is still coughing a lot. It aggravated his Irritated Bronchial Syndrome, but he's getting better each day. 

And speaking of my husband...remember that ice I mentioned? Well, Mountain Man decided to take the shortcut up the icy hill to the garage and sprained his ankle. Bad. I had no clue until he came in the door limping. He was surprised he could walk, no less walk back to the house. So he's been down and out for the past three weeks.

My daughter and I have been playing nurse, and he's recovering nicely.

As for the bakery, the paperwork is slow going, like molasses in...er...February. We have the LLC and the business name, but not much else- I won't go into details, but God let us know that him getting a job was out of the question (the ankle was the 'icing' on the cake- forgive the pun- but we got the point, Lord!), so our focus has been getting the business up and running.

So much paperwork! And of course, the papers we have aren't the right ones. And the mentors for the Small Business Association (SBA) and few and far between, so we're basically doing this blind. But I'm glad God is leading us!

We just have to be patient.

Patience is a virtue I barely have, but God makes me practice it- All. The. Time.

Ugh.

We're still getting to know the natives, but they are hermits and hibernate during the winter months, at least until the weather warms. It was a balmy 35 degrees this morning, and I greeted a few heads that popped out of their hidey-holes as they grabbed firewood or went to their day jobs.

We hear spring is where the action is. Not only is spring when fishing season opens, but flea markets, fairs, and farmers' markets start to pop up everywhere. In fact, we were told to have our yard sale at the first inkling of springtime. So hopefully, we'll have everything sorted by then!

The church folks are warming up to us, and we will start taking new member classes in March. I'm not sure if we'll be involved in any ministries yet, though we'd like to; we just don't want to commit too soon because we have no idea what the bakery will require of our physical and mental strength.

Community meetings are every second Wednesday, so Mr. Gimpy and I will be attending this week. We're curious to see differences from those in Philly, and we need to ask if we should present ourselves as a new business in the near future.

In the meantime, we'll bundle up and take a quick peek at the stars- because winter skies are crystal clear at night, and the view is spectacular.

And we get to go inside and warm ourselves by the propane fireplace when we're done!

Would you like to see a new blog depicting our journey into becoming business owners? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!