Thieves break in...

Well, it finally happened ~ broken people, broke in.... they cut the chain off the gate, drove onto our property and stole from us!

I'm mad, I'm scared, I'm... thankful! Thankful for a lesson learned.

At the end of the day, its only stuff ~ the good book advises us as follows, in Matthew 6:19 and following,

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

I pray for calm, I pray for a forgiving heart... I pray for forgiveness for thoughts of retribution... thoughts that should not be thought ...

HOLY Cow...?

Well, here's our latest calf ~ Lady-Bug. She's a bit of a mystery... Early last spring our Longhorn bull decided to become a "traveling salesman", so we took him to sale.

We did not replace him until late summer.

Counting back the 285 days gestation period of a cow, we come up with a LBCD [Lady-Bug Conception date] circa late June, hmmm...

My guess ?... that sly ole Mr. Mulberry Bovine ~ came a court'n! No miracle here... just good ole fashioned, jump-the-fence, natural selection.

WHOLE Turnover

Most of us are familiar with the concept of “credit” – consumer credit. For instance, when you go to the grocery store, restaurant, or gas station, you pay for your purchase[s] by cash or check, credit or debit card. One way or the other, your vendor is going to require payment before you leave the premises.

In commercial business, however, many transactions are done by what’s commonly referred to as “open account” or on credit. What this means is that commercial companies buy and sell goods and services, from one another on credit terms. For instance, Company-A buys a Widget from Company-B today, and pays for it in 30 days or so, after receiving an invoice. Unfortunately, some businesses fail ~ whether through economic catastrophe or unscrupulous business practices, i.e. remember Enron? Bottom line credit risk is the risk that Company-B might not get paid!

If Company-B exports its goods and services to foreign buyers, on credit, the risks of non-payment multiply exponentially, but… to remain competitive in the global marketplace, companies must often sell to foreign buyers on credit – exposing themselves to increased risk.

Fortunately, there are ways of mitigating export credit risk. In the world of international credit risk and export credit insurance [that’s right – companies can insure themselves against the risk of non payment], there exists the concept of “whole turnover”. In short, for an exporting company to enjoy optimum [minimum] pricing and maximum insurance coverage, a company must commit to insuring all prescribed credit risk. In a nut shell the insured cannot pick and choose the customers it wants to insure. Ready to shift gears…?

Remember the following lines from the hymn we’ve all sung?

“All of self and none of Thee.”
“Some of self, and some of Thee.”
“Less of self, and more of Thee”
“None of self, and all of Thee.”

The maturing process of you and I as Christians, unfolds as we live our lives for God.

In John 3:30 John the Baptist states, “He must become greater; I must become less.”

Whole Turnover ~ where are you and I in our Spiritual progression? Are we striving toward complete surrender, or… are we picking-and-choosing Christ’s “coverage” – protection that cost Jesus Christ his life, protection/salvation that costs us nothing, nothing more than mere obedience… Whole Turnover…