Tag Archives: Sermon on the Mount

Weekend Work

We had a good weekend – did you? It started on Friday (or Saturday One as we often say) with a late breakfast at a local café. Then off we went to get some prep work done on those window sets Gary was working on over at Sermon on the Mount.
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He needed an extra set of hands to help him rout out the framing, and I’m very well qualified at being extra hands.
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After we moved the routed wood to the arena, I could better visualize just what this window project would look like.
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So the three sections to the right of the completed windows will each be getting a set of five windows.
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After our ranch work, we drove into Chickasha for a much overdue truck wash (which came with a bonus of free burritos since it was their grand opening! Great timing, eh?) and ran a couple of errands. It was a good “Saturday One” with just the right amount of busyness!
Saturday Two was a stay at home day, but filled with all kinds of getting-stuff-done stuff! Gary got an early start on the laundry (he’s a gem, isn’t he?), I got most of the monthly SOWER newsletter done, I pulled out the sewing machine and got a bit of sewing done, and I also made another batch of (Stephanie making) Elna’s Congo Bars.
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(Let’s just say I did not need to find a storage container for that bowl of edges by the end of the day.)
Sunday was filled with Worship and the Word, lunch out with new friends, and a good old-fashioned Sunday afternoon nap.
Yep – a good weekend all around!
Hoping yours was just as lovely!
Steph

The Week Between

The Founding Fathers of the SOWER Ministry built a week ‘off’ between each SOWER month’s projects. And we continue to relish the genius of that plan. The other beautiful part of that plan is that we are allowed to remain on the project if we choose during that week off. Our fellow SOWERs pulled out early in the week, but since we are only moving about 14 miles down the road, we’ve been hanging out at the Ranch. And it’s been a good week!
We got to greet some new young horses that had just been picked up in New Mexico,
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Hello, Delta and Mesa!
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We got to meet some very shy kittens –
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This is my attempt to reach through the gate to try and get a picture of the litter.
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E for effort?
My time was spent mostly in front of my sewing machine (yippee!), and Gary decided to tackle a job down at the arena. A new hospitality center is being built in the front of the arena, with two wings and a central gathering area where the front of the arena is.
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(The two white buildings coming out from the arena are part of the new construction. Contractors are working on that – we’ve just enjoyed watching the progress!)
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(They are filling the looks-like-Styrofoam-because- it-is walls with concrete!)
The plan is to put big viewing windows at the front of the arena so folks in the gathering area can view the arena. Gary’s job was to frame out those window areas.
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I believe there will be four sections, each with five tall (35X85) windows. Now, the actual wall hasn’t been cut away except in certain areas, so you’ll have to use your imagination on this picture Gary took of the five windows he installed today.
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Lest you think I was only working at my sewing machine while Gary was hard at work, he did need me to help when he was cutting and routing out the boards for the windows.
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(And quite the fashion statement I was, right?)
Gary was having a good week figuring out the best way to get those windows installed, I was happily sewing away on some UFOs (unfinished projects), and to make the week especially lovely, we joined our host family for Thanksgiving Dinner.
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It was the first time for us to be at a Golden Corral for Thanksgiving, and I have to say the food was great, the fellowship sweet, and there were no dishes to wash (or stress in preparing things!). It was nice to be doing something totally different since we couldn’t be with any of our kids and grands.
Tomorrow we pack up and head down the road. As I said earlier, it’s just about 14 miles down the road, so it will be a ‘light packing’. Things still need to be battened down as usual, but more stuff can just be put on the bed instead of being put ‘all the way’ away. I spent today doing laundry and getting my sewing stuff put away, so tomorrow morning should go smoothly.  And there’s no rush to get out.

Another No Alarm day. And that’s a good thing!

Steph

Devotions outside the box

Out of the box – and into the Arena!
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Twice this week, instead of heading into our group leaders’ motorhome for devotions, we gathered at the arena and were blessed to hear devotions given on horseback!
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Dr. Lew (Lew Sterrett) shared on Tuesday, and then Cami, his assistant, shared her story this morning.
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As they worked with their beautiful horses, they spoke of boundaries and freedoms, of trust and faith. They both did a beautiful job of sharing the Gospel in a unique way, using the ‘language of the horse’.
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We’ve had many different styles of devotions over these 18 years, but I do believe that these two mornings have been among the most memorable.
How blessed we are to see how God is working through this ministry – Lessons of Leadership from the Language of the Horse.

 

Schedules

One thing I’m especially thankful for this month is our work schedule. Oh, we’re still getting up at zero dark thirty so we can join together for devotions at 7:30 (thankfully next door), but when the guys head off to the arena for work at 8, we three ladies head back to our homes because the office doesn’t open until 9.  It’s amazing how much we are all enjoying that little bit of a late start. I’ve been doing a bit of tidying, writing some emails, enjoying that second (or third) cup of coffee, and catching a nice deep breath before the day takes off. Once the office opens we settle into our seats and continue to work on a 3500-piece mailing that’s in progress. We folded and stuffed and folded and stuffed until we ran out of materials!
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More envelopes and freshly printed inserts will be waiting for us Monday morning. Job security, for sure. But as SOWER jobs go, sitting around folding letters and stuffing envelopes while happily chatting with new friends, this has been grand!

Meanwhile, down at the Arena…
The guys took this area, that just had this metal frame –
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enlarged the frame to make it into a wall,
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covered the frame with sliced telephone poles,
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and then made an amazing giant barn door to finish off the area!
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I think those three SOWER men had a pretty good week too(though I know my guy was beat at the end of each day!)!
So Week One is Done. Tomorrow we begin our lovely three-day weekend. Ah, the alarm is OFF!
Four-day work weeks, 6-hour days for the men, 3-hours for the ladies – it’s a genius schedule for us! And we’re thankful for it!

Hope your November is going well also!
Steph

Sweet November

I know I’ve said this before – but I love November! It’s a month filled with family birthdays, flannel shirts, and thankfulness! This month we’re working at a new-to-SOWERs project – Sermon on the Mount at their headquarters, Ransom Wind Ranch, in Anadarko, OK.
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We’re looking forward to a great month with new SOWER friends – and have already been blessed by a beautiful sky painting on one of our first nights here.
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I think I’ll be finding lots to be thankful for this month! How about you?