[JustAmy]

10-20-04
Graphic by MamaBear

Town and Country

Oh, a man gets mighty tired
When he's workin' on the range,
And sometimes he'd like to settle
Down in comfort for a change,
With an eight-to-five position
And a cozy little home,
With a car and boat and workshop,
And no call to ever roam.

For it's wearyin' to ride all day
In rough and rocky ground,
Just searchin' for some strayin' calf
That's bound it won't be found!
In bone deep cold or summer dust
The work goes on the same,
With steers to catch or move or brand,
And colts to feed and tame.

And by the time he hits the sack
With muscles stiff and sore,
He'd like to find a feather bed
And sleep a week or more!
But, oh, so very early,
Before the night can end,
He's up again and out again -
Two miles of fence to mend.

And after that there's stalls to clean,
And then there's feed to haul;
By half-past-noon he's gettin' mad -
He'd like to chuck it all
In favor of a place in town
Without a cow in sight,
Where a man can work a reg'lar day,
And get his sleep at night!

But even while he's thinkin' this
And longin' for a change
He's saddlin' up his horse again,
To check the summer range.
He'll take some salt up for the stock;
He'll have to stay the night,
So, bedroll - coffee - bacon - beans -
And lash that mule pack tight.

Still dreamin' of a city life,
He takes off up the hill,
And his horse is walkin' quiet,
And the air is very still.
For awhile he doesn't notice
That his soul has settled down --
That his eyes are on the pines ahead
And not turned back to town!

© LaVonne Houlton

[The Mayor]

Still on the other computer with no ping list

October 20, 2004

A Gift Of Grace

Read: 2 Corinthians 8:7-15

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor. —2 Corinthians 8:9

Bible In One Year: Isaiah 59-61; 2 Thessalonians 3

---

In high schools in the US, being elected homecoming queen is a great honor for any young woman. But when a high school near Houston, Texas, crowned Shannon Jones, it was a special moment for her and for everyone in the community. Nineteen-year-old Shannon, who is an award-winning athlete and an active member of her church youth group, has Down syndrome.

Shannon knew this once-in-a-lifetime experience was a gift from her younger sister Lindsey, who was the catalyst to elect her. Their dad said, "I'm so proud of Lindsey. Probably somewhere in the back of her mind, this is something she'd like to do." But she made it happen for Shannon.

The most inspiring acts of human love are only a shadow of the immeasurable gift our Savior has given us. Paul wrote, "You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Christ left His glory in heaven and died on the cross for our sin so that we could be forgiven through faith in Him. His sacrifice was based on His love, not on our merit. All we are and all we have are the Savior's loving gifts of grace to us. —David McCasland

God gives His grace so rich, so free—
No one will He deny;
For He has promised in His Word
An infinite supply. —D. De Haan

Grace is an unearned blessing to unworthy sinners.

[JustAmy]

[tame]

good morning, amy :o) how are you today?

[Conspiracy Guy]

Glad that turned out right. Nobody who has lived in the open spaces longs for city life.

[international american]

Great poem! The grass is not always greener on the other side of the pines.

[tuliptree76]

Good morning, Amy! I like that graphic. I hope you have a great day today.

[MeekOneGOP]

Mornin', everybody ! Happy Wednesday!

Have a cup while you Freep !

[MeekOneGOP]

Girls just want to have fu-unnn!
Girls just want to have fun! .....

[PreviouslyA-Lurker]

Being a Christian is like being a Pumpkin.

God lifts you up, takes you in, and washes all the dirt off of you. He opens you up, touches you deep inside and scoops out all the yucky stuff - including the seeds of doubt, hate, greed, etc. Then He carves you a new smiling face and puts His light inside you to shine for all the world to see.

This was passed on to me from another pumpkin. Now, it is your turn to pass it to a pumpkin. I liked this enough to send it to all the pumpkins in my patch.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thank y'all for the beautiful poem and graphic!

[Victoria Delsoul]

Hi Amy and everybody! Hope you all are having a wonderful evening.