The End of My Rope

A few years ago, Jeremy and the kiddos and I were visiting friends and attended a Sunday morning service at Valley Christian Church in Moorhead, Minnesota.  VCC was formerly led by Pastor Phil Miller, and currently by Pastor Jim Ray.  If you are looking for a church family in the Fargo-Moorhead area, I encourage you to visit VCC. It is one of a handful of “church homes” I have had in my lifetime and you will find a warm, welcoming group of people there that truly have hearts for Jesus.

Anyway, that day there was a guest speaker.  I cannot recall his name.  I’m chalking that up to Mom brain, but perhaps it is symbolic also, because it is not our names, but the works we do and the manner in which we do them that is remembered.  What we Christians should be focused on is our works glorifying our father in heaven, not each of us as individuals, but I digress, which is generally how I operate.   This is yet another one of my winding tales, which I promise will eventually lead to a worthwhile conclusion.

The speaker that day talked used a rope as a prop and it was a powerful visual.

As he began to talk he held up about six inches of the end of the rope between his hands.  This represented the amount of time we are here on earth.

I’ve been to what I would consider far too many funerals.  That time can be incredibly short, which can seem cruel and unfair at times, as I’ve said goodbye to people who were so young or taken so quickly.

But here’s the good news.

 They’re not gone, they’ve just gone ahead.

The pastor held up that rope, with just the first, short portion representing our earthly lives, and then he had his son help stretch it out.  It went from the pulpit, down along the front pew, and all the way out the door.

Even this was not enough rope to show how long our eternal lives in heaven will be.

It is spelled out in the Bible in that familiar verse, John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, he gave his only son, that whoever believes in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.”

It brings me great joy to hear my children recite this verse, because I know that their young hearts believe that when I’m gone from here, that I’ve just gone ahead to be with my father in heaven.

So as promised, here is the worthwhile conclusion.

Nothing is too big or too heavy for God.  Give Him your heart. Give up the weight of those sins you’ve been carrying. If you haven’t already, give your life to Christ today and let Him be your guide and He will fulfill His promise of that everlasting life that is more wonderful than we can imagine.

It is my hope that someday when I’ve gone ahead, you will remember that I was not really at the end of my rope, but only the beginning.

Thanks for stopping by,

Sarah J

Meeting Miss America at NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau Food Awareness Week

In early April 2012, the North Dakota State University Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter (of which I am proud to be a founding member) hosted their first "Food Awareness Week".

I was flattered when the group asked me to come present as part of this event.

My friend, Katie Pinke  and I tag-teamed that night, which was great fun! 

(Katie writes a fabulous blog over at The Pinke Post !)

First, I gave some background on how the animal rights and environmental movements have gained ground in our nation and described their resources, tactics, and a few specific organizations.  It's important to thoroughly understand what challenges American agriculture is facing if we are to move ahead and prepare ourselves for the future. 



Thanks to Katie for snapping these photos.

 

Following up on my presentation that motivated the group to take action on behalf of agriculture, Katie presented about social media tools we can to use to tell the story of American agriculture and explain the work we are doing on our farms and ranches.  

From left, Katie Pinke, Marketing and Information Director, ND Department of Agriculture; Karmen Kirkeby, then President of the NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau; myself. 

The second day of "Food Awareness Week" was a presentation by Teresa Scanlan, Miss America 2011.  My colleague and I brought our daughters along for this one :)  After all, it's not often that Miss America visits North Dakota.

Miss S and Miss CW are very excited to meet Miss America!
 

The picture C.W. colored for "Miss Amerinca".

These girls were bursting with excitement and the moment they met Miss America was even captured by Dave Wallis, a reporter for the Fargo Forum.
 

 

 

 

Teresa did a phenomenal job, not only making a dream come true for my little girl, but giving a fantastic presentation about agriculture.

 

Yes, that's right, Miss America is carrying the torch for America's farmers and ranchers.

 

As the middle child of seven homeschooled children in rural Nebraska she talked about learning at an early age the importance of farmers and ranchers in her community.  She said "there is a thin green line between a safe, abundant, domestic food supply and imported food", citing that there are 210,000 working farms in the United States, yet there are 925 million people going hungry throughout the world.  Farmers and ranchers have an important job to do, yet they are "being attacked from all angles".

 

Recently, she joined forces with "The Hand That Feeds U.S." and says that serving as Miss America "was my chance to stand up for what I believe in" and a "chance to represent the farmers and ranchers".

 

More coverage of the event can be found at the North Dakota Farm Bureau website:

 

http://www.ndfb.org/?id=214

 

Video here:

 

http://www.ndfb.org/?id=87

 

 

Many thanks to the NDSU Collegiate Farm Bureau Chapter for putting together Food Awareness Week and to Miss Teresa Scanlan for being such a dedicated ambassador for American agriculture.

 

- Sarah :)

 

 

 



 

 

 

A Little of Nature's Beauty to Brighten Your Day!

This week, I spent an extremely rare, extremely leisurely afternoon with a friend in Fargo, North Dakota.  She and I had lunch and then swung by Baker Garden & Gift.

What a lovely afternoon! The bees were buzzing...

I love Rudbeckia's (otherwise known as "Black Eyed Susans") because they are the Maryland state flower!

The butterflies were fluttering around...

I am always amazed at the quality of photos and video my i(love you)Phone takes! You can see this little butterfly enjoying a snack!

Hope your day got a "thumbs up" like mine did :)

Thanks for stopping by!

 Sarah :)

"Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."  And it was so.  The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good." - Genesis 1:11-12, NIV