Gratitude expressed in COW!!

two weekends ago sandi and i went to help one of the women in our care group with a yard sale. this was no ordinary yard sale. Rachel works with teenage moms. they all live together in a beautifully renovated two story home. every year they have a huge yard sale to sell all of their donations that they recieve throughout the year.

set up began on friday morning and went throughout the day and into the evening. the sale was the next day. all in all the sale was great success. Rachel tells us that they made more this year then they ever have in the past.

after the post-sale cleaning was completed on saturday, Rachel took sandi and me on a tour of the house and barn. the barn was great! two stories...huge...really old and weathered wood...old newspaper still tacked to the wall in some places...a huge wood burning stove that went from floor to ceiling...a huge work surface that stretched a good length of the barn (probably40-50 feet) with old tools, mounted vices, and big old wooden drawers. it was almost like stepping back in time. as we walked through the barn, Rachel told us of the many ways that God provided for them--from clothes to brand new furniture, to donated labor and materials for the extension on their home, to a gazebo just recently built on the property, to cow. "cow??!!" now she had my attention. "what do you mean, 'cow?'" i asked. she went on to say that every year someone buys a cow, has it slaughtered and donates all the meat to the home and the ministry that goes on there. how cool is that!! the idea that someone would give a cow, in it's entirety (well, almost), to a ministry that serves teenage moms just made my day!

well, the tour was reaching its end. it just so happened that the last room on the tour of the house was the pantry. it was a good sized room. on one wall there were shelves that went about six feet high loaded with canned goods and non-perishables. then she showed us the freezer. it was one of the rectangular ones that you can open from the top and peer into. it was also good sized. she opened it up, and we peered into it. cow! ...and about 5 frozen turkeys. then she handed us a box...and started loading it with cow.=) now, sandi doesn't get excited about things like cow, but i do! and i was very excited!! (but, sandi does get excited about other things like bagels...and i don't. but we got a big bag of them to take home too! ...so we were both excited!) Rachel may not know it (because she is not a lover of cow) but she could not have thanked us any more appropriately. in fact, we could not stop thanking her for her generous gifts to us.

the lesson here? to the right person, cow is a priceless gift and the ultimate display of gratitude. thanks again, Rachel! may God bless you and the girls you serve this next year!!


COW!!

OUR FREEZER WITH NEWLY ACQUIRED COW!!

...i'm off to make some beef stew!!=)