Well, it wasn't the overwhelming numbers I was hoping for, but I still had a few come over the last two days and I still feel they were the exact right ones. It was a group effort preparing for these ladies (even one Dad came!) We had coffee and tea ready to go, scones were made, the house was tidied and the yard looked great - everyone had really pulled together. Even if no one had showed up, I think it was a great two days, just modeling for the kids what hospitality can look like, but more importantly, purposeful hospitality.
The ones who came really wanted to be here. They were so excited to come and see the animals and still marveled that they'd been invited when I didn't really know them. One lady, a grandma who watches her grandchild, said, No one has anyone over anymore. It just isn't done." When I stop to think why the others didn't come, I can only think they were uncomfortable with the idea of showing up to someone's house that they'd never been to and that they didn't personally know. One of the ladies who came described to me where she lived, very close to me actually. Suddenly it occurred to me, I knew exactly which house it was! I drive by her place all the time and every time I drive by I was always think to myself, "I want to meet the person that lives there." Why is that? You know how you can tell, or at least you think you can tell, a little about a person just by the style of their clothes? Well, in this case, I would drive by her house and I had always admired the way she decorated her house on the outside! From the paint colour to her hanging pots in the summer to her Christmas lighting and vintage knick knacks in the winter, I thought to myself, "That owner is neat. I love how she puts things together." Then I also remember thinking, "How will I meet that person? I'll never be able to just run into them." I knew I would literally have to stop in one day and just introduce myself. Well, now I don't have to! Once I figured out that the owner of that house was now at my house, I told her how I had always wanted to meet her and compliment her on her unique style. She was flattered and humbled. I found out she had a business doing that kind of decor, which makes sense! She's a great ad for her own business! So, I think it was really neat that the one person in my town that I wanted to meet was one of the only women who came that day. Providence? We exchanged numbers and had a great conversation about many things including how I came to homeschool, etc. The conversations over the two days were "salted" with all things spiritual or church which led to one lady wondering where I went to church and seemed interesting in attending as she said she was looking for a church! I made sure all of them knew when more baby animals were coming so that they had another excuse to come by, ideally allowing me to pursue even more conversations. On top of that we are hosting a Christian concert in July hopefully on our farm, so I invited them to that, too.
All in all, it was a good two days. I will probably attempt another program next Spring, too - I can't get the other ladies out of my mind, so I pray I'll have more opportunities in the future. It's good for the kids to also see things don't always go as we think they'll go, but that God is still sovereign.
Meanwhile, Renaissance Man and our oldest boy is on his way to pick up a fridge. I'm praying they'll make it in time! Our fridge died this week and so instead of buying new which we've always done, we decided to see if we could buy a used one on-line. The ad said, "First come first serve". That's nuts! So, they have to be there by 7am in order to get the awesome deal. It is an awesome deal!!!! But they left a little late, so we'll have to see if a miracle happens....that's what I'm praying for!
As well, we're putting an offer, a very low offer, on a skid steer. We felt it was a real need for us to have on the farm in order to prep all the things we need prepped for winter. If it wasn't a need, we prayed God would stop it as He promises to supply all our needs. We get confused between what is a need sometimes and what is a want. In this case, we moved ahead with the offer and are asking God to show us, in our weakness, if this truly is a need. Shortly after making the offer, RM got a small contract which would pay for more than half of the skid steer. This was a contract out of nowhere! We now are waiting to see if the owner of the skid steer will accept the crazy offer. More prayer......We've never been more dependent on God as at this time in our lives. This is a good thing. We ask for His wisdom, His mercy and yes, for a skid steer and a fridge!
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