by Darol Dickinson
The government corona forced-hibernation makes people feel like the bad kid being punished sitting in the corner -- the difference now is, we haven't done anything wrong.
Life is short. We are forced to waste days of life, losing achievements, the clock is ticking. Taxes continue and the bank is still charging interest. Probably personal property tax will go up this year, in fact, you can guarantee it. The government's appetite to gouge the citizen never ends.
Realizing our dilemma, here are some things that might make hibernation hours and days more profitable, and in turn more enjoyable. Nothing satisfies like achievement of good things. I hope this helps.
- My banker is doing yard work. His yard has never looked so good. His wife has been after him for ever to do the yard.
- A lot of people are reading. No one -- no one, has ever read the KJV Bible enough. If you haven't read it, this is the time. If you have, you will learn just as much reading it again.
- One of the great business books is "THE ART OF THE DEAL" by our president. You can not read this book without becoming excited about some brilliant ideas he documents --ideas you may also profit from.
- Draft your will, your last will and testament. If you already have one, read it and you will want to make changes. Be sure to initial changes. The only way you can make huge decisions after you have passed on is with a will. It can be written on a Chick-fil-A brown bag, but have enough witness signatures for it to be legal in your state.
- Pray for your family and friends. Pray for our president. It is always a good time to pray. If you are alone, being punished in a corner, it is encouraging to have the Lord listening to you as you pray.
- Study the Texas Longhorn herd -- real serious. Identify the low value cows, grind them and create great food for the nation. Study to plan the purchase of a better herd sire -- improve the herd.
- Make phone calls to old friends. It will make their day and your own when you thought they were dead yet they answer the phone. That is a good feeling on both ends.
- Go on a diet, maybe a fast. In Bible days people fasted and prayed during famine, drought and disease. Come out of the hibernation-torture less of a person.
- Exercise. Some get so busy exercise just doesn't fit the schedule. Now everyone has time.
- Sign up for the ITLA Judges Clinic on May 12 & 19. It is an on-line webinar. It will come to your home without rubber gloves, a mask, or hand sanitizer. Study the fine points of cattle judging and be your own "cattle consultant."
- Here at DCC things haven't changed much. Fences are being built. Corrals are being cleaned. Equipment is being repaired. Calves are being born -- several per day. Cattle are being shipped all over.
- In the Longhorn Heads To Tail ranch store beef is being sold by the 50 lb boxes. The heat and serve beef is being sent UPS every day, all over the USA.
- Ideas. Hard times are the greatest to force us to think -- to solve problems we didn't take time to think them through. Hard times teaches us again about saving money.
- While you are praying for friends, pray for yourself. Pray for new ideas. Jeremiah 33:3 "Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not." Everyone needs better and new ideas. All ideas come from the Lord. You knew that already.
For some even better ideas, this was posted on FB by Texas Longhorn rancher Russell Freeman, Freeman Ranch, Yoder, CO
So a lot of people have a lot of time on their hands right now - and a lot of people have had a wake up call. Things that were important three weeks ago, are now no longer as important.
This would be a great time to pick up a Bible. The Bible was given to us so that we could KNOW God. there are as many different ideas about God and who He is as there are people on the earth.
Each persons idea of God is just a bit different than the next person but there is one group of people who's perspective of God is very similar and those are Bible believing Christians. Why? Because they read the Bible and the noise of the world is cut out as they see who God really is.
He's not the "big guy" up there or the "old man upstairs", He's not accepting all of all people. He loves all people but only those that repent and accept His Son's gift of salvation will be in heaven - He is very specific about this.
He is also not some Force as the New Age would have us believe - He is a person.
How do we know this? Because we are persons and we are made in his image.
Many people have very faulty ideas of who He is and How he operates -- an example... before I got to know who He was through reading His words to me I didn't ask for anything when I prayed. My thought process was "He must be very busy looking after the whole world, I can do without (whatever it was I was in need of at the time) so I will only bother Him with very serious requests." Well what an eye opener as I read the Bible and as I saw how prideful that thought process was and how important that I acknowledge that EVERYTHING comes from Him, whether I asked Him for it or not. And that He wants me to ask him for everything, he wants me to realize how much my entire life depends on Him and that nothing is to small for me to pray for - now some will jump to the idea that I am talking about money and wealth and things - that is so not what I am talking about. I am talking about asking for the truth in a matter, for guidance for daily decisions, for safety, for health concerns, for help for my friends, for protection from evil, you get the idea. He wants us to ask Him for these things.
He wants a relationship with us. He wants us to talk to Him. And I think it is really neat the way He has made the bible understandable only to those who truly love Him and seek Him with all their heart. Not getting anything out of reading the Bible? Check your heart. Check your motive. The whole reason He created this earth and put us here on it was to find the people who wanted to fellowship with Him for eternity. This world is a proving ground. Your time here is to show Him you love Him. You can't do that until you get to know Him. His likes and His dislikes and what pleases Him and what does not.
So who is God, really? As we started out - he is not the Old man upstairs, he's not some Force, he;s not our buddy - He is Holy and worthy of Worship and Praise and it is His Holiness that requires those who wish to be with him eternally to be Holy as well. Sadly all men are born unholy (sinners) and in their original born condition they will not go to heaven, they will not please God, no matter what they do. The only thing they can do to be seen as Holy by God is to put their faith and trust in God's son, Jesus Christ, who died for us according to the prophecies foretelling He would do that were written hundreds of years before he was born. Those same Words of God foretell that Jesus Christ would be buried and then raised to life again. Jesus was God come to earth as a man. He lived a perfect life on earth and it is His perfection God sees when he looks at you if you are a born again Christian. This simple truth provides you with eternal life and enables you to be one of the ones God will fellowship with in eternity. So, got some time on your hands? Has the Corona Virus got you thinking about your mortality? The answers are all in the Bible.
