Birdy On A Hill

What Unemployment in America should look like…

This is what unemployment should look like in America. Do what you know how to do even if it’s hard, don’t wait for the government to fix things.

Chris lost his big consulting job in April. Many of you know that, it is no big secret. He has had numerous opportunities show up and for one reason or another never work out. We have been married for almost 20 years and he has never NOT been able to find a job in his field. It is a direct result of all the shutdowns because of COVID19, company hiring freezes, travel restrictions, and that is okay because our hope is not in what our country is doing for us, our hope is in God’s plan and what our country allows for us to do for ourselves.

Chris has many talents, not only in banking, systems architecture and security, but in mechanics, woodworking, remodeling, and I can run my mouth and type big long exposés. So here we are working to keep things together, with what we know how to do.

God has this planned out already, whatever it is. I am so thankful for our first real client, a complete stranger, who reached out to buy one of our coops, the day we posted our ad.

This song came on the radio while we were working on staining our the wood for our first coop sale. I was almost in tears when I made this quick video. Overwhelmed with heat and exhaustion, and so very grateful for the freedom we have to make something out of nothing. I still very much love my country and have hope for her future as well as ours. God is in control and to Him all glory will be given.

So in conclusion, I love Jesus, my husband, my kids, America, 80s music, chickens, goats, turkeys and please buy a chicken coop and/or tell your friends. Like our page on FB: Chris’s Chicken Coops and Farm Furniture or follow us on Instagram at Wilson’s Chicken Coops.

The Umbrella Policy

Our Pastor, Ebb Fox, talked to us about Acts 27 where a very real and present danger was being lived out on a ship with a bunch of non-believers and one confirmed believer. God was in that storm, on that doomed ship with a prisoner, the Apostle Paul.

As it turned out, because God had a plan for Paul, everyone else on that ship got a life insurance policy, an umbrella policy as a matter of fact. All was lost but not one life. After such an event some of those lives were likely saved beyond physically but also spiritually by gaining understanding of true salvation. If an unbeliever keeps company with a believer who is walking in obedience with God, the truth may protect them too, no matter how messy and doomed that life appears, for a while.

I pray for the believers to always be a light for non-believers, especially in all these ugly hate filled storms around us right now. I pray that if there is a non believer that needs to know God’s truth they don’t get out from under the umbrella God has provided for the believer without acknowledgement of His saving grace.

America was built by God’s people who were on a mission. If that gets torn down the mission is gone and what we are left with works out fine for the believer in the end but sadly not for those who have no faith. God hasn’t blown the final horn. Are you holding the umbrella or just standing under it?

My Son the Negotiator

Some months ago Glen found a jet ski for free on Craigslist. Let’s be honest, it could have been years ago, they have stuff stashed in the woods and as long as I can’t see it fine.

Chris always encourages their interest and will hop in the truck with the tow trailer and pick up about anything. He and the boys enjoy it, I have several friends who can attest to this fact.

It has developed that Glen is a master negotiator and in his free time finds stuff on Craigslist and haggles people down. He will then go to his father and say hey I’ve got this really good deal on “whatever”. They show up and most of these people are very impressed (or embarrassed) that they were car salesmen’d by a 15 year old kid. Lately it has been jet skis.

We have never owned a jet ski, but the kid who will not study and is happy with a B average in his school work can tear one down and put it back together. This goes for small aircraft too. He has probably negotiated a few of those just for the fun of it… Maybe.

Fast forward to last night, it is dusk, I was told it was a 2 hour drive, turns out it was 6 hours round trip, I’m in the middle of a field in Auburn, AL with a family of what I called Mennonites that have a jet ski and trailer for sale for $75.

It was the exact same type Glen has had stashed in the woods. They handed off money and ratchet strapped the jet ski and trailer down while I talked to the guy about chickens (who his brother tended) and ducks (who his other brother tended) and turkeys (which with my enthusiasm I think he couldn’t tell me that they ate theirs), and a milking cow (his sisters tended) and beef cattle (which he sold his share and now his parents are making him get rid of his “junk” and he wants to move to Virginia 😳), and bees (which he offered to go get his other brother to talk about them, I politely declined feeling the dark and the eyes in the fields closing in on us). I swear as we were pulling out Laura Engles ran after us waving.

We got home about midnight, alive and I was only slightly bitter but what made it all worthwhile is today Glen and his dad are cobbling the two together and that thing fired up. The tune of Sanford and Son has been in my head all day.

A Fall in the Garden (not that garden)

Dear Diary,

Life is full of lessons. Some you really don’t even want to know. I learned never to hang the gate hooks on the fence like this… and if I do then NEVER touch or lean on any part of the fence, NOT EVEN those parts that don’t have electric wire on them. This may include the neighbors fence, I’m not sure but am taking no chances.

I fell in the garden, yes full on fell down, face in the ground, laid out. I tripped over some electric wire. The same wire I trip over everyday, I just don’t usually fall there.The only injury, fortunately and sadly, was the death of three green bean and two corn plants.

I promptly got to my feet and went to lean on the fence to catch my breath and composure and shockingly found myself being electrocuted from elbow to armpit, across my chest, then to other armpit and elbow. This portion of fence has not one electric wire crossing it but I can say with certainty that looking in the direction of the chicken run from the garden the electric current does in fact run from left to right in about 2 second pulses that would cause an 1800 pound buffalo to jump away.

I do not remember exactly but I must have screamed, “Why??? Why is this happening?!!??!!…”

Chris, who had been standing by silently watching all this unfold, answered in his monotone way, “because you hung the gate hooks on the fence”. 😶

Oh how I love his no nonsense ways. That strong silent type that never reacts but waits to see what is the best course of action that will afford him the most impact and least amount of effort. He only speaks if spoken too and that includes questions in the midst of great conflict. I could tell he was looking to see if I was going to cry. Which made me want to hug him and knock his tractor supply hat off his head all in the same emotions. He handed me a water bottle and we carried on to dig out the goats stall. Nothing ever spoke of again.

My check lists for the day include:

☑️ verified my agility is lacking but my ability to fall safely is STILL up to par.
☑️the yearly heart check has been accomplished… Yet again.
☑️Electric fence certification all updated and current. No pun intended.
☑️I love my husband so much.

~BPW

Here is my dear husband, Chris, in his usual observational perch with the ever present Tractor Supply Hat on his head. He is with Elly May, our fainting goat who had just had one of her “spells” or “blow outs” as Chris calls them.

An open letter to my husband.

Dearest Chris,

Thank you for loving me so well that it reflects in the way our boys love me too and all my crazy ways. When I called them from the turkey pen to say Bill Riddle was sick and we have to take him to the animal hospital, they did not hesitate, just like you would have not hesitated if you were here. We left immediately, turkey in tow.

You will be glad to know that I took the tarp that we were using for the bathroom remodel and I sat on it in the backseat while holding the turkey in my lap. It was the longest ride ever. I never knew how warm a turkey was, but with him on top of me, wrapped in a heavy towel, a full sized fleece blanket, sitting on that plastic, all at once I was stricken with a menopausal hot flash. At this point Glen looked slightly put out, you know that look, he inherited it from you, the look was because I had him taking pictures and adjusting the air flow. Christopher was in professor mode attempting to debunk my newly formed phobia of us developing avian bird flu because of the closed vehicle we were now all trapped in with my sick bird. He had all kinds of scientific facts and government conspiracies he spoke of while Glen and I slipped into that silent stare that occupies a long and dreaded car ride. Bill Riddle went to sleep. I thought he had died but Glen said no, we pressed on.

Upon arrival at the vet they ushered us directly into the little room. I unwrapped Bill Riddle and he stumbled a bit to get his footing. You know he has been on his roost for two days and I’ve been worried and today him laying in the corner of the pen, lathargic, was too much for me to bare but remarkably he became a bit more interested in his surroundings and perked up. I filled out paperwork while he pulled at the ink pen. He then got in my lap and had explosive diarrhea, all over me and the smell chased both boys from the room. Bill Riddle and I were on our own.

They came and took Bill, who went very compliantly, and brought him back. Then the vet tech swabbed me for a fecal sample and we waited. The doctor came in and we chatted. I was getting nervous because the boys had to be at their PE class so I phoned a major favor into a friend, asking for a ride. Chris Wilson, this is one of many reasons why you need friends. I’m sure you would argue that point if this wasn’t just in a letter to you but I will just leave it at why “I” need friends. 😉🤪😘 Of course she said yes and I dropped the nonchalant bomb did she mind if I had my turkey? Bless her heart. She did say I was pushing boundaries but showed up, in her Lexus, with full knowledge that her friend is crazy.

The boys had left and Jackie and I wrapped things up with the vet and hit the road. Not before I noticed that she had somehow gotten a fecal sample on her adorable, solid white, puffer jacket. I did tell her as she was spreading the tarp over her front seat and before she smeared it all over her leather, assuring her if she would just get Bill Riddle and me home I would get it cleaned. We took a couple of selfies and took off. I think maybe some other people were taking pictures of the two middle-aged ladies with the turkey in the Lexus, we were quite a sight traveling through Canton. Jackie had air in her seats that made the ride home so much more pleasant. It was Bill Riddle this time who settled into that silent stare out the window as his two captors laughed hysterically and may or may not have drooled and snorted.

I will quickly take this moment to say the cost for vet visit and meds was under a grocery bill but a little more than a tank of gas in all our cars that run on a daily basis, not those cars out in the woods. I love you, you are so handsome, thank you for my children, and my animals, and all that goes into keeping this life of mine. I know I am high maintenance, maybe not in clothes and stuff but in animal care. You complete me! Bill Riddle is not out of the woods but you have given me the ability to say I have done all I can do. Now I wait. See you tomorrow night.

Love,
Your appreciative and forever devoted wife

Boojee, Bad Dreams, Roosters, and Varicose Veins – A perfect storm.

I just opened the Keep Notes App and have to gather my thoughts. This is where I come to thumb out the words when I have an important idea to capture, or experience to convey in writing, or if I need dryer sheets at Walmart, getting my points, meanings, and grocery lists together.

It’s not quit 9am here in Georgia and I’m on my second cup of coffee. I just ran through my email, text, and Facebook notifications when a third time in 24 hours someone has tagged me in the article about a chicken loving woman being killed by her mean rooster because in a beat all odds scenario he hit one of her hard labored veins. Rooster Rage is Real is what my dear friend said to me. This is sad and I am so sad for that lady’s family. I hope she knew Jesus.

Now what I am going on to say some of you may find funny, some may be confused by my terminology, and some may just have the need to pray for me to get right myself before Larry brings the curtain down on my little attempt at literary pontifications … Here goes…

I learned a new word recently, Boojee, it has been around for a long time but in my 60 second research I notice a date as far back as 2004 with relation to this word. I’ve attached in the comments the screenshot of this definition as best it was described to me. It was remarked to me by a friend who will remain nameless, Mindie, that I once was Boojee but I’ve lost that title since taking to farm life, castration of small ruminents, and rat killing. I was taken aback because I was not Boojee ever, I was raised by an Electrician and a Government Bookkeeper. Middle class as a white girl can get. My daddy taught me how to check voltage and in fun electrocute friends and my mom taught me how to hide the shopping in the trunk from the electrician and work the books so he was none the wiser. Solid, loving, middle class upbringing.

In the past few weeks two things have had my attention. The first is my mean rooster Larry, which if anyone who even kinda knows me, knows of him and second, only a couple people know (this is where it get personal), I went to the doctor to see about my varicose veins. Now a third “thing” has been added to my undivided attention by well meaning friends, a documented chicken lady death in what would be considered a freak accident.

I often dream, my dreams are vivid always, full of details and I usually wake up mad at Chris, ask him, he will confirm this. Last night I dreamed of a rooster, a very mean rooster, I’m serious when I tell you this part because it is crucial to my coming to full understanding of my situation, he was after small kids which is usually funny but in this dream was super scary, and the only way I could keep him from the kids that were trying to visit was to allow him to attack me. I could catch him for quick second but then he would be back at it. I woke up exhausted and sore to yet another tag on Facebook, thank you Jennifer, seriously you have led me on the next turn in my discovery process. Killer roosters are real AND I have one in my backyard.

This is where my Boojee self recognized that my vanity in fixing my legs may be most practical thing to do, the rooster has to go, my dream was like literary foreshadowing of events that only a Boojee Chicken Keeper needs to be aware. Take care of yourself. Kill the rooster, fix your legs, stop drinking coffee at night, clean your own house before judging someone else’s, read your Bible, and love Jesus. It is so hodgepodge but in my anxiety ridden life it makes perfect sense. Did I mention I stabbed myself at the dump yesterday? Lol that is NOT Boojee and will require another post at another time.

Missing the Boat

Nothing grabs my attention like a post such as this. The gravity of it, just as it is defined as that extreme or alarming importance. I remember when Christopher was a toddler, it dawned on me that as I was teaching him to point at his eyes, nose, mouth and we sang songs of farm animals and what they said, I had not really spoke to him of God, or His son Jesus or that love that was so very important to know. He was probably two. Sure, we said prayers at bedtime, the exact same prayers my mom had said with me, but the rest of the day not one mention. We did not have a church home but Chris and I loved the Lord, we had given our hearts to Jesus, been baptized and we gave Him credit ‘were credit was due’ but honestly that was the extent of it.

I have since that day, with the leadership and guidance of the Holy Spirit and my Godly husband, purposed that our boys have a real and personal exposure to a walk with Jesus. A full time seeking, and messing up, and repentant relationship with the one true God. The childhood’s both Chris and I had are so very different from what our boys have experienced. They are different teenagers than Chris and I were because of it.

Oddly it is never a routine that is easy to keep at or take for granted, it has to be purposed in your heart, it has to be always an outward display of an inward change or one might become stagnant or a bad witness. I don’t want complacency or staleness to creep in to our home and the relationships we are all cultivating with God. The older and more independent they get, the bigger the upcoming stakes and mistakes and the more chance for the devil to talk them off that boat.

This school year my hope and prayer as the boy’s teacher and proctor is to be in a constant state of re-focusing our plans, activities, and lessons each day to God’s plans, activities, and lessons for their current and future relationship with Him. They are my most important mission right now and if I have a breath left in my body, or even a snap and point left in my hand, they will not miss that boat.

Thank you God for the Holy Spirit that guides us, Your word that teaches us, and Your salvation and grace that restores us new again and again. Thank you too for the blessing of a new homeschool year and this community of believers you have planted our family firmly in. Amen

Assurance of Salvation

016 Assurance in your Salvation that was paid for at the cross is not a one time proclamation of faith but rather an ongoing work of the grace of God in your life. A work that shows fruit in your life that is brought about through correction and refocus when you get it wrong, not condemned to give up but convicted to get up and press on. It is a growth that can only come about through the knowledge of God’s character and His purpose for, and in our lives by the study of His word. It is not achieved by your attention only on Easter and Christmas, but by the way you live life each day and seek that relationship with Him and knowledge of Him and get a glimpse of the projection of His perfect plan. Pray, Read, Rest, Repeat. Ephesians 2:1-10, 3:1-10

The Snake and Chicken Half Marathon

Never a dull moment for me, I go from can to can’t… Some days I do that before 1pm. Today is one of them … I found my eggs all scattered and knew something was wrong. Next thing I knew I was eye to eye with a six foot snake big around as the end of a Louisville Slugger. No joke, big enough to eat baby chicks.

I did three back handsprings and a double tuck back twist out of there. I stuck my landing and sprinted to my shovel and phone which was about 100 yards away. I called my sweet husband, Chris, and ran back to the chicken tractor. If you don’t know what that is you can probably stop reading now because the rest may not matter to you.

As I waited for Chris, planning on pinning the snake until he got there, I couldn’t locate it. I knew it’s last known location but that appeared to be vacated. Upon Chris’s nonchalant arrival I was telling him where it was. He assured me it was gone but I knew better, I had run like the wind to gather my snake killing tools, it hadn’t had time to get out of site.

Once again Chris was ready to throw in the towel, I gave him that crazy look like you better get involved or I will start ripping this tractor apart piece by piece. He wouldn’t budge though, I had to go in. There was no way I would leave the property knowing my baby chicks were next on this snakes menu. I went into the small bowels of the chicken tractor, using my best CSI skill, sure enough in a recess just big enough to hide, there that serpent laid.

Successfully again I pulled of my three back handsprings and a double back tuck, in this amount of time Chris had engaged. He yelled, “It’s coming your way.” And I ran the opposite way which happened to be the same about face the snake took. After a very involved tango and mamba, the snake was chased in Chris’s direction where it was promptly dispatched.

I swear the man did not make more than three steps, while I had performed a whole half marathon. To add insult to injury I inadvertently grabbed the electric fence on the way out of the animal pens. Nothing like 2,000 volts rushing through a small wire and burning a line in a generally well manicured hand.

I sit here typing my recount of the last 30 minutes in our house where the AC is currently on the fritz. I’m thankful for my health and the fact that I didn’t fall and break my hip or that my heart didn’t stop, I’m thankful for my sweet husband who puts up with all my looney tunes, and I am thankful for my friend who is afraid of snakes. I couldn’t wait to text her and see her reaction… It somehow made it all worthwhile. Lol

Prayer – Helmet of Salvation

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Dear Lord,

My helmet, You have given me, is as strong as it is precious. Thank you for justifying me from my past, sanctifying me daily. Your salvation is my rescue and my defense, it restores me daily. My heart and mind will always be re-directable when I rest in You, Your Word, and Your ways. Your salvation brings me into a daily state of health, well being, safety, and ultimate victory. You aren’t just my rescue but you are my refuge. You can reverse negative experiences.

Please, Lord, help me focus and know my identity in You. Help me stay grounded in Your strength, Your peace, Your clarity, Your rest, and my obedience to You. As I process my salvation and daily sanctification through You daily in my mind, remind me, Lord, to put on my helmet of salvation to protect my inheritance. Protect me God from poisonous thinking. Don’t let me go into battle again without taking full advantage of my helmet and its benefits.

Help me, Heavenly Father, identify, confess, and dismantle the thought processes that establish ungodly strongholds in my life. I proclaim that my identity is in Christ! I am alive and free and empowered by God’s own Spirit to fight victoriously against the enemy. God, YOU KNOW ME and I AM YOURS! You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

Please continue to keep me proactive in my attention to renewing my mind. I will remain serious and alert so I will not be tripped up and fall. My mind is set on things above, not the the things of this earth. Thank you God for keeping my mind safe and my salvation secured through Your grace and my faith.

“For I have died & my life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col 3:2-3)

In Jesus Name I pray,
AMEN

I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I have access to God’s wisdom (Jas 1:5)
I am helped by God (Rom 5:11)
I am reconciled to God (Heb 4:16)
I am Christ’s ambassador (2 Cor. 5:21)
I am Christ’s friend (John 15:15)
I am chosen by Christ to bear fruit (John 15:16)
I am hidden with Christ in God (Col 3:3)
I am chosen by God, holy and dearly loved (Col 3:12)
I am born of God, and the evil one cannon touch me (1 John 5:18)
I have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)
I may approach God with boldness, freedom, and confidence (Eph 2:12)
My needs are met by God (Phil 4:19)
I am assured all things and working together for good (Rom 8:28)
I cannot be separated from the love of God (Rom 8:35)
I have been established, anointed, and sealed by God (2 Cor 1:21,22)
I am a citizen of Heaven (Phil 3:20)
I am a personal witness of Christ’s (Act 1:8)
I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength (Phil 4:13)

This was my final prayer strategy that I developed during my time in Priscilla Shirer’s Bible Study, The Armor of God, published by Lifeway books. I can not emphasize to you how much it impacted my prayer life, and how I approach daily struggles, which almost always boils down to spiritual warfare on some level. I pray that if you don’t do the study you at least dig into the book of Ephesian’s. You will be blessed!