The Soldier's Psalm

Psalm 91

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God

1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High
Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress;
My God, in Him I will trust.”

3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous pestilence.
4 He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.
5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night,
Nor of the arrow that flies by day,
6 Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
And ten thousand at your right hand;
But it shall not come near you.
8 Only with your eyes shall you look,
And see the reward of the wicked.

9 Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge,
Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
10 No evil shall befall you,
Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;
11 For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways.
12 In their hands they shall bear you up,
Lest you dash your foot against a stone.
13 You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra,
The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot.

14 “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
15 He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him and honor him.
16 With long life I will satisfy him,
And show him My salvation.”

Plans for Watering

Kathleen plans on putting in a drip system. Her and Andy will investigate options Tuesday or Wednesday.

Driving down Smelter Avenue the other day, the light changed to yellow just as I approached it. Slamming on the brakes, the pickup came to an abrupt stop. Suddenly a loud "thunk" shook the cab as the water tank, in the pickup bed, slammed into the back window of the pickup. From there on, I slowed down and carefully eased up to traffic lights, in case of a sudden change.

Earlier in the week, when we drained the tank, we could not get the last 6", or so, of water from the bottom, as the drain was that far up the back end of the tank. I now tried to push the tank off the window, but it was heavy and would not budge. At the time the tank was put on, I gave consideration to putting something between the tank and the cab, but didn't have anything to use for a wedge, at the time.

Besides the tank sitting and rubbing against the back window, as I am driving down the road, there is, also, the problem of getting it OFF the pickup. Obviously, pushing it off is out of the question.

The plan, now, is to set up some posts to rope the tank to and then drive forward and have it slide off and down a ramp. YES!! This is definitely going to be an exciting week. Hopefully I don't end up wrecking the pickup somehow or other.

When I was young I felt the need to go out into the world to search for adventure. But, right here, in our everyday life, there is more adventure than I know what to do with!!! God provides for our needs and He makes our lives interesting. Thank God for our wonderful blessings!

Attempt at Watering the Trees

Trees galore...soon to be a forest! This weekend Andy plowed with this cute little 32hp John Deere Tractor with a 3-pt hitch; and, then he and Kathleen planted their trees. (The date is wrong on the picture, as I did not change it on the camera.)

With over 300 little trees in the ground, it seemed imperative to figure out a way to water them. The distance is too far for hoses. In Sun Prairie we filled up garbage cans at the water stations and then watered the trees by buckets; but, that was far less than a hundred trees. So, together with Victoria, a decision was made to put a water tank on the pickup. This morning I headed to Big R to get the one on sale.

Hoping to be able to attach a water hose to the tank, I could then blare my radio and happily drive down the rows watering the trees. The fellow at the store found some adaptor fittings for a garden hose. Then Mom's neighbor, Harvey, put the fittings on for me. Next stop, to get a small hose, and THEN the water station.

175 gallons later, the little pickup and I were on our way home. S l o w l y! There was no baffle in the water tank, so fearing a big slosh might tip the pickup over, I went slowly and steadily. No problems!!

I went to the first tree when I got home, all excited to start watering. Pulled the hose through the cab and turned it on----nothing. I pulled the hose out of the cab and put it ground level, thinking MAYBE it can't push up hill---nothing. I opened the top lid to give it air---nothing. Now what?

Time to call the boys. Its really great having three brothers. I kinda wonder at times that they don't mind getting stupid calls for help. They always take me seriously and help!! Thank God for them!

Well, I tried Pete. He thought maybe either the tank was plugged, or maybe the hose. Asked if the hose was below the level of the tank. He then suggested taking the hose off and putting an old one on that I could cut up and see if a shorter distance would help. I asked how I was going to get it back on and he didn't think that should be a problem. That I just needed to "shut the valve off first." ......The valve???? Now why didn't anyone at the store say I needed a valve???? So, I told him I didn't have a valve. My hopes sank when I heard the surprise in his voice when he repeated my words of "no valve."

The final decision was that I was going to make a ditch through the trees and, at the top end of the land, run the water down through the trees. This afternoon Kat texted that they would be here in the morning to help.

The live animal trap wasn't such a huge success, either. I set it up and put a slice of bread in there, hoping to get rid of AT LEAST one gopher. When I came back, the trap had been sprung. The gopher had gotten in, nibbled on the bread, left little gopher droppings and escaped out of the cage. Set it one more time--maybe this next time he won't be so lucky.