Goosed!

While coming home from work the other day, it landed upon me to protect the lives of 2 parent Canadian geese and their five gosslings -- at least I think there were five; it was hard to tell given the circumstances.
My subdivision is off a 4-lane, divided road that's almost like a highway because the speed limit is 55 mph.  Although it's very open, it's also curvy in one section right before the turnoff into the subdivision, and there's a divider of grass about 15-20 feet wide in the middle.  As I came around the curve the other day, I was in the left lane and was leading a "pack" of cars that had just gone through the light, and there, right in the divider and heading onto the roadway, were two geese with their little ones!  I was destined to hit them unless I stopped!  As I braked quickly, I turned on my car flashers and prayed that no one would rearend me or the car behind me!  The geese and gosslings were literally right in front of my bumper and heading into the right lane of traffic when I realized that the drivers in the other lane could not see why we were stopped, and my heart went into my throat as I feared that I'd witness the wipeout of an entire family of geese in a split second!
Fortunately, the driver of the first car in the right lane slowed down and stopped just as the geese waddled and squacked their way onto the other side of the road.  I watched them go as I tried to keep my eyes on the traffic backing up behind me, thankful that a pileup had not occurred and grateful that the goose family had successfully crossed the road.  Needless to say, I was a bit shaken by the event.  I just hope they don't try to go back where they came from!
There is a natural drainage area at the side of our property, and it runs the entire length of the subdivision and then goes under the 4-lane road, and as the water ponds there, it attracks all kinds of wildlife, including ducks and geese.  It's a natural area that invites them to nest and hatch their young, and since the geese don't have any reasoning capabilities, if they decide to cross the road -- well, they cross the road, and it's upon the drivers to not hit them.  I encountered this migration about two weeks ago when I was going to the bank and ended up behind a car that was protecting some geese as they crossed another road with their little ones.  Since I'm an animal lover, I'll stop and let them pass while I enjoy the sight. 
The black-capped chickadee babies in the nest in one of our birdhouses are finally gone.  Much quieter outside now!  Found a robin's nest the other day and are waiting for eggs to appear.  I love this time of year when nature reproduces and we're blessed with the cycle of life that God has established.  And today little Julian is one year old!  And I must remind myself that I'm a year older than I was when he was born!  Time passes, babies are born, children grow up, parents grow older, and grandparents grow old.  Grab every day with enthusiasm and thank God for it. 

New Readers!

I'm continually amazed at the internet.  For the first time, people in Brazil are reading this blog!  Welcome!  I hope you find truth and hope in my feeble attempts to convey God's love through my everyday activities.  Japan is also a newcomer, and Russian readers have been strong the last week.  I want you to know how much I appreciate your readership.  Without you I'd be sending these posts into cyberspace!
The internet is a powerful tool and can be used for good or evil, as every knows.  Technology has changed our world in the last two decades in ways that were only science fiction when I was a young girl.  I tell my grandkids about not having a television when I was very small, and when we got one, it had only 3 stations and everything was in black and white.  They smirk at me as they use their Droids to text their friends!  Satellite now brings so many stations into homes that it's ridiculous; we have satellite television and get a lot of stations, but we watch only a few that are our favorites.  Actually, we hardly watch television, probably not more than 10 hours a week, if that! 
Anyway, it would be great to hear from my old and new readers through posting a comment.  Again, thanks for reading and making my need to write rewarding and fulfilling. 

Stairs and Faith

What do stairs have to do with faith?  I'll tell you!  I work on the 5th floor of a building, and there are 98 stairs in the interior stairwell.  I used to go up them but only go down since my back surgery; my plan is to drop enough of those extra pounds (some are already gone - Yeah!) added during my back injury to be able to do the stairs in a reasonable amount of time soon!  So I usually take the stairs down to the first floor during my lunch break, and this is where faith comes into play.  I know exactly how many stairs are between floors -- 2 sets of 12 stairs except between the 1st and 2nd floors, where there is one set of 8 stairs and 2 sets of 9 stairs -- but I find it extremely difficult to go down the stairs without looking at them!  How silly is that?!  I've counted them multiple times, yet to look at the wall and take each step causes me to pause at the eleventh step and cautiously take the last one!  No one has changed the number of stairs in the staircase, so I keep telling myself that I have a lack of faith in what I know to be positively a sure thing!  I'm now trying to take the stairs while focusing my eyes on the wall, but it's not an easy thing to do when I'm so used to looking as I put my foot on each step.
Faith is like that.  God is the same yesterday, today and forever.  His promises are true.  So why do we think we have to see every step that we take?  Stepping out in faith when there doesn't appear to be anything there is not easy, but it's the only way to move forward in God.  I'm faced with faith-walking in the realm of my book sales now, and I can tell you that I don't see anything happening.  I want to see what's next; I want to see that God's promises to me are fulfilled, but not seeing the future is what keeps me walking in faith.  The Lord is calling me to writing and speaking, and I must continue to have faith that it will come about.  Easy?  No, but I'll cling to what God has told me as I step out in faith every day.

Learning Curve

With "Amanda's Hope" published, I'm languishing in the language of computers.  WestBow Press has set up a Yahoo account for me, as well as one on Facebook, AuthorsXpress, Twitter, TwitterFeed, AuthorCentral, and a few others.  The only ones with which I'm remotely familiar are Yahoo and Facebook.  I'm completely lost on the others.  Marketing this book is time-consuming, and since I work full-time, I'm stressed to the max about learning this other stuff.  I'm trying to find a college marketing student who'd be willing to help me learn how to use these social media, but my search is only one day old.  Young people have had computers around all of their lives; older people like me (notice I did not say "old") have a huge learning curve.  Yes, I use computers daily, but my knowledge is limited to the programs I use on my job, e-mail, and the Facebook thing.  I can't fix anything computer problem if something happens.  I use what I know and I know what I use.
I put up a post on my "official blog" and shared it on Facebook and Twitter, but I have no idea who will get my tweet.  It did show up on Facebook, and you can see the post by going to  www.barbaranstewart.authorsxpress.com. 
Publishing a book is great, but it will do no good sitting in boxes and not being read.  The message of waiting until marriage for sex, the right to life of the unborn, the need to live a godly life, are all detested by the enemy of our souls, who is doing his best to keep this book and its message from getting out there.  I know I've been targeted because these things have happened in my life since March 19:  Husband Bob suffered a heart attack; the driver of another car pulled out in front of me without stopping at a stop sign, causing me to swerve to the left to avoid hitting him; a bicyclist turned directly in front of my car at an intersection, and I narrowly avoided hitting him; Bob didn't see and yield the right-of-way to another car at an intersection and we were almost hit; and a candle started a towel on fire in my son's house yesterday while I was there.  Thank God the fire was quickly extinguished by pulling the burning towel into the sink and turning on the water.  Not for a minute do I consider these events coincidences; they've all occurred since March 19, the day I gave final approval for the printing of "Amanda's Hope." 
I know full well that I'm in for battle with the writing of the book, but God's truth always prevails and God's will is never thwarted!  Please lift me and my family in your prayers for protection from the enemy.  I covet and cherish your prayers and your readership.  If you can go one step further and purchase a copy of "Amanda's Hope", you'll be standing with me in the fight for the rights of the unborn and for the truth of God's Word.