Posted in Christy's Concepts, Missions of LIFE

Wearing a Missionary Hat

Posted on by Christy Petty

We are blessed to belong to a church family that believes in WE , the church body, being the missionaries of the world.  Instead of supporting one family or person to be located in an area of ‘need’, we equip ourselves and take the step out and touch many with the gospel and then follow up teaching and equipping of those who are new believers in Christ, to go out and do what we started ourselves.  The commissioning Christ gave to his disciples just before ascending in the clouds.

Keith and I are going on a missionary trip, in addtion to five women from our church.  Keith’s mission is mainly to try to open the road blocks (literally) for a missionary that is located in South Africa.  Stop points hamper getting from one church to another by hours, even days.  IF we can obtain a pass of sorts, travel can be more efficient for us and him.  Keith will also be teaching a Mens Ministry of being Godly Men.  I and another woman will be facilitating ‘Changing Me’ a study of being a Godly Wife.  We teach the study and also teach how to teach the study, so these women can go out and teach to others who can teach to others….. There will be 3 teams in 3 different areas, this will reach hundreds!

I am honored to be a part of this mission! Blessed that God would call me to do this!

Now I just need to get out of the house!  I absolutely HATE leaving home!!!! Once I am gone I am fine, but right now I am not.  I fly out in 4 hours, and am posting on my blog.

I am praying for Wi Fi in Zambia.

Posted in Traveling

Traveling Gluten Free

Posted on by Christy Petty

Keith and I are starting a mission into a vacation trek into other parts of the world.  We will be in Zambia South Africa for a time and then we are stopping over in France for a bit!

We will fly Continental with no meals to catch British Airways in big Hub and have Gluten Free meals, 6 over and 6 back.   We will see how British does!!!

The Zambia stay will probably not have much issue with GF eating, unless they try to Americanize for us and add pasta.  France I am totally clueless about, I think I may be wanting of pastries and such. Aren’t the French suppose to be pastry people?  It is an adventure and I will take you along!!

Check in and see what we eat!! I can not promise the posting will be real consistent, seeing we do not know when we will have wi fi- But I know we will once we reach Paris- So for sure in about 10 days I can tell you about Zambia, if not sooner!!

Tune in!

Posted in Evan, My House that God built

The smaller it is the longer it takes…

Posted on by Christy Petty

We decided a few months ago that we would add an apartment in the shop Keith was building. We decided this based on a couple of things:

1.Apartments, rentals of any kind, here are ridiculously expensive and right now, there are no apartments or homes to be rented.

 2.IF there were apartments, we don’t think Evan’s minimum wage income could afford him a place that would be worth the money.

      So we built the shop and designed the efficiency apartment and told Evan “Soon.”  We lied.   Not intentionally, we thought we would get the apartment finished in a matter of weeks. We built a house in a year, of course we could fill/in build an apartment   “Soon.” This apartment has taken almost a year and we still need to dig the septic, hook up the water,(plumb) build the shower, put in sink, toilet, put cabinets in the kitchen. We still have MAJOR work to do.

One weekend, about 6 ago, Keith and Evan moved some of Evan’s stuff into his apartment, prior to the electric being hooked up.  Keith wanted to get the stuff out of his shop so he could get some room to do some work on the apartment.  This was all Evan needed. Evan got him an extension cord, and ran it from our house to the apartment, hooked up the window unit, and his lamp, another extension cord and electric strip, his TV, the cable box we have been paying not to use for 5 months, his playstation, his television and phone charger. He put sheets on his bed, and was home.

Evan obviously wanted to get out of Dodge!

Since his move we have finally added the electric, put in the switches, plugs (except the oven)put up lights(except the bathroom).  I spent all day putting in the coolest Ikea shelving. ALL DAY.  The shelves separate his room from the living/kitchen, and hold his electronics, collectible cars, and array of Evan stuff.

Evan makes treks over to the house for showers and bathroom. He insists on eating in his home, uses his microwave and George Foreman grill and electric griddle to cook. Keith attempted to wire the plug outlet for the oven, only to find it was the wrong one, when he went to buy the electrical plug (which does not come with oven).

This weekend the pump was finally put on the well we drilled a year ago. We have outdoor faucets for the house, but nothing hooked up in his apartment, yet. I have cabinets I finished for his apartment, sitting in the floor of the shop waiting for the kitchen sink to be hooked up with in and out plumbing. We have whitetile and a shower base to build a shower with, waiting for green board and plumbing to be brought in. The bath sink needs to be purchased, the toilet needs to be purchased.

All the plumbing can be hooked up, except the toilet. The grey water can drain out side, Lord knows theground would love the moisture. The toilet can not hook up yet  though, we have to rent some kind of equipment, AGAIN, to did a trench from the apartment to the septic tanks. The hard dry ground with caliche rock 1 foot below is impossible to penetrate by mere human hands.

In the mean time, Evan seems to be completely happy with his bachelor pad. The sink is full of dishes, which he brings over in his clothes basket to wash once a week t, after he comes over and washes hisclothes. He steps outsideto pee (he usually does ‘the other’ at work, he says)  and shows up here to shower. He never makes his bed. I think the only thing that will change when he gets plumbing, is he will shower at his place.  

Posted in Exhort Pray Praise...

Found More than I was Looking For

Posted on by Christy Petty

Recently, I thought one of my cats had become another missing feline. I was most concerned, in the last year and a half I have lost several cats. Sally, and Bubba, and Piper, and then there was Sweetie who died from a snake bite.  We have coyotes out here, and it seems they snack on cats.

When Liz did not greet me at the door,which she did every morning, since she had been moved out of the house, and Max and Richard were there I thought something could be amiss.  I began calling for her, I called for her all day, climbed the fence to search the neighboring area; drove the uninhabited 30 acres, east of us ,searching for tufts of fur, and found many trails among the mesquite made by coyotes. My voice began cracking, with emotion, by evening, I KNEW she was gone. The next day I did the same,and prayed more fervently to God.

Yes, I prayed to God to find my cat.  I have prayed all my life for little things, like my cats. I (we) can do that, you know. My cats, Max, Lilly, Taffy & Bubba, survived living at a ranch house we leased for 5 years because God answered my prayers for protection for my cats. I know this.A couple of days after we moved from the ranch ,our neighbors called to report on life at the ranch without us, they explained they would drive in and find four to five coyotes in our front yard. They complimented our old dog Ranger for being coyote repellant. I knew, know, Ranger was the instrument God used.

My prayers this time were for Liz returning. Then they became more than this. I began to pray and be led into ‘conversation’ with God on his power and grace.  I recalled God’s miracles, and controlling of animals.  Lions with Daniel. Big fish eats and urps Jonah. Donkey talks.  God’s miracles of healing and over’powering’ death, the lame walked, the blind given sight, leprosy healed. Boy with aneurism or something like this, brought back to life. Lazarus.  I reminded God, He reminded me, I proclaimed my unwavering belief that He did these great things, I knew he could do anything. God could bring my dead cat back, he could have the coyote urp her up, he could revive her body, he could remake her and replace her. He did have nine lives to work with!

It was in this prayer this conversation that I came to see something else I had lost, other than Liz. I had an inkling of doubt in me.

James 1:6–7 6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. 7 For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;

I then did some soul searching of my own. I found  I had lost knowing God WOULD do all things. I found I I began my prayer with “If you CAN…”  Well, of  course he ‘COULD’. So I revised, I said prayed “ If you WILL…” . Then I thought, “Why doesn’t he?”  Then as I prayed I saw another obstacle, beyond my doubt.

 Psalm 66:18 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,the Lord would not have listened. 

My own unrepentance.  God holds back blessing me, if I do not ‘bless‘ him, so to speak, with my all, my sins. God knows everything about me, my thoughts my actions, my heart, he wants me to admit to ME and my failures, to be honest with HIM.   My just knowing I have faults and wrong choices is not enough either.  I must take the humbling step to God and show him what he already knows what  I am holding behind my back.

I love these AHA moments I get from God.  I confessed the sins I did not know I had, asking him to reveal. I asked forgiveness for the sins of anger, resentment, haughtiness, condemnation, fear, unforgiveness I had towards those who had hurt me and so deserved these feeling of MINE. Though the only one who felt the pain from these unrepented feelings were me. I ‘felt’ God hearing me.

1 John 5:14–15 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him.

I thanked him, I still do, for showing me this.  The connection was made.I went on with my day. Shared my thoughts with Keith. Meditated all day on my epiphany.  Accepted that Liz may not return, but thankful God used this moment to grow me yet some more.

Later in the afternoon Keith and I were outside talking, yard stuff, chore stuff, burning up in the heat.  I think I had just ‘spoke’ to Max, the cat, who was laying on the porch, and commented to Keith how I hated that Liz was yet another coyote casuality. Turned back to the porch and, Liz is walking across.  At first it actually did not ‘compute’ that Liz was back, on the porch walking with the others cats. Then it did!  “LIZ”– Keith of course, did his typical “ I told you so, you were getting all worked up about nothing, they always come back” speech. (If they ALWAYS come back, pray tell, where are Bubba, Sally and Piper?)

I scooped up Liz and took her into the house, examining for injuries.  No injuries, but she was coated with tree sap and had a pine needle stuck in her belly fur.  The nearest with pine trees is a couple of lots over.  A single older guy, with various pines and cedars around his house for wind block, and chickens and two blue heeler’s.

Liz was very odd for a couple of days after this, seemed to be recouping, she lay on the cold cement floor belly down most of the time, mewing a bit if we walked by. She avoided the doors going outside, and ran the other direction when we opened one. Drank lots of water. So best guess, Liz was up in a tree for a couple of days, in 110+ degree heat,. Till God brought her down!!!  Or even wilder and crazier, absolutely anything inconceivable could have happened to her, all I know is God brought her back. God also took this opportunity to remind me,  if I am: up a tree, in the depths, without a rope, without a paddle, without a dime to my name…. He can get me, save me, bring me home, no problem. He never quits me, never stops listening, it is I who puts things in the way. Me who hampers prayers. Myself who turns away.

Posted in Exhort Pray Praise...

>A Football Game Gives Hope

Posted on by Christy Petty

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Matthew 25:31-46 (New King James Version)   

31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy[a] angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’ 
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? 38 When did we see You a stranger and take Youin, or naked and clothe You? 39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ 40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’ 
44 “Then they also will answer Him,[b] saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ 46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Sheep or Goat? Right or Left?
Also notice, The need was met. Feed the hungry, give clothes to the naked, water to the thirsty, welcome strangers, visit the sick, visit the prisoner.
No money given. No healing attempted. No house built. No pardon given. No change forced upon. The need was met.
Sheep or Goat? Right or Left?
Posted in Exhort Pray Praise...

Christmas, something for nothing.

Posted on by Christy Petty

Just last weekend we had a Christmas Open House. We hosted an open house like this a few years ago when we were in our house in town.  Both parties were great, in that we had many friends come. This last party though was in this home, this home that we remember every day is a gift, built by God.

Keith and I discussed the pure joy of having our friends come and share their time with us. We were overwhelmed by their kindness and their compliments on our home.  I am so humbled when people come  and compliment my home.  Many seem in awe of it, funny thing, we are too. I am truly amazed that I have all of this, I do not think I respond correctly, I know full well this house and all that we have is straight from God.  I want to give God credit for all of this. Yet when I say things like “Couldn’t have done it with out God.” Or “We did work, but God gave us everything to get it done.” I feel like I am either freakin people out like I am some kind of ‘Holy Roller’.  Or I am being ungracious to the praiser for not accepting the full responsibility of the praise OR the worst,…What if my saying “God blessed us with this, all of this, the work, the time, the funds, the energy..”, causes someone to think ‘Well he didn’t do that for me.’ I want to let everyone know how grateful we are, yet I don’t want to seem proud, in the haughty way. .  .  Keith and I both want so to always give God credit for all of this, because we KNOW with out God, this would not exist.  In worldly reality it should not.

So many miracles, yes, miracles are involved in the building of our house.  God incidences;

The market rising so that we made an almost double profit on our house that we only lived in for 4 years.
This land we found, after many other ‘that’s it’ acres being ‘lost’.  The man we bought from, died just a month after we found him and purchased from him. Each person we hired to do a job, seemed a God appointment. Our marriage surviving  building our home, daily for 1 year and living in a very small travel trailer. The rock, the water, the deals on furniture, the price of steel, the trusses, it goes on and on.

We know that more wonderful than the house are our friends.  In crisis and celebration we have had our friends to share with, some would bring a meal or give a shoulder to cry on or a laugh and a good time.  We would reciprocate in the same way, because we are good people, too. When we built this house, our friends went beyond what we expected from anyone.  We had people here to hook up electric and put our roof on. We would have someone ask how is it going, we would explain something we were working on and a day later people would show up to help. And they got NOTHING from it, except  blisters.  We can never ever repay those that showed up and climbed up on the roof, on Sunday afternoons. Having the work done ends up being an added bonus to our finding out the true meaning of friendship. Seriously, why would anyone desire to come and do something for someone else without expecting anything in return?

In the light of this season, I think of  the reason for, Jesus’ birth in this world. Jesus too, is a something for nothing.  Jesus, God, received absolutely nothing for coming to us, except pain. Oh yeah, and those that believe in the miracle of Jesus, God ‘gets’ us.
 Like he really NEEDS us.We can do absolutely nothing for God, he does not need us to survive. He will live forever with or without us. .  We on the other hand received everything.  We have been forgiven for every horrendous, stupid sin we will ever commit AND we get to live eternally in a perfect world with God as our Light. Why? So God can have us near him? Because God needs us? God desires us? I don’t think so.He does not have to have us, he just wants us.  There is truly not one thing we can fulfill for God, yet he desired to die for us.  God desired to come to this world and take up residence in a tiny frail human body. A body that was not super natural, not super strong, not super good looking. Just a plain ol body, subject to pain and illness. The body of a child whose parents were not very ‘well off’.   God desired to be raised by human parents, who were not of royalty, they were very common. God desired to live in this world not as a wealthy man, having all the comforts of this world, but as a poor man, he did not have a real home of his own. God had no wife, no children. God had no person to love him ‘for who he was’.  Actually, God,Jesus, was hated for who he was. Jesus did not give into temptation of power, and riches. God did not protect his human body from harm. He did not, does not, make others love him and accept him.

What did God ‘get’ by coming as Jesus one cold winter night? What did that being born ‘get’ him?Rejection, persecution, a painful agonizing death of body and then all of our sins dumped on him and then complete separation from the only good that ever exists, God, himself. Being born got him our death. Seriously, why would anyone desire to come and do something for someone else without expecting anything in return? Not because we deserved anything. Not because he needs anything from us, in return. JUST because he loves us.

 So here I am this year, blessed with my undeserved home, husband, children, grandchildren, family friends, life here and eternally. Humbled by his grace and love.  I am small and insignificant and completely undeserving, yet God the creator of all things, came and died and took my sins just so I could live eternally with him….
Merry Christmas and thanks, God.

Posted in Family

>Dad would have been 82

Posted on by Christy Petty

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 Yesterday was Dad’s birthday, if he was alive he would have been 82.

   Yesterday Leslie Neilson died.  Dad loved his later movies the Airplanes 2 1/2 guns etc.  Dad’s sense of humor ‘went that way’.  About a week before Dad died one of the Airplanes was playing, he and I sat and watched it, he in his wheelchair and I beside him. He smiled and enjoyed it all the way through.

Sometimes I wondered on what Dad was comprehending those last days, this time allowed me to see he was ‘getting’ it all!

When I heard Leslie Neilson died on Dad’s birthday I thought it a bit ironic.  I went to look up his info on the internet, thinking it would be REALLY ironic if his birthday was close to Dad’s death date.  Well it wasn’t BUT, it was exactly the day Mom died.  Feb 11.   What are the chances? (Some math geek needs to do the math) Of the 365 days of the year, this guy died on Dad’s birthdate and was born on Moms death date.   Mom and Dad both would watch those movies, rent them, eventually added them to their VCR library. They even laughed at them! I still grown and most of the silliness, they loved it!

There are so very many things that remind me of Dad, I love those memories.
 Leslie Neilson, and his movies.  Other movies similar in style, one being Blazing Saddles, if ever that was on cable, Dad would be watching it.
Blazing Saddles was also a favorite of Kirks, so that has a double star on memory for me.

Thanksgiving is a reminder of Dad, not just because this slim trim for life guy LOVED to eat a good meal, but it always landed near his birthday.

Zippo lighters, Dad smoked all my life that I lived at home.  I remember he always had a zippo, until disposable Bics entered the picture.  I have a couple of his old Zippos, they don’t work anymore, but they still have the smell of fluid and ‘strike’ when struck.  That smell gives me a warm fuzzy feeling all over.  Forever I smelled that  as Dad lit a cigarette.  If I smelled it, Dad was near me, or I him, probably sitting next to him, in the middle, as he drove.

Another memory smell, I get to smell every so often, a newly lit cigarette, mmmm Daddy.  Sorry all you anti smokers, to me, that is the sweetest smell.  I remember laying in the back of the station wagon as we made our late night drives either to or from Mamaw and Papaws house, covered up with a blanket or Dad’s coat. Dad would roll down the window just a bit, the sound of the wind, the feel of the cold air, just on the top of my head, the flick of the lighter, smell of flint strike, then the sweetness of that first light of the cigarette.  I felt so secure, so close, Dad and Mom in the front, the darkness of the car,except the glow from the dashboard, the stars moving past, the occasional red ash bouncing off the window above me, to lull me to sleep.

Football on TV. Stadium lights in the distance. Coach Sanders, was my Daddy.

Orange crush.  Dad and I would share these when I was a little girl.

Broken beer bottles. We did not share these.  I was about 4 and Dad and I were at the local drive in burger joint, waiting on an order.  I was crawling around on the outdoor table. Someone had broken a beer bottle and shoved it up through the wood slats, I crawled over it and sliced my knee open(I still have the big scar).  Dad grabbed me up and put his handkerchief on it to stop the bleeding, and he was mad mad mad.  I thought at first at me, for getting hurt, messing up his handkerchief, and I apologized.  Dad explained he was not mad at me, but at the so and so that stuck that bottle in the table.

When we get the Christmas decorations down I will remember him. That was HIS job. He would get the boxes down from the attic, get frustrated with mom because she would always be telling him he had ‘missed one’.

 Dad was everything to me, my parent, friend, protector, he loved me so unconditionally. I never questioned his love or approval of me, even at my worst, he never disapproved of me, just my actions.  I really can not think of anytime Dad did for himself first, he was always wanting for others.

So many memories.  Thank you God! 82 years ago a great man was born, just to be my Dad.