His eye is on the sparrow..and Ella

The rain continues to pelt the farm.

We slosh and slog and brave the muddy farm road to go buy another umbrella and I scratch the itch to complain.

Simultaneously, ironically, the fires continue to devour my thirsty Texas town. Fatigued firefighters and neighbors labor shoulder to shoulder; fighting for their parched, precious homes and land.

What they would all give for the clouds to well up, fat and black, and spill over the hills.

Ben Godkin Photography

My throat feels raw, and I am a thousand miles away, not even breathing the ashy air.

Outside my kitchen window, a sparrow clings to a whipping branch in a driving downpour.  How can such a small creature withstand nature's deluge?  I realize now that the sparrow is singing.  Singing!

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On Treehaven Lane, Ella and her family cling to the Tree of Life.  How can mere mortals withstand such unrelenting fury on body, mind and spirit?  It is too much fire and floodwaters for any saint.

Faux-Toes Spitting Images (Without the Mess) (Kristin Roedner)

My hope in this raging storm is that He who cares for my sparrow cares infinitely more for Ella.

This creator and sustainer of all life came to save, not condemn.

His purpose is to heal ravaged bodies and raped lands in this life and the next.  

He does not seek to destroy, but to set wrongs right and make all things new.

He doesn't wish to make peace with death, he intends to destroy it.

Of this we can sing while we cling to this precious gift we call life.

Heaven and Hell

"Go to hell" is a phrase that is now permitted on the Hall farm.

Gasp!

You may wonder at our newfound parenting skills, and grandma might need to visit soon, but this is one phrase we mean quite literally in certain cases.  

Ticks and poison ivy will not be in heaven.  They belong only in the depths of hades with all other manner of evil.  And that, dear friends, is where we are telling them to go.

Titus is always on the losing end of the battle with poison ivy

The back yard as of last week (now it's gone!).  Mecca for ticks and poison ivy.                                   Come visit soon!

Can you see my chicken coop through all the poison ivy?

In the two weeks we've been here, I've seen an army of caterpillars, spiders, beetles and weeds.  The array of buzzing insect life is astounding and actually quite entertaining.  It's entirely possible that God will allow these creatures and plants through the pearly gates as part of the new creation for us to enjoy forever.

But not ticks and poison ivy.

They will reside in hell for all eternity, banished there by the Halls with much relish and dancing.

A few guidelines are in order if you come visit and desire to use the phrase yourself.

You may say "Go to hell" while burning the tick that has been removed from you, your little sister, or your dog.


















You may not say it to your little sister or your dog assuming that they probably have at least one tick on them at any given moment.

You may say it to a poison ivy branch or patch that you have triumphantly hacked out and thrown into the fire pit.  You may not mutter it over your shoulder as you are traipsing through said poison ivy in search of a lost lacrosse ball.

My sister-in-law Stephanie helps me remove weeds and poison ivy.  Bless her.

Colvin surveys the battlefield

Two weeks and 100 less ticks on the farm!
Two weeks and 200 less poison ivy plants banished to hell!
There are always things to be thankful for...