SimplyLife

Walking into the fairgrounds There's nothing like a good old-fashioned county fair. If you want a classic, it has to be the Wyoming County Fair, commonly known as the "Pike Fair." Since the fair is held in Pike, NY it makes perfect sense. When we travel back East to NY in August, the fair is a must. As with many county fairs in the northeast, the Wyoming Co. Fair has been around a long time--since 1843. It moved around to different towns until it was permanently settled in the village of Pike some years later. That was because it had empty potato storage barns, which were perfect for housing the livestock and vendors for a week.* Historical note: Pike is no longer a village, but a hamlet. It became unincorporated in 2009. The hogs The fair hasn't changed since I was growing up in another hamlet--East Koy, just about 3-4 miles away. While other county fairs charge a stiff admission price, no admission fee has ever been charged as far as I know. The rides have...

E. M. Bounds said in his book,  Power Through Prayer "We do not seek God with ardor and diligence. No man gets God who does not follow hard after him, and no soul follows hard after God who is not after him in early morn." His statement is just as current today as when it was published in 1906. This powerful little book is directed to pastors, but  Power Through Prayer should be on every Christian's shelf, read and re-read.  Edward M. Bounds was born in 1835 and died in 1913. A Missouri attorney at the beginning of his career, he felt the call to ministry and was ordained as a Methodist pastor in 1859. He didn't support slavery, but served as a chaplain in the Confederate army and spent time as a POW during the war. After his release at the end of the Civil War, he returned to Franklin, Missouri to the pastorate and eventually became an itinerant preacher. Toward the end of his career he was the Associate Editor of The Nashville Christian Advocate . A...

If you missed this historical potboiler, read on. This is the Bisbee Massacre, revisited. The wild West is alive and well where we live. Tombstone is an easy drive for an afternoon of strolling the boardwalks, getting some BBQ, and chatting with cowboys, gunslingers, and "soiled doves." Every self-respecting American knows about the gunfight at the OK Corral. We've romanticized it in film for decades. Personally I enjoy the 1993 version with Val Kilmer and Kurt Russell. There are quite few tales of violence and western justice in our area that are not as well known as the OK Corral incident. Bisbee, which snatched the designation of county seat in Cochise County after the Tombstone silver ran out has some tales of its own. Since winter is upon us and a story is always good by the fire, sit a spell while I tell you the about the Bisbee Massacre. Main Street, Bisbee, AZ On a cold December night in 1883, five outlaws rode into Bisbee and commenced robbing ...

There's a common ground cover weed we have in the yard called Rattlesnake-Weed. It's a small-leaved plant that hugs the ground and forms a green mat across the dirt or stones. Tiny white flowers cover the top and does its best to look like a cultivated ground cover. While green is an extremely desirable color in the high desert, this is as its name implies--a weed. Other properties of the plant include a sticky white substance that oozes from the stems when they're broken-something like milkweed juice, it's also tough against Round-Up, and hard to pull out of the ground. It's pretty determined to survive and Rattlesnake-Weed is designed for survival. The tough little plant reminds me of bad habits (habitual sins) we accumulate. Habits are good or bad. They become ingrained in everyday activities and are barely noticed sometimes. Some are related to personal hygiene like brushing your teeth everyday is a good habit. Taking out the trash is also a good habit. Regula...

Some stories are worth a second time around, so for your reading enjoyment here's a true tale of the West. For those of you who like a good story, especially if it involves the West, I sure have a humdinger this week.  It all happened about 30 minutes from from Casa Wallace in the little border town of Naco, Arizona along with its counterpart, Naco, Sonora on the other side of the line.  The year was 1929. It was before the big crash in October, but things weren't so great in Mexico in the spring of that year. The people were fed up with heavy taxation, corruption, and the government in general. Hmmm...has a familiar ring to it already. Well, some rebel forces organized and began giving the Mexican army a hard time. Naco, Sonora was a pretty rough place with lots of saloons and gambling establishments, so more government intervention in their way of life wasn't welcome. The rebels and the army dug in around Naco, Sonora and began to have daily skirmishes. Since there...

For the last few years, I've asked the Lord to give me a focus at the beginning of the new year.  In 2011, He gave me Joshua 1:9 "This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Little did I know of the changes that would happen at the beginning of January 2011. First came a change in my job, which significantly reduced our income, and a change in our church membership. We were evacuated for five days from our home when a wildfire threatened our area. Then illness and surgeries came along for both my husband and myself. None of those things were very pleasant, but Joshua 1:9 was always in front me. By the end of that year I was ready for a break from the string of trials that had tracked through our lives. But God had supplied all of our financial needs--He still is. He had gotten us through the surgeries without complications. Our home was untouched by fire. He had given us a new ch...

Since I threw out some travel tips for last week, here's a list to follow when you're closing up the house and hitting the road. There's nothing more annoying or frightening than forgetting some essential task, only to remember it when you're 20 miles down the road. Inevitably my husband will turn to me on the way to the airport and say, "Did you pack...."(fill in the blank) or "Did you remember to..." (fill in another blank). Agghhh!!!  Sometimes one of us has forgotten something we'll desperately need on the trip. Other times it's been a household task. To help others avoid frustration, stress, and getting off to a bad start on vacation, here's a handy list to check BEFORE you leave home. Household Tasks 1. Stop newspaper and mail delivery. 2. Lock the windows. 3. Turn down the hot water tank to "vacation" mode if you'll be gone for several days. 4. Adjust A/C or heat to vacation mode too. 5. Turn off power stri...

There's been a lot of talk in the news lately about the collection of information from private citizens. This has been done without their permission and knowledge. In today's electronic world, we leave giant footprints of our lives everywhere--on social media, our online purchases, Internet searches, and purchases in stores. It's all being tracked by a flock of information gatherers.  Whether or not we like it, the pile of data on our personal lives grows everyday.  One thing we've become very good at is accumulating knowledge. Knowledge is defined in the dictionary as an "acquaintance with facts, familiarity with a subject." Let's compare it to driving. We learn about handling a vehicle--how it works, how to drive it, and the rules of the road. Then we take a test to see if we have the knowledge to get our license. Wisdom on the other hand is using knowledge and/or experience to act justly, prudently, and with discernment.  It's about the big pict...

Many of us are hitting the roads, or taking off into the skies this time of year. Vacations and family reunions are the top reasons. While we may look forward to getting some time away from the daily grind, travel is stressful. That's especially true if the back seat is full of clamoring children.To help avoid some of the angst, whether you're on a road trip or flying across the country, here are some helpful tips. Let's make it a real vacation, so you arrive with your sanity, hair, and sweet disposition all intact. Road Trips 1. Load your GPS with all of your stops and final destination a day or two before you leave. Don't expect your spouse to do it on the fly...oops we missed an exit. It wouldn't hurt to look an actual map before you leave too. It's good to see the big picture of your trip. 2.  SNACKS! Why is it that you're immediately hungry on the road? Individual-sized snacks in zip-loc bags make it easy. Divide up chips, etc. yourself to get t...