Thoughts inspired by and based on Psalm 23

The LORD is our caretaker, our protector, leader and provider.

We shall never be in want or in dire straits without His knowledge and His Paternal love and sympathy. I shall never want for wisdom for He is all knowing and will give me knowledge if I but ask. I shall never want love, for He is the absolute epitome of love and all true love is stored in Him and He freely bestows it on all His children.

When it is for my benefit, He will make me rest in prosperity and peace, and will lead me to calm and sweet relationships and gentle days.

But the greater promise, Oh the marvelous gift, is that even when He sees fit to make our resting place rocky, even when the food on the table is meager, even when He leads us through troubled and tumultuous relationships, still He restores our souls. He fills us when the world leaves us empty and desolate, and He will give me the grace and strength to walk the righteous path and be like Christ, despite the evil around me, all for His names sake.

Yes even though I go through deep bottomless sorrow. Yes even though I seem to be forsaken by all my friends and must walk through dark valleys and fearsome danger seemingly alone, I know that You, Oh LORD, are with me, every step of the treacherous way. You guide my steps from the edge of the cliff, and You know the reason for every obstacle, for every stumble, and You see the light at the end of the tunnel, where You will bless me in the midst of all my difficulties. In the midst of all the men who question my motives and my heart, You give me joy.

I am overwhelmed with blessing. My heart will overflow with gratefulness for Your peace and mercy shall be with me to my last gasping breath, and I know that I will reside with You in your glorious house for eternity.

"Surely if the LORD is for us who can be against us?" ~Selah

She is with Jesus!

On Saturday, March 27th, Millie Learned our dear Mother/Grandma went home to be with the LORD forever. Grace was down with our Grandparents for 3 weeks to help them get ready to move to a smaller apartment, and she was with Grandma when she passed away. Grandma would have turned 88 this year in July and she spent most of her earthly life serving her Savior. Now she is serving Him and worshiping Him perfectly for eternity.

Please pray for Grandpa who has lost his best friend and love, also pray for us as we try to arrange the funerals in Florida and up here in Michigan. Mom and Dad are flying down there this week to help arrange things and to be at the Funeral down there with the rest of Mother's siblings, and then they will be driving Grandpa's car back this weekend. So please pray for traveling safety for them.

Also we will be moving Grandpa from Florida and he will be living in our house, so please pray for us to have wisdom as we try to rearrange things and make room. Thank you in advance for all your prayers.

~Christianna for the Sauvé Family

Joshua's Greetings from Fort Leonard Wood

Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, Dear friends and family!

As most of you know I left home last year on November 16^th and traveled down here to Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri for Basic Combat Training and Advanced Individual Training in order to join the Michigan Army National Guard. The Lord blessed me immensely throughout Basic Training and I am now officially a soldier in the United States Army. The Military Occupational Specialty I chose is that of MP – Military Police. I am currently in week 13 of training, week 4 of AIT.

Let me give you a brief synopsis of what BCT and AIT has been like for me. First off the weather has been brutal up until 2 weeks ago. We actually had to cancel a lot of training in December and January because of sub-zero temperatures. Our first week here was spent doing paperwork and getting our uniform and most of our gear issued to us at a place known as the 43^rd. Our first day here at BCT was probably the worst day of my life. Drill Sergeants from our company, Echo Company 787 MP Battalion, were in our faces yelling and screaming like we were the worst privates ever. It was designed to be, and was, extremely frightening and demoralizing, also the push-ups and flutter kicks that we did for almost an hour in the rubber chip pit were extremely tiring.

The first 3 weeks of BCT are called Red Phase and are designed to break you mentally. The Drill Sergeants are in your face constantly, and the slightest mistake, or perceived mistake, will get you “smoked” i.e. push-ups, flutter kicks and other extremely tiring and painful exercises. Red Phase consisted mainly of getting used to the BCT schedule, such as waking up at 4:30 every morning, trying to eat our meals in less than 5 minutes, showering in less than 2 minutes, and lots and lots of PT.

As some of you already know, on December 18^th I came home for a 2 week “Holiday Block Leave” and had just enough time to get used to civilian life again before coming back to FLW on January 2^nd. When we got back, we started the second 3 week phase of BCT, White Phase. White Phase consisted almost entirely of weapons training. We learned to shoot and qualified with the M4 rifle, which is the U.S. Armed Forces’ primary weapon, and we also got to fire the M240 B machine gun, the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (light machine gun), the M203 grenade launcher, the M2 .50 caliber heavy machine gun, and the AT4 anti-tank missile launcher. We finished White Phase and began Blue Phase, the last phase of BCT on January 25. Blue Phase was focused mainly on FTX 3 which stands for Field Training Exercise. What FTX normally consists of is setting up a base camp, running missions in the woods, sleeping in little pup tents, etc. At the end we are supposed to crawl through a course that has barbed wire, broken vehicles with flames and mock explosions while real live rounds are being fired over our heads. Unfortunately the weather was so icy and cold that we had to do almost everything here at the barracks. We weren’t able to do the obstacle course at the end of FTX either because the snow had started to melt and we literally could have drowned trying to back-crawl underneath barbed wire through 2-3 foot deep trenches and dips in the ground. The last night of FTX we received our 7 army values tags, (Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage) and were officially made Soldiers in the United States Army. For me this is a secondary allegiance. I am a soldier of Jesus Christ first and foremost, the United States government second.

That pretty much concluded BCT and the next week after FTX, February 12^th we started Black Phase, the first 5 week phase of AIT. AIT is where we will learn everything we need to know about being MPs so the first 2 weeks focused almost exclusively on learning how to properly shoot the M9 9mm pistol, our primary weapon when on duty as Military Police. The Lord really blessed me with skill with the M9, and I shot 2^nd best in the company, hitting 29 out of 50 shots. Since we finished with the M9, training has consisted almost entirely of classroom work, learning about Military Law and how to deal with certain situations like conducting traffic stops, responding to domestic disturbances, how to properly direct traffic at a 4 way intersection, etc. We also have had some hands-on classes on handcuffing, how to properly apprehend (the army doesn’t call it “arresting”) a suspect/criminal, and personal defense tactics. We have already had 2 Law and Order tests which I passed easily (thank the Lord!) and now we are learning how to conduct patrols this week.

Now with only 4 weeks left to go, my daily prayer is that the Lord would keep me strong and pure in body, mind, and spirit, to complete the training that’s required of me, and stay pleasing in His sight. Thank you all so much for your continued thoughts and prayers. I Corinthians 16:23-24 – “May the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen.” ~Josh

Dixie and the coming of Daisy.

For the past week the Hayse and us have been holding our collective breaths in anticipation of the birth of Dixie's calf. (Remember, Dixie was the cow we had to raise up by her hip bones for a week before she got up on her own.) Many times there were false alarms and rising hopes, as Dixie gave signs which we thought meant she should give birth any moment. Yesterday most of our family and some of the Brysons, sped over in the early morning, in answer to the news that Dixie seemed to be in labor. She was, but unbeknown to us, this stage could last 24 hours at the longest. So the morning was spent in unfruitful watching. Last night also there was nothing even though the Hayse girls checked many times. Then this morning at 7:00 we got the joyful call informing us that she had her calf, and not only that, it was a HEIFER!

So this afternoon we went to see this little miracle.


She is adorable, soft, fuzzy, darling, charming, with captivating ways.

Her name is Daisy, and after entertaining us by wobbling around nursing and nosing about she followed her mothers example and flopped down for a nap. We are very thankful to God for the gift of life, and allowing Dixie to have a beautiful healthy calf.

~Chs

Praise the Lord for our amazing Grace!

Our beautiful, amazing Grace turned 24 last Monday. We thank God for this multi-talented member of our family and wish her many happy, God directed, Spirit inspired years to come!

We all enjoyed her delicious chocolate pudding, peanut butter moose, cookie crumb birthday desert.

She received many special gifts including a card and lovely necklace from her brother Joshua who is away in Missouri for his National Guard training.

Our mighty hunter!

Ever since we dug our pond we have observed a greater intensity of wildlife in our back property. Our first hint of this development was the midnight saga that Josiah and Faith read in the snow, of how a muskrat waddled into our garden stalked by the ferocious and wily mink, who eventually killed the muskrat and dragged him away to his lair. We thought therefore we were rid of the muskrat that had been reeking havoc to the banks of our streams (even though we did not relish the thought of having a blood thirsty mink near by), this wishful thought was dismissed however when Josiah found paw prints of more muskrat, wandering around the pond. This muskrat also had to be disposed of, and this is how it came about. You see Josiah's favorite pastime is to be outback in Gods creation, usually with his new hatchet hanging from his belt. So this particular afternoon he was out back around the stream when he heard a rustling sound. He turned to see a muskrat waddling straight towards him. Josiah jumped forward and pinned the creature to the ground with his hatchet handle.


Then he got our attention in the house and asked for our rifle. Dad quickly ran out with the requested gun.


Baby watched with intent interest as they took the muskrat out back and shot it.


One more dead muskrat on our property.
A couple of days later my sisters and I returned home to our mighty hunter once more. Josiah informed us upon our arrival that he had shot an opossum.


The chicken protector with his quarry. We are very grateful for our one boy at home, and how he keeps our animals and property safe.

~Chs

Spring is coming!!!!!!!

Awake, thou wintry earth -
Fling off thy sadness!
Fair vernal flowers, laugh forth
Your ancient gladness!
~Thomas Blackburn, "An Easter Hymn"

No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow. ~Proverb

If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome. ~Anne Bradstreet

Springtime is the land awakening. The March winds are the morning yawn. ~Lewis Grizzard

Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world. ~Virgil A. Kraft


The day the Lord created hope was probably the same day He created Spring. ~Bern Williams

~Chs

Sunshine and Snowballs

March has entered as gentle as a lamb this year, which I must admit is the way I like it. The days are slowly warming up to mid 30's instead of mid 20's and the snow is becoming droopy and sluggish and is creeping away from the base of the trees. As the days warmed, Josiah found the snow to be the perfect consistency for snow balls. In fact the ball almost created themselves. Therefore he coerced me into helping him build forts on either side of driveway (out of the immense piles of snow he had places there with the plow) in anticipation of having a snow battle with his friends.

The snow was a pleasure to work with, piling together into walls very easily.

Baby watched and supervised the work. (Josiah is there, he just ducked when he realized I had the camera ;)


When Monday rolled around, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, perfect for a snowball fight, and in Baby's mind, for sunning on the porch.


Josiah's friends arrived and after selecting teams, forts, and flags, commenced building up their defenses and ammunition supplies. The "Americans" dug in on one side of the driveway and the "Mexicans" built up the other side. Once all the preparations were complete....

War was declared.

The point of the game was to capture the opposing teams flag, and carry it triumphantly back to your lines without getting hit with a snowball.

If you do suffer a casualty, you must count 10 seconds before returning fire. If you are struck with the enemies missile while carrying their flag, you must drop your spoils and return to your own territory.

After many exhausting rounds of "war," some of which I partook in, peace was declared and friends again instead of enemies, the boys enjoyed homemade cookies in honor of their victories;).

~ Chs

Fallen Cows and Milking Goats= A Busy Week

Dear me, I haven't put a post on for some time now, have I? But I do have a very legitimate excuse. The activities of last week didn't leave us with hours of time to spare, and that is putting it mildly;). The first thing on our plates, was babysitting a goat dairy farm for our friends, the DeSotas. That in it's self was not really an overwhelming task, for we had done it before and as there were only 9 goats to milk, was actually quite easy. That was to be started on Monday morning and on the Saturday before, God threw something else our way. It came in the shape of a fallen cow. We received a call from our friends the Hayse informing us that when they had gone out to check on their cow, Dixie, and baby steer, Job, they had found them both fallen down. They called a vet, but Job ended up dying. Dixie lived but was not able to get up, and was still laying out in the paddock. That is where we came in. Dixie had to be moved from the paddock into the barn, and they were in need of man power to accomplish it. So we headed over with the Brysons, and did it. I won't bore you with the gruesome details.;) On Monday, Dixie still hadn't gotten up. We all knew that if she lay down much longer there would be no hope, so we again went over and endeavored to lift her up with straps, attached to a come-along. That was a failure. We learned later from a cow farmer, that when you put straps under their legs like we did, it paralysis the limbs. The same farmer was kind enough to let the Hayse borrow a cow hip- hugger.

It looked like some sort of medieval torture instrument, but was really quite humane when you understand the anatomy of a cow. You see, Bovines have hip bones that protrude far off their backs, and when you tighten the round metal bars around them, it provides a very nice handle. The idea of the contraption is to lift the cow's back end, which is the way all cattle get up naturally, and this would hopefully stimulate the cow to get it's front feet underneath it and stand. Well, with much prayer and trepidation we tried it, and all praise be to God, it worked! Dixie was able to stand, for two, eleven minute periods, which thrilled us all. Yet the fact still remained that she could not rise on her own, therefore there was the necessity of going through this procedure each day until she got enough strength to stand on her own.

So, our day took on this form: we were rudely awakened at 6:30 by our insistent alarms, fall or crawl out of bed, and grope around in the dark for our "gross barn clothes", eat a very quick breakfast, scramble into our coats and hats and hopefully drive out of the garage at 7:00.

Upon arriving at the farm, we were greeted by the sweet puppy dog, Sirius, one of my favorite dogs.

Then we tromped into the milk room where Priscilla the cat, who has been at the farm forever, was waiting hopeful for some milk.

We quickly went through the familiar procedure of loading all the goats, trying to let only 8 into the milking room at one time, feeding them, and milking the few that still were producing. (I don't have any pictures of them being milked, as I was doing it.;)

Making sure the goats had hay and water was the last thing before....

we said goodbye to Sirius, and drove off, aiming at arriving home no later than 9:30. Unless we had a prior engagement that morning, we would head to the Hayse around 10:00 and begin the routine of shoving, pulling, and tugging Dixie onto a tarp, dragging her across the barn so she was in position under the trap door that the come-along hung from, winding the hip-hugger on her, and then raising her off the ground as fast as possible.

When she had been standing for 10 minutes, we would release her from the contraption and she would continue to eat her hay at a greedy pace. As the week progressed, Dixie grew stronger and the struggle to get her up became more and more difficult. Being a stubborn cow, she used her new found strength to push against all our efforts and struggled and pushed in the opposite direction we wanted her to go. On Saturday, Dixie struggled so much that we were not able to get her up and were almost in despair. We went again on Sunday afternoon, amid much prayer, to continue our endeavors. God was gracious and merciful, and though with much struggle we were able to get Dixie to her feet.

She stood for an hour and 30 min. before laying down like a normal cow. We were ecstatic!!! We still planned to go the next day unless God answered our heartfelt prayers, moved in wonderful and mysterious ways and gave Dixie the strength to rise to her feet on her own. Monday afternoon we got the call, that made us sing Hallelujah. The Hayse had gone down to the barn and had found Dixie standing!!!!!!! God is all powerful, and still does work miracles. So that is the story of our busy week. Now don't you agree I had more to do then write blog posts?

~Chs