LA County Fair Commercials

I was lamenting with some other homeschooling moms how citified our children are. Children these days (at least in Los Angeles) think that eggs come from the grocery store. They have no concept that they came out of a chicken's rear. Milk comes from cartons. The fact that milk comes from a cow or goat's udders is "disgusting."

It's a shame we are so disconnected from the reality of our food chain.

These commercials cracked me up!

Pictures from the LA County Fair

Meg and Israel's first ride on a ferris wheel! Yippee!

Luc's first ride on a "real roller coaster." He was so excited. Then he started moving and we could here him saying "Stop it! Nooooooo!" When it was over we asked him if he had fun. "Yes, but it was just a little scary."

Caesar's first carnival ride. Meg kept her arm around him. He liked it before they actually turned it on. Notice the difference in expressions from this picture to the next picture.

Israel the fireman!

Israel the doctor!

Caesar on S.W.A.T.

Luc the fireman!

The next ones are the city kids touching the animals. I found the whole thing hilarious. I grew up doing the 4-H thing, working with animals, showing goats at the fair and all that. It was a little sad to see all the city kids at the fair trying their hands at milking and saying things like, "That's so disgusting! Ew GROSS!" Later I'll post some LA Fair Commercials that so illustrate this point!

This is me pretending to blow a shofar and explaing to the kids where the shofar comes from. Notice the long-horned ram in the pen.

Lesson from the LA County Fair

Yesterday we all went to the LA County Fair. It was a really fun day. Schools get in free before the place is opened to the public, plus parking was free! Our homeschool group went. What money we saved on getting in and parking we could actually afford to buy some over-priced pink cotton candy and ride the ferris wheel. I'll post pictures in a separate post.

I learned a great lesson from watching a blacksmithing demonstration.

The blacksmith was pounding away making a horse shoe and his wife was telling stories, facts and lore about blacksmithing. It's very cool. I'm wondering if Gana should drop out of Fuller and go to blacksmithing school. Although I'm not sure how I'd like a guy who has one arm that is significantly bigger than the other.

Anyway....

She asked the school children, "What do you think blacksmiths made more of, swords or nails?" The answer, of course, is nails.

She went on to say, "Why do you think this is? If an enemy was attacking and the common people had to go to war, do you think they put a sword in the hands of someone who had never used one? The lumberjack would be much better off going to war with his ax, with which he is very skilled. The farmer would be better to go to war with the sickle he uses for the wheat. Those are the tools they are familiar with and that is what would be best to fight with. So, blacksmiths didn't make that many swords."

OK, here's the point:

When God told Moses to go liberate His people Moses was worried, "What if they don't believe me?" And God asked Moses, "What is that in your hand?" The answer was the rod Moses used when tending sheep. (Exodus 4) God used what was in Moses' hand to show Pharoh the power of God.

God expects us to use what He has put in our hands.

"He teaches my hands to make war, So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze." I Samuel 22:35

We've been in spiritual warfare lately for someone we love. And at times it seems like we don't know what else to do. God used the smithy's wife to tell me, "Use what is in your hands." In other words, God was telling me that what He has given me is enough to accomplish what He has told me to do!

That crosses over to other things, too. Sometimes I look around at my life and wonder, "How am I to accomplish this.....homeschooling, housework, ministry, friendship, etc." God is so faithful to remind me that when He calls He equips. My tools are the things that I am familiar with. The things I do everyday are also the things that will make war against the enemy.

Don't you just love the county fair?