In the 2024 Olympics we have seen competitors like we have never seen before.

Imane Khelif, Algerian boxer, won by default because her opponent had not been hit that hard before and was concerned for her health. Angela Carina collapsed in a heap of tears on the floor. All those years of hard work lost in an unfair fight. Imane failed a biological test by having XY chromosomes, male chromosomes in her.

Speaking from experience I know how Angela Carina felt. I was a gymnast since I was five years old. I have been stronger than most girls my age and a few boys. The difference is the boys bowed out in a fight. A boy was taunting me from the back of the school bus, saying sexual things to me. I got out of my seat and walked to the back of the bus. He stood up, I punched him in the mouth busting his lip and landing him back in his seat. He had a scar on his lip left to prove it. But he didn’t fight back. I arm wrestled my boyfriend in 6th grade and beat him but lost him as even a friend. Girls and boys can be equal in strength until puberty. Another boyfriend was taunting me in middle school, and I got mad. He said “come on, hit me” pointing to his shoulder and as I went to hit him, he moved, and I caught his jaw almost knocking him out. But he never hit back. Boys used to be taught from a very early age never hit a girl!

I got in a fight in middle school with a girl that was taunting me, you can only take so much. She followed me as I walked to piano lessons and when I turned around and put my books down she hit me in my shoulder, I hit her back over and over until my piano teacher broke us up. She came to school the next day wearing sunglasses because she had two black eyes. My friends would have me fight their battles which many times came to nothing. Just a bunch of talk. When my husband and I were dating he had to break up a fight I was in with a girl over him. Funny huh, he is worth fighting for!

I say all of this because later on when my sons were young, we went with a couple of their “girlfriends” to play in the snow. One of their mothers was flirting with my husband. I became angry and took her down and pushed her face in the snow. A man that was with us who was close to my size became angry and got ahold of me and pushed my face in the snow. I was shocked, I thought he was a wimp and that I would be able to take him if need be. He proved me wrong! The girls were a fair fight being fully girls but men have a hidden strength.

If the Olympic committee won’t even let a competitor take a Sudafed, they shouldn’t let someone have an unfare advantage.

“Differing weights and differing measures, both of them are abominable to the Lord.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20‬:‭10‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬
https://bible.com/bible/100/pro.20.10.NASB1995

Why is it that Pastors Kids so often stray away from what they were taught and exposed to? Some say it is the Fishbowl Syndrome, being under constant watch. The casual criticism of well wishers feeling like someone tapping on the glass. Are the children a bullseye target for Satan to attack so that the unbelievers say See, See!

I struggled with the title of this blog. Hawk Tuah Girl was my first pick but that would be too obvious. My first sight of the words Hawk Tuah was on a T-shirt I saw on the internet.

We live in Indian territory, Choctaw Nation to be specific and the language pops up on a sign or a t-shirt on occasion. I thought maybe that’s where it came from and started investigating the meaning.

Spitting? Well that makes sense, I have seen a contest or two in the past measuring distance as to how far someone can spit. Gross as that is the meaning of the phrase Hawk Tuah is worse. A former classmate of mine made a comment on Facebook about how crude the talk was. A man replied to her comment “well we know now what you won’t do, lol!” I felt really bad for her and angry. If you haven’t caught on by now Hawk Tuah is about sodomy. Hello, the act of sodomy caused God to destroy two whole communities, Sodom and Gomorrah. Hence where the word Sodomy was derived from.

“And the Lord said, “The outcry of Sodom and Gomorrah is indeed great, and their sin is exceedingly grave.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭18‬:‭20‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Per Cornell Law School’s website “Traditionally, sodomy has been referred to as a “crime against nature” by various courts and statutes.”

A girl wearing a Hawk Tuah t-shirt is setting herself up for an attack. Sodomy is a degrading and violent act. You are at the mercy of your partner because you are in a very vulnerable position. The penis has a purpose and that’s to populate. It’s not a toy!

“As for you, be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it.””
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭9‬:‭7‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Since we have degraded it (the penis) we have had more attacks on women, girls and boys than ever before. Human trafficking is an all time high. I am not a prude, you cannot be a prude if you read the Bible, been married, had children and lived in this sinful world for 61 years. And the illnesses, people are dying!

“Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so when he went in to his brother’s wife, he wasted his seed on the ground in order not to give offspring to his brother.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭38‬:‭9‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

We are actually in dire straights, humanity is seriously in danger of becoming extinct.

The Hawk Tuah Girl is a pastors daughter. Her interview has caused great heartache for her family. If only PK kids would look at being a PK as a gift and privilege from God! Being thankful for the protection provided by the strictness of their parents. Sharing the lessons taught by their parents and church members to lead the lost to Jesus. They need to look at things differently realizing that those that make fun of them are jealous of them.

Pastor Clint Archer of Christ Fellowship Baptist in Mobile, Alabama said in an article he wrote for The Cripplegate…We are all expected to make wise decisions with our time and money and parenting. All Christians should be living as examples of God’s grace. And we should never care what people think more than we value what our Lord thinks of our decisions.
So the fishbowl is a helpful reminder of the standard we are aiming for. It’s an accountability aid. It’s a privilege to lead by example. And yes, it can get wearisome. But the benefits of personal holiness, frugal stewardship, and careful decision making far outweighs the discomfort of being on stage seemingly 24/7.

“Dead flies make a perfumer’s oil stink, so a little foolishness is weightier than wisdom and honor.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭10‬:‭1‬ ‭NASB1995‬‬

Dear Lord forgive us and heal our land!

In Don McLean’s 1971 song American Pie the unforgettable words are “the day the music is died.”

For 30 years people from all over the world would come to Hugo America for the Bluegrass festival. Founder Bill Grant was a Bluegrass Music mogul. He was known for his inimitable singing style, unique mandolin playing, and skill as a songwriter says Sandra Brennan of All Music. She goes on to say Bill Grant and his partner Delia Bell were among the best male-female duets in bluegrass music.

Grant was recognized as “Ambassador of Bluegrass Music” by three Oklahoma governors, states Wikipedia. Delia Bell was born in Texas and raised in Oklahoma. Grant was a friend of her husband’s and in 1959 they teamed up to sing at local events and on the Little Dixie Hayride show at radio station KIHN Hugo. They also played once a month on a TV station in Ada, Oklahoma.

In 1969, Grant and Bell attended Bill Monroe’s Bean Blossom Festival before forming the Kiamichi Mountain Boys with the Bonham Family. Grant founded the Kiamichi label in 1971 and during the ’70s they recorded a number of albums. Bell cut a solo country record in 1978; the next year, she and Grant toured Great Britain and recorded a country album there. The Kiamichi Boys disbanded in 1980 because the Bonhams refused to travel, while Bell and Grant wanted to work the national festival circuit. That same year, Emmylou Harris cut one of Bell’s songs, “Roses in the Snow; ” Harris claimed that Bell was her very favorite singer and helped her get a contract with Warner Bros. As the decade wore on, Bell and Grant recorded a pair of albums for Rebel and three for Rounder before switching to the Old Homestead label.

Bill may have traveled the world but he would always return to Hugo, Oklahoma. In late summer his outdoor Blue Grass festival at Hugo’s Salt Creek would draw thousands of people for the five day event. Sunday’s was Gospel day which everyone looked forward to. It was touted the oldest festival of it’s kind west of the Mississippi.

My husband and I had the great priviledge of meeting Mr. Grant at one of those festivals and that’s all it took. He remembered us both from then on whether he was the entertainment for a Rotary banquet or the indoor Early Bird Bluegrass festival every spring. If you met him once he considered you his friend and he never forgot your name.

As the times changed and Bluegrass music dwindled, visitors came to Hugo less and less. Bill couldn’t afford the taxes on Salt Creek and it went up for sale. Shortly thereafter his first wife passed and he stopped traveling. We thought he was probably done singing as well when he fell in love and started it all up again.

His new wife Barbara was his biggest fan. She was quite the salesperson! She peddled his songs to whomever she came in contact with. And she accompanied him on all his gigs, they were inseparable. Now Bill was no spring chicken when they met but she brought the life back into him. We were amazed what he could still do but after several years and as time would have it his life drew to an end.

After a few weeks Barbara, Bill’s wife came in my husband and I’s insurance office to do business, she was understandably distraught. I helped her with her affairs and gave her a copy of my book, Rhinestone Cowgirl. I told her that people told me it encouraged them after a loss. She thanked me and left.

The next day she came in my office and sat down in the chair. She took a minute to speak and then with tear filled eyes said “I have peace!” She said that Bill had been sick for a while and caring for him became a full time job. In his last days he would fade in and out and say he just wanted to ride a horse again. When he passed there was so much to do and she showed me a picture of his beautiful headstone. She said she really hadn’t had time to think about anything for herself. She said she asked God where Bill was before she had come in my office the first time. She said she hadn’t been able to sleep or even shed a tear. That night she went to bed and read my book. She said she cried uncontrollably and fell fast asleep. She knows Bill is riding horses in Heaven now.

Revelation 19:14

“And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses.”
‭‭
https://bible.com/bible/100/rev.19.14.NASB1995

Kevin and my father built our first house. From the foundation, to the roof and everything in between. It was amazing all the tools they needed and used. Their toolboxes spanned the back of their trucks just to hold most of them. It took years to finish the house but in the end the completed project was a hand crafted beautiful home.

In the Bible, the word carpenter is mentioned 11 times. In Isaiah 28:16 the Sovereign Lord mentioned carpenter references. “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation, the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.” And in the book of Mark 6:3 it says Jesus was a carpenter. Some say he was a stone mason. Jesus does say in Matthew 16:18 “and on this rock I will build my church (speaking of the disciple Peter) another carpenter reference.

My husband and I together have raised three sons. We did our best with our limited knowledge of raising children. We took them to church, played sports, they each learned an instrument and are all Eagle Scouts. We sent them through a Christian home school program. People would often say “your boys are so well rounded!” It does take a village though, grandparents, coaches, teachers and ministers have all played a part. Thankfully the guys are all saved, gainfully employed and have families of their own.

They weren’t always perfect and they tried their own way. I wondered at times why did they throw out the tool box we gave them? But, overtime I have realized it’s only been at the back of the closet waiting for them to bring it out again.

Proverbs 22:6 NIV Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

The Holy Bible is our toolbox, pull it out of the closet, read it, follow it and you will have the tools to navigate and have an abundant life.