Empowerment what is it to you. Who is it and how do you find it?

I was at a CAKLS meeting last summer, which as you know is at the Library.  There was a stranger there, a young lady with the last name of Udder there, how appropriate a name for me to remember, I know I digresses.  The girls was a wanderer and I am sure would have been a hippie or a flower child in a different time.  She joined in our are conversation, which all are always welcome to do, the biggest appeal about CAKLS for me.   She put forth a question and my memory being faulty I remember it as, "Does financial security empower women?"  there were around 6 of us there.  It was amazing the differences in opinions of our little group, the answers were varied and sort of fell in line with the securities each enjoyed in their own lives. Some felt money in the bank did make you more empowered and others felt that empowerment came from with in and so on....  So empowerment can be financial security.  Empowerment can be strength from within, Empowerment can be how you live your life, it seems Empowerment is many things to many people.

I have a friend that believe she has no empowerment as that is to be left to God.  I think that is a choice and valid.  I think empowerment is a gift from God.  He gives us empowerment, being empowered isn't and shouldn't be a dirty word to a Christian.  Society, in general, thinks that God doesn't empower women and that is God's will.  I don't think that.  God did not make woman from a butt bone in Adam's butt.  He did not make woman from a breast bone in Adam's breast.  Woman was made from a rib bone.  God made woman to be at Adam's side.  The Christian community believes that and understands that fairly universally but then Eve gave Adam the fruit, of the tree of life, with the snakes help, and both were punished.  But as I read the old testament, all looked to the Cross for forgiveness of sins.   Jesus cleansed the dead of their sins with his dying on the cross.  Eve, and all women, were forgiven of that sin with the Cross. God did not withhold forgiveness from women, all were to be forgiven and woman are part of the all.  I would say that would mean we were back to being at mans side, not behind him or in front of him, but by his side as God originally made us.  God there fore empowered woman to Adam's equal.  We are designed to be man's equal, his mate and his other half.  Did you ever see a lesser have, a lesser empowered half, if you have you know that the non-equal part did a disservice to the whole.  God made me a woman, he gave me the empowerment to be an equal to my man.  He made my husband and me an equal team, much like a team of draft horses, a team of equality and empowerment, that he drives on the path of life.   God holds the reins in our life, he loves us and want us to praise him, but he didn't make us without thought, wants and needs, so he provided us with a mate.  He wanted that mate to be the best we could have and make us whole and one flesh, he made mates a balance of equality, the best way to make any unit. I for one am glad to be my mates equal, do you know how boring it would be to be with someone much above you or below you, behind you or in front of you. God always knows what he is doing... tomorrow.

Poppie is trying to get help from a cougar hunter, New adventures to come.

Poppie worked for his friend a little longer yesterday than usual, still didn't get all the work needed done. I think Poppie is really enjoying his time away from Nannie and the kids, girls and grand kids. He is truly enjoying the solitude of using the Kubota for hours of manure moving.  He enjoys getting to interact with his friend Professor.  He gets to feel like he has a job, which he misses, but the toll of the machine will eventually hurt him, especial if he does it more than a couple hours a day.  Yesterday was pushing his pain threshold, I am sure, even if he won't say so, he wants to go back and knows I watch him so he won't over do it,

Poppie got ahold of the Game Warden, who has still not come to our house, Poppie updated him about the cougars in our yard and asked him if the local hunter, Levi, could help us out catching them.  The game warden asked that we give his cell number to Levi.  Poppie spoke to Levi and he is going to come check out the cougar trails and situation then call the game warden.  He treed a cougar last year for a family that lost a goat, but they just took pictures of it and let it go, I just don't get that?  I hope he can help us get them, they are too brave for the safety of children.  It is not like we live next to the national forest.  We actually live quite aways from the National Forest, there is considerable private land between us and the national forest.  We have lived here 30 plus years so it is not like we just arrived in to their territory.  In the late nineties I lost two pekingese dogs to a cougar, 8 other dogs were killed that year in the area.  Between us and our neighbors 20 goats have been killed in the last two full years, we know the danger exists but the number is now to high and in 2000 a 2 year old was killed by a cougar about 70 miles from here.  I hope it doesn't get to that, Levi wants to prevent that, somehow I find that both odd and part of living in a small town.  The paid ranger isn't really interested in helping, the concerned member of the community steps forward and wants to help.  I do love living in a small town where problems are shared, gossip and the telling of your tale brings help from the community.

The girls are going to a swimming birthday party later, they will have lots of fun.  We are thinking that since we can't take Yogie camping that maybe we will take them on their first rafting/tubing trip down the river.  They are excited at the prospect of a new adventure.  I have to get arrangements for the outing planned for Sunday. 

I am getting wonderful feedback on my shampoos, orders for more, orders for laundry soap.  Made new kinds of soap yesterday.  I also made my first batch of non-petroleum jelly,  I am not really thinking of making salves, or balms.  I am interested in baby products or goat milk lotions.  I am on an adventure of my own, can't wait to see where it takes me..... tomorrow.

August looms large in our life, Yogie for the first time may not go camp, sad.

The well is not fixed yet so Poppie has more to do to get us permanent water again. The county fair starts the end of the week.  The girls are excited to be in the parade on the Library float.  They will get to be pigs.  They will get to wear pig ears and pig noses.  I am unsure of pig tails but the ladies might have to make those up themselves. Sunday is Yogie's 9th birthday, we normally would be getting the camper ready to escape the fair, all the heat and go to our favorite camping spot to enjoy her day in tranquility.  She would cast her pole in the stream, splash and play in the creek dam and swim in water that had been snow that morning.  Well Poppie is not letting us plan our trip, he says we can't leave the farm with the cougars stalking our animals.  Yogie is taking it well, I don't know that we will manage a camp now, before the school years starts. I will totally miss our traditional camping get away if we don't get to go.  Traditions are part of what make us unique families.

Poppie will be working at a friends place helping fix their barn and using the Kubota to clean out manure for them.  He likes to get to go work but as the sun is hard on him he can only manage about 4 hours a day.  He worked a couple days last week on it. He is being a blessing for our friends, as it was a lot of manure to move by hand. He is helping to fix their barn today so will be taking Bugs battery operated tools.  Poppie will leave the gun with us, it is so odd for me to see him with a gun on his hip, he had never had to carry a gun for safety in his life.  The cougars are changing our lives to an unbearable point, guns on hips, no camping, dead animals on the ground, animals locked up in sweltering heat and children not allowed to go outside with out an adult with a gun.... this is 2011 in Montana, unbelievable...... tomorrow.