Fiction - The Harvest Of Hanover

The Harvest Of Hanover

Fiction By Amy Christina Torrans 

Mama says it's red gold, like leaves when they are turning. To me, it's just hair, one braid on each side of my head.  Daddy says I can cut it when I am thirty, but that's a long time, cuz I'm only seven and a half years old right now.  But Daddy is teasing. He gets that funny smile on his face right before he winks.

We live on our own farm, on Hanover Road, in a town in Colorado.  Daddy grows apple trees, and sells the apples to people when they are ready to be picked in the Fall. I mean when the apples are ready to be picked. At school, I am starting to learn how to talk and write right. Oh, yeah, correctly. 

 "Hallie!" Mama is calling. "Time for supper." Daddy says he let Mama name me Hallie so it would rhyme with our last name O'Mally.  Mama just rolls her eyes and smiles at Daddy. 

"Did you see that old man picking Golden Delicious?" I ask Daddy as I take a bite of green beans. He looks alarmed.  "Marnie, did you notice anyone come in who did not buy anything?" 

"Oh, Randy, I just saw you helping Mrs. Jenkins." Mama sounds worried.

"Hey, now, I'm sure it's nothin' to be worked up about." Daddy glances at me and Mama. "Ya get it? Hay, now?" He pats Mama's blond hair and she nods slowly. Just the same, he heads out to the orchard, calling our hound Henry.

The next day around four o clock I see him again. That man who I think might be a hundred. He is skinny, with dirty clothes, and a sad, confused look on his face.  This time, Daddy sees him, too."Can I help you, Mister?"  

But the man stares off at nothing in the distance. Mama looks shocked when Daddy brings the man in for supper.  She looks even more surprised when the man eats and drinks like he has never had anything good before.  

"Can you tell me your name or any family?" Daddy asks quietly. But the man just chomps, seeming disturbed. Daddy gets out his laptop and I see the words "homeless" and "missing" that he types on the screen. "Nothing comes up." He tells Mama.  "He can just stay in the guest room tonight." 

"Baby, do you think that is wise?" Mama whispers.  

"I'll sleep on the couch. Henry is a good guard dog. Hallie can be in bed with you."

Daddy smiles at the man who only stands there, wringing his hands.  "Sir, I just want you to know that we care about you. And GOD loves you even more.  You might not understand this, but HIS SON JESUS died for you. HE wants you to go to Heaven someday. But until then, we are going to make sure you stay warm and fed, and get you somewhere that can help." 

Mama's phone says 2:53 a.m. when I look at it while she is sleeping.  I know I am not supposed to, but I get out of bed and tiptoe out the back door.  The guest room door is open, and the man is gone.

"Hallie, you come back here." Daddy scoops me up in his big arms.  "You scared us to death." Mama scolds, shivering in the cold.  Daddy gets in his truck to go look for the man. He comes back later with a discouraged look on his face. "No." He answers Mama's question on hers.

A few days later, Daddy brings the newspaper in, grinning. "Look at this article." He tells Mama. She reads it out loud. "Unknown elderly man found deceased after a heart attack.  The strange thing?  He had a peaceful smile on his face. And instead of a beer bottle in his hands, there was an apple."

For more stories, encouragement, and prayer, please email whatislovemissions@gmail.com

Free - Win A Restaurant Gift Card

wHat is lovE mISsions 

"LOVE GOD with all your heart

and your neighbor as yourself."

The Torrans Tablet

I do not get paid for this ministry. This is simply a way to help and bless people.

"We do not even have the money to go out on a date." A young mother with four little kids told me. Our Mission was able to provide a gift card for her and her husband. We would like to do the same for you.

Just follow, comment, or email this blog by clicking on the View section. We will enter your name into a drawing. One lucky person will win a gift card to a restaurant. 

"I actually had a steak," *Sarah said later, smiling. Everyone deserves not having to cook a meal once in a while. And everyone needs time with their spouse or a friend.

That means you :) 

*Names are changed to protect privacy

I hope you win! 

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

wHat is lovE mISsions

"LOVE GOD with all your heart

and your neighbor as yourself."

The Torrans Tablet

"Honey, I don't feel like you are respecting me right now."  My husband is kind, easygoing, and does not expect much from me.  So when he said this, I felt guilty.  But I also felt confused.  How was I not respecting him?

So I asked him that. He said sometimes when I do not listen or when I tell him what needs to be done.  In my mind, I had heard, and I had simply reminded him. But I resolved to do better, so I tried to come up with a list for myself:

R- Realize my husband and I are different ;)  Try to understand things from his perspective.

E - Empathize.  Life is hard for guys, work is hard for guys, money is hard for guys, temptation is hard for guys.

S - Serve him. Yes, I already do a lot for him and our babies, but maybe one extra small thing a day to make his day.

P - Pray that GOD will help him with the life is hard for guys stuff.  Pray even more that GOD will help me try be the best wife I can be.

E - Encourage.  Save all of his good actions in my memory and thank him often.

C- Care deeply. Even when he is in the wrong, love him for who he is, who he is trying to be, and for how he once won my heart.

T - Tease. Instead of taking life so seriously all of the time, flirt, make him laugh a little. 

It might be fun :) 

Quiz - What Kind Of Person Are You?

wHat is lovE mISsions

"LOVE GOD with all your heart,

and your neighbor as yourself."

"My mother is pretty, my father is handsome, and girls think my brother is hot. So why did GOD make me chubby and plain?" 

Marnie asks, her eyes sorrowful with tears.  We all have felt unworthy compared to others.  But our CREATOR made each of us beautiful inside and out, in different, wonderful ways. What kind of person did HE make you? 

Question 1.  Do you like to be in charge of people?

A.  Yes

B. No

C.  Sometimes  

Question 2.  Do you like to dance in the rain?

A.  No

B.  Yes!

C.  If other people are doing it

Question 3.  Do you like to take care of people?

A.  No

B.  Sometimes

C.  Yes

Question 4.  Would you rather:

A.  Speak in front of a large group

B.  Climb a mountain

C.  Give someone a hug

Question 5.  Would you rather:

A.  Work as a manger

B.  Work outside

C.  Work with people who need you

Mostly As:  You are a person who leads! Your personality is organized and confident. GOD made you to change the world :)

Mostly Bs:  You are a person who lives!  Your personality is carefree and fun.  GOD made you to appreciate the world :)

Mostly Cs:  You are a person who loves!  Your personality is compassionate and helpful. GOD made you to heal the world :) 

When Marnie realized she had gifts and talents unique to her alone, she was able to also see her physical beauty that others saw.  What about you? ;) 

Children - Why They Matter So Much

wHat is lovE mISsions 

"LOVE GOD with all your heart

and your neighbor as yourself."

The Torrans Tablet

"Why did JESUS walk on water?" I ask my class of children, who bob up and down like ducks on a pond. "Because HE did not want to swim." A four year old girl volunteers, her pony tail bobbing like the duck who gets everyone to follow her. 

Children make your head swim and your heart soar.  They cry you a river and dry your tears with their hands. But they are more than cute, cuddly, and cupcakes.  They are eternity.

1. Children are created by GOD.

From the moment a child is conceived, he or she is fashioned, founded and favored.  They are perfect, whether or not they look like it to everyone. When they are born, they simply move from a smaller home to a larger one, a great, big, wonderful womb and world. 

2. Children are called by GOD.

From the moment HE gives them their soul in their mama's tummy, HE has a purpose for them. They are going to do something amazing in their life, whether or not it is realized by everyone.  When they wiggle as babies, walk as toddlers, run as kids and race as teenagers, they make people smile, laugh, change and grow.

Children matter because their FATHER knows them and their FATHER needs them. Let us adults who used to be those children be kids again. Let us help our own and heal others who have no one of their own. In the game of Duck, Duck, Goose, we are it. Time to go tag some special children. 

To rescue kids in every country, please visit compassion.com

Miracles - Make A Wish

 wHat is lovE mISsions

"LOVE GOD with all your heart,

and your neighbor as yourself."

The Torrans Tablet

I have a hard time believing in miracles. 

I wish life had not turned me from an optimist child to a realist adult. Is this world what happens or what we make it?

Both.  

Some things are out of our control. But hope, hard work, faith, and prayer are things we can try. Let me tell you the story of a miracle.

Chapter One: Make A Mess

My dad is forgetting everything, getting confused, and having a difficult time walking. We do not know what it wrong. Maybe it is his diabetes getting worse.

Chapter Two:  Make A Guess

My dad has brain cancer. We can not do anything except chemotherapy and radiation. Maybe he has a year to live, maybe less.

Chapter Three:  Make A Bless

My dad has lost his hair, memories, and independence. We celebrate his birthday, a year and a half past the diagnosis. Maybe because it is Good Friday, or maybe because Easter is coming, but GOD gives us a miracle: There is no sign of the tumor. The cancer is in remission!

I believe that the LORD can do miracles. 

I wish I understood why and why not. Is is something HE decides or something we can make happen?

Both. 

Sometimes HEAVEN helps us. But sometimes the hope, hard work, faith, and prayer of other people change things, too. Let me help you by begging JESUS on your behalf. Together, we will make a wish :)

Please simply Post A Comment, or Email under View My Complete Profile, to state a prayer request.

We will pray every single day that you get your miracle. 

Love, a Ministry that is here for you

Please - Come To Our Church

wHat is lovE mISsions 

"LOVE GOD with all your heart,

and your neighbor as yourself."

The Torrans Tablet

You might be part of an amazing church. But you might not be.  You might have been hurt before, so you do not want to go.  I understand. I have been there.  

The hurting part. But now, I am in the healing part. That happens in church too, believe it or not.  I hope you can believe it. Here are three reasons to:

1.  We Want You 

 We, as the forgiven of the FATHER, welcome you with HIS open arms. At a good, Bible believing, grace filled church, you are cared about. I am truly sorry if you have not been in the past. But please keep trying. You will find one that accepts you and encourages you in the Word!

2. We Need You

We, as the Body of CHRIST, have a void only you can fill.  Not right away, if you are not ready. But when you want to, if you want to. Help reach the rest of your church, your community, and the world, with the gifts and talents HE created in you alone. Are you excited?

3. GOD Loves You More

We love you. And the REDEEMER adores you above what we can express. HE desires to have a relationship with you that lasts forever. So much that HE died. And came back to life :) 

If You Are In The Colorado Springs, Colorado Area, please come to Mesa Hills Bible Church, 615 West Uintah Street, Colorado Springs, CO, 80905, 719-635-3566, Sundays, 8:00 a.m., 9:00 a.m., and 10:00 a.m. 

Love, Joey, Amy, Mikey, and Jonny Torrans