Heard a preacher one time say, "Be very careful what you pray for because when GOD starts answering your prayer HE will, according to scripture, open the windows of Heaven and pour out blessings you will not be able to hold. Well, we here at Poverty Flats USA felt it was time to pray for a little bit of rain for our gardens. We prayed real hard, two or three times. Even prayed with our eyes closed !! Well, today about 5:00 pm, GOD opened the windows, AND the doors and dumped almost 3 inches of rain in 90 minutes !!!! We're not going to pray that hard again for a while !!!!!!
Seriously, GOD really does hear and answer our prayers. Not always the way we expect, but HE does answer. If you need HIM, HE is always there. GOD's phone # is found in the Old Testament, Jeremiah 33:3 where he says " Call on ME and I will answer thee, and show you great and mighty things which thou knowest not. "
It's BBQ time again. This weekend we will be close to home in Joplin MO. We will be at an event called Emancipation Days. It will run Aug. 1-3. Hope to meet a lot of new people there. One of the side benefits to our business is that we get to meet so many new people and visit with them.

Well , as happens each day about this time, we come to the close of another day. I remember a prayer we recited as children long ago, " If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. " I'm going to sleep knowing that no matter what happens between now and morning, GOD is still in control of my destiny.

Until next time, from me to you, Via Con Dios DM Pitmaster Texas BBQ & Beans

Getting Hot

It's finally starting to get hot around Poverty Flats. Temperature has been in the 90's every day for the last couple of weeks. Going to get a lot hotter before the summer is over so guess we better not complain yet. There is plenty of outside work to be done around here but my will to do it weakens as the mercury rises. Anyone remember what life was like before air conditioning was in every home ? I do, but it gives me a headache to think back that far. Besides, I have a theory, I think as we get older we feel the temperature extremes more than when we are younger. Don't have any hard evidence , but it sure seems that way.

Well it's getting about time to start cooking BBQ for the next festival. We have an event coming up soon that will keep us stepping . This is an annual event in Joplin MO called the Emmancipation Days Celebration. This is a 3 day event that runs August 1-3. It is a large event that will see a very large attendance. After that, we will do a couple more in August then in Sept. we will be at festivals almostevery weekend thru the end of Oct. We are also waiting for word on a site we are hoping to get in Webb City MO on a regular weekly basis. This will keep us busy with BBQ year round. Well, there goes retirement !!
One quick update on the BBQ, we added BBQ beef to our menu along with the pulled pork and it is in high demand. At the last event, in Noel MO, we sold out of BBQ beef by the second day.
We also make our own BBQ sauce that is as good as it gets. We always offer our own sauce, along with KC Masterpiece to give folks a choice. We are using 2 bottles of our's to 1 of KC. Don't mean to brag, but it's just good !! One man, down at Noel, said " those folks at KC Masterpiece are going to have to go some to beat your's." We still don't have a name for our sauce yet. Maybe someone has some ideas ??

Well, I guess I have rambled on long enough. Think I will go and smell the flowers for awhile. Until next time, Via Con Dios DM Pitmaster Texas BBQ & Beans

Grannys Home

Well, we brought Granny home from the hospital this evening. Things weren't quite as bad as we feared. The heart doctor said there were no blockages, but she does have a weak muscle in the front part of her heart. She will have to take it easy for a while. Which probably means we will have to use leg shackles and handcuffs. Granny is an extremely strong-willed person and doesn't take well to being reduced to an idle. She'll just have to get used to it because my job is to see that she does! !! At least this was found early enough, before any real serious damage could be done.
I guess when we get to be old folks we just have to make some ajustments in our lifestyles. It's not always easy to accept these things but there is very little we can do but go with the flow. I have known people over the years who are terrified of getting old. But when we really think about it , it's just a natural part of life. The thing most folks are afraid of is the unknown factor. But , when we know the ultimate future, know what is waiting beyond this life, that fear of the unknown quickly fades away.
Until next time, as always , Via Con Dios DM

Great 4th of July weekend

WOW !!!!! What a weekend we had at Noel Missouri this year !!! We were at the local grocery store in their parking lot, about 1 block from the Elk River. We sat up operations there about 9am Thursday morning and were there until 9pm Saturday night.
There sure was a lot of people there. A lot of people who was hungry for BBQ. Thursday was not really that busy, Friday got a lot better, then Saturday we got slammed. There was so many people , Granny and I would never have been able to keep up with it. But, our daughter Linda came up from Arkansas to help, and the three of us held our own against the hungry multitudes.
Linda said she was working to pay for the BBQ she ate. WOW!!! I didn't know a skinny little white girl could eat that much !!!! ( Just joking Linda ) Really , her and Granny both did a great job.
All said and done, we sold a lot of BBQ and made a little money too. But more than that we met a lot of new people, and had a great time.
Wer have a couple of weeks slack time to get things caught up around Poverty Flats USA then it will start getting very busy almost every weekend right up until the first of November. After that who knows ??
Well, today is Granny's birthday and I promised to take her out for dinner. Gotta run.....
Until next time, as always , Via Con Dios DM Pitmaster at Texas BBQ & Beans