Be Ye Separate

The job seemed endless. I was working alone. The hot Nicaraguan sun beat down on my sweat-soaked clothes. A pile of packed dirt and stones was in front of me. I had no skid-steer or tractor with a loader, only a pick and a shovel. The small trailer hitched behind the tractor waited to be loaded. When it was full, it would

be driven down to the new house and shoveled into wheelbarrows. Then it would be wheeled inside and dumped onto the uneven floor to get ready for concrete. But that was not all. A sledge hammer must be used to break the large stones to make the ground more level. My energy diminished with every shovelful thrown onto

Then a saying that I had read a few days before flashed through my mind. “Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal.” A new vision started forming in my mind. I saw a level floor with rugs and household furniture arranged in an orderly way. That boosted my energy. I am helping to build a house! The

So it is in all of life. Milking cows, making mini-barns, washing dishes, changing diapers, or whatever daily task we face, can become drudgery. But instead of looking at the obstacles, we can choose to think, “We’re occupying till our Lord comes!”

We choose where we look. Looking backward stops our progress (Genesis 19:26). Looking Christward saves (John 3:14, 15). Looking at difficulties brings

discouragement and depression (Matthew 14:29, 30). Looking heavenward glorifies (Acts 7:55).

Daily Devotion 184

July 2

Three Square Meals

In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master, eat.

John 4:31

I once asked a brother to go with me to another state. He said he would go if he could have three square meals, so I struck a deal with him. We had a real nice trip.

Jesus went to the city of Samaria one day. He came to Jacob’s well and being wearied with his journey, He sat by the well. A woman of Samaria came to draw water, and Jesus told her, “Give me to drink.” The disciples may have been like we are, concerned about three square meals. They were in the city buying food, while Jesus took time to share with the woman at the well.

He told her about another well, called Living Water. Jesus took time to lead this woman to the Living Water. As a result, she left her water pot and went into the city. She told the men, “Come, see a man which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” Then they went out of the city, and came to Him. In the meantime, His disciples told Him, “Master, eat.” But He told them, “I have meat to eat that ye know not of.”

There is something more important than eating three square meals a day. It is far more important to share the saving gospel with some seeking soul and lead them to the Living Water than it is to get every bite we are accustomed to. We have saved a soul from going to a burning hell. Consider the account of the rich man in hell. He said that he had five brethren. He pleaded that someone from the dead would testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment.

Simon Overholt, Auburn, KY

A soul saved from hell is another soul for heaven.

Bible Reading: John 4:1–42

One Year Bible Reading Plan:

Acts 10:24–48

Job 23—25

Used by Permission of Vision Publishers

PO Box 190, Harrisonburg, VA 22803

Phone: 877-488-0901

E-Mail: [cs@vision-publishers.com]

Blessings abound:)

These past couple weeks have been so very busy and it shows no signs of stopping. I give thanks to the Lord for the blessings that He has showered us with throughout this year.

Another bit of exciting news for us...day before yesterday we had done our normal daily stuffs around here. You know, cleaning pens, rearranging the barn, feeding, checking on our expectant mommies etc.

That night we did our normal nighttime check and locking up chickens (coon troubles) and making sure everything was...well...normal:P Nothing happening, nothing strange. At around 9pm we hear something out in the barn. I go out and see nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, all the does were laying together and seemed quite annoyed that I had interupted their slumber:P

We are all in bed when around midnight we hear something again. Louder this time. ALL of us, including brother Craig, (armed in case of predators) head out to see what is going on. At first we see Sparky laying down near the fence. It looked like she had gotten out and couldn't get back into the pen. We figured this was the cause for all the commotion. As we get closer we see that she is indeed inside the fencing but cuddled up with Twister who is pitching a fit...noisy noisy noisy. Just as we round the corner of the stall, up pop TWO LITTLE HEADS! TWINS!:)

It seems that Miss Sweet Brandy had done the quiet deed just like Twister had:P The babies were nearly dry which meant she had delivered them sometime soon after we had left them at 9pm:P Silly things...

Upon closer inspection...they are BOTH BUCKS! Ugh:P So now we have 3 bucklings! Yikes. That is it for our Nubian does this year. I had hoped for at least one doe to hold back. Not this year:( And unless Sparky is pregnant and not just fat, then it's done.

Now our Nigers are due from the middle to the end of July. Knowing our luck we'll end up with all does from them and we aren't KEEPING any of those:P Well, we'll keep ONE from our Blackberry if she gives us a doe. This is her last breeding as she's 9 years old now. She's our matriarch and a real sweetheart so she'll be kept for a companion when we have more babies and such.

I have a couple pictures of them but haven't loaded them to the computer yet. I'll post them as soon as I do which will hopefully be tonight:)

The good Lord has blessed us again and we are truly thankful. Healthy does, lots of fresh milk (well after the colostrum is finished), healthy babies. All is right with our world:)

Ladies in Waiting:)

As our days slowly warm up to normal temperatures for this time of year and we are readying our gardens, cleaning out homes and outbuildings, mowing, weeding, maintaining, preparing for outdoor life, so too is our farm bursting with activity.

Our choice to farmstead came with it's sacrifices and hard decisions. We spent many many years helping our children to understand and experience the realities of living a life of self provision. We all know that God is our great provider and through Him this is possible. With that comes disappointments, and sorrow. There are also great joys:) It all balances out in the end but getting there strengthens our resolve and our hearts to a clear understanding of being self sufficient.

As a farmsteader we know, through experience (trial and error and successes) what we need and what we don't. I think the hardest thing is the "dwindling family" syndrome:P It's like going through your kitchen and pulling out VATS to make your family that pot of spaghetti and sauce and realizing that you no longer have 11 people sitting around your table on a daily basis anymore. That vat works for awhile and so you forget until suddenly you only have 6. It's time to downsize:P Your children are cast to the winds in different directions. Some still come home and some don't. Whatever the matrix, you make consessions. Suddenly you trade your vat space in your cupboards for a stock pot. Over time your daily meals become smaller and smaller. Our once bustling family is now 4. We have graduated to saucepans:P Right where we started:P I can now cook our meals in 4 quart saucepans! The dishes take moments. It's fun to have placemats again:P The table actually FITS in the kitchen:P

Have I gotten rid of those vats? Well...most of them:P I do keep a couple of the big things in our shed. For family and friends so I am not having to make huge meals in our little saucepans:) But mostly they are out of the way and stored. Not nearly as many as I once had but enough to get us through a large meal if needed:)

Just as we downsize INside our home we also must keep a watchful eye on the OUTside. I'm referring to our animals, of course:P We keep a certain amount of chickens because they are part of our livlihood as well as for our own sustenance. Some are eaten, some provide eggs, and some get broody and help to replenish our little flock:)

Just as we maintain those numbers so to must we maintain all the others. We raise dairy goats. These are not pets, although they do provide us with companionship and entertainment, their most important job is to provide us with milk. In order to do this they must be bred. As you all know, breeding means....MORE GOATS! Our needs for our family once called for a larger number of goats to provide the needed milk for cheeses, yogurts, kefirs, soaps and of course drinking:) Now that we are a family of 4 our needs have changed and we keep only 2 real milkers. This means that babies, although necessary to get those milkers started, must be sold.

We cannot keep them just because they are cute. They will consume feed and time and therefore are not beneficial to our farmstead. They become a liability and a drain on our resources. If these animals cannot be sold, they are butchered for meat. It's simply one of those choices that must be made that might not seem very popular and fun (and is often sad) but very necessary to maintain the balance of our farmsteading lifestyle.

As you all know, our elderly BARREN dog surprised us with a litter just 6 short weeks ago. Those puppies, though adorable and fun, already have buyers. We cannot keep them! Another sad little moment on the farmstead but a necessary one. Our children know that, it's not just because we are renters here, it's truly because we cannot afford to fill their tummies and still maintain a balance here. When our dog dies then we will consider another, but until then one dog is more than sufficient for our needs. She helps to herd the goats and the chickens and ducks. She gives us warning when someone arrives or something is amiss on the farmstead. She alerts us when the goats are kidding, when coons are after our birds and when company arrives.

I've been approached on several occasions about having "barn cats". We have ONE cat. She's the greatest mouser we've ever had. Thankfully she CAN'T reproduce:P (and now neither can the dog:P) She keeps the house relatively mouse free. She keeps the mole population down outside, We taught her long ago NOT to kill birds. However, this hasn't stopped her from bringing me live ones! They are never injured, just frightened. A gift:) (good kitty) She keeps the barn mostly rodent free and snakes out of the yard:) We have no need to add to her and don't want to. When she's gone THEN we'll get another but not until.

Our goats have started freshening (I prefer summer babies) and will continue until middle to end of July. THOSE babies will not stay. With the exception of possibly keeping a single doeling from our elderly Blackberry (she's almost 9). This will be her last freshening and the ONLY pet goat we have ever had. She's also a Nigerian Dwarf and doesn't take up a lot of room OR feed:)

Our girls raise Nigerian Dwarf dairy goats. The babies are of decent value and the sale of those babies provide their necessary feed for the year. We use their milk in icecreams and lotions and soaps. They are companions for our larger does and as I said about all others...we don't keep the babies because we can't afford to feed them and we have no use for them. We can only use so much milk. After our needs and what we sell, it would got to waste and we cannot abide waste:)

Having said all this I wanted to share pictures of our additions and surprises. All of which will be leaving us as soon as they are weaned. The goat's are often sold before they are weaned as we will start them on the bottle, disbud and whether the boys (if needed or desired by the buyer).

This is little JimBob. He looks just like his sire Manny. If you remember we lost Manny to bloat on January 31. Although a beautiful boy, we will not and cannot keep him. I could only breed him to one of our does and would have to keep him away from his mother so he can't stay. Notice our Miss Sarah, cuddling one of the puppies.

This is Sweet Brandy. She's the next to freshen. As you can see, it will be any day now. Again, her babies will be sold as we have no use for them here. In the background you can see our little Nigerian Dwarf, Platinum...she's due in July.

This is Sparky. We still aren't sure she's actually pregnant...believe it or not:P She has not had a successful delivery ever so if she does freshen by mid July, she will be sold at auction. We have feed her for almost two years now with no milk since just after we got her. She tends to be very aggressive and has a one track mind. What she wants to do or where she wants to go, there is no stopping her. That makes her a liability and it's no fun trying to strongarm a determined goat.

That wide little beast is our Blackberry:) The picture just doesn't do her justice. She is so huge for her little size:P She has never had less than three kids and has had as many as five! She is our only farmpet:P And little Twinkie just behind her (the white one), is having her first freshening this year. All these babies will be sold except for one doeling from Blackberry. IF she has any does:) (she had quad bucklings one year:P)

This is one of our little puppies. As I said, even though they are just stinkin' cute, they cannot stay. Simply put, we cannot afford to keep animals that do not contribute and we do not keep babies unless it's a replacement. Our son is taking one of the puppies so we'll have visitation rights:) This appeases the girls, our son was thrilled because he's wanted a puppy from our beloved Yoncalla Patch since he was 12 years old:) He and his wife are tickled:) They've already chosen the one they want and the rest are sold.

It's a hard and sometimes sad decision that must be made here on our little farmstead. But the rewards are so great and the lessons learned help us all to trust our Lord and accept our limitations.

Farmsteading isn't an easy life, but it's fulfilling in so many ways they far outweigh the trials.

Canopy of Grace:)

I have been enjoying our warmer days this past week under a beautiful canopy of trees behind our home.

Sitting at our garden table with it's own little umbrella mostly to keep the leaves and such from dropping onto the table and subsequently into our food:)

From this table I can enjoy our little bucklings and the beginnings of our garden that will sustain us through winter once it is harvested and put up for human use:)

After a stroll to the barn to check on our Nubian does who are due any day now. You can see our table in the distance where many an idea has been shared. Mornings spent in quiet devotion. Listening to the rush of the river just beyond the stand of trees. Hearing the song of the crickets, cicadae, chirping and rejoicing of the myriad of feathered friends.

I find a sense of peace and contentment in this canopy of God's nature. I can't help but wonder at the awe of the Lord's amazing Grace. Grace that He offers as a canopy of love over us all. Chances given to hear HIS song, HIS touch, HIS rejoicing. I am humbled.

I ponder the reality that we are only renters of this splendid land and are blessed with Christian landlords who trust strangers like ourselves to care for their home in this land of wonder and amazement. It simply reminds me that, just like being temporary tenants of this home, so too are we temporary tenants of this God created wonder. As He trusts us to care for it and rejoice in it's splendor.

Thank you Father for all that You have given to us in our breath of a life here on this beautiful earth. Giving us hope for an eternal future with You. I can't help but wonder...how much more beautiful is heaven? You have given me such an amazing gift here on this earth and I am so undeserving of anything more. Thank You!

Enjoy your temporariness. Be blessed in His daily presence in the wonderful quiet moments when His creation whispers His love for you under His Canopy of Grace.

Be Ye Separate

Daily Devotion 185

Daily Devotion 184

Blessings abound:)

Ladies in Waiting:)

Canopy of Grace:)

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