Thank You Lord for Tough Old Forest Hardwood Floors

"No she didn't!"

"Oh yes she did!"

I brought the dirt inside and filled my pots in the cool of the house. 

This heat and humidity combination we have going on in Virginia isn't a joke!

I was able to finish in half the time because I didn't have to stop to cool down and could work faster. Using the cardboard made it easy to just lift and dump the soil in the tote I keep it in.

.

Sweeping it up and mopping was over in 15 minutes...well worth the comfort!

Dirty Dollars

I offered to clean out a building that had not been touched since the 1950s or 1960s. No one is sure of when it was last touched, to be honest. The boxes' bottoms had disintegrated into nothing. 

People had been careless and had spilled potting soil, fertilizer, bark, etc over the boxes. It was dusty and dirty. The roof had leaked a little too. I think paper eating bugs ate the box bottoms because there was only a tiny bit of dust left under the boxes. I've never seen anything like it. We would lift a box and the sides would come up but there was no bottom. The contents would just sit there. Dust was under the contents.

Vintage and antique items are something I enjoy. I have a knack for finding valuable pieces and have considered opening a store online to sell my finds. In my perusal of the building's contents, I had already spotted at least dozens of high value items. 

There was at least $5k to 8k that I knew I could sell online at a below market prices. If I sell it at market price, I might hold onto it longer, but I could net more. Several of the items were turn of the century. I knew I could offer a local dealer a good portion of it as a lot and not have to piece it out myself. He would get a deal, and I would minimize my workload.

When I inquired about why the person's adult children would not get this stuff and sell it, I was told they were healthy and able, had more than enough time, and knew the items held value. They considered it too much work. 

I jumped at the chance to get the items. I have no doubts I can sell it easily because of my previous experience and success selling vintage and antique items online. I can take that money and invest it and, Lord willing, turn it into more.

I've learned that there are many, many people who will not do something because it is unpleasant work. They just won't do it no matter the pay off. It's sad to see people struggling financially and choosing to sit on a couch playing video games or watching TV mind programming instead of furthering themselves and their children. My youngest sons' boss shares my observations, and says it is multigenerational but noticeably worse within the last two generations. 

The job was dirty and dusty. I was very thankful to get home and shower! However, my few days of labor was rewarded very handsomely. I am giving my children their pick of the antiques and vintage items as a thank you for their help. I gave them a choice between cash or some of the items. They wanted the items because they know they are hard to find and will increase in value. "They're also too cool to part with!" 

Dear Reader, Would you dig through dirt to pick up more $10, $20, $50, and $100 bills than you can fit into a standard wallet? I think most of my friends and family would. Does it perplex you how people won't do very simple things to better themselves? 

Koi

Our standard koi have really grown!

barley straw and barley seed help control the algae

We have around 40 koi, over 50 goldfish, about a dozen bull minnows, and one lonely blue crab in our 7700 gallon "pond." My other "pond's" liner was about to fail, so I pulled the pool liner out of the boat and set it up combining fish from both "ponds" into one. 

There is no filter or heater on it. I have enough work to do and do not want to add to our power bill. I also know from being a one time aquarium hobbyist how to get the water balanced. I did it in the 750 gallon pool, and it will be even easier in this much larger pool. 

Because it is not filtered, the water is more natural looking and not crystal clear. We see them when they surface to feed on the pellets, and they put on quite a show for us. It's entertaining to see them jump out of the water!

I use barley straw to keep the water clean. As it breaks down, it releases a chemical that helps control algae. I change the water by taking water off of the pool to water my garden and add fresh water back into the pool. So, it's an aquaponics kind of deal.

A few years ago, I set up a 10' x 33" metal tube frame kiddie pool near my biggest garden for water storage. The plumbing to the garden was in the works but not finished. Emily and Hannah wanted to be done with their aquarium, so I took the FIVE goldfish and put them in the pool. I hoped they would serve us by eating mosquito larvae. I didn't think they'd survive the winter. 

Two seasons later, we had 46 confirmed fish with others that were discovered when we drained it. There was well over 50 fish in the "pool pond." They survived on bugs that would land on the water. I also learned they will eat algae. We fed them now and then, but we mostly forgot about them. It was so effortless; I am amazed at how it worked out! 

Can we raise koi? We're going to find out! If we do, can we sell enough of them to make it worthwhile? We wouldn't need to sell many because our costs are very low. If that works, we'll spend some money on better genetics and see if we can sell those.

The blue crab. Our two younger girls caught it at our river. They asked if they could put the thumbnail-sized crab (a "crab seed" :-) in our pond. We told them they could, but it would probably die. Well, the "seed" sized crab is now about as big as my palm! I think I see another experiment in the making! Try something new! You never know how it will turn out!

If you were to visit, and we talked about the pond, Hannah would quickly tell you that after working hours in the garden on the hot afternoon after it was set up, I picked her up and tossed her in the big pool with the fish to cool her off. She was laughing the entire time until she got this look of apprehensive wonder on her face and said, "Oh my goodness! I just felt the crab run over my foot!!" (She had boots on.) LOL! She'd also tell you I couldn't get her back out because the pool is so tall. We had to enlist Clint's help! 

Coal Road 4x4 Jeep Trail

For the young people who asked: Happy to help! For Coal Road 4x4, click here. Be safe, and have fun! Send us picts! Love to all, w

no great credit to the instrument

Designed for good deeds. It's as simple as that. It was God's idea. He did the designing. He expects us to work, just as the designer of a precision instrument, if the understands the principles involved and designs it accordingly, expects the thing to work. It is no great credit to the instrument if it does. -Elisabeth Elliot

Tomato Sucker Rooting

 

soil in plastic cup method @ 2 weeks

I've been rooting tomato suckers for years with good success. I am in zone 7b, so I can grow tomatoes outdoors until late September and into October. If I move them into my greenhouse, I can keep them producing longer.

This year, I decided to try two different methods at the same time to see which did the best. I stuck 15 big suckers in water and put 24 in soil. I did not change the water daily in the bottles. I don't want more work. I want something easy to do.

Of the suckers put in the water, three of those did well. A fourth developed roots a bit slower than the others. The rest did not grow roots. One more has the bumpy texture that starts right before the roots pop out. So, it was around a 25% success rate.

I had 100% success rate on the suckers stuck in the soil, and they had good root development! They looked fantastic! I was really happy with the results! I thought of people I could share with and made a mental note to call them the next day to see if they wanted them.

Then, life happened. Sigh.

We live in an area thick with wild blackberries which have fungi which spreads to my tomatoes. I've learned to give a preventative dose of fungicide before I set my tomato plants out. I asked Hannah to do it and told her to get the measuring spoon and to measure carefully. 

My sweet Hannah did not follow my directions to MEASURE the fungicide. She thought she could "eyeball" it. I saw the suffering plants the next day and could smell the fungicide in the soil. She really overdid it!! 

I called Hannah and asked her is she had followed my directions exactly. She woefully told me she didn't get the spoon and measure it. I showed her the plants and went over loss in time and the potential harvest. I told her as long as she learned from it, we were good. 

Hannah learned a lesson about how plants can be poisoned just like people and animals. All four of us gardening girls learned how to treat poisoned plants by flushing them with water. Bethany enjoyed watching them come back to life after each heavy watering.

Twelve of the tomato plants perked back up and have been planted outside. They don't look fantastic, but they should make it. Two died later. The other ten range from looking "so so" to "what a sad sight." We'll see what happens.

I think I'll skip trying to root the suckers in water and just do the soil next year.

I'll also make sure that fungicide is measured correctly!

Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.

Jeremiah 29:6

 

Rejoicing!

There has been yet another spiritual breakthrough in our circle!

It was something no one thought would ever happen, but God did it!

The Holy Spirit MOVED! 

Hard places were softened, barriers were removed, necessary words were spoken, and loving actions were taken!

It was something that was prayed over for almost ten years! A miracle happened!

God is so good to His children!!

Dear Reader, While I can't share details because this involves another family, I wanted to share that we are seeing things we never thought would happen! It has been an amazing few years! That thing you have prayed for over and over...keep praying for it. God hears you! He will answer in His own time and in His own way! It might be another miracle in the works!

Mother's Day Art Work

from Bethany

from Emily

I save every single one!

Regarding Crows

I was asked about crows...

I live a ways off the road and am surrounded by woods. Our property is clearly marked every few feet all the way around. Our game warden praised our efforts in making sure our border was highly visible. No one should be back here ever. However, the crows around us have alerted me to strangers trespassing/poaching several times. 

One time, I had been working outside and did not hear anything in the woods. The crows alerted me in a way that I knew something was very off. I told my children to get in the house and told one to bring me a firearm. As soon as the firearm was visible, I heard a person quickly running off. They were on the border of our land and a vacant forested lot...where they should not have been. They were in a spot where they could watch us but not be seen. From trash we later found, I suspect it was a poacher putting down bait nearby.

Another time, I was in and out of the house. I heard one and then several crows give an alarm, and they were hopping from tree to tree. I again asked for a firearm while I kept watch because I knew by the way the crows were alarming it was a human or a coyote. This time, I heard a man yell at me as he ran off. He got caught trespassing, so he cussed me? OK. I'm fine with that as long as he gets off my land and keeps off. I do not play around when it comes to my family's or livestock's safety or security. 

If I am outside, I know right away if a hawk is nearby because the crows will let me know. If crows aren't causing losses to your livestock or garden, I'd leave them alone and learn their behaviors. You never know what they might alert you to in the future. 

https://www.nathab.com/blog/crows-are-as-intelligent-as-a-seven-year-old-child/

https://www.theguardian.com/science/punctuated-equilibrium/2011/jul/06/2

https://hraf.yale.edu/the-intelligent-crow-exploring-human-animal-relationships-cross-culturally/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWpChIrhphs&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR2EoBdm5d5piDZQNJS99NDh8jWQ2PIwMWqyHgCSO_qP_oq7phfHSuL3tKQ

*These events happened over the course of 25 years. In the last several years, our game warden has stepped up his efforts and has been a lot of help. Two of the neighbors our place borders have joined in the efforts since their land was affected by the poachers too. 

How to Survive in Uncertain Times

Dear Reader, do you want to know to not only survive but to also THRIVE during these uncertain times?

Be led by the Lord. 

Trust in Him. 

Learn to do His will. 

Flee to Him for refuge. 

Serve the Lord.

Let me hear in the morning of your steadfast love, for in you I trust. Make me know the way I should go, for to you I lift up my soul. Deliver me from my enemies, O Lord! I have fled to you for refuge. Teach me to do your will, for you are my God! Let your good Spirit lead me on level ground! For your name's sake, O Lord, preserve my life! In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble! And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am your servant. ~Psalm 143:8-12

Two of my joys

God's Goodness

God has worked miracles today!

Mountains have been moved!

Big things happened!

Our family is rejoicing at God's goodness in the lives of those in our circle!

God is so good!

I am so thankful we have this relationship with Him so we can witness these things happen and give testimony of His incredible love.

Mushroomin'

Holes are drilled to inoculate the log. 

Then the holes are packed with moistened shavings and sealed with wax.

The inoculated logs are stacked in an area where mushrooms have come up naturally. 

That way, we know where we placed them is conducive to growing 'shrooms.

Our family uses several types of powdered mushrooms to boost our immune system. Later, I'd like to grow them another way to see if it is something else we can sell from our little farm.

Article: CAN WE REBUKE OR BIND SATAN?

Worth the read.

CAN WE REBUKE OR BIND SATAN?"

We all tend to repeat words and practices we've seen and heard in other Christians, especially in our prayers. But some of the words and practices we have seen are not supported in the Bible. That doesn't mean the folks whose problematic practices we’ve imitated are bad or immature Christians. It doesn’t even mean those persons are unworthy of imitation. What I’m saying is that some practices that have become common among us need to be questioned. “Rebuking and binding the devil” is one of them. And just because we include the words “in the name of Jesus” in our rebuke doesn’t make it right."

Em's Sloggers

That's gardening stuff in the background.

This is Emily's choice for her new Sloggers. It's called Flower Power. One thing I love as the mother of several children is seeing the differences in them and their tastes! Emily surprised me with her choice! I thought she'd go for one of the animal designs. I love the design and colors in her choice!

If you are looking for a boot that will last years, Sloggers are the only ones that have held up for our family. Yes, they cost more than others, but they are well worth it! We highly recommend them and have never been disappointed with their performance. We buy them a few sizes bigger so we can wear socks in them in the winter. 

They do fit tight at the correct size, but that is how this kind of boot is suppose to be. As was explained to me, if you sink down in mud, you do not want your boot to pull off with your next step. From a large family perspective, these boots can be passed down to the next child so they are a bargain. 

Dear Reader, I am convinced that God loves diversity. He made so many different types of people with so many different personalities and talents. The plant and animal kingdoms are even more diverse. Don't be afraid to stand out from the crowd in a Scriptural manner and be who God made you to be. 

How to Increase in Faith

I believe this passage by Elizabeth Elliot uncovers why so many Christians are stagnant in their walk. Their faith isn't growing because they simply won't obey the Lord. If you want a bigger faith, obey God's commands. No, it isn't easy. In weight training, one learns one has to tear the fibers in a muscle before strength is gained. Faith is very similar. You have to surrender your will, obey, and then your faith will grow. 

There is something that pretends to be Christianity which is mostly a mood. The measure of its faith is merely the measure of feeling.  ...

That faith is neither a mood nor a feeling, but practical obedience is clearly seen when Jesus puts the responsibility of forgiveness squarely before the apostles--seven times in one day. 

He told them they must forgive the same man. They recognized dimly that this was going to require faith and theirs did not amount to much. Mood and feeling would not go far toward enabling them to obey that command. "Lord increase our faith!" they said, very likely taking refuge from obedience by implying that they could not possibly be expected to obey until, by some special miracle of grace, they were given a superabundance of faith. Superabundance indeed! Why, even faith no bigger than a mustard seed could uproot a mulberry tree, Jesus told them. 

The way to increase their faith was to get busy and do what they were supposed to do, and "when you have carried out all your orders, you should say, 'We are servants and deserve no credit; we have only done our duty." Elisabeth Elliot

Praising the Lord!

Amanda was on her way to work when she was caught up in a high speed chase. She pulled over to the far right since they were going for the left. There were five officers giving chase to one gray SUV. We are praising the Lord she and others on the road were kept safe.

Positive News: Coronavirus

Israel announces antibody that neutralizes coronavirus, even amongst infected.

Why I Use Rooting Inoculant

This is why I use a rooting inoculant on my plants. 

This is the roots on a 2" tomato sucker 

two weeks after inserting it in the rockwool.

I started about 15 of these tiny suckers which grew very quickly and were transplanted into pots. They continued to grow quickly outside. I gave most of them away the first week of June. I kept a few for myself so I could watch them grow. They are huge tomato plants and are putting off their first flowers.

To answer a questions about the picture: 

I used net cups to keep the rockwool cubes upright. 

I use rockwool only for the tiniest suckers. 

I root larger ones in water or soil. I'll share picts soon, if I can. Life is super busy.

Tomato Damage

The damage to this tomato plant had me perplexed! 

All of the leaves were stripped off two sides. 

I had to see what was happening to figure it out. 

Three kittens were playing on the corner railing and kept falling off...knocking the leaves off of the sides next to the railing. 

Little fuzzy stinkers!

Supper

The sprouts ended up being supper.

I love my sprouts and microgreens!

Continuously

I live in the spirit of prayer. 

I pray as I walk about, 

when I lie down 

and when I rise up. 

And the answers are always coming. 

George Müller

Dear Reader, I encourage you to spend time in prayer everyday.

not a constant high

The Christian life is not a constant high.

I have my moments of deep discouragement.

I have to go to God in prayer

with tears in my eyes,

and say,

'O God, forgive me,'

or 'Help me.'

-Billy Graham

Growing Figs in Zone 7

I am in zone 7b.

I have seven fig trees. Two are of the dwarf variety growing on my deck. The other five are in the ground. They died back the first few years (even though I used straw and wrapped them), but they came back. During those early years, they didn't show new growth until later in the season than I expected. I did not wrap them last year because they are too large and well established. I only lost a few tips on one this winter.

A tip for those in soggy conditions: I also live along a river and have very wet springs. It can take a while for us to dry out in the spring. I've learned through trial and error on how to overcome that. I planted our figs half in the ground and half out-inside of a tire with the side walls cut off. I filled in the tire with soil.

I removed the tires this year and am using one of them to establish a new grapevine that will shade our peafowl's large habitat. My son has established nut trees he grew using my half in/half out method too. When I removed the tires from the figs, I added more soil and heavily mulched them. They are looking very good.

Thank you, Richard!

Thank you, Richard S., for the generous gift of the refrigerant for the group project!! 

We really appreciate your gift!!

Soon to Be Lunch

Broccoli and Friends Mix
A few more days and this is lunch!

In the time you have left...

In matters of equity between man and man, our Savior has taught us to put my neighbor in place of myself, and myself in place of my neighbor. 

-Isaac Watts

Dear Reader, God tells us to love others. Love is not something we simply proclaim and then get back to doing our own thing. Love manifests itself as true or false in how we treat others. I hope the love of God has filled you so completely that even those who have mistreated you can say you showed them His love. 

Prayers Please

Still needs prayer....

The journeys we have been on for the last several years have been amazing! I hope one day I can tell the stories of what God is doing.

And so I walk in the LORD's presence as I live here on earth! 

Psalm 116:9

Piggy Redfoot and How I Keep Track of My Tortoises

Chevelle is not sharing again today. We had to set Ranger up with his own plate in another room. After six months of him living with us, we finally saw him eat on June 8th!

The child safe paint does not harm them in any way. What it does do is allow me to find them quickly in my main garden which is a fenced in 2700 square feet. I had to figure something out that worked for our combined needs because searching an hour for two tortoises every day is just not feasible. They get to browse for food, enjoy necessary sunlight, and exercise nearly every day in exchange for a little child safe paint on their shells. 

When I go inside, they go inside too because we have very large raptors, racoons, foxes, and coyotes here. Because we live along a river, flooding is also a concern. I use to use helium filled balloons, but they slip off too easily. 

These tortoises were a gift to me, cost over $1k, and can not survive on their own outdoors in my climate's winter. I don't like the paint on their shells because it detracts from their beauty, but I compromised on that for their health, to give them more freedom, and to provide them a better life. I realized the red was not enough after hunting for them, so I did a quick, albeit messy, yellow stripe down the red. It lasts a couple of months, and then has to be reapplied. 

And, they KNOW when they are going to the garden. They keep their heads out until they are on the ground. Then, they head to their favorite spots and love eating our beans!

Mint Harvest

Mint is one of the easiest and most useful plants you can grow. There are so many things you can do with mint. You can use it in cooking to give a new flavor to dishes, make cooling teas from it, use it to repel mosquitoes*, let it grow around windows and doors and foundations to repel insects, make jelly, make syrup, put it in your bathwater, etc. It is useful as a medicine and helps irritable bowel and other digestive orders, is very nutritious, helps bad breath, is anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and antifungal, can relieve headaches, etc. I could go on and on about mint much like Bubba and shrimp in Forrest Gump. I have propagated mint to grow in several different places on our farm. There was some already on the farm when we moved here 25 years ago.

We just harvested a little of ours to use in three different ways.

We are drying the leaves to make tea. Sometimes we add it to our regular tea to add a body wide cooling effect. When we make plain mint tea, we sweeten it with honey.

Here Em is crushing mint to release the oils. We add water and slowly cook it down to capture the oils. I use this to spray inside of the rabbit cages (but not on the rabbits) to help repel all types of flies. I will also spray this on my clothing before cutting grass, and I will spray it in the house to freshen the air in a room.

This is the left over stems after the leaves were snipped off. We try hard not to let anything go to waste. I sprinkle the leftovers around the inside and outside of animal pens or our home's doors to repel bugs. I also toss some to the animals for them to eat. We toss the "cooked" mint around the cages or our homes' doors too.

*I pick a big handful, crush it, and roll it all over my arms, legs, face, and neck. It has to be reapplied every hour or two depending on how hot it is and how hungry the mosquitoes are. Sometimes it works great, and others it doesn't. I try that and a few other things before spraying chemicals on my clothing to repel mosquitoes. I will use DEET if needed, usually when I am deep into our woods, because Lyme and co-infections are very serious diseases, but I try to keep it off of my skin and apply to clothing only. For those who need it: the nematodes we purchased greatly reduced the garden pests, house flies, fleas, ticks, and mosquitoes too. We applied them two years in a row and saw a reduction each year. We can tell the nematodes numbers have increased, and they are still working hard for us. I have seen one flea and two mosquitoes..and I am outside a lot. We've had very, very little pest damage on our vegetable plants too. Now, we just need to buy some every couple of years or so to maintain. I strongly recommend them for everyone with a yard!

We Surrendered, He Provided

I look back in time and stand amazed of God's work in our lives! When the Holy Spirit was working on us to surrender control over our reproductive life and for me to be a stay at home mother, we wondered how we'd make enough money for a larger family. We were counseled by strong Christians, already walking in faith, and shown many examples that God increases income as needed in families that walk in faith and obey. God kept sending the people, and story after story was shared with us to encourage us to trust the Lord as He and follow where He was leading.

Today, we humbly and thankfully can add our story! We are one of the families who can testify that God did indeed increase our income and has taken care of all of our needs. We can say with our lives as proof that you can walk where He leads, and where many are afraid to go, because 

HE is FAITHFUL! 

Please rejoice with us and praise the Lord today for His goodness to His servants! Surrendering in each area of life is so foreign to so many, but God has blessings for those who obey. 

It does not matter your age, gender, or current circumstances. You, 

yes you,

can still surrender to the call of Father in the different aspects your life. He wants everything given over to Him. The only way to victory is to lose it all to Him. Dear reader, I encourage you to seek the Lord and ask how you can obey His calling on your life today. 

I Surrender All

Judson Van de Venter 

1855-1939
After five years of running, he finally surrendered to the call to evangelize 

and ended up influencing the preaching of Billy Graham!

All to Jesus I surrender

All to Him I freely give

I will ever love and trust Him

In His presence daily live

All to Jesus I surrender

Humbly at His feet I bow

Worldly pleasures all forsaken

Take me, Jesus, take me now,

I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Savior

I surrender all

All to Jesus I surrender

Make me Savior wholly thine

May Thy Holy Spirit fill me

May I know Thy power divine

I surrender all

I surrender all

All to Thee my blessed Savior

He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.”

Luke 11:28

And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.
2 John 1:6

La Mancha Ears

 

 

A lot of people call La Mancha goats as the goat without any ears, but they do have ears. They are just very tiny. I took some pictures of Peppermint Patty so you can see. I admit I love look of the long, full ears of the Nubians. However, Peppermint Patty's ears do not get as scratched up when browsing like the Nubians do. The La Mancha gives a lot of milk and is a great dairy breed to have when you desire all of the health benefits of milk. Goat's milk is even very healthy for the heart and is recommended for people who have heart disease! 

Christ must be "commanding officer" in my life

To be a Christian in New Testament terms is to be a disciple. There are no two ways about it. We have a Savior who has forgiven and saved us from the penalty of sin. Most of us would happily settle for that. But He died to save us also from our sins, many of which we love and hate to part with. Christ could not have done this if He were not Lord over all the powers of evil. Jesus Christ is Savior because He is Lord. He is Lord because He is Savior. I cannot be saved from my sins unless I am also saved from myself, so Christ must be "commanding officer" in my life. -Elisabeth Elliot

Article: Growing plants from kitchen scraps

I'm beat. 12 hours of hard work in the sun... I am the good kind of tired!

I was reviewing how to grow parsnips and came across this:

25 Foods You Can Regrow From Kitchen Scraps

If they are in stock locally, I am going to buy a bag of parsnips and plant the tops of one since they will regrow and go to seed much like the tops of carrots. If that works, the plants should make seeds next year...and then I can get a perennial bed of those going.

Coronavirus Good News

In case you missed these:

New estimate by CDC reduces COVID-19 death rate to just 0.26% (IFR) from WHO’s 3.4% (CFR)

The coronavirus 'does not spread easily' from touching surfaces or objects, CDC says

A Study Out of Thin Air

Packaging

For those who are curious, this is another type of 

packaging that is made where Clint works.

These are produced in Newport News.

The Secret to Success

In all that he did in the service of the Temple of God 

and in his efforts to follow God's laws and commands, 

Hezekiah sought his God wholeheartedly.

As a result, he was very successful.

–2 Chronicles 31:21

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 
and all these things shall be added unto you.
Matthew 6:33

Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.
Proverbs 16:3

Every Day is Different

As a young stay at home mother, I started growing our own fruits and vegetables and raising livestock because it gave us organic foods, cut our costs, and allowed me to make an income from home. It was hard work doing that while breastfeeding infants, caring for toddlers, homeschooling the older children, taking care of our home, and running our kennel while selling things over the internet, but most things worth doing involve a good amount of effort. 

I work much harder as a stay at home mom than I ever did when I was working full time. However, everything I do benefits our family directly instead of my efforts mostly going to a benefit a corporation while I receive only a partial benefit for my work.

I can remember one morning where I was pregnant and very sick with severe hyperemesis gravidarum. The doctor had told me to bed rest, but I had four young children waiting on breakfast. I was milking our goat, Little May, when the exhaustion hit me so hard, I laid my forehead against her soft, warm side to keep myself upright. Little May was not stanchioned, so she was free to move her head. I thought she'd be irritated. Instead, she turned and gently nuzzled my ear and hair in the tenderest way as if to say, "You have this! You can keep going!" That morning, a humble little goat was used by Almighty God to give me encouragement! Those were endurance testing days, but I survived and am better for them.

I LOVE my life! My days are never the same, and I love that what I do goes directly and fully to my family. I am not working to make a business or corporation wealthier. I am working every day for the betterment of my own family. God led me to this place after I sought Him. How good He is to give us JOY in the middle of serving Him. 

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. 

Colossians 3:23-24

The picture: 

My old manual milk machine was degraded, so I am making a new one. I am using this auto bleed kit with the medical syringes. The syringes will go over the goat's teats. The pump will pull a vacuum, and the milk will be deposited very cleanly through tubing into a mason jar. I am proficient at milking by hand, but this speeds up the process and keeps it very sanitary. I am teaching my girls how to milk by hand because it is a skill and experience not many have. Every skill we learn builds confidence. My other children all have all also learned.

The cutting pliers aka nail pullers, wire cutters are used to trim goat hooves. Some people buy very expensive 15" long hoof nippers, but these work great for me. A slightly smaller size than this one works well for goats too. 

The shavings are for chicks that are here and ducklings that are still enroute as I type this post. Our hens are older and our roosters were killed by something. Infertile eggs won't hatch no matter how long you keep them in an incubator! 

Because of our aging flock, we had planned to buy new birds, but we had not expected the mad dash for chicks due to fears of food shortages caused by CoVid. Some of the breeds we have had on the farm for 20 years are sold out for the rest of the year. Some will be available this fall. We went with Leghorns, which we've had before, and Cochins, which are new to us.

Yet still there is something for man to do

Salvation is a gift, purely a gift, forever a gift. It is grace and nothing else that obtains it for us. Discipline is not my claim on Christ, but the evidence of His claim on me. I do not "make" Him Lord. I acknowledge Him Lord. To do this in honestly involves the full intention to do His will, that is, to live under the discipline of His Word. But even that is not something we manage all by ourselves. 

If we are Christians, we are under grace. ...
If we are Chrsitains, we have a rule book. ...
If we are Christians, we have the Spirit of God. ...

There it is. The grace makes it possible, the Scripture points the way; the Spirit inspires-but there is one thing more. Yet still there is something for man to do, and it is the greatest thing any man can ever do. It is to put his full trust in the living God. Faith is the only thing required. -Elizabeth Elliot Discipline The Glad Surrender

Christian Discipline

Christian discipline means placing oneself under orders. It is no mere business of self-improvement, to be listed along with speed reading, weight watching, jogging, time management, home repairs, or how to win friends. Such programs have a strong appeal that is largely self serving: what's in it for me? 

The disciple is not on his own, left to seek self-actualization, which is a new word for old-fashioned selfishness. He is not "doing his thing" to find his own life or liberty or happiness. He gives himself to a Master and in so doing leaves self behind.

-Elisabeth Elliot Discipline: The Glad Surrender

My New EDC

♪ I make his heart sing! ♪

This is my new EDC. The knife I had was too heavy. This one is lightweight but made well enough it handles the normal everyday tasks I need. I keep a heavier duty knife in my backpack which is what I use instead of a purse. For $13, it is a very good deal, and I won't cry too hard if I lose it. I purchased Brandon and Caleb one for their birthdays. I also gave Bethany one as a thank you for her hard work around here. 

I have encouraged my children to carry a pocket knife daily when they are able. Knives are so useful to have in so many situations. I use mine almost daily from opening mail or cutting through packages to turning milk cartons into greenhouses or cutting twine for the garden or removing a splinter or pruning a plant. A pocket knife is one tool I would not want to be caught somewhere without.