Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
Friday, November 19, 2010
Controlled Chaos
We here on the farm are moving into the holiday seasons with such great expectations. Our house is chilly to say the least with the cold weather setting in and no heating system installed but we are moving in a positive direction. We have purchased a blower system to go in the living room fireplace and will be getting the wood floors in throughout the downstairs this next week. I've planted my strawberries and garlic to ensure a bountiful crop next summer and put in another grape vine. Our fruit trees were overflowing this year and I was able to put up forty quart jars of fruit and 10 jars of jam(grape, green pepper, fig and peach). Our freezer is full of frozen squash, zucchini and tomatoes and soon Tom Tom the thirty pound turkey we've raised will cuddle up in there as well in preparation for the Christmas meal.
We are hoping Lance is accepted to the University of Haifa, Israel for the study abroad program starting in January and we plan to join him for a visit if he stays through the fall.
It seems our life never stops it's twists and turns but we have always been fighters and even though we get down sometimes we generally rise to each challenge with stronger resolve than we had had before.Our life is full. We love our Lord and pray each of our children will find His grace and love as they become adults.
John Michael has been in the fight of his life with serious kidney issues this fall requiring hospital stays but we pray the Lord will bring healing and restoration to him. He is such a warrior. He will begin teaching children for church next week. He went to the pastor on his own and worked out all the details. His class will be 8-10 children age 3-8 years old.
I have been asked to teach dance at church on Friday nights in Greensboro and on Wednesday nights in Grays Chapel. We will be presenting to another church on Sunday December 5th Davidic dance and prayfully opening doors for sharing how our Hebrew Roots have everything to do with Christ and Christianity. I am praying for guidance on this as it is a huge responsibility and we still have so much work that needs to be done to make our house livable. My dad will be coming in December to take the boys deer hunting at a friends hundred acre property in Virginia and they get to stay at her cabin! It was so nice of her to offer, she has been so generous to us this year. I know my dad will put in some hard labor here at the house when he comes which we also appreciate tremendously. He has always been there for us and never let us down.
I pray your life is full but maybe not quite as full as ours and you find time to rest, relax and spend time with friends and family this season.
We are hoping Lance is accepted to the University of Haifa, Israel for the study abroad program starting in January and we plan to join him for a visit if he stays through the fall.
It seems our life never stops it's twists and turns but we have always been fighters and even though we get down sometimes we generally rise to each challenge with stronger resolve than we had had before.Our life is full. We love our Lord and pray each of our children will find His grace and love as they become adults.
John Michael has been in the fight of his life with serious kidney issues this fall requiring hospital stays but we pray the Lord will bring healing and restoration to him. He is such a warrior. He will begin teaching children for church next week. He went to the pastor on his own and worked out all the details. His class will be 8-10 children age 3-8 years old.
I have been asked to teach dance at church on Friday nights in Greensboro and on Wednesday nights in Grays Chapel. We will be presenting to another church on Sunday December 5th Davidic dance and prayfully opening doors for sharing how our Hebrew Roots have everything to do with Christ and Christianity. I am praying for guidance on this as it is a huge responsibility and we still have so much work that needs to be done to make our house livable. My dad will be coming in December to take the boys deer hunting at a friends hundred acre property in Virginia and they get to stay at her cabin! It was so nice of her to offer, she has been so generous to us this year. I know my dad will put in some hard labor here at the house when he comes which we also appreciate tremendously. He has always been there for us and never let us down.
I pray your life is full but maybe not quite as full as ours and you find time to rest, relax and spend time with friends and family this season.
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Looking for God
These last few months I have felt the need to grow closer to the Lord. It seems I have fallen away a bit as I at one time could readily feel His presence and know when He would gently prompt me to do something. I guess life has gotten in the way and I have been just too busy to hear His voice within me, but I don't want it to be that way. There is a peace in knowing He is within my grasp when I need Him and being able to call out His name and have Him love me so much that instantly He is there. I have attended for the last week a healing service with Craig Marsh from New Zealand and he calls it "knowing God's heartbeat."
I do seek to know the Lord's heartbeat, to be so close that I am able to lay my head on His chest and feel the rhythmic rise and fall of His very being. I was walking in Walmart the other day and I felt His presence-as if there was something that was going to happen or He was trying to say but I couldn't quite hear. I am too far from His heartbeat to hear what He is trying to say and that saddens me.
Today I was driving into town and two pickups towing trailers were on the road opposite me in the other lane. One was stopped and the other was pulling out of a fenced area where I assumed they were picking up cattle to take to the stockyard. I was still quite a distance away when the second pickup pulled out of the field and crossed my lane to fall in behind the other. I knew he would easily clear my lane before I reached him and felt no need to slow from the 55mph speed I was traveling. As I drew closer the second vehicle flashed his brights-"Must be signaling the lead truck," I thought to myself slowing slightly but still traveling fairly fast. Then I noticed him signaling with his arm out the drivers side window wildly waving it up and down and I knew the warning was for me. As I quickly stepped on the brakes my vehicle slowed to a stop. From the corner of my eye a small light brown calf haltingly stepped across my path just in front of my left bumper. He was unsure of his steps on the smooth surface of the asphalt as he crossed directly in front of my suburban to the other side of the road. I realized had I not seen the warning I would have surely killed this little creature and done some damage to my truck as well. As I drove on I reflected on the lesson the Lord had just placed before me.
When I noticed the flashing lights I assumed the message was for someone else. How often do I do that? Is it possible the Lord is trying to get my attention but I've been thinking all along He doesn't need to speak to me, after all who am I? I haven't been to seminary, or the mission field. Am I so busy in my life that He needs to wildly flag me down in order for me to just stop and look around and listen to what He is trying to say? Probably so.
Lord help me to hear your heartbeat today. I feel the need to draw closer to you. Teach me how to do that. Thank you for working your miracles in my life and for being willing to love me. In the name of Yeshua HaMachiach. Amen
I do seek to know the Lord's heartbeat, to be so close that I am able to lay my head on His chest and feel the rhythmic rise and fall of His very being. I was walking in Walmart the other day and I felt His presence-as if there was something that was going to happen or He was trying to say but I couldn't quite hear. I am too far from His heartbeat to hear what He is trying to say and that saddens me.
Today I was driving into town and two pickups towing trailers were on the road opposite me in the other lane. One was stopped and the other was pulling out of a fenced area where I assumed they were picking up cattle to take to the stockyard. I was still quite a distance away when the second pickup pulled out of the field and crossed my lane to fall in behind the other. I knew he would easily clear my lane before I reached him and felt no need to slow from the 55mph speed I was traveling. As I drew closer the second vehicle flashed his brights-"Must be signaling the lead truck," I thought to myself slowing slightly but still traveling fairly fast. Then I noticed him signaling with his arm out the drivers side window wildly waving it up and down and I knew the warning was for me. As I quickly stepped on the brakes my vehicle slowed to a stop. From the corner of my eye a small light brown calf haltingly stepped across my path just in front of my left bumper. He was unsure of his steps on the smooth surface of the asphalt as he crossed directly in front of my suburban to the other side of the road. I realized had I not seen the warning I would have surely killed this little creature and done some damage to my truck as well. As I drove on I reflected on the lesson the Lord had just placed before me.
When I noticed the flashing lights I assumed the message was for someone else. How often do I do that? Is it possible the Lord is trying to get my attention but I've been thinking all along He doesn't need to speak to me, after all who am I? I haven't been to seminary, or the mission field. Am I so busy in my life that He needs to wildly flag me down in order for me to just stop and look around and listen to what He is trying to say? Probably so.
Lord help me to hear your heartbeat today. I feel the need to draw closer to you. Teach me how to do that. Thank you for working your miracles in my life and for being willing to love me. In the name of Yeshua HaMachiach. Amen
Monday, May 17, 2010
Spring preparation
The Lion's Gate Farm is finally settling into a routine of sorts after our move. The fencing is almost complete and plans are being reviewed for putting up the barn.
I love this place. It is bursting with life. As I walk the property I am amazed at how full and laden with fruit the trees are. When I walk around the pond my being is filled with complete peace. It is ten acres less than where we moved from but it is ours and it is rich.
The animals love it here too. The baby billies are growing quickly and I'm sure before too long they will no longer have a baby kid smell but the recognizable stench of a billie goat. But for now it's fun to watch them play tag and tear from one end of the pasture to the other turning circles and performing circus flips in the air.
It's possible that we may have three more goats kid yet this year. I am expecting one or two goats to kid around May 26th and possibly Lila will kid in June as her udder is starting to fill out some.
The bees are coming along. One hive is ready for the honey super if I could only find the stain to get it weatherized before it gets set out. The other hive started out slow as we probably had 1000 dead bees when it arrived so they are having to work harder to establish their hive.
The house is coming along slowly because our focus has been on planting and birthing kids and crops and bees. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to worm farm. I will give that another try before the cold sets in so I can supplement the chickens feed this winter and not rely on store bought grain so much. The Lord has given us what we require to sustain ourselves. We just need to reach through the ages and remember how.
I love this place. It is bursting with life. As I walk the property I am amazed at how full and laden with fruit the trees are. When I walk around the pond my being is filled with complete peace. It is ten acres less than where we moved from but it is ours and it is rich.
The animals love it here too. The baby billies are growing quickly and I'm sure before too long they will no longer have a baby kid smell but the recognizable stench of a billie goat. But for now it's fun to watch them play tag and tear from one end of the pasture to the other turning circles and performing circus flips in the air.
It's possible that we may have three more goats kid yet this year. I am expecting one or two goats to kid around May 26th and possibly Lila will kid in June as her udder is starting to fill out some.
The bees are coming along. One hive is ready for the honey super if I could only find the stain to get it weatherized before it gets set out. The other hive started out slow as we probably had 1000 dead bees when it arrived so they are having to work harder to establish their hive.
The house is coming along slowly because our focus has been on planting and birthing kids and crops and bees. I even tried, unsuccessfully, to worm farm. I will give that another try before the cold sets in so I can supplement the chickens feed this winter and not rely on store bought grain so much. The Lord has given us what we require to sustain ourselves. We just need to reach through the ages and remember how.
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Demolition and Rebuilding
The other day I was working in the entryway of this hundred-year-old house painstakingly removing layers and layers of paint from the beadboard, trim, and doors. I have been working on this same project for the last three to four weeks. When I first started I was excited to find what treasure might lie underneath, what kind of wood had the original builders used, what would the grain look like, would it be the same all the way through or were different types used as they had to replace a door or one finial or door moulding? About a week ago I became despondent. "It's taking too long. I still have the library and the ceiling in the living room, the stairs and the wainscot leading up the stairs to strip. I'll never get done. Maybe I'd be better off just painting it all white and be done with it." Oh, how tempting it was to give in that day. Instead I set the job aside and decided to just work on one door a day, or one small section and not look at the overwhelming task before me.
Yesterday I reflected on how easy the demolition had been. It took us only three days to completely gut most of the downstairs, tearing down walls, brick fireplace fronts, an entire kitchen, a laundry room down to the studs. Two days later we brought a crew of four guys in and they ripped out all the floors downstairs, the subfloor and the joists. Everything but the foundation was gone. We were looking at the ground the house had stood on for over 100 years. We had stripped this old house down to its' skeleton in four days. What we found under what seemed to be a sturdy, solid, well-built home was not good. The plumbing in the kitchen had rotted through the pipes and when you turned it on it bubbled like a miniature fountain on the dirt below our kitchen leaving little reflective pools near each break in the line. The joists were termite eaten and were no longer adequately supporting the house. The foundation was set on large rocks stacked on the surface of the earth that had settled from supporting the weight of the house for so long leaving it three and one-half inches off level.
Then the rebuilding began. It hasn't been swift like the demolition was. In actuality it has been very, very slow. I liken it to what seems to be going on in our personal life right now and the lives of so many friends I have talked to. The Lord is moving in a mighty way and it has stripped us to the core of our being. It has driven us to our knees praying for mercy, it has caused us to look at who we are and most times not been happy with what we have found. I look at the demolition as an unkind word spoken to my children, or a terse word spoken to my husband in haste and watch the hurt in their eyes as they turn away. It was swift and complete and only took a word. I have seen the hand of God working in my oldest son. Peeling away layers of hurt and pain covered by the sins of a teenage experience heaped on by the loss of his brother Luke when he was only four. The process is slow and painful. I watch him working through all the emotions and finally coming to grips with all he lost and can only pray the Lord will bring His peace and comfort to rest on his troubled soul.
So we are once again rebuilding. We have been stripped and look to the Creator of all things to do a work in us, to bring us to the place He has in store for us, to build our faith, to run and not be weary, to look at what we are going through with anticipation not dread.
If you are at this point in your lives then may I commend you. The Lord is at work making you and I better fit to serve in His kingdom. Don't give in to the temptation to cut the process short, allow the Lord to strip you down to your foundation. Allow the Master Builder to get all the way down to the studs. Pray the rebuilding, although painstakenly slow, will make you stronger, more patient, more giving and the end result, at least in this remodel, will be beautiful in the eyes of our Lord and Saviour.
Yesterday I reflected on how easy the demolition had been. It took us only three days to completely gut most of the downstairs, tearing down walls, brick fireplace fronts, an entire kitchen, a laundry room down to the studs. Two days later we brought a crew of four guys in and they ripped out all the floors downstairs, the subfloor and the joists. Everything but the foundation was gone. We were looking at the ground the house had stood on for over 100 years. We had stripped this old house down to its' skeleton in four days. What we found under what seemed to be a sturdy, solid, well-built home was not good. The plumbing in the kitchen had rotted through the pipes and when you turned it on it bubbled like a miniature fountain on the dirt below our kitchen leaving little reflective pools near each break in the line. The joists were termite eaten and were no longer adequately supporting the house. The foundation was set on large rocks stacked on the surface of the earth that had settled from supporting the weight of the house for so long leaving it three and one-half inches off level.
Then the rebuilding began. It hasn't been swift like the demolition was. In actuality it has been very, very slow. I liken it to what seems to be going on in our personal life right now and the lives of so many friends I have talked to. The Lord is moving in a mighty way and it has stripped us to the core of our being. It has driven us to our knees praying for mercy, it has caused us to look at who we are and most times not been happy with what we have found. I look at the demolition as an unkind word spoken to my children, or a terse word spoken to my husband in haste and watch the hurt in their eyes as they turn away. It was swift and complete and only took a word. I have seen the hand of God working in my oldest son. Peeling away layers of hurt and pain covered by the sins of a teenage experience heaped on by the loss of his brother Luke when he was only four. The process is slow and painful. I watch him working through all the emotions and finally coming to grips with all he lost and can only pray the Lord will bring His peace and comfort to rest on his troubled soul.
So we are once again rebuilding. We have been stripped and look to the Creator of all things to do a work in us, to bring us to the place He has in store for us, to build our faith, to run and not be weary, to look at what we are going through with anticipation not dread.
If you are at this point in your lives then may I commend you. The Lord is at work making you and I better fit to serve in His kingdom. Don't give in to the temptation to cut the process short, allow the Lord to strip you down to your foundation. Allow the Master Builder to get all the way down to the studs. Pray the rebuilding, although painstakenly slow, will make you stronger, more patient, more giving and the end result, at least in this remodel, will be beautiful in the eyes of our Lord and Saviour.
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