Are you Harvesting or Planting?

  Good morning everyone,

  How are things in your part of the world?

  It is definitely Fall here now.  I've been digging my potatoes so I can no longer deny that Summer is over.  Being I use the fertilizer from SONIC BLOOM, I am able to produce quite a bit of food in my little garden patch.  See.  These are from 4 plants and I have 5 rows of them so we're set for potatoes this Winter.  

This last Sabbath our church celebrated it's annual harvest celebration.  I love the name it was given decades ago.  "Harvest of Thanks" has been a special date for our family for at least 2 decades.  

  It saddened me to have to miss all of the wonderful fellowship, music, and food because Robert was still fighting a nasty bug.  However, I am so very grateful that the services are livestreamed so we don't miss out on everything entirely.

  My son, Andrew, and his family were able to attend.  In the afternoon everyone who wants to can share a song, reading, or Bible verse.  Andrew and Marie home school their children and definitely include God in the training of their children.

  I'm including the video from the afternoon service so you can enjoy the blessings too.  If you want to watch my grandsons reciting 1 Bible verse for every letter of the alphabet, you can jump ahead to 1 hour and 1 minute.  However, there was lots of good music (vocal and instrumental) from all ages so I would encourage you to watch the whole video if you need a little encouragement.

  Our church has a tradition of singing "Oh I woke up this morning feeling fine" right at the very end of the afternoon program.  I'm sure you will love hearing that, too, if you have the time to watch it.  I loved seeing my 2 oldest grandsons standing on the pew and clapping along with everyone.  It was such a special moment.

  Well, I have lots of outside work to do so I'd best get to it while we're enjoying the warm days of Indian Summer.  I wanted to connect with you all, though, so I hope that this blog brings you joy and contentment.  If you're finishing up your gardening season, or if you're just beginning yours, I bless you with hopes of a productive and abundant harvest.

  Soon, maybe even tomorrow, our guys will begin harvesting our crops.  We have 1,600 acres to harvest so I covet your prayers for a safe harvest for our family farm.  I'll share pictures of that when we get the combine, grain cart, and semis running. 

  Our crops look great this year but the prices are less than the cost to produce them.  If we didn't have our grain cleaning business, we wouldn't be able to continue farming.  We keep praying for help for all farmers everywhere to be able to make a healthy profit which has been stolen from us by greedy corporations.  Give us justice, oh Lord!

  Hugs to all,

  Dawn

Happy Sabbath everyone!

 

Who is He making us today?

 

Encounter God’s Heart…

Our Family Tree

Jesus is the vine, and we are his branches. We could say Jesus stands at the head of our family tree. Our beauty, wisdom, and divine nature have been passed down to us from him. All of heaven looks at us and sees the offspring of glory. Is this what we see when we look in the mirror? Is this the truth we pull from when we reach out our hands to bless others? His very life, the expression of his power and majesty upon the earth, lives inside of us, waiting to be released. We are radiant. Take a moment and think about that. Our beauty isn’t based on how we look or feel each day. It isn’t temporary, and it isn’t as fickle as what’s on the outside. We are true vessels of perfect glory. When we imagine Jesus’ beauty, we mustn’t forget that same beauty is alive within us.   Jesus, you are the delight of heaven. You are fathomless beauty swirling inside of me. All of your mystery is contained within my flesh. All of your glory has been entrusted to someone as fragile as me. I honor all that you are and stand in awe—not only for who you are but for who you are in me.   From The Vision written by Brian Simmons and Gretchen Rodriguez

Isaiah 4:2 The Passion Translation   In that day, the branch of YAHWEH will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth will be the pride and glory of the remnant of Israel.

Are you preserving food for Winter?

  Yesterday I dug out my food dehydrator and was mortified.  I put it in a plastic garbage bag X number of years ago DIRTY!!  We are talking STUCK ON fruit juice sitting there for years!!  GROSS!  I guess that's what people do when they're too weak to take care of things properly--they put them away dirty.  ): 

   I praise God for nicotine, x39s, and my IronForge red light unit that are giving me my life back, I'm able to do more this year to preserve my garden's abundance than I have in 4 or 5 years.  YAYYYYY  

  So now I'm rummaging through my memories to recall the steps to drying fruit or veggies in a dehydrator.  I am sooo thankful for YouTube where people share their knowledge of practically everything useful to know.   I decided to share this video with those of you who also may be wanting to dehydrate produce for this Winter's delight.

  I grew muskmelons this year so that's where I'm going to start now that my dehydrator is clean again.  However, last year my son-in-law dehydrated various kinds of squash with various kinds of seasonings and they were amazing!!!  That's probably my next project as I have a bunch of Georgia Candy Roasters to preserve somehow.  Why not dehydrate them?  Oh yes, I hear they make the BEST pies but that's another day's mission!  

  I hope this helps someone out there.  Here's to all of you gardeners busily working to preserve Summer's bounty.  BTW.  A book by that name has been my food preservation "Bible" for many years. I highly recommend it for both beginner and experienced gardeners!  

  Have a great day soaking up that late Summer sun!

  Dawn

Are you lost in despair?

 We all fall into despair at times.  Often I think of Pilgrim in "Pilgrim's Progress" when he fell into the slough of despond.  When my children were at home, after we read that book, if someone seemed low one of us would say to that person, "Did you fall into the slough of despond?"  

  Sometimes we just need to see that we're low.  We can be so good at faking it that we just think we're a little "OFF!"  However, when we're really in despair, it helps so  much to have a friend who cares say "Hey, I can see that you're feeling sad today."  It sort of makes a person feel like their feelings are real and that they're really gloomy right now.

  I tend to be melancholy.  That's my disposition as I'm a Type 4 energy.  Those who have read Carol Tuttle's book "It's Just my Nature," have a lot more peace about how God has made us.  I highly recommend reading that book and, if you were in my neighborhood, I'd invite you over for tea and send you home with my copy on loan.  

  Carol explains that there are 4 main energy types.  Type 1s have LOTS of ideas.  Ideas flow out of type 1s like sap out of a maple tree in Spring.  Of course, to the Type 1 personality, ALL of their ideas are GREAT.  

  It takes a Type 2 personality to take a look at the ideas and say "THAT'S A GREAT IDEA!"  If you love a Type 1 energy person, you will make their day if you can see one of their ideas that truly is great and comment on it.  Type 2's gift is looking at all of the ideas and picking the best one and make a plan of how to make that idea "Real."

  Type 3 energy people then take the plans of the Type 2s and MAKE IT HAPPEN.  They bring the idea and the plan into the physical realm.  Because it looks like they really DID IT, people often mistakenly think that the Type 3 people did it all!  Not so.

  Now, type 4 people (which is what I am) take a look at what the type 3 people have made or done and say "WOW.  That is TERRIFIC but it could be better if we just tweaked it here."  As you might imagine, Type 4 people can become very unpopular if they don't use EXTREME CAUTION in handing out their advice.  

  This resistance to the Type 4 personality can lead to despair over time.  In fact, I had a hard time admitting to myself that I have a type 4 energy.  I'm thankful to God for showing me, when I was raising children, that they didn't have to do everything perfectly--that they were just learning.  Aren't we all?

  So God knows what He's doing when He creates a family, or a group, of all 4 of the energy types.  He knows that EVERYONE has something to contribute for the well being of the group!  It works so well when we all acknowledge the gifts of the others we live with or we work with.

  It truly is beautiful to observe everyone working together to accomplish a task.  No one person can do it all.  We truly do need each other.  I often think of how the Amish work together to raise a huge barn in a day or two.  Have you ever seen a video of it?  I'll see if I can find one.

  So, as you read this devotional, it seems helpful to me to ponder which energy type God has made you.  There's no fighting it.  We can't change our basic energy to either create ideas, plans, projects or improvements.  All are needed.  All are important parts of the whole.  That's the truth.  

  I hope this lifts you up, if you are in the slough of despond today. You can come to the Lord with your brokenness and ask Him to lift you up.

  Hugs and prayers,

  Dawn

Encounter God in Prayer…

A Cry for the Lost

God, gather the outcasts and bring them home. So many have lost their way, led astray by the schemes of the enemy; restore them to us. Run to them with your mercy. Leap over the walls they have placed in front of you and conquer them with your love. Make yourself undeniably real, once again. I stand before you on their behalf.   The spiritually homeless have nowhere else to turn. Their faith has been crushed to dust. They grasp for answers that can only be found in you, yet they are blinded by confusion and pain. Breathe life into their dry bones, heal the wounds of their shattered hearts. Release them from their self-made prisons. Transform them with your love. You are the victory that brings the dead back to life—the beauty that will soon be seen upon them. Illuminate their darkness with the glory of your love. They will become nothing more than blood-washed fragments of who they have been. I praise you, for the battle has already been won! Your love is stronger than death!   From Prayers on Fire written by Brian Simmons and Gretchen Rodriguez

Psalm 147:2–3 The Passion Translation   YAHWEH builds up Jerusalem; he gathers up the outcasts and brings them home. He heals the wounds of every shattered heart.

Happy Fall

 Robert and I were talking this morning about it being Fall now.  I asked him if he ever knew anyone who calls it "Autumn."  He has not and neither have I.  If you call it "Autumn", I mean no offense but even our teachers in school 60 years ago called it "Fall!"

  HAPPY FALL!!!

Charlie Kirk will NOT be Forgotten

  Once again I find myself apologizing for not keeping up with my communications with you all.  My life has been pretty devastated during the past two weeks.

  Yesterday is was two weeks since our young family friend was almost killed.  John was driving his dad's antique tractor to our local threshing bee.  John's dad, Paul Foertsch, was one of our dearest friends and we were devastated when he died of a heart attack about 2 years ago.  John was wanting to honor his dad by driving his dad's tractor through the parade of tractors at the threshing bee.

  He wasn't far from the event when a pickup and camper plowed into him not even slowing down for the stop sign.  The tractor is in pieces and so is John.  He's still in the hospital with a broken leg and hand.  He's going to make it but we weren't sure at first as John had a brain bleed.  John's still not talking but we are encouraged that he most likely won't be a vegetable.  He raised his fingers to indicate that he remembered his dog.  YAY!!

  So we've all been burdened for John when we got the UNBELIVABLE news that Charlie Kirk had been murdered.  I haven't cried so hard in my entire life to think that Charlie was gone leaving a widow and 2 small children!!!

  I'm thinking of what Joseph said to his brothers when he revealed himself to them.  "What you meant for evil, GOD MEANT FOR GOOD!"

  Today thousands of people are meeting to honor Charlie's life.  Here's the link so you can listen with me.  Right now praise music is honoring our wonderful Savior--the Lord Jesus Christ--whom Charlie loved and served with vigor!

  President Trump and many other Patriots will be speaking this afternoon.  Erica Kirk, Charlie's widow, will also be speaking.  

  In case you're wondering if Charlie's work was in vain at Turning Point USA.  NOT HARDLY.  Since Charlie's murder, the number of  requests to start a Turning Point chapter at a high school or college near you has multiplied into THOUSANDS.  Charlie is the seed that was planted and now people are stepping up to carry on his work.  Just look at the thousands of people at his funeral.

  I encourage everyone to listen to the praise music going on now.  GOD IS BEING GLORIFIED LIFE NEVER BEFORE.  Charlie's videos are being watched like never before.  People are starting to think about God like never before.

  WE LOVE YOU, CHARLIE!!!!!!!!!!!

  Hugs to all of you who are grieving Charlie's murder.  May our loving Savior comfort you.

  Dawn