Wednesday, October 12, 2011

New Creation Apparel- skirt Giveaway!

Its true, being pregnant isn't the most "comfortable" feeling in the world.  However, these skirts from New Creation Apparel are extremely comfy!!  They also sell non-maternity skirts (some very pretty ones, I might add!).  Pure Modesty is hosting a giveaway for a free skirt- be sure to enter!  Whomever wins, will be blessed, for sure!

http://www.puremodesty.com/wardrobe-wednesdayfall-new-creation-apparel-give-away/

Terri

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

To every thing there is a season

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
2A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
3A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
4A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
5A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
6A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
7A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
8A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Around the farm, this is the season to be born.  It is also a season of laughter and dancing (playing) for our children!  
There's no better way to describe the new life on the farm, than to show you in pictures what the Lord has blessed us with recently!

                                         
                           First, there were baby chicks, and we still have them hatching!               


                                      Then a surprise calf one afternoon!  :)




Then, this last weekend, the goats kidded!

Our Lamancha doe had twins - Jenny (black) and Johnny (white)








Then LATE Saturday night, Lilly, one of our Nubians kidded - TRIPLETS


Jimmy says we never take pictures of him - so here are his feet  :P


Lilly had 1 buckling and 2 doelings.


Also, new on the farm, but not born here, are some ducklings.  We are hoping at least one of them is a male, so that next year we can hatch some duck eggs.




                        May as well show some pictures of how much the other cows are growing!

                                    (This is my all-time favorite picture, that I have taken!)


Maybelle, the Jersey, and Florida, the Long Horn Bull, always hanging out together!



Hope you enjoyed your visit to the Edwards' Farm!









Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Rejoicing in our heritage!

Psalm 127


1Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain.
2It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
3Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
4As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man; so are children of the youth.
5Happy is the man that hath his quiver full of them: they shall not be ashamed, but they shall speak with the enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128


1Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways.
2For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.
3Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table.
4Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.
5The LORD shall bless thee out of Zion: and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of thy life.
6Yea, thou shalt see thy children's children, and peace upon Israel.

Children are blessings, the Word is clear on this subject.  God says it is a good thing to be fruitful, in fact it was the first command he gave to man.  (Genesis 1:28)  There are many things in life, that, we are unable to grasp the depth of on our own.  Childbearing is one of those things.  BUT - we have faith.  Faith that God provides for His own.  Faith that God blesses those who obey Him.

Four short years ago, not long after the Lord called Jimmy and I unto repentance and salvation, He burdened our hearts to be obedient to trusting Him, the one and only Creator, with our womb.  This was a HUGE step of FAITH!  5 months later, we discovered that we had been blessed with our 3rd child.  Along with Justin, came the blessings of learning to eat and prepare food in healthy ways, something we'd never had to do before. 

When Justin was 11 months old, God blessed us with the conception of our 4th baby - Lizzy.  Lizzy came with much ridicule from family, for being so foolish to have more children, when Jimmy doesn't even have a high school education.  We were asked by most, how can you afford more children??  (Trust, it's a simple thing)  At the time, Jimmy was not able to work, due to back problems. 

Lizzy is now 13 months old, and we recently discovered that the Lord has once again blessed us with another child!!  Even though we fully trust God with our womb, each time I find that I'm pregnant, I'm in awe.  I certainly don't feel that I "deserve" the blessings of the Lord.  In fact, most of the time, I fail more than I succeed, at training the children we already have.  Yet, God is faithful to bless us for being obedient!  He knows the plans He has for our lives, and the lives of our children!

Please pray for us, as we prepare to raise another arrow for Christ!  :)

God Bless,
 Terri

Thursday, May 5, 2011

By God's Grace

Today, by God's marvelous grace, Jimmy and I celebrate 10 years of marriage.  It is ONLY by the grace of God. 

Ecclesiastes 4:12 (King James Version)12   And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.


You see, we were lost when we married.  We spent 6 long, hard years, full of fights, arguments, in a love/hate relationship with each other.  We bought a house, and not long after we moved into it with our 2 small children, we were going to throw our marriage away.  We could not agree on anything, we fought, we threw things, we avoided each other.  There was no love in our hearts for each other.  Our only common bond was our 2 children.  We were contemplating a separation/divorce.

Then, God in His Mercy, used a Christian co-worker of mine, to draw my attention to the fact that the reason we were having problems, was because neither of us was walking with God, even though we both claimed to be Christians.  We were walking in darkness.  I am forever thankful to my co-worker for sharing the love of God with me, and planting a seed that grew quickly in my heart.  Through this seed, the Lord sought me, and caused me to see Him in all His glory for the first time in my life.  I was heart-broken, though, because, immediately after God called me to be His own, Jimmy pushed against me harder, and farther.  He wanted nothing to do with me, and went into a deep depression.  I was soon to convince him (although, at the time, it seemed like an eternity), that the Lord was causing him to feel like he was going to lose everything.  The only way out was to give it all to Christ, as I had.  He sought help from doctors, to ease the pain of the depression.  The medication helped, but even the doctor told him that the medicine was really only a bandaid, that God uses depression to get the attention of unbelievers many times.  She sent us to a Christian couple who counsels troubled married couples.  They read us like a book, and knew the same thing was happening that the Lord had already revealed to me.  Jimmy was fighting against the call to repentance.  A week later, Jimmy gave his life to Christ! 
Looking back, we see nothing but God's grace saving our marriage from destruction.  We were ready to give everything up, and call it quits, and God's timing was perfect to save us, and our marriage! 

The past 4 years have been filled with growth, growth and more growth.  God has blessed our home with more children, as we have learned to trust in the plan the Lord has for our lives, and not our own plans.  God is continually moldling us into the man and woman He wants us to be, as we learn to be submissive to Him. 

If anyone reading this is having a troubled marriage, or if you are single, and do not know the Lord as your personal Savior, I want you to know that you are destined for destruction.  The only way out of that destruction, is Jesus.  Jesus died to save the lost, He took our sins away, and I pray that everyone that reads my blog will come to know Christ, if they don't already.  My heart aches just to think about where we would be without Christ in our hearts.  My heart aches for those who refuse to know Him, for they will spend eternity separated from their Creator, in hell.

God bless,

Terri

Thursday, April 21, 2011

http://www.revivalscotland.com/easter.html

A friend shared this article with me yesterday. One worth re-sharing! It shares the real history of Easter. In everything we do, we should ALWAYS make sure that our actions line up with the Word of God.

Blessings in Christ,
Terri


http://www.revivalscotland.com/easter.html

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Spiritual Lessons

This week has been an extremely busy week, here on the farm.  The Lord has shown me SOOO much about His abundant grace and mercy in the midst of tending Buttercup, our Lamancha dairy goat.

Monday morning, I discovered Buttercup, away from the rest of the herd, walking circles around a tree, looking upward.  At first, I thought she was looking at a bird in the tree, or maybe a snake.  I went out to her, and discovered, to my dismay, that she startled by my sudden appearance.  Now, Buttercup is our herd queen, and she knows she is the ONE in charge.  Usually, she tries to assert her position over onto us humans as well.  She has ALWAYS been a bully at first greeting of the day, running to me to ram me in the hip, if I'm not paying close enough attention to avoid it.  As I watched her more intently, I became convinced that she couldn't see me out of one eye - I was right.  She could not do anything BUT walk in a circle.

I quickly finished up the outside chores, and came inside to filter the milk from our Jersey.  I searched and searched the internet, coming up with much of nothing at first.  I got in touch with a dear friend that raises dairy goats as well, and she couldn't say exactly what the problem was, but she remembered it being some sort of intestinal problem, possibly a parasite.  That was enough information to set me on the right path as far as diagnosing the problem.  I also called the vet (this is not something I normally do, as most of the time, we handle things on our own).  I had narrowed the problem down,and the vet confirmed, that it was 1 of 2 things, neither of which were an easy fix, or good problems to have.  The vet gave us an original diagnosis of goat polio, possibly from sudden grazing changes from hay to grass only.  Jimmy went and picked up some vitamin shots, and an antibiotic (If you know me at all, you know how much I despise antibiotics, but it was that or be certain to lose the goat).  Monday came and went, and Buttercup was able to stand and eat grass, we were just having to lead her to water. 

Now, Tuesday, she seemed a little better, as she was eating more, and helping herself to water, though she spent a good bit of time during the day leaning against trees, stargazing.  Tuesday evening, as Jimmy and I went out to milk the cow, Buttercup fell down, and we couldn't get her back up.  She was SUPPOSED to be getting BETTER, not WORSE!!  We nearly had to drag her into the barn for the night (she is very heavy, and expecting to kid in about 6 weeks).  I called the vet again, and she said it must be goat Listeriosis, rather than polio, which she could have gotten because we had not yet cleaned up the hay leftovers from the winter - she must have eaten some.  The vet came out Wednesday morning, and said that she could be doing much worse, she had no fever, and she would eat and drink if we brought it to her.  We gave her another type of antibiotic (ugh...), and refilled the b vitamins for a once daily shot for a few more days.

Most of the day yesterday, she couldn't bear her own weight, and would try to stand, only to fall.  I decided late afternoon, that I'd attempt to trim her hooves while she couldn't fight me.  I got 3 of 4 trimmed, and she suddenly jumped up, and hasn't been back down since!!  YAY!!  This morning, she even bleated at me quite a bit until I let her out of the barn.  Hadn't heard that in a few days!  She's still walking in circles, but at least, this is an improvement from yesterday!!

Now, about the Spiritual Lessons - As I've been collecting leaves, and new, easy to break limbs, full of new foilage for Buttercup to eat every few hours, as well as drenching (shooting down her throat with a BIG syringe) her with milk and nutri-drench for extra energy every 2-3 hours during the day, God has shown me how faithful He is to always tend to His people.  He NEVER fails to feed me when I can't feed myself, He is always faithful to give me Living Water for my thirsting soul.  Praise the Lord!!  He alone cares for His sheep, never complaining with sighs that He has to do this again!    At first, I was grumbling that this goat was taking up all of my day, messing up my schedule with schooling the kids, and baking.  Then, as always, the Lord chastened me, and showed me in His gentle Spirit, that I'm supposed to be Holy, because He is Holy.  The Lord gave me a sudden desire to be thankful for the sick goat, and bond with her in her time of need.  He always comforts us in our times of need, why must I feel that I could treat the goat, that He provided for us to have milk for Justin from, any differently?  Again, Praise the Lord, for showing me my selfishness.  :)

The vet seemed to feel that she will have full recovery, within a week or so, and her babies should be fine, and ther should be no issues with drinking her milk once she kids again!  :)

Now, I must go feed and drench Buttercup again!


Buttercup, in her usual bent out of shape position, only today, she's not having to lean against a tree or wall of the barn.
                                                A little more like normal in this picture.  :)


Love in Christ,
Terri

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Giveaway!! from Doorposts

I'm excited about this giveaway!  These gifts will surely be a blessing in the homes they go to!  I hope to hear that someone we know wins something! (Or that our family's name is drawn)

Who doesn't need biblically correct teaching and home managing aids, of course, in addition to the Bible?  I was raised in a home where teachings like these were non-existant, and was left to (for the most part) the mercy of the guidance of the church (whichever one I was in at the time), to be discipled.  I was never shown what the Bible said about sin, and disobedience, and why God made me by my parents.  The churches I went to failed miserably as well, as they were not churches that would dare tell anyone that they actually had to be OBEDIENT to God's Word, and do this through faith, in order to be counted as His.  Never was there a mention, in churches or our home that there is a need for repentance and regeneration.  I wasn't taught how to disciple my children (nor was I taught that it was any other than the failing church's job), so any tools that I find that are biblically correct, that will help Jimmy and I turn our children's hearts and minds continually towards the Lord, I'll accept with thanksgiving!

Click here for the Doorposts giveaway  (if this doesn't work, someone please tell me.)

Hope this blesses someone!
Terri

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Abundant Joy

Last night, around the supper table, joy was abundant.  Extremely abundant!!   Will had a contagious case of the giggles.  Just listening to him laugh had everyone else laughing so hard we were crying!  As I took off my glasses to wipe my eyes, I couldn't help but actually weep to the Lord.  My mind went back a few years, to the time before the Lord changed our hearts forever, when we were content to never receive another blessing from the Lord in the form of a child.  Justin and Lizzy's little giggles would not have been here last night for us to find joy in as well!  The thought of the joy we'd have missed out on made me cry tears of thankfulness to God, for showing us that He had huge blessings in store for us, if we'd follow and obey Him.

I can honestly say, that we've never looked back on the decision to trust the Lord with our womb.  There have been days that raising 4 little ones has been extremely difficult.  Neither of us have ever been afraid of difficult things.  Our life following Christ has been much easier on our souls than the life we once led.  My heart aches for those who have not come to know Christ, for I can never forget the pain my heart kept inside from the weight of my sin.  (Even before I knew that it was sin, the weight was there.)  After some time serving our precious Savior, I have learned that it is much easier to trust His will, and just obey what the Holy Spirit tells me to do.  Trusting becomes easier, childlike, and it's easier to see why God speaks so highly of the faith of a child.  Children trust that their parents are going to feed them, not drop them, etc. to the point of taking for granted the fact that this wall of protection is never going to fall.  That's the same way I feel in the loving arms of my Father, knowing that He is always going to provide.  Faith is a hard thing to understand, but when you get it, the Lord fills you with Abundant Joy.

Pictures of the Lord's blessings in our home


Welcome!!

So, we finally set aside a little time to figure out how to create a blog.  I'm sure there will still be changes to come, as we understand how writing a blog works more.

We are thrilled to have a way to share the things we are pondering about from scripture, refining of our lives by God Almighty, happenings in our little family, and what we have going on around our farm.  God has blessed us trememdously, above measure, in the 3 1/2 years we've been saved by God's imminent grace from the wrath of being eternally separated from Him.  It is only by His grace, the things He has brought us to, we never wanted for ourselves.  We praise God for His marvelous works in our lives!!

I'd like to say a little bit about how we intend to operate our blog.  In America, we have the right to free speech, but our blog is not America, and only Jimmy and I have sole rights to the free speech.  We desire to share the workings of Christ in our hearts, in order to encourage and bless others.  We fully understand that some of the changes we've made in recent years are sources of contention for some of our biological family.  While we love our family dearly, and it is not our intention to inflame anyone, if anything we share about the workings of Christ in our hearts offends anyone, please, by all means, just hit the red "x" in the top right hand corner. 

All comments made will be moderated, and posted at our discretion.  Proverbs 27:17 says that Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.  We believe this to be true, as we believe that the Word of God is truth,  For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.  (Proverbs 2:6)  We will make every effort to make sure that what we say line up with the Word of God.  We are not above needing to be corrected from time to time, though.   "Flame" comments will be deleted, as will comments that don't line up scripturally.
Thank you for joining us on our journey of glorifying God!!