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 21, 2011
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
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!
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
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
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!!
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!!
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