Crippled no longer

Here they are running together a long the fence, Tamar is the middle lamb.

For those of you who read about my crippled lamb, I thought it would be nice to give you an update.

She’s doing fantastic!

Tamar is leaning into David who’s looking at the camera.

When she was so very sick, I hesitated to name her.

But I prayed about it and felt God wanted me to name her Tamar.

For those folks who are familiar with the story of Tamar in Genesis, the usual response after hearing her name was: “Why!?”

Thankful, God had spoken to my heart about that as well.

Tamar, in the book of Genesis, had a very rough beginning.

Genesis 38:6-10 NKJV — Then Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was Tamar. 7 But Er, Judah’s firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD killed him. 8 And Judah said to Onan, “Go in to your brother’s wife and marry her, and raise up an heir to your brother.” 9 But Onan knew that the heir would not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in to his brother’s wife, that he emitted on the ground, lest he should give an heir to his brother. 10 And the thing which he did displeased the LORD; therefore He killed him also.

Sadly, her father-in-law thought she was the reason that both of her husbands died and he sent her back to her father’s house, instead of providing for her until his youngest son was of age.

Time passes and she hears Judah has gone to shear his sheep, so she disguises herself and sits where she can observe her father-in-law.

Genesis 38:14-16 NKJV — So she took off her widow’s garments, covered herself with a veil and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place which was on the way to Timnah; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given to him as a wife. 15 When Judah saw her, he thought she was a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 Then he turned to her by the way, and said, “Please let me come in to you”; for he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. So she said, “What will you give me, that you may come in to me?”

And he said, “I will send a young goat from the flock.” So she said, “Will you give me a pledge till you send it?” Then he said, “What pledge shall I give you?” So she said, “Your signet and cord, and your staff that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her, and went in to her, and she conceived by him. So she arose and went away, and laid aside her veil and put on the garments of her widowhood.
Genesis 38:17‭-‬19 NKJV

Genesis 38:25 NKJV — When she was brought out, she sent to her father-in-law, saying, “By the man to whom these belong, I am with child.” And she said, “Please determine whose these are—the signet and cord, and staff.” 26 So Judah acknowledged them and said, “She has been more righteous than I, because I did not give her to Shelah my son.” And he never knew her again.

But Tamar’s story didn’t end with this.

She bore twin boys to Judah, Perez and Zerah, both of whom grew up and had their own families.

Now this is the genealogy of Perez: Perez begot Hezron; Hezron begot Ram, and Ram begot Amminadab; Amminadab begot Nahshon, and Nahshon begot Salmon; Salmon begot Boaz, and Boaz begot Obed; Obed begot Jesse, and Jesse begot David.
Ruth 4:18‭-‬22 NKJV

Tamar was an ancestor of King David and more importantly, Jesus Christ.

Her rough beginning God used for good.

So, when I’m asked why I named my lamb Tamar I respond with:

“Like Tamar, in Genesis, she’s had a rough beginning, but I have faith that is not the end of her story.”

And each day, as I feed the sheep, I’m encouraged by the ways of God, especially when I watch Tamar, the no longer crippled lamb.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for healing my little lamb. I know that her life is really insignificant compared to our planet of eternal souls, but her life has been such an encouragement to me. Thank You! You, alone, know what is best. It is in Your Word I find truth, direction, and help. Thank You for the Bible and how You use it to comfort, guide, correct, and show me how much You love. Thank You for how You changed Tamar’s story from one of loss and shame to one of blessing. Lord, I am amazed by You! Thank You for Your wonderous ways! May all the earth be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God! Amen.

Adding to the farm

I’d told my husband, I only want one goat.

Eppie has kept me busy trying to keep her where she’s supposed to be.

In my chair

In the rabbit hutch

In the table

Although, the fence my husband built and the pen our son’s built had greatly helped contain her, I’d decided, one goat was enough.

But, I hadn’t prayed about it.

Until Saturday.

My friend, who sold me Eppie, had a doe give birth to four babies!

I was praying for my friend and her animals, when I felt the Lord’s still small voice.

You could buy one.

“What would Handsome say? I already told him we weren’t getting any more.”

I didn’t continue to argue, instead I decided to keep praying and see what God wanted me to do.

Later, I got a phone call from another lady who goes to our church and we got to talking about the four kid goats.

“I told her I want one, but was thinking I should get two, because they don’t do well alone. Are you going to buy one, too? I know you bought one last year.”

This surprised me and I struggled to respond quickly.

“Uhm…I’m not sure…I hadn’t planned on buying one…but I’m praying about it.”

I got off the phone and prayed again.

“Lord, I’m willing to get another goat, but please make it obvious that this is Your will and not my own.”

Our day was very full and I was only able to briefly mention my conservation over the phone with my husband.

After church, the following day, I saw my husband speaking to my friend with the goats, and wanted to join them.

By the time I got over there, he had gone to take care of other things.

I greeted my friend and we began chatting.

Our conversation eventually turned to the baby goats and she said,

“Your husband mentioned that you might want to buy one of the babies.”

You’d have to know my friend to understand how sweet she is and that her comment was completely in an attitude of helpfulness not salesmanship.

I silently thanked the Lord for answered prayer and smiled.

“Yes, we will take one. Let me know when you’re ready for me to come over and how much.”

She was surprised, but glad.

Yesterday, we went over and got her.

It was extra special because Sis and the grandbabies were with me all day and we went together to pick her up.

Sis and I agreed my husband was going to love this new addition.

Which he did and took this picture.

She’s doing very well and the lambs all like her.

And I’m so thankful to God for His direction.

When I wait upon the Lord and trust in Him for His guidance, things go so much better.

Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV — Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You so much for Your love and direction. Thank You for answering my prayers as to what I should do. Lord, I know these animals are not mine, but Yours and You have placed them in my care. Just as all I have belongs to You and is an opportunity for me to bring glory to Your name. Lord, please help me to be honorable before You with all these You have entrusted into my care. Please teach me how to be a wise steward, living honorably before You and working diligently daily. Lord, thank You for Your many gifts and blessings which are far more lasting than these temporary things here on Earth. Lord Jesus, I praise You for Your goodness and I thank You for Your faithfulness. May Your name be glorified through my life. Amen.

The beginning of a new year

January 1st is a special day in our family.

It’s the day my husband’s mother was born and our precious granddaughter, Joy.

We celebrated with a dinner and an ice cream cake in our home.

And I was reminded how blessed we are.

Every day is a blessing.

Ecclesiastes 3:13 KJV — And also that every man should eat and drink, and enjoy the good of all his labour, it is the gift of God.

God’s gifts are good.

James 1:17 KJV — Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

Therefore, I’m not looking on this new year with resolutions, just gratitude.

No matter what today brings, God is always worthy of my worship and I want to be continually thankful.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.
Psalm 100:1‭-‬5 KJV

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for today. Thank You for yesterday. Thank You for both Nana and Joy and the shared birthday. Thank You for the years previous and how You have been working throughout. Lord Jesus, thank You for all You are doing in today. May my life bring glory to Your name and my heart never cease praising You. I love You, Jesus. Thank You for first loving me. Amen.

No power

We noticed it around 3:20 a.m.

The power was off, the wind was roaring, and there were lights outside.

My husband went to investigate.

When he returned, he explained the lights were from our neighbor’s truck as they were outside, checking on their horses.

As he spoke he dressed in warm clothes to go check on our animals.

He returned shortly, everything was fine, although rather frightened.

“The sheep and goat said they’d be more comfortable with us in the house, but I said, ‘no’.”

I laughed, “Yes, I’m sure they’d love to be inside, but definitely not happening!”

We prayed together before he left for work.

Less than ten minutes later, I heard the car return.

He came inside to tell me there was so much debris on it road he decided the truck was the best option and left a second time.

He made sure to let me know he arrived in safety and to see how we were doing.

When we lived on the mountain it was a pretty common occurrence.

At first I would allow the power outage to stress me out: “What about washing our dishes? The pump doesn’t work without power? What about food? I can’t cook on our wood stove insert!”

My husband wasn’t bothered in the least.

He’d just go out and hook up the generator.

After a few times of this I began to see there was no need to be upset if we didn’t have power.

God is my provision, not the power company.

Although the power is still out, our house is warm, we have food and water.

I’m enjoying a break from all the busy.

Thanking God for His blessings.

For He is good.

He is faithful.

Philippians 4:19 KJV — But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

He has supplied all our needs and I know He will continue to do so.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for Your faithfulness. Thank You for the truth of provision coming from You. Thank You that I can look to You and wait for Your direction. Thank You that I can walk through today with joy, not stress, knowing You will handle the details. You will supply our needs. Thank You for Your continued blessings. Please continue to teach me a to rest in You and look to You for my all. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Celebrating Thanksgiving

Although the American holiday of Thanksgiving has changed drastically from the first time the Pilgrims held a feast to thank God for the blessings He had given, the heartbeat of the holiday should be gratitude to God.

For our family we decided to memorize Psalm 100 and we will say it together this Thursday as a prayer.

Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness; Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all generations.
Psalms 100:1‭-‬5 NKJV

Whatever your plans are, I pray you are filled with thankfulness to God Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earther, Savior of the World.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Thanksgiving. It’s a blessing to have a day set aside to give You thanks. Lord, I know holidays can be painful for many, and I humbly request that You reach those who mourn with Your comfort, that You heal those who are broken by sin, and You restore those discouraged by the effects of living in this sin filled world. Lord, for those who are called by Your name, help them to shine brightly to those around them who have yet to know You. Lord, for the skeptic whose belief in You is hindered by the lies of the enemy, whose heart is hard due to rebellion and selfish ambition, Lord, please let them see what they are choosing and that You are the only Way, Truth, and Light. Lord, break through the darkness and shine through those who have devoted themselves to Your glory. Thank You, Jesus! Amen.

Looking back

This is my Holiday Scrapbook.

I began, years ago, to save recipes and ideas to make my holidays easier.

Our family is extra blessed to have three of our four children all born in December and I found the Christmas season overwhelming at first.

(No, we didn’t plan this, but thanked God for each one.)

It was time consuming and frustrating to dig through my recipe box every year, in search of the recipes my family loved, so I began compiling them and some magazine pages.

(Yes, this was before Pinterest!)

The scrapbook was a gift I’d never used and has been the perfect place for me to coral ideas and recipes.

As the years have passed I’ve added to the book and it now contains not only Thanksgiving and Christmas ideas, but gardening, house keeping, and decorating inspiration which I can refer back to as needed.

With this Thanksgiving approaching, I decided to get it out and read some of the ideas I’ve saved.

I was surprised at how much of the information I’ve put into practice.

It’s been a blessing.

I’m very thankful to God for His gift of this book which helps me organize my Thanksgiving and Christmas season.

Yet, I think there’s a far greater blessing to be found and it’s not in my scrapbook.

God’s Word is the greatest book of all time.

It’s filled with practical advice on everything I deal with daily: attitudes, choices, relationships, perspective,…

It’s truly an engaging read with stories of sorrow, victory, oppression, redemption, trials, blessings, miracles, and love.

Looking back, my time has been used well in my efforts to organize and plan, but an abundance of blessings come from time spent in the Word of God.

One is temporary and the other is eternal.

Luke 11:28 KJV — But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your blessings. Thank You for teaching me to be organized and productive. Thank You for Your Word which gives me clear direction. Thank You for Your truth. Thank You for salvation. Lord, You are great and Your Word is perfect. Please help me apply Your truths daily. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Baby bunnies!

These rabbits have been a blessing.

We hadn’t planned on getting rabbits, they and a large wire cage were a gift from our dear friends.

I remember my surprise when my husband walked into our friend’s home with a rabbit and stated, “Honey, we should go, I already have the other rabbit in the cage in the back of the car”.

(I never expected our Prius would haul farm animals, but so far it’s brought two rabbits, one goat, and a lamb home!)

Not only has our family enjoyed the rabbits, we’ve enjoyed sharing them with others.

Our granddaughter absolutely loves them.

Surprisingly, our male rabbit really likes her.

God is already used these rabbits to teach us a good deal.

I learned a lot when Jase and I put the new cages together.

I have read many articles about raising rabbits.

And we’ve learned that we like rabbits.

God multiplied the blessing when our doe had kits.

It’s taken a bit for them to come out of the nest.

Watching them has taught me even more.

For starters, they are so cute and a bit funny when they’re out of the nest and trying to nurse.

I’m used to larger animals, sheep, goats, cows, whose young have to learn to stand up before they can nurse.

Baby rabbits flop onto their backs and squeeze underneath their mother face up to nurse.

(Did I mention it’s so cute?!)

A lamb will nurse often, but rabbits only nurse their young on average twice a day.

Rabbits also wean their babies after only a few weeks and our female has taken to hiding from her babies.

Which is fine, because they are eating grass hay and rabbit food.

As soon as my husband gets our other cage ready we’ll move the babies.

All of this has been God’s direction and I’m so thankful.

Because I would have missed the blessings if it were left up to me.

I never thought I’d enjoy rabbits.

As always, God knows best.

I used to think that obedience to God was for the “big” things in life, but He has taught me that I need to be listening for His direction in every part for if I’m not faithful in little, why would He trust me with much?

Romans 14:12 KJV — So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

I want to be faithful to the Lord in all things at all times.

It’s an area I’m working on with the Lord’s patient help.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your Word. Thank You for blessings so numerous. Lord, I am certain that the older I get the more I will have to testify of Your goodness, Your faithfulness, Your truth. Lord, thank You for these rabbits and the reminder I have in them that You know what is best and Your are guiding us. Lord, for those things in which it is more of a challenge to rest in Your Sovereignty, choosing not to fear, I thank You. For if my faith was never tested I wouldn’t be maturing in my walk with You. Thank You for teaching me daily. Thank You for loving me always. Thank You for keeping my soul safe in Your salvation. I love You, Jesus. Amen.

Honey bees!

Okay, I admit it.

I was nervous about getting our own bee hive.

As a child I got stung a lot.

Not normally by honey bees, although I accidentally sat on one once and have never forgotten that!

Just the idea of doing something I don’t have a clue about, was intimidating.

Not to mention, mess up and it can be very painful!

So, when my husband first came home and told me it looked like we were going to get some I had to spend some time in prayer.

That was months ago, and the Lord has really been working on my heart to stretch and learn new things.

When I received a text message offering us a free beehive I jumped at the chance.

Not only was this a great blessing from God, as bees can be very expensive, but I felt certain the Lord was showing us this was something He wanted us to do.

They arrived yesterday morning, and I still felt a bit nervous.

But as I listened and learned my fear vanished, replaced by excitement at learning something new.

We’ve been told to go and check them in the afternoon and see if they had found our nearby flowers.

The picture at the top is only one of many who were busy about all the dahlias in the garden.

My husband is away on a work trip right now but I enthusiastically related all the information to him over the phone.

I’m looking forward to sharing this adventure with him as he’s always wanted to be a beekeeper.

God’s ways are not what we expect, but I’ve learned they are far better than anything I could come up with on my own.

Psalm 37:3 NKJV — Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your provision. Thank You for walking us forward through many things, guiding us in many ways. You are so faithful. You are good and Your works are amazing. Please continue to teach me how to be teachable and to keep my trust in You. Thank You for Your Word, for it is truth. Thank You for Your salvation, for it is life! May Your name be glorified throughout the Earth. Amen.

Still learning

Recently, I’ve been trying some new things.

Especially, in the area of baking

It began with my prayer to make sourdough starter again and use it in breads for my family.

My last starter was houses in the garage fridge.

Our son discovered, when he went for something else, the fridge had died, a while ago by the contents.

He was kind enough to dump the starter and put the rest of the contents of that fridge into the garbage.

So, I was hesitant to begin again, until I found a recipe online and felt it was the Lord answer to my prayers.

So, I began the starter and after 8 days made whole wheat English muffins.

Today, I tried whole wheat crackers.

I don’t have either recipe down yet.

The English muffins are a bit too small, because I don’t have a biscuit cutter, but it’s on the shopping list!

The crackers are under cooked.

But that’s okay, I’m still learning.

I’m going to try bagels, next.

I’m hopeful they’ll turn out, but if they don’t I’ll try again.

It’s part of the gifts God gives us, learning about His creation, even if it’s something everyday like baking.

For no matter what one already knows, there’s always more to learn.

Because our Creator is infinite, His creation is incredibly detailed and complex, with opportunities to learn new things and praise Him in it.

Romans 1:20 NKJV — For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,

I’m praising God for the opportunity to learn and I’m thankful for His gifts, even when things don’t turn out right, I know it’s an opportunity to praise Him.

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for Your creation. Thank You for teaching me so many things each day. Lord, please help me to learn to make food for our family in ways I’ve not done before. Lord, thank You for the abundance of things in our lives. Please help us to use them for Your glory. Lord, let my lips be filled with Your praise! For You are great and Your invisible attributes are clearly seen throughout Your creation. How great You are, Jesus and greatly to be praised! Amen.

Two anniversaries!

This month marks one year we’ve lived here and yesterday my husband and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary!

The number of words it would take to expound on these two precious moments in our lives would be more than one blog post can hold.

However, I am so thankful to God for all He has done in our lives.

Both our move and our marriage have required a great deal of work, sacrifice, and patience.

The rewards of these seeds have been astonishing, to say the least.

Especially, when it comes to our marriage, because we are two extremely different people, but through the love of Jesus Christ we have grown more alike each year.

I’m so blessed to have such a caring, faithful man who loves Jesus.

Not to mention our four children, two sons-in-laws, and three grandchildren, and we are looking forward to adding to our family through adoption.

God never ceases to amaze me.

His ways are so much better than mine.

He has given such us so much, especially when things were the most difficult.

I know His works are perfect and eternal.

I know that whatever God does, It shall be forever. Nothing can be added to it, And nothing taken from it. God does it, that men should fear before Him.
Ecclesiastes 3:14 NKJV

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank You for these two anniversaries. Thank You most of all for my husband and our family. They are the most treasured, the most cherished of all Your gifts after salvation. Lord, thank You for moving us here and for the way You opened the doors to make it all come together. Lord, thank You for how Your works are eternal. You do things I don’t understand, but I know You are good and Your works are for our good. Lord, please use my life and the lives of our family members to bring glory to Your name and an awareness of You for those who have yet to know You. Lord, Your Word is truth and life. Please remind us to apply it daily, meditate upon it, and write it up on the tablet of our hearts. Thank You, Jesus for all Your blessings. Amen.