Live in Harmony

Today's goal... (shouldn't it be everyday's)

A Jolt from James

Light of the World

Merry Christmas from the farm!  Let's celebrate our Savior!  Our Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace. 

In the Morning

Since childhood I've loved the sunrise.  The beginning of a fresh day.  Although each day begins with the same chores {let the dogs out, fix breakfast, read the Bible, feed the chickens, fill the water troughs, start laundry}, the sunrise holds the exciting expectation of a wonderful day...one that the Lord has made. 

Good morning!  Become a morning person!

Peace

There is an amazing peace that comes over me when my eyes fall on the snow-laden pastures.  Do you feel it, too?   If you look closely at the lower right side of this image, you'll see the horses enjoying their fresh bale of hay.

Great is His Faithfulness

My first post in too long.  My goal is to regularly post some of my photography along with Scripture messages that came to mind when I captured the shot.

I hope it inspires you.

Life is Like Mowing a Bumpy Back Yard

One of my many chores is cutting grass.  For a long time Cowboy and I had somewhat of a dispute over which of us should be so privileged to ride that big mower.....up until the last couple years he won.



We were like two kids racing to see who gets to ride "shot-gun".  His gloating smirk said, in essence, "Face it, I'm bigger and faster." --- I made that part up, sorry...he never actually gave a gloating smirk...I think I did, though.



The yard out here at the Western Edge is BuMpY.  Even at slow speeds I have to keep my teeth clinched so my fillings don't shake loose.   So I go as slowly as needed to mow in straight lines.  (I found out recently that Cowboy doubted my ability to mow in straight lines.  I gathered that from the surprised look on his face when he saw how golf-course-like the yard looked after my very first go-around on the mower).  At the end of each pass I turn the mower around to mow the other direction.  I assess how straight my mowing line is and make adjustments on the next pass to straighten things up.  Caution:  Bumps in my path can easily knock me off course.

Mowing is a great time to think, reflect, daydream and pray.  So while I was mowing yesterday, it dawned on me how walking through life is like mowing....

•  Bumps in the path can knock us off course.

Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm.  Let nothing move you.  Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:58

• Take time to check yourself.

Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord.

Lamentations 3:40

• Get your path straight.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5,6

 

 

Sometimes the Lord speaks in a whisper and sometimes through the roar of the diesel engine on a big mower!

 

 

 

Grace & Mercy

In the kitchen window at the bunkhouse

The Attitude of Contentment

"Attitude is Everything" read the little sign tacked above the serving window in the diner.  I made a mental note that I had seen, in that same week, the same sign at the meat processor when we took a steer in to be butchered.  I've been praying that God would make me aware of His leading; so not leaving anything to chance, I took these "Attitude is Everything" signs as His sign to me.

Time for self-examination.

 

  Attitude (a bad one or a good one) affects everything in my life.

 

  Yeah, I get that. 

 

Do I have a bad attitude?

 

<<apparently>>

 

Admit it!!! 

 

**Ok.  Ok.  I admit my bad attitude.**

 

 

One of the hayfields
....ready to be baled this week.

So where am I struggling?  In contentment.  That seems strange....looks strange on the page as I'm writing.   I've spent that last several days chewing on the whys of my lack of contentment.  We're living a beautiful, contented life on a bucolic farm in a scenic part of the state.  I'm quite happy with the simple farm life.  I find comfort in the daily routine of tending to the farm and the animals on it.  It's refreshing to be hours away from a big city, to have very limited cell phone service and television reception.   

 

The answers to the whys came as intermittant drizzles during my week....in my quiet times spent reading the Bible, in radio programs on various topics, in movies, during chores.....

 

Why the negative attitude?  It boils down to this:  I have let myself feel guilty for not being ambitious for what the world calls "success."   ... I sometimes feel that I am less than I should be because I'm not pursuing riches, power and prestige.   Like:  "Sheesh...don't ya want more out of life than this?  Is this the extent of your amibition?  What about that empire you were gonna build?  What would 'the Donald' say?" 

 

 

I'm tired of trying to defend my kind of ambition (to myself as well as to others).  Like: "What?  Like the simple life is bad?  Is it bad to even want the simple life?"

 

 

 

My kind of ambition?....it's found in 1 Thessalonians 4:11,12

 

¹¹ Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

 

 

and here in Romans 12:2

 

 

² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

 

 

and here in 1 John 2:15-16

 

¹⁵ Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶ For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world.

 

 

I'm ashamed to admit that for too long I let the world's definition of success be the goal worth pursuing...and I bought the tickets, waited at the station and boarded that train!  Thankfully, I eventually hopped off that fast track (forced off, actually.... through a series of the opening of some doors and the closing of others, we landed on this farm...picture the conductor grabbing us up out of our seats and throwing us out of a moving train!  haha).  Whose definition of success am I going to heed?  The world's?  God's?  Uhhhh, I'm gonna go with God's, for 1000, Alex. 

 

By writing this out, it has helped me start climbing out of the negatives.  I know my goal is to live my life God's way..... He put me where I can bloom.  How can I have a bad attitude about that?  It's a work in progress.....  Today I'm adjusting my attitude --> The Attitude is  now set to {contentment} on the dial.  I'll check my progress along the climb. 

 

 

What about you?  How's your attitude?  

 

 

 



A Ramble through the Cemetery

I've begun my study of 1 Chronicles.  That's a chore in itself for the first 9 chapters are the genealogies of Israel.....so many names!  so hard to pronounce!

Yet today I am challenged by this verse:  "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness."  2 Timothy 3:16.

The genealogies are part of Scripture and are, yes, useful.  On this trip through 1 Chronicles,  I am purposefully reading each name as if it were engraved on a tombstone...


  In my imagination I get up early and walk to the cemetery.  The grass is still dewy.  The dawn's light is glinting over the horizon and onto the old weathered white stones.  I stroll among the stones, pausing at a few.  Some stones have well-worn paths around them as many have stopped to pay their respects:  Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Saul, David, Solomon.  

Most though are rarely visited; the grass has grown up tall as to almost obscure them from sight.  I use my boot to tramp down the foliage to read the name that has been preserved for all generations.  

So and so, Jr.

the son of 

So and So, Sr.  

So many have similar names.  A very few have epitaphs:  "brave warrior"  "entrusted with baking the bread"  "fighting men ready for war"  "unfaithful to God"  "outstanding leader"  "found rich, good pasture"  "killed by natives"  "had only daughters"

I ask aloud, "Why are these marked with epitaphs while most aren't?"  

I listen for an answer.  None comes.  My mind searches for clarity and finds this:  For some reason God wants me to know something about these people that I consider trivial.   To God, the lives of these people is not the stuff of trivia; every life has significance.  That's it, isn't it, God?

Finding comfort and satisfaction in that sudden illumination, I walk lazily to the dusty path that leads out of the cemetery.  I wonder to myself, "Will my stone have an epitaph?  I'd like it to say 'God's servant'  .... no, maybe something more prestigious....but then, I can't think of anything more prestigious.  That's it, right, God?"

Amidst the crunch of stones under each boot step, my heart hears a whisper, "Yes to both....but keep looking; there's more."

The answer to the questions of my heart won't be answered here today;  I'll have to talk to God on my walk back home.  At the gate, I turn and gaze in each direction at the stones in the various family sections of the cemetery.  I'm sorry I don't have time to look at each grave today.   When I come back another time, I'll smile at each name and say, "your name and the life it represents is important to God."   

The soft morning breeze carries a whisper to me, "Each life matters to Me.  That's why I gave My Son."  



I'm compelled to keep looking for all the usefulness in these and other seemingly trivial chapters.
He is training me in righteousness.  That statement humbles me.  I'm important enough to Him that He is training me....right now...He hasn't given up on me!  I'm so thankful!!!

Weak and Vulnerable

Marie with her new bull calf

Marie, one of the longhorn cows, had a beautiful bull calf on the 1st day of June.  Lately we've been getting one red calf after another so to see a white and red baby is like a special gift!

I still consider myself a newcomer to the bovine world even though I've been a part of it for several months now.  These creatures continue to teach me not only about themselves and their kind but also about our Lord and my walk with Him.

On day 2 of the beautiful calf's life, the herd was grazing at the front of the pasture behind the barn while the newest herd member lie curled by the fence in the sunshine.  I watched, mesmerized by them...they fascinate me!  Then in broad daylight, a coyote trotted across the back pasture and out of my view.  I told Cowboy of the situation and he said that we should just keep an occasional eye out and that the herd knows naturally what to do in such cases.  

As they usually do, the longhorns finished grazing, drank deeply from the water troughs and headed single-file to the back pasture leaving the baby to sleep where he was.  Once they had all reached the back pasture, they turned in unison and RAN back up to the front pasture to guard their vulnerable member.  They had apparently caught the scent of the dangerous coyote.

As the scene unfolded, I was caught up in the further admiration of our heavenly Father who created these animals to do just what they did.   They all were aware of their sleeping, unprotected one and of the danger lurking.  They all ran to protect him.  

Are people wired that way, too?  Do we have an instinct that makes us run to protect our weakest?  Shouldn't we be on the lookout for danger?  Shouldn't we be mindful of our vulnerable members?  The fact that these questions all came to me shows me that I have not seen this demonstrated very often in people....in immediate families, perhaps...but not so much in other "herds" of people.  I'm guilty, too, of being so self-focused as to fail to notice who's weak and in danger.

These questions have prompted this prayer:

Lord, make me mindful of the vulnerability of others.  Give me a heart to protect them.  Make me aware of the dangers lurking.  Encourage my heart that others are looking out for me, too.

Memories of Home

I wrote a poem for my parents' 50th wedding anniversary.  Each stanza became the page of a keepsake book. I should have taken a picture to show you.  The poem took several days to write because I was often so overcome with emotion while writing.  Every line evoked so many memories of my wonderful upbringing.
I'm happy to share my poem with you....

Home, Back the Lane

Follow the long lane as it bends around

Through fields, beside woods, amidst honeysuckle thick

There stands a house more than wood and brick

A shelter, a haven, where hearts are bound

A sweet scent ambles along, linger’ing still

Maple, lilac and lily  join  magically

With faint image of farmer and ukulele:

 “Froggie Went A-Courtin’” the children thrill

Fond visions appear of trips to the field

Sandwiches and tea to  family’s satisfaction

Tractor rides  or vitamin-from-nose extraction

Far beyond mere bushels measures the yield

The barns of the memory stand sturdy, tall

Tiny piglets to care for, kittens in the mow

Behold the ewes and lambs,  and many a sow

A basketball goal gracing the barn’s east wall

Echoing still are the radio noises

WIBC, like the always near friend

Ellery Queen mystery then off to lane’s end

Market report demands silent voices

Remnants from the mother-daughter dresses

Black Thumbelina at church in a little girl’s arm

TV time, backs against cushions, home from the farm

Father - sons union indelibly impresses

A nighttime melody of bedtime prayers,

Warm heater blankets click, and popcorn scent drifts up

A handful of snack and Coke in a Dixie cup

Kisses goodnight, footsteps on creaking stairs

Glad laughter reverberates wall to wall

At cheese stuck on the ceiling, and climbing door frames

At “pick up that ladder,”  and sock-ceiling fan games

On hayrides, ‘round campfires in the crisp fall.

Graced with laughter are the beautiful tones

 Satin Doll and Sentimental Journey at night

and then too Cherry Pink and Apple Blossom White

Piano and organ, banjo, trombone

See the car speed to various places

To girls scouts and band practice and overnight stays

To music lessons, ball games and practice for plays

Busy yet happy.   Smiles adorn faces

What joy to travel, those summer time treks.

Midwesterners journeying, near and far

On the wings of a jet, or snuggled in the car

Historic sights, ski slope and beach, cave and boat deck 

Joys that crescendo at holiday time

Speak and Spell,  Slinkies,  toy train set and Barbie dolls,

Evergreen Christmas trees boasting gold and green balls

The Nativity scene, there to remind.

Like petals from heaven grandchildren appear

In  a whirlwind of dress-up, jewelry and drama

Pool parties and singing,  playing monster with Pa

Ruby egg, fall break hikes, New Year’s Eve cheer

Behold scattered crayons and coloring books

Ten helping hands gather In the kitchen with Gran

Jello cut-outs and cookies, and stirring the pan

Movies and American girl dolls stashed in their nooks

Through fire and loss and tearful good-byes

Still rejoice in the bond of a fifty year love

Look joyously!  A future  in heaven above

Where hearts, still joined, live in eternal skies.

Looking into the Face of God

We welcomed a new grandson into our family in the wee small hours of Saturday.    He is perfect in every way.  We are already happily dreaming of our future with him:   horses, four-wheelers, bb guns...

As my eyes have been staring wondrously into the face of that sweet baby, my thoughts have drifted heavenward.  From the first moment I saw our grandson, I saw God.  "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them."  Genesis 1:27.  

 I examined his tiny ears, slender fingers, and gossamer eyebrows, remembering David's words, "I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."  Psalm 139:14

Tonight I opened my Bible to Psalm 139 and read it again.  The words are all the sweeter now when I see them through these grandmother eyes.  How amazing that our omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent God made us, knows us, and loves us.   He is indeed worthy of praise.

 

Fearfully and wonderfully made

Stop and Delight in His Creation

Cowboy and I made an unusual stop for lunch yesterday:  at a fast-food restaurant in the city.  We needed to find an area with enough parking for the truck and trailer.  This particular place really didn't have enough space, but since we were there and hungry, we simply pulled off the side of the road.  I walked across the road and parking lot and entered the restaurant.  I ordered 2 chicken sandwich meals and hiked back with our fare to the truck.

While Cowboy and I ate our lunch, we watched a family of Canada geese consisting of 2 parents (I assume) and 6 goslings.  The group fearlessly crossed the road, stopping traffic momentarily, to eat the fresh grass in the side ditch.  Apparently feeling the push to continue on, they waddled across the restaurant's exit drive to eat in a marshy area of sprouting cattails.

Cowboy said softly, "Isn't God amazing?  He made all this."

I nodded in agreement and we finished our lunch in the big city.

How blessed we are to have the privilege of enjoying this wonderful creation!!

Stop and delight in it all....even in the ordinary.


May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works.  Psalm 104:31

A Victim of Neglect

Often when I'm tackling a big chore, I look for some spiritual parallel - something of a parable of sorts - to give my brain something to ponder while my hands are at work.

Today my chore was pulling thistles out of my big flowerbed behind my wagon wheel bench.  I have neglected most of my flowerbeds over the last year, doing only the bare minimum to keep them somewhat presentable.  Their chaotic condition is a source of embarrassment for me.

I put off the thistle project to the last thing of the day.  My inner-child was complaining and trying every tactic to get avoid the task.  I forged ahead knowing that if I let these things go to seed, next year will be worse.  With resolve I positioned my wheelbarrow, formulated a strategy, started pulling the plants up by their roots, and filled my wheelbarrow.  

My thoughts began to swirl in a way that apparently shut off the grumbling spigot in my brain.  I imagined my soul as a flowerbed.  The times when I neglected my soul (ashamedly, I admit) , selfish attitudes blew in and took root - like thistles do.  They rooted themselves in every part of my life.  Left unchecked they grew and multiplied until I was completely overrun.  They choked out the good.

I was a victim of my own neglect.  

It wasn't enough to just remove the rooted selfishness;  I needed to replace the bad with good, godly habits, thoughts, and attitudes in my soul's soil.   More importantly, I needed (and still need) God's constant help.  

Even after the soul is rid of bad and filled with good, it must still be maintained.   Good must be nurtured along; bad must be pulled out by the root.  Selfishness has a way of invading the tidiest soul if a close watch isn't kept.  How like the thistle is selfishness with its countless tiny seeds landing so effortlessly on the soul's soil! 

How I plan to protect and maintain my soul/flowerbed while being mindful that it's a job that will not be completely finished in this life:

Keep Christ at the center of my life

Obey His teaching

Study and know the Scriptures

Pray non-stop

Fellowship with other believers

Share the Gospel with others

Let God, the Master Gardener, do His work in me and through me.

Every day. 

Ps.  I pulled about 30-40 pounds of thistles out of that flowerbed!  Wow!

Visiting a New Church

We visited a small town church today.  

The service was traditional and quaint: songs from the hymnal, Scriptures in King James Version, personal greetings from the pastor and his wife, a strong message on staying firm in the faith--relying on the Lord's help alone.

I sometimes have trouble stepping out among strangers--> I revert back to my shy 6 year old self.  

I found myself looking around at the other ladies and comparing myself to them.  Did I have on too much make-up?  Was my knee-length dress too short?  Am I the only one who colors her hair?  Is my singing ok?

I felt the Lord nudge:  it's not about what others think of me that matters...it's what HE thinks of me that matters.

He tugged more firmly on my heart.

Am I following Him?  Do I desire to know Him more and more?  Are His Kingdom and His righteousness first on my agenda?  Am I willing to serve the body?  Is Christ on the throne of my heart?

My answers to these were:  Yes, Lord.

Whose praise am I seeking anyway?

**HIS**

He wanted me there ... in a little church ... worshiping with fellow believers ... being a part of the body of Christ ...  encouraging and being encouraged.

Thank you, Lord, for making me a new creation.  Thank you for loving me just as I am.  Thank you for seeing something in me worth saving.  Thank you for giving me the confidence to worship with folks I don't know but who love You as I do.  

Where He Leads

I've been thinking about Abraham's story today.  He was called by God to leave his homeland, his people, and his close relations and go to a place that, at the time, had not yet been revealed to him.  

Step out....in faith.

How did he even know in what direction to move?

You may read this and think, "what's the big deal?"

Comfort and security reside in the familiar.  The unknown is disconcerting.

I come from a farming background - from people whose roots are settled deep into the soil.  The land became part of the identity of my people, like eye and hair and skin color.  

I have jokingly said that dirt is in my veins.  My farm-girl upbringing will forever be part of my identity.

When I became a Christ follower, the Holy Spirit took up residence in my body.  That's forever the strongest part of my identity.

Dirt is in my veins & the Holy Spirit is in my body.

I'm Ok with that.

If we, like Abraham, are called to leave all that's familiar, will we obey?  Yes.  Maybe we will be led to a place where we will be more useful to God.

The familiar holds comfort and security....but so does God -- in greater measure.

Where He leads I will follow.

Cattle in Spring

Spring at My Farmhouse

It stormed last night:  thunder, lightning, hail, pouring rain.  This morning by contrast is peaceful.  I just finished all the feeding.  As I walked through the orchard to the dog kennels, I noticed my apple, cherry, and pear trees are just beginning to bloom.  This is the 12th year of my orchard's existence and yet I'm still excited each spring to see the blossoms bursting forth.  Spring is a rebirth, a renewal; like my life everyday in Christ.

Each morning is a renewal, a chance to offer anew all my energy and resources to God for His use.  My goal is to lay aside all my own desires and allow His to manifest themselves through me.  I don't always succeed fully.  I'm an overachiever by nature and have my day's agenda pretty well mapped out by the time the first swig of coffee goes down.  God is teaching me to be flexible with my time:  He may have other plans for my day.

Today I am making a conscious effort to offer my body as a living sacrifice to Him.  Your plans, Lord; not mine.

Sweet cherry in bloom.
  The orchard in Spring is picture of rebirth and renewal

Humble...Like a Child

My cousin's 2 year-old granddaughter sat in my lap at the kitchen table.  While I visited with my uncle and cousins, she played contentedly with the little toys kept in a bowl on the table just for her.  After occupying herself in toyland for quite a while, she told me that she wanted to write on paper.  My eyes asked her grandmother if this was acceptable; she nodded consent and handed me a booklet with a blank cover.  The toddler picked up a pen and noticing that the cap was on it, hesitated.  I put my hands over her little ones, pulled the cap off and turned it to place it on the pen's other end, explaining the steps.  She didn't resist.  She didn't pull away demanding that she do it alone.  She yielded to my instruction.

Later that evening, I recalled that almost unnoticeable event.  It was instinctive for me to want to teach, and seemingly, for her to want to learn.  I thought about the lessons in my life and the many teachers.  I assessed my own willingness to learn, and of my lack of willingness.  Remembering that I have an ever-present teacher, the Holy Spirit, I asked myself this question:  Do I allow the Holy Spirit to, in essence, put His hands over mine to show me the right way to do things?  Ashamed, I realized that I've resisted His instructions;  I've pulled away demanding that He let me do it myself.  I am reminded of the disastrous results, and yet also of the grace that's mine.  He is still there, willing to teach me, often repeatedly.  

Lord, help me remember to humble myself, to yield to You, so I can learn from You.

"Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."   Matthew 18:4 NIV

A Gladdened Heart

What a glorious mid-March morning!  The weather forecast today:  sunny and 72!  In the Midwest in mid-March!  All around the yard little tufts of yellow sunshine greet the day.  Daffodils... March's flower; my flower (my birthday is March 20--Spring's official yearly debut!).  As I walked back to the house after feeding the chickens, my head heard my heart say "gladdened".    Yes, gladdened.  On a March morning, outside without a coat, among the bird orchestra, in the presence of a burgeoning Spring, my heart was gladdened.

I knew that the word gladden was in the Psalms;  I rushed to look it up.  Yes,  right there in Psalm 104.  That Psalm, written by anonymous, has long been one of this farm girl's favorites.

He makes grass grow for the cattle,

and plants for man to cultivate --

bringing forth food from the earth:  

wine that gladdens the heart of man,

oil to make his face shine,

and bread that sustains his heart.

Psalm 104:14,15 (NIV)

Not only does God create, but He maintains His creation. This beautiful earth is for our benefit.  I praise Him, but my words seem childish and inadequate.  "Wow" and "Thank you" and "Amazing" and "Awesome" don't go far enough.

LORD, please see that my gladdened heart is my sincere praise to You.