1Th 5:16-18 Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.
The first few years trying to build a farm was a huge learning curve for us. I wish I could say that we eventually became successful goat farmers, but unfortunately in 2011 part of our property and many around us burned in the Bear Creek Fire. The forestry department had to cut through it in a few places to make a barrier to stop the fire. Thankfully, we had already transported our animals to a friend’s place, so they were safe. Afterwards, we quickly repaired the fence as best as we could so that we could bring the goats back, but it wasn’t super tight because it was just a temporary quick fix. This allowed the goats to realize that they could push down on the fence and jump over it, which led us to make a difficult decision to sell the goats and focus on fixing things on the farm.
There are many times in life that all of a sudden things will take a turn for the worse, and sometimes these moments cause us to question where the Father is. We may also wonder if we made a huge mistake. I know there were many times over the years that I wondered if we had made a mistake to move out in the country, but I can look back and see that the trials helped make me stronger. It helped my faith. It also helped me to pay attention to the joyful moments so that when trials come, I have those moments to give me hope that the trial will pass. We do still live on our farm in the small town of Avinger, TX. We have goats again, but they are just pigmy mixes and one Nigerian dwarf. They are used for cleaning up weeds. We also acquired some Dexter cattle. We have two bulls, one of them needs to be sold, and one cow. We still have chickens, too.
Things may have not gone as planned or hoped, but we do enjoy still living out here. Josh may have never started his own business, but he has a job now that he likes, which is a huge blessing. My children enjoyed growing up with the freedom of having land and animals. In fact, it helped to decrease screen time. Both enjoy the outdoors. Honestly, it was a huge blessing during the shutdown in 2020. Things didn’t change much for us. We homeschooled, so we were already home. We had the freedom to have land to enjoy the outdoors. Josh was an ‘essential’ worker, so he still went to work. We did school and worked on the farm. It was such a blessing. My heart went out to all that didn’t have the freedom that we had.
I am grateful that God blessed us with our farm despite the shifting of plans. I can see the stars at night. I can enjoy living in the woods and walking outside. The truth is, our farm is God’s. We are just temporary stewards. We can’t take any of this with us when our time is done. We can only enjoy the fruit of our labor and give God thanks. I am a different person sixteen years later from the person I was when we moved out here. I do hope I am a wiser person. I know that I don’t freak out as easily now when things don’t go my way. In fact, I have learned to ask what God’s will is for my life instead of trying to force my own.
I do pray for God to bless our farm. I want to be a better steward of it. I still have a lot to learn. I need to learn better gardening skills and some mechanical skills. It is crazy to realize that we have been out here for so long. It is hard to comprehend how fast time flies. I can’t believe it is already 2023. We moved out here in 2006. My children are grown, graduated, and full-time workers. One, Jazmyn, is happily married. I recently got a job away from home, which is a new chapter in my life. I do hope I can still find time to write. I just need to learn how to prioritize my days. One thing that didn’t happen that I really wish would have was we weren’t able to build our dream home. We instead had to go the manufacturing housing route because of too many beyond our control setbacks, but God works in mysterious ways, so maybe one day we will build our dream house on the hill. Yet, if that never comes to fruition, I will always be grateful for the lessons that we learned, for the land God gave us, and how close my family is.
Most of these first few blogs were from a book I wrote for Jazmyn and Asher. I did shorten it by combining and editing chapters. When I started it I had hoped it would end in a more “happily ever after…” manner. The thought actually makes me laugh. This whole experience has been to teach me a valuable lesson, my purpose in life is to glorify the Father in everything I do. The Messiah says it best in Matt 5: 16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
What better way to glorify the Father than by trusting in Him especially when you have no idea what you are doing and where you are heading? What better way to glorify Him when you praise Him in your trials and endure through our trials, holding onto faith? That is what this farm has taught me. I am nowhere near the spiritual level that I probably should be by now, but I am striving to let the Father mold me into the person He wants me to be.
So, hold fast to the Truth, to the Word and Work for God, and remember this life isn’t all there is. Now is not the time to have our best life, but hopefully, soon it will be when all things are perfect. Then we won’t have to worry about having a goat die today.
Life has many tangents
Have you ever been in a conversation that starts on one subject and ends on something completely different, and you ask yourself how did we get on this subject? Well, we call them tangents, which the word has many meanings but two definitions fit this point:
1. a line, curve, or plane that touches another curve or surface at one point but does not cross it
2. go off at a tangent suddenly take a completely different line of thought or action (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/tangent)
Well, life has tangents also. There are many times when you end up going in one direction and due to some turn of events you have to turn in a completely new direction. I think of these as tangents because there is a point that the two events share, but your path may never cross that previous line again and life is now leading in a totally new place changing your thoughts and actions.
For example, let’s say you have a great job, and you end up going out with some customers that actually are impressed by you, and thus ask you to work for them instead. You have one job that ends up leading to another job just because of a dinner outing. That may not be the best example, but I am sure you get the point.
Life has unexpected turns. With farming, it happens a lot in a day. I could plan out my day the night before and have such high hopes of what I want to get done, and then it may rain all day, thus crashing all my goals. Now, I could let it frustrate me, or I could use it as an opportunity to get things done in the house. I have a choice, I can look at it as a negative event or I could look at it as an opportunity even to get something else accomplished. “
Unfortunately, though, I forget to look at the positive sometimes when plans take a different direction. I need to remember that we may plan our path but the Father directs our steps, and he knows what is best for us, so if he thinks the path we have chosen will not end for our good, then he may direct our steps unto another path (Prov 16:9 and 19:21).