Why Do You Fret

The WHO tells us we are almost to a full blown pandemic, our government tells us to not travel, people are wearing masks, schools close, the virus jumps to another country. People begin to panic and worry.

Sickness and death are a part of the curse. Sickness points to our need for a Savior.

What are we to do as Christians??

Luther ministered in a time of plague and epidemic and was a model pastor to his people. He cared for the sick and dying during the Bubonic plague in 1527. John Calvin taught his pastors to visit the sick as a primary duty of "a true and faithful minister.


There will come a time, as it did for Martin Luther, that we as believers will be called on to minister to the sick and dying. It will be an opportunity to minister to the physical and spiritual needs of our neighbors. It will be a test for every Christian to apply the gospel in a very real way.

And in the mean time, how we behave and what we speak will be judged by unbelievers. Do we speak life or do we speak death?



"Rather you should go on in simple faith, and when you are in danger and trouble, you should use whatever means you can, lest you tempt God. But if you find that these means, which God has created to dispel danger or sickness, supply neither the desired help or the remedy, then cast your care and your life on God and commit yourself to the direction of His wisdom and goodness." Martin Luther

Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord

Acts 3:19

Look What We Saw Today

This was not at a zoo. This was not far from our house. We were driving down the road and he came walking out. Hannah jumped out and chased him down. Then jumped back in the car so we could round the corner and catch up with him again. She finally got several good pictures.

He belongs to an old lady that lives in a little house.

Oh and this picture was taken with her new camera that came today! She is over the moon.

Exciting Day!

Today Hannah's new camera will be here. She has wanted this for a long time, but of course we just couldn't spare the money. But, the Lord made a way!!

About a month ago William was at his dad's visiting when his father told him that he wanted him to have his pickup. (84 Toyota) When William told me I thought, what are we going to do with that. Love old vehicles in the yard! Well, he sold that and presented Hannah with the proceeds of the sale.

So today she becomes the proud owner of a "she has told me a million times, but I still don't remember what kind of camera" camera!! That word has become weird now that I have used it multiple times.

Hannah is becoming an excellent photographer and this will certainly help her develop that talent even more. We are thankful the Lord came through for her. If you haven't check out her blog, go over there, it is great! http://honeyandjam.blogspot.com/

Absolutely Crazy!

I think my family is trying to kill me!!!! I finally get to sleep last night and I feel something come across my head. Not being awake, I jump and yell. My dear hubby stirs and says, 'oh, sorry'. Who doesn't have control of their arms when they roll over??! Answer me that!

So, I finally get back to sleep. It is cool and I am comfortable. All of the sudden I feel something on my leg; moving up my leg actually. Oh my word!! I'm thinking some woodland creature has gotten in the house. Again, I jump and yell. It is Sarah, who can't sleep. I holler, "good grief, are ya'll trying to kill me??? She jumps. (we some jumping bunch) Then apologizes for scaring me.

I get up to go to the bathroom; it's a wonder I need to!! hehe She follows me, apologizing profusely. I wasn't mad though, it was just funny. She couldn't sleep because she was thinking about the sermon from that morning. She enjoyed it and learned alot, so she was digesting all of stuff. Because of a question from a young man, our pastor explained at some length about Calvinism and the many scriptures that talk about election, etc.

Great, but did she have to scare me half to death!

A Blessed Day

We had a wonderful day at church. Our pastor spoke on racism and how there is no scripture to support it. In Acts chapter 10 it says God is no respecter of persons that fear Him. The key is "those that fear Him".

Then he talked about how there are really only two groups of people; those that are saved or going to be saved and those that aren't going to be saved. We don't know who will and who won't be, so we continue to preach the gospel.

Fellowship was sweet and lunch was good.

picture by Hannah Queen

Driving Lessons!

The one on the right is learning to drive. The one on the left is teaching her. Things are going well after I couple of sudden stops that jarred Hannah's brains! And deposited water down the front of her shirt!!

Sarah is getting the hang of things and learning quickly. It is a blessing to see the one helping the other.

Onions

We'll have onions!!! Look at these onions, aren't they the most beautiful onions you have ever seen. (yes, technically this is a farm blog post) But, I am so proud, like a new momma, of these baby onions I had to share. Look at those little sprouts, all green and standing up on their own.

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How Then Should We Pray?

How should we pray when we suffer?

• Honestly and with humility.
• Boldly and with confidence in his blessing.
• Desperately, with our eyes not on our escape, but upon our Lord.
• Hopefully, by directing our hope to the grace that comes through a cross, not a courtroom.
• Repentantly, as we let go of sinful demands for vindication and cling to his provision in self-sacrificing propitiation.
• Pietistically, wanting more than anything a deeper communion with Him.
• Lovingly, seeking to obtain that mercy for our suffering in order to turn it into grace for our attackers.
• Thankfully, for his perfect design and provision in our suffering to bring us the greatest good.
• Worshipfully, acknowledging that Christ alone is sufficient for our failures and our sufferings.

from The Resurgence blog

A Girl and Her Flower

Sarah fell in love with Poppy's this year and had to have a couple. She and Hannah went this evening to get a few and a new pot. I guess the girl has got to have some flowers in the mist of chicken poo and manure!!!

This evening Sarah and Hannah were digging up a bed to put in some flower seeds and they need some manure. Hayden brought some to them and proceed to half-heartedly work it in and be the 'garden clown'. Sarah said something about him being useless (just joking) and he acted like he was going to walk off.

She straightened up and said "I didn't say you could leave, I SAID YOU WERE USELESS!!!! I about fell out of my chair. The girl has got attitude!

The manure got mix in and the flower seeds planted.

"My Husband Rocks" Friday

My husband rocks because he cares about us. He cares about making a living for us, he cares about scouts for Hayden, he cares about Hannah's photography, he cares that Sarah our middle child gets attention and love, and he cares what I am trying to accomplish today, this week, this year.

Thank you for caring!!!

Does anybody out there have any memory of the reason given for the establishment of the DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ...... during the Carter Administration?

* Anybody?
* Anything?
* No?


Bottom line . . we ' ve spent several hundred billion dollars in support of an agency ... the reason for which I doubt one person who reads this can remember.

Ready???????

It was very simple and at the time everybody thought it very appropriate...

The Department of Energy was instituted on 8-04-1977

TO LESSEN OUR DEPENDENCE ON FOREIGN OIL.


Hey, pretty efficient, huh?????


AND NOW IT ' S 2009, 32 YEARS LATER ... AND THE BUDGET FOR THIS

NECESSARY DEPARTMENT IS AT $24.2 BILLION A YEAR




THEY HAVE 16,000 FEDERAL EMPLOYEES AND APPROXIMATELY100,000 CONTRACT EMPLOYEES



AND LOOK AT THE JOB THEY HAVE DONE!

THIS IS WHERE YOU SLAP YOUR FOREHEAD AND SAY ' WHAT WAS I THINKING? '


And NOW we are going to turn the Banking System, the Health system & the Auto Industry over to them?


Ain't it great, putting your Grand & Great Grand Children's tax dollars to work?

New Blog

I have created a blog for our farm, Brambleberry Farm. We are coming into the Farmer's Market season and we are listed on a couple of sites that are for this purpose, so I wanted something dedicated to what we are doing organically, what we are growing and lessons that we are learning.

We are babes in this and are learning alot daily. Hopefully we can encourage others that would like to make this step into greater self-sufficiency.

Hannah made this wonderful Blood Orange Yogurt Cake for dinner tonight. This cake is amazing!!! It is one I would definitely recommend making. Lovely flavor and texture.

picture courtesy of Hannah Queen

The Farmer's Market

Hannah and I attended a meeting Monday night about our local farmers market. We are excited!! There are good plans in place and we are connecting with the Appalachian Sustainable Agricultural Project. We are certifying with them as an Appalachian grower; this will help all of us in the long run.

I am hoping to be on the board in the near future and Hannah is designing a blog for the market. There will be more advertisement this year and more organization. It is all good!

We have alot to do to get ready for opening day in May. We need to buy bread bags, make labels, plan our set up, find bottles for Hannah's dressing at a good price. The ones we found online line are a good price, but shipping will kill us.

And get those dang chickens to laying some eggs!!!!!

HERBS! and other things

Today we went to the nursery to buy our herbs. Of course, we will use these in cooking, but hope to sell some at the Farmer's Market also.

We are still waiting to get our first eggs. The chickens are doing great. We have moved them to layer feed now since they are 20+weeks old. They enjoy plain yogurt immensely!

We have little carrot sprouts now!! They are so tiny, but growing. The onions are sprouting also. The lettuce and strawberries are doing great. Soon we will get the beans, okra, tomatoes, and cucumbers in the ground.

We are considering starting a grape arbor. I need to do some more study on this, but it would continue to move us toward our goal.

William continues to study solar power and how we can move to this source of energy.

A Wonderfully Good Day

In case you haven't noticed, I haven't mentioned church in 3 weeks. Our pastor has been on sabbatical and this was his first Sunday back. It has been difficult for our family after only being in the church for 2 months and being in need of sound teaching, but we survived and today was a blessing.

The sermon was about the necessity of Christ's suffering and how the disciples didn't believe that He had risen when Mary Magdalene told them. It is amazing that the very men who walked and talked with him did not believe that He had conquered death. It wasn't until Jesus appeared to them that they understood.

We didn't eat lunch at church today so I had prepared a ham for us. We had sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes (for those not inclined to the sweet potato), green beans and rolls. Hannah made a blueberry pie for dessert.

After lunch we decided to ride into the National Forest. It was beautiful, of course. God provided us such beauty to enjoy.

What a blessed Easter!!!

My Redeemer Lives

The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quiet, alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature.

Ann Frank

photos courtesy of Hannah Q

Field Trip

Monday we spent the day with these guys.

The Terra Cotta Army is from the Qing Dynasty. In 1974, workers in China were busy digging a new well when they made this amazing discovery. They are the funerary statues for Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi.

It was a busy day, but very enjoyable. We were able to see some of the statues, other artifacts and then saw pieces from the Louvre. Wow!!!

After the museum we ate at an old favorite that serves southern cooking. It is a landmark where I grew up and the Banana Pudding will make you 'slap yo momma'!

We came home tired and happy...

"To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter; to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life." - John Burroughs

So true, the simple life is rewarding. We continue to learn daily how to remove distractions and wasteful things; it is a process, at least for us. We are learning to find more pleasure in the things of nature and home.
It requires one to slow down and observe; gratification isn't instant as in the technological world. But the payoff is larger because it is lasting, not temporary like purchasing the latest this or that.
The world and its stuff doesn't have the hold on us it once did and for that we are thankful!

My Grand Birthday!

My sweet kids out did themselves this year. They sent me into the National Forest with their father (he had a cache to put out for Geocaching) while they prepared everything for my birthday celebration. We got lost and I was so afraid we were going to be late. We took a road we had not been on before, which is a mistake where we live. A road can go over several mountains and wind on FOREVER. It was beautiful with long range views, mountain laurel and streams, but I started to get anxious. I knew the children were working hard, and I did not want to arrive 45 minutes late. We were only 8 mins. late!!

Dinner was many of my favorites: baked potatoes w/ toppings, spinach salad w/ Hannah's balsamic dressing, egg rolls w/ cheese and jalapeno peppers, and tempura greenbeans!!! Hannah made a wonderful birthday cake with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting. YUM!!!!

The girls made a sign, cards and decorations too!