I use to say that too, that people weren’t victims, that they have control over the way their lives turn out. But, after spending many years working in low income housing communities, and hearing children discuss which gangs their daddies were in, which color bandana they wore, watching their daddies and brothers and uncles get shot and killed, I will never again say this. One little 8 year old boy cried on my shoulder and asked me to pray for his momma cause he found his little sister dead in the bed. He didn’t know that Jesus could help him too. He thought Jesus was just for those other people who didn’t live where he lived. He will grow up to be a man, maybe living in the same area, maybe with the same experiences as his father. Sometimes the trauma we experience, which I have no real understanding of, undeniably shapes our futures. Some can escape the damage, but for others, its nearly impossible. I learned an important lesson. I will hold my tongue before I speak. I will search for the pain behind another’s words and actions. I will love and accept, even if I don’t understand.
Tag: life
Early Arrival Surprise
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The baby goats got to come home a little early! They were due to arrive in May, but I begged and pleaded. Finally, the breeder decided let us have them a week early. We picked them up and drove home with two goats in our truck bed. It was quite the funny experience; however, I realize this is probably a totally normal and boring experience for “actual” farmers. They seem to be adjusting really well to their new home. The first night they cried every time we walked away. Their cries were MUCH louder than I expected. All our neighbors now know when snuck goats into the city limit. Oops!
We put up a temporary shelter for them with some pallets since our mini barn isn’t built yet. (Hopefully, its going up within the next week or so.) Finally, to get them to be quiet, I propped up some things in front of their little shed so they would be totally enclosed. They liked this set up MUCH better and were quiet the rest of their first night. Today, they are playing, munching on all the fresh tall grass in their pen, and looking very happy. Just a few hours after their arrival, they seem to be settling in perfectly!
Farm Fence is Up!
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The fence was a two day process and measures about 80x80ft. It will house the goats that are coming in May and all the chickens. There is talk about the possibility of a mini horse, but we will see how this goes first. The first day we spent measuring for the fence, digging holes and placing the corner posts, and pounding in each t-post. My dad came to help since we had never put up a farm fence. He brought my boys a four wheeler and that made their day! They’ve already combed some awesome trails through the woods behind our home and spent one entire day “muddin” as we called it when I was growing up in Kentucky! Outdoor life is the best life for a kid (and for grown-ups like me.)
Day 2 was used to install my repurposed gate and stretch the wire between each corner post. This process is definitely easier with a few extra hands. My oldest son was on the four wheeler controlling the winch to stretch the fence as tight as possible. The fence looks amazing a pretty much disappears into the landscape of our yard. I never knew I could be so excited about a fence! This means it’s almost time for the baby animals to arrive! It’s been a dream to have a little land we could spend our lives on and this place is just that!
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This weekend we plan to put in our garden and get the corner posts in the ground for the mini barn going inside the fenced area. Next week, we hope to start on the barn! I’ll post updates as we go along!
Mini Backyard Pine Forest
Before
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We have so many beautiful pines on our property behind our home, and they were a mess! The kids jumped in, and we spent a couple days cutting out the lower branches and dead limbs. See my husband with the saw in the bottom right photo?
After
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It looks like a park back there and its my new favorite spot in the yard. I love when pines umbrella over head giving you the richest forest-y smell in the world!
Beyond the tree line are some gorgeous, VERY OLD trees we wanted to play in. We cleaned it up a bit and found the perfect tree for climbing! Still trying to determine what type of tree it is. Possibly sassafras? The largest sassafras in the world is in Owensboro, KY, which is a short drive from us and thought to be at least 300 years old. So, this one might be a few hundred years old too!
Below is the future home of the fencing and shed for the baby goats arriving in May!
If you are curious about our new home here in Indiana, here it is! Also, this is a great photo of the amazing sycamore tree!
Come back soon for fencing and shed progress for the cute little goats!
Jesus is Thirsty: How can We Help?
He sends us to the poor in particular. The cup of water you give to the poor, to the sick, the way you lift a dying man, the way you feed a baby, the way in which you teach a child, the way you give medicine to a leper… your attitude and manners toward them – all this is God’s love in the world today. God still loves the world! I want this to be imprinted in your minds: God still loves through you and through me today. Let me see this love of God in your eyes, in your actions, in the way you move about. (Mother Teresa, 2016)
For mothers, fathers, teachers, medical professions, assembly line workers, (the list goes on and on) the cup of water you give is God’s love in the world today. It may be your encouragement, your respect, your kindness, a smile, preferring someone over yourself, the sharing of knowledge, the human touch, a loving embrace, the sacrifice of time or money. It is God’s love pouring from your cup, into the life of someone else.
When Jesus was dying on the cross He said, “I thirst” in John 19:28. What was he referring to as he hung there dying on the cross? Actual water? Maybe. The anguish of a sinful world? Probably that too. Is He still saying “I thirst?” Let’s take a look a scripture.
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me. They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Matt 25: 40-45
Jesus is found in the faces of the sick, the dying, the lonely, the lost, the poor, the imprisoned. In third world countries, Jesus still thirst for food and water, for medicine, nutrition, for healing. Directly around you, the needs may appear in a different form, but are just as critical. He is thirsty for love, for human kindness, to be wanted. Jesus is thirsty for souls, for compassion, for devotion. We give Jesus a drink when we give another person that in which they need or desire. By caring for the unwanted, the unloved, the lonely, we are his love in action to people all around us.
I pray that we can all find it within ourselves to respect humanity, whether or not it deserves it, whether or not it has earned our love; all humanity is Jesus on Earth. That goes for Democrats and Republicans, poor and the rich, uneducated and the educated, the sinful and well (that’s all of us)… I am not better than you. You are not better than me. You do not know more than me. I do not know more than you. We are all living, breathing, creations of our Heavenly Father, surviving on what little information He shares with us. We each live one day at a time, and hope to help each other along the way to Heaven, where things are much easier.
letloveabide.com 