Friday

The heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.

May we join with creation in proclaiming Him.

His peace to your hearts and homes.

The Adventures of Jack South.

Jack DID come home....

Well.  Jack did come home from Colorado.  I won't say he is none the worse for wear.  Take a good look at this guy...

We went over to our friends home Sunday evening to spend some time with them and to pick Jack up.  We heard quite a tale about Mr. Jack.  You may recall that once the family got to Colorado Jack spent the first day there sleeping in, watching cartoons, and drinking coffee out of a Dr. Who mug (he contends it had less caffeine than those Diet Mt. Dew).  

After that day, it has been reported to me that Jack....disappeared.  Yes, that's right.  Jack took off, left his host family and just disappeared for several days.  As you can see, he came back with:

1. a new ear-ring (ruby red slippers to commemorate his time in Kansas)
2. a scar on his face
3. rings under his eyes   AND
4. a new tattoo on his wrist.

 Oh Jack!

Jack is still not saying anything about where he was during that time.  I do understand that there are some more pictures waiting for download that might solve the mystery.  I am going to give him the benefit of the doubt and for now (!) assume that he spent his time rescuing damsels in distress.  I can't help thinking about the adventures of Prince Corin in The Horse and His Boy.

Jack seems happy to be back home again.

He is very proud of his new tractor that he found in Kansas.

Gracie Kittie is also relieved to have Jack back.

She is hoping that he will let her play with his new tractor.

Yes, Jack is back.  But Jack has caught the pioneer spirit.  He enjoyed his trip so much that he has asked me about the possibility of making another one in the near future.  He thought perhaps some of his readers might enjoy his company.  I told him I would ask.  So if you are going on a trip and would like the pleasure of Jack's company, leave a comment and let me know.  We'll see if we can arrange to get him to you.  

He already has his bags packed!

Friday!

A few entertaining pictures for your weekend....

In the heat of summer, this cat loves the a/c vent 

A day playing in Auntie 'Ginia's pool does wear out even the most energetic of four year olds.

And two-year-olds too!

Enjoy the blessings of summer, and abandon yourself to a Sabbath rest this weekend!

God's peace to your homes.

About Roosters....

I promise that this is not going to be one of those Watch-Us-Slaughter-Our-Chickens-Because-We-Are-Survivalists, complete with gory pictures kinds of posts.  If that is what you are looking for Google has too many suggestions.  However I am aware that some of you prefer to believe that all meat comes in little pink styrofoam containers from the grocery store.  You might want to skip this post.

Recently in one of my homestead updates, I made the comment that we had 29 chickens and that was too many. 

One of the reasons we had so many is that we raise our own chickens.  We hatch out eggs periodically.

The hens replace the older girls who aren't laying anymore. 







The males, on the other hand, are raised for one reason.  Meat.  We keep one rooster around for breeding and for protection.  If he gets too aggressive, than the next time we hatch one we keep it and slaughter the aggressive one.  But the primary reason we raise roosters is for meat.  Or as my Dad says, "for expeditions to the North Pole".  Because they go into the freezer.

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the calendar.  The boys were 16 weeks old, which is a good age to harvest them.  They were having Crow-Offs every morning starting at 4 am.  They were definitely the right age to harvest!  So one weekend we got busy.  We had six to harvest and one to keep (he had the prettiest tail-feathers and was the most gentle). 

On the steep side of the hill behind the house, Mr. Marvelous has set up a killing cone on one of the trees (it is also known as the Cone of Silence). 

He does his part and after a few more minutes brings them over to me to pluck.  Things were going smoothly; it wasn't the first time we had done this and we have our little routine.  After the fourth roo was introduced to the Cone of Silence, Mr. Marvelous wandered over to see if I needed any help.  Yes, as a matter of fact, I did!  There were yellow jackets buzzing around and making a nuisance of themselves and my hands were full of feathers.  Would he please kill them?  He did and all was well; no stings to either of us.  He walked back over to the cone to retrieve #4 only to discover that....it was not there!!!

Have you ever heard the expression, "Running around like a chicken with its head cut off"?  That stupid rooster had jumped out of the cone and started running!  We looked all through the back garden.  I started pulling up the weeds to see if it was under them.  We finally realized that the idiot rooster had gone down the hill!  Did I mention that we were set up on the steepest part of the hill?!

Not the greatest picture, but hopefully it gives you some idea of what we were dealing with.

Poor Mr. Marvelous had to make the trip down the hill, hanging on to the trees for dear life.  I was tramping around the greenhouse hoping that it was still at the top and not in the poison ivy.

Mr. Marvelous finally found it about 3/4 of the way to the bottom of the hill.  Then he had to try and come back up with a rooster in one hand and hanging onto the trees with the other.

We now have six chickens in the freezer.  And we know not to leave them in the Cone of Silence even if they are already dead.  Even if the wife is being bothered by yellow-jackets!

And now here is my favorite recipe for home-raised chickens.


Brine the bird overnight in the Pioneer Woman Turkey Brine.  She has the best recipe for this.

Take the bird out of the brine and let it dry off for a few minutes.  I don't rinse mine.
Make a rub using the following.  If you don't have the fresh cut herbs, you may substitute dried herbs or just omit what you don't have (it's called making-do).

2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 Tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
fresh cut rosemary
fresh cut sage
fresh cut thyme

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil, then rub the rub all over it.  I usually stuff the bird with an onion sliced in half, some celery (if I have it) and an orange or an apple (if I have it).  Place a rack in the bottom of your large crock-pot.  I use a 6 quart.  If you don't have a rack, take an aluminum pie plate and cut slits in it and lay it in the pot, or crumple up 3 pieces or so of aluminum foil and put those in the bottom.  Place the chicken in the crock-pot breast-side up, cover, and cook on low for a minimum of 4-5 hours.  The nice thing about crock pots is that you can leave it longer if you need to.  Be aware that if you leave it too long you will be eating your chicken in chunks instead of nicely sliced.  You could also place it in the oven at 350 I suppose, for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Because of the time to make the brine and soak it in the brine, this is something you need to plan ahead.  It is worth every moment of time it takes to make!

Wednesday Prayers

Mr. Marvelous and I read Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening together each day.  This mornings' entry was about the priority and urgency of prayer and I wanted to share it with you.

"The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out."
Leviticus 6:13

Keep the altar of private prayer burning. This is the very life of all piety. The sanctuary and family altars borrow their fires here, therefore let this burn well. Secret devotion is the very essence, evidence, and barometer, of vital and experimental religion.

Burn here the fat of your sacrifices. Let your closet seasons be, if possible, regular, frequent, and undisturbed. Effectual prayer availeth much. Have you nothing to pray for? Let us suggest the Church, the ministry, your own soul, your children, your relations, your neighbors, your country, and the cause of God and truth throughout the world. Let us examine ourselves on this important matter. Do we engage with lukewarmness in private devotion? Is the fire of devotion burning dimly in our hearts? Do the chariot wheels drag heavily? If so, let us be alarmed at this sign of decay. Let us go with weeping, and ask for the Spirit of grace and of supplications. Let us set apart special seasons for extraordinary prayer. For if this fire should be smothered beneath the ashes of a worldly conformity, it will dim the fire on the family altar, and lessen our influence both in the Church and in the world.

The text will also apply to the altar of the heart. This is a golden altar indeed. God loves to see the hearts of his people glowing towards himself. Let us give to God our hearts, all blazing with love, and seek his grace, that the fire may never be quenched; for it will not burn if the Lord does not keep it burning. Many foes will attempt to extinguish it; but if the unseen hand behind the wall pour thereon the sacred oil, it will blaze higher and higher. Let us use texts of Scripture as fuel for our heart's fire, they are live coals; let us attend sermons, but above all, let us be much alone with Jesus.

Let me suggest a few more items for prayer this week:

1. Chris has been put on the highest priority (1a) list for a heart transplant.  Please be praying that God will work things out with the insurance companies.  Pray for Chris, his family, his medical team.  Please pray for the family who will be asked to donate the heart of their beloved for Chris to live.
2. Allison, Katrina, and Felicia need to find work.
3. Dana and her three daughters are still working through their grief after the death of their husband and father Bill.
4. This was chemo week for Nancy.  Please pray that she will regain her strength quickly and be able to enjoy time with her daughters this weekend.
5. Miriam is having struggles with both her vision and her hearing.  Please pray that the doctors would be able to correct these problems.  Pray for patience for her husband as he tries to help her through this.
6. Please continue to pray for all those who are having VBS through the summer.  Pray that God's Truth would penetrate the minds and hearts of the children and their parents.
7. Ramadan continues this month.  Please pray for our brothers and sisters who live in Muslim countries, for their protection during this time.
8. PLEASE continue to be in prayer for our country and her leaders.  Pray with thanksgiving and with assurance of God's care and love, and for the preservation of His remnant.

Thank you for your work.  It matters!

God's peace to your hearts and homes.

On the Road With Jack Part II

Jack is having a blast.  He and his host family made it safely to Denver.  They are having so much fun that I haven't heard from him in a few days, but here is what I have been sent so far

He was so worn out from the trip that he slept til after 10:30 the first morning (of course that was Mountain Time and he was still on Central Time....)

 When he finally woke up, he discovered coffee.

It tastes better in his new favorite mug!

Jack, are you flirting with that little lady??

He made a new friend.  Hedgehogs are great listeners, but they don't have much to say.

Saturday morning cartoons with friends.  Life is good!

Life is even better when the cartoons come with your new favorite morning drink. In your new favorite mug.

Jack has also discovered bowling.

He says he bowled a 300.

I'm skeptical!

Stay tuned.  I'm sure there will be plenty of adventures on the way home this week!

Monday Morning

I have a lot of Christian friends whose children are breaking their hearts.

This is a group of folks my age whose children are college age and up.

The children were raised in the church.  Call them covenant-children, church-kids, or whatever floats your boat for a label, these are the kids who were always taking part in church activities.  They were taught that the Bible is TRUTH.  They know all the songs from Sunday school and Vacation Bible School.  They could do Bible drills like nobody's business.  They memorized their Bible verses for Sunday School, Children's Church, VBS, Bible Class at school (because most of them were either in Christian Schools or Homeschooled) and Family Worship time.  They grew up knowing the Truth of Scripture and telling all their friends about it.  Many of them went to Christian Colleges where classes were taught from (we thought) a Christian World-View.  They were baptized communicant church members and they know the jargon.

But something has happened.

Suddenly we realize that not only are these kids not in church, they are not at all apologetic about it and have no plans to go to church in the near future.  Their hearts seem to have gone through a change that their families did not expect.  Slowly and subtly their priorities have shifted and their parents have suddenly awakened to the realization that God is at the bottom of their priorities.  If there at all.

I'm not going to try and analyze the whys and wherefores and hows of this shift.  Fault-finding and blame-casting is counter-productive and is not my purpose.

I would rather share some hope for any of you who find yourselves in this situation.

Some time ago I heard a sermon from Luke 15, the chapter of the parable of the Prodigal Son.  I was struck by how the preacher brought out some things about the father.  He was talking about the love and grace of the father who was waiting.  The father who never quit waiting and never gave up hope.  The Father who waits for each of us, no matter where we are or how long we have been away.

Don't give up on your wandering children.  Don't stop waiting for them to figure out that God alone is worthy of first place.  Don't let yourself become so broken-hearted that you are afraid to hope.  Don't turn off the emotions because the pain is too much to handle.  When you get so tired that it seems like it is more than you can keep on doing, have the courage to admit that to someone in your Christian circle and give them the privilege of bearing that burden with you for a little while.

Keep hoping.  Keep waiting.  Keep trusting.  Keep praying. 

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.          Romans 15:13

Know that I am praying with you and for you, that HIS peace will fill your hearts and your home.

Friday!

In the busy-ness of your weekend, spending time cleaning, working, catching up around the house after a week of hard work, preparing for a Sabbath worship and rest; my prayer is that you find time to enjoy the gift of God's creation. 

An artist is gratified when people fully appreciate the beauty of their work.  A giver delights in having gifts received with joy and enthusiasm.  Spend time this weekend experiencing the breath-taking wonder of what our Heavenly Father has made for us with His very own Hands.

Photos courtesy of Daniel Akin

His peace to your homes and your hearts.

What's Up On The Homestead?

In the late fall and through the early winter, Mr. Marvelous stays busy planning his garden.  In the spring, he gets busy preparing and planting.  However in the summer time it is Mama's turn in the garden.  I'm often not quite sure that I fully appreciate that division of labor when I am 1. outside weeding and picking in the heat or 2. on the back porch in my outdoor kitchen canning in the heat.  I do try and get most of the out in the garden work done by 9 am or so, but the canning "can" go on all day some days.  Yet I am only one in a long line of women who spent their summers putting up the garden for their families and I like continuing that tradition.  So far I have put up 32 pints of strawberry jam, 39 pints of corn (some for us and some to share with Emily Ruth), 29 pints of green beans, and 15 quarts of sweet pickles (some for us and some to share with Diana).  

Just a few of the beans and the pickles

There's also the  10 pints of watermelon rind pickles, more of which will be done today and tomorrow.  My basement shelves are starting to fill up!

Weeding is hot work, but it is satisfying.  I love going from this:

To this!

Striking difference, yes?

We figured that the lettuce was done for the year, even though we still had productive plants.  Lettuce "bolts" when it goes to seed.  While it still looks pretty, the taste is awful.  It gets so bitter you want to scream for sugar, diabetic or not.  Over the weekend while Mr. Marvelous was giving the weed-eater a work-out, I looked at this:

This was our lettuce and radish bed.

Aren't they impressive?

I started pulling them up.

The radishes have seed-pods.  I didn't know that, did you? 

And teeny-tiny little seeds

(and someone who needs a manicure!)

They eventually turn into this:

 

 I have always wished I could grow the flower Canterbury Bells.  It looks like I almost did this year!

 I pulled up several buckets full of lettuce and radishes.  The chickens were blissfully happy.

So were the rabbits!

They don't often get garden treats, but they enjoy them when they do.

Speaking of rabbits, you may be wondering how they are handling the summer heat.  The girls are doing rather well.  Barabbas, on the other hand, is losing a LOT of his fur.

Doesn't he look pathetic?

Don't worry; that fur gets recycled by the Mama birds.

We are now down to 23 chickens from 29, and there is a funny story that goes with that statement but that's a story for another post.  My four cross-bred babies in the basement are getting more and more comical.  When I go down there and sit on the stool right beside the brooder, I have one who will always fly up and out of the brooder and into my lap.  Another will sit there and try hard to psych herself up to make the leap but she never quite does.  One of these days I will ask Jr. to come and video the process for your enjoyment; it is amusing.  Animal imprinting is real, and those birds are convinced that I am their Mama.

That's about it for what is going on around here these days.  God's goodness and grace are evident on an hourly basis.  We thank Him and praise Him daily for the provision of this little homestead!

His peace to your homes.

Wednesday Prayers

Good morning,

In reading  I Corinthians 14 and 15 last week, I came across this verse:

But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.                           I Corinthians 14:24-25

God is really among you.  Let that percolate for a while.  Say it aloud to yourself and emphasize different words each time.  Then consider this; when people meet us, whether we are alone or with other believers, do they walk away declaring that God is really among us?  May our focus be so entirely on God that others must confess that He is really among us.

For prayer this week please remember the following:

1. Amanda's daughter has delivered her son.  Mother and baby are doing well and Amanda seems to be delighting in her new season as Grandmama.
2. Chris is in desperate need of a heart transplant.  Please pray for him, his fiancee, his family and all those involved in his care. 
3. Jane is traveling in Israel this week.  Please pray for her safety and for a soul-enriching, life-changing time for her.
4. A young girl who lost her father a couple of years ago lost her mother this past week.  Please pray that the family will peacefully settle the question of who will be caring for her.  Pray for healing in the family and healing in this child's heart.
5. Let's keep remembering Baby Ty and his family.  His recovery seems to be going well; please pray that this would continue.  Pray too for his salvation.
6. Celia's husband is a new believer but she is still in the Mormon church.  Please pray that she will come to believe that Jesus is the Only Son of the Living God and her only hope.
7. Pray for the salvation of little Hannah and her parents.
8. Felicia is a young widow in need of work to support her children.  She is a joyful believer and we firmly believe that God has a special place for her to share His love with others.
9. Approximately 150 years ago, Charles Spurgeon wrote his classic devotional book Morning and Evening.  In the entry dated July 7 Morning, he states that he sets aside that one day of the year to beg people to pray for Ministers.  Pray for Ministers, for Missionaries, for City Missionaries and for Bible Students.  Would you set aside one day over the next seven to pray with diligence and intensity for God's Ministers?

Thank you for your continued obedience to the work of prayer.  It matters!

God's peace to your homes.

On The Road With Jack

 The computer died last week.  Mr. Marvelous, being completely marvelous, has revived it for me.  Hopefully I can keep the blog rolling along at least enough to keep you up-to-date with Jack's Big Adventure.

Jack is having a blast.  Mr. Marvelous and I are each getting multiple texts throughout each day with pictures of all the mischief Jack is getting into with our friends.  Oh, that Jack!  Here is what we have so far from their trip to Denver.  The first set are from Mama and the girls:

Jack dreams of a space career...

Or what about a farm in Tennessee?

Jack crosses the Mississippi River

Jack is still in Kansas...

Jack is making new friends.  Good friends, I hope.

We find Giant Pinwheels fascinating (and just a little hard to see)

This next set is from Papa:

Jack was a little cold the first morning, but warmed up nicely here.

Just in time for breakfast.  Breakfast of Champions?

Champion Gnomes, anyway!

They took him out for dinner that evening.  I am told he says he misses my cooking.  Oh, that Jack!  I didn't know he was going to find the Blarney Stone on this adventure.

That day brought a trip to the City Museum and this message:

He enjoyed the City Museum, but wasn't tall enough to do any of the activities inside, so he amused himself with mischief in the parking lot. It was hilarious to watch!

Watch out for the sharks, Jack!

 As they approached Denver, they stopped at a local Walmart

 Jack wanted a souvenir.  

He seems quite proud of his "BIG" green tractor.

There you have Jack's adventures so far.  Stick around.  With this crew, the mischief has only just begun!