Every Grain – Homestead Lessons

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

When I was young I lived in a city until, we moved to the country. Then, I yearned to return to the city where everything was in reach. I loved the open land and fresh air. Our animals and business were hard work along with good doses of fun. I loved driving the country roads to shop and get supplies. These were great days in my opinion. Now that we have returned to the country, I realize there are lessons I missed due to the exuberance of youth. One of those lessons is: Every grain is important.

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What Happens When I Plan

Photo by Miriam G on Unsplash

We are finding out that decisions at the homestead are sometimes decided for us. Several weeks ago, I ordered predator resistant chicks, yes there is such a chicken. The hatch date was scheduled for the first week of April. All went as planned and the chicks arrived hale and hearty. The first several days went well. None of my charges died or got sick. Thanking God, I went ahead and ordered the Barred Rock chicks I wanted but were “sold out” at the time. The website indicated the Barred Rocks would hatch in August. We decided to get the Survival Chicks settled then be ready to fill out the flock in August. We thought it was a good plan. A slow and steady plan.

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Habits Broken

The chicks have arrived! The newest reason for my busyness! (Photo by Milly Moss)

Lately I’ve been feeling lost in a sea of things to do and see. At the end of each day I am exhausted and a bit down. Oh! Don’t get me wrong, I get a lot done and most of the time the tasks that need to be done get done on time. Err… or should I say in the nick of time. (smile) This past week, on the long drive down to South Florida, it struck me. “Habits! That is what I am missing…” I muttered. “The good, bad, indifferent, fun, boring, and/or necessary habits are all gone! How can I have no habits? Is that possible?” I didn’t know. All I know is that all the habits are broken.

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The Dawn

The Master Creator’s Morning Miracle (Photo by Milly’s Helper)

Have you ever driven into the dawn? Recently I rediscovered the blessing of the dawn. This is a gift given to us every day. This week, at five in the morning, I loaded the cooler and my guys into the van and we headed out for an appointment in South Florida. The drive would take about five hours. Soon the night owls dozed off and I began morning prayers. Turning onto Highway 40 we headed east into the Ocala National Forest. Highway 40 cuts through the middle of the forest generally running east to west across the state.

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Another Step

House in a box and ready to roll!

I looked back to see my last post. It was dated 11/19/2022. Stunned I look at the calendar 2/18/2023. Desire to write hit me full force. Oh… how I miss writing. Until this moment I haven’t written anything since November 30th. I have taken another step, a really big step, in my walk with the Lord. This step had many pieces and tasks. It consumed my days for the last three months…

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A Wonderful Kind of Busy

Homestead Sunrise

It has been over a month since I have posted anything. I do apologize. But I have an excuse, exhaustion! (I giggle.) Yes there is exhaustion. That part is true. But the real reason is a wonderful kind of busy! Most times busy is associated with stress or something not pleasant or enjoyable. And there are other times when we are busy preparing for something wonderful. We are filled with hope and God’s promise. It could be anything that holds promise; A new career, going to college, marriage; a child; the trip of a lifetime, or in my case right now it is a homestead. It is a Wonderful kind of busy when we prepare for God’s plan to be fulfilled.

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Future Path

An Autumn Path through the Mountains (Ashe County North Carolina – Photo by Milly Moss)

Living a dream takes prayer and planning. That’s the fun part! Then comes the work. Sound familiar? Rarely does a dream drop into our laps. We hear about such things, like winning the lottery, inheriting a beautiful piece of property or a fantastic business opportunity. That doesn’t happen often. In my experience, dreams unfold while working a plan. Not every plan I’ve worked is successful. In fact, most are not. But, when it works, dreams unfold. Think of your successes. Some are little spots of joy, some are the dreams of a lifetime, and some do not turn out as expected.

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The Present

Searching Rural North Florida (Photo by Milly Moss)

The last post, Looking Back, was about spring and summer past. As you might have gathered from my posts. I enjoy the future tense. The past holds bitter pain and sweet memories. The future holds promise, possibilities, and adventure. While the present holds daily uncertainty, hard work and choices… and unfolding promise. Now the Lord puts my focus on the present. The question is, what is going on today? How many plates are spinning above Milly’s head? And probably above yours too…

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Looking Back

Photo by Rainier Ridao on Unsplash

We are getting close to the official start of Fall here in the Northern Hemisphere. The change of seasons usually gets me looking back at what got done and what didn’t over the last quarter. It’s a leftover of my working life where we reevaluated every quarter of the financial year. While my life no longer follows financial quarters, it is still an ingrained habit to look at how things are going with each season.

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