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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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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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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Struggle Session

Photo by Humble Lamb on Unsplash

“Struggle session” is a fairly new term for me. I’ve been hearing it in political and educational news over the last couple of years. I’m not sure exactly what it means, but when I listen to the context, it doesn’t sound pleasant. To me, it sounds like a heated argument that is unlikely to be resolved without force or someone giving in to something they don’t believe. If this is going on in our political and educational systems, there are going to be hard feelings for a very long time! I shudder to think of the division. Then, I ask, is there good that comes from this practice?

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Clean It Out!

Circumstances have changed and cleaning out our home is no longer in the far off future. It needs to be done now! We knew this deadline would eventually come and we will clean up our act. The projects and stuff that accumulated over the last 30-plus years needs to be dwelt with in the next several months. Let’s just say those ‘chickens have come home to roost!’ And they need a place to stay!

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Prayers and Promises

Prayer and Promise Jars Ready to be Filled (Photo by Milly Moss)

There is an old idea a friend recently mentioned to me. Creating a prayer box. Prayer jars and boxes were popular as gifts a couple of decades ago. At the time, I made a few for my loved ones. My mom still has hers and mentions it, every once in a while, when it is a blessing to her. It is a blessing to me that something I put together with love and a little faith still blesses.

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Growing up

Photo by Juliane Liebermann on Unsplash

The last couple of weeks, Isaiah has me wondering just when will I ‘grow up?’ It seems growing up is a process. At eighteen I thought, I’m all grown up! Then stepped into the world as an adult. Oh my! I had a lot to learn! At 21, the State decided I was a full adult. Hm… does that mean they thought I’d grown up? If they did, they were wrong. Looking back over five decades, I see how much I have grown up in the last 10, 20 and even 30 years. And… There is so much I haven’t learned. Now I ask myself, “will I ever grow up?”

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