The Work Day

Today's post has nothing to do with gardening.  Nothing to do with milking cows or dairy goats.  Not a word about chickens.  Most of our posts are about Biblical agrarianism - learning the 'old ways' while living in the modern world.  I wouldn't call us preppers, although we grow food and raise animals for meat and dairy.  For a long time we've strived to live contra mundum - against the world, in defiance of common opinion.  At the end of this post on spring cleaning, I promise you that you will find that this post has a lot to do with surviving and thriving while living in post-modern times.

Spring Cleaning.  Here's how it starts.  At our church's monthly business meeting, a motion was made and seconded that we have a "work day" at church.  The motion carried and we made a list of what needed to be done and what supplies we needed.  On Saturday morning at 8 am sharp, pressure washers were fired up and all the bricks were washed.  Dirt dobber nests were scoured off the building, along with spider webs, mildew and all sorts of other buildup.

The out-building that had a green-tint to it because of mildew, once again regained its tan color after power washing.

The music room was cleaned up.

The pews were polished so that the wood shined again.

As you might imagine, there was food involved.  The BBQ pit was fired up at the same time the pressure washers were.

The drainage canal that runs along the back of the fellowship hall had grown up in willow trees.  Coming from the north, you couldn't even see the church.  We tackled that project with machetes, axes, and a chainsaw.

The washing and cleaning and chopping continued until we were checking the time to see when the food was ready.  

Finally, there was only one tree remaining...

TIMBERRRRR.....

If a tree falls in a drainage canal and no one is there to hear it fall, does it make a sound?  I don't know the answer to that., but we heard it fall and we also heard our stomachs growl.  We were all hot, tired, sweaty, and hungry.

We were all done!

Inside, we were greeted with the fragrance of chicken, sausage, rice dressing and other delicious sides.  You may not believe me, but I promise you I'm telling the truth.  There was even a pot of squirrels cooked in a brown gravy.  How many other churches serve squirrels at their fellowship meals?  Delicious!!  There was a coffee pot going and about nine different types of desserts.  We asked God's blessing on the food, read some Scripture and began eating and visiting, laughing and smiling.  It was a good day!

So now we are at the end of the post.  I promised you that this post had a point, and here it is.  We are members of a small country church.  On a GOOD Sunday, there are 44 believers in attendance.  Everyone knows everyone and if you miss a Sunday, people call to see if you're okay.  If you are sick, you'll get food brought over.  If you have a need, people call or text one another for prayer.  After church on your way out, people bring produce from their gardens and other stuff to share.  You may go home with some cabbage, or sweet corn, or squash, or purple hull peas, or a dozen eggs or some sweet dough pies.  But we don't only eat good food, we feast of spiritual food from the Word of God.  It is nourishing and edifying to the body and soul.

Right now in our world that's spinning out of control, people are stocking up on food, ammo, and other necessities in the even times get hard.  That is, of course, wise.  May I add to that some better advice?  Get right with the Lord.  Put your faith in Jesus and not in your own preparations.  We can do nothing without Him.  Find a small church community of likeminded believers who love Jesus and love one another and serve Him and each other.  We were not created to be alone.  God will never leave us or forsake us.  When times get hard, it is vitally important to have family, friends and a community of believers to support, encourage, and assist each other.  We will really miss out if we leave that important aspect out of our preparation plans.