Manifold Witness

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon, and stars in their courses above

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy, and love.

Great is Thy Faithfulness.  One of the great hymns that tells the story of the faithfulness of our Almighty God.  Where ours may waver, His stands strong.  Where we have good days and bad days, His days never change.  All the seasons, all of nature, as a matter of fact stands to testify that our God loves you.  He has mercy for you, and He will never let you down.

Let's call our first witness to the stand.  The bumblebee.  Mr. Bumblebee, do you swear to tell the the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you, God?  "I do."  First off, from an engineering standpoint, in the 1930's a French entomologist said that flight for the bumblebee should be impossible.  No one mentioned that to the bumblebee.  The bee continues to fly.  

Here we have a bumblebee pollenating the flower stalks on a Genovese Basil plant.  Bees absolutely love the flowers on the basil.  I generally pluck off the flowers, to keep the basil growing so we can make more and more pesto.  Thanks to the bees for pollenating and making our crops more productive.

The bumblebees' ability to defy the rules of physics and be able to make our crop yields increase is a positive testimony of God's goodness and love.

 The sugar snap peas I planted are popping up along the big trellis.  Soon they'll be climbing up the cattle panel.  They have tendrils that will reach out and like springs, attach themselves to the trellis, anchoring themselves while they grow upward.  When the strong winds blow, those tendrils serve as an anchor that gives, but doesn't break.  The sugar snap peas lean on the trellis for support.  The witness of the sugar snap pea provides testimony that we can lean on the Everlasting Arms where we'll be safe and secure from all alarms.  And while the peas cling, they climb and they bloom and they are fruitful - just as we should.

The Good Book tells us that, "unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit."  A seed is dead.  I saved the cucumber seed below since 2016.  I had them stored in an ibuprofen bottle labeled with the variety name (Boston Pickling) and date in a drawer under our laundry room sink.  

I took that dead seed and planted it in the ground and watered it and look what happened?  The resulting cucumber plant bears witness to the fact that its seed was put into the ground and now grows and will soon bear much fruit, bearing manifold witness to the Creator.  

And the eggplant.  What a beautiful bloom the eggplant has.  As you walk around the garden and see the blooms on the eggplant, you know that a harvest of eggplant is on the way.  It doesn't happen overnight.  You must be patient.  While you wait on the harvest, you can enjoy the beauty of the eggplant flower.  Another eyewitness account of our Lord and His Providence.  He gives us strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Great is Thy faithfulness!

Morning by morning new mercies I see:

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

What Brings You Joy?

This is Belle.  She's our Great Pyrenees dog.  Right off the top of my head I can think of only one other creature with the adjective "Great" before its name.  That would be the Great White Shark.  If you had the adjective "great" preceding your name, you might be tempted to become prideful, but Belle isn't like that.  She's not pretentious or grandiose in the way she carries herself.  She's just Belle.  She's a people person and enjoys spending time with us.

Take the other morning, for example.  I was trying to study for our Sunday School lesson on the back patio.  Belle wanted in on the study.  She's so big that when she gets near, there's no room for any study materials.  How could you turn that face away, though?  I think she's smiling, but that just may be me assuming things.  She seems happy, anyway.

Our study in on the Book of Acts, and it is talking about the explosive growth of the early church, brought about by the Holy Spirit and the change that came over the apostles due to the Spirit's power, changing them from fearful men who denied Him to bold witnesses of His power and deity.  They became witnesses of who Christ is and what He's done for you and me.  As believers, we're called to be His witnesses as well in a world that is growing ever darker.  It seems hard, and I won't lie, sometimes it is hard, but we're not to do it in our own power.  In fact, we can't do it in our own power.  He will embolden us.

We drove 3 1/2 hours to North Houston the other night to share a meal and fellowship with 3 other couples.  Tricia has a high school group that she's in touch with, so it was the four girls and their husbands in attendance.  We visited and ate a great meal and enjoyed one another's company for several hours just conversing across the table.  One of the girls asked a question as we sat around the table.  She and her husband had once been missionaries in Israel.  She wanted everyone to consider and communicate to the rest of the group something in their lives that brings them great joy.

I like "ice breaker" types of questions like that.  We have a list of them that we keep on our kitchen table.  Instead of small talk, it is interesting to get deeper and probe to really get to know people and what makes them tick, what's important to them, what they value.  When the question was asked, my mind immediately went the something that had occurred the night before.  I'll show you the photo first:

The sun was going down.  The field directly across the street from our house is a big hay field.  The owners of the field had cut the hay the day before and fluffed it.  A baler was brought in and they made round bales.  You could smell the cut hay as the aroma wafted across the landscape.  On an otherwise hot day, the cool of the evening was settling in and the sun sunk low in the western sky.  The very hand of God was painting a masterpiece on a big canvas.  Tricia and I were walking down the road taking in the spectacular view.  I happened to have my phone and snapped a photo as we stopped to admire it.  

Back to the answer of the question.  What brings you joy?  Tricia's turn was first and she described what I described in the preceding paragraph.  She took my answer!  It is uncanny how we are so alike in our thoughts sometimes (and then how different we can be at other times, ha ha!)  I often talk about simple pleasures in life.  Looking at a pastoral landscape like this just brings me joy and peace and happiness.

You know what I missed, though?  I missed an opportunity to point to the Creator.  To give credit and glory to the Master Painter who painted that masterpiece in the sky.  Lord, forgive me for that.  I don't ever want to seem "preachy," but I don't want to ever miss that opportunity again.  In everything, we should point to God and give Him the glory.  That remarkable sunset didn't just happen.  God put us in that exact location to view a beautiful moment.  We didn't need to travel anywhere or spend any money.  We have a benevolent God who gave us exactly what we need.  We have a wonderful Savior in Jesus, a great family, people who love us.  We have air in our lungs and another day to enjoy His blessings. 

"And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among mankind by which we must be saved." Acts 4:12

 

Drinking From My Saucer

See that cup of coffee down below?  Some of the coffee has spilled out of the cup and rests in the saucer, so I promptly drank it out of the saucer.  I didn't spill by accident, though.  I did it on purpose to get in the habit of drinking from my saucer.  Why?

Here's why.  This morning at church, the first song we sang from the hymnal was, "Count your Blessings, Name them One by One."  It's an old one.  Oftentimes, we'll stop after the chorus between each verse and allow people to stand and testify regarding something for which they are really thankful to God.  Keep in mind these are widows and widowers, people who have lost spouses and/or children yet they are thankful to God for the many blessings in their lives.  Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.

It's perspective, right?  How do you look at it?  Is the glass half empty or is the glass half full.  Or maybe, there's another option.  Perhaps, despite hardships and trials, you realize that your cup isn't half empty or half full.  You come to realize that your cup is running over, filling your saucer, thanks to God.  That's how I aim to look at things.  It reminds me of a song that says just that.  You can click on the video below to listen and read the lyrics below the video.  

I've never made a fortune
It's probably too late now
Oh but I don't worry about that much
'Cause I'm happy anyhow
As I go along life's journey
I'm reaping better than I sow
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

Ain't got a lot of riches
Sometimes the going's rough
But I've got a friend in Jesus
And that makes me rich enough
I thank God for His blessings on me
And the mercy that He's bestowed
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

O, sure I've been thru some storms
And yes I'm sure there were times when my
well my faith musta got a little thin
But you know what it seemed like
One day all at once those dark clouds broke
And that old sun she started shinin' again
So Lord, help me not to grumble & complain
About the tough rows I have hoed
I'm drinking from my saucer
'Cause my cup has overflowed

And if I should go on living
If the way gets steep and rough
I won't ask for other blessings
'Cause I'm already blessed enough
May I never be too busy
To help another bear his load
And I'll keep drinkin from my saucer, Lord
'Cause my cup has overflowed
Yes I'll keep drinking from my saucer, Lord
'Cause my cup has overflowed
My cup has overflowed

An Attitude of Gratitude

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I hope you and your family had a nice celebration.  We have so much to be thankful for.  I heard it said this week that a thankful spirit and a complaining spirit are like two roommates that cannot live under the same roof.  Someone has to pack their bags and leave!  Let's make sure we show the complaining spirit the door.

I knew this Thanksgiving was going to be a good one.  We do have a tremendous amount of things to thank our Lord for.  One of them is in the center of the photo below.  It's Benjamin.  He's standing up and walking!  Praise God.

Are things back to normal?  No.  Are things perfect?  No.  But he is alive and he is improving day by day and we can't stop thanking God and praising Him.  It's from Him that all blessings flow.  We had all of our kids with us, my Mom and Dad, my sister, her husband and her kids.  We gathered and laughed and talked and enjoyed one another's company.

In the photo above you can see that Laura Lee has opened some old family photo albums that she's looking at, remembering her childhood and reliving old memories and good times.  It's always good to remember the past that we're anchored to and be thankful for our families, the love we share and the God we serve.

We got so busy visiting, that I forgot to take photos when we were all eating.  I took this one when we were almost finished and the rest of the crew was visiting in the den.  We had a delicious meal with loads of leftovers.  No one left hungry, that's for sure.

We had turkey, ham, and beef brisket and more casseroles than you could shake a stick at.  I asked to help Tricia in the kitchen and she put me in charge of making a zucchini casserole that my grandmother, Bumby, used to make.  It's more like a soufflé.  There are lots of eggs in it.  Well, I have a confession to make.  I wasn't as diligent as I should have been and apparently, some egg shell made its way into the casserole (it's in the bottom of the photo below).  Several of us were chewing the crunchy casserole, having to spit out eggshell on a napkin.  I did not do a good job with this.  A lady at church today told me that this was a slick scheme of mine to not get asked to help in the kitchen next year!  

We didn't get a photo of Laura Lee before she took off back to Baton Rouge, but here is a shot of my Mom, Benjamin, my Dad, Russ and Tricia.

God has been so good to us!  We are incredibly thankful for all the works of His Mighty Hand.

Dad's Old Oak Tree Talk

Tonight's post is a little bit different from anything we've ever put up on the blog.  I've opened a YouTube channel and will periodically post videos.  Probably not many of me, though!  I don't like the way I sound on audio or look on video, ha ha!  

The post tonight is one I think you'll enjoy.  I certainly did.  I am extremely proud of it.  It is a family treasure, to be truthful.  Grab a cup of coffee or hot tea and sit down for a 12 minute video.  A little background on how this came about:  A gentleman at my Dad's church teaches a Sunday School class that's comprised of 5th and 6th grade young men.  This teacher asked many of the men of the church to put together a talk to tell the young men about their occupations and how their faith plays a role in their careers.  My Mom and my brother talked Dad into videotaping his presentation under the old live oak at the old Sonnier homeplace in Oberlin, Louisiana.  This is my Dad's talk:

I'm proud of my Dad (and Mom) for raising me and giving me a love for the Lord and a love for the land.

Giving Thanks 2021

Psalm 100:1-5 KJV

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands. Serve the LORD with gladness: Come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the LORD he is God: It is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, And into his courts with praise: Be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; And his truth endureth to all generations.

Thanksgiving is a great holiday.  A time to pause, refocus, and count our many blessings.  We give thanks to our God who is so faithful and good.  Although there is turmoil and division in the world, we find a respite from the turbulence and find peace.  It is a time to gather with family and friends and visit, enjoying one another's company.  And we eat!

And we visit.  For hours we talk, and laugh, and recollect good times in the past.  We discuss what's going on now and we look to the future.  Then there's coffee and dessert.

We are thankful for so many things!

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

My Father's World

It is nice to go outside at sunset and just enjoy the colors in the stillness of the evening.  The day is done.  The chores are done.  It's time to slow down and just enjoy.  God is certainly an artist.  He created and designed it all and he just wants to share it with us.  We just have to take time out and watch.  Sadly, we often are moving too fast to enjoy Our Father's World.

"This is My Father's World" is a hymn written by Maltbie Babcock in 1901.  Mr. Babcock was a Presbyterian minister in New York, and he died when he was only 42 years old.  As I think about sunsets and enjoying God's Creation, it reminds me of Maltbie Babcock as he definitely took the time to observe His Father's World.  I read IN THIS ARTICLE the following:

"Hymnologist Kenneth Osbeck noted Babcock’s practice of “taking morning walks to the top of a hill north of town where he had a full view of Lake Ontario and the surrounding country.” It was said that he had a frequent expression before leaving for these walks, “I’m going out to see my Father’s world.”  

Here are the lyrics to this beautiful, old hymn:

This is my Father's world, 
 and to my listening ears 
 all nature sings, and round me rings 
 the music of the spheres.  
This is my Father's world:  
 I rest me in the thought 
 of rocks and trees, of skies and seas; 
 his hand the wonders wrought.

This is my Father's world, 
 the birds their carols raise, 
 the morning light, the lily white, 
 declare their maker's praise.  
This is my Father's world:  
 he shines in all that's fair; 
 in the rustling grass I hear him pass; 
 he speaks to me everywhere.

This is my Father's world.  
 O let me ne'er forget 
 that though the wrong seems oft so strong, 
 God is the ruler yet.  
This is my Father's world:  
 why should my heart be sad?  
 The Lord is King; let the heavens ring!  
 God reigns; let the earth be glad!

Let everything that has breath praise the LORD.  Praise Ye the LORD.  Psalm 150:6

Does Absolute Truth Exist in a World of Moral Relativism?

Image Credit

John 8:31-32 (NASB)

The Truth Will Make You Free

31 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

This morning at church we had a guest pastor who brought the message.  It was a message that caught my attention and was very timely.  I thought the message was exceptional, and I'll do my best to distill the high points because it deserves repeating.  The gentleman led off with statistics that showed an alarming shift in people's belief in absolute truth.  According to Barna Research, today 72% of adults believe that there is no such thing as absolute truth!  I could not believe this could be true!  For 30 years ago 84% of people believed in absolute truth.  How can this be?

We are in a place where truth is whatever you want it to be?  You hear things such as, "my truth" being said.  Tolerance is the seen as one of the greatest virtues.  The problem with tolerance is that there are certain things in which there is no room for tolerance:

1. Math: 3 x 4 = 12. Not 11, not 13.  Mathematics has no room for tolerance.  The answer is correct or incorrect.

2. Chemistry: Water is two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.  Any change in that 'cocktail' and you have something other than water.

3. Music: A conductor in an orchestra works intently to ensure all the instruments are in tune and the orchestra plays the correct notes.  There is no tolerance for music that is off-key.

As a Christian, of course I believe that God and His Word is the source of all Truth.  I believe it is inerrant you should go to the Word of God to determine right and wrong.  Trying to calibrate your moral moorings with popular opinion is a moving target.  The minister gave an excellent illustration of this.

There was once a man who worked for a plant.  His primary responsibility was to blow the whistle at 6:30 AM to let the employees know when to commence work and blow the whistle again at 4:30 to let the employees know that it was quitting time.  Each morning the plant-worker walked to work and he would pass in front of a watch-maker's shop, look inside the window, and set his watch to match the clock in the window.  Then he would walk on to work and blow the whistle.

One day the watch-maker saw the man gazing in the window, setting his watch.  He walked outside and asked the plant-worker if he could help him.  The plant-worker told him that he was just setting his watch with the clock in the window.  The watch-maker then laughed and told him, "That old clock? It doesn't keep time well, so each day I listen to the whistle at the plant and re-set the clock based on that!"

And so it is if we use society, cultural norms, laws, customs, etc. as truth.  In doing so we will be like the plant-worker and the watchmaker, chasing our tails in trying to determine Truth.  We must calibrate our Truth Detector with the Word of God - For He is the Way, the TRUTH, and the Life.

The First Hint of Spring (Seasons)

I was driving from Gonzales, Louisiana back to Jennings early Sunday morning by myself after spending the previous day at the State Livestock Show.  As we posted last night, this year is Benjamin's last show, and I was in a reflective mood thinking about how quickly the kids grew up.  It won't be much longer before Tricia and I are empty-nesters.  Time marches on, as Allen Jackson sings.

As I drove on I began to think about how life is about to really change.  It became clear to me that is has been changing day by day and then all of a sudden, the cumulative effect of time hit me like a ton of bricks.  The kids are no longer kids.  They are young adults.  Immediately, I began to have regrets.  What if I had been a better provider?  What if I had more time off from work to enjoy more time with family?  What if I had been a better steward of time?  What if I had handled certain situations differently?  Will my kids have fond memories of their childhood as I had with mine? 

"At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, not winning one more verdict, or not closing one more deal.  You will regret time not spent with a husband, a friend, a child or a parent." - Barbara Bush

My, how time flies.  I drove in silence and began to pray.  I find that driving is a great time to pray.  If you turn off the radio, you can really focus and talk to God.  And that's what I did.  I drove along and found myself driving over the Atchafalaya Basin Bridge and looked out over the railings of the long bridge out into the swamp.

Image Credit

It's a grey February day and the willow trees are leafless.  The Cypress trees still have a few rust-colored leaves hanging on.  I drove on thinking about how in the summertime, you can't see anything but a thick blanket of green leaves that envelope the swamp, making it seem mysterious.  Now, a few months later, it just seems empty and void, a barren landscape waiting for the change of seasons.

But wait...  As I exited the Atchafalaya Freeway and drove toward Breaux Bridge, I noticed a tinge of green in the branches of the trees.  Although it was in the 50's now, a few days ago, temperatures had risen into the 70's and that must have given the trees a nudge to begin budding out as Spring is nearing.

Image Credit

Seasons.  God put them there.

Genesis 8:22 - While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

God gave us the seasons.  We experience hot humid summers and endure bitter cold winters and then spring arrives.  Maybe the extremes in temperatures help us to really appreciate springtime more?

So it is, I think, with our lives.  We endure tough seasons in our lives filled with heartache, despair, disappointment, health issues, relationship issues, financial issues, etc.  Life is hard.  But we can take heart that springtime is on the way.  We just need to hold on, or better, keep holding on to the one who holds us in His Hands.

An hour later I attended church and we sang the great old hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and it was no coincidence that the second verse we sang contains the following line that beautifully illustrates my ruminations about the change of seasons from an hour earlier in the morning:

Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest,

Sun, moon and stars in their courses above,

Join with all nature in manifold witness

To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

“Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!”

  Morning by morning new mercies I see;

All I have needed Thy hand hath provided—

    “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me!

He is Faithful and He'll take care of us throughout the seasons of our life.  Springtime is indeed on its way!

Thanksgiving 2018

Psalm 100 King James Version (KJV)

1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands.

2 Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

3 Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name.

5 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.

I hope that you had a great Thanksgiving and had and opportunity, like we did, to spend it with family, eating great food, enjoying fellowship with those you love, and making memories. 

Baked Turkey Before it was Devoured

We ate entirely too much and then sat around and had great conversation with one another, telling stories and laughing.  Amazingly, these conversations didn't involve cell phones or computers. 

We sat around a fire pit and enjoyed the beautiful weather and then ate again in the evening.  As I write this I am so thankful for a great family, for health, for spending time with people that I love.  I am thankful for salvation through Jesus Christ and for blessings that I do not deserve.

Although our lives are far from perfect, God is so good to us, and we are so thankful!

What Does the Beach Have to Teach?

A couple of weekends ago, we got away for a quick beach vacation two states over from us.  We didn't do anything fancy or luxurious.  We mainly relaxed and enjoyed ourselves away from responsibilities of work as well as life's normal routines. Everyone needs to get away and recharge the batteries for a bit.

Simplicity.  We talk a lot about it back on our little farm, and we talked about it on vacation. Relaxation doesn't have to come with a huge price tag or an agenda full of activities.  To the contrary, all we needed was sand, sounds of the surf, shade from the sun, and a book or two.  The waves continually move forward, swelling...

And then they break, crashing on the shore with a resounding crash that can be heard all the way up to the balcony of our lodging.  Powerful, yet peaceful.

We walked along the beach and picked up a few seashells that were washed up.

Mostly, however, the power of the forces of the waves is displayed by the bits of pulverized shell that accumulate on the beach.

It is hard to look at the expanse of the sea and continuous wave action and ignore the indisputable fact that this bears the signature of the Creator.  In addition to relaxation, the beach has a lot to teach us if we take time to listen.  As Benjamin and I walked along the beach, viewing the waves rushing up on the beach before retreating back, I thought of the following verse:

Job 38:11  New King James Version (NKJV)

When I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther,

And here your proud waves must stop!’

It also brought to mind a favorite song of mine by Nicole C. Mullen, entitled, "I Know My Redeemer Lives."  Here are the lyrics to that song:

Who taught the sun where to stand in the morning?

And who told the ocean you can only come this far?

And who showed the moon where to hide 'til evening?

Whose words alone can catch a falling star?

Well, I know my Redeemer lives

I know my Redeemer lives

All of creation testifies

This life within me cries

I know my Redeemer lives, yeah

The very same God that spins things in orbit

Runs to the weary, the worn and the weak

And the same gentle hands that hold me when I'm broken

They conquered death to bring me victory

Now I know my Redeemer lives

I know my Redeemer lives

Let all creation testify

Let this life within me cry

I know my Redeemer, He lives

To take away my shame

And He lives forever, I'll proclaim

That the payment for my sin

Was the precious life He gave

But now He's alive and there's an empty grave

Relaxing, slowing down the pace, observing nature, gives us an opportunity to see His handiwork and reflect on verses of Scripture like Romans 1:20 that seem to come alive before our very eyes:

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

I hope you had a great Lord's Day.

Something To Chew On

Do you ever go through times in your life where you find yourself in a rut?  Maybe you start comparing your position in life to others around you?  You look at your goals and where you thought you'd be at this particular station in life and you feel like you are running to stand still.  I think most people go through this and it was where I was just the other day.  A pity party, you might call it.

As I walked outside, a friend drove up.  This particular friend has had some serious health issues.  I asked him how he was doing and he said he feels so blessed by God.  He went on to tell me that he grew up in a 24 x 24 home with no interior walls and unfinished on the outside with only tar paper covering the exterior of the home. They had an outhouse in the back and used a 5 gallon bucket for a bathroom inside. He told me that he learned to use a cutting torch at 10 years old as their family collected scrap iron to sell, and he told me how rough his hands were from handling the junk iron, "scrapping."

This man went on to have a successful career, raising a family, putting a son through college and despite problems, he tries to focus on his blessings and not his troubles.  It was as if God had sent him to me with a message that I desperately needed to hear at exactly the time I needed to hear it. I thanked my friend for giving me a glimpse into his tough upbringing at a time that I needed to hear it.

Embarrassingly, I don't always count my blessings of things that God has given me.  Things like a loving wife, my three kids, a supportive Mom & Dad and family, good friends, a loving church family, and the prayers of all of those I mentioned.

We ALWAYS have good food on the table.  In fact, I walked inside the back door and I could smell fresh chanterelle mushrooms that a friend dropped off that he picked in the woods.  He blessed us with the 'shrooms' and we shared some potatoes and peppers with him.  The chanterelles were being sauteed in a cast iron skillet with onions and peppers.
 

Right next to it, I lifted the lid off of the cast enamel dutch oven to find smothered chicken with fresh tomatoes and yellow squash.

We sat down at the table and joined hands and sincerely thanked God for His provision.  We eat like kings and many across the world go to bed hungry.

He is Good.  He is Faithful and True.  His love endures forever.

In everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  1 Thessalonians 5:18

A Miracle In Action

So I can't remember my first experience with planting seeds.  It may have been very early in elementary school a project we had in which we planted a seed in a paper Dixie cup and watched it grow.  I was awestruck.  How could this dead bean swell up, burst the seed coat and send out a root and a crooked sprout that first yielded a cotyledon, followed closely by the unfurling of the first leaf that followed the sun and grew and grew and grew?

I was hooked.  I planted everything I could get my hands on.  I went outside one evening after supper and planted my fruit cocktail.  Seriously.  My Dad is a rice farmer and each night I would empty out his rubber boots, collect the rice that was in them and I would plant that rice in miniature rice fields I had constructed in the back yard, flooding the 'field' and watching the rice grow.  After it began growing, I would pretend farm with my John Deere toy tractors and combines.

We've all heard the story of Jack and the Beanstalk.  In the fairy tale, Jack trades his family's milk cow for some magic beans.  Jack's mother, furious about how poor a negotiator her son was for not coming home with any money, threw the beans on the ground.  Overnight the beans grew and grew and grew.

Truth be told, putting any ordinary seed into the ground and watching it grow is no less magical to me! As I was weeding in the garden this afternoon, I couldn't help but admire the humble bean plant below.  This beautiful bean plant was, just a few days ago, that hard, white, dead lowly bean that you see in the ground in the photo above.  You really can't help in just marveling over the miracle of the seed.

Not only will this seed grow, but it reproduces itself exponentially by creating more seeds - just as the Bible verse says below:

Genesis 1:11 King James Version (KJV)

11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

I'm now 50 years old, but I'm still as awestruck today by the miracle of the lowly seed as I was decades ago when I first watched my bean seed growing in my Dixie cup.  Romans 1:20 tells us that since the beginning of Creation, His attributes, power, and nature, have been clearly seen by what He has made, that we are without excuse.  I believe we can see the power and wonder of God by simply observing the miracle of the seed!

Writing it on Your Barn

4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

5 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.

6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:

7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.

8 And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

9 And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates.

The Shema is a Jewish Prayer and the first part of it is from Deuteronomy 6:4-9. As Christians we see it as a declaration that the LORD is one and that we should love him with all our hearts.  We should keep these words in the forefront of our lives and always on our minds.  It stresses that fact in that we should even write them on our home and gates, so that we are always focusing on them.

On the way to work the other day, I pulled to the side of the road outside of Crowley, Louisiana, to take a picture of a man who took Deuteronomy 4:9 literally:

Almost.  He painted, "GOD IS LOVE" on the side of his barn with the "O" in Love being a heart. While some paint "See Rock City" on their barns, this gentleman made a more meaningful sign on his barn that conveys an encouraging proclamation to the millions that pass by on Interstate 10.

God definitely is Love... and more and more need to experience that love today. Thank you to the barn painter in Crowley that is spreading words of hope.

Giving Thanks - 2016

Thanksgiving.  My favorite holiday.  It seems that the weather is simply perfect. The fragrant aroma of delicious food wafts through the kitchen and even outdoors. And last but not least is family.  It was nice to have Laura Lee in from Baton Rouge, where she teaches school.  And Russ, our senior horticulture major from LSU came in.  It was nice to have the whole family under one roof.  I heard some noises coming from Benjamin's room and they were all in his bed, laughing and enjoying being together.
 

Being together.  That is a recurring theme.  In addition to our five family members, my Mom and Dad, my great aunt, my sister, her husband and her six boys, and my brother and his wife and their chocolate lab, Scout, were in attendance.  As far as the other animals, namely our milk cows, goats, and chickens, they weren't invited. They did require some attention, though.  They don't celebrate Thanksgiving and still require to be milked and fed prior to us enjoying the food and festivities of the day.

Tricia cooked quite a meal and my Mom, sister, and sister-in-law brought all sorts of delicious food. We held hands in a big circle and thanked the Good Lord for all the many blessings in our lives and went around the circle telling things we were each thankful for.  Then we ate and visited and ate some more.  Then we played some games that we enjoyed immensely.  First was a game for the kids - a game to see who was the fastest, so we timed them with smart phones.  It works like this. Each participant has a bowl with 10 M&Ms in it and an empty cut set beside it. They are given a drinking straw that's been cut in half and the object of the game is to suck the M&M up out of the bowl with the drinking straw and transfer it to the cup.  You aren't allowed to use your hands other than the one holding the straw. Everyone, I suppose, is a winner, though, as you are allowed to eat your M&Ms.

Graham & Hayes competing

At the end of the game our two semi-finalists - the two that had the best times, competed against each other to see who the champion M&M sucker was.  The time of the two fastest was only separated by 1/10th of a second.  In the championship round, Hayes obliterated his competition and won handily.

Conner & Russ

Then we played a game for both adults and kids, not to say that the adults couldn't have played the previous game.  We each got a toothpick and separated into two teams.  We lined up and the first person in each line was given a Lifesaver. Without using hands and with the toothpick in your mouth, you had to pass the lifesaver from person to person.  The first team to pass it all the way down the line wins!

Conner to Russ

Depending upon the height of the players, one person has to bend down and reposition in order to pass the lifesaver from person to person.

Russ to Laura Lee

There's lots of excitement as the lifesaver is passed from one person to another.  It is definitely a game in which your personal space is invaded.  Especially after a big Thanksgiving meal, it might be a good idea for everyone to gargle with Scope or at least eat a lifesaver before playing!

Benjamin to Brooks (Bita)

There were no eyes poked out in the game, which was good.  Here dad passes the lifesaver to Mom. Mom would "run the anchor leg," passing the lifesaver to Julee Rae.

Dad to Mom

A friend of Benjamin's dropped by after the meal and games and became the Designated Photographer.  His role was to take the family photo in the backyard. We were able to assemble the entire tribe for the picture.  Even Scout, the chocolate lab took part in the photo shoot.

The whole Family

God has been so good to us.  Our lives are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, and we all have our fair share of struggles, trials, and discouragements, but we are thankful for the LORD, who will not abandon us and a family that won't either!

Are You Lonesome Tonight?

In November 1960 after returning from two years' service in the US Army, Elvis Presley released "Are you Lonesome Tonight," a song that would top the charts and make girls cry.  It was originally written in 1926, but Elvis was able to make the tender ballad into something special.  You'll remember the first part of the song:

Are you lonesome tonight? Do you miss me tonight?
Are you sorry we drifted apart?
Does your memory stray to a brighter sunny day?
When I kissed you and called you sweetheart?

Drifting apart can indeed be a melancholy event for people - and animals, too.  The effects of being alone can be disastrous.  Yesterday afternoon I walked out to the chicken tractor in the pasture to feed and water our growing meat birds and peeked in on them.  They are looking good and they are definitely NOT LONELY!  As a matter of fact, by this weekend, I'll likely open up one end of the chicken tractor and extend the enclosure to allow them to hop out and have more room to stretch out.

A crowd of birds

They're not really 'cooped up' (pardon the pun) too tightly, they just like to bunch up together and enjoy each others' company, I would assume.  They still have some space to move around if they want some personal space.  I would say that for now, it is the perfect amount of space.

A view inside Heartbreak Hotel

As I glanced across the pasture near the chicken tractor, I immediately noticed something out of place.  Tricia had told me about it and I wanted to see firsthand. There was a group of laying hens encircling a white object, pecking on it.  As I walked up on the hens, they scattered exposing the carcass of one of our meat birds!

Winner, winner chicken dinner

Chickens are omnivores, meaning they'll eat vegetables, grain, grass, and meat. Chickens can be cannibalistic.  It's not a pretty thing to talk about or look at, but it's reality.  They will pick the carcass clean if you let them. Protein is protein. 

A foul fowl

How did this murderous carnage occur?  It occurred because the young meat bird left the safety of his enclosure.  Within the chicken tractor he had safety in numbers.  When you are with a large group, you are less likely to be a victim of treachery like this. It's a shame, really.  He had access to feed and water, shade, shelter and comradery of his feathered friends. And yet he left the safety of his home and ventured out alone. As a result of this bird-brained decision, he was isolated from his compatriots and met a quick and inglorious end. Birds of a feather are supposed to flock together, right?  Not run out on their own...

Sometimes we humans can exhibit the same thought process.  We have safety, provisions, and brotherhood and yet we are inclined to leave the protective covering of our family or our God and venture out alone. That's when the Enemy strikes.  By dividing us we become prey - easy pickings for those wishing to do us harm.  The Prodigal Son immediately comes to mind.  Fortunately he came to his senses before it was too late.

Don't get me wrong, being a rugged individualist can be a positive thing.  That mindset played a large role in colonizing this country.  But there should be balance. The Good Lord created us to be relational beings.  That's why it is important to be a member of a family, a close-knit local church, and have good neighbors that help one another out.  In Genesis 2:18 He said, "It is not good for man to be alone."  

Back to the chickens.  They don't have large brains and you can't really blame the bird for his sad demise.  I have to take the blame for this one.  The pasture is uneven.  Depending on the slope of the ground, sometimes there are gaps between the ground and the bottom of the chicken tractor.  Those gaps, if large enough, allow the birds to escape.  I used a brick, some tin, a board and a log to patch up the holes, assuring their safety.  That's a good plan to prevent another event like this from occurring. 

Patching up the hole

And I think that's what we have to do sometimes.  Sometimes when we are tempted by pride, vanity, or stubbornness to 'go it alone' we need to shut the door, not venture out and stay within the confines of our support structure - where a loving God and a caring family can protect us from a cannibalistic culture.  That way, like "The King of Rock 'n Roll" sang, we won't ever have to be sorry we drifted apart.