This week was barley harvest.
A local farmer plants some for us, we just need to show up with tractors and wagons (and money…haha) and we’ll have pig feed for the next year.
Barley is fairly difficult to find in our area (it likes cooler/dryer climates overall) so we are thankful for this person to plant some for us.
Barley is fairly difficult to find in our area (it likes cooler/dryer climates overall) so we are thankful for this person to plant some for us.
Since barley is harvested so early (vs corn/soybeans, typically planted in our area and harvested in the fall) he is using the land now to plant cover crops for the purpose of regenerating the soil and keeping it healthy for crops to come. That’s a great thing!
Here are Dad and two of the boys on the trusty Oliver tractor bringing home a load.
What’s in the farm kitchen this week
Garden produce!
Our tomatoes are just starting to get red.
I tell ya…fresh tomatoes taste like sunshine. Summer and sunshine. We ate them fresh and also had tacos.
The ones in this picture are a tiny bit green, but I picked them anyway…worried they’d somehow get bug or bird troubles. The two larger ones sat on the window sill for a couple days.
Yum!!
Also on the “menu” this week were “puppy popsicles”….which are frozen beef bones I brought back from the butcher shop after the harvesting of our steer. Gyp and Willie LOVED them!
Bible inspiration this week
This week I finished up listening to a series of Bible studies on the book of Philippians.
This verse below struck me as particularly memorable.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:19
Did you know that it is not God’s will that we are happy all the time?
So this also means that when we are having miserable, grumpy, troublesome days, that this is completely normal and and that you’re not “weird”.
We live in a world where it seems that every self help book or ad selling something is telling us that we need to be happy all the time and in order to do that we need to do this, buy that, get that job, etc. Along with that, there seems to always be the message that if you’re struggling with something, you’re not doing something right and it’s all your fault.
I don’t know about you, but I find it incredibly anxiety-ridding to be reminded that ultimate happiness will never happen on earth.
And that’s completely ok.
And completely normal.
And we aren’t doing anything wrong if things aren’t perfect 100% of the time.
So what’s the big picture?
Everything that happens to you is “according to the riches of his glory”.
Life’s highs and lows and in-betweens are all managed by our Lord “who who wants all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4).
We are all part of an enormous picture that started to be painted at the beginning of time and will continue to be painted until the end of time, centered around Jesus and salvation and an eternal hope of heaven for all who believe.
Encouraging you to put Jesus at the center of your life and be confident in his amazing grace on good days and not so good days.
