Spring Devotional - His Fulness

"Mine eyes fail with looking upward." Isaiah 38:14

"Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed. My soul is also sore vexed: but Thou, O Lord, how long?" Psalm 6:2-3

"My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest." Psalm 55:4-6

And I answered and said,

"...of His fulness have all we received, and grace for grace." John 1:16

"For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9

"For it pleased the Father that in Him (Jesus) should all fulness dwell..." Colossians 1:19

"And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God." Ephesians 3:19

"And (God) hath put all things under His (Jesus) feet, and gave Him to be the Head over all things to the Church, which is His body, the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." Ephesians 1:22-23

Because of WHO He is, I can KNOW what I have. 

For once I was empty, but now I am filled. And not with vain things to profit nothing and satisfy not, but with the fullness of Christ have I received and been filled with, being that I am IN CHRIST! Oh, glorious truth! May I walk my day, conscious of what fullness and grace I have received from my Lord. 

Today, I am filled with all the fullness of God, according to my sonship in the Father, and according to the grace bestowed upon me. 

Family Life - January & February

 Hello to all my readers! I apologize to all of you for my recent neglect of this corner of my world. How is it that we are already facing the latter half of March?!? Where have the weeks gone? I hope they have been sweet and productive weeks though, and I am sure that many of you agree with me when I say that I am excited to welcome a beautiful spring! Spring is my favorite season (closely followed by fall) and it is lovely every year. Isn't it wonderful the Lord created His children to continually enjoy the beauty of new life? We never get weary of seeing trees bud at the beginning of each spring, hearing birds chirping, the warmth of the sunshine, new grass shooting up, and in my world, baby calves testing out their legs and racing each other around the fields. What a loving Lord we have Who left us, even in the sin-stricken world, such beauty in creation and allowed us to experience the utmost joy in observing the sweetness of spring. Who is so amazing as our God (Psalm 77:13)?

Here is a glimpse of what the tail end of winter looked like in the Smith home and on Heritage Family Farm...

Isn't she a sweet Peach?

An amazing, faithful farm crew doing evening chores.

In mid-January, a winter storm hit pretty hard. Temperatures dropped
after rain moved through and we received more inches  
of snow than was predicted. Thankful for the safety for the cattle
and crew we, once again, received from the Lord.  

As difficult as winter storms are, they are also some really sweet
memory-making times. Here Olivia, Hope, a friend, and I are,
all bundled up and preparing to bag feed to take out to the individual
fields of cattle to give them an extra boost during the frigid temperatures. 

Emma was due with Baby #2 on January 27th, but Baby was in no
hurry to make his appearance and postponed his arrival until almost
2 weeks after his expected date! Mom and I ended up going down several
days before he arrived to give a hand with James' care and allow Emma to 
get some extra rest before the birth.

I am working on polishing my photography skills and took advantage
of an available model.

Baby #2's arrival went so much faster than James' birth. Emma began
contractions and worked to keep them active throughout the rest
of the day. They left for the birthing center around midnight (I 
followed as soon as care had arrived to stay with James) and Baby Caleb
arrived right at 6am!

I reveled in the joy of caring for James.

Right after returning home from North Carolina, I took off again
to help my cousin represent a ministry at a church event. My cousin
recently stepped into the role as executive director of Speak for the Unborn, 
a pro-life ministry intent on equipping churches and individuals to clearly 
present the gospel to those of a pro-choice mindset as well as those who 
are contemplating an abortion.

That is a summary in pictures. Other parts of the month I spent cleaning out my grandmother's house as we are preparing to sell it. It can be a challenge as I tackle the large task of sorting, organizing, distributing, and removing, and it is also a bitter realization at times as I take apart the house where so many memories originate. There is something uniquely special about a grandparent's house, is there not? Many changes in our family in the last several months, but I am thankful for a Father Who does not change and Who has promised,

"The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works." Psalm 145:17

Family Life - November & December

If I do not post about November and December soon, I will have to add January to it, and mixing years does not bode well for my strong organizational (I won't say OCD) side! =) Both months were full. There were good days of farm work, laughter, traveling, and holiday celebrations. There were also some emotional moments as we continued to grieve the loss of Aunt Karen, went through the first holidays without her, and I began to clean out and pack up Grandma's house in preparation to sell. And yet, is God still good? Yes. Is He still bigger? Yes. Nothing changes that and never will. 

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or prosecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword...Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

In November, Caden was making a trip down to North Carolina, and 
I took advantage of the free transportation and visited with Emma, Stephen,
and James for a few days. Love this little guy so much! 

While out there, I took some family maternity pictures for them.

The face says it all! After throwing a fit in a store, James and Aunt Madeline
retreated to the car to allow his momma to finish shopping. 

Hope, Leah, and Joel doing some work in the tractor. There is nothing 
like working together to bond siblings!

Mom, Ella, and I flew to Kansas to visit Grandma the week before Christmas.

We took Grandma to Walmart to pick out supplies for her gifts to her
caretakers.

We worked on addressing Grandma's Christmas cards to send out...

...and played lots of games.

While in Kansas, I was able to slip off to meet up with my dear friend
and her family for a few hours. I have such a precious friend in Emily,
she faithfully supports, loves, prays, and cheers me on in this season of life. 

Even amid this season of heightened emotion in the loss of Aunt Karen,
we still had a wonderful Christmas celebration with our cousins. 
We got an Airbnb and all of us "kids" spent the night together, played
games, watched a movie, and had a big pancake breakfast.

So, we said farewell to 2023 and greeted 2024. 
May it be a year of glory to the Lord.

Not As The World Giveth

Two summers ago, while I was coming to the end of a several-day stint working for a local ice cream store at the Kentucky State Fair, I began to sense my heart becoming desirous of the popularity and the allurement of the world I had watched swirl around me all week. I watched blond beauties pass by in their worldly and sexy clothing. I saw official people walk around, dressed in monogrammed shirts and business attire, looking very put-together and professional. Then I looked at myself in the mirror, dressed in a denim skirt and a t-shirt with my hair pulled back, and contrasted the differences. I found my heart lacking contentment in the Lord and my flesh longing for the “peace” that comes from the exposure of the body to gain attention, the affection of a boyfriend, and being popular with others to receive affirmation.

Then it hit me.

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27

When it is all sifted down, social popularity, sexually enticing beauty, the wealth that is manifested in dollars and cents, that is all the peace the world has to offer and it is all as a mist that passes away when the sun rises. There is nothing trustworthy, nothing eternal, nothing that holds hope. What is it that we have with the peace of Christ? Eternal security in Jesus, the guidance of the Holy Spirit, fellowship with other believers in the Spirit, rest in the sovereignty of God, acceptance in the Beloved, and the list goes on and on. So would I trade all that and more to be viewed as sexy, to be popular among “the right people”? No indeed! The peace of Christ is the better part. It shall not be taken from me or you (Luke 10:42). Let us dwell in that peace, refusing self-pity absolutely and asking the Lord to enrich our hearts with the peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). That promise is tangible and active, and offered to each of us. Grasp it with both hands and delight in the peace of Jesus Christ.

“Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.” Isaiah 26:3

Grasping With Both Hands

    Back in October, I began studying through the book of Colossians, taking a section or perhaps just a verse per day, and breaking it apart, desiring to be a better "miner" of the Word, not just a reader. As part of my Bible Study, I enjoy looking up the Greek meanings of words or phrases in the section I am reading (I could not more strongly encourage the acquiring of a Strong's Concordance), as well as taking those definitions and creating paraphrases of the passage using the Greek definitions to give greater understanding and depth to the passage. 

I arrived at Colossians 1:11 one morning, 

"Strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness..." 

Madeline's paraphrase: "Enabled with miraculous power, according to the glorious power of Christ, which is without limit, unto all cheerful endurance and forbearance with calm delight." 

"According to His glorious power" struck me that morning as I thought about Christ's marvelous power...that has NO limits! What manifold riches we have in Christ...but too often sorely neglect accessing. Ephesians 1 lists so many heavenly blessings we have in Christ and the scriptures are full of the rich promises that we have in Jesus as His children and as saints, but do I take full advantage of them? Too often, in my Christian walk, I have found myself seeking after earthly pleasures to satisfy a void in my heart, when Jesus Christ sits with all the fullness of the Godhead, desiring for me to access the manifold graces of my Lord. 

"The End of a Coil", by Susan Warner, accounts the struggles of Dolly Copley to live a life pleasing to the Lord amidst family challenges. At one point in the book, after a specifically arduous trial, she is found by a friend, a non-Christian young man, with her Bible open, receiving from it what comfort scripture offers. 

"Does that help?" said he, glancing at the book in Dolly's lap. 

"This?" said Dolly. "What other help in the world is there?" 

"Friends?" suggested Rupert. 

"Yes, you were a great help last night," Dolly said slowly. "But there come times—and things—when friends cannot do anything." 

"And then—what does the book do?" 

"The book?" Dolly repeated again. "O Rupert! it tells of the Friend that can do everything!" Her eyes flushed with tears and she clasped her hands as she spoke. 

"What?" said Rupert; for her action was eloquent, and he was curious; and besides he liked to make her talk. 

Dolly looked at him and saw that the question was serious. She opened her book. "Listen. 'Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.'" 

"That makes pretty close work of it. Can you get hold of that rope? and how much strain will it bear?" 

"I believe it will bear anything," said Dolly slowly and thoughtfully; "if one takes hold with both hands. I guess the trouble with me is, that I only take hold with one." 

"What do you do with the other hand?" 

"Stretch it out towards something else, I suppose. For, see here, Rupert;—'Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee; because he trusteth in Thee.'—I am just ashamed of myself!" said Dolly, breaking down and bursting into tears. 

"What for?" said Rupert. 

"Because I do not trust so." 

"I should think it would be very difficult." 

"It ought not to be difficult to trust a friend whose truth you know. There! That has done me good," said the girl, sitting up and brushing away the tears.

I would suggest that we all can relate to the weakness that Dolly expresses. Oh, that we too would grasp "with both hands" to the abounding promises of Christ, not with wavering trust or with "only one hand", but with complete and absolute confidence in the character, and thus the promises of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Would we not dwell "outside the palace", eating what we can beg when there is a room in the castle reserved for us with riches and gifts beyond understanding. 

"I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." Psalm 27:13-14

"The Lord preserveth the simple: I was brought low, and He helped me." Psalm 116:6

 His "glorious power" holds strong, it is a sure and steady rope to grasp.

Family Life - August, September and October

 Ahhhh. Here it is, the middle of November, and we are staring Thanksgiving down in just a week! August and September were busy months, and I fully intended to do a family life update at the beginning of October to recount the rest of the summer, but with the passing of my aunt in October and all the ensuing travel and needs, blogging was driven from my mind and schedule.  

However...here is August, September, and because I am late, October.

In early August, Mom, Aunt Karen, and Uncle Tom drove Grandma out
to Wichita, Kansas where an Alzheimer's treatment clinic is located. 
While her parents were out of town, Kate came and stayed with us 
for a few days. It was a joy and delight to have her with us! The picture 
is a poor one and we look bleary-eyed with rough-looking hair,
but the hour was early as we headed out to sort and work some cattle.

That afternoon, we loaded up and headed down to the creek for 
water fun! Peaches and Kip are almost always ready to follow
us on any adventure and they were a joyful addition to the excursion.

Who just keeps being a cutie? I am thankful for the pictures and
FaceTime enables us to be a part of James' life, even at the
the physical distance we are apart.

In mid-August, Mom and I drove up to Iowa to attend Testify Training 

Camp. TTC is an event planned to help train and encourage being better 

equipped to share the gospel with clarity and comfortability. We had 

 practical and enjoyable sessions and then hands-on application at the Iowa 

State Fair. Mom and I both were blessed by the training as well as the fellowship. 

Such a beautiful girl!

In September, Caden and I took a brother-sister road trip to 
South Dakota to an event out there.

Having never been that far west before, the scenery was enjoyed
by both of us, but honestly, I do not wish to spend a winter out there. =)

Applesauce! After making and canning over 50 quarts, I admit
that I am rather sick of apples, but thankful for the productivity 
and the long supply over the next year.

Mom and Hope made a trip out to Kansas to visit Grandma.

In late September, I made a trip up to Louisville to spend some girl time
with Katie while Matthew was out of town. Their cat joined me for my
morning devotions

I am so thankful for this gal! It is more like having a sister-in-law
than a cousin-in-law. God gave me such a sweet gift in her.

September 29th, found me traveling south for a prison ministry trip. 
It was a blessed week with the Lord teaching me as well as many of 
of the women who attended.

Prison Ministry Trip Women's Team
October 2023

As my birthday was two days after the passing of Aunt Karen, we
postponed any celebration, but Leah was such a dear and made me
a mini cake. Love you, Leah!

With Emma, Stephen, and James coming into town for the 
funeral arrangements, it was a sadly sweet opportunity to 
spend that time with James. 

October finished with the 6 of us out in a cold October rain searching
for a lost baby calf. It was such a miracle finding her the way we did.
Such an answer to prayer! I am so thankful for this crew and I love 
being an older sister!