June and July 2020 Life Update

The last month and a half have been very full. Our family has walked through grief through the loss of my grandfather in June, it has been full of laughter as we have gone over memories, and it has brought a lot of change as we are experiencing many adjustments to life. It's hard. It has caused me to cry out to the Lord in a whole new way. I don't do well with the change and my flesh rebels against the interruption of the "normal" that is surrounding my life right now, but my faith is growing right along with the change and God is good.

Kentucky summers are always hot with high humidity and this season has been no exception with temperatures staying around the mid-90s and humidity percentage about the same! Thankfully we completed our heavy load of spring cattle vaccinating before the main heatwave arrived. Hay season was two weeks ago with cutting, raking, baling and wrapping. I love haying season! The smells, the sunburns (proof of hard work), the hard work, and the joy of a completed task. I didn't get to be involved in hay this year but am still apart in the heart.

Along with the heat though has been an abundance of scrumptious summer veggies and berries and so freezing and fermenting have been playing a big part in my schedule as well. The younger kids have been a huge help and are quite the experts in slicing cucumbers and zucchini. =) Wild blackberries grow in abundance around here and July is peak sweetness time, so we have picked and frozen a lot of berries and I tried my hand at blackberry jam! We have fermented sauerkrat, pickled beets and garlic, frozen zucchini, and yellow squash and have made a LOT of pickles.

My blackberry picking crew

Leah and Joel chopping vegetables

A real treat - an iced coffee!

An evening walk after it had cooled down

                                                                          Blessings!

Little Is Much...

I was texting with a friend about an upcoming event she and I were both going to be apart of. Due to a comment I made in which I had offered my services for whatever was needed of me, she replied, "Little is much when God is in it."

It got me to thinking about the truth of the title of that great hymn; the truth about being apart of the little things. The things no one else notices or thinks about. It's doing the obscure and sometimes what is looked down upon; the "little" roles in life.

When I lose sight of the greater purpose the Lord is working out in my life, I will become discouraged since I have become too focused on the "littleness" of my work. My current work will lose its purpose and thus its enjoyment.

My mother is a heroine. My mom was a top-grade student through grade school and college, she got a degree in marketing and she was apart of groups and organizations. She married a farmer from a prestigious family. 3 years later, she had a baby. Two years later, another, almost 3 years later another and everyone thought she was done. They were disappointed.

There are 8 children in our family. We are homeschooled from preschool through high school. My mom runs the business side of our farm including keeping track of bills, sending invoices, the fun tax work, and all the other areas that keep a farm business organized. She is my dad's helpmeet, never too busy to listen to him or encourage him with a hug (or kiss:). She is attentive to each of her children's needs, never too busy if we need a talk, snuggles, or a "Mom hug."

When I think of my mom, I don't think of her school grades, the organization she was on the board of, or the honors and accolades were given her. I think of her giving me a hug, just making sure I was doing alright. My mom has picked the "little things" to be the most important in her life.

In Matthew 26: 8-10, Jesus spoke about investing in the “little things” when He responded to His disciples rebuking the woman who broke her alabaster jar of ointment for Jesus.

“But when His disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying To what purpose is this waste? For this ointment might have been sold for much, and given to the poor. When Jesus understood it, He said unto them, Why trouble ye the woman? For she hath wrought a good work upon Me.”

Jesus never looks down on what we do with a heart to honor and obey Him, no matter how small. What others see as making a "waste" of life by serving in obscure ways, Jesus sees it as a precious sacrifice and one that glorifies Him For me, choosing the “little things” may be different than yours, but all of us have that choice to make often, even daily.

I challenge you today, are the choices you are making popular or purposeful?