Monthly Archives: June 2011

An afternoon at the farm

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Last Monday was beautiful weather, so we bicycled to a friend’s farm hoping we could “be helpful”.  After spending some time nailing floor mats to the barn floor, I got to join the haying crew with Mr. T.

Raking A man out standing in his field

It is such a blessing to work with a godly man.

As we were raking, we saw a coyote.

Northeastern Coyote posing Coyote heading off into the woods

I think he was looking for mice or moles that couldn’t hide anymore in the tall grass.  

A hay wagon in the sunset.

hay in the sunset farm scenery

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.”

Father’s Day

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I am so grateful for all that my father has done for us through the years.  

A few weeks ago, I was asked to give a Father’s Day message at a nursing home.  Thanks to the research I did, I have become even more grateful for my father.  His godliness, leadership, training, and prayers have been a guide, an example, and a model to me.

After researching what were the Biblical duties of a father, I went through my outline a second time, this time researching how God fulfilled those duties.  Guess what?  He did it perfectly!

Here is the rough outline for my Father’s Day sermon, though I doubt anyone will actually read through the whole thing:

  • Duties of a good father
    1. Provision  – 1 Timothy 5:8
      1. Physical – Genesis 3:19
      2. Spiritual – Mark 8:36
        1. Love
        2. Listen, spend time
        3. Example (OT – “He walked in the ways of his father.”)
        4. Love wife – the first duty of fatherhood
        5. Leadership – father is the authority in family
    2. Protection
      1. Reduce exposure to evil – Romans 16:19, Jeremiah 10:2
      2. Train, teach
        1. God’s Word – Deuteronomy 6:6-7, Ephesians 6:4, Judges 2:10
        2. Discipline – Proverbs 22:15, Proverbs 29:15,
          1. set boundaries and guidelines
          2. “many people have been raised in the last few generations who doubt the reality of God’s eternal punishment. They have been raised by parents who threatened, but did not consistently carry through.” – Richard Fugate, in his book, What the Bible Says about Child Training
    3. Prayer – Job 1:5 , Paul “not cease to pray”, James 5:16
  • The Perfect Father – our Heavenly Father
    1. Provision
      1. Physical – Luke 12:28, Matthew 10:29-31
      2. Spiritual – Luke 11:13
        1. Love – John 3:16, 1 John 3.1
        2. Listen, spend time – 1 John 5:14-15
        3. Example – 1 Peter 2:21
        4. Love wife – Ephesians 5:25
        5. Leadership
    2. Protection
      1. Reduce exposure to evil – 2 Thessalonians 3:3
      2. Train, teach – Psalm 32:8
      3. Discipline – Proverbs 3:12
        1. set boundaries and guidelines
        2. God’s eternal punishment
    3. Prayer – Hebrews 7:25

    In addition to this message, each of us guys shared something that we appreciated about Daddy.  I am so blessed to have a father who, though not perfect, has fulfilled every one of the duties of a godly father.  Thank you, Daddy.

    An anniversary get-away

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       For our 31st anniversary this year, we were blessed to be able to go camping in the White Mountains for a few days.  Thank you to all at home who “held the fort” and looked after younger ones while we were gone!

    While there, we did a number of small hikes to some very pretty waterfalls.

     

    One of many pretty waterfalls

       We also did two longer hikes, each 6-7 miles with 2500-2700 feet of vertical ascent.  The first was over two peaks (Mount Jackson and Mount Webster) and the other was a hike up Mount Eisenhower.  The trail up Mount Eisenhower was well maintained thanks to the work of a dedicated man, J. Rayner Edmands, who in the early 1900’s did much work to make the path pleasant to hike, so there was much less “scrambling” up boulders and steep spots than on many longer trails.

     

    From Mount Webster                     From Mount Eisenhower

     

    scrambling up a steep, rocky section of a trail

     

    stream through mossy rocks                       Mount Washington Hotel

     

    We are thankful that the Lord allowed us this special time together to enjoy His beautiful creation!

    For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.  Isaiah 55:12

    Gardening

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       After an uncharacteristically rainy spring, summer is finally setting in. Some years we have planted as early as late May, but this year we were glad that the rain prevented such an early start. The morning of June 4th, we awoke to a very light frost. The young plants probably would have been alright outdoors, but we didn’t want to take any risks. From then on, the weather promised to get warmer and warmer, so that afternoon we went out to plant. Preparations done the previous day made the task an easy one.

    talking while working

       Many things such as tomatoes, peppers, watermelons, pumpkins, okra (Jonathan’s unusual plant this year), onions, a few cucumbers, and even corn had been started indoors to give them enough time to grow to maturity.  These are Sarah’s cucumber plants awaiting planting outdoors.

    cucumber plants

       When we first moved to this house, the “soil” in our garden was primarily clay and rock, however, with many years of patient working it, adding compost, manure, peat moss, and sand, it has become much more workable.  Though at times it is tempting to complain about the quality of the soil, I am grateful that we can at least have a garden. The rocks, clay, and persistent weeds (the manifestation in nature of the curse) are a good reminder of both God’s justice and His mercy.

    planting planting

       And just a couple bonus pictures of the summer flowers…

     

    lilacs an iris