Romans Chapter One Part Two

It has been some time since my last installment of this study through Romans. With so few comments, I figured that no one was interested. Wife and I continued to study through the scripture at three chapters a day, taking a test at the completion of every book to assist in our retention. We had found a Bible trivia book with the questions divided by the books of the Bible. After testing and reading the answers, we would go over the questions and references together. This proved valuable not only for our edification but also because we found many incorrect answers in the answer key and some incorrect questions. Between this and other studies, the publishing of my notes seemed less than profitable. But recently as we drew our through the Bible study to a close, I discovered how to check page view statistics as opposed to relying on notes and it turns out that the Romans post was the number one viewed post even after it had fallen from the front page. So as a test of whether it was just a fluke here are the rest of my notes from Romans chapter 1. Whether they will be followed by Romans chapter 2 will depend on the response.

(06/03/10) Rom. 1:11-12
It speaks here of imparting a spiritual gift. Perhaps he is speaking of confirming that which seems to be present in them on an individual basis, but as we see with Timothy, gifts of the spirit may be given with the anointing and laying on of hands of the eldership. Either way, I find the purpose of spiritual gifts of more interest than the way in which they were obtained or imparted. At the end of verse 11, Paul says, “so that you may be established.” While at times it has been overemphasized, the importance of knowing your place in the body of Christ cannot be denied. We feel useless and without purpose, wondering what it is God desires of us- missionary, preacher, funding and support? One thing I knew long ago is that God desires more from each one of us than to faithfully sit down on Sunday morning. As James says, our faith is an active faith; without action our faith is dead. But, how shall we act? Shall we try our hand in every avenue until we find out which one we’re best suited for? Shall we grow stale and stagnant waiting for our opportunity to present itself? In any case, every stone must be laid on the sure foundation. Until your foundation is sure in the doctrine of Christ, you will not be suitable to be placed. Many of us may feel like the bricks are piled in the temple awaiting placement. If that is so, perhaps the only thing to do is to ask the master builder about the place He has set for us. Not yet established, I find the waiting difficult. Paul also addresses the benefit of knowing ones place. It is for mutual encouragement and edification. Sadly, many times today, we have the desire to be greatly esteemed rather than the desire to do God’s will. But which is more essential to a battle, the general that divides the forces, or the blacksmith that sharpens the swords? The one is of greater esteem. Unless both commit themselves to the perfection of their craft, the battle is lost. Prominence does not equal importance. Just as a painter with great hand eye coordination would accomplish little without a properly functioning stomach, even so the body of Christ is crippled when members fail to fill their roles. But when we work together, with an understanding to fill our role to the best of our ability, regardless of position, there is great reward.
Rom. 1:13
Paul assures them that he has cared for them from their inception; however, for a yet undisclosed reason he was hindered but is now on his way. What a joy to finally be on the way that God has long ago set you! Some missionaries are told years in advance that they are going somewhere. Many brothers express their doubt if your departure is not immediate. It is important that we that are sent do not allow ourselves to be discouraged. If God has told us where we are going, we need to take the time He has given us to prepare.
Rom. 1:14-15
As he says here, Paul in his ministry thus far has set the example to cross every cultural and physical barrier. There is no partiality with God for where you grew up or how rich or educated you were. The only thing that matters on judgment day is “are your sins cleansed by the blood of Christ?” Now I have heard it said that when Paul is speaking of being a debtor here, he is speaking of “paying forward” (as opposed to “paying back”) his eternal debt to Christ. But my initial understanding was from purely the physical aspect in that Paul also took his sustenance from those he taught and in that way he was in their debt. But, as Christ said the worker is worthy. His hosts may even have been so hospitable as to send him on his way with provision. It is a sad truth that many, if not most, unbelievers are more hospitable than the pillars of the faith today. Hospitality is not paying for someone’s hotel or giving them money; it is taking them into your home and sharing life with them. If you are too private to be hospitable, maybe you’re hiding something you ought to be expelling.
Rom. 1:16-17
Verse 16 is pretty self-explanatory, but to build on it, verse 17 goes on to say, “For in the gospel of Christ the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith.” One must have faith to understand justice. It is unreasonable to our human minds that justice can be served if the offender is not the one to pay the debt. Therefore, without faith on both parties, the gospel cannot be effectively communicated. The words of the faithful may only begin to stir the mind of those who reject until enough faith has grown that the words may be established. It is then that the gospel can be communicated from the faith of the believer to the faith of the seeker. Thus, from faith to faith.

Again feel free to leave a comment, on or off topic, and if you would like me to continue to publish my notes, leave a note to that effect in the comment box or simply make your opinion known on the Romans study pole, but remember no vote is a “no” vote.

How well do you know the story of Jesus’ birth?

Recently, some friends loaned us a copy of the book “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels” by Kenneth E. Bailey. The author focuses on helping the western world understand some things about the Gospels that would be fairly obvious to someone from the middle east, but completely hidden to us. We have found it fascinating so far and wanted to share some highlights from chapter one to hopefully fascinate all of you as well (or at least give you something to read while you are on break).

As our title states, chapter one is about the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ birth. Bailey opens with an engaging line of thought, “Have the centuries added meanings to our understanding of the text that are not there? A diamond ring is admired and worn with pride, but with the passing of time, it needs to be taken to a jeweler to be cleaned to restore its original brilliance. The more the ring is worn, the greater the need for occasional cleaning. The more familiar we are with a Bible story, the more difficult it is to view it outside of the way it has always been understood. And the longer imprecision in the tradition remains unchallenged, the deeper it becomes embedded in Christian consciousness.” The birth of Jesus is such an account.

So, what are some of the concepts that may need a little cleaning?
1) Most homes in Bethlehem would have been open to Joseph, provided they had the space, due to his lineage. Not only was his family from Bethlehem, he was in the royal family (distantly of course). Extended family ties are strong and memories long in that part of the world. To turn away a descendant of David in the “City of David” would have been an unspeakable shame.
2) Due to Mary’s obvious pregnant condition, help would have been more readily available. Such communities do a really good job of taking care of expectant mothers.
3) Time allowing, if Mary and Joseph could not find anywhere in Bethlehem to stay, they could have gone the short distance to her cousin Elizabeth’s house and lodged there. How long were they in Bethlehem before Jesus was born anyway?
4) Joseph probably had ample time to find a place for his family to stay. Most dramas of Christ’s birth show Mary delivering the night they arrived in Bethlehem, but God’s Word says in Luke 2:6, “While they were there the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.” Sounds like they had time to settle in before the big event.

About this time, it is important to ask where we got the idea that Joseph and Mary arrived in Bethlehem late one night with Mary doubled over in intense labor pain, only to deliver Jesus a short while later in a cave with the animals. It turns out that about 200 years after the birth of Christ an anonymous Christian wrote a novel called “The Protoevangelium of James,” in which he expanded a bit on the details given in Scipture to provide a “fuller” picture of Jesus’ birth. The problem? This person apparently was not Jewish nor was he familiar with Jewish geography or customs. Among other things, the author of this book has Mary and Joseph traveling through the desert (in reality they traveled through rich farmland) with Mary in labor. She delivers in a cave just outside Bethlehem.

Probably the most fascinating part of the chapter for us though was the description of a typical peasant house in Bethlehem. The house was basically one large room where all of the families activities would take place. Off to one side or above the main house, there was usually another room, confusingly translated “the inn”, where guests were welcome to stay. The word used (katalyma) actually means place to stay as opposed to another word that would have been used for a commercial inn (pandocheion) a compound word meaning “all” and “to receive” or “anybody welcome”. Luke was clearly intentional in his use of these words in his gospel as we see pandocheion used in the parable of the good Samaritan, clearly referring to a commercial inn, and katalyma used when referring to the upper room of a man’s house in which Jesus ate the last supper with His deciples. Off to the other side of the house there would be a step down into what was referred to as the stable. This is where the animals would spend the night, both for their warmth and safety and that of the family. Next to the stable area in the main family room were one or two dug out areas in the floor. These were the mangers, where the feed for the animals would go. It fits naturally that a regular peasant family of Bethlehem, seeing Mary and Joseph in need but having already filled their guest room, invited the young couple into their family living space. While there, Mary’s due date came and she delivered Jesus, probably with the help of the women of the house and the local midwife, and laid him in the manger.





Another note of interest has to do with the shepherds. Shepherds were not high class citizens in Jewish society. When the angel gave them the good news, they were fearful until the angel mentioned that they would find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger, exactly like their children would be! They ran off to find him. Upon finding Him, if He were really in a cave with the animals, their Jewish hospitality instincts would have kicked in and they would have invited the family home to their own simple peasant houses. They did not, instead they left happily. Again, it would have been shameful for them not to extend hospitality to the family if they had better to offer. They did not offer so we can assume that what Mary, Joseph and Jesus already had was as good as anything they could offer. Another supporting note is that Matthew says the wise men came to the house where Jesus was. Most of us were taught that after the birth Joseph found better lodging for the family and they moved before the wise men arrived. Perhaps it is more plausible that they were in a house to begin with.

We are still reading through Chapter 2, so we cannot wholeheartedly recommend the whole book. But the first chapter was great and we look forward to reading the rest. Hope you’ve enjoyed our book report!
My Family
Parents Speaking

Fall at the Property

The turning of the leaves is so beautiful; we just had to share!

That's Right Folks...

We are expecting another little family member somewhere on or near June 16, 2011!!! We have been suspecting for a while, since mama has had more heartburn, airheadedness/forgetfulness, and need for food and water than normal. So, this morning we were able to test and find out. I love seeing those two little lines! :) You can always see how far along I am, how big the baby is, and what the baby is doing in his or her development by looking at the timeline on the top of our blog. It updates automatically and shows the size of the baby compared to various food items. Right now the baby is approximately the size of a large poppy seed. Enjoy! Please be praying with us for a healthy baby and a healthy pregnancy. May the Lord be with you all,
My Family
Wife Speaking rather excitedly (it's 4:30 in the morning and my wonderful husband encouraged me not to call and wake up all of our west coast famiy.... so I had to blog!)

Lifestyle Changes Aplenty

Since our last update, we have seen Wife's parents come and go in a whirlwind visit that, though wonderful, was just too short! We all had a great time together. We also accomplished quite a bit. I think my parents had to go home to recover! Dad was terrific and installed a solar panel system. Which means - woohoo! We have power! Yes folks, we can now run our small electric appliances indoors. We are truly blessed to have wonderful parents. We also got the woodstove in working order thanks to mom and dad. This came in handy with a few nights where the lows were in the mid to upper 30's.

And just as we got the house winter ready we found out that we had been approved as houseparents at the maternity home / pregnancy help center we have been involved with. We moved in last night (we still maintain our real home and will go there on our off days). Our first resident arrived today and is currently settling in to her new surroundings. We would appreciate your prayers for the grace of God to sustain us through this time and figure out all of the ins and outs of this position.

Just today we were told the horrifying news that a friend of a daughter in law of a friend aborted her eight month old baby while her husband was out of town. everyone is devastated, most of all the husband who was very much looking forward to holding his little girl. The world truly is growing colder and more reprobate. We need to work now while we still can. My heart was grieved and my stomach churned at the realization once again of the horrors done in this country in the name of choice. Do you realize that at 24 weeks 90% of babies will survive with medical care? By eight months the odds are even better. All a baby does that last month is get chubby! I don't understand how people can murder an innocent like that and not think anything of it. Sorry for the rant...

Well, I suppose that is all for now. See you later!
My Family
Wife speaking

Long Awaited Update

I just realized how long it has been since we added anything to the blog. Since our last post, we have been very busy with the local Pregnancy Help Centers>. We are preparing for our upcoming Walk for Life (an annual fundraiser) and getting more involved in the day to day operations. We are preparing for Wife's parents (and hopefully sister) to visit next week and our PS133 friends are moving away tomorrow. It has been quite a month.

Hopefully we will post more sometime soon. For now, we are enjoying a little time together as a family in the cooler weather before the winter weather settles in. And, Praise the Lord, we have begun installing the windows in our home. We have already noticed a temperature change at night with the windows shut, and we still have a couple to go.

Bye for now,
Wife Speaking

Guinea Pictures

We purchased seven different varieties of guinea fowl. Each variety has distinct markings that help you identify them as keets (babies). This little one should be a royal purple. Royal purples are very dark and black in color with a purple shine. They have irregular dotting and barring in their flank area. THey show their color best in full sun.







Chocolate...they will be dark brown with a few dots and bars in the flank area.

Brown...dark brown with white dots.

coral blue...medium blue with darker coral blue on the neck, chest and back. A few dots and bars in the flank.










This one is pied, which means it will look somewhat like a penguin.

brown







violet
A dusty black with a purple shee. THey show their color best on a cloudy day or when the sun is at your back while looking at them. THey are a solid color.

chocolate

pied

i really like the pied ones :)

These are a bit outdated. The birds were 3 days old at the time. Now they have fully feathered wings and fly all around their "coop" (an old camper shell).

The Guineas Have Arrived!

Finally, after a few months of waiting, the guinea fowl we ordered are here. 31 made it here alive and we still have 28. Three died in one day of unknown causes (we were not home... it looks like they got trampled in a guinea pile). Everyone else looks healthy, though there are about 4 that are much smaller than the rest. THey are getting bigger and growing their wing feathers. With these feathers they are also starting to flap around in their box. THe girls love to watch them and play with them, though they do need CONSTANT supervision, for the safety of the birds.

Meanwhile, we have been busy. We helped orchestrate a Vacation Bible School last week. It was enjoyed by an average of 15 kids per night. We also have begun working with the local Pregnancy Help Center and would appreciate prayers for this ministry, our part in it, the other volunteers, the young pregnant woman who lives at the center and the upcoming Walk 4 Life (annual fundraiser).

We have pictures. i'll send them soon. :)

Those Funny Little Things Kids Say (And Do!)! And a family update....

Recently the girls have been entertaining us with some of their antics. Hopefully, I remember all the ones I wanted to post.

McGee, while "reading" her new children's dictionary, "The Lord says, 'Get out of their guy! Get out of the kitchen! That is where the wife lives!'" The picture on the page at the time was a guy in a workshop, that apparently reminded McGee of a kitchen.

Bernard has taken to climbing up to their library and out onto the stairs if left alone for a second. She is living up to her middle name!!!

The other day Mama was having attitude issues and was rather grumpy with McGee. She sweetly turned to me and said, "Mama, you need to have a better attitude. God wants us to have good attitudes." How right she was! It is precious to have your child remind you to live what you preach. Mama's attitude did improve after this.

I'm sure there was more, but it will have to wait since I have forgotten!

Meanwhile, we are praising the Lord for His provision! Husband got a job working in the produce section at our local Walmart! His first week on the job we were blessed with unusually cool weather so the girls and I could accomplish some of our work at home.

Another recent blessing was a day of wonderful fellowship at the home of some of our friends. There was quite the crowd for the 4th of July festivities - 8 adults and 15 children, combined with three hours of fireworks, tons of food and some great music (played by many of the children and a few parents). The girls had a wonderful time running and playing for hours.

Well, that's all for now! Thanks for tuning in.

My Family
(Wife Speaking)

Bible Study Forum - Romans 1 and Intro

Just prior to leaving Arizona the wife and I decided we needed to study together more. We chose a section of scripture we are both shamefully poor on, the epistles. And what better place to start than with the first one? We immediately started in on Romans 1 about a month after deciding to do so, since then we have been consistent in studying together one day in a month’s time. We wanted to study daily together but it seems that with children and other responsibilities our energy was quite spent and the day drew to a close before affording us the opportunity. The few days we have studied was due to the inability of one of us to wait for the other and usually me keeping wife awake with a rambling exposition of the next verse. Knowing this study time to be of the utmost importance I will endeavor to streamline our activities and place this in a priority position. After all as the priest of the home my wife and children are my first priority in discipleship among other areas. We decided early on to take notes through our study and the wife has recently encouraged me to publish them so that others may be encouraged and edified as we have been. To all who care to read this, feel free to leave notes and pull in scriptures on or off subject. Many of you likely will have already known what we find and see this as elementary explorations, our intent is that this can be yet another venue for iron to sharpen iron. So pardon the informality from here on out these type of posts will mostly consist of our personal notes.

3-14-10
Romans 1:1 We see Paul introduced as a bondservant of Jesus Christ. A bondservant is not his own man. He was bought at a price and his will has no bearing on his course of action. Rather his actions are determined by the will of his master. Paul was specifically chosen, while yet a sinner, to be Christ’s apostle to the gentiles. “Separated to the gospel of God,” not “for” as though the gospel had a benefit in Paul’s service, but “to,” as in Paul was to be cultivated in close contact with the gospel that he may become the express image and embodiment of that which it sets forth.

Romans 1:2 Reveals that the entire redemption plan was thought out and foretold by the prophets to whom God revealed it, which we have preserved for us in the Old Testament Scriptures.

Romans 1:3 The central focalpoint of the foretold redemption plan was the messiah, Jesus Christ, our Lord. (As Paul is primarily concerned with the will of his master, so ought we to be, as our Master and position under Him are the same as Paul’s, though our chosen purpose may be different.) And, as foretold, Jesus was born in the lineage of David, according to the flesh, establishing His right to the throne of Israel.

Romans 1:4 And declared beyond contestation to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead by the power of the Spirit of holiness.

4-12-10
Romans 1:5 Are grace and apostleship given because of one’s obedience to the faith or to promote obedience to the faith? Either way, the characteristics of a fully discipled individual include obedience and being non-discriminatory in regards to nationality.

Romans 1:6 Paul here touches on the purpose of apostleship as reproduction. As he addresses that they are among the “all” other nations and they, just as he, are the called of Jesus Christ.

Romans 1:7 Verse seven finally gets to whom we are talking about, the Roman Christians, called to be saints (set apart). The saved of Rome were called to live visibly and in all other ways separate from mainstream Roman society, and yet among them in that society, so that their difference might be seen. Paul greets them with a blessing, though a stern rebuke immediately follows.

5-30-10
Romans 1:8 Paul recognizes and exemplifies the order in which we have access to God. Jesus Christ is our mediator. No one comes to the Father for any reason except through Him. Paul thanks God for the reputation of these Roman Christians. Though they tolerated filthy behavior that we will see as the book continues, they had a reputable faith throughout the entire Roman empire. Many churches today are tolerant of that which they ought not be, but whether tolerating or expelling of unrighteousness, the faith of the body of Christ in general is less reputable than that of these early Christians who do not even yet know their place in the body, as we shall see in verse 11. Living in a society destitute of the truth of God, their faith in the true God provokes them to actions which set them apart from the society in which they live, which society could clearly see and identify the difference between the average Roman and the sanctified of Christ.

Romans 1:9 Basically, Paul is saying, “If you don’t believe what I’m about to say, ask God; He’ll back me up on it.” Then he specifies the God of whom he speaks by relating back to his bondservanthood to the gospel of His Son. Moving into verse 10, Paul prays incessantly to visit the Roman Christians and with a longing, as that of a grandparent who longs to see a new grandchild, Paul longs to see these fledgling Christians whom he has never met. This should serve as an example for us. The body of Christ ought to love each other enough to long to meet each other, even over long distances, for fellowship and mutual edification.

A Medical Science Lesson For You

Well, folks. It turns out we will not be having a baby this December. Wait a second! Before you get too concerned and upset, you should know a few things. The Lord is in control of the womb and the timing of all blessings thereof, whether they survive the womb or not. We trust to Him the care of all of our children. According to the midwife we saw, my body released what is known as a blighted ovum. This is a deformed egg that she said does not get fertilized or implant, but causes an empty sac to form with a small placenta (about the size of a large lime). The body releases all of the pregnant hormones and thinks it is pregnant, but there is no baby. After a while the body figures out that there is no baby and stops producing the hormones for pregnancy, thus releasing the egg and other tissues in the uterus. This is similar to when a chicken lays an eggshell with nothing in it... only different. According to everything else we read online and other people's doctors, conception does occur, but due to the genetic issues of the egg the baby dies before it has a chance to grow into anything that looks like a baby. We are resting in the knowledge that the Lord knows exactly what happened when and He takes care of our little ones.

Things we have learned from all of this:
1) Mama needs to take better care of herself when it gets hot around here (I don't drink enough water).
2) There is a wonderful midwife near us in Versailles who is quite informative and helpful.
3) Seeing an empty womb on an ultrasound machine when you are expecting to see a baby is a very strange feeling.
4) God is good and has great plans for us. He knows what He is doing, whether or not we do.

So, we anxiously await the arrival of our next little blessing, whenever the Lord should decide to bless us with another, if the Lord should decide to bless us with another. We just wanted to update everyone. We are all doing well. Feel free to comment and let us know how you are doing. Thank you all for your prayers and concern. We love you!

Praise the Lord for His goodness and timing,
My Family
Wife Speaking

Accidents Happen...

And sometimes they are good! Husband has been planning to build the girls a play area under the stairs in our home for a while and he finally got to work on that project and complete it, just in time for McGee's birthday! Though this was not planned it worked out rather nicely. Both girls love their area. It is a playroom downstairs with a few shelves for toys and books that Bernard can chew on and then there are some stairs leading up to a library area with more shelves for books and toys and a chair for reading. Since its completion we have hardly been able to keep the girls out of it long enough to sleep. They even took their nap in their the other day.

We have been blessed lately to find an abundance of fruiting plants on the property. There are two plum trees, numerous blackberry vines, a couple of blueberries, a persimmon tree, some grape vines and even sassafrass. Can anyone say root beer? :) Along with out native vegetation we have been able to get a handful of berry plants in the ground, along with some tomatoes, cabbages and beans. We look forward to the harvest this year and celebrating God's goodness in our lives.

Until next time,
My Family
(Wife Speaking)

A Little Of This and A Little Of That

Woohoo! We remembered the camera today! We are at the local MacDonald's (20 miles away) for some wireless time and playtime for the girls. They are excited! It might be the ice cream Daddy got for everybody...




Our woodshed area is coming along nicely. The floor is pallets that we were able to pick up for free and the sides are a few doors we found at the Jefferson City Pickup (also free).






Here is the stove we purchased and installed in our home. We haven't had a chance to use it yet, but we are looking forward to it. It is in great shape and should do well to suit our needs. (Mama is very excited about having a flat, indoor, chicken free place to cook.)









Daddy built a kitchen counter and some shelves for Mama. This has been a real blessing to begin organizing the chaos that is our home right now. Again, a chicken free zone to prepare food is awesome!!! Our three chickens have the bad habit of stealing our food if we are not watching diligently.






Yay! We have a front door now! We put an eave over the top after I took this picture and it works nicely to keep out the rain and still let us have some air.






The peach tree we picked up at Lowe's has about a dozen peaches on it. McGee is looking forward to eating them "when they grow bigger."

Missed Opportunity

We have the perfect opportunity today - time to blog due to the rain. However, I neglected to bring the camera so there are no new pictures to add of the construction. We have all of our walls and roof up, the roof is waterproof and we are able to sleep in the house now. Praise the Lord! We also have our stairs in and finally completed the door and got that hung. We purchased a beautiful wood stove and it is now sitting in our living room. However, we have not had a chance yet to actually install it, so no indoor fires yet. We look forward to that with this long, rainy spring we are having. We have also had a little time for gardening and got some cherries, blackberries and blueberries planted this week. McGee loved getting her hands all dirty to help us get the job done.

Oh! And for all those that we have not spoken to yet for one reason or another, our family is expecting a little one this December and we can't wait to meet Blessing #3.

Have a wonderful day!
My Family
(Wife Speaking)

House Building

Due to a camera malfunction, the pictures we took of some of the middle steps have been lost. I will try to track down some from our PS133 Friends. For now, here are some of the pictures we have taken of our house building endeavors over the last month. Enjoy!


Putting in our foundation was an interesting process. About half way through it snowed five inches! Missouri weather always keeps you guessing.








Here is our subfloor going in (yes there is snow on the ground).

We are trying to clear a spot in front of the house to plant a small garden this year. To do this we have to take a few fallen trees and turn them into rounds and put them in the woodshed (that we haven't built yet) to season for later use.

Our water storage system has been a blessing for life on the old homestead.
Our temporary staircase enables us to reach the loft without having to take time to build the stairs right now.

Here is our roof, nearly completed. We can hardly wait to finish this project so that we can start sleeping in the house.

My wonderful husband built an adjustable grill over the firepit to make outdoor cooking easier.

Here are a half dozen each tomato and cabbage plants, given to us by a wonderful family here. We look forward to planting them in the area pictured above.

So far, this is our redneck chicken coop. Thanks to the Jefferson City pick up day, we will soon be building a bigger coop. We were able to find some corrugated plastic roofing to top our pallet coop construction. The chickens are going to love it!

The truck received an upgrade to help with the construction efforts. The lumber rack has really been a great help in transporting our materials.

One of our first projects was a mailbox installed in the turnaround area at the top of the easement.

Well, that's all for now. We hope to have the house liveable soon. Stay tuned!

My Family

(Wife Speaking)

The Substance of the Shadow

Three points of interest as Old Testament law relates to New Testament principles:

1. Clean and unclean animals- a clean animal must split the hoof and chew the cud; missing one or the other makes the animal unclean; a true Christian is revealed by both action and attitude, to falter in either word or deed reveals the true path you trod.(writings of John Bunion)

2. Crop regulations-no one was to plant more than one crop in their field. perhaps so that one person could not be the end all be all of food production but that each member of the community was to be mutually dependant on one another, and each one indispensable to the rest; we are all given understanding in different areas for the reason of promoting mutual edification. There is no one anothering that goes on in the modern pastor led church. One pastor serves broccoli one serves spinach, both have valid insights but when they think they ought to be the sole nutrient provider they go the way of the cults. every brother in the body of believers ought to be learning from God and through His word then sharing that insight with the body. imagine a "church" entirely made up of qualified elders meeting on the grounds of love and respect, striving for mutual edification, expecting to both give and receive teaching.

3.The Sabbath rest- perhaps it is best to go straight from scripture on this one: EXO20:8-11 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it; Matt 12:5-8 have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. & Heb 4:9-11 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.
The Sabbath gave us rest from labor, Christ gives us rest from the ever-present burden of sin, yeshua mesheaha is the substance of the shadow. and if we are in Him the shadow is of little effect, yet even He said that the rest from labor is for your benefit. and in Prov. 23:4 Do not overwork to be rich; Because of your own understanding, cease!


husband speaking

Identity Theft

While driving down the road for supplies, my wife and I were talking, as we often do, and she mentioned something that struck me as wrong. She said, "People always say once you become a mother you lose your identity." I contemplated this premise for awhile, trying to understand the basis for the concept. A couple of days later I called attention to the statement made. I said, "I understand that things change in a man and a woman when they become parents, so much so that it seems their identity is warped into their role in the family - their identity must die that their role may be filled." But I disagree with this conclusion of events. My wife and I are very different people from the young couple who took their vows a few years ago, but did a change of life events result in the death of what was? No.

When a man and a woman, two separate entities, enter into a covenant relationship before and with God, they begin to make the transition from being two to being one flesh (a single, cohesive unit in mind, body and spirit). The former does not die; it develops. A caterpillar does not die when it goes into its chrysalis; it changes and develops that its purpose may be fulfilled. Many today wish to remain separate yet joined together as with a band. Well that's kind of like gluing wings on a caterpillar. It looks awfully funny and it can't hope to fly. You need the change, the growth and development to fulfill your purpose and it must start with marriage when you start to become a single unit. Having children is yet another stage of development designed not to kill and replace that which is, but to enhance, grow and develop you that you may fulfill your purpose.

When you have children, they look to you for the example of how to operate as a single unit. Your values, conversations, habits, strengths and frailties forge the character image of this single entity designed to grow and develop as you have. But when certain elements are missing the wrong image is forged. When you see brokenness in the home, you'll have brokenness in the character. If children cannot see man and woman operating as one flesh, they will lack the concept and will likely never grow beyond self and reach their full potential, which is a binary, multifaceted being able to reproduce in a singularity the express image of their complexity.

I may be rambling at this point and probably lost you long ago, so I'll leave it at this. Marriage and children are events in one's life designed to develop one's personality and character, not destroy it.

Husband Speaking

FINALLY!!! Soon has arrived...

For all those who have been asking when we would update the blog and kept hearing the same answer, "Soon," soon has finally arrived. And we have so much to share with you!

Since we last updated we have completed the floor, the first floor walls, and now the floor of the loft. Next on our project list is to waterproof the work we have already completed before we are blessed with more rain. :) Then it's on to the roof! We are excited to be making progress and thank the Lord for every day that we are able to work on our new home.

Other than home construction, we have been able to take care of some of the other tasks related to moving (changing over our licenses and all to Missouri). The rain sometimes forces us to get other things done, and for that we are grateful. It is nice to finally have all of that taken care of.

We were also blessed recently to find a cheaper source for clean drinking and wash water until we get the well dug. And with the addition of a few washtubs, we are now able to bathe in our home and more easily wash dishes and laundry. This is truly a blessing for us (I'm sure our PS133 friends will appreciate this as well).

Bernard is still not walking yet, but remains close to that milestone. She is enjoying having more room and better weather to play. Meanwhile, McGee LOVES helping Mama and Daddy with the house and chasing the chickens (in a loving and gentle way of course) whenever her help is not needed.

All in all, we are enjoying a simpler, though still quite busy, lifestyle in the woods with our family. The Lord has been teaching us alot about loving each other and working together and Husband has been teaching me alot as well (to include house building, driving in less than fabulous conditions, fire building, etc). It has been an interesting, exciting, very busy and productive month.

On that note - we are headed to our home away from home (the local Lowe's store) for more supplies to get started on our next round of projects. Thanks for checking in on us! Until next time, which may or may not be "Soon,"

My Family
(Wife Speaking)

MISSION MISSOURI: The Journey Continues

*Typed Sunday, March 14, 2010
We apologize for the delay in updating everyone on our progress. Our first week in Missouri has been quite busy. It has been a week of firsts in a lot of areas. Among them were our first overnighter on the property, first tick sighting of the season (a month early), first tornado warning (not for where we were though), first storm, first illnesses, etc.

So, where did we leave off? Sunday, March 7 we met with the fellowship here for a meeting and had a wonderful time. It was a good time of teaching and singing, followed by a potluck (which included stewed opossum) and some entertainment. Several of the families play instruments, so we were blessed to listen to a little concert. Later we all listened to a demonstration by one of the older brothers of a sea shell collection from Guam. It was interesting to see some of the variety the Creator has placed on the ocean floor.

After the meeting, we all trekked out to the property for our family’s first glimpse at the 5 acres we intend to call home. Then it was back to Jefferson City for a couple days to rest and regroup. Sunday night I came down with the stomach flu, but it proved to be a 24 hour bug and I quickly recovered.

With our health restored, we all returned to the property on Tuesday for an overnighter to try and get some work done. Mostly, we realized there is much more work to do than we anticipated and we spent the majority of our time getting the truck out of the mud. Oh, yes! We were blessed to find that the ticks are out already without anyone actually getting bit. So, with plans to make better plans and return soon, we escaped back to the city.

Wednesday evening we had dinner at the home of the self proclaimed Hillbillies that we met at the fellowship meeting. They claim the title of Hillbillies because not only do they raise chickens, bees and goats, but they do their own butchering, to include the opossum that we all enjoyed at the fellowship meeting. Opossum is not a regular part of their diet, it was bothering the chickens and one of their sons decided it would be a fun home experiment to try to cook it. Dinner was wonderful and came with a great light show. During the meal a storm had kicked up outside and there was quite a bit of lightning. The Weatherbugs (the Hillbillies children) were thrilled when the weather radio sounded a tornado warning for surrounding areas. We will be getting one of these radios. Even when they are off if there is a storm warning for your area, they come on and notify you.

Thursday we went to our first auction and came away nearly empty handed. It seems that auctions that happen too frequently are more of an excuse for the locals to socialize than anything else. We then spent the afternoon at the library doing some online searching for things we wished we had found at the auction.

Friday was spent catching up on our mountain of dirty laundry and organizing things on the homefront a bit.

Saturday was a pretty restful day. We went to Lowe’s to try and find chicken coop materials to build a little home for the three chickens our Hillbilly Friends so graciously offered us. As soon as we can we will be taking one rooster and two hens down to the property to deal with our creepy crawly problems (there are a few more spiders and ticks than I care to think about).

And today we are hanging out around the house recovering from a round of head colds. After nearly a week of temperatures in the 60’s and 70’s, it turned quite chilly here, with clouds and misty rain to boot.

Well, that about does it folks. We’re headed down to Laurie tomorrow to take care of a few things.

Until next time, may the Lord bless you!
My Family
(Wife Speaking)

MISSION MISSOURI: DAY SEVEN

From Van Buren, Arkansas to Laurie, Missouri – 333.82 miles

Surprise, Surprise
We realized Wednesday, with the help of one of Arkansas’ finest, that we had no running lights on the truck. This morning we discovered the problem – a blown fuse that we missed in our first round of searching. We replaced it with the 4WD fuse in the truck that we don’t need since we don’t have a four wheel drive truck. Praise the Lord this fixed the problem and we were street legal again!
Our second surprise was the most awful, foul stench in the cab of the truck when we opened it this morning. It turns out that if you leave a thermos full of poor man’s mocha (coffee mixed with hot chocolate) in a truck for a few days, enough pressure will build up from the rancid liquid to blow the top off of the thermos and spew the contents all over the inside of the vehicle. Pretty gross!!!

Weather Watch
We found it fairly ironic that the only wintery weather we have seen was in the desert right when we left. All throughout Oklahoma, Arkansas and Missouri we have had nothing but blue skies and 60+ degree weather. What a blessing! We know we will not be strangers to cold, snowy weather, but it has been tremendous to have good weather for driving.

Home, Sweet Home
Well, almost. We are in a motel in Laurie, MO for the night. In the morning we will meet up with our PS133 friends in Versailles for a meeting of the church and then we will go on to actually see the property. Before we could get that far today the sun went down and we were forced to wait for tomorrow. We are very excited to be here and eagerly await what lies ahead.

***Note - This post is a little late in getting up and way out of date as far as what we are up to. More information will be coming as soon as we get a breather enough to type it all up for you. But, rest assured, we are safe and doing well and we miss all those who are not here with us.***

My Family
(Wife Speaking)

MISSIONMISSOURI: DAYS THREE - SIX

From Clinton, Oklahoma to Van Buren, Arkansas - 289.70 miles

Weather Watch
Blue skies, smilin' at me! That's what we saw most of the day Tuesday. It was absolutely gorgeous driving weather and we were thrilled to have the shortest leg yet of our journey. We pulled into Husband's sister's house in the early afternoon, just in time to attend Niece's choir performance.

Entertainment Encounters
The choir performance was interesting to say the least. Niece's group was missing half their members and this was their first performance as such a small group. Needless to say, their harmonies were lacking a bit. After a v ery brief concert, we were headed to dinner. (Note - If you are ever hungry for Mexican food in Van Buren, Arkansas, think again.)

Thursday evening Husband's family surprised us all with a birthday party for Husband's 25th birthday. We had a nice time, fellowshipping over cake and ice cream and playing one of the new games he received for a gift. It's called Times Seven and seems to be a neat Scripture memorization game (for the seven verses used in the game anyway).

So, we are still here in Van Buren, thinking about leaving in the next day or two, after spending a little time with Niece and Nephew (who have had to go to school, do homework and go to bed early since we arrived on Tuesday). We will update y'all later.

My Family
(Wife Speaking)

MISSION MISSOURI: DAY TWO

From Albequerque, New Mexico to Clinton, Oklahoma – 448.44 miles.

Weather Watch
Once again, we have seen all kinds of weather today. We added fog to the list first thing this morning as we were leaving Albequerque. We saw the smallest hail I have ever seen. It looked to be the size of snowflakes, but hit the windshield with enough force to tink and bounce off. Among things we saw yesterday but neglected to note were dust storms across the wide open plains of New Mexico and Texas.

Sweet Nothings
Basically, nothing of consequence happened today, other than mileage covered. There were no mishaps, no casualties, and for that we praise the Lord. As we were reminded in the Psalms that we read today (4-6 if you’re keeping track) our sustenance regardless of source comes only from Him. So, now that we’ve had our nothings, we’ll be getting to our sweets with a cup of hot chocolate. See you tomorrow.

My Family
Parents Speaking

We were bored…
Kids Speaking

MISSION MISSOURI: DAY ONE

From Sierra Vista, Arizona to Albequerque, New Mexico – 450.75 miles.

Departure Musings
Upon leaving, we noticed that the clouds that moved in last night made an interesting picture that corresponds to our life right now. The road immediately lying in front of us is clear, yet clouds obscured the mountains in the distance. This is as our life at this point. The Lord gives the direction and foresight for what immediately lies ahead. We are not in a fog, not knowing where we are going or where we are at the present time, but our horizon remains shrouded in mystery. We are given a vague picture of what lies behind these clouds, but how to get there, whether we shall pass through or stay we know not. Psalm 119:105 came to mind, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” The lamp spoken of here was typically a little lamp that attached to a person’s sandals, illuminating only the very next step for the wearer, while leaving the rest of the path in darkness.

Arizona Wine Country
As we were leaving, we passed Highway 80-something toward Patagonia and Nogales and were reminded of the last time we went down that road. We saw an interesting sign that said “Wine Country.” For the next several miles, observing the landscape of lush plentiful weeds, we thought to ourselves, “There seems to be something missing here.”




Weather Watch

Aside from some beautiful desert scenery on our journey, we have encountered some interesting weather patterns. Throughout the day, we have seen everything from rain to sleet, snow, hail, clear sunny skies, clouds, and strong winds. All the while, the outside temperature was moderately chilly (without the wind) and downright nippy when the winds picked up.

New Beginnings

We thought it interesting that as we embark on this new phase of our lives, we are also beginning a new book in our daily Bible readings as a family: the book of Psalms. Already this has provided thought provoking discussions for our drive. Perhaps it is not a coincidence that we begin these two journeys at the same time. As we learn more and more about how to be a family together, we are simultaneously learning about the praises of God together. Consequently, it may also prove interesting that shortly after setting up on the property and getting things underway, we will be learning wisdom from the Proverbs.

Today we read Psalms 1-3. In Psalm one, we learn the importance of God’s Word. Psalm 2 shows us the importance of trusting in Him, for His kingdom lasts forever, whereas the kingdoms of this world constantly rise and fall. Even when they take counsel together against Him and His anointed, He simply laughs. Psalm 3 illustrates God’s sustaining power. We learn about trusting God to sustain us even and especially in the midst of trouble.

We look forward to continuing to study through the Psalms as a family while are on the road and as we start our work in Missouri.

Entertainment Encounters
Along with a few episodes of “Life at the Pond” and some classical guitar music, we spent part of our day listening to preaching. We found them to be quite beneficial and were especially impressed by a quote from A.W. Tozer,

“A real Christian is an odd number anyway. He feels supreme love for one whom he has never seen, talks familiarly everyday to someone he cannot see, expects to go to heaven on the virtue of another, empties himself in order to be full, admits he is wrong so that he can be declared right, goes down in order to get up, is strongest when he is weakest, richest when he is poorest and happiest when he feels the worst. He dies so he can live, forsakes in order to have, gives away so he can keep, sees the invisible, hears the inaudible, and knows that which passes knowledge.”

(From The Knowledge of the Holy)

The premise of the sermon was that if this characterizes your life, people would say that you are out of your mind. If this is so, you are in good company. Christ was declared “beside Himself” as was Paul, as well as countless martyrs throughout the ages. So are you an out of your mind Jesus freak?

My Family
Collaborative Effort

Envibum Giveaway!

Just thought I would share about the Envibum Giveaway! over at Passionate Homemaking. These diapers look pretty nifty! Have a wonderful day!
My Family
(Wife Speaking)

Arizona Sunrise, Sunset

***It was even more amazing in person. These pictures don't do it justice. We often sit as a family in the evening and marvel at the Lord's greatness and creativity.

A couple points of interest on pentacost

when the law came down 3,000 died,
when the Spirit came down 3,000 were saved.

when man through his own efforts sought to attain heaven (Babel) their language was confused and they could no longer understand one another.
when the Spirit of God came down to man on the 50th day after christ's crucifixion (pentacost) God made all tongues to clearly understand His message.
(Gen.11, Exo.32, Act.2)

Husband speaking

Finally! Pictures!!!

Ok. I have promised many people pictures of the little ones for a while, so here they are. The first is McGee playing around in Mama's things, then Bernard hangin' out in the hallway, and third Mama's roses that Daddy got for her last week (I know that is not a munchkin picture but someone asked to see them).

Gardening with Guineas

Alright, here is the promised post about my research on guinea fowl. Most of the information I have gathered came from reading "Gardening with guineas" by Jeanette S. Ferguson. This book was a great, informative read about raising guinea fowl, covering everything from hatching keets to eating full grown guineas.



Guinea fowl originate from Africa and there are three main kinds: helmeted, crested and vulturine guinea fowl. Due to availability and cost, most Americans own helmeted guineas. They come in a variety of colors and sizes. The most common guinea seems to be the pearl grey guinea, which gets to be about two feet long and weighs from 3 - 5 pounds.

Female guineas, or hens, are slightly smaller than the males and can be distinguished by their cry, which sounds like they are screaming "buckwheat!" The males make a "chi chi chi" noise, which can be imitated by the females. Male guineas are far less noisy than their female counterparts, so if noise is a big concern for you and you don't care about eggs, you simply only keep males. Guinea cocks get along fine, unlike roosters who must be kept in limited numbers to avoid them fighting with each other. The primary drawback for raising guineas is their noise. For the first year of life everything is new to them and they squak a lot. They also make quite the racket when something is not as it should be, which is also one of their benefits - they make great "watchdogs." For some, the noise the birds make is enough reason not to keep them, but experienced guinea keepers claim that raising guineas from eggs or day old keets (the babies) is much easier. When you start with babies, you are able to handle them and train them a bit (though they are still a more or less wild bird), cutting down on the noise some.

If you can get past their chatter, there are many benefits to guineas. First of all, they LOVE to eat bugs (ticks, mosquitos, japanese beetles etc.) that are harmful to plants, animals and people. They also eat weed seeds, making the life of a gardener a bit easier. Unlike chickens, guineas do not scratch at the ground and thus are not harmful to the garden. Also, as they walk along, they fertilize the ground. Another upside to guineas is that their waste is not smelly and messy like that of chickens.
Due to their great foraging abilities, it costs less in feed to raise guineas.

Like chickens, guinea hens lay eggs that are perfectly fine for human consumption. They are slightly smaller than chicken eggs, but actually get fluffier and are better for certain baking endeavors. Unlike chickens, however, there is no way to convince guineas to continue laying through the winter. You simply have to wait for spring to begin collecting eggs again. Also unlike chickens, guineas don't typically use the provided nests for laying their eggs, so tracking down the eggs to eat them can be a bit tricky. And, guineas make a great tasting dinner when you have had enough of their noise or have too many birds!


There is much more information available on these wonderful birds, but basically:
- They LOVE bugs and weed seeds!
- They warn you of predators or visitors to your homestead.
- They fertilize your soil.
- They do not scratch up the ground.
- They are not generally smelly or messy birds.
- They lay eggs that are great for eating and baking.
- Yes, they are noisy...

For us, it is worth a couple dollars and some effort to start a few guineas on our homestead and see how it goes. If we end up absolutely not being able to live at peace with the guineas, we can always eat them.

Hope this was informative!
My Family
(Wife Speaking)