THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL....

Jesus said, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few." Matthew 9:37

Look what I found while out harvesting the vast amounts of wild black raspberries in our woods and fencerows! Suddenly I came upon this little nest (wren?). Later I went back to take these pictures and saw Mrs. Wren leaving the area in a hurry. I am so blessed to live in the country and get glimpses of these little treasures that go unnoticed by the fast-paced world. If I hadn't been up close in the thickets, this little gem of a site would have been missed. It was carefully hidden way back at the edge of our woods in a bramble of berries when I happened upon this nest.

The scripture I cited above became so real to me as I tried to harvest the berries the last two evenings. The ripe berries are so thick it is humanly impossible for one person to pick all of them. I found myself leaving many behind, becoming choosy and gravitating toward only the largest berries to save time. I felt really bad that so many other berries were left to dry out and be wasted, but I simply had no one to help me harvest. Jesus words are so true. The harvest of souls out there waiting to hear the Gospel is great! We need more laborers (equipped Christians) to get out into the harvest fields and start sharing the good news!

 

The above picture is me standing on our back deck after my first berry-picking expedition Wednesday evening after work. I got almost 5 qts., as you can see and that was all from one fencerow. I left two or three other prime areas untouched. Do you like my outfit? It included a tight-fitting bandana under the straw hat, long, baggy pants and hunting boots as well as the long-sleeved shirt. Picking conditions are not friendly. Thorns, bugs, spiders, mosquitoes, possibly ticks, poison ivy, uneven ground, etc, etc.

Here are the berries on my Mom's kitchen table awaiting their "bath." I picked almost as many on Thursday evening too.

Look what berry-picking does to your hands! My fingers and nails are still stained this morning after two separate rounds of picking the berries. Harvesting is hard work!

Here are the berries dripping through the homemade jelly bag. I place an old cloth diaper (never used, of course :)), over a large kettle, secure it with clothespins and then the cooked berries drip overnight and strain through the cloth to make a clear liquid for jelly.

I hope to get to the actual jelly-making today sometime after I weed the garden, put the wash on the line, and cut out play dresses to take to my granddaughters! Busy day! 

Remember the harvest.....it is plentiful! And though the harvest conditions are tough and it can be hard work, the rewards are sweet! Blessings, LORI

FARMING IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!

Couldn't resist posting this picture of Sophie "driving" Papa's tractor! She is all business, isn't she? On a recent trip to our farm for the afternoon, the girls enjoyed picking a few beans (in the field in the background), feeding french fries to the chickens, and taking tractor rides! Can't wait to post some very interesting genealogical discoveries made just last week! Can anyone guess which famous New England family I discovered that I'm related to? Blessings, LORI

FINE FARM FILIGREE AND FOUR FAT HENS

A bunch of "volunteer" marigolds in the middle of the garden! Aren't they bright?

I love this bit of filigree from the English Garden. The trumpet vine finally took hold and grew this year. The birdhouse with the beard is about to be engulfed. I just love this scene!

Who are you and what are you doing on my farm?

Roast chicken!

The bean pole in the veggie garden. Lots of herbs, beans, morning glories, and marigolds.

We are headed for Colorado Springs soon to see our grandbabies! So excited about that! Lots going on in our lives with job opportunities and so on. Clint starts a new part time job as soon as we get back from our trip. I will be working more hours this fall as well. My book is in the final stages of prep for publication and I am anticipating starting on our church's worship team in a month or so after a 9 month leave from music! Lots going on and lots to be thankful for! Rhiannon begins harvest tomorrow. The changing of seasons is evident in the air--another year about to close. It doesn't seem possible, but we are thankful for the many wonderful changes we've experienced this year! Blessings, LORI

HERE ARE A SOME PICTURES WE HAVE TAKEN IN THE LAST FEW DAYS!!!!!!!!

THE SURPRISE ITEM REVEALED IN THE FIRST PICTURE!!!! Yes, that's me spinning on a SPINNING WHEEL! Remember all the hints?? They are in fairy tales...some assembly required....Rumplestiltskin, Sleeping Beauty...etc., etc.

The spinning wheel is the item that lay in pieces until yesterday. We were oiling it and preparing it for assembly. I have wanted to learn to spin for years. I tried a drop spindle first, to no avail. Finally last year at the county fair, some ladies from the spinning and weaving guild were kind enough to show me how to spin allowing me to borrow their wheels for the day. My friend that owns Handweaver's knitting shop in Kalamazoo became a dealer and I bought this Ashford Traveler from her just recently. I went to Handweaver's yesterday for my first lesson! This was so exciting! I didn't produce quality yarn at first, but am improving after just two days. Today I attended the weekly meeting of the Weft and Wooly Spinners and Weaver's guild here in my county and one of my friends there helped me some more. By the time I left the meeting, I was really getting the hang of it. I made a few adjustments to the wheel as far as tension goes and things just started falling into place. The wool roving I am working on is a natural undyed wool from a brown Corriedale sheep. It's lovely. One of the ladies took this picture of me. My alpaca shawl made of hand spun, undyed alpaca is hanging on the back of the chair. I hope you were surprised by the surprise item!

The next picture was taken in our hayfield on Tuesday. Clint and I had been gone for the day and on our way home we were saying we ought to hurry and get a family picture done for Christmas. We were discussing how it would be nice to have the round bales done up to stand against. Got home and the farmer had baled the back acreage that afternoon! A quick call to him secured us one bale to pose by! He kindly left it for us until evening. We got this picture just before darkness closed in. He was there waiting for the one last bale while we were doing the photo shoot! I suppose he thought we were just a little weird with a chair dragged way out there and me holding flowers! It's the 70's coming out in me! I never was a hippie, I just remember seeing them around! We will put this picture on our Christmas cards this year, most likely!

I want to explain about the blog set-up here. Rhiannon tried to help me arrange the pics differently and for some reason we are not getting the various arrangements we wanted. We couldn't make the computer cooperate. So excuse the blocky format.

I've been thining alot lately about various things of a more spiritual nature that I want to write about in the next few days. Stay tuned tomorrow for more of those thoughts. Just wanted to get the surprise item revealed and also let you see the beautiful fall colors we are currently enjoying in our area. Today as I was driving I see the colors have just "popped" out in the last day or so. Very beautiful. Reminds me of God's great intricate love for beauty and His creation. Blessings, LORI

TAKING MY OWN ADVICE!

Ok, so I should take my own advice! This morning I was reading the last chapter of Second Peter when suddenly the Lord just began to open my heart to a greater understanding of the chapter and related scriptures. No journal with me! That almost never happens. I had mopped the kitchen floor and propped my Bible near the door, mopping my way out to the deck. I didn't go back for the journal and so I made notes in my Bible. I do that often. I know some people are way opposed to that, but it has been one of the most helpful things to me in my Christian walk. I often use the notes that I have made to refer to other scriptures and related thoughts when teaching Sunday school since my journal doesn't always go to church with me. As I am beginning to do more public speaking, I find the studying so much easier because I often get ideas from notes I've scribbled in the margins. My Bible is filled with such entries and they too are like reminders of what the Spirit is speaking to me as I read the Word. Consider making notes in your Bible.

Another little writing tip: If you begin to use a journal and want to start writing a short story (or a long story, for that matter) use this little hint if you are not near the computer. Begin jotting down major thoughts or "scenes" on paper. Don't worry about all the details or time sequence. I often write what is vivid to me at the moment and then when I re-read I number the paragraphs or sentences in the order I want to arrange them. Of course, this only applies to quick writing on paper. If you are at the computer it is so much easier to re-arrange things instantly. By numbering thoughts on paper you can then type them in order when you get to your computer. As a pastor, Clint has often kept a notebook or paper by the bed because it seems that sometimes he wakes in the night with sermon ideas and rather than lose them, he jots down notes.

Today we met Rhiannon for lunch since she was between duties for awhile. They are preparing for harvest and that changes her normal workday. On the way home from meeting her, we stopped at several local business in search of a campfire grill. We looked at lots of styles and a friend invited us to his house to investigate the one he has--the "Cadillac" of all grills. It was really nice! We didn't purchase today, but I think we eventually will. We had a campfire last weekend and probably will this weekend as well. With grandchildren coming on the scene, I can see this happening more and more. It's a really fun part of life on a small acreage. Farm life at its best!

I hope to write a bit about the wonderful things I noticed in 2 Peter, maybe tomorrow. Blessings, LORI