PETER RABBIT HAS BEEN IN MY GARDEN

Peter Rabbit appears to be holding some of my garden carrots! Peter Rabbit is a bid deal around here! We collect his books, and so forth. These beautiful carrots came from the garden and this late in the year we are still enjoying them! Next year I will definitely plant more! There is a definite taste difference in a home-raised carrot and one from the store. Maybe Peter thinks so too!

I haven't posted many "devotional" style blogs for some time, but hope to have some real thought-provokers coming up soon--stay tuned! Blessings, LORI

FARMING AROUND HERE!

SOME PRETTY DILL WEED FROM MY GARDEN DRAPED WITH THE MORNING DEW! I thought you'd enjoy this picture and a bit about our farm country!

On the last post I re-commented about our farms here in St. Joseph County, Michigan, but I suspect many of my readers don't re-read the comments, so here's a bit of info.

Our field behind our house, approximately ten acres, is planted in no-till soybeans this year. My daughter told me she thinks it will take about a half hour to pick the beans. The farmers have big combines to do the work. We rent them the ground and they have grown several different crops over the years--corn, beans, alfalfa.

Here in St. Joseph County they say we are a seed corn capital. We have several major seed corn companies located in the surrounding towns and we are said to be the most irrigated county east of the Mississippi--largely due to the seed corn industry.

Rhiannon has worked for one of the companies for years. She is an inspector and inspects about a hundred acres a day this time of year (mostly on foot) checking for all kinds of things--bugs, weed problems, rogue corn, etc., etc. It's a fascinating, scientific system that produces this incredible corn. Lots of money is involved in one single field and the farmers and the seed corn companies take the job of raising it very seriously. Lots of people are employed in the business of seed corn in one way or another around here.

In addition to seed corn, we have several farms that raise vegetables for commercial use. Such crops as green beans, carrots, and potatoes are among the variety of things grown in St. Joseph County. On a smaller scale, many people have little home garden plots and fruit and vegetable stands and co-op style garden businesses are springing up lately. This is a large garden operation where people can buy shares and then get an allotment of vegetables, etc. each week during the season without ever lifting a finger to do their own gardening! Most Amish families also raise most of their home fruits and vegetables in their gardens as well. Our county is home to several Old Order Amish.

The picture above is my little patch of dill in one of my raised beds. I plant it because I always think I will use it and never do! Well, once in a while I make "floating vegetables" with it--sliced tomatoes, onions, and peppers, floating in vinegar/sugar water with various spices. I like to eat this fresh.

I hope you enjoyed the little bit of farming education. Sooooo.......This seemed like an appropriate time to announce our big news--WE WERE ABLE TO BUY 13.75 MORE ACRES TO ADD TO OUR NEW LAND! We are just thrilled! For a short while--until we sell our house and adjoining acreage, we own almost 47 acres. This is something we only dreamed of in our wildest dreams! This has been a big blessing the Lord has given us and we are encouraged unbelievably by being able to realize this dream. We now own just shy of 29 acres all in one plot over near our old hometown! It's not exactly farm ground. It's more wooded and rolling hills, but beauitful and we hope to build on it soon. We feel so blessed and as soon as I have a nice picture, I will post it, but I couldn't wait to share this blessing with you!

My third book was finished yesterday and will be going to the publisher early next week! There's one big summer goal accomplished! Blessings, LORI

My Vegetable Garden

Here is a picture of my veggie garden with the herbs in the center. I am loving this garden this year! It's actually fun to work in it considering that I can get it all cleaned up in about 20 minutes! Sorry this picture is blurry.I was standing on a very tall ladder trying to get the whole view!

You can see our field in the background. This year it is in field corn.

As you look at my garden in this picture, the front rows are potatoes and rhubarb, the raised beds are onions, strawberries, green beans, tomatoes, watermelon, radishes and peas. Behind the beds are more potatoes and the two new heavy duty fences. I have cucumbers and hollyhocks back there as well as okra (which is not doing very well). I also have some squash and pole beans against the fence. More flowers that climb were planted there and they are coming up. Just yesterday the hollyhocks began to bloom! Hooray!

Do you like the birdhouse on the pole? The birds spend lots of time in my garden. I love them and their cheery songs. In case you can't see, there are herbs of all kinds planted around the pole. I also have pole beans and morning glories there with a huge rock in the middle. I planted marigolds around the rock.

After I weeded and tilled the garden today I worked on the English garden. As well as that I did alot of cooking, two loads of laundry, and worked on my thrid and fourth books! This was a really busy day!

I hope you enjoyed the visit to my garden. We are currently eating radishes, pea pods, onions, and strawberries from its bounty! Blessings, LORI

FUN IN THE SPRING!

Here are a few pictures of Emma and Sophie that we took just yesterday.They and their parents walked to our house from their home in town. Emma rode her tricycle and I Sophie rode in a backpack. Sophie is wearing the little knit hat that I designed and made last winter. It has "ear flaps" and is pretty cute. Emma was playing with sidewalk chalk out on the cement in front of our garage. I just love this picture of her even though her eyes are closed!

The other picture is Emma among the daffodils in my English garden. I love this one too and think it is portrait quality! Guess who took the pics?

We're working on getting ready to make a quick weekend trip to Iowa for our friends' wedding. Clint was asked to perform the ceremony. I am hastily making a new dress. I chose the Folkwear pattern number 265--the Afternoon Tea Dress. I found a silky fabric on sale for the underdress. It is a peachy, rosy, gold fabric that has a v-shape ironed into it--like a seersucker, but not cotton. The overdress/tunic is like chiffon. The print is dark brown with purple, peacock blue, and shades of rosy pink. The dress is a reproduction of the styles of the early 1900's when women donned loose comfortable dresses for afternoon tea. It's a lovely pattern and I enjoyed working with it, but I am no fit expert. I have one of those shapes that only an expert can fit and rarely find clothing ready made that will work for me. This project gave me a few things to deal with in the fitting department. But I have high hopes for the finished effect! Maybe I'll post pics if all goes well! New chicks arriving tomorrow! Keep the faith! Blessings, LORI

CRAZY BUSY!!! Well, it's that time of year to be "crazy busy!" with outdoor work.

In addition to outdoor work, we've just been very busy with appointments, emails, phone calls, extra part time jobs, etc. Just seems like we've been running in every direction.

I hope to get some sewing done soon so I can post pictures of the beautiful little dresses I've been making, but for now--this is the latest thing we've been making. You are viewing my vegetable garden complete with the new raised bed frames. We hope to do four, but there was miscommunication the day Clint purchased the lumber. I want to put a support of sapling poles in the middle for a little decoration and some pole beans or morning glories. I am hoping to make the garden pretty enough to hold my interest in working it. The strawberries, onions, tomatoes, and green beans will go in the raised beds. Potatoes and rhubarb will still be in rows. We may put up some fencing for climbing supports for squash and melons.

Clint wanted me to start using raised beds after the tiller became too much for me to handle about a year ago. After I hurt my back last summer, I was a little skittish to run the tiller. It used to be my best friend, but now I'm kind of scared of it getting away from me--which it did the other day. We were tilling up the garden and I decided to finish the task. The tiller hit the edge and went bouncing across the yard toward the gas tank and clothesline. It was twisting and jumping. I couldn't "catch" it and was sort of scared to try. I finally got it. Rhiannon came running from the orchard area to save me. She was in some brambles and fought to get loose when she noticed the disaster. She was all scractched up and the tiller was lying on its side. A large bolt lay on the ground underneath it and it wouldn't start. Hmmmm!!!! Clint promptly suggested raised beds to alleviate large-scale tilling. We hope it works. Will keep you posted! Blessings, LORI

Miscellaneous!

Hi, everyone! I haven't had much to say this week, so no posts! That's a first! But here are a few pressed flower pictures that I finished yesterday. I am getting some items ready to sell since I will be speaking at a Lenten breakfast at a nearby church in about 10 days.


We've been really busy getting my mother-in-law ready to move out of her home of almost 50 years. The house sold after about 2 weeks on the market! It was amazing in this economy! We will be having an auction and that means lots of work for our family leading up to that event.


Plus all that, the time changed last weekend and now we are on daylight savings time for the summer. That means longer days to work! I cleaned out the chicken pen today and all around the coop in preparation for new birds. Many tall weeds had grown up last fall after the chickens were not there to scratch. I let them go and now that they are dried they were easy to pull. I am thinking about buying a group of meat birds in April and then laying hens in June.


I also cleaned off about half of the English Garden flower beds today. This is the first really nice day we've had that I could work outdoors. I also was able to take a walk and hang laundry on the line. We sure hope spring is here to stay!


Spent the afternoon in town looking at lots with my mother-in-law and meeting with a builder. She plans to have a new home put up and I am very happy for her. I remember all the excitement of getting my new home about 7 years ago. Lots of decisions and it keeps you busy!


May I encourage you to keep reading the Bible diligently in these days? So much is happening that threatens to change the course of our lives. The only steady things are those that pertain to God; things like love, the Word of God, His care for us, etc. An unshakeable stability is found in the truths of the scriptures. All the earthquakes going on around the world remind me that all that can be shaken is being shaken lately, or so it seems. Let's not be one of the things that can easily be shaken. Let your foundation be built on God's word. Blessings, LORI

EMMA'S SOCKS AND SCRIPTURAL ENCOURAGEMENTS

Matthew 11:2-6 (Please read this selection)

Jesus answered and said to them, "Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Vs. 4-5)

Here's a picture of Emma's new socks! I just finished them last night. This picture is taken on my grandma's old ironing board. It sits up in what I call my "living room" in the upstairs dormer. I have little china doll dishes, a toy iron, Grandma's real old iron, lots of antique shirt collars and various other antique items displayed there. Do you like the little socks? I was really pleased with them. The pattern was from a really old book.

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I hope you took time to read the entire Bible selection that I noted today. I was reading in Matthew this morning when this passage really struck me. I was contemplating and praying about some pretty big things this morning and asking for direction. In this passage I found some interesting encouragement. John was imprisoned and facing death for his righteous stance. I'm sure he was wanting to make sure that he had perceived and discerned the Lord's commission correctly. He sent some of his disciples to ask Jesus if He was the promised one. It is surprising that Jesus did not give him a direct "yes" or "no" answer. Did you notice that? Instead Jesus listed the things that were going on in His ministry. He told the disciples to report that back to John.

I understood this to be an encouragement for John to look at the evidence and not just a report of what someone answered. I wonder if we sometimes are waiting for God to give us a sign or a word when we really need to look at the circumstances surrounding a situation. I have studied for years in the Bible and love the topic of "hearing God." I once taught a very extensive series of Sunday school lessons on the subject. One of the ways we hear and discern God's will for decisions is by the circumstances. This is not the only way or always the case, but it is one way that often happens to move us in a certain direction. It's as if Jesus was urging John to see the evidences, the results and let them speak for themselves. Also John was very much in tune with the Holy Spirit in a way that most others of his day were not. His ministry was incredible and unusual for his time. (Matthew 11:11) Jesus knew that there was coming a time for His followers when being led by the Spirit and not His personal physical presence and voice would be the norm. I believe He knew that John could already be trusted to discern the signs of the times and the deity of Jesus by the evidences and the Holy Spirit's prompting. After all John would have known from what Jesus pointed to (healings, etc.,) that this lined up with prophetic scriptures. I am sure John was well-versed in the word.

These are great thoughts to ponder as you think about how you personally make decisions and how you hear from God.

Yesterday I took "A Sturdy Fence" to the publishers! This book is a bit different than the first. The theme is similar, but with much more conflict. It still has the country flavor and simple innocence of "The Fields of May," though. Hooray! In only a short bit of time we should have a finished book to make available to readers! I started the polishing on book 3 last evening. I am feeling really good about all that!

Today is a really pretty day here and I plan to go do some winterizing on my garden before we lose this sunshine. Have a great weekend, Blessings, LORI

SMALL CHANGES

The middle picture is Clint helping me get all the stuff out of the English Garden and into the barn for the winter--Beverly Hillbillies style!!

Well, here is the garden in the fall...so much different from the pretty spring pictures just a few months ago.

Today was a very productive day. I got so much done I can hardly believe it! After cleaning the church this morning, I took a little break and headed for Sturgis to sit and knit with the ladies from the Spinners and Weavers guild. What fun! Afterwards I came home and helped Clint with preparations for winter in the yard and gardens. He had mowed the lawn and since he had the tractor out, I took advantage of the opportunity to get some things hauled into the barn. The "stuff" from the English garden had to be brought in for winter. We got most of it in two loads--only a few more things to carry in. I took the curtains down and washed them. That's why the center "bed frame" looks so bare! Time to put them away til next year!

As well as all the hauling I got many of the pathways weeded and a few of the beds. I picked the last of the tomatoes and dug the last row of potatoes. Found a few more stray onions as well. Clint mowed over the garden leaving just the raspberries and a few tomatoes that looked like they had some potential yet.

So much has changed in such a short time. As you can see from the pics there is not much blooming and things look dry and old. Only a few months ago this garden was vibrant with life. I thought alot today about how things can change very rapidly. It reminded me of the theme of my talk that I'll be giving on the 10th of October. I want to challenge the listeners to learn to "hear God." This, of course, starts with having a good foundation in the scripture. As I was studying the other day for this upcoming event, I realized that I had several verses in the Proverbs underlined. When I grouped them all together, I realized that over the course of nine chapters (13-21) there are many scriptures that address work, diligence, and prospering. If you were reading only a chapter a day for your devotions, in a little over a week you'd have gleaned a really good work ethic just from these few chapters in Proverbs! If you diligently thought about these verses, and put them into practice, it would change the way you live--and all in 9 days! Wow! Think of it. A lot of little changes go along way! Next time you get your Bible out and read, remember how the word of God is changing you and alot of little changes make a big change in a short time! Blessings, LORI

A VISIT FROM A BADGER

I forgot to tell some of our real exciting news yesterday. JT was out at the back of our woods to check the trail cam. When we brought in the pictures we were surprised to find a badger very beautifully photographed near where we usually see the bucks! We didn't think that we had badgers in our area, but apparently we were wrong! After mentioning it to several friends, we were assured that they are living in our neck of the woods; not really plentiful, but here, nonetheless. And where there's one, there has to be more! Could he be the culprit in the chicken murders that happened a few months ago while I was gone to church on a Sunday morning? I still think a fox was responsible for that!

Today I'm taking a break from gardening, canning, and freezing. My Kentucky cousins were here to spend the night and just left this morning. There's never enough time to visit, it seems. We will get to see them again on our next trip to Tennessee in the fall.

I was mentioning courtships that have gone wrong on yesterday's post. Because of the nature of courtship--that parents are pretty actively involved in the process--there must be a vibrant relationship with God by all parties involved. When you are in a position of helping someone (your children) discern God's will in such an important decision, you really need to be sure you are close to the Lord. You need to be Spirit-led and not just relying on your own wisdom. As I mentioned before, the one thing that I think is missing in much of the courtship discussions we hear today is this total reliance on Holy Spirit led living. If we as Christians would really be close to the Lord and keen at hearing His voice and living His instructions, we would make less mistakes. This is true for all areas of life, not just courtship.

As I grow older I am realizing more and more that we can do things, make decisions, etc., out of one of two motivations--faith or fear. Maybe there are more, but for now let me make a point on these. Romans 14:23 says in part, "...for whatever is not from faith is sin." This applies to choosing a marriage partner. If courtship is approached by people being led of the Spirit and no fear, selfishness, or other motivation is involved, then the results will be better.

I thought alot about this recently as I pondered "preparedness." In earlier blogs, I posted alot about that since it's a favorite subject of mine. I love to stock pile by canning and so on. It's something I've always done and I guess it was sort of ingrained into me from seeing my grandma's shelves lined with the "fruits" and "vegetables" of her labors! I think that if I had a huge income, I'd still can and freeze and scrimp since it's just part of me and what I do. But if I do it out of faith; a heart that is thankful to God for abundance, a sensibility that wants to be a good steward and not waste, that's one thing--that's like a faith motivation. I believe God gave me good things to preserve. On the other hand, if I do it because I feel I need to rely on my own efforts so I won't starve or I fear I can't trust my Lord to provide, then that is the fear motivation kicking in. We must do all things from faith just like the scripture indicates. And the same goes for courtship. This is where we must rely on the guidance of the Holy Spirit. All parties involved need to be in tune to the Spirit's leading--the couple, the parents, dare I even say, the church? Churches could be really helpful and provide better atmospheres for courtships to occur, but that's another subject!

It's a beautiful, sunny, fall-like day here in Michigan and I hope it's the same where you are. Blessings, LORI

SEPTEMBER IN THE GARDEN AND VARIOUS THOUGHTS

The last two days have been completely consumed with work! After a day of work yesterday, Rhiannon and I went grocery shopping to restock the house after vacation. On our way home we visited the corn patch and picked 3 clothes baskets full of more corn to freeze since it's on it's way out. It was getting late and we had to hurry. We didn't husk it in the field. This morning she helped husk some before she had to go to work and then I got stuck all alone doing corn for the whole day! What a lot of work! I did manage to get a load of clothes on the line and supper in the crock pot between husking, washing, boiling, cooling, cutting corn, and cleaning up the kitchen! Then end result was 22 quarts of lovely corn to put in the freezer for winter. Our freezer is currently so full, I honestly don't know where I'd fit another item! This is something to be thankful for!

I hope to get a chance to write some more thoughts about courtship tomorrow. I do want to say that I know of courtships that have "gone wrong." I was pondering that today as I was working. I was thinking about what all I wanted to write next about the subject and that's certainly something to be considered. I know of situations where the courtship didn't end in marriage, but was broken off in the early stages. But isn't that much better than what most folks experience--dating several people and experiencing break-ups and all the resulting emotional baggage on a regular basis? I think in the cases I'm referring to, there were some hurts to get over, some scars to heal, but certainly not to the extent of what failed dating relationships leave. After all the years in the pastorate, I also know of situations where dating relationships fell apart leaving tremendous scars. I've talked to young people who were grieving over heartaches.

On that subject, my next book, the sequel to "The Fields of May,"--the title is not set in stone yet or I'd tell you!--is a book that deals with what might happen if a courtship "goes sour." I am anxious for the release of this book because it follows some of the characters from the first book and instead of everything working out just as planned, there are alot of setbacks that occur before the characters get their lives in order. I hope it will give readers a desire to look very carefully and seriously at their relationships before entering into them as well as encourage those who have made wrong turns with the hope that God is all about redemption!

Just a little side note on another subject--yesterday I believe I was given what might be called a "divine appointment." It made my day. I had called a lady about a business matter and as we talked I sensed her discouragement and disappointment with several things she was going through. She had concerns that mirrored some that I deal with myself. Listening to her was like hearing a recording of myself at my lowest times. I told her I'd like to pray with her before we hung up and she seemed so appreciative. I pondered that call quite a while yesterday. She is a believer, but I think she needed someone to minster to her. I often want to do "big things" for the Lord and probably fail by missing opportunities like that one yesterday. Someone emailed me yesterday morning with specific encouragements that made my day much lighter. What if all of us as Christians were to take our days very seriously, looking for the small things--divine appointments--where we are to minister in quiet ways? Over time all these small moments would add up to alot of ministry! I thank God that I was able to recognize that a prayer was needed at that moment. I think I was more aware because someone had ministered to me through an encouraging email in the morning. When I write these articles on my blog, I am trying in a small way to be an encouragement to those who read them. I don't have a big platform, but want to do what I can for the Lord!

What's new in the garden? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Oh, maybe the zinnia finally bloomed. But other than that, it's looking very Septemer-ish. By that I mean there's a tired, dry sort of look to everything as flowers make a last feeble attempt to bloom before winter sets in. Some vegetables are still being harvested and my red raspberries are making a noble showing, but that's all! Blessings, LORI

QUICK NEWS

Just wanted to post a quick note to tell you all of my busy day! I'm taking a break from the courtship articles, though I plan to return to them tomorrow if time permits. I have been looking up related scriptures on the subject and did that for a portion of my devotional time this morning.

We were busy all day. After going with Clint while he got a haircut, we met Rhiannon for lunch. She brought me home and Clint went to do some pastoral visiting. I had to come home since I had gotten out several pounds of round steak from the freezer and was waiting for it to thaw for canning. I cut it up and canned 17 pints of meat in the pressure cooker! It really looks nice! I was down to one jar and we love that pre-prepared meat for spur-of-the-moment meals. All the while I was watching the canner (you can't just ignore a pressure cooker!) I was emptying cupboards and washing walls, shelves, woodwork, dishes, etc. I re-arranged cupboards and drawers and even though the meat takes 75 minutes once it reaches pressure, I still only completed about 1/3 of the kitchen cupboards and drawers. I was hanging out a mega bunch of laundry as well. I was thankful for a day with wind for it to dry. Got all that done and when the meat was finishsed I went out and weeded profusely in the garden. Got alot cleaned up but not nearly all of it and that's the third weeding in a row!

Discovered that the green beans are ready again, so after getting the laundry down, I picked those! Tomorrow I have to go pick corn and freeze that. The work is never-ending this time of year! I'll be ready for vacation at the end of the week! Blessings, LORI

BROKEN HEARTS, WOUNDED HEARTS

Isn't summer great?! I have been enjoying the variety of fresh foods that are available right now for just pennies! Summer is great for that fact alone. We eat so much less fruit and vegetables in the winter just because they are not as readily available as they are now. Just this week we were privileged to eat green beans, onions, potaotes, tomatoes, blueberries, watermelon, corn, peaches and probably more than I've forgotten--all fresh and in season. Our gardens are about to bear another crop of red raspberries and some watermelon in addition to more squash and all the other stuff like potatoes that are still waiting to be dug. I am hoping to get the gardens all cleaned up before we head out for a vacation next Sunday right after church. We will be going to Nashville with most of the family. Looking forward to that, but that means my week is shaping up to be a busy one with housecleaning, gardens to attend to etc.

In the continuing discussion of courtship, I want to focus today on "broken hearts, wounded hearts." The common system of dating creates both of these in abundance. I tend to think that most often girls are the ones affected by this, yet I know it can certainly be true for the guys as well. When we cling to a system that requires no committment, we find many broken and wounded hearts left in the wake. Humans were never intended for that. Before the fall, we have the example in Adam and Eve. Adam had one wife, Eve. He was designed to give his heart and committment to one woman for life. There was to be no death and no separation. Since the fall, all kinds of "less than perfect" living has resulted, fueled by a sinful nature. I ask you, which system further promotes the sinful or lower nature of a human being, "dating", or "courtship"? It seems to me to be obvious. In dating, no committment is expected and often it is even discouraged. How many times have you heard parents say, 'I want my child to date around and experience alot of different people before they settle on one person for life.'? That's the popular thought--you can't possibly know what you want unless you've tasted all the variety that's out there. Again, this thinking leaves the working of the Holy Spirit completely out of a life. He can help us to understand what's best for us without trying all the different options, saving us much confusion and heartache.

I have known of girls (and even guys) that are left heartbroken after dating breakups. The nature of a woman is to pour her heart out in love. It is easy for women and girls to do this. The nurturing aspect of a woman is strong and when misdirected (dating) and then rejected, it can be devastating. At the very least, it creates a heart that is wounded. A part of your being that should have been reserved for one person for life (until death do us part) is now gone, sacrificed on someone else that didn't care, had no committment, or decided you were not right for them for one reason or another. We have an epidemic of girls in this country that are plagued with eating disorders and other self destructive issues. Is it possible we have set up a system that contributes to their lack of respect for themselves? I think we have. Dating and being rejected sets a person up for a warped view of their value. The same can be true of the guys, I just think it happens less. Of course, these self-destructive behaviors are not only caused by dating, it's just one more contributing factor that we've let slip in.

Some of my favorite movies are the depictions of Jane Austen novels. In one of the movies a certain gentleman in the story had made a committment of engagement to a girl in his younger years. He later realized he had done something hasty in his youth that turned out to be unwise. Instead of walking away from what he considered a binding committment, he was going to go through with a marriage even though his heart had certainly changed and his youthful impulsiveness was discovered to be unwise. These stories were set in the early 1800's and that just goes to show how much we've changed. Back then your word was your word. If you said it you meant it and you followed through. Thinking of this story reminded me of a verse in Psalm 15:4 In part the verse says, "he who swears to his own hurt and does not change." This Psalm is describing high character qualities and that's one of them--a person is willing to swear or commit to something and follow through even if it hurts him. We have come so far from that. Our lifestyles in pre-marriage do not mirror anything even close to that and the result is many devastated and broken hearts.

Marriage and committment are good for a society. Why then do we hold on to a system that promotes the exact opposite?

I hope to write more on the subject tomorrow. I hope you're not bored with these "articles." I think it's important for us as Christians to ponder some deep subjects and be ready to discuss them for the sake of being salt and light. And....having been a pastor's wife for 17 years, I can honestly say we have seen much of the destruction that happens to people and so much could be avoided, especially in this area if a little change in our convictions were to take place.

Got to spend some time with Emma today after a whole week of not seeing her and that was surely fun. Had a nice time at church with much encouragement from the Lord. I hope you can say the same! Blessings, LORI

COURTSHIP CONTINUED

Yet another segment in the courtship chronicles! I had not gotten this posted so the date is a day old. I'm posting this on Saturday in caes you were wondering!
Two days ago I had a really nice article all written with my thoughts in order on the subject when somehow the computer kicked me off and I was not able to recover the same thoughts--will trust the Lord to bring them to mind again if they were worth writing!

I had made some comments on how I think we can sometimes get a little bogged down with rules for courtship. I would love to see all of western Christianity embrace something like courtship wholeheartedly when it comes to finding a mate. But we are certainly far from that. I also hope that as the idea and concept of courtship "catches on" in the broader church, that we can raise the standards a notch even from what we currently see.

Let me refer further to what I said yesterday. I think instead of trying to stick to lists of rules about how a courtship goes, we would be further ahead to emphasize the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of all believers. For instance, if a young man and a young woman are living very close to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will guide them, teaching them the Word and bringing it to memory. This kind of close relationship will result in people who do the right thing because of a relationship to God, not a set of rules. It would be a committment to purity and Spirit-led living borne out of the heart and the rules would be secondary. I've known of courtships where the parents and young people did everything "right" to the best of their understanding and still the courtship didn't last or result in marriage. We are humans and subject to making errors.

I think we really need to catch this kind of vision for Holy Spirit-led living in realtion to courtship since more than just the very young are looking for mates. For instance, many people are waiting to marry later in life than they did a few decades ago. At least it seems that way to me. It is totally thinkable that people just out of their teens would be guided more closely by the input of their parents in a courtship situation, but what about those who have been out of the home and in careers for some time? What about widows and widowers? This is one reason why I believe the Holy Spirit filled life is the key here and not the parent-led, it-has-to-be-done-this-way method. I am not knocking parent-led courtships--they have their place, but we need to develop a mindset of purity that accommodates many different age levels and family situations. Remember, the standards of purity don't change with a person's age, but maybe how a courtship is conducted would change.

I know a very Godly family that actually were the ones who first introduced me to the whole concept of courtship many years ago. Even they admitted that when one of their daughters married, the courtship was conducted a bit differently than the traditional definition that they had first embraced. The groom was a pastor, obviously older and more mature than some other young men might be. Still it was all done in a pure, God-honoring way, but maybe with a bit less chaperoning than a younger couple might desire. Their experience describes my point exactly. It seems to me that the courtship can be led by the Holy Spirit according to the particular couple involved. After all, the actual definition of courtship is not spelled out in the New Testament. Standards of purity are given. Some Old Testament examples exist to give us clues of what marriage and betrothal practices were like in ancient days. However, we must remember that examples that we cite from the Old Testament to support courtship, were occurring at a time when people had not yet received a full revelation of the scripture or complete understandings of the nature of God, because Jesus had not come to earth yet.

Now, don't run out on me here--what I am saying is that for the Christian, we now have the full revelation of God through Jesus Christ as taught to us in the New Testament, coupled with the Old Testament. The patriarchs were coming into the knowledge of God's character and so were not always operating the same as a Christian nowadays would or should, though we learn from their lives and give them due respect. Plus, as a New Testament church, we have the Holy Spirit given to every believer since Pentecost. So let's be wise and careful when we cite only Old Testament practices to support our thinking. We may partially be seeing various cultural practices in the Old Testament. However, I can think of one very important betrothal in the New Testament that gives us a little glimpse into the practices of Israel? Can you? Clue: This particular betrothal occurred before the giving of the Holy Spirit to the church. I'll mention the answer to that one tomorrow.

I hope this stimulates your thinking on the subject and of course, I realize that I may have missed something in my explanations, but I am doing my best to encourage thinking on a subject that is dear to my heart!

Yesterday I had another busy day. I got a chance to crochet on another project that has been under construction for too long. It's my "tv-watching" project. Remember that I spoke of consistency the other day? Well, I'm trying to practice this and it's paying off! This particular project actually looks do-able after only a few days of consistent 1/2 hours spent on it. The same is true of the gardens. I weeded some more yesterday after the sun dipped behind the woods and the temperatures lowered. I am making progress. Canned 7 more quarts of peaches yesterday and 14 more quarts tonight to finish off the batch. We found a great deal on blueberries and bought a case. Clint helped me wash and freeze all of them and finish canning the peaches since we were out grocery shopping with friends most of the afternoon. The cooker is just now coming to a boil with the last batch of peaches. I'm tired! Blessings, LORI

THOUGHTS ON COURTSHIP

I have decided to post an article or even a series on the subject of "courtship." I think being a "granny" now and having had one child go through what might be termed "courtship" followed by a wonderful Christian marriage, qualifies me to make comments. Another qualifying factor is the fact that for 17 years I have been a pastor's wife, involved with my husband in listening to the heartaches and woes of failing marriages. We have seen the devastation that dating causes in the church and also experienced the heartache and results that a church experiences when families break up. Since my first book is a Christian courtship fiction story and the second and third are sequels of the same subject, I thought it would be appropriate for me to begin writing about the subject on my blog. People are always asking me what my books are about and I have to explain that they are Christian courtship fiction and then I need to explain in a nutshell what courtship is. Most people are then very interested, not turned off as you might suspect!

I know there are alot of definitions of the term floating around out there, but what I am speaking of when I talk about courtship, is a return to a concept of pre-marriage behavior that mirrors more closely what would be biblically sound and have been practiced in earlier days. However, I've got some suggestions and observations that I think are unique. Please bear with me even if you're already married. I find that people that are married and didn't go through a courtship (like me) are sometimes the biggest advocates of such a plan because they realize what the dating system of our culture lacks. Let me make a disclaimer here; I have a wonderful Christian husband and when we were dating in the 70's, there was little or no information out there about "courting" as I'm describing it. Thank God, I was lead to someone who was a Christian and everything worked out for the best. I look back and see that I could easily have fallen into the trap of the culture and settled for all the wrong things in a man just becuase the "system" encourages mostly outward qualities and leaves God out of the process.

There are others out there who have probably done a better job of describing courtship (I've read them) than I will, but since I have some unique angles and thoughts, I'll go ahead and put in my two cents.

Since writing the book, "The Fields of May," which is blatantly in favor and descriptive of "courtship" and strict behavioral standards, I have received a variety of comments from readers and I hope they keep coming! One young girl, not necessarily in a church, raved about the book and used it for a book report at her public school. Many older ladies, I believe unfamiliar with courtship and already married themselves, were equally complimentary. Most folks have been very kind in their comments, even enthusiastic. Interestingly enough, some readers from very conservative Christian backgrounds were the ones that gave me minor criticisms. The criticism I most often hear runs along these lines: people don't really live that way anymore, the characters are too "good," and it's a rare young lady who has a home life like the characters in your book.

This last comment is the one I want to center on for this article. I've read alot of descriptions of courtship that lay out a series of rules that young people should follow to conduct an acceptable courtship. In other words, some people have a pretty clearly defined idea in their minds as to how this should all work. But I really believe that as a society, even in the church, we don't have the fences (that's a hint about my next book by the way!) in place that will allow most young people to follow a courtship model. Is that the fault of the church? Maybe. Probably. After all, we're supposed to be the salt in a society. We certainly could do better as Christians in creating a culture in our churches that supported biblical pre-marriage relationships. So what about the young woman who is a convert to Christianity and she has no believing father or mother to help her walk through the steps of finding a husband? In the traditional definitions of courtship, the father and mother of the young couple are very actively involved in the process of prayer before the young people decide if this will be God's will. This is the way my book goes as well, so I'm not criticizing that. I think it's appropriate. But what about all those young people that are not in a Christian home, but have been converted or what about those who are in Christian homes, but mom and dad are not grounded enough in the word to aid them in such an endeavor (there's way more of that going on than you might imagine!)? I think that's one of the real problems here. Even as Christians, many of us are not grounded enough to even know what we believe or should practice, let alone help someone else through such important decisions. We've got to step up to the plate on alot of issues, this being just one.

I've got a lot more to say on the subject. I'm just hitting the tip of the iceberg and really didn't even get to any of my major thoughts. I'll keep posting on this subject for awhile, hoping it triggers some thoughts for you to meditate on. I want so desperately to be salt and light. Don't you? More on courtship to follow....

Tried to can peaches today. Got all set up only to discover they weren't as ready as I thought. So I stopped that process for today and will try again tomorrow. Got the ham, beans, onions, and red potatoes in the crock pot for supper. Smells wonderful. There's such satisfaction in making a meal that came largely from your garden. It makes all the work worth it! I hope to pick berries this afternoon. Last night we got to eat the first sweet corn from the patch Rhiannon is privileged to use. So tasty, Blessings, LORI

More on Proverbs 31

What a full and rewarding day it was here today! About 11:30 this morning we went to the fairgrounds in Centreville to hear our kids and some of their friends play praise and worship for the Christian festival that was held there today. They have practiced so hard for a long time. Their band is called "With Abandon." They were the opening band and it was a beautiful day for those who came out to join in the fun. We had so many other things to do that we left shortly after they were done playing, but enjoyed hearing them and seeing a few friends that were there. I thought they were great, but I'm a bit prejudiced as a mom!

When I got home I decided to ride my bike over to a friends house about 1/2 mile away to attend her garage sale. Business was a bit slow so we had a nice little visit before I rode on home. That gave me a little extra exercise as the wind was against me all the way to her house. Real good workout. I had walked for about 1/2 hour this morning and so coupled together that was good exercise.

When I arrived back home I quickly set to work papering Mom's west kitchen wall. Rhiannon had recently painted it bright, true red on the bottom. I bought a fine print blue and white paper for the upper part @ $1/roll!!!! Yes, it was a bargain. I put that up in just a few hours. It went together really nicely though the print was so tiny it was a little tricky to match. What a beautiful, fresh look it gives the kitchen and so far the whole project, even counting materials I decided not to use, is about $30. I had bought a paper border for $1/roll as well, but we decided to put up chair rail instead. That's the only part left to finish. Mom's kitchen has white cupboards with a tiny beading stripe in them. We have decorated the room with accessories of a farm kitchen. Some antiques, mostly in the primary colors, sit above her cupboards. There are bowls, tin signs, wicker chickens, plates, milk bottles, and old pie plates. All in all, it's one of my favorite rooms in the house. The decor could be described as "1930-40's farm kitchen." Mom was able to secure an old enamel top table several years ago with two matching red chairs that are now in mint condition after a friend touched them up and recoverd the chairs. The table has a red design. It completes the whole look. I intend to put some blue and white dishes on the newly papered wall along with the feed sacks that were already hanging there. Her red-checked curtains on the window were a nice accent.

As soon as I got done, a knock came on Mom's door and old friends we hadn't seen in a long, long time had come to visit. The daughter is my age and we hadn't seen each other in over a year, maybe longer. If she's reading this, she can comment and make herself known if she wants!!! We walked out to the English garden and sat in the center and visited. It was a lovely day for garden sitting! We had the nicest long visit and it was truly a highlight of my day! As we sat there, numerous hummingbirds flitted by visiting the many flowers, coral bells being their current favorite. Many were the ruby throated varieties. They look like jewels floating in the air. Wonderful!

After our friends left we grilled chicken on the deck and I made a "kabob" out of onions, peppers, and tomatoes. It was yummy with a sauce I concocted out of stuff in the fridge. Rhiannon did up the dishes and I went out to do some little garden chores. I used a poison ivy killer on some of that weed that had come up between my flowers. I hope this will do the trick without killing the flowers. It had come up between the leaves of echinacea and a liatris. I really am trying to get both those flowers going in profusion and don't want to lose them. I was trying to be really careful. After that I sprayed the last of my insecticidal soap on my potatoes and hollyhocks. It's expensive stuff, but totally organic and harmless. It seemed to control potato bugs in other years and so it was worth the price.

What's new in the garden? The peonies opened yesterday as well as a little miniature rose. I picked a quart of strawberries today--the first ones!! Wow, that seems early. They are certainly tasty and the bed is loaded with berries. I noticed some of the flower seeds I planted are coming up; morning glories, nicotania, bachelor's buttons.

Just a little side note. For those of you who have read "The Fields of May," I have a few little tidbits in there leading up to some events that occur in the sequel. Did any of you pick up on that when reading the book? I'm curious. If so, let me know. Since I'm working diligently on the sequel and the third book, I'm wondering if anyone had ideas about how the story might continue to unfold while they were reading the first book. I am dedicated, though to not giving out too much detail on the contents of the next one, so you'll have to read it to connect the two stories!

A few more thoughts on Proverbs 31. Clint's grandma, Sally, an avid gardener, once told me something I'll never forget. She joked about how she often thought of verse 14 of that chapter every time she went out to her vegetable garden to pick the crops. Her garden seemed a long way from her back door. She said she thought of the phrase, "she brings her food from afar," while she was hauling all those beans, corn, tomatoes, etc., in to the kitchen. I think of that often when I'm in the garden. I suppose it was really ringing true all winter as I trudged out to the chicken coop to gather eggs in sub-zero weather. It seemed like it was "afar" for sure! Well, we should be able to apply the tiniest phrases of the Bible to our lives, shouldn't we?

How about a few thoughts from verse 23--"Her husband is known in the gates, when he sits among the elders of the land." This woman's diligence, wisdom, and virtue even helps the rest of the family. It almost sounds like her good qualities help to elevate her husband in the eyes of others. After all, what would it be like for a man of high character to have a wife whose life was characterized by foolishness and lack of discernement? It would certainly reflect negatively on him. This challenges me to be mindful of how I behave because it reflects on my husband and my family. A good wife is a blessing to a man. I am working on being a blessing.

Verse 25 reads, "strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come." I want to be clothed in strength and honor, don't you? I want to know there is a time of rejoicing coming for me. Living in wisdom clothes you in a very profound way. Even though the rewards of right living may not be immediate, there is coming a time when the righteous will flourish and our God will set right all the wrongs. His people will receive their reward and things will be run the way God intended. This is a day we can all look forward to with joy. Let's ponder the wonderful reward of being a child of God who can look forward to many future blessings as well as the glories of a wonderful day like today! Blessings, LORI