Pious Living

This year has been full of good reading, i enjoy sitting with the children and reading aloud, though now my audience is getting smaller, since most of them are over 7 years old and reading themselves....but here and there they also join in the coach and share the rest time after dinner. We started the year with the Laura Ingalls series, such a beautiful way to start the year as we follow the family and Laura in their learning. When spring was approaching we read Tom Sawyer and also the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,  two classics of Mark Twain that remind us of something we all long for, a Home. Finally we have been enjoying Rudyard Kipling and his Jungle Book. Now that in Wisconsin it seems summer is short and fading away, I am considering reading aloud again Heidi, every chapter brings tears to my eyes and my heart gets filled with compassion, a good idea to break the hardness of the hot season.

One of the things of good books is that you can apply its lessons to your everyday life. For example, in the Jungle Book, the second chapter when Mowgli is captured by the Monkey People, has been giving me ideas on how Christians and Heathen alike are under the same circumstances, yet they respond so differently. the Jungle people, law abiding people can be liken to the Christian, whereas the monkey people to the Heathen. How is my life daily in these terms, am i responding to human nature and circumstances here on earth as heathen or as christian?

I am still looking into how the schedule is going to work, to adapt to my husband I thought I should wake up later, and not lead the household in the first hours of the day, but alas, then i observe my spiritual life also sinking backwards and unclean thoughts coming loudly....Somebody told me: Early rising is a virtue, do not abandon it, yet in the Bible it also says: Those who lose their life will gain it. It will take time to define our lives together as a family, a family such as God intended. I am patiently waiting for the next step to take.

Lately i have found these beautiful: Rules for a Godly Life, which consist of 20 pages of rules for pious living.

The first part consists on training your thought life. One example is : Keep free from wicked, idle, or unclean thoughts. Prov 4:23. For as your thoughts are so is your speech, your conduct, and your entire way of life.

The second part dwells in our words. One example is: Seek to avoid therefore, all non-edifying talk; let your words be thoughtful, few and true.

The last part focus on works. One example is : Stand firm, with all your strenght , against your bosom sins, those which your personal nature, more than any other sin, has a tendency to commit.

 I am so grateful to have found them, I wish I had somebody to be accountable for each other. Perhaps my husband. I am aware of these rules for monastic order and other religious, yet in the lay people i haven't found them, why is so? is it because the serving of each other in Godly marriage brings sanctity enough? Perhaps. But as I look around and at myself I see the need of more, more training to be walking the path of Jesus.

Adjusting

This  month we are hosting our exchange student from France and he has helped us in many ways. not only with work at the farm, but also and more important for me in checking how are we doing spiritually: Are we beter than last year, did we grow in hospitality? are we more understanding of other people's ways? can we still hold our beliefs while being loving of different people? we had a lively discussion one night with creationism versus evolutionism, at the end we sang the Song of Peace :

This is my song, Oh God of all the nations,
A song of Peace for lands afar and mine.
This is my home, the country where my heart is;
Here are my hopes, my dreams, my sacred shrine.
But other hearts in other lands are beating,
With hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,
And sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine.
But other lands have sunlight too and clover,
And skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
Oh hear my song, oh God of all the nations,
A song of Peace for their land and for mine.

May Truth and Freedom come to every nation;
May Peace abound where strife has raged so long;
That each may seek to love and build together,
A world united, righting every wrong;
A world united in its love for freedom,
Proclaiming Peace together in one song.

Still the question is pending. How are we doing spiritually?
 

My husband finally got away from his regular job and is working at the farm. this is a big change for us and a big step towards our vision of family working together as a means to grow in sanctity. For me is extremely challenging because I have to give up my way of doing things, I am organized, early riser, timely and efficient you would say, whereas my husband has the other set of qualities. How difficult is for me to let go of what I have been doing, managing the children and the home/farm life, and let him step up to his God given responsability of the leader of the home. It was easier when he was working at an 8 hour job daily, but now it is taking a great adjustment. I know is pride standing in the way, my prideful look at things, and I ask for prayers, that the Holy Spirit will work through me and let me adapt to my husband's ways. Lovingly. Without grudges. As a helpmeet.

It may not be so different -from one standpoint of view - to see how are be doing with hospitality and how are we doing with our spouse. It may well be that one is like the other, and that our relationship with God shapes the way we relate with family and strangers alike.

Another cow!

We have looked at the other two experiments, lettuces and radishes. The leaf planting experiment has given results that are expected in the planting calendar whereas the root planting again show results opposite to the ones expected in the calendar. Right now the hypothesis that seems to gain weight is the one that considers the moon forces of waxing and waning to be stronger than other factors.

There is a second cow in the pasture, Lucy has come to live with us and is expecting a calf for the next month! We wanted to see how another cow would change the relation within the animals and us, it is quite interesting to note the changes, even though we treasured the idea of the family cow, it also seems fair to have a herd instead, a small one. We also have aquired some sheep and have enlarged our pasture fields, it seems like a good venture but time will tell. Meanwhile we are thankful how these new animals came to us, a friend was in the move and needed to sell them, it was a special time together, checking things and making sure the transition was smooth. We miss you Ginny, thanks!

Hypothesis

We have the radishes ready for eating and with the experiment on planting dates we have observed that the results are different than the expected. Our first group of radishes, two varieties planted on a root day 23rd April are rather small and have less color, vibrancy in general. The two varieties planted on 25th April during the eclipse ( about 50 each group) are bigger and more vibrant, plus the taste is crispier and also spicier at the end kick.

Left to right: Group 1 and 2 planted on 23rd April, root day, Heirloom and Belle.
Group 3 and 4 planted on 25th April eclipse, Heirloom and Belle.

One hypothesis is that the radishes follow the moon cycle strongly than the other influences could account, and that that period of time was coming from waxing to full moon, thus bringing forces of the growing leaves to a halt point (full moon) and the forces of stopping roots to a halt as well.

Another hypothesis is that the intention of the observer brings more forces into consideration than the actual planets, because even though the results are not what were expected they were actually the inwardly desired by the observer.

Yet a third explanation could be that there needs to be more sets of experiments to draw any conclusion, and that the preparations need to be activated better for the results to show in accordance to the planting calendar and not in reverse. ( we may have time yet to see results with the leaf planting and the flower planting this year)

There is always room for more hypothesis...

Meanwhile we had a family staying with us, also interested in the change technology is bringing to the social aspect and how to transform that, either withdrawing from technology and working outside of it or overcoming it.

It is very difficult to do the second and I have to admit with children to raise it is more so. Yet  I am reminded that love overcomes from within, and avoidance is usually a shortcut that does not brings us to the golden road. But again, in a practical way, how can one transform it?

We know of alcoholics and other addictions, for a while is better to stay off temptation, to avoid bars and places that are related to the activity we are trying to overcome. It must work similarly in a spiritual level too, for a while we might have to completely break off technology so we can restore our social interactions, heal our senses, resensitize our human qualities which are based on the Spirit.

When one is strong then we can go back to those places and help humanity in their fall in the deep well, but not before, lest we fall back with them without ever noticing it....

May we keep walking on the narrow path, and may God grant us the sight to see the edge, often is better to struggle in our thought life before we are thrown into the deep, but this may look different for each one of us, as we are guided to overcome our own darkness.

Often when faced with disappointments or trials we grumble, yet. the crumbling that takes place is just what the Spirit needs to work with, "The more the child of God crumbles, the more freedom the Spirit has to work." The Holy Spirit, Abiding Comforter  David L. Martin.

What Love brings

 

Love brings such wonders, is hard to describe,

when one, life ponders, as more years arrive.

 

Sometimes we wonder what will be in store,

we sit asunder and wait at the door.

 

Ch: God humble us low, whatever it takes

                      Your blessings bestow for your kingdom's sake.

 

Why God has changed plans, why this happened now?

yet Love understands, we gratefully bow.

 

The more the surprise, the more we're in shock,

the more he can use our lives for his flock.

Being God's friend

Due to wet weather we postponed the planting of yesterday to today, still we kept with the schedule pretty good and we are seeing the peas already coming through, potatoes are in, four kinds of varieties, and lettuces and chards as well as the wild flowers and our herb garden. Next week we will do lots of weeding and cultivating, since the rains are making everything green and growing, and leave the following week for the next group planting.

We were given the cow, she is such a sweet  cow, Bessie is her name and it suits her very well. We have plenty of milk now, making butter on Friday, whipped cream and still lots of milk to think what to do! Perhaps we will try mato, a fresh cheese from my country,  that is eaten at desserts with honey or olive oil and salt.

We are also harvesting nettles and the first dandelion flowers, and putting them to dry for teas.

It is interesting to note that some families have a tendency to have boys, and some families a tendency to have girls. I have been observing this for quite a while, and can say that in general you could see that the mother that is more of a round disposition favors the birth of boys and the more skinny type the girls; it is linked to their personality, the former being more in tune unconsciously with the natural cycles and yet slower to be impressed by the forces, and the latter being more nervous and as such grasping the forces earlier when they are weaker. I am trying to see the parallel in the plant world, where the forces are so plainly seen in form.

Lately the laziness in awakening has been bothering me, I see it as a sinful attitude, pampering the flesh one more minute as I lay comfortably with the blankets. Now  that I have the responsibility of milking Bessie at 6 in the morning, I wake up promptly, yet I can see this is only a crutch, an almost physical necessity that brings me to comply with the Spirit and wrest away from my flesh, yet, it is rightly done? I am still aware of my weakness, if the crutch disappeared would I be still lazying around in the morning? That is the difference with Godly sorrow and worldly sorrow, the one changes your heart and sin is overcome, the other may have the outward appearance of a change of heart but it is not so.  Yet also there are times where we are instructed to resist temptation and other times when the right thing to dio is to flee from the devil, what is the difference between them? How can we know which one to do? This is an example easy to write about,  the lazyness in awakening, but there are many other examples of these  struggles in our lives, crowding our minds, hearts and actions. May God help me overcome sin in my life, may I yield to Him for it.

 

Being God’s friend

I thought I was walking close to you, Oh God,

I had heard your calling, your footsteps I trod.

For trials in life I looked up to you,

and though it took time, I followed your rule.

Now once more I’ve fallen, I lost your sure sight,

Why it has to happen if I am your bride?

Temptation comes swiftly like in David’s times,

Before I could gage it I dropped from your arms.

Oh please, God forgive me, come near me again,

Fill my mind with sweetness of your promised land.

Take all the temptations away from my heart

And take captive my thoughts to obedience at last.

The love due to my spouse shall I tend with care

The more the occasion is loaded with snares.

Help us in our faith, so love increases,

The Holy Spirit’s claim, obeying eases.

If you but just use us as weapons in war

I sure would gladly bear this trial and more.

Oh, God please have mercy, let us soldiers be,

We’ll pray in your army as you see a need.

Some planting

We have the peas and radishes in the land, (with radishes on 4/23 and 4/25 to see effects on the plant growth), we are planting lettuces Monday morning and strawberries on the evening, later on the week, Friday, we will also plant lettuces to compare the effect of the solar eclipse; plus potatoes are ready too. The sunflowers are also pulling up and we have the collection of medicinal herbs ready. It is an interesting time of year, we do hope not to put to much in the front that later cannot be taken care.....May 21 Tuesday we will plant the beets for our local cooperative, and on saturday 25 with the lunar eclipse we will do so again, to make observations.

There are some verses from Ecclesiastes XI that are interesting to ponder, as we look into the planting calendar, we could find this year some evidence for a case against or for the observing of the days.

Last Tuesday we burnt our land, the fields that needed to be cleaned, it was such an awesome experience, to see the flames rising amidst the darker night, it was a good metaphor of how much light wee need to bring to the darkest parts of ourselves.

Finally we have a friend doing an interesting initiave with the intention to bring closer the farmer and the client, you can check his project at  www.farmmatch.com

Hoping you all have a Spirit filled Spring as Pentecost approaches.

Drawings

Alive Traditions

 

 

 

 

 

Love Conquers Death