Day 25 A Season of Harvest

Yesterday was combine day.  The grain was ready to thrash.  It was a huge answer to prayer.  We have been in a bit of a pickle.  This is just one piece of the puzzle that needed to fall into place.  It's going to snow. The cows are stuck in the coral.  The fences are torn down to the pasture.  The new coral is still being built.  The fences are still being built.  Soon the cows will move to the new corral and then out into the pasture and onto the corn stalks.  It is a season filled with constant change.  It is harvest time. Now the corn is gone.  The golden kernels filled the hopper of the combine and emptied out the spout into the grain cart.  It was simply fascinating to watch.  Dustin and I rode in the combine.  Watching the green nose ride perpendicular to the sod.  Carefully picking up corn stalks as it moved down each row.  The process from here to now has taken a long time.  A lot of sweat, back breaking corrugate row digging, hand weed pulling and countless prayers to heaven.  It is finished. I will get the yields later today. 

For a crop to yield a good harvest the soil must be prepared.  This process of soil preparation in order to plant takes much more than I thought was necessary.  The ground needs to be tilled, disced and often plowed.  We often check soil samples to ensure what fertilizers needs to be applied.  Sometimes we are blessed with compost or manure.  The ground is ready for seed.  Then it is roller harrowed down. Now it is corrugated.  Then the watering begins.  Now we watch for bugs, weeds and growth.  Soon it is time to cultivate.  In due time the stalks grow tall and tassel.  The ears form and kernels develop.  The weather turns cold and dry and the corn plant dries up.  Finally it is harvest.

I am reminded of seasons in my faith journey when it seems like their is just no fruit.  No harvest.  It takes time.  The farmer has faith and patience.  Sometimes the best work is done in secret.  Naked to the human eye.  I have discovered this spiritual truth: God is able to do His best work in the compost of my life. 

That means the hard stuff that I don't really want to face.  The ugly stuff.  It's during this time when the seed gets buried in the ground and we wait.  Hoping that it will germinate and turn into a corn plant.  How can something so small get so big and transform into something that produces a hundred times what was planted?  This my friends is kingdom multiplication.  Jesus changes lives.  He makes something grow out of the dirt and makes it beautiful.  Harvesting fruit takes time and patience, even when dealing with souls.

"Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See [how] the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain." James 5:17

It is worth the wait.  I must stay focused at the work to be done.  Don't grow weary.  Keep doing good. 

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, That there may be food in My house, And try Me now in this," Says the LORD of hosts, "If I will not open for you the windows of heaven And pour out for you [such] blessing That [there will] not [be room] enough [to receive it]." Malachi 3:10

The windows have opened and the blessing pours down.  Our barns our full.  The harvest is complete.

Day 24 Home Sweet Home

A place to nest.

Where your heart is.

A safe place.

Home sweet home.

Home is a place I can call my own.  It's where my family is.  I spend much of my time here. Cleaning mostly.  Trying to keep the clutter at bay and somewhat under control.  I enjoy being in the kitchen making food for the family God gave me.  I love to try new recipes.  I enjoy making them, not sure if they enjoy eating all I try to make.  The sound of clothes tumbling in the dryer fills the house.  I often light an apple scented candle (it's my favorite) as I make my to-do list for the day,  The dogs curl up on their dog beds, close to the warmth of a crackling fire.  There are stacks of mail piled on my office desk and laundry in need of folding on my bedroom floor.  Tractor toys line the great room wall, ready to plow, plant and harvest.

 We have the typical morning banters of Moms versus Children.  Where are my shoes?  Brush your teeth! The yellow school bus arrives in the dark. After my chores of feeding dogs, watering chickens and feeding the horse I return inside.  Then the quiet fills the house. At my house I like to sit in the brown leather recliner.  I read and journal with Abba in the mornings.  I sip my tea and crack the blinds a bit to catch the morning glory arise.  The sunrise over the farm land reminds me this is home.  Where our family works, lives and plays.  It is our livelihood. It hasn't always been this way.  I didn't grow up with cows in the pasture or corn in my backyard.  No my home was in a suburban neighborhood with sidewalks and cold-a-sacks. Now my house is the only one on the south side of the road consisting of a mile long.  Everyone here is my neighbor.  I used to drive down the street, now it is called a road and their are no sidewalks, just ditches. 

I wonder sometimes how I have adapted to my life here in the country.  Home is where your heart is.  This is where I was made to be.  I always wanted to live in an open space, maybe the mountains or rolling hills.  I wanted horses.  I had some romantic idea of a blissful life in the country.  Boy was I wrong!  It's hard work being a farmer/rancher.  I blame this ideology on classic TV shows like Little House on the Prairie and Anne of Green Gables.  Truth be told this life isn't really anything like the TV shows.  But it is my home now.  I embrace it now and sense a deep fulfillment in my soul of being here.  Partnering with my husband as first generation farmers.  In a sense it is a bit romantic and adventurous.  We have made many mistakes, but we have learned together.  This journey we embarked upon to create a life for our family has given us great blessings.  We truly are living out our calling in the land of the living.  This is our home sweet home.

Day 23 Sharing My Faith Story

I'm just doing what Jesus told me to do.  Like the disciples untying  a donkey.  It doesn't make sense but this is what God said to do.  Many people ask, what are you doing? I'm just following instructions and being obedient to what Christ asked me to do.

I can't share about this past year without talking about my personal relationship with Christ.  I don't know why God choose me to get cancer. I do know that it has deepened my faith and my relationships to those I am closest to.

Psalm 73:28  I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge and I will tell of all His works.

I vowed at the beginning of this journey to not waste my cancer. So it would not be right for me to take this opportunity to give you an opportunity to accept the free gift of salvation.  So that you too can have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  God's love is so big, so crazy, so consuming.  He desires a relationship with you.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

Romans 6:23  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

John 3:3  I tell you the truth no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.

John 14:6  I am the way the truth and the life. No noe comes to the Father except through me.

Romans 10:9-11  That is if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Revelation 3:20  Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.

Pray with me:
Admit
Believe
Confess

Please let me know if you prayed this for the first time!

Day 22 Be Thankful

Life is messy.  Stuff happens.  Words are spoken that you can't take back.  Circumstances are UN-controllable.  Here is a definition I like for thanksgiving:  Thanksgiving is the evidence of our acceptance of whatever He gives -- thanksgiving is the manifestation of our yes to His grace.  It's choosing the have a thankful heart and live in a way that reflects gratitude regardless of circumstances -- yes, even cancer!

1 Thessalonians 5:16  Be joyful always. Pray continually.  Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

I'm still learning this.  But the crazy thing is this: discovering joy and the freedom that comes from having a thankful heart is changing me.  I am learning to not complain and to recognize the things I can not change.  All means all.  All the time we are to be thankful -- you can fill in the blank...

Day 21 Renew Strength & Grow Stronger

This last year has been like having a sabbatical.  All of my so called "normal" every-day chores were just impossible for me to accomplish.  I had to learn to let go of my to-do's and hang onto God in a brand new way.  I did a lot of waiting.  I did a lot of counting.  I counted days.  My days consisted of waiting till the next treatment or lab results...waiting.

Isaiah 40:29  God gives strength to the weary and he increases the power of the weak.

12 rounds of chemotherapy later I have learned what it means to wait on the Lord.  Through it all I discovered I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me (Philippians 4:13).  It's not about me, but about Christ in me, that's how I made it through...daily...moment by moment.

Day 20 Wrestle

I have learned it's okay to ask the hard questions.  Why me? Why now?  One must come to a place in their own personal spiritual journey and accept the sovereignty of God.  He is good -- all the time.

Ask God  questions like, Isaiah 40:27 Why do you say O Jacob and complain, O Israel, my ways are hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God.?  Another words, ahhh God it's me..don't you see me?  Well don't you see that I have a life going on right now, a son to take care of, chores, friends and family...I'm busy!  They say it's cancer God...Don't you see my pain?

"The only ones we can rest in God are the ones who have wrestled with God...I will not let go until you bless me...There is no tighter embrace than the grip of the wrestle." Ann Voskamp

Day 19 Trials

Trials are an opportunity to prove the faithfulness of God in our lives.  Cancer has been the hardest thing I've had to face in my life.  I've heard it said that God won't give us more than we can handle.  I don't believe this anymore.  I think He gives us more so that we can reflect Him and His power to others.

2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Praise be to God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves received from God.

Ephesians 3:20 To Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine according to his power that is at work within us.

This gives us the opportunity to share with others the power given to us by Christ.  It doesn't make sense to those of the world.  A believer has the ability to rise above their cicumstances and even display joy and peace.  This is only possible when an investment in the Kingdom has been made.  By this I am reffering to spending time in the Word.

Psalm 1:1-3 "Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night.  He shall be a like tree planted by rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season.  Whose leaf also shall not wither; and whatever he does shall prosper."   

Picture the tree, standing tall next to the river.  It's roots go down deep, tapping into a vast water resource for nourishment.  When the wind blows it is not moved.  When storms pass by it's leaves do not wither.  In the right season it bears fruit.  This is a picture of a believer.  During the good and bad times growth is going on beneath the surface.  The roots of a believer are sinking deeper into the Word.  The Living Water quenches all thirst. Now the storm begins.  The believer is unmoved and stands strong.  More amazing than just being able to stand is the demeanor of the believer.  They have an unexplainable joy lifting them above circumstances.    This joy is a fruit. This peace is a fruit.

Good berean's know all about God's character and are able to let His overwhelming glory override the pain of their circumstances.  True happiness is controlled by your allegiance.  Having an allegiance to Christ gives you the golden ticket to true happiness despite the presence or absence of storms in your life.