Category: Family

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Bring back the old…

If you don’t know me, let me tell you, I love antiques. Okay, that may be a bit of an understatement… I absolutely adore all things antique and I am very particular about them. I enjoy keeping them in their natural state and using them everywhere I can. I love watching shows where people find old, antique items and re-purpose them. Some would call me a purist; I love to be able to see the original. I believe there is something to be said for keeping it as close to it’s original state and not losing the item in the process. Now having this sort of fondness for items could be a problem for some, especially now that the current trends in home decor have swung toward the rustic and antique. These days, trendy decor is antique or made to look that way. Fortunately, husband just might love “old, rusty junk” as much as I do, so we don’t have too big of a problem when I buy something! Better yet, he loves to find things! So many of our treasures have been “found” and we have rescued them and put them back to use. We have been antiquing since our honeymoon and what’s popular now has always been “our style.”

We have collected and discovered items over the years and they fill our home, inside and out, with the memories of what those items have been and seen in their lifetime. Some items were found locally and some came from other countries. Some of them belonged to family members and those carry such sentimental value. Some have been found in old, run-down barns or hidden in the woods. Some items were found buried in the dirt and needed a good soak and wash to really determine what they even were. Some were free and some were paid for. Some were gifts from my husband and those might be some of my favorites! I could just about tell you about every single item we have, it’s story and where it came from. Needless to say, I might have a bit of an addiction, but what could be wrong with keeping those “old” things alive and giving them a purpose?

The picture below is a picture of one of my favorite finds though and it tells the story that I feel led to share today. You look at it and see two dented, old salt and pepper shakers. I see something that I bought at a random yard sale while out of town one day. We weren’t in this little town to shop, were were just passing through and those two little cans were something that I had been wanting for a long time. We had looked at several sets before and husband had persuaded me not to buy them because every time we found a set, they were usually reproductions. They weren’t the real thing. You see on this particular day, we found the real thing. The metal is so old and soft that you have to be careful to unscrew the caps to refill them because they will bend and dent even more. I found exactly what I was looking for, the real thing. That’s one of the reasons that they are so special. I am learning that God cares about the little things in my life as much as I do, even when they are silly to others. I found them one day when I least expected it and paid much less, too. He loves me like that, and He loves you that way as well. If we are patient and don’t try to get ahead of Him, His timing and His ways are perfect. (Psalms 18:30 This God—his way is perfect; the word of the LORD proves true.) He is faithful to give us what we need and sometimes what we want. And when He does it, it’s always the “real” thing.

The other reason they are my favorite is because they are salt and pepper shakers. What a reminder that being the “salt of the earth” never goes out of style! For most people, they would have never given them a second glance. Even the people who were selling them didn’t see their value. I bought them for $2! In our world and culture today, most never give God’s word and “how we used to do things” a second glance either. But salt is still necessary, and in today’s current situation, even more so. The world around us needs our saltiness. We need to be the salt and light that we were designed to be. Matthew 5 says, “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. ” At some point, we threw the old out in exchange for the new and in doing so we have become that which is being trampled under people’s feet.

Friends, it is time that we wake up and stir ourselves. It is time that we bring back the “old” values and morals and return to our saltiness. Maybe it is time that we, the people of God, dust off a few of those “old” things and begin to put them back to use. Maybe you too have found yourself busy and your bible untouched. Dust it off and put it back to use! Maybe there are a few “old” songs that haven’t been sung for a while and maybe your children don’t even know them? Sad to say, but it’s the case in my house as well. There’s an old song that I haven’t heard or sung in a long time- “Jesus is the answer for the world today, above Him there’s no other, Jesus is the way!” It’s time for us to offer those around us the “real thing”, the real and only answer for our troubles and problems. It’s time to pull them out from where they’ve been hidden and sing them and teach them to those who may need their words. It’s time for us to dust off our values and morals and shake off the rust of complacency and pull them out for everyone to see! Decorate your homes and social media platforms with those antique values and let’s begin to make Christianity and morals the trend of the day! Just because it’s considered old or old fashioned, doesn’t mean it has lost it’s savor and usefulness. Praying for you and I today, that we will find something “old and rusty” to bring it out and wipe it off and put it back to use!

I remember the days of old;
    I meditate on all that you have done;
    I ponder the work of your hands.
I stretch out my hands to you;
    my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Psalms 143:5-6

I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
    yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
 I will ponder all your work,
    and meditate on your mighty deeds.
Your way, O God, is holy.
    What god is great like our God?
You are the God who works wonders;
    you have made known your might among the peoples. Psalms 77:11-14

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An Apple a Day….

Circle E Ellie in the sale ring!

We have been away from the farm a lot here lately and we are slowly trying to get back into a routine. We were in Starkville, MS recently for our friends-who-are-family’s big cattle sale. We took some time to be with them for a few days and attempt to help! We had a great time and yes, we sold some cattle; but we bought a few too, of course! We came away from the weekend with lots of leftovers, plenty of memories, a ton of laughs, and a few too many apples! Apples at a cattle sale? Yes! One thing that they do traditionally for this sale is to give away fresh-picked apples from West Virginia. Several different types are brought in and everyone goes away with apples. We just happened to have come home with a lot!

What do you do with more apples than you can eat? Well, I love to can and so naturally, I made plans to can apple pie filling! I had great plans in my mind until I stood at the sink to begin coring and peeling apples. What I had thought would be a big job turned into a monumental one! Fortunately, my daughter was home from college and had pity on her mother and helped me out. We cored, sliced, and peeled apples until we just couldn’t do anymore. (We had also eaten quite a few!) I got the pie filling ingredients cooking on the stove and added the apples to the mixture as she finished prepping. We had enough for several batches and it had the house smelling divine! After several turns in the canner, they all sealed and found themselves settled in the canning pantry. I was definitely a happy momma when we were done, except for my aching back and legs!

When I am canning, I always love thinking about God’s protection. I know that’s not what would come as a natural thought to anyone else!! When the jars are in the canner, they are experiencing extreme pressure and intense heat. The jars need the heat and pressure in order to seal the lid. The contents of the jar need the heat and pressure in order to kill bacteria and further cook the ingredients. The air comes out of the jars and the lid forms a seal that allows the jar to sit on the shelf and not need refrigeration. The contents of that jar are protected from the air, bacteria, and decay. Although canning recommendations tend to be a year or so, I know of one person who found jars that had been canned for 10+ years and opened them and found the contents to be just as if they were freshly preserved! ( Don’t freak out! They didn’t eat them!) The heat and pressure had done their job so well that the contents had withstood weather and the elements of time. Lots of times in life we find ourselves with the heat and/or pressure applied. It is uncomfortable and it usually isn’t any fun at all. But once the heat and pressure are applied the contents (that’s you and me) are preserved. Psalms 121 says, “The Lord is your keeper…The Lord will preserve you from all evil; He will preserve your soul. The Lord will preserve your going out and coming in from this time forth…” We come out of the canner preserved and kept for the future and for our appointed purpose. We are protected from all that rages around us. We still go through things, but we are protected and preserved through them.

I have often thought of canning and God’s protection, but this time I thought about something else. You know, all of those apples and the mixture of water, sugar, and spices go into those jars a combination of ingredients and come out something different. What went in is changed into a wonderful new formula. I love apples and who doesn’t love cinnamon and sugar; but cooked and cooled after the heat and pressure have been applied gives you something delightful. The thick pie filling can be used for all sorts of things that raw apples and the slurry of other ingredients could never accomplish. Friend, aren’t we happy that we aren’t what we once were? We have hope that once we come out of the pressure cooker of life that we will be changed into something totally different than what went in. Job 23:10, “But he knows the way that I take; when he has tried me, I shall come out as gold.” I am reminding myself as I gaze at those beautiful jars of hard work and apples, that I too am going to come out of the canner not as the dust and rocks that went; but I am coming out as pure gold. Endure the heat and the pressures of life! We will find ourselves kept and preserved by the Master and changed into the delightful recipe He designed us to be.

Hiding them in the canning pantry so I don’t just eat them straight out of the jar!!

  1. Great story showing us where there’s a will, there’s a way! We have to trust that God’s will for us…

  3. I loved this analogy! And what a smart steer to learn to undo gates. Thank you for sharing this story.…

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Dead and Dried Up!

We had the opportunity to spend a long weekend with our friends in Nebraska recently. It’s always refreshing to have time away, for your mind to have moments to rest and your soul to be replenished by friends who welcome you like family. One afternoon, husband and I had a few minutes to drive around and just enjoy the area. Now, by drive around, I mean ride in sporty side-by-side that went really fast and no, I wasn’t driving! Do you know what I saw ? Corn, some cattle, corn, soybeans, and more corn. Corn was everywhere! Fields as far as the eye can see; all of them in various stages of harvest. (Fun Fact: The Cornhusker State is the 3rd largest corn-producing state in the US.) In some of the fields, the corn was still a little green and not quite ready to be picked. A good bit of the corn was dry enough, but the ground was extremely saturated from recent rains and that was preventing the farmers from bringing the heavy equipment in to pick the corn. In a few areas though, they have been able to get the machinery in the fields and they have been able to harvest a bit. (Another Fun Fact: Nebraska produces 1/4 of the nation’s popcorn! )

Funny thing is, when I think of corn fields, I don’t necessarily think of fields full of very dry corn stalks. I think of tall, green stalks waving in the wind and when the tassel is dry at the tip of the ear, the corn is ready to pick and eat. That usually means work for us to shuck the corn and prep it to be put in the freezer! Just think of all that delicious, buttered corn on the cob and creamed corn and fried corn, and….! (You can taste it now, can’t you?) But the thoughts of plump, juicy ears of corn were not matching the visuals in front of me. All I could see was what looked like dead and dry, wasted fields of corn. Now don’t get me wrong, I totally understand that not all corn is grown for human consumption. But I guess I just never really thought about the process. Why was the corn left here to dry out? It just seemed to me like corn should be picked at its peak and when it was “ready” instead of left in the field to dry out. But there is the point, isn’t it? That’s what I thought should happen. That’s what I thought the process should be.

I was looking at those fields and what I was seeing was wasted potential when really it hadn’t even begun to meet its full potential! I didn’t know the process. I didn’t know the plan. See that corn will be picked once it is DRY and sold for all kinds of intents and purposes. It will be sold and processed for animal feeds, ethanol fuel and possible even flours and corn syrup, not to mention, popcorn! This corn will only be considered wasted if it isn’t harvested and it is left in the field. Wow! what an eye opener! How many times have I looked at someone and thought about the wasted life? (Ok, don’t get all holier-than-thou on me! You’ve thought it too.) How many times have I failed to harvest what was in right in front of me and possibly prevented that life from reaching its full potential just because it didn’t appear the way I thought it would? How many times have I missed the opportunity because I was looking with my vision and not His eyes? Proverbs 19:21-22 says, ” Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand. What is desired in a man is steadfast love..” I am convicted today that I have failed to harvest a single ear of corn, maybe even failed to pick an entire field. I am convinced that many times the field, or even the single ear of corn, has been right in front of me and instead of seeing a harvest, I have seen a waste because it wasn’t the picture of harvest that I had in my mind. “Jesus said, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, there are yet four months, then comes the harvest? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes and see that the fields are white for harvest.’ John 14:34-35.” May we all, today, see past the dryness. May we look past the dry stalks and look inside with His eyes and see the kernels, the seeds of life, waiting to be harvested and do our part to help them meet their full potential in Christ. And if today, you recognize that you are that dry corn and you need to be harvested, the combine is ready for picking! Jesus is waiting for us to be at the point of our need, where we are ripe for the harvest. Call on Him today and He will answer and pluck you from the dry field and set you on the path to production and reaching your full potential.

The Sinner’s Prayer (by Dr. Ray Pritchard)

Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. Amen.

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