Quest for Discernment

Dear Friends and Family,
Growing up as a child that was easily frightened and didn't like the feeling of fear, I have hated and dreaded Halloween.  Now I understand that many of you might have differing feelings of the holiday, but I have difficulties understanding those feelings.  (God is working on me in this area.)  Throughout college I was challenged on many fronts.  One was that God did not call us to hate an entire thing, but to hate evil and love good both of which exist in the holiday of Halloween.  Another was seeing people I cared about putting on "costumes" and going out to parties with the intent of getting a thrill "scared."  This frustrated me greatly because God doesn't want us to live in fear of anything and fear is not something that originates from God but from Satan.  These challenges lead me to the point of figuring out what to do with the holiday that is beloved by many.  One, to celebrate it with everyone else.  Two, to ignore the holiday completely or three, to figure out a way to share Christ's Love.  Most of me wants to go with number two, crawl in a hole and pretend like nothing is happening, but I don't feel like that is exactly what God wants me to do.  He called me to be in the world and not of the world.  To be in the world doesn't mean that I have to celebrate a holiday that I feel is against my beliefs, but it also doesn't mean that I get to stick my head in the sand, as much as I want to.  I haven't quite decided what to do this evening, because Handsome and I are challenged with the dilemma of living in town and having trick or treaters.  I've talked to several people about this dilemma, and some have suggested handing out tracks, but I really don't feel God leading me to that.  So we'll see if God leads anyone to knock on our door this evening, I'm sure He'll give me the words to say.  Have a blessed day All!  May you let your lights shine on a day that can sometimes become very dark!

Love,

The Adventurous Farm Wife

I think I may have to make some of this this evening!  It's the best!  :)

God's Little Blessings

Dear Family & Friends,
Yesterday I was reminded again of how much God loves us and His involvement in our lives. I was informed by the Pregnancy Testing Center that I volunteered for that a mother and her 6 month old came in wanting to talk to me.  I had talked to her last year about her options and when she left I felt sure that she would have an abortion. Praise the Lord there is a 6 month old here today.  We have an AWESOME God and I feel so blessed to know that He chose to use me that day.  God's "Little" Blessing of a child is not only a blessing to that mom, but also to me.  Too often it is easy to put God in this far off realm and forget that He stands right beside us.  So let this be a reminder to all of us today, He cares.

Love to you all,

The Adventurous Farm Wife

One of God's Little Blessings

Photo Credit: Larissa Hageman

Bumblebee Adventures

Hello All!
This past week has been both long and different.  We've had a lot of preparation work to do before the dirt movers start, which meant a lot of long hours out at the farm.

I have developed a new friend though and she and I get along quite well!  :-)

Bumblebee and Me

Moving Trees

Yes, I named her "The Bumblebee," because she buzzes around and she's yellow and black.  She is a she because I needed a female to work with.  All the employees and even the two cats we brought up from my parents' are male....I needed a girl.  We have moved trees, dirt, and junk.  I am very thankful for the wonderful innovation that God has given man to create such a useful machine.  It should be noted however that our family had a rather difficult time buying this one.  We would have preferred one that said "Case" on it, however we accept her for who she is and love her lots.  :-)  I hope you enjoy the pics.  We live in a beautiful part of God's Creation and are enjoying most every moment of it.  Have a blessed Sunday!
Much Love,
The Adventurous Farm Wife
*Photo Credits go to Handsome (my wonderful husband)

The Beauty of His Majesty

Happy Fall Everyone!!!
I love fall!  All the pretty, bright colors and the yummy goodies and my birthday!  Fall is great!  I just got back from a bike ride around the neighborhood taking pictures of God's Beautiful Creation.  The air is fresh and cool, ahh...bliss!

See what I mean?  Beautiful!  Now some would say that this is a sad time of year because the trees are going into hibernation and cold is just around the corner, however I like to view it as the grand finale of sorts.  Trees  have been producing yummy goodness all summer long and now they're saying, "We're done!  What a wonderful summer!"  Did you know that trees also do a lot of growing during the winter?  Think about it...they don't have to put energy into maintaining leaves and fruit, so all their energy is put into growing their trunk and root system.  In essence winter for them is a time for growing their structure in order to maintain their leaves and fruit during spring and summer.  Our Creator is so cool!  He realizes just like trees, that there are seasons in our lives that we need quiet and hibernation in order to have seasons of busyness.  In many ways I feel like Handsome and I are in a season of quietness.  We don't have a lot of social happenings, and we spend a lot of our time on the road going to meetings or picking up products for the farm...quiet time.  I know there will be a time in our lives that we will be very busy, but for the time being I am quite content building the structure of our marriage.

Our Quiet, Little House

Much Love,
The Adventurous Farm Wife

Fruit of the Tree

Good Evening All,
Well after three days of blood, sweat, and tears we now have seven and a half quarts of Apple Nectar.  I am quite excited about this.  I have to say though of all the canning that Handsome and I have done this summer, the apples were the most time and labor intensive.  Getting apples cooked down to the point that they are liquid is a long time.  However I do believe that it is worth it, as I will get to enjoy it with my friends and family over the holidays when they come to visit.  Here are some pics of the process...

Photo Credit: Handsome

Photo Credit: Handsome

Photo Credit: Handsome

Photo Credit: Handsome

Love ya lots,
The Adventurous Farm Wife

The Beginning

Dear Friends and Family,
I have decided to try out this blogging thing.  In hopes that it is a way for you all to know what random things are going on in Handsome and I's lives.  I named it "The Quest," because mom always said life was an adventure and it truly is.  However "The Adventure" doesn't carry quite the same emphasis of being never ending as "The Quest."  Quest reminds me of my relationship with God and with Handsome and with all of you, its something that is always being worked on and striven for. While the parts that make up the quest may not always carry the elegance that the word carries (because we all know that quest is an elegant word and don't tell me that you don't think that it is), its all a part of the quest.  So here I will bring to you all the little things that make up "The Quest."  I hope you all enjoy it!
Blessings,
The Adventurous Farm Wife