For A Woman, The Question is as OLD as Humanity…

Will I usurp authority, power, and control over my husband and do what I want (or control him into doing what I want for me is more like it) all else be damned, thereby casting my lot with SATAN and the Satanic World System where all pansy men in suit and tie answer to their wives?  (cause that’s the establishment norm, don’t ya know?)

Or will I use all that is in me, how God has made me so very different from a man, and use these strengths to come alongside my husband and help him as companion and friend and lover, his weaknesses covered by my strengths and my weaknesses covered by his strengths as ONE FLESH, in fulfilling God’s purpose for his/our life?  (also thereby fulfilling God’s original purpose for woman in general)

Even God himself said that it is not good that man should be alone.

We all know how it ended for the first couple.

I WILL NOT make the same mistake as Eve.

Feminism is a LIE straight from HELL.  I have always stood against it and always will.

Man and woman are made equal in the eyes of God.  Woman’s position is nothing less than a man’s…for while woman was made to help man (and there is no shame in this, but great blessing and hidden power for the woman if the position is accepted with humility and grace) man is born from a woman, and so we are equals.  But feminism seeks to elevate the position of woman above that of man and then punish him for all these supposed injustices that he has committed against her over the years…feminism has NOTHING to do with femininity, it’s ALL about feminising the men.

Woman was made from a rib of man.  Meaning, she has something that he needs and only she can give it to him.  And how will she give it to him?  Make him into her little slave and own him completely, having total power and control in the relationship?  As if to say “You think you’re so big and strong huh?  And look at me, just this little woman and yet you answer to me!”

Or, will she willingly, humbly, lovingly share this with him?  This, which is not hers, which God has given her, will she give it back to him?  No guile, no doublemindedness, no lies in her mouth.  Will she help him with her strength and thereby be covered by his strength?

The World despises this teaching!  All the fury of Hell will come aganist anyone who dares utter this teaching.  And why?  Because it’s a symbolic picture, the perfect marriage is of Christ and His Church…His Children, His Bride…He is both Father and Husband.  The feminists can not understand the tender precious beauty involved with this symbol…it is hidden from them.

The church has left it’s First Love and become a whore, commiting adultery with Satan and his World System…and that is why it despises these teachings and so willingly accepts the feminist point of view in direct opposition to what The Bible, which they claim to revere, says.

Our society makes it so easy for the woman to usurp power from the man, it FEEDS and THRIVES off of this.  But don’t be fooled, the other side has power too…much Truth and Hidden Manna is given to the woman who humbly accepts, and with gratefulness and thanksgiving, her God-given purpose and capacity to wield it.  Again, do not be fooled, God’s Ways have always looked like foolishness to The World.

The Overcomers

Jacob wrestles with the Angel of the LORD through the night. The angel asks him, “What is your name?” As Jacob holds on to the man with all his strength, he answers, “Yaakov” meaning “Heel-grabber.” The name is a reference to his talent for not letting go. It is a wrestling name. Then the man said, “Your name shall no longer be Yaakov, but Yisrael (ישראל); for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed” (32:28).

The name Israel means “overcomer.”

In the book of Revelation, the Master describes Israel in terms of those who overcome.

The ones who overcome are the ones given eternal life, paradise, a new name (like Jacob who became Israel), the seal of God on their foreheads, white garments, a place in the Book of Life, a place beside the throne of Messiah, and sonship.

They are the redeemed, that held their lives in low esteem compared to the message of His Glory and His Gospel which they lived IN TRUTH and did not shrink from death for living THE TRUTH in Christ…. but welcomed it, yearned for it even:

-To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7)

-He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death. (Revelation 2:11)

-To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, and a new name written on the stone which no one knows but he who receives it. (Revelation 2:17)

-He who overcomes, and he who keeps My deeds until the end, ‘To him I will give authority over the nations…’ (Revelation 2:26)

-He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5)

-He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. (Revelation 3:12)

-He who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)

-All of Israel (the overcomers) will receive the seal of God on their foreheads to protect them from The Locusts that torment men like a scorpion. (Revelation 7:3 and 9:3-4)

-He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:7)

Breastfeeding Advice (When Nothing Else Seems To Work)

I’m a mother of 5 children and I have breastfed, am still breastfeeding (my youngest is 4 months old), ALL of them. If labor doesn’t make a mother out of you, a long-term breastfeeding relationship will…it’s tougher than labor, but also more satisfying…giving you an indpeth understanding of your child that will be the foundation of a lifelong friendship.

My breastfeeding style has changed a lot over the 8 1/2 years since I had my first child.  When I had my first son I had lots of milk supply issues and I realize now that it was because my milk was not fully “coming down” like it should and he was just getting watery foremilk most of the time.

Before having my second son I researched and researched the problem and realized that I was not relaxing enough to allow the  full “let down reflex” to occur (it would happen but only partially). And I had to ask myself “why am I not relaxing during breastfeeding?” and there were many reasons that I had to work through and I worked through them while breastfeeding my second son and eventually learned how to relax while breastfeeding. How to be in the present moment and be natural about it, as natural as breathing.

I have a theory on this, because breastfeeding is not what is the norm in this society even those who DO breastfeed are uncomfortable with it because it isn’t considered “normal”…I was like this. The breast is seen overly much as a sexual object instead of utilitarian, as in it feeds babies…so it’s just as much a utilitarian body part as is the hands or feet. I had to change my thinking on this.  In the past, I had always loved watching The National Geographic channel and many times had often marvelled at the ease with which tribal mothers, walking around topless, completely comfortable, fed their babies. Nothing abnormal, disgusting or sexual about it…but very beautiful and loving. A society where the young girls were raised seeing this every day of their lives, it’s instilled within them as normal and they aren’t uncomfortable with it in any way.

Mother’s milk is a symbol of compassion. Without mother’s milk we cannot survive, so our first act as a baby together with our mother is sucking milk from our mother with a feeling of great closeness. At that time, we may not know how to express what love is, what compassion is, but there is a strong feeling of  great closeness. From the mother’s side also, if there is no strong feeling of closeness toward the baby, her milk may not flow readily. So, mother’s milk is, I think, a symbol of compassion and human affection.  And with the advent of formula, the milk barely flows in the world anymore…and compassion has declined to all but a trickle…there is a connection there me thinks.

Me breastfeeding my third son in a small theater in the WV Tourist Center at New River Gorge

So I was determined that that was where I needed to be, and I had to work on my mind and perception of my body and the breast and the act of breastfeeding itself.  I noticed that when baby latched on I would automatically tense up and draw my shoulders upward towards my ears and I also noticed that my letdown reflex happened more often when I breastfed half asleep, like during a midnight feeding, being half-asleep meant my inhibitions were lowered and I could relax easier. I realized that I was unnecessarily stressing myself out by overthinking it and always in the back of my mind, because breast only equals sex in our society, I had the sub-conscious thought of it being wrong somehow…I had to work through all this in order to relax enough to allow that reflex to fully occur.

Here are some practical tips that always helped me relax enough to allow the “let down reflex” to fully occur:

1. Laying down to breastfeed and laying down topless, without clothes to get in the way. This obviously won’t be feasible everytime you feed, but doing it at least once a day is a good idea because we tend to naturally relax when lying down. This is why sleeping with baby is a good idea.

2. When baby latched on I would give a visible out-breathing “ahhhhh” sigh of relief and visibly, overexagerratedly relax my shoulders and my entire body.

3. Loving on baby…focusing on baby, watching baby’s mouth on the nipple, stroking baby’s hair and soft skin, smelling baby, kiss baby’s soft head.

4. Being in the present. Not rushing to get done with the feeding so that I could get back to my “job”…not thinking of all that needs to be done or make to-do lists in my head, but focusing on baby but not in a worrisome “will my milk come down?” kind of way…but in a loving admiring enjoying kind of way.

5. Having a beer or glass of wine would help A LOT in bringing the inhibitions down just enough that I could relax enough to allow let down to occur.

6. PRAY. Praying that my milk come down and that I have plenty of it and then breastfeed with the confidence and faith that God answers prayer…I needed to learn to not fret or worry, that is the opposite of Faith. If worry came, I gave it to God and forgot about it and went forth with confidence knowing that God created my body to do this and do it I will!

7. Learning how to be sexually comfortable with my body, seeing it as beautiful and good instead of with a critical eye no matter what my size may be. I’ve learned that sex actually has more to do with the let down reflex than most people realize…in the same way that an orgasm can’t occur if one overthinks it, stresses, worries about it or thinks about something else…the letdown reflex works in much the same way. I find that I have to be VERY in the present and INTO the breastfeeding and my baby, much in the same way that one has to be very in the present with one’s spouse and completely comfortable and uninhibited to allow an orgasm to occur. Believe it or not pregnancy, giving birth, and breastfeeding all relate to the sex drive and operate through the same mechanism…and it’s all a beautiful, wonderful and very good creation of God!

I have been breastfeeding now for nearly 5 continuous years and I very much believe in the healing power of breast milk and I want to help other mothers, so if you are a mother and have any questions about breastfeeding please ask away in the comment section of this post 🙂

The Beauty Of Broth

The ingredients for making venison broth.

The beauty of broth is in letting nothing go to waste. All the parts of the animal that one normally would not eat can go into the stockpot and their nutrients slowly leeched out by the action of simmering water. In times gone by, when a lot of people still raised their own animals on small farmstead land holdings, there was nearly always a continuous river of broth flowing from the kitchen stockpot full of easily digestible protein, fat, many different minerals, and gelatin to economically strengthen and sustain the members of the household for the hard work that is a natural part of country life. The beauty of broth is in taking what was inedible and good for nothing and turning it into a rich, delicious and nourishing liquid that can form the basis for many soups, sauces and grain dishes.

“(Broth) to inspirit the soup, enhance the pasta and rice, baste the roast, sauce the vegetables and provide a sop for bread. And, most important of all, it’s aroma filled the house, cosseting all who inhaled it with deep well-being, as if the very air were filled with nurture. The chef may have transmorgified his meat waters into gold; the housewife transmuted them into a far more essential nutrient: Love.” ~John Thorne “The Outlaw Cook”

It really truly is unfortunate that, in our day and age, the ancient tradition of “the constantly simmering stockpot on the back of the stove” has been mostly lost…traded in for a faster paced, pre-packaged, disposable lifestyle. In this modern age we are barely in our homes long enough to eat a meal together at the table as a family, let alone willing to remain home and take up the vigil for the hours of simmering needed to make a proper broth. Not that it’s even all that hard to manage, especially if you use a crockpot…which says quite a lot about the state of affairs in “The Modern American Houeshold”, mostly the result of a combination of ignorance and sheer laziness.

But, even if one is willing to keep alive the ancient tradition of broth making, there is another problem to contend with. In times gone by, animals were usually slaughtered at home; taken from The Wild or after having already lived a useful life as a wool, egg, or milk producer or beast of burden; they came from our own backyards as complete bodies with organs and bones and blood encased in fur and skin, horn and hoof, feather and cockscomb…providing lots of fun and interesting trimmings for making a nutritious and delicious broth! A far cry from the meat of today which often comes in boring little boneless packages of styrofoam and plastic wrap…BLECH!

Not to mention that the way commercial animals are raised makes them virtually devoid of any useful nutrient, usually being fed the bare minimum required to keep them alive just long enough to reaching a satisfactory butchering weight. Their only goal being to produce a product that a makes as much profit as possible, to hell with the health and well-being of their customers so as long as the product leaves the shelves, and with your hard-earned money in their hand of course. The natural lifespan of a chicken can be as long as 15 years and most chickens reach sexual maturity at around 4 months, yet my guess would be that commercial chickens, if not butchered at the appropriate time, would die before reaching 6 months old and most likely too weak and malnourished to have even reached sexual maturity. But I digress…

So, the first step in broth making would be to obtain quality animal parts. The best and cheapest way to do this is to hunt or raise your own meat, if that is not possible then locate a farmer in your area who raises healthy animals, preferably free range and grass fed, and buy from him. As a last resort, but not the best option, you can also buy commercially raised organic meat. The only problem with this is that most grocery stores do not carry the trimmings from the organic meat like bones, meaty joints, hoofs, feet, cockscomb, etc. that make for the best broth…the only satisfactory exception would be a whole organic chicken with neck and gizzards included…but one would be hard pressed to make a nutritious beef broth from the offerings found at a corporate grocery store chain.

After obtaining quality animal parts, the next most important factor is water. Clean, quality water with as much poisons as possible removed from it. The best option is water obtained from your very own well or spring and even better is to take that water and put it through a heavy duty water filter, like a Berkey with the extra filter attachments to remove flouride, arsnic and other heavy metals. If you are forced to use municipal water, then a Berkey water filter with the extra flouride/arsnic filter is an ABSOLUTE MUST HAVE. The reason having quality water is so important is because as the broth simmers and the water evaporates whatever chemicals are in that water are going to become concentrated, and while the broth may still taste good there will be silently deadly poisons lurking in it and at even higher concentrations than normally found in municipal water. Commercial bottled spring water can be acceptable as long as you are sure of the source.

Although you can add vegetables and herbs for additional nutrition and flavor, preferably organic or homegrown so that the residual pesticides don’t concentrate in the broth, but quite honestly the only things required for a basic broth are an assortment of animal parts and water. A little bit of acid, in the form of 1/4-1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar, is also a good idea. Water that is a little bit on the acidic side will more readily leech the minerals out of the bones and into the broth, it’s especially helpful in removing the calcium from the bones. Some of the classic vegetables used are carrots, celery, and onions and almost always fresh parsley or thyme added at the end to give it a nice clean green flavor to balance the musky meatiness of the broth. And of course the salt, having enough salt is essential in bringing out the full flavor and taste nuances of the broth. Use high quality moist grey celtic sea salt or ancient sea salt, (Redmond Real Salt is economical when bought in bulk) add enough to taste and then add a pinch or two more. This type of salt is full of trace minerals and iodine and it tastes really good, once you start using it you’ll never be able to go back to industrial by-product salt (like Morton brand) again!

Simmering Venison Broth...looks kind of yucky but it's oh so HEALTHY!

How To Make A RED MEAT Broth (for beef, lamb, venison, etc.)

3-4 pounds of a combination of long marrow bones from the legs and a couple knuckle/joint bones (for nutrients and gelatin)
1 hoof cut in half at the split, a section of the horn or antler is also a good idea (for gelatin)
3-4 pounds meaty rib, neck, spine or pelvic bones (for flavor, color, and more nutrients)
1/2 cup of apple cider vinegar
3 medium onions, quartered
3-4 medium carrots, cut into large chunks (you don’t have to peel)
3-4 medium celery ribs, cut into large chunks with the leaves still attached
1 tsp. of peppercorns, crushed
a large bunch of fresh thyme
a large bunch of fresh parsley

Place all of the bones and hoof into a VERY LARGE stockpot and cover with 1 gallon of water. Then add the apple cider vinegar and let stand for one hour. Add the vegetables and more water, the water should be no higher than within 1 inch of the top of the pot as it will expand and could overflow while cooking, always better to start with too little water than too much…you can always add more later. Bring it all to a rapid boil. As it boils, a large amount of scum will rise to the surface, remove this with a wooden spoon and continue boiling until there is no scum left to skim. Then reduce heat to a bare simmer and add the thyme and crushed peppercorns. Cover and simmer the broth for at least 12 hours and as long as 72 hours, replacing the water as needed. A reliable indicator that you have made a good broth is when the bones become so soft and brittle that you can break them with hardly any effort. Just before finishing add the parsley and simmer for another 10 minutes. And then what I like to do is bring the whole thing to a boil again for about 3-5 minutes, and then remove it from the heat and strain it into 2 qt. mason jars. I let it cool to room temperature on the counter and then transfer to the fridge, as it continues to cool the fat will rise to the top, I often remove this fat and use it for cooking. The next day I usually put the broth back into the pot and bring into a boil while sterilizing 6-8 1 qt. mason jars in the oven (clean empty jars at 350 degrees for 20 minutes). I then fill the 1 qt. mason jars with the hot broth and can them in my pressure canner. You could also freeze the broth in freezer containers or heavy duty ziploc bags. I usually feed the leftover bones and veggies to the dog and cats…they LOVE it!

How to make a POULTRY Broth (for chicken, turkey, duck, etc.)

2-3 pounds of bony chicken parts…back, neck, breastbone, wings
gizzards from one bird
feet from one bird
head of one bird, all feathers removed (if you can’t stomach this, at least use the cockscomb)
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 Large onion, cut into chunks
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks (no need to peel)
3 medium celery ribs, cut into chunks
1 large bunch of parsley

I usually make chicken broth by first killing one of our chickens by chopping of it’s head. Save the head. Defeather the chicken by repeatedly plunging it into 158 degree water and keep checking the feathers until the easily come out. Also dunk the head, hang the bird by the feet and remove all feathers from the body and head. Cut off the feet, scrub well, and save the feet for the broth. I usually put the head, feet, and gizzards into a ziploc bag and into the fridge until I am ready to make broth. After killing and cleaning the bird I usually serve it by roasting it whole with onions lemons and garlic stuffed inside. After we enjoy our delicious roast chicken dinner, I remove the rest of the meat to use for another meal. I then take the whole carcass and any skin and juices, along with the lemon onions and garlic that was stuffed inside for roasting, and put it into the stockpot along with the feet, head, and gizzards and all the vegetables (minus the parsley) and the apple cider vinegar and let it sit for one hour. From there, I follow the same procedure for making red meat broth.

The finished product with skimmed off fat, fat is made into deer tallow and used for soapmaking.

Happy Broth Making! 🙂

We’re The “Anti-Parents”

When it comes to homeschooling there are many other people way more qualified to give advice than I am, after all my oldest child is only 8 1/2 (he’ll be 9 in April). But I have had a few family members and 1 or 2 friends comment on how advanced my children seem, at least when compared to the average child of their same age. Especially since they are rumbunctious, mischievous, inquisitive (i.e. NORMAL) little boys. I mean, how can you possibly get them to learn without drugging them up with Ritalin and tying them to their chair for 4 or 5 hours a day??!! This would be the basic public school experience for a lot of boys, at least it was what I observed when I was in public school…things may have changed now. As far as I know, there are no homeschoolers in either mine or Nathan’s extended family, we are an anomly.

I don’t think there is anything particularly unusual about the way we homeschool, except for one thing: Nathan does half of the teaching. The whole reason we live the way we do, the whole reason Nathan works from home, is because he feels, as the head of the household that it is his duty above all else to raise up his children in the way that they should go.

We’re not a “special case”, any family can live as we live if they so desire. If they are willing to work HARD and do without “things”and not be concerned with obtaining material comfort, prominence or position in this world. I greatly admire my husband for taking his role so seriously, for choosing to walk the path that most men fear to tread. I think that it is unfortunate for boys that most teachers are female, especially in elementary school, because, based upon what I have seen, young boys respond extremely well to having a male teacher.

I think this is why our boys seem so advanced. Males understand males, a boy will more readily and easily learn something from another male, especially if he respects that male, than he will from a female (and vice versa). Nathan works from home, the boys help him in his work (both E-Bay work and in working our land) and they really love helping to provide for the family. They see their father everyday, all day long, living out his principles and beliefs right before their very eyes. They see a man who says what he believes and lives what he says. I believe that would have a powerful impact on any child, but most especially on little boys who, in this debased and degenerate age, sorely lack any appropriately masculine role models or mentors (in my experience, most are either entirely too effeminate or are macho jerk tyrants…can there be no balance??).

In teaching our children, our main goal isn’t so much that they learn certain things in a certain way at a certain time, FAR from it. Our main goal has always been to create within each of our children the desire to learn coupled with a love for the Truth. In the way that we live and in all that we do, we try to show our children that TRUTH comes from God and God ALONE, and that man has no truth of his own…indeed he has not even the ability to KNOW Truth, except that God in all His mercy reveal it to him.

I have learned from experience, that the only thing mankind has, that he can call “His Own”, is LIES. Period. Most everything in this world is a LIE…lie upon lie upon lie, a stinking pile of lies. On television, in the newspaper, in books, in the mouths of our leaders, our experts, our supposed “learned and respected men” **GAG** all they do is LIE. The world’s systems, it’s governments, it’s politics, it’s “sciences”, it’s education, it’s religions…all of it is ruled by Satan, the prince of this world and the father of LIES.

In contrast to this, we don’t lie to our children…ever. There is no santa, bunny, or fairy…and in every and all situations we strive to be as honest as possible in a way that is appropriate to their age and understanding. This helps to build respect and trust for the parents within the child. Because the actions of the parents, and most especially the father, are the child’s earliest example of who their Heavenly Father is, it is of upmost importance that respect and trust be cultivated within the child from the day he is born. Not surprisingly, the main way this can be cultivated from day ONE is by breastfeeding your baby. This respect and trust will be the foundation of all future learning and will eventually be transferred from the parents to God, who is ALWAYS trustworthy and NEVER fails.

“Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help.”
~Psalms 146:3

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.”
~Proverbs 3:5

Because we live in such a degenerate world, from a very early age we start teaching our children how to discern when they are being lied to or manipulated. On a regular basis we point things out that occur in real life and explain what the lie is, why it is a lie, and why the liar is trying to manipulate them into believing it. The Bible tells us to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16). It should not please us when are children are gullible, it’s not something to be proud of when our children are easily decieved, it makes them more susceptible to the wiles of Satan and the lies of this present world. They need to experience what reality is, no matter how harsh or cruel, the sooner they learn about what kind of world they live in and the true nature of mankind (and themselves) in general…that The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?~Jeremiah 17:9…the better and more wisely they can live. We live in dangerous times and the best gift we can give to our children is the ability to know when they are being lied too, manipulated, or used to further someone elses ungodly agenda.

My husband and I often like to joke that we are “Anti-Parents”. We don’t sugar coat or try to create for our children a fantasy or “Pollyanna” worldview in which all things are good and fun…where everything is just peachy nice. We can all wish that’s what the world was like…but it’s just not true. If you profess to be a follower of God, the world wants nothing more than to exploit you for your God given gifts and abilities which they cannot have because they have not The Holy Spirit… and once they get what they want, they destroy you. “Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.” ~Psalms 44:22 We have to make sure we teach our children the fine line between true Christian Charity and being taken advantage of. God does not want dumb lazy followers that the world can enslave (the most common modern form of slavery is DEBT) and push around as they see fit.

We motivate our children’s desire to learn by playing with our children and through play we begin to learn what the child’s natural God gifted talents and abilities are. For example, my oldest son Elijah has a way with words, writing and speaking…he and I have much the same gift except he is WAAAAY more extroverted than I am. Well, in order to motivate him to want to learn I go by route of his natural gift/talent…most often I will read him something and have him explain it back to me in his own words (which he LOVES to do). Also, like me, he very easily remembers anything that he writes down…old fashioned note taking works very well for him, as it did for me when I was in school. He currently has 3 notebooks, with as many different purposes, that he writes in them all the time and I often give him little assignments, “ideas”, about things to write. He has access to The Bible, good classic literature, a huge old dictionary, a thesaurus, an atlas…he loves using these things and discussing with us any new information he learns. He is very much a researcher, an information gatherer, a statistics and trivia lover. Because he likes knowing facts, this spills over very easily into teaching mathematics and logic as well.

My second son, Solomon, is the exact opposite. He is my little engineer 🙂 He loves TO DO…anything! He’s very kinesthetic, loving to build and make, to take things apart and put them back together, to create arts and crafts…he’s a natural “tinkerer”. While Elijah’s motto would be “I Know”, Solomon’s whould be “I DO”. I create within him a desire to learn by having him DO what he learns. Cutting out the letter form from construction paper or counting beans, trying to count how many he could toss into a jar. He loves his abacus and it’s very helpful to him with addition and subtraction because it’s concrete and touchable and real. He loves it when we do science experiments, especially natural science. He’s a natural farmer, out of all the children he is the one most interested in learning to care for The Land and our livestock. He’s also loves learning the names of trees, flowers, vegetable, plants, bugs, birds etc. He’s a very practical, down to earth sort of boy.

Of course, because we live in a fallen world, these God Given Talents are always inevitably twisted and distorted by Sin and mankind’s propensity to continually choose evil over good (selfishness over selflessness). Elijah’s gift is words and speaking, a very powerful gift, and if used for evil he could easily lie and manipulate others into doing his bidding…and without them ever even realizing it, he could easily become a master puppeteer of people. We strive to teach him about the power of words, the Bible says that the power of life and death is in the tongue (Proverbs 18:21) and that you will eat the fruit of your words. A person is only as good as their word. And so we take deliberate steps to teach Elijah how to use his gift for the Glory of God and not for achieving his own selfish ends by manipulating and lying.

Solomon, on the other hand, is very overly much attached to material things, especially if they are things he made. If something he made is ruined, even accidently…like if Matthew knocks over even just a very small block tower that Solomon made, he gets very upset…angry even. This type of over attachment to one’s own creations will lead to nothing but misery in the end. The Bible teaches us that, in the end, every one of man’s works will be tried by the Holy Fire of the Spirit Of God and anything that does not have it’s foundation is Christ Jesus will be destroyed (1 Corinthians 3:11-15)…this is why the world will be destroyed because anything not in Jesus doesn’t actually exsist in REAL REALITY.

As Christians, we create for the Glory Of God…the use of our gifts is the true essence of what worship really is, and we should strive to make this our sole purpose in creating…whether it be pancakes, babies, poems, block towers or a successful business. The goal is not to protect it and and pridefully admire it and jealously guard it (as mankind most often does)…this only leads to sorrow, for all that you have in this world you cannot take with you in the end anyways. We do our best to teach Solomon that he should always work his hardest and give his best in creating anything and then release it so that God may use it for whatever purpose He has in mind, even to destroy it, if He so chooses…it is these types of works that are built on Christ.

So, in conclusion, I guess you can say that what my husband and I desire most is to teach our children all that we wish we had learned before becoming adults. And we hope our children do the same with their children. Every generation becoming stronger, wiser and more godly than the one preceding it. And, so long as God be in it, I think that would be the grandest vision we could ever hope to accomplish on this earth.

The TARES Go First

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.

The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.“~Matthew 13:24-30

This is one of my favorite parables because it’s one of the KEY parables in unlocking the book of Revelations.  You have all these people, wolves in sheep’s clothing, who make up these fairytale “feel good” ear-tickling myths lies about how before The Wrath Of The Lamb OR that before The Tribulation begins He ‘s gonna fly in like some superhero to scoop up His people and carry them to a place afar off somewheres in safety.  And I am here to tell you now, that is NOT true!  And all it takes is a few words from Jesus to prove my point 🙂

“Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;  And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” ~Matthew 13:36-43 

He will let both His Seed and The Seed Of The Enemy grow together until The Harvest and then He will say to His Reapers…Gather FIRST the TARES!  The Tares (or weeds) being The Seed Of The Enemy…it’s as plain as day, right there, in your face.  I mean you really can’t get more certain than the very words of Jesus Himself.

Case Closed.

Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe: come, get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great. Joel 3:13

“And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.

And I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.

And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth; and the earth was reaped.

And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, he also having a sharp sickle.

And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.

And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.

And the winepress was trodden without the city, and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.” ~Revelation 14:13-20

Interesting thing, how the one angel comes out that had Power Over Fire….and in the parable Jesus says that the Tares will be burned.  Now I haven’t fully figured out why the symbols have changed here, from wheat and tares to grapes but my best guess is that it has something to do with the imagery of The Blood.  Tares (weeds) don’t bleed when you pull them out of the ground but grapes do “bleed”.

And so there is this imagery of The Reaper putting in his sickle and pulling the bodies up into the clouds and then throwing them into The Great Winepress of The Wrath Of God.

“But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left.

Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.” ~Matthew 24:37 -42

Now, WHO did The Flood take away??  The Children of The Enemy!!!  And so shall also the coming of The Son Of Man be….hey, The Bible said it, not me…it’s right there…read it for yourself.  One is taken and the other left…and where is the one taken??  To be trodden in The Winepress of The Wrath Of God, no doubt.

There is NO Pre-Tribulation or Pre-Wrath “Rapture”….at least not one that any normal sane person would want to be apart of!  The Earth is meant for His Seed and NOT for The Seed Of The Enemy…He is going to remove them and then restore the earth and we shall live for 1,000 years at PEACE with Him and He will teaches us of His Ways and show us the right way to live upon this earth.

“In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this.

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

And I will bring again the captivity of my people of Israel, and they shall build the waste cities, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and drink the wine thereof; they shall also make gardens, and eat the fruit of them.

And I will plant them upon their land, and they shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them, saith the LORD thy God.” ~Amos 9:11-15

On The Frontlines

Yesterday our cell phone tower died and our internet connection is cell based…we live too far out and in woods too dense for anything else…even satellite.

My kids have all gone insane, all the little bad behavior problems that each has had at different times and in different ways that are unique to them…they’ve returned all at once at the SAME TIME.

They also all started being sick with some kind of runny nose, coughy mucousy thing…although today it is practically nonexistent.

My animals have gone nuts!  My favorite sweetest goat Rosie charged out of her pen yesterday while I was milking and nearly ran Samuel over.  I flew, you heard that right, I jumped up and flew (literally) through the air in order to stop Rosie from running him over….I am a naturally klutzy person with the extra “momma poundage” from 5 pregnancies and yet somehow I managed to FLY… I flew like 10 feet and then, grabbing Rosie’s collar, I landed HARD on the milking table with my right leg, it was so bad I didn’t feel it at first and now there is this HUGE gnarly bruise.  And I scratched up my right arm too.

Saturday night was the worst…roosters crowing at 3 am, mice invading the house (I could hear the chewing and scurrying in the walls!) yet the cats are fighting each other and not the mice!  And Jack barking and barking and barking and barking at nothing and everything.  Usually he sleeps on our enclosed side porch but in the past few days he has taken to sleeping on the front porch right in front of the front door, he’s a good guard dog…he knows what’s up.

And it got COLD, down to 19 degrees on Friday night, but now the temperatures are back to normal and even unseasonably warm.

I’ve gotten ZERO sleep in the past two days, but for no reason…my senses are on edge, everything is crazy here…you can feel it in there airs and I CAN”T sleep!

We haven’t been at this LEVEL of happenings since 2009 when my husband first started making his You Tube Videos…it’s sort of a pain in the butt, a mild nuisance at the very most…..but I tell you now, I won’t be silenced 🙂