I am thankful.
~ for a good week on the farm. We were gifted some mature hens from a friend, and we were thankful to welcome Dorothy, Blanche, Rose, and Sophia.
We’ve started letting all the chickens out to free range for a few hours in the evening, and it’s so fun to watch them explore and forage and then one by one, put themselves to bed in their coop.
~ our little garden is doing great, even in the unseasonably early heatwave.
~ not a bad little harvest, including OUR FIRST TWO EGGS! I wish I had captured the looks on each of the kids’ faces! Lord, help me to never forget their absolute joy and surprise. Priceless.
~ for Sam and Kora’s favorite week of the entire year: Pine Cove! For the first time ever, I’ve got 2 at the same camp. So very thankful these sweet girls get to go to camp. They are such a help to me, but they can just get away and enjoy themselves in the most beautiful setting. I pray this will be a week of fun, friendship, relaxation, and a deepening of their relationship with Jesus.
~ for more beautiful wildlife…can you spot the friend in this picture?
~ for our first summer trip to the library. Everybody came home with new books to enjoy. I love this tradition.
~ for a great day celebrating our favorite Dad. It was a peaceful day, with a few simple projects, a Texas Rangers win, and finished with a feast: chicken fried steak & taters and another hot, buttery blackberry crumble with ice cream.
It’s really summer.
Being out here on our little farm, we love the setting and the wildlife and the beauty.
Some things just seem really simple.
But man, is it ever a lot of WORK.
Like it’s a constant battle. Constant repairs. Fighting the bugs. Outsmarting the varmints. Maintaining the property. Tending to the animals. Keeping up with the onslaught of weather and weeds and blistering Texas heat and my gaggle of hungry, messy kids.
I love the story our pastor tells, how he raised his 5 sons on the saying, “We LIKE hard work!”
It’s good to get hot and sweaty from working hard. For your back to feel tired and your legs a little sore. To have dirt under your fingernails, and maybe even a blister or two.
It’s good to have to dig.
Because that’s where the good stuff is.
That’s where the good worms are for fishing. That’s where you find the good soil, once you get past the weeds.
That’s where the treasure is.
I don’t want to stay on the surface, in the shallow, exerting myself as little as possible.
I want to dig deep. Into the Word. Into Jesus. Into Life.
It’s work. But it’s so, so worth it.
Thanks for giving thanks with me.
“Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:7-9)
“The land yields its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.” (Psalms 67:6)
“Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you.” 1 Chronicles 28:20a
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