Life on the Farm

Well, as usual, life has been busy. But, instead of giving you a long, boring update about what's been going on, I thought I'd add some photos to make it a little more interesting.

A couple weeks ago we got 100 chicks that we'll be raising for meat birds. I bought 40 of them, and my parents have the other 60. 

 

 When they are three weeks old (maybe a little bit older if it's cold) we'll be putting them out on pasture in coops that we move daily so that they always are on fresh forage. These pictures were taken the day we got them, but right now they are a little over 2 weeks and are feathering out, so they're not quite as cute.

The baby pigs (which are no so "baby" anymore) are now about 10 weeks old, and still quite cute. They are weaned, and I'm hoping that they can also be put on pasture soon. That may be my farm project this week :)

 

We've been working on canning vegetable soup (this is a family favorite!), and a lot of the vegetables are from our garden. If any of you are interested in getting the recipe, I can try to post it.

I've been taking a lot of photos lately, which isn't too untypical for me (you can ask any of my family members...or friends...or anyone who knows me). I would post more of the photos I've been taking, but I really want to use some of them in future posts.

 

Our kitten (Bobby) decided to yawn just as I snapped a photo. 

Isn't he cute?

This is a photo of a yellow flower at my grandma's house

And then, on top of farm life, photography, and everything else, I've also been getting going on school. That's been going really well, and I'm enjoying it! 

My friend and I recently started a Bright Lights group in our area, and I'm so amazed at how the Lord has been working. We had both been praying for quite awhile that the Lord would provide the funds needed to provide Bright Lights notebooks for all the girls, and I was kind of starting to wonder how God would answer. But He worked it out in His perfect timing! A couple weeks before the first meeting my friend called me and said that a friend of hers, who had led a Bright Lights group several years ago, dropped off a whole box of Bright Lights materials for us to use in our group. In the box were 15 notebooks, as well as many of the lessons! Then, last week at our first meeting I realized that 8 of the girls already had Bright Lights notebooks, so that left only 11 girls who didn't have one yet. And God had provided 15! It was so amazing how He worked it all out!

Well, this is kind of a brief update about what's been going on here. Before I close this post, I want to share a verse with you that has encouraged me lately:

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." Colossians 3:23-24

When I look at this verse, I think it applies to so many things! Whether that task be school, cleaning out a pig pen, writing an article, or babysitting, do it with all your heart and remember that you aren't serving man, you are serving the King of kings, the Lord of lords, Jesus Christ. Strive to please Him in all that you do, and make Him top priority in your life. I find that when I think of this verse while going about a task, it keeps my mind on the Lord and praising Him...even if it's one of those tasks that your not too excited about doing.

Shine for the Lord in ALL that you do,

Rebekah

Challenged

I've had so much else going on that it was nice not to have to worry about blogging for a couple weeks. I have pictures loaded onto the computer, so I'll try to update you as best I can along with a few pictures. Over the course of the past few weeks, I have had a couple of things that the Lord has been challenging me with, and in this post I'd like to share them with you.

August 10-11 was the Strong in the Lord conference, and August 13-14 was the Radiant Purity conference, both in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I came away from them so encouraged and challenged. One of the things that I was challenged with the most was totally surrendering my teen years to the Lord and asking Him to give me a passionate love for Him and His Word. I want Him to be the center of my life so that He is the one who controls my thoughts, actions, and words. We can't gain a love for the Lord if we aren't continually in His Word, and I'll have to admit that though I do read the Bible often, I probably don't read it as faithfully as I should. I have committed to trying to read at least one chapter of the Bible every day, but I know that in my own strength I can't do it. It's only by His strength that I can be diligent about it.

Did any of you attend any of the conferences in either Iowa or Minnesota? If so, I'd enjoy hearing your comments about it. If you would like to share something that you learned, I'd love to hear that as well!

{A chalk drawing from one of the "Chalk Talks" that Sarah Mally gave at the Radiant Purity conference}

August 18th we performed our quartet for 4-H Share the Fun at the State Fair. It was a great learning experience, and we all enjoyed it. We were encouraged to find out later that the judge who was giving comments (it wasn't a contest, she just commented on each performance) was also a Christian! 

After we were done performing, another girl that had also performed that night came up to Alexandra and I, and we got into a short conversation with her. Alexandra asked her if she was a Christian, because the song she had done her dance to sounded like a Christian song. She said that she wasn't, and then she mentioned that we seemed so joyful while we were performing our song. I told her that it was because of Jesus in our lives, and the conversation pretty much ended there. Later as I was thinking about it, and I wish that I would have been prepared. Prepared to give an answer. In 1 Peter 3:15 it says, "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect". Here the Lord gave me an opportunity to be a witness, and I wasn't ready to give an answer. How many times does the Lord give us opportunities, but we aren't equipped and ready? This incident really challenged me to not let this happen again. Next time, I want to be prepared.

 {Pictures from State Fair}

Those two events took up a majority of my time the past few weeks, and I hope I didn't bore you with details :)  There were so many good topics covered at the Bright Lights conferences, so they'll probably make their way onto this blog in the near future. As I close this post, I want to challenge you with two things...to be passionately in love with the Lord, and to always be ready to give an answer.

4:12 Bible Study

Today I got a letter in the mail from the Bright Lights ministry, and in it they mentioned a new 8-week Bible study that they have (you can download it off of their website for free). I got online and looked at it, and I thought it looked really neat! It is designed for young ladies as a discipleship and accountability study. They encourage you to find another girl (preferably a younger girl) and then to go through this 8 week study together, meeting once a week. I thought that this was a great idea! I would encourage you to check it out (4:12 Bible Study), and see if you can think of a girl in your life who would be encouraged by going through this study together.

~ Rebekah

Bright Lights Conferences

I would like to let you girls know about some wonderful opportunities that are coming up! Bright Lights is having several conferences for young ladies who want to grow deeper in their relationship with the Lord. There will be both a Strong in the Lord and Radiant Purity conference in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and also in Duluth, Minnesota. The Strong in the Lord conference is geared more towards young ladies ages 8-14 (though older girls are
welcome to attend), and the cost is $10 per girl and $5 per parent. The Radiant Purity conference is for young ladies ages 12-22, and the cost is also $10 per girl and $5 per parent. Parents are encouraged to attend with their daughters. I would like to encourage those of you who have never gone to one of these conferences to attend one, and those who have gone to one to go again! I have been to the Strong in the Lord conference twice and the Radiant Purity conference once and each time I come away feeling greatly encouraged! The dates for conferences are:

Cedar Rapids, Iowa:
Strong in the Lord Conference - August 10-11, 2010
Radiant Purity Conference - August 13-14, 2010

Duluth, Minnesota:
Strong in the Lord Conference - August 17-18, 2010
Radiant Purity Conference - August 20-21, 2010

Click HERE to view more information about the conferences.

For more information on, or to register for, these conferences, please visit: www.tomorrowsforefathers.com