showers of blessing...

{Credit: Starling Hope Photography}

"I will cause the shower to come down in his season; 

there shall be showers of blessing."—Ezekiel 34:26. 

HERE is sovereign mercy—"I will give them the shower in its season." Is it not sovereign, divine mercy?—for who can say, "I will give them showers," except God? There is only one voice which can speak to the clouds, and bid them beget the rain. Who sendeth down the rain upon the earth? Who scattereth the showers upon the green herb? Do not I, the Lord? So grace is the gift of God, and is not to be created by man. It is also needed grace. What would the ground do without showers? You may break the clods, you may sow your seeds, but what can you do without the rain? As absolutely needful is the divine blessing. In vain you labour, until God the plenteous shower bestows, and sends salvation down. 

{Credit: Starling Hope Photography}

Then, it is plenteous grace. "I will send them showers." It does not say, "I will send them drops," but "showers." So it is with grace. If God gives a blessing, He usually gives it in such a measure that there is not room enough to receive it. Plenteous grace! Ah! we want plenteous grace to keep us humble, to make us prayerful, to make us holy; plenteous grace to make us zealous, to preserve us through this life, and at last to land us in heaven. We cannot do without saturating showers of grace. 

{Credit: Starling Hope Photography}

Again, it isseasonable grace. "I will cause the shower to come down in his season." What is thy season this morning? Is it the season of drought? Then that is the season for showers. Is it a season of great heaviness and black clouds? Then that is the season for showers.

{Credit: Starling Hope Photography}

 "As thy days so shall thy strength be." And here is a varied blessing. "I will give thee showers of blessing." The word is in the plural. All kinds of blessings God will send. All God's blessings go together, like links in a golden chain. If He gives converting grace, He will also give comforting grace. He will send "showers of blessing." Look up to-day, O parched plant, and open thy leaves and flowers for a heavenly watering.

-Charles Haddon Spurgeon

{Credit: Starling Hope Photography}

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How wonderful it is to discover the the beautiful parallels between God's earthly creations and His grace. It makes the garden transform in one's spirit from a carnal source of chores and food to a classroom filled with an overabundance of spiritual and practical lessons and blessings. 

Think - when you're working in your garden, you are engaging in the very work that God gave to man before the fall (Genesis 2:15, 3:23). Granted, the scope of taking dominion (Genesis 1:28) was intended to stretch beyond the Garden of Eden (Psalms 115:16) but there is something very special about this undertaking. So many times God refers to gardening/farming in His Word - references wherein the full meaning is best grasped when one understands the dynamics of agriculture. 

{Credit: McCauley}

I think it's pretty amazing that my quiet time with the Lord can legitimately be spent on my knees before a raised bed garden in meditation on God's precepts and prayer. I loved what I read in an article in Challenging Femininity where I first learned of the Dervaes family:

"How has your lifestyle enabled you to grow closer to the Father and living out his Torah?
Living off the land helps us get closer to nature and the Creator. We had to learn the lesson that we aren’t in charge and we don’t always get what we want. By putting ourselves at the mercy of the harvests, the land, and the weather, we have to rely on blessings from God. It takes a family to run a project like this and we have to rely on each other and support one another.

Living this way puts one in touch with God’s plan: He put man in the garden as caretaker of His creation. The guidelines for living are spelled out in the Old Testament, as well as demonstrated in the agrarian festivals that directly connect us with the land and harvest times. Our family keeps the Sabbath, tithes our first fruits and observes the 7 Holy Days.

Our father has said it’s enlightening to point out that a gardener’s position is almost always on his knees."

Mmm.. that one section was the spark that ignited my passion for sustainable living. I encourage you to visit Little Homestead in the City, the blog by the Dervaes family that has done so much to kindle that passion and educated me in the process.

Soli Deo Gloria,

new life ... reminders of an old one

Ah, there's nothing quite like taking a stroll in the dormant garden grey with winter to find a tinsy bud bursting forth and declaring gaily, "Spring is coming!!!"

As I was weeding out the bean rows this morning {more like plunging my hands into a forest of grass and tugging the roots free of the soil we can't afford to waste...} I unknowingly harvested this pleasant little surprise:

The smell instantly brought back dozens of colorful memories of a time when I ran barefoot and carefree with a bundle of these native chives in my arms to my next-door-neighbor's backyard. There my best friend and I sat cross legged and knocked the mud clumps off and carefully rinsed the tiny bulbs for hours at a time. We were aspiring to begin our own onion business, setting up a little cardboard stand on the side of the road and selling a bundle of chives for $1. Just think of the profits we could have devoted to Starbursts and A&W Root Beer! Of course, these piles just ended up on our kitchen countertops being chopped finely and added to that evenining's supper as we stared wistfully on, watching all our hard work being thrown into bubbly soup. Of course as soon as we tasted our mothers' creations, sharing crackers on the balance beam that separates our yards, staring up into summer night sky laden with an overabundance of stars and feeling the warm Summer breeze on our cheeks - all wistful sighs were replaced with blissful ones.

Makes one kinda miss those kid days...

Happy Gardening!

Soli Deo Gloria,

gearin' up for spring 2011!

Spring is already looking bright for the little Thomas homestead here in Garden Acres! Finally rolling up my sleeves to join in and embark on Daddy's vision last Autumn and then reading, reading, reading all Winter has really made me eager to help out this year. Daddy has given me charge of the researching, planning and purchasing as well as good amount of the daily chores.

Brand new kennel - put up just two days ago!
Don't let his puppy-dog eyes fool ya,
you should have seen the mess he's made.
{sigh}

I quickly drafted a tentative garden layout last month, however everything changed as soon as my Daddy made his way out back a couple of weeks ago. With a new giant kennel for our hound finished {thank heavens, that dog was tearing up everything!} and a chicken range underway, our yard schematic was rearranged to accommodate these exciting additions. Daddy's ingenuity in the veggie garden by adding two tiers in the middle of our veggie bed means even more adjustments.



I've spent a good part of the day measuring structures {thanks for your help, Jasco!} and creating our first complete accurate-scale schematic for our homestead. It isn't finished as of yet, but I hope to get it posted soon. :)

The dill that I planted in Autumn 2010 grew splendidly -- well, at least I think it did. As my first successful herb, I was pretty ecstatic when I reached 2ft tall in December {although they say it's supposed to get up to 4ft... hm...} I did get two nice-sized cuttings off of it before the frost in late January!

Aaaand my cabbage is gorgeous! Well, one of the heads is. The other is workin' on it. Um... yes, you read that right. There are only two. Hush.

The parsley didn't grow half as well - and I know why. I really didn't pay attention to my garden after planting it until mid-January. *innocent whistle*

We won't even mention the lettuce.

I really do have a good reason, though. After I planted in late October, we had quite the heat spell and a mild drought. I waited for about a month, and after seeing no green sprouts, I kind of gave up on it. It was all too easy with my baby sister being born in September and becoming a weekly maid for a not-so-near-by homeschool family.

So, the Winter garden of my dreams turned out like this:

One would think we sowed grass in place of
our winter squash and spinach... =/

But we did get an entire carrot to grow!!! ^.^

I'm going to stop now...

*sigh*

Well, there is always Spring 2011. New year, new priorities, new schedule and a clearer vision. I'm really hoping to focus on gardening this year. I want to become excellent at growing things. I most definitely did not inherit any green thumb genes. It's gonna take some research and a whole lot of diligence to master this skill. With Daddy's guidance, Marmy's enthusiasm, Christina's attentiveness, McCauley's energy, Jasco's strength, Gracey's refreshing adorableness and every single Wednesday off from chores and outside jobs to focus on the garden and this blog -- I'm thinking this year looks pretty promising.

However: no matter how diligent I am, no matter how well I plot and plan, no matter how much I know -- the harvest is from the Lord. If vegetables grow, it is not because of me but because the Creator chose to bless. Even this garden is of Him, through Him and to Him. If the bounty is plentiful, blessed be the Name of the Lord. If He chooses to withhold prosperity this Summer, blessed be the Name of the Lord. Our family's journey to gaining skills and strategies in self-sufficiency is for His glory alone. We pray to be faithful stewards of the land and resources which He's already provided to us.

On that note, I want to encourage my fellow gardeners to seek the Lord of the Harvest in the process and to bring glory to His Name in success. Return your first fruits, and use the entire experience to further God's Kingdom.

Soli Deo Gloria,