So it's a wee bit nippy in Oklahoma and as a result Deer Da and I have been cutting wood. We are not professionals. Heck we're not even good at it! However, it feels wonderful when you step in from outside after doing chores (I'll elaborate on these in a bit) and ta-dah!!! the world is warm, cozy, and comforting.
Now most places are good to read your bible. I say most because not all places are good. For instance, reading the bible while you're driving down the road is not a good idea. Or reading the bible while changing a diaper; trust me on this one, you are going to need your full attention for this task. It's also not the best idea to read the bible when you're say stoking a fire, hammering a nail, or chopping vegetables with a really sharp knife...actually anytime you're using a really sharp knife it would be best not to be distracted. However, that's not to say that there aren't plenty of other opportunities to enlighten your mind with God's word. When you're waiting somewhere for something, when you're on a trip (and not flying the plane, driving the car, ect.), when you're at home, when you're not at home, and so on and so on.
Back to the point. Most places are good to read the bible. I will recomend my top three.
1. In a chair by the fire. Make sure that you're lighting is good or you'll hurt your eyes of course (I do know this from experiance; I didn't always have to wear glasses).
2. In a garden, park, or any other flora-filled place.
3. In a library.
Why are these my favorite places? They are all quiet. What we gain by reading the bible in quiet happens to be the same thing that we gain by praying in quiet -- we can hear God's answer. You can read all day long, but if you're distracted, not a word will sink in. These three places are good, but no doubt if you think about it other great ones will also come to mind.
So I'm enjoying some warmth, and I pray that you are too. I might need to bring in a bit more wood now though.
My chores are great. They just are. Now I'm not talking about cleaning, although I do like to clean, I'm talking about real chores. Hauling water to livestock, tossing hay, milking, chopping wood, ect.
In the morning when I rise my girls are already waiting on me. Out in the brisk air I go to see them bouding, leaping, and generally skipping down the hill to be the first one put on the stantion to be milked. (stantion = table with a built in bucket holder so the animal eats grain while you milk) I milk goats not cows. Been there done that, and several broken toes later I very much prefer milking goats to milking cows. Besides, goats are smarter. They get their grain, I get my milk, then move on to the next chore. The whole morning goes beautifully. There might be spilled milk, an egg might break, an hibernating snake might be uncovered in the woodpile, but life goes on. The pony gets his treat, the dogs get their bones, the sheep are let into the orchard. No matter what happens during the day, I know that the same thing will happen that night. The animals will be fed, milked, petted, told how pretty they are, the fire is stoked and life goes on.
Some envy animals. After all, animals just lay around and be animals and their every need is met. For that matter, they might as well envy the flowers. If they are oh so worried and they have not read "do not eat this blog" perhaps you could enlighten them, because if we can just stop worrying, God will take care of us.
Matthew 6:25-34
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not clothed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you--you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today.
So in closing, don't worry; just chillax. God has his hand on you and all you need to do is have faith. Remember that little "faith as a grain of mustard seed"? Ya, now it's coming together.
Sala Gabotse, Stay warm, and Godspeed.
P.S. A hydr wood splitter will save your back as well as many hours of labor!
.jpg)