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Enloe Farm Is Going Green

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Well we didn’t make it for Earth Day, but we’re still going GREEN!

We’re trading in our blues and we’re going green. That’s right, for over 50 years the only tractor that’s been on this farm has been a Ford or a New Holland  (the company that bought out Ford).

 

 But now we are going John Deere green!johndeere logo

The Farmer Going Green

 

Saying Goodbye to a Tradition

Going Green Looks Pretty Mean!

 
 Got a great deal from Schweissguth Bros. in Dutzow

But they did too…

What do you think of the Farmer’s new toy (oh, I mean necessary farming equipment). 🙂
Click on a pic, if you want to see more detail.

 

 

Old Mother Hubbard

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Just like Old Mother Hubbard, I went to my cupboard and found it getting bare. Except the freezer was my cupboard and looking into it this afternoon reminds me that it’s getting close to calf-selling season again.

At this time of year, our spring calves from the previous year are getting ready to be processed. They’ve gained approximately 800 lbs. since birth on mama’s milk, grass, and grass hay. Because food supply is limited for these calves, they are fed a little bit of grain throughout the winter months. Being time to condition them for processing, we separate our calves into the lot where they are still exposed to fresh green grasses, but their grain intake will increase—no argument that this improves marbling and, in my opinion, the taste of the beef.

However, the great debate over grass-fed beef vs. grain-fed beef always seems to intensify around here when new customers begin to inquire about our beef. There are strong opinions on both sides, but the final call comes down to personal preference.

Our Calves Are Raised Naturally

According to the USDA, naturally raised means that the cattle have been given:

  • No growth promotants
  • No unnecessary antibiotics
  • No animal by-products

 

Our Beef Is Organic

In accordance with USDA Sec. 2105, Sec. 2107, organically produced livestock must meet these qualifications:

  •  Produced without the use of synthetic chemicals
  • Not fed plastic pellets, manure, or feed containing urea
  • Not given growth promoters and hormones
  • Complete traceability (our calves are born and raised here)

 

calf in lot

The beef we sell to our customers is the beef we feed to our children; therefore, the quality of our beef can be completely trusted. Our cattle are not kept in a crowded feedlot, which is a problem with commercial feedlots, nor are they exposed to harmful chemicals and growth stimulants. Because they are our food supply, too, we take care that our cattle remain healthy in a very humane environment.

If you would like more information on buying beef from us, go to the Enloe Farm Beef tab.

Dash and Flash Meals for the Farmer

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If you know me at all, then you probably know that I’m not a big plan-ahead person. Daughter #1 enlightened me on the reason recently, by reminding me that I was born on the biggest procrastinating day in US history—April 15 (tax day, in case you live under a rock). At any rate, this gift of procrastination is manifested in just about every area of my life, but the most noticeable area would be in supper preparation.
The Farmer gets home around 4:30 every evening (for the past 35+ years), and being the hard working, over achieving, workaholic that he is, he’s usually starving by the time he hits the door, wraps me in his arms, and tells me what a great wife I am! (hee, hee)
Of course, being the perfect wife, I have supper timed so that he still has just enough time to check cows, move them to another paddock, and feed the bull (which I’m sure he doesn’t give a thought to how much effort I put into this notable achievement).
So, you may be wondering how the queen of procrastination can accomplish such a feat (maybe not, but read on anyway).
First of all I have a freezer full of frozen beef—frozen being a key word here. I keep staples aplenty like potatoes, canned vegetables, flour, and seasonings. And that’s really all I need; oh, and soda.
The procrastinating attribute comes to light when the Farmer calls to let me know he is on his way home from work, which gives me a full 40 minutes to prepare supper. Not too bad, if he calls when he leaves work, but more often than I like, he gets busy on the phone with someone else before he can call me. Often I have received a 20-minute warning, or worse yet, a 10-minute warning! (yeah, well supper isn’t always on the table).

Well, I have become a master of Dash and Flash Meals.

Translated—putting together a delicious meal super fast!
Hamburgers and fries are probably the easiest, because when we get our beef processed I have a lot of my hamburger made into patties.
So, I scrub a few potatoes, cut them into steak fries, and soak them in vegetable oil that’s been brought to a boil (saw this on FoodNetwork).
Then I get the hamburger patties out of the freezer, throw them into the microwave for 2 minutes, break them apart, and throw them into the skillet. (I’m about 10 minutes in at this point)
When the hamburgers are almost done, I turn the fries on high temp. And magically my hamburgers and fries get finished right before The Farmer comes in for supper.
Spaghetti is another really quick meal. I again start with frozen hamburger, peel off the outside plastic, and throw it into the microwave for 3 minutes. It comes out ready to crumble into a skillet. It only takes about 5 minutes to brown at a high temp, so I put my water on to boil during this process. After the hamburger is browned and drained, I add seasonings, tomato sauce and parmesan, and simmer this until the spaghetti noodles are cooked. I usually fix biscuits (canned of course), garlic bread, or just butter bread with this.
Both of these meals can be cooked in about 20 minutes. As I was writing this, I thought of other Dash and Flash dishes that I make.
  1.       Beef and noodles
  2.       Chili (made from left-over pinto beans)
  3.       Cowboy Supper (made with beef, beans, and bbq sauce)
  4.       Tacos
  5.       Chicken Quesadillas
  6.       Sausage hash
  7.       Steak and baked potatoes (baked meaning microwaved)
  8.       Swiss steak burgers
  9.       Chef’s salad
10.       Frozen pizza J
What about you? Do you have any Dash and Flash meals that you make? Share it with the rest of us and maybe we can exchange recipes.

 

Today Is My Birthday!

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Cindra as a baby

 

Today is my 53rd birthday!

Really!? Really!?

How could that be possible? How could five decades pass and me not even realize? How could I have gone through childhood, adulthood, parenthood, grandparenthood! And not notice that time was passing so quickly?

Fifty-three years…hmm.

Wasn’t it just a few years ago that I was a fat little roly-poly waddling down the sidewalk? Fortunately, this memory was recorded for me on a movie reel (Anyone remember those?).

And hasn’t it been just a short time ago that we were going on family camping trips? It’s not been so long ago, in my recollection, that our cousins would come to visit and we would play hide and seek in the dark (another game my children think they created).

I’m sure it was just a few summers back that we had family and friends over to swim, played tag in the cemetery, enjoyed spending summer vacations with grandparents and cousins, or rode our Shetland ponies (although I can’t remember if they were ours or Grandpa George’s).

Oh…some of the memories flood back as I write this, and for those who read this and shared some of the experiences, you will recall things like: Alley Springs, walking to the movies, the bowling alley, steal-the-flag, our old red dog, Butch, and hasn’t everyone had a dog named Blackie? There were carnival rides, basketball games, drive-in movies, cheerleader tryouts (didn’t make it), snowball fights, and long trips to Winona. Rock collections, bug collections, catching lightening bugs in the summer. Oh! and tying strings around the legs of a June bug and hanging on to it while it flew around.

As a teen I remember getting a curling iron and trying to curl wet hair. Does anyone remember Psst! I think that’s what it was. You sprayed it on your hair if you didn’t have time to wash it. It was like powder on your hair (eek!) Long hair, ponytails, and bell-bottoms.

And wasn’t it just yesterday that The Farmer and I were married, and experiencing the trials and triumphs that come with a new family? Well, the reality of having children grown and married and having children of their own brings me back to the possibility that maybe more time has passed than I have realized.

Although the calendar records that I have had approximately 19,345 days on the earth, I still can’t believe it, because they have passed by all too quickly.

And looking at the clock I see that even more time has passed, so I’m going to end this walk down memory lane before another birthday passes me by completely.

 

 

graffiti
dreamstime.com

 

 

The Final Tally

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The best thing about spring is seeing all the signs of the new life that is beginning to appear at this time of year.

Seeing the grass sprouting up through the cold ground, the new blossoms on the trees, the soft sounds of the wind, the chirping of the birds, the warmth of the sunshine—I could almost burst out into song! (You should be thankful there is no sound) 🙂

 

One of the greatest things about living on the farm is being able to see our calves being born. Unfortunately, three of our heifers did not
calf this spring so we are down from what we had expected. The birthing season has ended and we only have nine calves.

 

Although it was not the number we were expecting, we had a successful season. A couple of our calves were born during the frigid weather when winter would not turn loose of spring, and at times we wondered if they were going to make it. Seeing a brand new, wet, cold, shaking baby calf fall to the ground of a snow covered field is at times unsettling. However, the fortitude those babies have are nothing less than miraculous! It doesn’t take them long to nuzzle up to mamma and warm their little bodies.

 

Often the baby calves huddle together when laying out in the field. I tried to sneak up on them to take a picture, but they were too quick for me. As soon as they saw me coming they started getting up.

 

calves in the field

 

calves in the field
Oh well, I’ll get a closer picture next time. Once it gets a little hotter,
they won’t be so quick to jump up.

Missouri Weather

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We went into winter 2012 with just enough hay (fingers crossed) to make it until Spring. Well, as many know, Missouri’s weather is very fickle. In fact, rightly quoted…

“If you don’t like the weather in Missouri, hang around until tomorrow and it will be different”. 

True to its nature, March came in like a lion with strong winds and an illusion to warmer weather, but took an erratic turn when a spattering of sleet was covered by 8” of snow.

We could use a little global warming right about now!

Needless to say, we did not have enough hay. Fortunately, with a quick search on craigslist we found hay for sale at the Koch Farm in Washington. Looks like a great place to live. They have a farm that runs 100+ head of cattle, no more than 5 minutes from McDonald’s, Dairy Queen, and Schnucks! Some people have it all. 🙂 (Ahh…I pleasantly digress)

You can see by the pictures below that we got the hay just in time.

round bales of hay

  Saturday, when I took the pictures of the Farmer unloading the hay, it was 50+ degrees.

And then the snow came in and covered everything in sight!

calf born in snow storm

 

Well, for now we have enough hay for about a week…

So, Old Man Winter, please get out of the way so Spring can be Sprung!

The Skillet Scuffle

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 “Iron sharpeneth iron;

so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.”

Proverbs 27:17

My oldest daughter is a minimalist, which means she loves to throw out perfectly good items just because she doesn’t use them every day or week or month. Every once in awhile she runs out of things to throw out at her house, so I allow her to come to my house and throw away some things to “help” me with my trouble spots.

Last week when she came up, I decided I needed some help with my skillet shuffle. You see, my skillets live in my oven. Unfortunately, when I use my oven the skillets are asked to vacate the premises until things cool down. So they reside on the counter tops, but can be an eyesore when company is present. I can contain them all neatly in a corner, until we have the whole family over for Thanksgiving, at that time we need every inch of counter property available. At this point, the skillets are banned to the back deck until the company has evacuated the premises—usually…one year I left them out there for several days, because I hadn’t missed them (should have been a clue) J

This weekend Daughter #1 (April) and I decided to rearrange and clean out my kitchen so it would be practically “self-cleaning”. Her theory is if you have less stuff in your house you’ll have less stuff to clean up and put away…nice theory. Deciding to do a post on Spring-cleaning, I had Daughter #2 (Miranda) take notes so I could write about it later. She did such an accurate job, I decided to post her notes as she had written them (although I do believe she took some liberties in her writing style). J

 

Step-by-Step Kitchen Collaboration

 

1:51…Took before pics

1:54…Made phone call

1:56…Started cleaning

1:57…Actually started cleaning

1:58…Mom has 7 skillets and April thinks she only needs 2

2:00…Mom decides to keep 4 skillets, but needs all her pots

2:04…Finally decided to get rid of 1 of her 7 pots.

2:06…Skillets are removed permanently from the oven and stored …wait they won’t fit

2:07…Another skillet bites the dust

2:10… April strongly expressing that pots need room to breathe, so the pots or skillets have to go

2:14…Down to 2 iron skillets, 1 large skillet with a lid, and 1 small skillet for eggs

2:15…Another skillet gone, April convinces Mom that she can use her iron skillet for fried eggs, but stores the small Teflon skillet in case she changes her mind

2:19… Mom looking for multiple storing places to put her skillets while April refuses and insists she can shove them all into one place

2:20… Still arguing over skillets

2:21…April realizes she has nowhere else to go with the rest of the skillets so she gives in to Mom’s warming drawer idea (where Mom had some of the skillets stored already)

2:25…Now that the skillets are secured, the pots resurface

2:27…After 36 grueling minutes the pots and skillets are finally put away. Although they are racially mixed to the horror of my Mother (stainless steel with non-stick), but none in the oven

2:28…On to the pans and cookie sheets. Hindsight bias leads me to believe this will not be easy

pans on kitchen counter

2:32…It took four painstaking minutes to take “just the right picture” of them and the pans

2:33…Mom threw something away she has probably never used and if she had, people would need a tetanus shot after eating off it

2:35…It is really sinking into me why, as a psych student, I need therapy before I can help others

2:38…On to mixing bowls and big thighs (genetic?)

2:40…Mom’s “ADHD” is starting to take over as April pleads for her to just deal with the mixing bowls before they move on

2:44…After reading what I have recorded so far for this blog, Mom is talking of starting another one, 3 blogs obviously aren’t enough to contain everything that’s in her thought processes

2:45…On to pie plates while the mixing bowls ar

2:46…April pulled out a pan again… I started to get scared that we had just taken a giant leap backwards

2:48…It’s discovered that Dad can’t take glass to work. He is forced to use plastic, thus sending the environment to its death

2:49…I don’t know what they are arguing about now but I heard chocolate chips

2:50…April is obsessed with lids and against Secret Sisters

2:53…Mom needs more storage and April needs more trash bags

2:54…Mom’s Chinese takeout container obsession is revealedChinese bowls on crowded counter

2:56…On to glasses while the bowls are still sitting on the counter

2:57…Realization that April is against a lot of church related programs and Mom is shockingly shorter than we thought. On a positive note…the bowls are finally finding a place to call home

3:03…The girls need to be picked up, and Mom fears she can’t leave April in the kitchen alone

3:04…Mom finally throws away a silverware holder piece from her old dishwasher. Hmmm…

3:05…I am badgered about whether I want plastic or glass cups for my children to drink out of when we are all over here at the same time

3:07…Amazon called and yes, we are happy with their service

3:08…A coffee cup reminds my mother of my grandfather. Huh, I don’t see the resemblance.

3:10…Still on cups

3:11…Arguing over cups and the Secret Sis thing takes another hit from April….I see a pattern

3:13…I am losing interest, and I didn’t have much to begin with

3:15…Mom got rid of three coffee cups, four cups, now five cups, six cups, no seven…April is taking two of them home.

3:16…They are trying to draw me into their sick game

3:17…I’ve been sucked in!!! They draw you in with their refusal to throw away what is clearly trash, from off the counter!

3:18…Mom leaves to pick up the girls while April stays behind and finishes the kitchen, cursing under her breath as she liberally throws everything else away.

clean kitchen

Hee..Hee! 🙂 …Well the end result was worth the toil and trouble of going through all my cabinets and drawers. As far as a “self-cleaning” kitchen…I decided that there isn’t such a creature. However, April is right, I still have to wash things and put them away, but there’s less mess which leads to less clean up! Thanks girls…

So what projects are you doing for Spring-cleaning? I still need to go through my recipe books. Wait! I hope April didn’t get to them while I was gone. J

My Grandma (Still) Rocks!

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My most precious memories growing up are the times I spent at my Grandma Lorene and Grandpa Dee’s house. They, along with most of my Mother’s family, lived in a small rural town that has just lately risen to the 4-digit mark in population. The town is small enough that everyone knows everyone else, and most of them are related.

My grandparents reared their six children (with a lot of visiting cousins and friends) in a 2-story house that sat on a huge plot of ground just spitting distance from the town’s square. The front yard was twice as big as the average yards today. Any time the grandkids were all there, we would be playing “steal-the-flag”. There were other games of kickball, volleyball, badminton, croquet, and every other game imaginable to a yard full of kids. We would sit under the apple tree eating the little green sour apples that fell to the ground, and ride our bikes up and down the sidewalk or all over town (that’s when towns were safe).

We could go on a walk by ourselves and we did often. We could walk up to the drugstore, the general store, and down to the ball field. We crossed the bridge that went over the creek and we climbed into the old theatre that was falling down. It had water in the basement and we climbed over the broken boards and rummaged through the rubble. I can’t believe we didn’t uncover a snake or fall into the water!

Our Christmases were spent with them (one year Santa Claus had to come to our house early, because my brother, my sister, and I got bikes for Christmas and Santa Claus couldn’t deliver them to my grandparent’s house). I remember sledding down the big hill in front of their house, which was actually the main road, and then coming in for homemade hot chocolate that burned my tongue so badly I couldn’t taste for two days.

But my most precious memory is the front porch. Grandma and Grandpa’s front porch reached all away across the front of their great big house and then wrapped around the whole side of the house. It was great! They had room for two swings and lots of chairs. But the swing is what I always sat in…with Grandma.

Grandparents home in Winona, MO
Myers home, Winona, MO

Grandma would sit in the swing and rock back and forth, back and forth, in a leisurely, methodical manner. And if we were fortunate, she would sing to us. She would sing songs that taught us about the Savior, and songs that would praise the Father, and sometimes some cute little ditty that she learned when she was a little girl.

All through my adult life, those recollections have been seeded in my memory, and when we built our front porch, the first thing we added was a swing. As I rock back and forth, I think of the sweet memories of childhood, wishing my Grandmother could come and rock with me. And though that wish may never come to fruition, when our grandchildren come to play in our great big yard and sit on our porch that stretches across the front of our house and eat the pears that drop to the ground from our pear trees, I find solace in knowing that I am blessed to continue the legacy that I received from my Grandma Lorene.

Recently I had a chance to visit my Grandmother at my Aunt’s house where she lives. I walked in and sat beside her in a two-seated glider. After a moment, she began to rock back and forth, back and forth…what memories! Sitting beside her, we rocked the afternoon away, talking, laughing, and just spending time together.

At 94 years old, my Grandmother still Rocks!

Me and Gr Lorene
Grandma Lorene and me

I Luuuv You!

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Do you remember the goofy mountain prankster from the Andy Griffith Show? In one of the episodes, The Education of Earnest T. Bass, the unruly hillbilly gets swatted on the knuckles by Miss Crump, while he is under her tutelage earning his grade school diploma (which he is trying to get to impress the love of his life—“Romena”).

Smitten with Helen Crump, after she disciplines him for being unruly, he declares to her, in his distinctive mountain accent… “I luuuuv you! I luuuuv you!”

Of course, Helen runs to Sheriff Taylor, who eventually convinces the wild-eyed mountain man that his feelings for Miss Crump are due to her appearing to be a “muther figger”. J

Although there are so many great things you can bring out about that whole episode, since it’s Valentine’s Day, I want to talk about “luv”.

Love, according to Merriam-Webster, means strong affection for another arising out of kinship or personal ties; a person’s adoration of God; unselfish loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another.

According to the Bible, love is patient and kind. However, it is not jealous, boastful, or arrogant. Love does not behave inappropriately, does not insist on having its own way, and is not irritable or resentful.

Those two definitions definitely fly in the face of how people use the term “love” so flippantly.

We proclaim it, we fall into it, we share it, we lose it, and misuse it.

                                                                   I love my nail polish

                                                                                                                   …I love your hair color

                           …Don’t you just love these potatoes?

                                                                                                                                                               …Everyone loves chocolate!

                                                                                              I love to play soccer…

                    He loves to go hunting…

                                                                  We love our home…

                                                                                                                   They love to eat out.

When I see what the Bible says about love, I have to ask myself if my closest relationships—with my spouse, my children, my parents—are characterized in that definition. Sadly, I would have to say…not always.

If you were to ask me if I loved my family, of course I would say yes; but what do my actions say? We all know that our actions speak louder than our words. I can say “I love you”, but if my actions are impatient, unkind, jealous, arrogant, improper, selfish, angry, or resentful—then I am not displaying love.

In that same chapter of 1 Corinthians 13, it goes on to say, love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in truth.

This Valentine’s Day would be a perfect time to reaffirm my love for my husband, my children, my family, and my friends.

In loving my husband, I want to be committed to serving him as I promised on the day we were married; to reverence and honor him whether I’m sitting beside him talking about our secret plans for our life together or I’m speaking in public to a group of ladies.

In loving my children and grandchildren, I want to adore them and make them feel special; to encourage them and support them in the wise decisions they make concerning their lives.

In loving my family and friends to whom I’m emotionally connected, I want to show them respect and to value opportunities I have to spend with them.

But most of all, in loving the Love of my life, the Savior of my soul, I want to walk in a way that would bring glory to him; to show how grateful I am that he gave his sinless life as a payment for my sinful life by dying on the cross and rising from the dead so that I may someday spend an eternity in his presence.

My Jesus, I Love Thee

My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign;
My gracious Redeemer, my Savior art Thou;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me,
And purchased my pardon on Calvary’s tree;
I love Thee for wearing the thorns on Thy brow;
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

I’ll love Thee in life, I will love Thee in death,
And praise Thee as long as Thou lendest me breath;
And say when the death dew lies cold on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

In mansions of glory and endless delight,
I’ll ever adore Thee in heaven so bright;
I’ll sing with the glittering crown on my brow,
If ever I loved Thee, my Jesus, ’tis now.

William R. Featherston, 1864

Happy Valentine’s Day, everybody!

heart2

Starting A New Resolution In 2013

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happy new year

Happy New Year!

Have you started your New Year’s resolution? Or…have you already broken it?

As far back as I can remember I have never liked to make a new year’s resolution. Mainly, because I know myself well enough to know that I don’t have the fortitude to keep it. Blame it on laziness, distraction, weakness, or whatever…but I don’t like to set myself up for failure.

Last week as I was studying for my Sunday school lesson, I ran across this statement, “Should Christians make New Year’s Resolutions?” Well of course we should; there’s even a hymn for it:

 

 

I am resolved no longer to linger,
Charmed by the world’s delight,
Things that are higher, things that are nobler,
These have allured my sight.
I am resolved to follow the Savior,
Faithful and true each day;
Heed what He sayeth, do what He willeth,
He is the living Way.

I looked up the word resolution and the definition that I liked best was “a firmness of purpose”. So yes, I decided, Christians should make resolutions. Like the hymn says, be resolved not to be charmed by what the world has to offer…things that are higher and nobler should be what we try to obtain.

Then I began thinking about the new year and making changes. My thought pattern (if you dare to listen in) went something like this (imagine me talking to myself):

As a Christian, maybe I should “resolve” to do some things differently.
    –I don’t make New Year’s Resolutions.
But as a Christian, I should be resolved about some things.
    –I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions.
Have I ever lost weight, or read my Bible in a year, or stopped any bad habit, or started any good habit?
    –Well… probably, I just can’t think of anything right now.
Maybe if I make one New Year’s Resolution that I was going to do anyway, like lose weight (yeah, right).
    –But it’s a New Year’s Resolution.
Oh, come on! What’s it matter what I call it? It’s the same thing!
    — I don’t like New Year’s Resolutions.
But losing weight would be a good goal, and I know I will be able to keep that.
    …Oh good…there’s still some cookies left from Christmas…
I wonder where that fudge is that Mom made.
…I had better get that eaten if I’m going to make a resolution!

Actually, that was one of my more sane “conversations”. But the point is, that statement about Christians making resolutions got me thinking. When I make a decision to change something about myself, why do I want to change? What’s the reason behind the change?

Well, there are a lot of things we (I’m including you now, so I don’t have to be out here by myself) all could change. Maybe it has to do with weight, punctuality, finances, attitude—you could insert a thousand things. But what are the reasons behind the change?

Let’s take weight—you may want to lose, or gain, weight to improve your looks, or for health reasons.

Or finances—maybe you want to try to learn to save money so you can take your dream trip.

Maybe your attitude needs to change so you can be polite and considerate.

Although these changes, and the reasons for them, are good, the center of all the reasons is “I”.

“I want to change so I will be better”.

As a Christian, the changes I make should bring honor to God so I can be used for his glory.

  • Does God want me to manage my weight? Yes, but I should seek out his will in that area.
  • Does God want me to be more financially responsible? Yes, but I should find out what he wants me to do with my finances.
  • Does God want me to have a loving attitude? Yes, but I should desire his way over mine.

Proverbs 16, verses 3 and 9 says, “Commit thy work unto the Lord, and thy thoughts will be established; A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps.”

Christians should be resolved, we should have a firmness of purpose, but our goal should not be self-improvement, but God-honoring—“Heed what he saith, Do what he willeth…” However, we don’t have to wait until January 1st, we can be resolved to change anytime of the year, month, week, or day. Just pick a starting point and make sure the hub of that decision wheel is God and he will establish your steps.

By seeking to be more like Christ, I’m becoming a better me.

The Christian’s Low-Carb Diet

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loaf of sliced bread

Matthew 16:5-2

“And when his disciples were come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. Then Jesus said unto them, ‘Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.’

 

And they reasoned among themselves saying, ‘It is because we have taken no bread.’

Which when Jesus perceived, he said unto them, “O ye of little faith, why reason ye among yourselves, because ye have brought no bread? Do ye not understand, neither remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets ye took up? Neither the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many baskets you took up?

How is it that ye do not understand that I spake it not to you concerning bread, that ye should beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees?’

Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.”

Bread has been a long time no-no in the low-carb diet world, and it appears here that the disciples thought Jesus was warning against bread, too. However, historically, leaven has been synonymous with sin, which is the context in which Jesus was using it.

I find it a little humorous when I read these verses. Jesus had just lambasted the religious leaders for being hypocrites, and then he and his disciples sailed over to the other shore where Jesus admonished them not to be like the Pharisees and Sadducees. However, not understanding the Lord’s lesson (this is the part that makes me chuckle J) , their thoughts centered on the provision of food, or lack of.

Can’t you see them? Jesus, in his concern for the spiritual lives of his friends and disciples, lovingly warns them not to allow sin to taint their beliefs, as the religious leaders were doing. And here may be where the problem originated…”they reasoned among themselves”. Well, that is always a danger, but maybe they were hungry and food was the only thing on their minds at the time?

However, we know that’s not what Jesus was talking about. The Lord was warning against leaven, or sin in their lives. He was cautioning his followers not to be like the religious leaders of that time, who knew the law, but didn’t recognize the Truth. He did not want them to allow sin, hypocrisy, complacency, and self-righteousness to hinder them and to influence what he had taught them.

Aren’t we like that, too? How much time do we spend considering the spiritual world? How often do we meditate on the temporal (our physical needs) instead of the eternal (our spiritual needs)? We Christians are always fussing over the food. Some would not even have a prayer time if they didn’t say “grace” before a meal. Then of course, all of our church programs revolve around food. We have a birthday dinner for the preacher, an outdoor BBQ to celebrate the founding of the church, an ice cream social on the 4th of July, VBS snacks, fall festivals, Thanksgiving dinners, and Christmas cookie parties. Sometimes our priorities get so mixed up, like the disciples, we allow our physical needs to take priority over our spiritual needs, or like the Pharisees and Sadducees, we allow some leavening to infiltrate the truth we have learned in God’s word.

Jesus reminded his disciples that they had no need to think about what or when they were going to eat…ever, because he was more than able to provide. He cited the two occasions when he miraculously provided food for thousands of people out of a few loaves of bread—and had leftovers!

Heeding the warning taught by our Lord, we should think less on what is provided for our temporal existence and be careful not to allow leaven in our lives that hinder our spiritual walk.

“Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?…for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness…”

Matthew 6:31-33

Have We Cancelled Thanksgiving?

Holidays, Home,

Image of empty Thanksgiving table

Why Should We Celebrate Thanksgiving?

With Black Friday starting on Thursday, and Cyber Monday turning into Cyber Week, the time to celebrate Thanksgiving has almost been lost. Christmas decorations go up before Halloween and Christmas music begins to play shortly after.

Why should we celebrate Thanksgiving, anyway? If we got rid of that day, then the holidays wouldn’t be so crunched. We could go to Halloween parties, pumpkin patches, and trick or treating in October, in store shopping, online shopping and office parties in November, and squeeze in a plethora of gift exchanges in December, without the crunch of a Thanksgiving gathering.

Too Busy to Be Thankful

Well of course, I’m being facetious. Like others, autumn is my favorite time of year. The trees turning shades of yellow, red, and orange; the smells of drying leaves and wood-burning stoves; the sounds of leaves crunching under foot and acorns dropping to the ground; there’s even something about the cool bite of the autumn air early in the morning that brings a feeling of nostalgia. I must have had a wonderful childhood (Thanks Mom and Dad!).

But why must we rush through the celebration of Thanksgiving? Is it because we don’t care anymore about America’s history? Are we too busy to sit down with family and friends to enjoy a feast? It seems that all the holiday rush is overshadowing Thanksgiving.

Abundantly Blessed

Taking time to remember where America started and the hardships that our ancestors faced is important, and we should be teaching it to our children always. Taking time to gather as a family and remembering all the great things we have been blessed with is equally important. But Thanksgiving Day should be just that—a day of giving thanks.

We should be giving thanks to God our Creator, who provides all things in abundance to every one of us. If you are an American, you should be thankful for the blessings that you have received merely by your presence in this country. If you are a Christian, you should walk in a thankful spirit always, remembering the grace of God that has separated you from death to life everlasting.

Be Thankful—Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness: come before his presence with singing. Know ye that the Lord he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter into his gates with thanksgiving, and into his courts with praise: be thankful unto him, and bless his name. For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.