I'm Hearing Voices!

 

As we head into our week, I'd like to "shout out" a WARNING that the Lord Jesus gave to me this past week...

I seemed to be in a fog after hearing/seeing the tide our nation was taking over the weekend with the election results while on a "day-cation"  our family took on Saturday.  The "silent" but all captivating monitor on the wall of the Chinese restaurant proclaimed to the world the triumph of Joe Biden. Then there was the  comments of the people around us, news on my YouTube feed, my husband's comments from what He was hearing, and the comments in church on Sunday. If you were like me, all these "voices" are running around in your head... along with the "what ifs?". 

As I sat in church Sunday night, I confessed my "fogginess" to the Lord...I couldn't part the waters of truth and lies myself...I couldn't hear HIS voice amongst all the voices running around in my mind, and I needed HIS peace. I needed to hear HIS VOICE. His voice is the only one that truly matters, and in this age I NEED TO TRUST HIM AND FOCUS even more on it.

 I must choose...you must choose who to listen to! HE is the only one we can fully trust to tell us the TRUTH that matters. There is so much corruption all around us as we're in "perilous times" as Scripture calls it. 

How can we focus more?

1. It's been important before, but IMPERITIVE these days to find a quiet spot to read the Scriptures DAILY. When our hearts are seeking TRUTH, He WILL speak peace and direction to our hearts.

2. Purposefully choose who to listen to! I've chosen to ignore the news media that has their own agenda. I am trusting my husband to tell me what is truely important. This is guarding me from the spirit of fear and untruths.

3. I'm not telling you what you need to do, but I've chosen this past year to walk away from social media. I don't need to hear about what you're making for supper, (though it's probably yummy!) or where you went today (It's probably exciting, but it can lead to discontentment in my life). I keep in contact with those that matter the most to me through other means...even a regular old fashioned card with a note tucked in seems peaceful to me these days! I don't need all the voices on social media cluttering my mind and robbing me of my time. 

You alone can pinpoint the "voices" that are coming at you. So take a moment and jot down the ways you get bombarded with news...national, local, even friends posts that are just one more thing that robs you of your time and clouds your mind. Choose a few blogs to follow that will keep you inspired in the areas you are wanting to learn more about. When I've learned what I want, I simply unsubscribe again.

 Here are the blogs/podcasts I follow: 

Farmhouse on Boone ~ Sourdough baking, keeping in touch with what young family life is like, homesteading

The Prairie Homestead ~ Gardening inspiration, Baking, Homesteading

Melissa K. Norris ~ Gardening inspiration, Baking, Homesteading, Self-Sufficiency

Now that I"m not in my garden as much I've stopped listening to podcasts, but I met these gals on my phone's podcast player and got inspired by them as I weeded, planted, and harvested this summer. Who knows? I may find different sources of inspiration this winter, but I find I need to limit the voices I listen to so the MOST IMPORTANT VOICE of Jesus Christ can be heard and heeded.

On our lil' homestead we're about done preparing for winter.... The leaves are piled to be shredded for mulch, 

Our cold-hardy but somewhat tender crops like lettuce, spinach, and our stir fry mixes are under frost blanket on cold evenings....

The last of the apples are made into sauce and canned...

We use a Champion Juicer to grind our apples, peel and all into a nuitrious apple sauce that needs very little cooking down because of the pectin in the skin. (We do core them first!) Then I waterbath them in my large Amish canner. Both of these have been great investments, and have saved me LOTS of time!

We grew one last iffy  planting of squash and zucchini. I covered the 75' rows with a frost blanket. We got a few pickings, but soon the number of hours of daylight inhibited their growth. I picked these babies right before our first killing frost. I made a gourmet meal, lightly sauteing them with some leeks.

On the home renovating front, Steve has installed our new mini-split heater! We've always heated with wood or propane but this super efficient heater will give us freedom in our later years when hauling wood will be too difficult. We have propane and wood heat still, but we're giving it a try this week.

He also began the large project of taking the rotten siding off our "new" home and replacing it with LP Smartside lap siding. This had to be done before the heater could be installed...we're finding this renovation project somewhat like a Chinese puzzle...move one thing to work on another...move it back to work on something else!

Now we're settling in for a long winter of home schooling, indoor crafts, baking loads of goodies,  inside renovating projects, and of course, playing games together as a family.

Banannagrams

As you are gift shopping for your family this year, look at Bannagrams! We love the fast paced word game that stretches our vocabulary and spelling skills...school really never ends for any of us!

May you too find peace as you choose which voice to listen to in these difficult days!

Abundant Blessings,

The Farmer's Wife

Val

P.S. Charity decorated my head with a zucchini leaf as we pulled the plants after a killing frost...how fun!