Saturday, December 24, 2011
Merry Christmas 2
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Merry Christmas
Christmas is almost upon us. We will be taking a little break in Oregon. A few days with family and a few days away from the farm. As much as I love the daily chores, it is nice to get a break from milking the goats in the cold and dark.
Little Russell is growing like a weed. He is becoming more and more alert and socially present. What a blessing in our lives. Life is an amazing thing.
We'll be trying to do $100 Christmas this year. The general concept is to opt out of the consumerism of Christmas by only spending $100 during the season. We will not be going to Disneyland. We will not be spending $500 at Macy's...or Walmart...or anywhere else for that matter. We will be giving homemade gifts or inexpensive books. We will be giving our children a small gift and a coupon book filled with coupons for "one free back rub" or "one free day off of homeschool."
Now, of course, the gasoline to Oregon to visit family will be about $100 so we will break the hundred dollar mark by a little bit, but the spirit is there. And that is really the key isn't it. To approach the holidays with a consciously spiritual attitude. Christmas is NOT YOUR BIRTHDAY. Gifts occupy an intentionally small part of our celebration. We are trying to focus more on Love, and Service, and Family, and Worship.
As a result, we are not dreading the Christmas season as something to "get though". We are not worrying about paying off the Visa bill or giving gifts that are more extravagant than what the neighbor's kids are getting. We are not worried about surviving holiday office parties. We are not fighting the crowds at the stores. We are simply spending some time together as a family.
I hope this season finds you well. Blessed be.
Friday, December 9, 2011
The Kingdom of God
“Jesus himself goes into silence, into nature, and usually alone when he prays” Richard Rohr
I’ve been going into our field to sit in the goose blind lately. Usually alone. Funny thing, it is too early in the year for the geese to be flying over the Palouse with any regularity. That doesn’t seem to matter much. I just like to sit in a frozen field alone and watch the sun rise. Sitting with a shotgun on my lap just seems like a good excuse to be out there. I wake up at four or five and start getting the animal chores done. The sun doesn’t really rise until 6:45 am.
The sun rising on these cold December mornings is glorious. It is still and quiet. And I try to be still and quiet too. Both externally and internally. “Be still and know that I am God.” When I’m in a good place spiritually, I can sometimes get there. Sometimes I can let the clutter in my mind slowly pass leaving me at peace and alone with my God.
I wanted to go steelhead fishing alone today. Turns out the section of river I was thinking of is partially iced over. That’s OK. I have a ton of chores to do today. We are getting a ton (literally, 2000 pounds) of alfalfa delivered on Saturday morning.
I will be applying for a “small herd exemption” to sell raw milk here in Idaho soon. We don’t really have enough does in milk to make it worth the trouble…yet. We plan to get a diary cow in the spring. We also will be breeding Carissima soon. We will be hoping for a couple of doelings when she gives birth. We already have more milk than we need, but any additions to the herd will put us way over the top. It could be a nice addition to our tight finances. On the other hand it could be another farm fiasco too. Never know until you try. That’s one of the things I love about our approach to life on the farm here. Leap before you look. Half the time it doesn’t work out the way we had planned. But on the other hand, we are having a great time trying and learning along the way. We may never get it right within this lifetime but that is not the point. The kingdom of God is here and now among us. We are indeed blessed.
Yours in faith, Russ
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