South Florida and Martin County Fair Pig Auction // Update on Thunder

Hello!

Well, the fairs have ended and both pigs are gone. The South Florida fair was January 17th-20th, and Stormy sold for $4.00 a pound. I didn't take many pictures there, but here are a few. 

Sarah drew this sign for Stormy's cage.

These first three pictures are of Thunder's last day at home before he left for the county fair.

The chickens really liked to hang out with the pigs.

Now here are pictures from the county fair week (2/12 - 2/17).

This piggy weighed the most...350 pounds! Thunder weighed 305 lbs. but the buyers only had to pay up to 280 lbs.

 

Here's Thunder after being auctioned. He sold for $11.50 a pound! You can imagine how excited we all were for Deborah, but it was very sad to say goodbye. We miss both him and Stormy.

 The goats were fun to watch. Some of them just laid in their pens...

 some slept....

 some tried to take the other goat's food....

and some tried to get out by chewing the wood or climbing on the gate. :)

Deborah also entered one of our chickens in the fair. She won reserved grand champion! 

 Here's the grand champion chicken.

Have you been to a fair before? 

God = Love

 Happy Valentine's Day to all you dear friends!

Do you have any special activities planned for today? If so, I'd love to hear about them in the comment section!   Today I'm sharing a post that has been on my heart. I pray it will encourage you. 

Lately, I've been realizing how detrimental fear can be in our lives. Some people fear death, others fear making big decisions, others fear the future, and some fear having close friendships/relationships with others outside family. Those are just a few of the many fears people have. And guess what? Fear comes from Satan. Jesus is the author of beauty, peace, joy, and order. Satan is the author of fear, confusion, distress, and chaos. Fear is a prison that torments your soul. Once inside, Satan throws darts of doubt, discouragement, and dismay to try to make you fall. But he just doesn't want you to fall - he wants you to stay down and wallow in your fear and distresses. And that is totally opposite of what God wants. He came and died to set you free from all bondage and longs to rescue the fearful heart. Remember what 2 Timothy 1:7 says: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Jesus loves and treasures you way too much to abandon you in any situation. 

1 John 4:18-19 ~ "There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us."

Over and over and over in the Scriptures, God instructs us not to fear.  Our Saviour is love and fear has NO place in love. It does not belong.  God can't reign as king of your heart if fear is sitting on the throne. It will not only steal you joy, but will also hinder you from being fully used by God. So today, dear heart, if you are fearful, give your worries and fears to God because He is big enough to handle them. And He desperately wants to take that burden away. Then replace it with faith. Don't let fear rule your heart, but instead allow the peace of God to fill you. Even though you may not see what comes next or know what God has planned for your future, you can have total peace knowing that He knows. For after all, we walk by faith and not by sight. It can be helpful to find some verses about fear and memorize them. That way when the enemy comes with his fiery darts, you can combat them with God's word. 

The more we fill our hearts and minds with God's word, prayer, and praise, the less room we'll have for Satan's deception that is designed to distract us from the One who loves us extravagantly.  Never forget that you are SO LOVED by the Creator! 

Psalm 34:4-8 ~ "I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked unto him, and were lightened: and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them. O taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Lamentations 3:22-24 ~ "It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him."

Isaiah 41:10 ~ "Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." 

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Lord, You are love, and we are Your children,

Called to Your family, drawn to Your heart. 

One with Your Son, our goal is Your glory. 

We live to prove how loving You are! 

Father Creator, Shepherd and Savior,

Ever within You guide and renew. 

Help us to follow, trusting Your spirit,

Spending our days completely in You.  

Lord, You are love and patience and kindness,

Glad to forgive, so eager to bless. 

You give Your all in joyful abandon.
Help us, O Lord, to do nothing less! 

Father Creator, Shepherd and Savior,

Ever within You guide and renew.

Help us to follow, trusting Your spirit,

Spending our days completely in You.

* "Lord, You Are Love" *

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And to close this post, I'll leave you with the words of this beautifully sweet hymn: 

Loved with everlasting love, 

Led by grace that love to know;

Spirit, breathing from above,

Thou hast taught me it is so. 

Oh, this full and perfect peace!

Oh, this transport all divine! 

In a love which cannot cease,

I am His, and He is mine.

Things that once were wild alarms

Cannot now disturb my rest;

Closed in everlasting arms, 

Pillowed on the loving breast.

Oh, to lie forever here,

Doubt and care and self resign,

While He whispers in my ear,

I am His, and He is mine.

His forever, only His:

Who the Lord and me shall part? 

Ah, with what a rest of bliss

Christ can fill the loving heart. 

Heaven and earth may fade and flee,

Firstborn light in gloom decline;

But, while God and I shall be, 

I am His, and He is mine.

* "Loved With Everlasting Love" *

Dear friends, may the Lord richly bless you with His love today. 

with love in Jesus,

Ashley

Jeremiah 31:3 ~ "The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee."

Abide With Me

Abide with Me

By: Henry Francis Lyte

Abide with me! Fast falls the eventide. 

The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide! 

When other helpers fail and comforts flee,

Help of the helpless, O abide with me! 

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day.

Earth's joys grow dim; Its glories pass away.

Change and decay in all around I see;

O Thou, who changest not, abide with me! 

I need Thy presence every passing hour.

What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power? 

Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be? 

Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me. 

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;

Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.

Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory? 

I triumph still, if Thou abide with me. 

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From his childhood, Henry suffered with asthma. However, that did not stop him from his studies and earning a Doctorate from Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. After graduation, he and his wife, Anne, settled in the fishing village of Lower Brixham, Devonshire, England at the age of thirty-one. Although he was frail, Henry Lyte provided constant encouragement and spiritual food to his flock, which was comprised of fishermen and soldiers from a nearby garrison. Dr. Lyte, who was well-loved for his caring ways and kind words, frequently ignored his own infirmities and ailments to preach and visit the sick. He was reported to have coined the phrase: "It is better to wear out than to rust out." Sadly, in the late 1840s, his physician told him he was suffering from tuberculosis and didn't have long to live. Soon he made plans to move to the warmer climate of Rome, Italy. On his last Sunday, September 4, 1847, he spoke about the need for his congregation to prepare for the time when they would have to meet God. After he was finished, Henry returned to his study where he penned the beautiful hymn, "Abide With Me." Later that evening, he handed the hymn to a relative and prepared for his journey to Italy. After the trip across the English Channel and a carriage ride through the French countryside, Henry Lyte reached Nice, France. He was so weak after the journey, he was confined to his hotel bed. A few weeks later on November 20, 1847, Henry Lyte died. An English clergyman, Rev. Manning, attended him during his final hours. Henry's last words were, "Peace! Joy!" He was buried at the English cemetery at Nice. 

When the news of his death reached Birxham, the fishermen asked Henry's son-in-law, who was also a minister, to hold a memorial service. It was there that "Abide With Me" was first sung.  This hymn has been translated into dozens of languages and has been meaningful and encouraging to believers throughout the ages. 

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Dear friends, I hope you all had a blessed Lord's day and have a wonderfully good and godly week! 

love,
Ashley

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. ~John 15:4

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. Psalm 91:1

Thankful Tuesday

Today I am thankful for: 

-beauty God has created

 -stunning skies

-warm campfires on cold nights

-watching the sun rise with Sarah, Daddy, and Deborah (on 1/20) right before Sarah left for college 

Today, what are you thankful for, friends? 

He Leadeth Me

He Leadeth Me

By: Joseph H. Gilmore

He leadeth me, O blessed thought! O words with heavenly comfort fraught! 

What e'er I do, what e'er I be, still 'tis God's hand that leadeth me. 

He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me;

His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.

Sometimes 'mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom,

By waters still, o'er troubled sea, still 'tis His hand that leadeth me. 

He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me;

His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me.

Lord, I would clasp Thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine;

Content whatever lot I see, since 'tis my God that leadeth me.

He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me;

His faithful follower I would be for by His hand He leadeth me. 

And when my task on earth is done, when my Thy grace the victory's won,

E'en death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. 

He leadeth me, He leadeth me, by His own hand He leadeth me;

His faithful follower I would be, for by His hand He leadeth me. 

Dr. Joseph H. Gilmore, son of a Governor of New Hampshire, gave this account of writing his famous hymn:

"As a young man recently graduated..., I was supplying for a couple of Sundays the pulpit of the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia. At the mid-week service, on the 26th of March, 1862, I set out to give the people an exposition of the twenty-third Psalm, which I had given before on three or four occasions, but this time I did not get further than the words "he leadeth me." Those words took hold of me as they had never done before, and I saw in them a significance...of which I had never dreamed.

It was the darkest hour of the Civil War. I did not refer to that fact - that is, I don't think I did - but it may subconsciously have led me to realize that God's leadership is the one significant fact in human experience, that it makes no difference how we are led, or whither we are led, so long as we are sure God is leading us. 

At the close of the meeting, a few of us in the parlor of my host, Deacon Watson, kept on talking about the thought I had emphasized; and then and there, on a blank page of the brief from which I had intended to speak, I penciled the hymn, talking and writing at the same time, then handed it to my wife and thought no more about it. She sent it to "The Watchman and Reflector," a paper published in Boston, where it was first printed. I did not know until 1865 that my hymn had been set to music by William B. Bradbury. I went to Rochester to preach as a candidate before the Second Baptist Church. Going into their chapel...I picked up a hymnal to see what they were singing, and opened it at my own hymn, "He Leadeth Me."

"Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God? But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows." ~Luke 12:6-7

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." ~Psalm 23:2-3

Have a sweet Lord's day, friends.

Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty

Praise Ye the Lord, the Almighty

By: Joachim Neander 

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation!

O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation!

All ye who hear, now to his temple draw near;

Join me in glad adoration!

Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reigneth,

Shelters thee under His wings, yes, so gently sustaineth!

Hast Thou not seen how all thy longings have been

Granted in what He ordaineth? 

Praise to the Lord! O let all that is in me adore Him!

All that hath life and breath, come now with praises before Him. 

Let the amen sound from His people again:

Gladly for aye we adore Him. 

Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper Thy work and defend thee;

Surely His goodness and mercy here daily attend thee.

Ponder anew what the Almighty can do, 

If with his love He befriend thee.

Joachin Neander, born in 1650, wrote this hymn. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather had all been preachers, but as a student, Joachin was rebellious and wild. At age 20, he joined a group of students who descended on St. Martin's Church to ridicule the worshipers. But the sermon that Rev. Theodore Under-Eyck preached convicted him and led to his conversion. A few years later, he became the assistant pastor at that church. 

Joachim would often take long walks (he called them worship walks) near his home in Hochdal, Germany.  He composed hymns as he strolled, singing them to the Lord. He was the first hymnwriter from the Calvinist branch of Protestantism. When he was 30 years old, he wrote this hymn while battling tuberculosis; he died from it that year. 

Have a wonderful, good and godly week!

1 Chronicles 16:25
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praise: he also is to be feared above all gods. 

Thankful Thursday

This Thursday, I'm thankful for:

 

(Christmas tree farm)

(natural bridge)

-the girls trip to Virginia that Mommy, Sarah and I took after we picked Sarah up from college last month

 -making gingerbread houses and trains with sisters

 -this beautiful cup my daddy made for me <3

 -the very special sister time Sarah and I had together

-getting to watch this cute doll baby again after a few weeks

 

What are you thankful to the Lord for today?

 

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord.

~Psalm 105:3

Meet Peanut

Hello friends, 

We're having a little meet + greet today. Meet Peanut!

Peanut arrived in our house on December 20th, as a gift to Lauren from Deborah. He's a Teddy Bear hamster and is such a cutie. Here are some pictures.

Here he is sleeping with his head buried in the wood chips.

Here's a couple videos of him eating. Sometimes instead of eating the food, he takes it and stuffs it in his cheeks. Then later, he spits it up in his cage and eats it slowly. You can see him take the carrot in the second video and stuff it in his cheek. :)

If you're viewing this post on your email and videos don't appear, click this link. 

I hope you a wonderful, good and godly week! 

love,

Ashley

Happy New Year!

2017 is gone, 2018 is upon us. The Lord has given us a fresh, new year to serve Him, love others, and live joyfully. Did you do anything to celebrate the new year? Have you made any resolutions? I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comment section. :) 

Joy to the World!

Joy to the World! 

By: Isaac Watts

Joy the world! the Lord is come; Let earth receive her King;

Let ev'ry heart prepare him room, and heav'n and nature sing, 

And heav'n and nature sing, and heav'n and heav'n and nature sing. 

Joy to the earth! the Savior reigns; Let men their songs employ; 

While fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains repeat the sounding joy,

Repeat the sounding joy, repeat, repeat the sounding joy. 

No more let sins and sorrows grow, nor thorns infest the ground;

He comes to make his blessings flow far as the curse is found, far as the curse is found;

Far as the curse is found, far as, far as the curse is found. 

He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations prove

The glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love, and wonders of his love,

And wonders, wonders of his love.

While you're reading, you may want to listen to this beautiful hymn. 

If you're viewing on your email and video doesn't load, click here.

This wonderful Christmas carol was first published in a collection of hymns by the English poet and hymn writer Isaac Watts. The collection, Psalms of David Imitated in the Language of the New Testament was published in 1719 and contained 132 of the 150 psalms from the Bible, interpreted by Isaac Watts. "Joy to the World" comes from Psalm 98, verses 4-9. 
Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all the earth: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Sing unto the Lord with the harp; with the harp, and the voice of psalm. With trumpets and sound of cornet make a joyful noise before the Lord, the King. Let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein. Let the floods clap their hands: let the hills be joyful together. Before the Lord; for he cometh to judge the earth: with righteousness shall he judge the world, and the people with equity.

Before the age of nine, Isaac Watts learned Latin and Greek, and by the time he was thirteen, was close to mastering French and Hebrew. God gave him a brilliant mind; he authored several books on religion and philosophy that had a major impact upon English thought during the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Isaac had a desire to promote singing in English congregations. He wanted to make the Scriptures relevant to lay (common) people and saw hymns as a perfect vehicle for this. At the age of eighteen, Isaac began to compose hymns for his own church at the rate of one per week. In 1707 he published 210 of these original hymns in a book entitled, Hymns and Spiritual Songs. In addition to his theological books, Isaac Watts published over 600 hymns in his lifetime. "Joy to the World" would not have become popular, though, without the contribution of two other important men. 

The first man, George Frederick Handel, was a German-born prodigy who had mastered the violin, oboe, harpsichord, and organ while studying law at the university. And all by the age of twelve! One year later, he decided to give up his legal studies to pursue music. In 1712, after he made his second trip to England, he decided to become an English citizen. 

The second composer was the American choir director and educator, Lowell Mason. It was a custom of his to search through previously published hymn texts to find material for his original melodies. Perhaps this is how he came upon Isaac Watt's interpretation of the ninety-eighth Psalm. In an effort to find a melody that conveyed the joyous message of the words, Mason turned to Handel's "Messiah." By taking musical phrases from different sections of the oratorio, Mason arranged them into a tune he called "Antioch." Matched to the words of Isaac Watts, Mason's uplifting melody was published for the first time in 1836. 

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To all you blog readers, I wish you and your families a very merry Christmas!  

With much joy, love, and peace as we rejoice in our great Savior,

Ashley