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