Sadly, it was time to say goodbye to our last border collie Brodey, following his sister Nessa 5 1/2 years ago.
He made it to almost 17 years old! His ability to walk, and even stand for very long, had been declining, although he would sometime show signs of doing a little better. I wondered if the heat was making it difficult for him, so I was trying to get him through the summer into cooler temperatures to see if that helped. But also, he had been having what appeared to be mild seizures every once in a while during this year, but they happened only every few weeks and seemed to not last too long.
And then, we think he got bit by a brown recluse, which ate a hole in the side of his back hind, where eventually you could see the bone. 😯 I try not to just put down an animal if it’s an inconvenience to care for it, so I set out on the project to try to keep it wrapped with antiseptic cream, and then open during the day sprayed with antiseptic, to give it time to heal. Plus, making sure to put him side to side and making him stand so his legs didn’t atrophy.
For the many weeks we did this, he seemed to just go with it — a great patient as I tried to keep the wound clean, and then re-wrap it again every day. While I assume he was in some pain, it just didn’t seem to be that bad. So I held out hope.
Well, the other week, because of the wrapping and moisture, his skin in those areas started to get sores. And he kind of took a turn where he actually did seem to be in more pain when on one side. And so, given it just didn’t look like the wound was going to heal any time soon, more irritations in the sores were occurring and there was nothing I could see to do about that, and then the apparent pain-factor increase, I made the tough decision it was time. 🙁
Here’s a video short of him the end of last year, his last video:
Here he is again, with his sister Nessa, in the beginning when we first got them:
And a video
And later on:
And a video:
And as with basically all the cats and dogs, inspired by him and Nessa, I put together a little song on the names of Jehovah (more details on how that all came about on this blog post):
I originally got the border collies to be herd dogs (here’s their introduction blog post), but just never had the time to train them properly. I will always regret that for them, since it’s their nature to want to do that. 🙁
Sue did use them on a leash though at times to help steer goats running around in our inner field back to their pen areas, so they kind of got to do what they were created to do, and Sue was thankful for the help! 🙂
We thank the Lord for the time with Brodey, and the patience we learned in caring for him here in the end.
The Lord granted 3 more turkey chicks to be hatched out this 2025, I believe from different hens, but we had no room for a turkey mommy in the summer kitchen. And then, we were hoping a chicken mommy would hatch some out, and that we could blend the turklets in with her, hoping she wouldn’t notice.
But until then, we had a little scissor-beak chicken in a cage in there, so that little one ended up being surrogate mommy/cousin to the turklets. Sadly, one didn’t make it, but “Beaky” (as I called it) ended up turklet-sitting for a while.
But then, a chicken hen did hatch out some, so we moved her and her 3 chicks and her eggs into the summer kitchen. And then I tried putting the turklets in with her, and it looked great at first, but then I saw her pecking at one, so it was back to Beaky.
Time continued, and she hatched out 6 more, although sadly again, one of them didn’t make it.
So today, we still have the 2 turklets and 8 chicken chicks running around in there!
On a sad note, Beaky also didn’t make it. 🙁 Not sure what happened.
But now, here’s the video of it all over time:
On a final note: Some might have culled Beaky immediately because of its beak, and I understand that because it would always need a special situation to survive and probably wouldn’t normally be considered “productive.” Still, to me there’s always hope. 🙂 And sometimes things do end up not like they are perceived at first, and Beaky, despite it all, ended up serving a valuable purpose in its short little time alive. And we are thankful for God using it to contribute to our little homestead. (Gives me hope for myself, maybe someday…)
Thank you Beaky!
As always, we thank God for His continued provisions!
Sue and I finished recording the next set of Psalms from our psalter, Psalm 120-126B!
As always, we hope someday someone will find these helpful in learning to sing Psalms for themselves and their families too. 🙂
(If the above player doesn’t work, or if you would like to save any of the files locally to your computer, you can click the Download link below, or right click it and click Save As in the popup menu.)
To preface, this blog post has been on my heart for 10 years, and I started the draft back in 2015, but the time has not been right until now. Dave gave me permission to include him in it but it is my personal journey and experience that led me to write it.
There is a hymn entitled “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing” that I wasn’t very familiar with until after we moved to Texas. There is a line in it that goes “Here I raise my Ebenezer; hither by thy help I’m come”…… At first, I didn’t know what that meant. In 1 Samuel Chapter 7, after God miraculously delivered the Israelites from the Philistines in battle, Samuel (verse 12):
“took a stone, and set it between Mizpeh and Shen, and called the name of it Ebenezer, saying, Hitherto hath the Lord helped us.”
That got me thinking about how God has been so faithful to Dave and me, and I felt I wanted to set a spiritual marker of some kind before God for His faithfulness at 10 years, but never got back to it. Then, as 20 years has come around, and so much more has happened, I felt compelled to finish it.
Going back to the beginning of this 20+ year journey………on September 20th, 2005, Dave and I drove away from our little rented cottage in “Camelot” (California), Dave driving our rental moving truck with all of our belongings, and I driving my little red Tercel with our two fish and two rabbits in tow, headed for Texas. We were very excited to be part of a budding like-minded Christian neighborhood community. And last month marks 20 years since that day.
I believe God is gracious not to let us know the future, because if someone would have told me back then all that would take place in the next 20 years, I think it might have overwhelmed me right then and there knowing the difficulties that would be faced. (How many fellow Christians can relate?) Right there is such a great reminder that God is sovereign; He accomplishes His purpose and His will for His glory, and it is not about us, no matter how much we feel in control or what plans we have, even if we think they are in sync with God’s.
BUT GOD, in His faithfulness, love and grace, has brought us through, and I wanted to take the opportunity at this milestone in time to set up an altar to God in my heart and “raise my Ebenezer”.
I can honestly say it’s only by God’s help that we have come through the last 20 years and have seen and felt His hand of faithfulness, patience, loving kindness and tender mercies over our time here thus far.
Without going into detail, weaved into these years have been some times of extreme difficulty physically and spiritually…….in terms of trials, afflictions and, yes, lots of chastisements from the hand of a loving Father, and even devastating heartbreaks at times. But here Dave and I are, raising our Ebenezers! Has my flesh longed for more ease over these years? Yes. Has my spirit longed for no more trials and tribulations over these years? Yes.
Early on, when things started going in ways we had not planned, through currency of prayer and supplication, we “bought” a spiritual bucket labeled “I Don’t Understand Your Plans, Lord”. That bucket has grown quite a bit over the years. What we have learned is that all we can do is to enter into God’s courts with thanksgiving, place our prayers in the bucket, and leave it at His feet. His will is what matters, and we don’t have to understand it.
Looking back as I write this, I look at all of the small and great ways God has been faithful, and say “Wow! Look at that! And wow! Look at that!” over and over. In our off-grid lifestyle, we have:
Never run out of water, even through times of extreme drought
Many times God has brought completely unexpected provision
And, talk about amazing provision, God knew exactly what type of husband I would need through all of this (and I pray I am the type of wife he has needed) and I am so deeply grateful to God for Dave, my husband.
We have come to greatly appreciate this verse:
Ecclesiastes 7:13 – “Consider the work of God: for who can make that straight, which he hath made crooked?“
We thought we were on a pretty straight path, but He has made it crooked. It is His work. May He be glorified in it.
As I’m sure many Christians can attest, it is in the most difficult times that we learn the most powerful spiritual lessons, or we experience the most precious times with God. Would we trade them? No!
I thought I would briefly highlight a few game changer moments in our time here thus far that have helped us realize that it’s not about us, it’s about Him and His glory:
We read a book entitled “Charity and Its Fruits” by Jonathan Edwards and, by God’s grace, it has opened our eyes to see our fleshly nature and ask God to grant us the desire to choose charity (love) towards others, helping us to approach situations with God’s glory in mind.
Another game changing book has been Thomas Manton’s A Treatise of Self-Denial. Don’t read (or listen to) this book unless you are serious. But the spiritual benefits are invaluable. The main topics are to:
Deny our own righteousness
Deny our own wisdom, strength and graces
Deny our dependence on the supplies of the outward life
Deny our own self-will
Submit to God’s providence by patience
Deny our self-love
Deny our interests and enjoyments
Deny our self-seeking
Deny our self to our neighbor
Luke 9:62 says:
“And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”
The reasons Dave and I moved here and that have shaped our spiritual worldview, manifested by how we live our lives, has never changed. So, we continue to keep our hand to the plough, as we put more “I don’t understands” in the bucket, and pray for God to glorify Himself however He sees fit. We may never understand in this life why things have gone the way they have, but that’s okay.
That cow chalkboard (see the blog image above) has been displayed in our house for several years now, and I have spoken it out loud to myself many times when I’m tempted to complain or murmur:
1 Thess 5:18 – “In EVERY thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run WITH PATIENCE the race that is set before us….”
It was a great reminder that it is a marathon and not a sprint.
But then while running, most importantly (brought out more in another sermon) (vs 2):
“Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Amen! And we ask God to help us not grow faint or weary. Philippians 3:13-14 says:
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
“This site is our journal of what we pray is our sojourn of life (Hebrews 11:8-10) along the narrow way (Matthew 7:14), even the old paths (Jeremiah 6:16), submitting to the Bible as a light unto both (Psalms 119:105). It is our prayer that these documented moments in our earthly time benefit whom God might choose to edify, but ultimately that God glorifies Himself through them.“
And we mean that more today than ever before.
As with Samuel and the Israelites, God’s faithfulness and provision to us has come in small and great ways, some truly miraculous. And so, for the Lord’s blessings through it all, I raise my Ebenezer of thankfulness and worship to Him! May His will be done for His glory.
And lastly, there is another hymn I had never heard of until recently that grabbed my heart. It’s called Begone Unbelief by John Newton. It also references “each sweet Ebenezer” in the lyrics (see below).
To my precious Christian brothers and sisters, I pray these lyrics will be a blessing and encouragement to you. Please look back on your own life and raise your own sweet Ebenezer as an altar to our Almighty, loving and powerful God who has brought us through this life and will continue to do so until He calls us home to heaven.
Susan
1
Begone, unbelief, My Savior is near, And for my relief Will surely appear; By prayer let me wrestle, And He will perform; With Christ in the vessel, I smile at the storm.
2
Though dark be my way, Since He is my Guide, ’Tis mine to obey, ’Tis His to provide; Though cisterns be broken, And creatures all fail, The word He hath spoken Shall surely prevail.
3
His love, in time past, Forbids me to think He’ll leave me at last In trouble to sink: Each sweet Ebenezer I have in review Confirms His good pleasure To help me quite through.
4
Why should I complain Of want or distress, Temptation or pain? He told me no less; The heirs of salvation, I know from His Word, Through much tribulation Must follow their Lord.
5
How bitter that cup No heart can conceive, Which He drank quite up, That sinners might live! His way was much rougher And darker than mine; Did Christ, my Lord, suffer, And shall I repine?
6
Since all that I meet Shall work for my good, The bitter is sweet, The medicine, food; Though painful at present, ’Twill cease before long, And then, oh, how pleasant The conqueror’s song!
There was a chicken mommy in the barn sitting and sitting and sitting, and never hatched out anything. 🙁
But, other hens did, and so to reward the first mommy for her efforts, we put her in the summer kitchen with all the new chicks that followed, which did occur over time. 🙂
And that included another turkey chick too! We didn’t have any place to put it with its mom, so we put it in with the chicken hen.
And first hen raised them, and did a fine job!
Here’s their video, a little later in the process, where, since the young were all different sizes, we eventually moved the larger ones into the main turkey run to give them more room (apologies for the blurriness of the first part — can’t really go and re-do it now 🙂 ):
We are grateful again to the Lord for His continued provisions this 2025!
We just wanted to share their video, but also that since the last goat blog post, our buck Shakespeare is gone now, and we lost one of our older does Adeline too. She was the last of the offspring of Winnie, our first goat.
We did, however, keep her offspring from last year, Lida Rose, in order to try to keep Winnie’s line alive. Here’s where we introduced Winnie way back.
And here’s Sue with Lida:
And here’s the video of this year’s kids:
We are grateful to God for His continued provisions, and we thank Him for the benefit Shakespeare and Adeline have been throughout the years:
And we thank Him for the offspring to keep to replace Shakespeare, Bixby (named after another famous “Bill” — short for Billy, as in male goat 🙂 — from our time growing up 🙂 ). Reggie’s behind him:
I hadn’t read it myself up to this point, but I figured I couldn’t go wrong:
With a book from Octavius Winslow
Where he examines Christ Jesus’s glory in detail
And I wasn’t disappointed! 🙂
This is Reformed Heritage Books’ publication of Mr. Winslow’s work, and from the back, here’s a description:
Octavius Winslow (1808-1878) has long been highly regarded for his warm engagement of biblical truth. In The Glory of the Redeemer, Winslow delivers a devotional Christology that will excite the believer’s soul. He examines the person and work of Christ, tracing Jesus’s glory from the eternal existence of His divine nature, through the Old Testament types and shadows, and through His humiliation and exaltation in the New Testament up to and including His second coming. Read Winslow’s treatment of our great Redeemer and see how good theology naturally leads to hearty doxology!
Some time ago, I started reading Puritan and other similar writings in order to bring them to the audio medium for those who prefer to listen to things rather than read them, so that those people might still have available to them these means of grace from God’s servants of the past they might not use if only print was available.
All of the writings are on our audiobooks page, and it is just our prayer that God would bless someone with them.
May the glory of our blessed Redeemer ever grow in our hearts and minds in this life, and may we grow in adoration of Him now, and one day in His presence forever!
Heb. 11:8-10 - "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."
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