Fall has arrived on High Mountain
With
the arrival of cooler temperatures, the leaves have turned to wonderful
shades of orange and red making the mountains appear all dressed up.
Soon the winter will begin but until it does we will enjoy this
wonderful time of year. The air is not as humid and the days begin to
shorten. The animals generally feel better moving around more during the
day.
I
have listed my new ebook on the front page. Witches' Brew is the story
of an old mystery in an Appalachian family back in the 1940's. I hope
you enjoy it. Be sure to listen to the music on Youtube. You can connect
from the front page here or within the cover of the book itself on
Amazon.
Early Morning, June 2012
The morning on High
Mountain can be a
refreshing and invigorating event as all God’s creatures begin the process of
beginning a new day. No sooner are we out of bed at 3:45AM, than the rooster
starts crowing wanting us to come open the door to the chicken coop and feed
the chickens. He won’t stop crowing until we accomplish this task which is
usually about 4:30AM. After all, we need a couple of cups of coffee before
starting the early rounds.
As soon as we finish feeding the chickens, it is time to
feed the hogs. They are up and waiting when we arrive at the hog pen snorting
their good morning greeting. One of the hogs stands with his snout over the
water bucket so that I am pouring the water across his snout. It must feel good
to him because he seems to really like it.
Now the chickens are coming out of the pen eating and
scratching as they go. The crows have waited for them to clear the pen, and
then they swoop in to eat any leftovers. They do the same thing in the evening
after we feed the goats and dogs. The ground squirrels are now up and making
the risky trip into the chicken pen also to try for a few crumbs. If they can
make it to the feeder without getting chased by a chicken, they have it made.
My laundry has now finished washing so I head out on the
porch to hang it on the line. My husband put me up one of those fancy lines
with a pulley which I love dearly. As I am hanging up the sheets, I notice
movement outside the hog pen and turn to see one of the hens and a deer hanging
out together eating dropped corn. The deer stops and looks at me but then
continues eating and wandering around the field paying me little attention. The
dogs and goats aren’t up yet so the deer has free range for a short time.
Suddenly, Jake-O, our male Great Pyrenees, is racing the neighbor’s
truck down the fence row. After his morning run, he then goes back to the goat
barn and gets the goats and the Dawg up then moves them to the lower field for
fresh water and grazing. The Dawg is a late sleeper so this is the last group
to get up and going in the mornings.
So it is official. The day has begun and life on High Mountain
flows, changing little as time moves forward. How wonderful it is to be a part
of this special time. My cup runneth over. God is so good to me and I live my
life for him. I belong to him and that is the thread that holds everything
together.
God
Bless you and yours…
Melissa
LATE SPRING 2012
Late spring in the high mountains of NC is truly spectacular
as the trees and bushes reach their full potential turning from brown to green.
I always try to snap a few new shots each year to add to the collection. The
baby chickens have done well and it seems that they are all girls. Good News!
We already have a dominate rooster and it would be difficult to add another one
while he is still around. He takes such good care of his girls keeping a
vigilant watch until they are all in at night before he goes up, coming to
their rescue when they call, and letting everyone know when to run! You should
have seen them when a snake appeared in the yard. The rooster sent up the alarm
and every single chicken was across the yard and under the out building in
about five seconds. He even comes up on the porch with the one hen that lays in
the wood box and stands watch part of the time. Animals are truly amazing and I
have spent many hours watching them.
As for the garden, we have planted it again and it seems to
be coming up. We are still unsure about what happened but hope that the beans
and corn will make. Groceries are so expensive now that we feel it is important
to put up as much of our own food as possible.
The dogs and goats are all well although Jake still looks
thin. He runs and runs and runs but seems to feel well. Perhaps, it is that he
is loosing his winter coat. I tried to brush him because he looks so ratty but
he was having none of that. After all this time, he still will not allow us to hold
on to him by his collar. We are lucky to pet him. He is very sweet but he is
taking no chances on being taken from his beloved ‘Dawg’ and the family of
goats. They truly seem so happy.
Feel free to send questions or feedback to aprons@highmountainbooks.com.
May God bless you and yours. How good he is to me…
Melissa
Garden Update
This year, I took the time to check the lunar calendar and
planted during the correct signs. I even took two days off from work to
accomplish this task. Well, the next day, we had major storms that just
wouldn’t end and it apparently washed all the seeds away. So…I will be spending
my weekend replanting our large garden. This just goes to show that even with
the best plans and years of experience, things don’t always go as planned so if
you are experiencing problems with your planting, don’t feel alone.
I have once again decided to plant brussel sprouts which my
husband and I love. Last year’s crop didn’t do as well so I don’t have much
left in the freezer. We also like broccoli so I have planted several plants
(six to be exact). That seems to be plenty for two people. I don’t like to
waste food from the garden and try not to over plant items but the temptation
is there. The fear of not producing enough leads me down the path of sowing
extra seed; just in case. This, in turn, leads me down the path of having to
put it all up later in the summer! Try to plan what you need and resist the
urge to buy that one more tomato plant unless you are fairly sure that you have
the need for it.
And by the way…I just spent an entire day replanting the
beans and corn. This task was made more difficult because we have garden snakes
this year and mice who keep jumping out of the holes in the black plastic which
we put down. Oh well…it’s done.
SPRING 2012
Spring has arrived and the world is slowly awakening from the
winter rest although we really had very little winter this year in comparison
to the two previous years. All is well on High Mountain
farm. The goats have fared well and are now shedding their winter fur. Jake-O
and The Dawg (our Great Pyrenees) are also healthy and happy as they march the
goats out to feed and then back again. It always amazes me that they do so well
with absolutely no training from us or perhaps they have trained us as opposed
to us training them. Jake-O (Male) still doesn’t like his head touched even
after all these years. His remembrance of his former life being chained to a
tree is still with him and he takes no chances on anyone getting a chain around
his neck and taking him from his beloved Dawg (Female).
We are down to only eight chickens having lost the cripple
one recently. The Rhode Island Reds still lay fairly regularly but are getting
some age so I have purchased 5 chicks (silver tips which also lay brown eggs)
and am raising them in the bathroom in a washtub. They are already trying to
fly at only a couple of weeks of age.
Mr. B is bringing home 2 baby pigs this afternoon. He has
the new hog pen all ready for them. He spent the winter laying it out and
building it. He is so good at building things but has never wanted to build for
a living. Just recently, he told me he would like to plow a field one more time
with a horse. He really misses the old ways.
I have been unable to continue the magazine at this time as
I have been busy working on and supporting the farm and have little time left
to actually write about it. God Bless
Melissa and Mr. B
Melissa Dodd
April 11, 2009
MORNING STAR
With the quietness of raindrops, lightning calls to the
night
Answered by thunder’s power and might
Fog whispers the name of he who is King
As night slips away, angels now they do sing
Light conquers the darkness both near and far
For now he does come…the Bright and Morning Star
FALL 2011
As fall arrives on High Mountain,
Mr. B gets the urge to cut wood. The wood shed seems to get smaller and
smaller as he stacks it full of fresh cut green wood. Since we do
almost all of our heating with wood, it is important to have a lot of it
before the snow begins to fall. The garden is finished except for a few
pepper plants which will soon be done as the cold weather overtakes us.
The apple trees did not produce as much fruit this year as they have
the past few and it is too expensive to buy apples to put up so we will
use what is left from last year. We need to use up last years jelly
before we put up anymore.
For those of you who are not familiar with High Mountain, let me give a brief introduction to the characters:
Mr. B – My husband
Me – Melissa
The Dawg – Our female Great Pyrenees
Jake-O – Our Male Great Pyrenees. He loves The Dawg.
The Chicky-Chicks – 8 Hens and one Rooster. (Rhode Island Reds)
The Goats: Frances, Molly, Mabelline, Rosie and Little Girl (Pygmy Mix) They are small but colored white with red or brown markings.
All of our animals have
their own personalities and we have had many hours of pleasure just
watching and interacting with them. The chickens stay up at night but
during the day, they do what they want, go where they want and we do not
feed laying mash.
The goats and the dogs
live in the 3 acre pasture. They have a small building and 3 dog houses
to sleep and play in. I am not sure if the dogs have goats or the goats
have dogs. They do everything together.
Life on High Mountain
is at a slower pace than the world around it, but it is all we really
need. God has been good to us and has given us all that we need.
Spring 2011
Spring is on its way to High Mountain!
The garden is plowed. The onion sets are purchased. Even the animals
seem to realize that spring isn’t far off. The two new members of the
goat community are growing like weeds and nearly weaned now.
The price of seed potatoes is about $17.00 per 50 lbs this year. Onion sets are about
$1.50 to $1.75 lb. These can be purchased at the Asheville, NC Farmer’s Market
from Ramsey Produce if you live in the Western North Carolina area.
The high mountain journal
is still growing and has been a lot of fun for me. I enjoy having a
reason to take pictures of the animals. If you haven’t had an
opportunity
to see the journal yet, just send your email to www.shopping@highmountainbooks.comand the first month is free. After that it is only $5.00 year.
Take care and God Bless
Melissa and Mr. B
JANUARY 2011
The winter deepens on High Mountain
as the snow continues; relentless is its grasp on body and mind.
Quietly it moves toward spring, bringing a kind of restlessness borne of
too many days inside the cabin with the ground outside carpeted in a
white beauty which will be remembered fondly in years to come.
All the inhabitants here on High Mountain
are doing well with the addition of the two baby goats. Mr. B still has
them in the barn as the snow is higher than they are tall and he is
afraid to have them outside yet. Soon, he will put them in the small
fenced-in area (complete with large dog house which the goats love) just
outside the small barn where they will stay with their mother for a
week or so until they learn about the electric fence. Yes, this is part
of goat-school and necessary so they don’t get separated from their
mother after they are turned out into the pasture.
The February edition of the high mountain journal will welcome a new writer, Steven Dodd, with the Left Handed Muzikin. Being a left handed musician himself, he offers tips and advice to those other Lefties struggling with playing instruments.
For information on the high mountain journal, email shopping@highmountainbooks.com/
CHRISTMAS 2010
Thanksgiving has once
again come and gone leaving us with many great memories and lots of
leftover turkey. I put the tree up early this year so we spent our post
turkey days working in wood. Mr. B borrowed a wood splitter and split
wood while I stacked it in the wood shed and hauled it to the porch on
the back of the mule (the kind with wheels).
For myself, winter is
the time for sewing and soap making; making soup beans with cornbread;
hot biscuits in the wood cook stove; reading the Bible in the early dusk
watching the wind through the window blowing the leaves round and
round.
The chickens have
gotten their feathers back now and spend most of the day in the shed
where the tractor is kept. They have made a nest in the hay inside the
wood shed and take turns setting the nest. Sometime, there are two hens
in it at one time.
Mabeline, our youngest
goat is almost grown now but still stays close to her mama, Molly, most
of the time. Francis, one of the older females, is due to deliver any
time now and we hope the babies arrive before the snow sets in. We have a
young steer now and the goats are fascinated with him. They climb up on
the rock so that they appear taller than him and try to butt heads with
him when he comes over to see them. Mabeline is the bravest; perhaps
because she is young and doesn’t know fear yet.
With the approaching
Christmas season comes reflection on the meaning of Christ’s birth; the
importance of this event for all those who have been born again through
the blood of Christ on Calvary.
John 1:14 tells us, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth”.
The
absolute wonder of this event is more than I can comprehend. A perfect
man who was both flesh and spirit. I wish that I could have seen him,
touched him, and just looked upon his face as the disciples did. I know
that one day I will be with him for eternity in a place he has prepared
for me. How great is Christ’s love for us. We will never be able to
repay him for all he has done nor praise him enough.
God Bless and MERRY CHRISTMAS
Melissa
October 2010
The first week of
October has arrived with cool temperatures and windy conditions. On the
days with no clouds, the sky is the beautiful Carolina Blue that makes
you stop and say, “Wow.” Leaves have begun their changing process adding
to the beauty of the season. This must be God’s favorite season. He has
spent so much time making it perfect that it has become my favorite
season also. Now I know why someone invented the word ‘spectacular’. How
else would you describe such beauty?
Much has taken place in
the past few months and God is moving in the non-profit I have founded
with some of my dearest friends. The ‘Can She Read? Literacy Program’
will target teen age girls who do not read well due to social or
economic reasons. You can find us at http://www.cansheread.com/ or email us at info@cansheread.com.
One troubling issue has
been brought to my attention in the past few months and its name is
suicide. People who have walked to the edge and can’t see their way
back; their perception of life as it pertains to their own situation
seems hopeless and they abandon all hope. Then, in a moment of
desperation, they try to end their lives to escape the madness they find
themselves in. If you are a person who is contemplating suicide, STOP.
There is one who does love you beyond everything you can imagine. Your
situation is not hopeless; Christ loves you and because Christ lives
within me, I love you. Sometimes we find ourselves in places we never
should have been; but there is a way out. Death is never an option or
way of escape; and absolutely not the quick fix you are looking for. The
road back may be bumpy but you don’t have to walk down it alone. The
choice is yours. God does not force anyone to believe. But, once you do,
your life will never be the same. If you wish to send me a brief note, I
will begin to pray for you. Please do not use your real name; God knows
who you are. thewind@highmountainbooks.com
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
Romans 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Blessed be the name of the Lord…Melissa
Summer has arrived on High Mountain!
How wonderful is the summer after the harsh winter we had; the deep snow now a memory quickly fading. The
garden is alive now as the plants have shot up with the recent rains.
Turnip greens, cucumber, squash, cabbage and spinach are ready to pick
while the other vegetables take a bit longer. We have planted the Corie
Wilson cornfield bean this year. It is an old variety which has been
passed down. There may be another name for it, but we just don’t know
it. What we do know is that we no longer grow any other bean because I
love the flavor of this particular variety.
The
goats, dogs, and chickens have survived another winter but are thrilled
that the snow has finally left. Now, the goats are playing on the large
rock behind the house again while the dogs lay on the cool ground
watching them (I think). I’m never really sure who is guarding who out
there. The two Great Pyrenees seem to love their lives with the goats
and have never attempted to leave the pasture. Molly is bred and will be
in soon so there will be a new baby to photograph. I suppose I should
say try to photograph. There are so active it is really hard to capture a
good picture.
The beauty of what God has given us here on High Mountain always overwhelms me.
Everywhere
I look is proof that God exists and for some reason unknown to me, has
blessed me tremendously. Like Paul in the New Testament, I know the
enormity of my sins past and present and am always in wonder that Christ
would have died to save me.
But
he did and now we wait for his return. Oh…you don’t think the Bible is
true or are unsure if he is coming back for his children! Let me assure
you that Christ is coming back and that whether by the grave or the
rapture of his children, I will be with him in eternity for I can feel
him in my heart. I am his and he is mine.
God Bless
Melissa
LATE WINTER ON HIGH MOUNTAIN
Job 37:5 God thundereth marvellously with his voice; great things doeth he, which we cannot comprehend.
Job 37:6 For he saith to the snow, Be thou on the earth; likewise to the small rain, and to the great rain of his strength.
The
older people of the community call this an old timey winter like the
ones they had in their youth and I believe they have loved it. Here on High Mountain in the mountains of Western North Carolina, we have only seen the ground for two days since the 18th of December.
Our Great Pyrenees
have also loved the snow. They appear not to feel the cold and Jake,
our adult male sleeps outside the dog house in the snow most of the
time. The older female, Dawg, has taken to sleeping inside the doghouse
this winter and both dogs go inside the goat house as soon as we open
the door in the mornings. We still have 2 female pygmy goats which are
white with red/tan faces and stockings. We now call the Billy ‘little
Bill’ as he never did grow up. He is also white with a tan/red face but
he is only half the size of the other pygmy’s. He is a pygmy, pygmy. I
have never seen such a small Billy before. He is simply adorable but has
the loudest cry of any of the goats. He does not care for the snow as
he can’t get around in the deep drifts.
WINTER
Winter has wrapped her snowy arms around us and turned High Mountain
into a winter wonderland. As I place wood in the old cook stove, I
notice the outside temperature has fallen to 4ºF. Our small home here on
the mountain is very well insulated so the cook stove supplies adequate
heat to sustain the warmth within.
Snow
has covered the ground for the past three weeks causing the mountains
to appear as scenic winter postcards you see at the store. We have two
female Great Pyrenees puppies remaining along with Smoky, the male we
are keeping. The pups are weaned now and the “Dawg,” their mother, is
regaining her strength. Great Pyrenees love the cold and snow. The now 10 week old pups romp and play happily with each new snow.
I have added The Christian Smoker to the articles page. The Christian Smoker is
my testimony and experience with smoking cessation. If, like myself,
you are struggling with smoking, take a few minutes to read this brief
article.
Stay Warm and God Bless
Melissa
Puppy Update
The puppies are doing well. They are now 4 1/2 wks old and are eating well. They will be ready to go on the 12th of December.
Late Fall 2009
Our
Halloween angels are now 3 weeks old and getting chubbier by the day.
“Dawg”, our Great Pyrenees is a doting mother and often I will find her
laying outside the doghouse staring in at the pups as if they were the
most beautiful things she had ever seen. There are three males and two
females. One male, has already been sold and his new owner, who is
Cherokee, has given him the Cherokee name for bear which sounds like
‘Yo-nah’. I do not know the correct spelling or Cherokee symbols.
We
got our hog meat last week. My husband, Mr. B., stills cures our hams
in our meat house. He uses black and red pepper, brown sugar, and
canning salt. The meat will stay in the meat house several months until
the meat is cured and ready to eat.
Mr.
B. has also built me an ash bin to make my lye which I will use for
soap making. So far, I have not been successful in getting the lye water
strong enough but I keep working at it. He even placed tin over the pan
to keep rain water from getting in and diluting it.
Fall 2009
The
smoke from the cook stove drifts through the air and combines with the
raindrops on this damp autumn day. Mr. B. is splitting firewood down at
the wood shed. It always amazes me how much wood he can split in one
day.
Fancy,
our youngest pygmy goat, gave birth to twins about a month ago and they
have been a joy to watch. A handsome little boy with a white body and
tan face. His adorable sister is all tan. This is our first set of twins
and I have decided that they should always have two at a time. What fun
they have playing together and each morning, we find them curled up
together in the feed trough located in the goat house. Just as before,
the other females love the little boy but have no use for the little
girl. Frances actually butts her.
The
chickens are growing back their feathers. You may remember that we had
tried everything. We treated them for mites several times even using old
oil and dusting them with 7 dust. None of which had any effect at all.
Finally, we took them off the laying mash and although we are getting
very few eggs, they have feathers again. Everyone had assured me that
the mash couldn’t possibly be the problem, but they were wrong.
We
were able to get some grapes this year. Our vines are still too small. I
made grape jelly which turned out too sweet for my taste. I will cut
down on the sugar next year. The mountain berries were fairly good and I
managed to get two runs of blackberry jelly out of the pickings. We
ended up with about 5 bushels of Irish potatoes this year which we will
store for the winter. We also had enough tomatoes and peppers for two
runs of spaghetti sauce this year.
Burnice
completed my ash bin for making lye to go in my soap. This will be my
first year of lye making. I will keep you posted on how this goes.
I
have just completed my facebook page which is dedicated to those living
in darkness without Christ in their lives. I will be updating it on a
weekly basis. Feel free to join us at “The Wind Ministry” group page and
join in the blogs already begun or start new ones and remember, Christ
came to save sinners and that includes you and me. Take care.
Melissa
Fall 2009
The
smoke from the cook stove drifts through the air and combines with the
raindrops on this damp autumn day. Mr. B. is splitting firewood down at
the wood shed. It always amazes me how much wood he can split in one
day.
Fancy,
our youngest pygmy goat, gave birth to twins about a month ago and they
have been a joy to watch. A handsome little boy with a white body and
tan face. His adorable sister is all tan. This is our first set of twins
and I have decided that they should always have two at a time. What fun
they have playing together and each morning, we find them curled up
together in the feed trough located in the goat house. Just as before,
the other females love the little boy but have no use for the little
girl. Frances actually butts her.
The
chickens are growing back their feathers. You may remember that we had
tried everything. We treated them for mites several times even using old
oil and dusting them with 7 dust. None of which had any effect at all.
Finally, we took them off the laying mash and although we are getting
very few eggs, they have feathers again. Everyone had assured me that
the mash couldn’t possibly be the problem, but they were wrong.
We
were able to get some grapes this year. Our vines are still too small. I
made grape jelly which turned out too sweet for my taste. I will cut
down on the sugar next year. The mountain berries were fairly good and I
managed to get two runs of blackberry jelly out of the pickings. We
ended up with about 5 bushels of Irish potatoes this year which we will
store for the winter. We also had enough tomatoes and peppers for two
runs of spaghetti sauce this year.
Burnice
completed my ash bin for making lye to go in my soap. This will be my
first year of lye making. I will keep you posted on how this goes.
I
have just completed my facebook page which is dedicated to those living
in darkness without Christ in their lives. I will be updating it on a
weekly basis. Feel free to join us at “The Wind Ministry” group page and
join in the blogs already begun or start new ones and remember, Christ
came to save sinners and that includes you and me. Take care.
Melissa
Summer 2009
It’s
seems like only yesterday that we were planting the garden and now we
have cucumbers, squash, turnip greens and some peppers. A garden is
labor intensive in the beginning when you are planting and hoeing trying
to keep the weeds and bugs from destroying the tender plants before
they have a chance to grow strong roots. The same is true for a new
Christian. Their lives are full of obstacles. Satan knows that a new
Christian is very susceptible to temptation so he sends every thing he
can think of to discourage. As with the garden, if you stand firm in the
word, soon you will begin to reap that which you have sown. I realize
that I write about this every year but you can’t imagine how much
sweeter the harvest when it is produced by the sweat of your own hand.
The chickens are still
plucking themselves. No… the motor oil had no effect at all so don’t
bother trying it. We only have 10 chickens and my husband says they are
‘self plucking’ chickens. He’s very funny. We
have completely cut out the laying mash. At first, they didn’t lay well
but it’s been about 3 to 4 weeks now and they have begun to lay well
again with no artificial help. We
give them an apple every day and have begun giving them an occasional
cabbage hung from a wire to supplement their feed and of course their
favorite food, cornbread.
Baby Joe, our Great
Pyrenees pup, has gone to his new owner and we miss seeing his sweet
face greeting us at feeding time. For some reason, one of our female
goats decided that she didn’t like him and did her very best to see to
it that he knew it. We will have to put the next litter in a pen until
they get large enough and aware enough to run!
Mr. B is in the process
of building me an ash bin to make lye. So next year, perhaps I will
truly have homemade soap. I will keep you posted. If you have an
interest in purchasing my homemade soap, please contact me at jeannie@highmountainbooks.com
. Please put the word ‘soap’ in the subject line so I will know it is
not junk mail. I usually make smooth hand soap, “Coffee and Cream”, and a
rough for scrubbing the hands, “Coffee, Coffee”. Next years soap will
not be ready until June of next year (2010). It is $4.25 a
bar plus postage which varies with the order but should not run over
the $8.00 flat rate postal rate as long as the order fits in the box.
Also, if anyone wishes to purchase the seed from the Corey Wilson
cornfield bean, please let me know early as the supply will be very
limited this year until I get my stock built up. 25 seeds will be $4.25
plus 2.25 for postage. You can reach me at the same email as above.
Simply put the word ‘beans’ in the subject line.
Early Summer 2009
A new addition has arrived on High Mountain. The much anticipated birth of “Dawg’s” pups took place on the Sunday before Memorial Day. Our surprise was that she only had one pup! No matter…she loves him dearly and as you can see he is fat as a little pig. I have decided to name him Joe.
We have been having a
terrible time with the chickens plucking each other. At first, we
thought they had mites so we cleaned, sprayed and dusted to no avail.
Then we discovered that they were plucking each other and eating the
feathers.
Fearing that they would
soon begin killing each other, (they will do that),we have greased them
with some motor oil so now they are black and greasy along with missing
their feathers. Not very attractive, but we’re hoping to break them of
this very bad habit. I will keep you posted.
Winter 2008
An early winter has come to High Mountain
and God has sent us the beauty of snow to grace the barren landscape.
The goats don’t care for the snow and spend most of their time in the
goat house with the dogs. We have a new Great Pyrenees now that we call
Jake. He is a rambunctious eleven month old who is into everything and
is already as big as our female. He
loves to run and play and recently my husband gave him an old pair of
leather boots to play with and he still has both of them. He carries
them around and chews on them during the day finding comfort in my
husband’s scent when he is alone.
We, as children of
God, have been given a wonderful gift from our father, which is the
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit never leaves us and is our comforter in all
things. He is with us during times of sorrow, sadness or joy. The Bible
tells us this in John 16:7 then Christ died to make it a reality.
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” (Scoffield KJV).
Recently, my
friends, Bev, Jules, Colleen and I started a Book Club which we have
named “Words Through Christ.” Below is our mission statement:
Though distinct and vastly different experiences have formed our adulthood,
we share a single bond; to serve God and through our life experiences and understanding help others find security, acceptance and love--however that translates to individuals that we may touch.
High Mountain
Book Club is our alpha toward this endeavor. This provides a forum to
openly and candidly discuss specific topics while unveiling our
strengths and
diversities. This initial medium serves as a guide to how we are able
to support each other while each enlarges their territory in a specific
ministry. This challenge is not a means to and end, but it is our journey-one that we choose to take together-and share with others, with God’s direction.
If you have a desire to join us or begin your own chapter, please contact me at jeannie@highmountainbooks.com. We would love to hear from you.
SUMMER 2008
The first day of summer has come at last to High Mountain. The garden is growing and the potatoes look really good this year which is comforting with the soaring grocery prices. The blackberry vines were full of blooms this year so there will be fresh blackberry jelly. Last year, we had a late freeze which killed all the fruit blooms so there was no fresh fruit for picking.
The baby goats are growing and playing. The
big rock behind the house is still their favorite place to play and
they spend countless happy hours there butting heads and practicing
their jumping skills. The last born, Fancy is about 3 weeks old now and starting to find herself. I
worried about her at first because she was so tiny and the adult female
goats tried their best to hurt her if they got a chance. Maybe
they were just teaching her where she was in the pecking order but I
did not see this behavior with the 2 boys when they were born. Everyone loved them and if they even whimpered all the girls would run to them.
The
chickens look almost grown now but it’s still too soon for them to
start laying so they spend their days in the chicken pen chasing bugs
and each other. We close them up at night in their coop just as we close the goats up. The
coyotes are never very far away and I worry that they will try to slip
in even though my husband has gone to great lengths to try and keep them
out.
I am taking some classes now at the local community college so much of my time is spent studying but that’s OK. I feel that I am following the path that God has set before me and if he wants me to go to school, then I will go to school. When you are saved, your life belongs to him. I always say “I am his and he is mine.” The Holy Spirit comforts me when I’m tired and helps me to follow God’s will. God has greatly blessed me and I thank him daily for all he has done for me. Melissa…
SPRING 2008
The
newness and freshness of spring is a time of beginnings. A baby goat
jumps and twirls in the air testing its wobbly legs as its mother
lovingly look on. A mother’s
love is the same whether you’re talking about goats or people. The
natural urge of a mother to protect and nurture their young is
instinctive and Millie, the mama goat, tries to keep her new son from
climbing up on the big rock knowing that he will surely fall off. But as most young things Little Man, the baby goat, climbs up just to see if he can and just as his mother had known he would. She
waits patiently at the bottom to comfort him when he falls, and of
course, he does fall; many times, and she is always there to help him
get back up.
Baby
chickens are roosting on their little sticks my husband placed in their
boxes. He says he is ‘learning them to roost’ before they go to the
chicken coop next week. A brand
new chicken coop with nesting boxes on the wall filled with fresh hay
and three roosting poles across the middle is waiting for them. Outside the coop, he has fenced their yard and placed rocks around the bottom to deter animals from getting in. My husband, Mr. B., loves his animals and goes to great lengths to make sure they are comfortable and safe. You’ll find no hungry animals on High Mountain no matter what the weather may be. He’ll walk up to the goat house in a foot of snow or pouring rain to take them hay and corn at feeding time.
What a wonderful time this is. We can see God’s goodness and love everywhere we look. As
the weather warms, the grass begins to green with March flowers showing
off their lovely yellow blossoms bringing us the promise of spring. The
garden spot is ready and Mr. B. has already planted the potatoes,
onions, cabbage, brussel sprouts and sown the lettuce bed. We let the
cook stove go out early now and raise the windows to let the fresh air
in and cool the house for sleeping.
God has been good to us.
In Psalms 107, the Bible tells us:
“O GIVE thanks unto the Lord, for he is good: for his mercy endureth for ever.
2. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;
Psalm 107 is a powerful truth for people living in darkness who have rebelled against the words of God.
11. Because they rebelled against the words of God, and contemned the counsel of the most High:
12. Therefore he brought down their heart with labour; they fell down, and there was none to help.
13. Then they cried unto the LORD in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.
14. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of shadow of death, and brake their bands in sunder.
15. Oh that men would praise the LORD for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of men!
God has truly led me from the darkness and he can do the same for you. We have all sinned and there are no big sins or little sins. All is sin. Come to the light. God is waiting.
Melissa
No comments:
Post a Comment