A time to plant

It has finally warmed up to the point that I decided it was time to work up the garden and get some dirt under my fingernails. I let the boys do some of the manly work, mainly wrapping their hands around the handles of an old Montgomer Ward rototiller that does a fine job of tilling up the soil if you can handle the obnoxious thing. It weighs about a million pounds and is self propelled. Once the garden is worked up a little, it works well, but if you're working up sod or hard soil, it's debatable whether or not the actually tilling is done by the tiller or the two furrows made by your feet as you try to dig in to keep the the tiller from dragging you across the yard.

The girls helped do the planting, which thus far consisted of onions, beets, carrots, radishes, and potatoes. We'll wait a week or two before putting in the warm weather crops.

Some folks talk about the size of chicken brains and their knowledge to get in out of the rain. I couldn't help but observe that while we were laboring under the warm April sun, they managed to find a place in the shade to relax and watch.

April Update

It's been awhile since I have contributed to the blog. We are all alive and well, eagerly anticipating the arrival of spring. We've had a few nice days in April, although the nice weather was interrupted by a snow storm and about 10 days of cold weather. Warm weather has returned and with it marked the beginning of the garden and mowing season. The grass was mowed a couple days ago and the garden is now tilled. I planted a few rows of onions and hope to soon contribute radishes and potatoes to the mix.

The kids are withing a couple weeks of completing their school assignments. The boys spent the dad with their grandpa - his job was to "work the living tar out of them"! They'll be busy here as well. I have a good bit of wood to cut and a neighbor nearby asked me to clean his timber up.

Our work schedule is filling up nicely. We have a few new projects to begin this month and the woodshop seems to be as busy as ever. I'll try to post a few pictures of recent projects soon.

I recently traveled to Holland, Michigan, to visit a friend of mine who has been struggling with his health. The trip began sluggishly as the transmission went out of our old van. I've found another van to replace it. The new van has high miles and we'll hope I picked one that has some life in it yet.

It seems like these days one can hardly miss a day without a horrific new story. There is a great need in this country for revival. In the same sense that as the apostle Paul prayed that his country men would be saved, I think it is time for those among us who profess the name of Christ to earnestly plead that God might show mercy upon this land and bring about revival through the working of His Spirit.

Of course, history reveals the constant rise and fall of civilizations. It could well be that God intends to bring this nation to her knees. We as a people have grown coveteous and have erected idols of our own making. Our society seems to frown on authentic Christianity and lawmakers pass laws that call good evil and evil good. I once heard a prominent Christian educator remark that our society is now for the most part biblically illiterate.

The saints of God must not lose hope. The weapons of our warfare our powerful and the gospel of Christ is well able to melt the hearts of the most wicked men. Saul of Tarsus was heading to Damascus to pillage and plunder the church of God and on the way the Spirit of God transformed his heart and he became the apostle Paul, planting churches rather than destroying them and writing Scriptures proclaiming the gospel of Christ rather than trying to eradicate those who confess Christ openly. May God do such work across this land.