Monthly Archives: September 2019

“I Love You.”

Posted on September 25, 2019 | Leave a comment

What we find nearly impossible to believe is that the God who created the universe has spoken these wonderful words personally and intimately to each of us. And he has done it in a way that no one else could: by entering into humanity and dying for our sins upon the cross. He has thus so fully proved his love that there is no excuse for our ever doubting it.

It is this unparalleled manifestation of God’s love that makes Christianity what it is….the relationship that each Christian is intended to enjoy with Christ himself – an intimate personal relationship that is not only unmatched by any other faith but is absolutely essential if someone is to be a Christian.

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In contrast, for a Buddhist to have a personal relationship with Buddha is neither possible nor necessary. Nor is the practice of Islam impaired because Muhammad is in the grave. It is no hindrance at all to any of the world’s historic religions that their founders are dead and gone. Not so with Christianity. If Jesus Christ were not alive today, there would be no Christian faith because he is all that it offers. Christianity is not a mass religion but a personal relationship.

At the heart of this relationship is a fact so astonishing that most Christians, including those who have known the Lord for many years, seldom live in its full enjoyment. it isn’t that we don’t believe it intellectually but that we find it too wonderful to accept its implications into our moment-by-moment experience of daily life.

We are like a homely, small-town girl from a very poor family who is being wooed by the most handsome, wealthiest, most powerful, most intelligent, and in every way the most desirable man who ever lived. She enjoys the things he gives her, but is not able to fully give herself to him and really get to know him because she finds it too much to believe that he, with all the far more attractive women in the world, really loves her. And to leave the familiar surroundings of her childhood – the friends and family that have been all she has known and loves – to go with this one who seems to love her so much, and to become a part of another world seems so foreign and even inconceivable to her is all too overwhelming.

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Like the small-town girl, each of us finds it very difficult to believe that Jesus really loves us. Although we appreciate his blessings, we find it difficult to become intimate with our heavenly Suitor, because it seems too inappropriate that the Lord of the universe should be wooing us. That he loves everyone and that we are included in that great love is too marvelous.

Knowing that he loves us not because of anything in us but because he is love tells us something else that is very important: God loves all mankind with the same love. There is no special reason why he should love one of us more than another. He is no respecter of persons; there is no favoritism with God. And here we see another reason for rejecting the view that God does not love all mankind enough to want everyone to be in heaven. There is no basis in man (all have sinned and the hearts of all are the same) for God to love some and not others – but neither is there any basis in God for his loving one but not another. Thus we are told that he “so loved the world” that he sent his Son into into world “that the world through him might be saved.” There is no greater love anywhere!

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(Except above from “The Love of God”, written by Dave Hunt)

ABC’s of Salvation….

Admit you are a sinner in need of a savior.

Believe in the finished redemtive work of Jesus Christ on the cross alone for the remission of all your sins (past, present and future) and eternal life!

Call on the name of the Lord. (“All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13)

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.” (John 14:6)

“When you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved. For with the heart man believes and is justified and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” ( Romans 10:9-10)

“For it is by grace you are saved through faith. It is not your own doing. It is the FREE gift of God. Not by works lest any man boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)

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Eggs and Introverts

Posted on September 16, 2019 | Leave a comment

Two quick things today.

First, my black cooper maran hen started laying last week! I didn’t expect this to happen so soon – but when she started “squatting” whenever I reached out to touch her, I knew the egglaying was going to commence in about a week. Squatting is a sure sign.

She lays wonderful dark chocolate eggs…although not quite so dark as I was hoping for.  In the below pic, hers are the two small dark ones (the first eggs a hen lays are very small, and increase to a normal size later on). The lighter egg is a pale brown, laid by my cochin, I think?

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Isn’t it interesting how one is spotted and one plain? This is one of the many reasons I love having chickens. Grocery store eggs are so boring!

And for those of you that have been reading this blog for a long time, you remember that I used to sew costumes and attend yearly costuming conferences. I no longer have the time or inclination for that anymore, but I did just finish a new Edwardian 1912 costume. If you’re interested, you can go check out more pictures and information on my costuming blog.

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I made this dress for a Downton Abbey Celebration my library workplace was having, during which I did a presentation on post-Victorian undergarments, called “What Did They Wear Under There?” It was so much fun to do. I’m an introvert, and so many people have this mistaken idea that all introverts are all shy and socially awkward, and hate talking to people. Not true! Introverts are on a spectrum like everything else, and the only thing that all introverts have is a desire and need for alone time, to recharge. We get our energy from ourselves, and being around people drains that energy. But many of us still love being out…we just need time alone afterward. For myself, I adore public speaking – as long as it’s on a subject I love and am knowledgeable about. Costuming and historical fashion definitely fits those two requirements! I was told afterward by three different people that I should ‘take that show on the road’ it was so good, and one attendee (speaking of the entire evening) said that she’d never been in the library before, and didn’t know she could have so much fun there on a Thursday evening! It was also super fun for me…demonstrating how to walk in a hobble skirt, dispelling the various corseting myths, and even talking about how to use the toilet while wearing a full bustle skirt! I think I’ll be doing more of these…but first I have to do the two-part presentation I’m going in October on natural gardening and natural animal keeping.

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Mainly Ducks…But Also a Camel

Posted on September 3, 2019 | 2 comments

Let’s talk about the camel, first, because I know you’re curious. I went to the local fair a couple of weeks ago. It’s a very small, not-really-good-for-much fair, but I always manage to see at least one thing worth the admittance fee. This year, it was the walk-through butterfly house and the camel.

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I’ve see camels before, of course, but I’ve never seen a flat-out napping camel.

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Aw. I just want to snuggle him!

My new Muscovy ducks are the real star of this particular blog, though. I started with seven day old ducks, and at about sixteen weeks, chose out the three I was going to keep. One drake, and two hens.

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Tiberius, the drake is a real sweetie. He’s a blue color, and his head is slowly turning white. I was going to keep the black male, but this fellow won me over in the final week with his sweet disposition. And good thing, too – because when I processed the other ducks, I discovered that the black male had some sort of infection inside him, and very well might have died and left me drake-less.

The two hens are much more shy. Tabitha is black, and will also have a white head eventually. Tilda is chocolate and white.

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It’s been really interesting watching their red caruncles on their faces starting to develop.

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And can I just say that these ducks are the best ducks EVER? They are awesome animals, and so perfect for a small backyard urban farm. They are extremely quiet – the males hiss, and females make a low and melodic trill. They aren’t obsessed with water, which makes them much cleaner and easier to pen. They are personable and fun to watch. I wish I had room for several more!

For their sleeping pen, I used an old wood and wire gate I had, and using it the front, built them a coop (I plan on growing a vine up the wire front). One side and the back is wood, the other two are mostly wire. Although I put hardware cloth partway up to keep raccoons from reaching in and grabbing them, most of the cage is larger wire. The ducks are large enough to keep rodents and other small predators away themselves. It’s not the prettiest coop in the world, but it’s in the far back corner of the chicken run where it isn’t very visible.

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The back half has a roofed perch for sleeping. These ducks, unlike most ducks, are perching birds.

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Here’s a shot at bedtime, when there were still seven ducks.

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The ducks’ regular run is the very back part of the yard, against the back property fence. Every two or three days, I divert them over into another part of the chicken run, both to give them a change of scenery, and to allow the chickens into their pen to clean up. The chickens scratch and turn over the dirt and wood chips and duck poop, keeping the ground from becoming stinky. These particular ducks wouldn’t need this so much, since they don’t spill and splash water everywhere like normal ducks. Unlike normal ducks, these aren’t stinky or muddy at all!

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Also unlike normal ducks, these guys taste like beef. Seriously, they do. I had a hard time believing it myself, until I tried it. The breast meat, cooked like a steak, is indistinguishable from a steak! It looks like one, tastes like one, even has the texture of one!

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It’s a true red meat. And when you slow cook the breast like a roast, it’s indistinguishable from roast beef.

Because of this, it does not have the gorgeous duck fat that a pekin does, but I can always buy a pekin in the store. Muscovy is not so commonly available. The only source I could find in my area is mail order – two breasts for $65 plus shipping. It genuinely puzzles me that Muscovy duck is not more commonly raised. They are so easy – much easier than common duck, and although they are large (the drakes get up to about 15 lbs) they are easy to process. I found them just as simple as a chicken.

They are also sustainable for a backyard or small farm because the hens are great broodies and mothers, and will happily hatch and raise one or more clutches of ducklings per year if they are allowed. No noisy roosters, no incubators required! And “beef” in your backyard…how awesome is that?IMG_7699

 

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