the day of small beginnings

Don't depised the day of small beginnings...  Zechariah 4:10

I read this verse this morning during our home school reading time.  I have been going through a period of depression and what seemed to me like great darkness.  Certainly our family has been through enough in the past three months with the death of our husband/daddy/grandfather to have a time like that.  But it's not pleasant, and it made me react too often in the wrong way.  I had a small breakthrough yesterday, and then today, reading this verse, and also reading the book, "The Wolf Dog" to my children.  They couldn't understand my tears when I read the part in the book where the clergyman encourages Tooley Paggert to keep trusting God even when it seemed like the worst thing that could happen to him had actually happened.  But I knew God was speaking directly to my heart that I needed to let go of the things that were worrying me half out of my mind, and trust that God would walk me through them.

We have a lot of small beginnings here at our house, even during this time.  God has shown Himself a faithful light through all this darkness, I just need to remember to quit closing my eyes in the worry and pain and keep them open, because God is so good in so many ways, but mostly through his people, who have helped us in so much.

So here are my children (both the ones still here at home, and the ones who live in other places) and I, entering new phases of our lives.  It's only for a short time before the Lord comes again to get us, right?  Oh, come, Lord Jesus...

But in the meantime, life goes on...

Our little farm is bursting these days.  I peek in a nesting box so full of hair and hay that it took a few days before I could see what all was in there.  A good look finally revealed a box full of at least 17 baby bunnies:

Add to these little ones the four others who are big enough to hop out of the pen, and also the bunnies in our grow out pen...

 

...and we have around thirty young rabbits.  If we don't sell them, they go in the freezer.  I have caught on that if I will grind the meat, rather than serve it in chucks, the kids will eat it without realizing what they are eating!

Add to this blessing the gift from son Max of goat meat.  I ground that too and got twelve quarts of meat!! We have eaten it twice now, and the kids who declared they would hate it, love it!!

 

We have a new baby goat, Blossom.  Our wonderful neighbors down the street came over and dehorned her for us.  I would never have had the courage to do that myself:

 She is just precious, and tame, and we all love her.

Our church, Osceola Christian Fellowship, blessed us at sewing day by sewing two new dresses each for my two youngest daughters.  Here's Selah in one of them:

 And just in case you wonder, Sam the goose is still around, making messes every where he goes.  Max and Spencer have both offered to turn him into dinner for me, even to use the grinder on him, but I decline, no matter how much they beg - er - ask!

 And the best part of our day of small things is the opportunity to babysit, and therefore get to know well, Angel-Leah and Tommy's biological half sister, Lilly.  She has been staying with us a few hours a day,  3 days a week for two weeks now.  She is absolutely beautiful and very smart.  I hardly do anything at all because the kids love her and play with her all day long.  It's a blessing for them to be allowed to know her like this.

 

God is so faithful in our day of small beginnings, as we continue this new phase of our life.  It's painful to begin again, but necessary.  I am so thankful of the Lord's dealing with me these past two days.

 I will close with one of my very, very favorite Bible passages:

Lamentations 3:22-24  The steadfast love of the Lord never changes, his mercies never come to an end.  They are new every morning, great is thy faithfulness.  The Lord is my portion, says my soul.  Therefore I will trust in Him.