These beautiful, brown, cage free, farm fresh, hand pencil dated eggs are amazing!(I'm gonna try and post the picture, Im not very techie so we will see) Catherine, my co-worker and sister (from another mother as she always says) gave these to me. A man gave them to her. Last Monday at work at Great Harvest, a man walked in with 2 containers of eggs and a brown bag full of meat from from Stroots. I assume it is really good meat. Not from one of those crazy cow farms. The boys and I got the documentary, Food, Inc. last Saturday from the library. WOW WEE!! That is eye opening. It shows the practices of big business and what that really looks like. It honestly makes me want to never, ever spend another dollar on fast food or "cheap" stuff. We as the consumer have all the power but we don't exercise it and we are letting the government control the quality or lack of quality of our food. I could go on and on but I have been thinking and struggling through some thoughts I have been having about compromise and living out my beliefs and being a part of the solution. All kinds of thoughts. In the film they show the chicken houses and the farmers. The millions of chickens. The dead chickens! The thousands of workers standing there day after day marking and hanging chickens. But this is not what I want to focus on. There is a lot of reliable information out there and I am no reporter, I am not even a "writer". I am trying to express my heart and share what Jesus is doing in this heart of mine. So this leads to the next movie I watched,
Gandhi. I had never watched the movie and really knew very little about his life. I thought I knew more than I actually did about Muslims and the country of India and Pakistan. Gandhi started a community called the Phoenix settlement. It showed a bit about this communal living situation in the movie. I can't help but wonder where he got the name?? In this community they were given 3 acres of land to live off of. They grew their own food, raised their animals and it seems as if they made their own clothes from scratch. In the movie they would show him spinning cloth often. They were completely self sustaining. I admit I dream about that!! "This should be your ambition: to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we commanded you before. As a result, people who are not Christians will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others to meet your financial needs." 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12. I bet I have spent hours upon hours meditating and thinking about this verse. When I garden in the shire, I pray this and think on it. I have had the privilege of seeing results from this...from seeing it produce fruit. My neighbors have watched me work and have hopefully seen how God provides. One neighbor got to see a new sewer line be put into the shire and hear how the money was provided by my church. Another verse that comes to mind when it comes to Gandhi's life story is James 3:17 "But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds." Also James 1:14 "Temptation comes from the lure of our own evil desire." In the movie they touched on Gandhi's efforts of dealing with temptation. He abstained from sex with his own wife because he thought it would lead to other fleshly desires. He also was a strict vegetarian and fasted often. In my opinion, he was too strict but he didn't want any "splits" and wanted to be whole hearted! Which leads me to my point. I do NOT want to be half-hearted, luke warm, indecisive, uncommitted, split, conflicted or double minded about anything. I believe in Jesus! I want to follow Him! I trust Him! I love Him! If that means I need to cleanse my body of toxins and rid my life of chemicals, then I want to do it. I know that may sound silly but it really isn't. Sometimes I think it's too "strict" like I thought of Gandhi's life. There isn't enough time or the words to explain my thought processes. But I believe God speaks to us and I have been listening. I will continue to listen and be still and in the mean time I am gonna wash my hair with apple cider vinegar and stop using suave:-)
As I am writing this I am also cooking dinner. I am cooking rice that Catherine gave me. Pork chops Catherine gave me(she doesn't eat pork, and I didn't either a few years ago but now I do). Is that being indecisive, I don't know yet? I don't want to "waver in everything I do". Again in James 1:5-8 "If you need wisdom- if you want to know what God wants you to do- ASK HIM, be SURE that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. They can't make up their minds. They waver back and forth in everything they do." I need wisdom! I have asked! I expect! I do not want to waver in everything. Also as I write this entry I am preparing to move. The boys and I have been here in the shire for almost 3 1/2 years now. Listening has led me to leaving the shire. I am overwhelmed with emotion and thoughts right now so I will stop here. James 4:13-15 says "Look here, you people who say, "today or tomorrow we are going to a certain town and will stay there a year.....How do you know what will happen tomorrow? For your life is like the morning fog- it's here a little while, then it's gone. What you ought to say is, "if the Lord wants us to, we will live and do this or that." So if the Lord wants me to, we will move to Lawrence and do this or that. Expecting wisdom and look forward to sharing with you my friends!!
