Baby chicks

Bessie and her sweet baby's

Why do so many of us draw a straight line from our actions to our identity? Why are we so quick to connect dots that aren’t there, slap a label on ourselves and believe it to be true? We stumble and call ourselves clumsy. We forget to pay a bill and call ourselves stupid. Our home is cluttered, and we call ourselves pathetic.

Those aren’t lines God draws. Only Satan, the enemy of this world, draws a line from our work to our worth. Only the enemy wants us to find our identity in what we do, because he knows when the lights dim and the "success" is gone, so is our value.

God, however, has another identity for us, one that’s unchanging and independent of our actions. It’s as His chosen and beloved child. John 1:12 says, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God."

When I first learned this truth about my identity, it took a long time to accept. Each time I caught my belittling self-talk, I had to make a choice about what to believe. I had to choose to take God at His Word, and believe in His love. This took my faith from academic head knowledge to real-life heart belief.

If I have any doubt that God’s approval is conditioned on my perfect behavior, Romans 5:6-8 tells me the truth: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (NIV).

“If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
C.S Lewis

 
"THE BATTLING BOYS OF BENGHAZI"
 
We're the battling boys of Benghazi, 

 

No fame, no glory, no paparazzi.

Just a fiery death in a blazing hell,

Defending our country we loved so well.

It wasn't our job, but we answered the call,

fought to the Consulate and scaled the wall.
 
We pulled twenty countrymen from the jaws of fate
 
Led them to safety and stood at the gate.
 
Just the two of us and foes by the score,
 
But we stood fast to bar the door.

Three calls for reinforcement, but all were denied,
 
So we fought and we fought and we fought
 
'til we died.
 
We gave our all for our Uncle Sam,

But Barack and Hillary didn't give a damn.
 
Just two dead Seals who carried the load
 
No thanks to us...we were just
 
"Bumps In The Road". 

'Garden As Though You Will Live Forever."

Maybe you regularly view life through the lens of other people’s expectations (real or imagined), and you’re beginning to buckle under the pressure. Perhaps you feel self-conscious about not having a boyfriend or a happy marriage when all of your friends seem content in their relationships.

Perhaps a friend betrayed you, one of your parents was emotionally or physically absent, or your loved one has a secret addiction, and you think it’s all somehow your fault. Maybe you’re stressed about your children and how you handle things at home.

The voice in your head says, I’m not a very good mother. Maybe you feel like a failure because life got hard, and now your dreams seem out of reach, or you just don’t know who you are anymore. Maybe you go through life with ever-present feelings of inadequacy; you worry what other people would think if they knew the real you. Shame lurks in all of these things. (I could go on, but at the risk of depressing us all, I’ll stop there.)

In spite of the overwhelming nature of shame, there is good news. The promise of Scripture is that when we look to God, He transforms our shame into something beautiful — a sparkling, splendorous joy.

It may take time, and there may always be moments in life when we experience shame, but when our identity is centered in Christ — not only knowing who we are in Christ, but knowing who He is in us — we can discard the dark covering of shame and rise in radiance. In other words, we may have shame, but in Jesus, shame no longer has us.

David was going through boxes this morning, and came across 8 to 10 collectable cars and trucks. This particular one is in its original box from 1983. Made in England, and is die cast metal. Yours for only 25 dollars. It would be a perfect gift for Christmas for a lad, or a collector. By the way, all you bloggers out there missed out on the doll house.  It sold Sunday for 125 dollars . A steal, and an original.
To get in touch with David call 207-799-7922 for more information regarding this one of a kind Hershey's Chocolate Truck.

Reducing or limiting stress is one of the best things you can do to keep your flock healthy and productive. Similar to how stress affects us as humans, in poultry it can lead to many problems. Reduced egg production, poor rate of growth and development, greater susceptibility to disease.

Stress In Chickens

One of the best ways to recognize sources of stress and other problems is to spend time with your chickens and observe their behavior and their living conditions. (This is also a great way to notice not just problems, but things that are working well.) It’s easy to see when the living conditions aren’t clean enough. It’s not difficult to smell the harmful ammonia build-up that can result from inadequate ventilation. Beyond that, chickens’ behavior will change — not unlike how our own behavior changes — when they experience higher levels of stress. If you spend time with them and watch them enough to recognize what their normal behavior is like, then you’ll be able to more easily notice when their behavior has begun to change as a result of stress. Then once you’ve determined the cause, you’ll be able to make changes to fix the problem and reduce their stress levels. That will lead to a happier, healthier and more productive flock.

From Proverbs 31 Ministries

Entitlement is an issue that we read about in the news all the time, and yet it’s one we may feel a bit confused about. Fortunately, God’s Word gives us an example of a man who suffered from entitlement. His name is Naaman.

Naaman was a respected commander of a powerful army, a strong soldier, well regarded by his superiors and yet, had leprosy. At this time, there was no known cure for this disease.

One of his servants told him where he could go to be healed. So Naaman went to Elisha with his horses and chariots. Elisha told him that if he washed in the Jordan River seven times, he would be cleansed.

Here’s where we see Naaman’s entitlement: "But Naaman went away angry and said, ‘I thought that he would surely come out to me and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, wave his hand over the spot and cure me of my leprosy’" (2 Kings 5:11).

Entitlement encompasses two attitudes: (1) I am exempt from responsibility, and (2) I am owed special treatment. In other words, I don’t have to carry my own burdens, and I should be treated differently.

Naaman presents both of these characteristics in his response. First, in Naaman’s mind, he was owed special treatment or at least a proper acknowledgment. Second, Naaman felt that he should be exempt from responsibility. He didn’t want the responsibility to follow orders by washing in the river.

We all have a Naaman in our lives. Perhaps it’s a co-worker, family member or friend who wants you to wave a hand over their situation and fix their problems. Maybe you have a son or daughter that, despite your best parental efforts, has chosen a path of laziness. They feel they deserve special treatment with no responsibility.

Here’s what you need to remember: Change happens in the presence of compassion. Before you look at that Naaman in your life and pretentiously point out all their failings, remember that you have been a Naaman. The Bible says, "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23, NIV).

Celebrating the movie:Back to the Future at BGJH. 

 

Eating radishes daily improves your health to a great extent. Radishes are rich in vitamins, folic acid and anthocyanins. They are considered effective cancer-fighting agents. The vitamins present in radishes can treat skin disorders. They help in improving the functioning of the liver and gall bladder. Radishes are rich in dietary fiber. Radishes contain antioxidants like those found in citrus fruits and veggies. Vitamins A,C, and K are present in radishes. Radish juice is good for weight loss. Many minerals like potassium, iron and calcium are found in radishes. Radishes have good water content. And the list goes on and on.





Its a refreshing time of year! I love the Fall colors and the cooler days. But I don't much like winter. And they are calling for a cold wet one. Sweaters, warm coffee shops, and the crunch of fallen leaves thrill me. But most of all, I love to bake this time of year. Pumpkin pie and of course this Coffin Bread.

6 eggs stirred with a whisk. Add the following ingredients: 1 cup of cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp.  baking soda, 1 cup honey, 2tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. vanilla and 1/2 tsp. allspice. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. 

Figs are often called one of  the worlds healthiest foods, because of the numerous health benefits they provide. One medium fig contains only 37 calories. Even though figs aren't that big, they can definitely carry a big punch. So, if you are ready to try something new, try fig preserves. Take 7 cups of fresh whole figs and 1-1/2 cups honey and stir together. Put in hot water bath for 30 minutes.   

A little girl was holding two apples in her hands.

 Her mum came in and softly asked her little daughter with a smile, "My sweetie, will you give your mum one of your two apples?"

The girl looked up at her mother for some seconds then suddenly took a quick bite of one apple and then quickly a bite of the other.

The mother felt the smile on her face freeze. She tried hard not to reveal her disappointment.

Then the little girl handed one of her bitten apples to her mother, and said, "Mummy, here you are. This one is the sweeter."

No matter who you are, how experienced you are and how knowledgeable you think you are always delay judgment.

Give others the privilege to explain themselves. What you see may not be the reality. There may be facts hidden so never rush to a conclusion without all the facts even if you think you've seen this set of circumstances previously.

This is why we should never focus only on the surface and judge others without understanding them first.

Those who like to pay the bill do so not because they are loaded but because they value friendship above money.

​

Those who take the initiative at work, do so not because they are stupid but because they understand the concept of responsibility.

Those who apologize first after a fight, do so not because they are wrong but because they value the people around them.

Those who are willing to help you, do so not because they owe you any thing but because they see you have worth.

Those who often text you, do so not because they have nothing better to do but because they thought of you.

Those who take out time to chat with you, does not mean they are jobless or less busy, but they know the importance of keeping in touch.

One day, all of us will be   separated  from one another;  we will miss our conversations of everything and nothing; the dreams that we had.

Days will pass by, months, years, until contact becomes rare... One day our children will see our pictures and ask, "Who are these people?" And we will smile with invisible tears  because a heart is touched with a strong word and you will say, "IT WAS WITH THEM I HAD THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE."

If you are anything like me, you can become quite skilled at putting off your happily-ever-after. Maybe you’ve said things like …

"Once I get this work done" …
"When things slow down at work" …
"When this crazy month is over" …
"In just a minute" …

But once the work is complete, the minute has passed and the busy month has concluded, something else always comes up. Your "one more thing" has no end.

That’s when things start to happen: You drive into the intersection before it’s your turn because you’re tired and distracted … you scream at the ones you love the most because you’re stretched too thin … you wake up feeling irritable and unhappy despite the abundant blessings in your life.

I informed my internal over-achiever that I would no longer be everything to everyone. I realized that continually saying yes to everything outside the home meant saying no to the most important things inside the home. God showed me that in order to be joyfully fulfilled, I must choose to place my time and energy in what (and who) mattered most.

That my friends is, God first and foremost. Family second, and everything following.

The cancer industry is a sham. The "pink ribbon" cancer non-profits are a hoax. Breast cancer "detection" often gives false positives. Chemotherapy is poison that actually causes more cancer, not less, and many people are being treated for "cancer" when they never had cancer to begin with. These are just some of the basic truths about cancer that more and more people are now coming to realize.

What's more, the most potent anti-cancer treatments can be employed at home, without a doctor's prescription. These include simple remedies such as vitamin D (sunshine), rice bran, flaxseed oil, Brussels' sprouts, folic acid pill, red wine molecules and garlic cloves, which outperform the best chemotherapy drugs.

I ordered 15 more baby chicks. They arrived this morning. Because of the time of year I had to take what was left. I have 7 Pioneer, 5 Welsummer, 1 Hamburg,1 single comb Brown, and 1 Silver Spangled. This should be interesting to mix these girls with the flock. Right now, Bessie is setting on 8 eggs. I am hoping to incorporate at least 5 to 7 of these chicks when hers hatch. She can raise them like her own.

Fall Break

Last week we were in Destin Florida. We usually take a vacation in October, because the crowds seem to thin out. Not this year! It was packed. Bumper to bumper traffic. Isn't it strange how things change? The condo that we stay in every year seemed not to be as well kept. Also, there were tons of boats right along the shore where we were sunning ourselves. The smell was not desirable. But all and all we got a break, and enjoyed being with family. 

http://naturalchickenkeeping.blogspot.com/2015/03/lucille3.html

When I’m hasty with my words, I end up shooting myself in the foot, just like Barney. It’s foolish, and in my own reality apart from TV land, shooting from the lip doesn’t hurt just me. I also wound innocent bystanders on the other end of my unfortunate misfire, causing damage when my words tear into another’s heart.

So how do we remedy this quick-to-the-draw impulse and keep ourselves from the damaging habit of shooting from the lip?

We need to do what Proverbs 17:27 urges: restrain our words, have knowledge and a cool spirit. This means to stop, really think about what to say and allow our emotions to simmer down a bit before we let any words emerge from our mouth.

Back in Mayberry, the insightful Sheriff Taylor required that Deputy Barney keep his only bullet tucked safely in his shirt pocket. This way it took him a few seconds to load his gun, giving him time to think before he acted. When ol’ One Bullet Barney listened to his boss’s order, he had fewer accidents and less embarrassment.

However, Barney didn’t always take Andy’s advice. Throughout the episodes, the gawky deputy periodically reverted to old habits and prematurely loaded his gun. Those instances resulted in great ratings for the show and plenty of laughs, but they also serve as reminders that we can easily slip into our old "quick-draw" selves.

Barney had to make a choice to keep his bullet in his pocket. We have to make the choice every day to put away the verbal ammunition and restrain our words. When we choose to pause and ponder before we let words fly, we can keep a misfire from occurring.

Can we put our words away? Can we tuck them safely in a place where we will have to stop, think and cool down before speaking? Let’s keep our speech unlocked and unloaded, and not make it a practice to mindlessly shoot from the lip.