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posted by Daniel on 03/31/07

During the Wilkes’ stay at our house last weekend we watched the Advanced Seminar with them. It was a very encouraging time for both our families. The wealth of information presented by Dr. Gothard and several other speakers prompted many insightful discussions during the breaks between each video.

Donald and Dad put many hours into planning an efficient schedule and other logistical preparations, and as a result of their diligence the whole event ran surprisingly smoothly.

Of the several items which God brought out to me during the seminar, a few were:

• How to respond to a humanisitic society,
• The need to identify and develop spiritual gifts,
• The need for financial freedom in our day,
• and Biblical steps to knowing God’s will.

The 23 hours of teaching just flew by, but everyone was invigorated with a fresh perspective of God’s approach to life!

2 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Jonathan on 03/30/07

Last week some friends from Virginia, the Wilkes, came. One of my favorite things was playing basketball knock out. Even though it was hard to win, everybody was a good sport and we all had a good time.

The Wilkes’ are also getting bees! So Michael taught them all about bee keeping. God blessed us with warm sunny days so we could go look inside our hives and see what Michael was talking about.

One night we played a big game of Settlers of Catan. We had two games going at one time! We thought up some really fun rules so we could trade cards between the two games. Helping the younger ones have fun really made everybody have a blast.

 
(Coming soon: Advanced Seminar report)

3 Comments » | posted in Family News

posted by Donald on 03/22/07

Well, the crocuses bloomed last week! With joy we watched the honeybees crawl in and out of the colorful blooms.

A day earlier, Michael and I had gone to the Beekeepers’ Meeting. That week the speaker was Harold Miller—a weathered mountaineer “who lives in his bee yard”. Between giving tips and answering questions, he mentioned something to beware of: something that lent itself to a clear analogy . . .

It’s springtime, the temperature rises and falls like a roller-coaster, and inside their hive the bees band together in a ball of warmth and life called a cluster. When a few warm days come, the “ball” can move. Together all the bees in the cluster shift a little bit to find new stores of honey to live on until the next warm period. And so it goes until the winter is over and they are free to begin the life work of producing more honey.

However, not all of the bees live to see the spring.

If one bee stays behind when the cluster moves, something different happens. While the honeybee is by itself, simply surviving and enjoying its own cell full of honey, the cold makes the cell around it begin to shrink. By the time the honey is finished, the shrinking cell has trapped the bee inside and its honey house hideout becomes a tomb.

During one Sunday morning message, Dad reminded our family of the need to be in “one accord” with other believers as the early church was. While it is sometimes necessary to stand alone, going off on our own for a selfish reason is a short-sighted decision. Unless God in His mercy “allows the temperature to warm up” for a time, the church of Christ will go on to reap the harvest without us! What is God doing among His people at our time in history? What is our part in that? What is of so great importance to distract us from making disciples of all nations?

DISCRETION

                    Avoiding those words, actions and attitudes
               which could result in undesirable consequences 

6 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by James on 03/17/07

The end of winter tends to be a barren time of year. Gardens are in the planning and planting stage. Most of the stored provisions from the previous year’s harvest are getting low. But even though the grass is brown and the trees still bear, there is a harvest to be reaped hidden deep in the heart of maple trees.

The unusual temperature variation in the months from January to March, found only the northeastern section of North America, is perfect for gathering maple sap. When the temperature dips below freezing at night and rises to the forties during a sunny day, we know that the sap will be flowing. On average, we harvest about ½ to 1 gallon of sap per tap per day. However, the greater the difference between night and day temperatures, the greater amount of sap will flow. On a good day like this, we can collect from 1 to 2 gallons of tap per tree depending on the health of the maple tree. Overall, we have gathered as much as 60 gallons of sap from nine maple trees, and because we only have a storage capacity of 25 gallons, we have been kept busy using and processing it. Indeed, our cup runneth over!

As you can see in the pictures, we have been tapping in a very unconventional way. We first selected the right trees: black and sugar maples with a diameter of at least one foot. Then we put together some ½in. PVC pipe which would transfer sap from the tree to a jug on the ground. This done, we drilled a hole 2in. deep into the tree about three feet from off the ground, stuck the PVC pipe about 1in. into the hole, and set a water jug underneath with a hole drilled into the lid. Then all we did was wait and let God deside how much sap He would give us. Though seemingly barren, the end of winter is now for us one of the most special times of year.

As a side note, we found out after tapping the trees, that drilling a 5/8in. hole into the tree to fit a 1/2in. pipe was not healthy for the tree. Next year we will drill a smaller hole so the tree will be healthy to produce sap for decades to come. Also, a great source of encouragement and advice for pursuing tapping came from Daniel Wilkes. We also learned much from these two web sites: Making Maple Syrup and Maple Syrup Production.

“The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.” Proverbs 10:22  

2 Comments » | posted in Possessing the Land

posted by Donald on 03/15/07

“Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, Religion and morality are indispensable supports. In vain would that man claim the tribute of Patriotism, who should labour to subvert these great Pillars of human happiness, these firmest props of the duties of Men and citizens. The mere Politician, equally with the pious man ought to respect and to cherish them. A volume could not trace all their connections with private and public felicity. Let it simply be asked where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation desert the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice? And let us with caution indulge the supposition, that morality can be maintained without religion. Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that National morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle.”

 Source: John C. Fitzpatrick’s Writings of George Washington, Vol. 35: Farewell Address (September 19, 1796), pp. 229-230

1 Comment » | posted in Historical Glimpses