Good morning, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a quiet morning on the homestead! The sound of crickets outside the window, the calm stillness in the air, the hum of a tractor in the far distance, and the crows from the chicken coop stir a desire deep within me to reflect on our bountiful blessings from God. I am thankful for our salvation, our family, our health, our church family, and for His amazing grace. As the sun rises, the world outside our window comes to life… what a beautiful fall-like day we have been gifted!
Early morning visitor!
With the recent surge in heat we have been experiencing, the fall-like temperatures are a welcomed change. This change has brought many of the summer leaves down early over the course of the past few weeks. The crunch of the dry leaves beneath my feet this morning feels as if it were late September in the mountains. I am reminded of time this morning and how precious it truly is. Time is something that we often take for granted. Many of us count down the days until Christinas, a birthday, summer vacation, the birth of a child, a holiday, graduation, and even retirement. Just as many of you are guilty, I too, have counted days until an event or date.
During the quiet morning meditation, prayer time, and Bible study, my heart aches for a friend who received the news that no one wants to hear… you have cancer. I know God is bigger than cancer and He can perform miracles that man cannot. This news made me think even more about life. It is truly as described in the Bible as vapor on water. In other words, it is temporary and we have it for a borrowed amount of time.
This thought lead me to be even more thankful for life and the time that I have been blessed with and a question on my thoughts. What are we doing with this time? Once time has passed, it cannot be reclaimed… it’s gone. This lead me to the urgency, even more than before, to stop counting days down until some big or even small events. I am reminded to cherish this day, make the most of this day, live it to its fullest, be thankful for what the day brings, and be content with this specific day and know that tomorrow is a new day and then today becomes a yesterday… a day that is past and finished.
Early morning fog in the mountains.
I hope this short post inspires you to slow down, stop wishing your life away, take time to enjoy the day to its fullest, and cherish the days one by one we have been given. Remember, each day is a day that we are gifted. As the Bible tells us in James 4:14 Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Feel free to like, share, or follow. Also, head over to Apple Podcasts and check out our latest episode on Homesteading in the Mountains. God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky and happy homesteading from our homestead to yours.
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky. As I writing we are awaiting and preparing for the biggest winter storm for Kentucky this season. Meteorologists are calling it a crippling storm of rain, snow, ice, and freezing temperatures. In the natural we began preparing, we made a quick run to the store to pickup a few things, filled our gasoline jugs with gas for the generators to be ready if needed, picked up extra feed and straw for the animals, and made sure our water reserve tanks were full. I spent yesterday baking extra bread in case we lose electricity. I think we are as prepared as we can be. Now comes the wait.
Radar this morning. Screenshot credited to Kentucky Weather Center.
With that being said, I awoke this morning, looked out the window to see if the expected storm had arrived. The land was and is very still and quiet other than the stirring of our chickens, and a couple crows calling. It’s almost eerie quiet as the winds have made their presence known for the past couple of days and have totally ceased this morning. The roads are very still with no traffic moving at all. It feels like the world has stopped in expectation for the storm that is predicted to hit our little community this morning.
With that thought, I began to think about our spiritual preparation. The word tells us that Jesus is returning to take those who have prepared through accepting Him as their savior, and are ready to go home to be with Him for eternity. But yet, many are not preparing for His returning as they are preparing for this winter storm. This leaves me to ponder and reflect on my own efforts. Am I doing enough? Am I preparing daily for His returning? Have we heard of His returning so often that we are taking it nonchalantly? Am I spreading the word enough about His returning? These and other questions and thoughts stirred my mind.
As the new year is still fresh and new, instead of making resolutions that are often not kept, or insignificant, I feel compelled to take the time to ensure daily preparations for His returning. To spread the word to others about this glorious day just as the meteorologists hype the public up about the physical storm that awaits us. They are blasting the news on television, the radio, through text messages, and social media. Should we not be doing the same thing? Indeed we should! For His returning will be a glorious day for those who are ready. We, as Christian’s, must help spread the word, He is coming, in effort to help everyone be prepared and ready for His coming!
Matthew 24:27 For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (KJV)
Matthew 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. (KJV)
Matthew 24:37 But as the days of Noe were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (KJV)
Snow in the mountains!
The snow has begun to fall on the homestead and in within a matter of moments has covered the tops of buildings and sticking to the trees. I am so very thankful today to be prepared both physically and spiritually. Be safe, stay warm, prayers for all during this uncertain weather event, but most of all, prayers that everyone will be ready for His returning. God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, comment, and or subscribe.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! I hope the weather where you are is a bit dryer than it is here. Rain has once again returned to the mountains making it difficult for garden work, vegetables ripening, and also for picking. Uncertain weather can be challenging for homesteaders.
Tomatoes and beans from our garden. I find so much peace while working in our garden.
However, the rain has been a blessing in other ways. My eighty-six year old mother was hospitalized over a week ago, and I’ve spent the majority of my time with her. The rain falling outside the hospital window reminds me that God is aways in control of all things. Had my mom’s hospital stay have been during a hot and dry season of summer, I would have been worrying about the garden work. With the rain falling, I was reminded that I couldn’t have picked, even if I were home. This thought provided me some peace, and allowed me to focus on the most important thing, my mom. For now, the veggies can wait.
My time spent at the hospital has been nothing short of miraculous. I am amazed all over again at the diverse population of people that I have and continue to come in contact with within the hospital. I have had lengthy conversations with a few, encouraged others, have been encouraged, prayed with some and others have prayed with and for me. I have encountered beautiful and friendly smiles, have laughed with one or two, and shared my heart and warm hugs with others who were grieving. Through the encounters of others, I am reminded that God places people with us, around us, and near us, when we need them.
God’s beautiful creation. We can beauty all around us, if we have eyes to see.
One gentleman who was at the hospital with his wife who was in very serious condition, shared his testimony. He said he was worried and felt helpless. His wife wasn’t getting better. He explained, “I said, Lord, I just need a little hope.” He said, as soon as he had said those words, a nurse came into the room and introduced herself as, Hope. She explained that she would be his wife’s nurse for the day. He finished his testimony by saying, he just looked and whispered a thank you prayer to the Lord. He truly is an on time God. He’s ever-present.
I also met an older lady the other night in the waiting room. After chatting with her for a few minutes, I discovered she was there for her brother whom only had an estimated few days of life remaining. I noticed a young man who seemed to always be near her and who talked with her. I assumed he was her son or grandson. Later that night when the waiting room had emptied, other than my husband, myself, and the elder lady, I noticed the young man was gone. I asked her if he was her son or grandson. She smiled and said, “I don’t know who he is. He just kind of took a liking to me and had been hanging out with me.”
God provides friendship and companionship in different ways. He knows just what we need and when we need it.
I felt a warm feeling of comfort from the Lord. Instantly, I thought about how the Bible speaks of entertaining angels unaware. Had we entertained an angel unaware? Had He placed someone who could bring comfort in the time of need? Either way, the company of the young man was a blessing to the elderly lady. As suddenly as the young man had appeared, he was gone, just as the nurse, Hope, didn’t return after that night.
Even if he wasn’t an angel, he provided comfort for a lonely soul in the time of need just as the nurse named Hope, provided comfort for the man whose wife was so ill. God sees us where we are and meets us there with His presence or someone he temporarily places in our lives. Remember, to be kind and be thoughtful, to others. You may be their temporary angel, or you could be the one who is entertaining angels unaware. God’s ways are not our way.
Hebrews 13:2 Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. KJV
I hope you have enjoyed this post, and it brought you some peace and comfort. God truly knows exactly what we need and when we need it. Remember, He is alive, and miracles still happen. As I write this post, I am encouraged. My mom has been moved from ICU to a regular room. She is making baby step improvement. The testimonies of others helped lift me up. If you have an encouraging testimony, don’t be afraid to share it. There are people all around us who need encouragement. Feel free to comment, like, and or follow. For now, God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s been a dry hot month in our area of the world. With May being extremely wet, we anticipated June to be dry, but not this dry. The lack of rain has presented challenges for our vegetable garden. We’ve hand watered a couple of times a week and babied all the veggies with hopes and prayers for a good harvest. How’s the weather been in your area?
Foggy morning in the mountains.
We are often asked what it means to homestead. Homesteading was our grandparents way of life, their parents, and even their grandparents. We grew up learning how to farm. So, to our family, homesteading means that we can be self sufficient. Self sufficient means growing, harvesting, and preserving our own fruits and vegetables. We eat from our garden throughout the year. We enjoy fresh vegetables in the summer and fall, and preserve vegetables, soups, and vegetable juices for the winter and early spring months. We make use of hydroponic gardens year round. I like to grow salad lettuce year round in the hydroponic garden. It’s easy, clean, and ensures fresh lettuce at your fingertips. The staples we cannot grow are bought in organic bulk supplies.
Early summer vegetable garden.Small hydroponic lettucegarden.
Homesteading also means we eat cleaner and healthier. We accomplish this through bypassing as many store bought prepackaged foods as possible. We enjoy baking our families breads, cakes, pies, and cookies, instead of buying unhealthy food that is filled with an abundance of sugars and unhealthy preservatives. One of our favorite homemade bread recipes can be found in the following link. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread: Homemade Crusty Vegan Bread We also preserve fresh fruits to ensure we have jams and jellies for toast and biscuits. We enjoy foraging berries for dishes and jellies. There’s nothing much better than homemade jam spread on homemade bread for breakfast. Canning My Favorite Peaches
Fresh eggs are gathered daily for breakfast and for baking. Fishing, to us is more than a pastime. Fish is caught from the lakes and rivers for the freezer to use later for fish dinners. The mountains provide an abundance of squirrels, rabbits, and deer for meat that is frozen for roasts, chili, and others dishes. We do not raise cattle, but buy fresh beef and hog meat yearly from friends that provides for the year.
Farm fresh eggsCanning and preserving peaches.
One part of homesteading that I enjoy immensely is growing our own herbs. The herbs ensure we have spices, teas, tasty leaves for salads, and herbs for medicinal remedies. The herbs provide beautiful blooms that bring in an abundance of pollinators for our garden. The diverse mint that we grow makes great hot or cold tea, is a wonderful additive to cookies and hot chocolates, and can help sooth a bee sting.
We enjoy foraging for various plants to use for food, teas, and medicinal purposes. We harvest mullein, pictured above as tea to help alleviate coughing and congestion. We also enjoy bartering with friends and neighbors. If we have an abundance of corn or beans we may barter with friends for a vegetable or fruit that we don’t have.
One post cannot cover it all! This is a brief glimpse into our lives as homesteaders. I guess the best description is that we enjoy being self-sufficient, and being able to sustain our farm that provides for our family. We enjoy the simple things in life, family, friends, gardening, preserving, and nature. We enjoy church and our church families. We love the Lord, His ways, and serving Him. We believe in working for what we have, enjoy thrifting for antiques, repurposing things from the past, reading, and writing. We enjoy holistic living, cooking, baking, and taking care of our animals, and sharing God’s love and His goodness with others. Head on over to Apple Podcasts to listen to my podcast, Homesteading in the Mountains, to learn more about our homestead and homesteading projects.
For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Feel free to like, comment, and or follow. I enjoy hearing from my readers. Let me know if you would like to read more about our life homesteading in the mountains.
Good afternoon, from the mountains of Kentucky. I hope your week is going well. It’s been a busy one this week in our neck of the woods. Spring is usually busy with planting, foraging, preserving, harvesting and drying. We’ve managed between long bouts of rain to plant our squash and zucchini, tomatoes, kale, cucumbers, and peppers. The garden is taking shape. Yet, there’s a lot more to plant. A lot of work with great rewards.
We’ve planted and foraged mullein to dry for tea. We’ve found mullein tea good for our respiratory problems, common colds, flu, and bronchitis. It’s a staple in our household. The tea can be made a few different ways. The leaves can be cleaned and dried for steeping hot tea, or the leaves can be cleaned and added to filtered water and placed in a covered glass container in the fridge for cold tea. A little honey in either and we’ve found it to be a tasty bit of nature that has wonderful results. (More to come about the use of mullein.)
Harvesting the bottom mullein leaves.Iris blooms are my favorite!
Our flowers and herb garden is flourishing this year. I’ve harvested chocolate mint, peppermint, and strawberry mint twice already. We keep fresh mint for cooking, be stings, and for baking. Dried mint is used for steeping delicious teas. Peppermint tea has great medicinal qualities for digestion issues. It’s a great addition to green tea as well, and is tasty in a cool glass of water from our Berkey. Yesterday, was a day for clipping basil, more mint, and chive blooms for seeds. I also harvested tarragon and bit of lemon basil. Our herbs are doing exceptionally well this year. I am a believer that when nature produces an abundance of something, it will be needed in weeks or even months ahead. We enjoy sharing our harvest with the elderly who can no longer garden and those who do not have land for gardens. We are believers of tithing our blessings with others. It seems the more we give, the more our gardens grow and produce.
The basil is thriving!Fresh strawberry jam!
Yesterday was spent preserving strawberry jam. It’s easy to make and delicious to eat! I will post this recipe soon. I couldn’t wait for weeks to eat the jam! So, I opened a jar this morning and had it on fresh-baked bread for breakfast.
Freshly toasted baked bread and homemade jam! Home baked seeded yeast bread.
Our kitchen today is an aroma of drying herbs, yeast bread cooking, and banana bread baking. Oh, and lemon essential oil diffusing in the diffuser. Lemon essential oil is great for focus, clarity, and helps deter ants, while making the air smell clean and fresh. Essential oils are part of our daily life. We use them for medicinal purposes, to make cleaning products, to add to recipes, and to help us relax at night. We are firm believers that God created nature for mankind to enjoy and along with the enjoyment, to use for the physical, medical, and even for spiritual needs.
Chocolate mint hanging to dry.
For now, God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky. Happy foraging, planting, and preserving! Feel free to follow and or leave comments or questions. Have a wonderful Thursday!
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a rainy day in the mountains, which always puts me in the cooking and cleaning mood! So, today I decided to begin cleaning the pantry out and realized that I had an abundance of oats and nuts that I needed to do something with. I went down a rabbit hole and started planning granola! The pantry didn’t get cleaned completely, but I did make some delicious granola! I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Ingredients:
Three cups of organic old fashioned oats
1/2 cup organic chopped walnuts
1/2 cup organic chopped almonds
1/2 cup organic chopped pecans
3 tbs organic raw pumpkin seeds
2 tbs organic sunflower seeds
1 tbs organic chia seeds
2 tbs organic ground flax seeds
3 tbs gogi berries or raisins
1/2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
1/2 cup of organic pure maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter
1/2 cup organic olive oil
Agave or honey for drizzling not mixing.
Mix all the dry ingredients and preheat the oven to 320 for convection. Mix the remaining ingredients over low heat until it comes together smoothly. Pour the wet ingredient into the bowl of dry and gently stir with a rubber spatula. When mixed spread out on a parchment lined baking sheet. Spread evenly and bake for 20 minutes. Remove and mix the granola with a metal spatula. Return to the oven and bake 20 more minutes. Take out of the oven and drizzle your choice of honey or agave and put under the broiler for just enough time for the granola to brown up lightly. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely on a wire rack.
Mixing the ingredients.Spreading the granola in a baking sheet.
Using the spatial mix the granola gently once it’s cool. Store the granola in a glass jar. Keeps for a couple of weeks if it is in an air tight container.
This is a two gallon jar! I’ve got another batch of granola to add to it.
I hope your family enjoys this tasty granola. I think it’s great alone as a snack and wonderful in a parfait. I also like it in a bowl with almond milk as a cereal.
Dinner
Just for fun! A picture of dinner this evening. Fresh beans, corn, potatoes, onions, cucumbers and tomatoes with sautéed portobello mushrooms with peppers and onions and a slice of cornbread. Nothing better than veggies from our garden!
For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! Don’t forget to like, comment, and or follow! We
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky! Cold air invaded the mountains last night. It was a chilling 28 degrees when I awoke this morning. I was thankful that I had covered my ferns up last night. We have several mountain winters in March and April in Kentucky. With so many of the trees and bushes blooming early this year, it’s difficult to determine which winter it is. I’m not sure if this cold snap is redbud winter or dogwood winter. Nevertheless, hope remains as these small winters only last a day or two and then it’s mild weather again.
The smell of yesteryears lingers in the air as the garden was turned this week. The smell of fresh soil always reminds me of growing up only a few miles from where we live. Papaw plowed with a mule and plow from morning till evening. He would wipe the sweat from his brow, fan with his hat, rest a bit and return to his work. The smell of the rich dirt lingered in the air just as it does here today. The chickens are enjoying the freshly plowed ground as well. They love to scratch and search for worms in the loose dirt.
As I prepare breakfast this morning, I am reminded of eating oatmeal with my Papaw. I felt an unction to prepare a hardy bowl of oats, as he called them. I like to use a half cup organic oats, filtered water, fresh honey for the sweetening, and whatever fruit I have available. This morning I added a half of an organic banana, and some organic blueberries. I include a tablespoon of organic walnuts, a teaspoon of flaxseed, hempseed, and chia seeds. White serving I drizzle with almond milk and a tiny bit of honey. I toasted a slice of my homemade seeded bread with breakfast this morning. It’s a hard breakfast that will sustain me until late in the afternoon.
Delicious plant-based breakfast for a busy day!
I’m excited about planting this year. The manure has been spread and the first turning of the garden is complete. Seeds have been sewn in miniature green houses, and in the hydroponic garden. Fresh vegetables are a joy in the summer months. Fall is a time of harvesting and preserving for the winter months ahead. It’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who enjoy eating what they’ve grown from seed to nourish their bodies.
Spreading natural fertilizer.
Gardens can be as large or as small as you want them to be. For us, a large feeds our families all summer and sustains in the cold months. We usually have an abundance to share with neighbors, extended family, and church family. It seems the more we give to others, the more it grows.
Organic lettuce in one of the hydroponic gardens seven days after seeing the seed.
Eating healthy is a large part of being healthy. Eating organic, plant-based, and clean is a foundation for overall health. Get up and get moving! Being active helps prevent and fight many diseases that plague people across the world. Make it a point to know the ingredients in the food that you put in your body. Know the vocabulary of hidden toxic ingredients. Do your research, and start small and make changes weekly. For example, I no longer buy bread that is deemed healthy, but is it really when you can’t pronounce fourteen of the twenty seven ingredients. I choose to bake bread formy family on Saturday mornings. My recipe has four ingredients, of which one is water, and I add various organic seeds for the crunch and fiber. The following is a link to my bread recipe. It’s easy, doesn’t require an abundance of time and tastes delicious. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
Living a clean and holistic life is very gratifying. The rewards are great and exceeds the long days and time spent prepping, preparing, and growing, foods that nourish your body, not poisoning them a little at a time with toxic ingredients found in processed foods.
The first turning of the garden!
I would like close with a great book suggestion for young readers, as a read aloud, and great for the primary classroom. It is written by our daughter and it’s beautifully written and illustrated. Check the book out at the following link;
God bless from the mountains of Kentucky! May your day be filled with joy, hope, the love of Christ, and good nutritious foods that can help heal you from the inside out. Feel free to leave a comment, like, and or follow by blog for more posts on clean and holistic living.
First turning of the garden complete! Awaiting a second plowing and plants!
Good Monday from the mountains of Kentucky. I awoke early this morning to make time for prayer, reading scriptures, and a little quiet time before preparing for the busy day ahead. There’s something about the early morning hours that brings a sense of renewal to my spirit. The stillness of the still dark sky, a quiet house, and the ability to meditate and truly listen for the Lord’s voice. Having a healthy relationship with God is part of being physically happy and being spiritually happy, which helps us be better prepared for the day or days ahead.
Our pastor’s wife once spoke on the voice of God. It was inspiring, reassuring, and confirming. The voice of God can be heard, sensed, and felt. It can be heard through His word, anointed preaching, the stillness of the night, a distant cry of a Hawk, in our thoughts, through words of wisdom given from others, and many other ways. His voice can be loud, soft, bold, and it can also be sweet and tender through prophetic words. We cannot put limitations on God. He is the Great I Am. He is the Alpha, the beginning, the first, the Omega, and the last. He is everything in between. We must recognize Him and reverence Him for who He is. To hear Him, and or recognize Him, we must calm the voices in our heads.
God’ promises are the same today as they were yesterday!
We are in a spiritual warfare with the enemy. The only place he can access is our thoughts, which if we allow his ideas and discouragement to linger, can become toxic. At this point we have allowed the enemy’s voice to overpower His voice. I have learned to pray for a watchman over my heart and mind. The enemy has no right to invade our peace. We must command him to go in the name of Jesus! He trembles at the name of Jesus! Speak the name of Jesus with boldness. You have authority of the enemy. I have countless testimonies about the voice of God but will only share a few of those with you today.
Years ago a friend of mine was having a difficult season in her life and was praying for answers. She prayed, trusted the Lord and waited on Him. One evening as she was checking her mail as she did on any given evening, she asked the Lord for confirmation that He would work this situation out. She needed help. She needed answers. And an answer came. She described how a gentle soft wind suddenly swept over her. She knew in her heart the gentleness of the unexpected breeze was God reassuring her that it was going to be okay. She worried no more but waited on the hand of God to move in what seemed like an impossible situation. And… He did.
He is with us even in the eye of a storm!
During a horrific spring storm a couple of years ago. The trees were swaying in the wind, rain was pouring down, and the creek water was rising fast. The sky was dark and we were under dangerous storm warnings. I was at home alone and was walking the floor praying for protection for myself, my family, for our homes and for our neighbors. I began speaking the name of Jesus. I quoted scriptures and continued to pray as the storm around our homes was raging. It felt as the storm was mocking me and trying to intimidate me and dissipate my faith that the Lord would take care of us. As I quoted Psalms 91, while peering through the window of the back door, I saw a sight that stopped me in my tracks and words. Hovering ever so gently near a set of wind chimes was a tiny hummingbird. Beyond the porch the winds lapped, the rain poured and the creek waters raged. The wind chimes were stilled and tiny bird hovered gracefully. I knew at that moment that the Lord was saying, “I’ve got this, trust me. I will care for you as I care for the fragile hummingbird. Trust me.” I snapped a quick picture of the hummingbird and as quickly as it arrived, it was gone. I relaxed as I knew the Lord was in control. The storm finally ceased leaving behind little to no damage. Since that day, when the enemy tries to scare me or intimidate me, or make me doubt, I think about the tiny hummingbird and words of comfort that I felt. We now have feeders gracing our porch to feed the tiny birds that God used to show me that He was in control of all. He is our protector, our guide, and God almighty!
Taken through a screened window during a raging spring storm. The creek was a small stream minutes before this picture was taken.
Many years ago, when we were praying about buying our home, there was chaos surrounding the situation. Some family members wanted to sell their parents home place, while others didn’t. I knew the home that had been their home was supposed to be our forever earthly home. I prayed and was continually being pulled to and fro. First we could buy the home and then others would change their minds. I continued to pray for His will. I felt compelled to visit a church one Sunday evening that I visited occasionally. Not really knowing why I felt lead to go, I went. During the worship service an elderly lady came to pray for me. She had no reason to know that I was praying about the home.
As she prayed for me, I felt an instant comfort and a closeness to the Lord. She spoke in my ear and said the Lord told her to tell me that even as soon as the morning, He would move in this that I had before Him. The peace resonated throughout my being. I can’t really recall what happened in the remainder of the service, or what the sermon was even about. I was enveloped in His presence and already planning how I would prepare for the move! The move to our new home. The next morning a family member who was an heir of the land we wanted contacted us to let us know they had made the decision to sell the home. A few months later we were living in our new home where after twenty seven years, we still reside today. God is faithful!
Early spring garden on our forever earthly land. God is good!
The voice of God can be soft, gentle, loud, clear, concise, and sometimes He uses the simple things such as the hummingbird to speak to us. Nevertheless, we must be willing to hear and receive what the Lord is telling us. Once we recognize it, we have to stand firm in our faith that He will do what He says He will do. Keep in mind the Lord spoke to people throughout the Bible through animals, nature, audible voices, angels and much more. We are no different than those that heard the Lord’s voice all those years ago. We, too, are His children. Finally, God don’t change. He was, and is, and is to come. He is the Great I Am.
God’s creation. Fall in the mountains.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my testimony’s about God’s voice. Feel free to comment, like, and or follow. I am excited to share more testimony’s of His voice next week. For now, God bless from the mountains of Kentucky.
Hello, from the mountains of Kentucky. I hope this post finds each of you well. I wanted to share a small part of my heart with you today. I awoke early in the morning hours, just after midnight. I had a sense of uncertainty welling up within me. If you are like me, it seems today, more than ever, i find myself being stretched to the limit with time to complete tasks, some of which go untouched. Unfinished work, tasks, or plans leave me with a feeling of uncertainty, which sometimes interferes with my sleep. This morning was one of those mornings. But through the sleepless hours, I was reminded of just how Big God is.
His joy will fill us… if we are willing to be filled.
As I lay awake trying to find sleep, I pondered questions such as when I could complete the task(s) neglected yesterday due to unplanned obligations. How can I stretch time to allow me to meet all of the tasks that face me tomorrow? When will I find a little much-needed time for myself? And the big question, Lord, am I spending enough time with you? With questions swirling through my mind, sleep seemed far away. I began praying for peace, answers, and for sleep to come.
I was reminded while praying to pray the Lord’s word. I was reminded that life and death are in the power of the tongue. There is life in His word. I found comfort in the following scripture. Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6 KJV). I prayed for the Lord to help me trust Him during difficult times. He reminded me that He is my Heavenly Father, and just as I, as an earthly parent, will ensure that our children are cared for and help them in any way that I can, He, too, would help me. Trust filled me and sleep soon came. It was good sleep. It was restful sleep. I awoke feeling rested and ready to face the day. I was reminded this morning of His love and mercy and His word from 1 Peter 5: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for He careth for you. My heart was filled with peace and the trust that the enemy tried to take from me in the early hours of the morning. The enemy is a liar! I am an overcome.
His word don’t lie!
We must remember that we wrestle not against flesh but against the principalities of evil. Spiritual warfare is real. The enemy’s sole purpose is to discourage, take away, and destroy God’s children. We must be steadfast, hold tight to His word, trust Him with all our heart, rebuke the enemy, and plead the blood over and around us and our family during this trying time, and at the name of Jesus, the enemy will flee. Life will be filled with uncertainties; you will feel overwhelmed at one time or another, and you will see that full calendar and fear that the tasks will not be completed. But, remember that fear does not come from God, but rather from the enemy spiritually fighting against you. God is ever-present and is as near as you allow Him to be. He will be there to help you when you call upon His name. The name that is above all names. He never leaves us, nor will He forsake us. The word tells us that He will go all the way with us.
Finally, let us never forget that as long as we have been born again, we are blessed and will be overcomers. Stay the course, press forward, pray on, stay steadfast, and trust Him for all our needs and we will finish this race as an overcomer. He is our Alpha and Omega, beginning and ending, and everything in between. I learned a valuable lesson in the early morning hours talking to Him. Maybe my awakening aimed to teach me and help you when you have that sleepless night.
God bless, from the mountains of Kentucky. I love to read comments. Feel free to like, share, subscribe, leave comments, or prayer requests. Enjoy this beautiful day that the Lord has blessed us with.
Good morning from the mountains of Kentucky! It’s a hot one here today! Heat advisory’s have been posted, and the air is already warm this morning. I am not complaining though, I love this time of the year! I wanted to share a small piece of my heart with my readers this morning. I want to encourage you. I hope you enjoy.
Standing alone, but not forgotten.
I have always had a fascination with old things, antiques, vintage items, old barns, old homes, old school houses, and especially old churches. I even find a fascination in the house seats where old houses once stood. You know the ones that still have remnants left behind. Sometimes it’s a really matured oak tree. Other times, it’s an old stone fence, or maybe a dilapidated barn or the remains of an old root cellar. I instantly begin to visualize and imagine those that lived there before. What was there life like? Were they Christian’s? Did they enjoy the mountain scenery? Did they have children? Did they farm? The questions roll sometimes until I can’t stop my mind from wondering. I am often stirred within and feel a connection to the past.
Beautiful home! Oh the stories that could be told.
I love the group, Abandoned in KY group that I follow on Facebook. I can’t browse too much or I find myself lost in the photos making them larger to see every detail of even the tiniest object that was left behind by the previous tenants. Then the questions roll again. I am fascinated and saddened at the same time, especially when I see so many abandoned churches across our state being postsed. I find myself asking, why did no one carry on? Why is the homes and the churches abandoned? Have they been forgotten? Where are the ancestors? Did no one share the importance of maintaining a home? Did anyone share the importance of attending services in the church. Did no one keep the fire burning?
A one-room school house/church restored through a grant written by teachers.
I have pondered on these empty dwellings and sanctuaries for years. I have written many poems about them, and am currently working on a novel based on many of the empty structures that I have photographed. But today, I feel like lifting someone up. In the day we live in many of us look around at our churches and notice an undeniable trend of low attendance, lack of concern, and empty seats. I want to say this, don’t dwell on what you see or who you don’t see, but focus on God. Pray without ceasing, press for the mark, lift up His name, and pray for the return of fire in God’s church. Not just the church where you attend, but His church. The body of Christ. Remember a fire begins with one single tiny spark. The spark must then be fanned to produce a flame. Once the flames ignite, keep fanning and keep praying. A wildfire, a revival wildfire will erupt. But remember, don’t neglect the spark. Press on. Stay the course. Ignite the fire through prayer and fasting. Praise God for what’s coming, don’t look at current circumstances, and be willing to fan the flames of revival. Will you be that spark?
Let the the fire burn so bright that it can be seen even in the darkest times.
I hope you feel encouraged. Don’t be down trodden, don’t look at what you see with your physical eyes. Look through spiritual eyes and recognize that God is still God. He don’t change. It is His pleasure to restore and connect our todays and tomorrows to history of our yesterdays. Great awakenings erupted in the past through dedicated prayer and fasting and He can open up the geysers of anointed revival again. God’s not finished yet! Fan the flames! God is still God! The same today as yesterday!
Feel free to comment or click follow to follow my blog. God bless from the mountains of Kentucky. Fan the flames, spread the word, God’s still God! He’s not dead! He’s still alive!
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. KJV
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