Do you really know God? ... Ramblings

            I must admit that this is a randomly prepared unprepared cluster of words thrown together to make appear as though I have a clear message. You may or may not feel like this is worth reading, there are many grammatical errors and my paragraph format is somewhat nonexistent, however this article is not meant to be a theological break through or a masterful peace of literature. It is a short story, a very simple and complex story of God's working in a simple minded woman who, by her own admission, is a vile sinner with no hope. Some very subtle yet profound things have brought light to once hidden dark corners of my most inner self, you know...those web encrusted shadows you conveniently overlook when cleaning. I am not special because God is working in my life , I am wretched enough to need an intervention, by the only intercessory capable of reaching those dark places. God has showed me time and time again that I cannot make it in the world without him, and by my stubbornness he has repeatedly spared not the rod. God has shown me through other families, through non-believers, through believers, through mere babes in His image, through many situations and examples and it has just recently hit the "ahh" revelation moment.( I'm pretty dense) God has worked many a miracle in my life and lives around me and I shruggingly respond with a " oh, what a blessing, God is amazing" with about as much emphasis as I would ask you " hey there, so what are you up to?" when I call you on the phone. Do we really take into account the blessing's God bestows on us daily? Do we really see the beauty of our simpleton daily struggles? I am no Martyr, I do not risk my life for Christ's Gospel. I do not see the blood on my hands, I can't even bring myself to be bothered with harassment from people for sharing Jesus' name openly. Sure it sounds good in speeches and prayers and when talking with your Christian friends, but do we really want to wear that sack cloth?
            What I am saying is, is this reformed theology I am wearing just something to wear to be different or better than the average? No, the doctrine of sovereign Grace is a gift from our Lord, not to be taken lightly or paraded around by over sized words and academic prowess. It is to accept the Lord my God has the power and the privilege to decide the fate of his creation, from the potato beetle to the dirt we were formed from. I am no scholar, I have no exceptional academic record, I am a horribly simple, plain female human being God created and has a plan for. I am no better than the worst of sinners. I had this notion in my head that in order to be of God and to know God you had to know many a fancy word and be able to vaguely read bits of Hebrew to succeed in this world. This is what I know, as it has been shown to me, I need to know Christ's redemptive work and his Gospel which was GIVEN to us. I do not need to know any more than God wants me to learn, I have one sole reason for existence on this masterfully crafted planet, and that is to serve CHRIST...I am a servant of Christ, a slave!
           I thank God for a sermon that I heard just today.  Jesse and I have been given access to an amazing body of Christ that we fellowship with every Sunday, a wealth of information and example is given to us in the form of friends, elders, brothers and sisters in Christ. I am thankful for what we have in them and I am especially thankful for what I heard today, and also that the Lord can sustain me through so many convictions in a single day! He has brought me Lo and shows me areas of my life I have either not surrendered or that I have "taken back" from lack of trust. How can I shake my head at the Israelites for questioning God after he brought them out of Egypt when I question his ability to handle all the areas of my life. Who am I? I live in a quaint town with a favorable climate on a large acreage, with many fruitful animals and an incredible husband and beautiful daughter, we drive working vehicles and carry on comfortable lives and have a sweet church family. Do you see the sacrifice in this? Not saying we must all sell all our possessions and fly out to a remote country to minister to a cannibalistic tribe of pagans, but I am asking, what am I doing for Christ? Do I serve Him in all that I do, do I sacrifice my comforts for His Gospels sake?  Do I give Him the honor and Glory for all that He does and gives? Do I grasp whole heatedly to his Word and His commandments to take them seriously? Or do I just scratch the surface of these areas? Would I truly want to give my sweet little life for Christ and be burned at the stake? HE has caused me to look deeply at those very questions and God has burdened my heart with conviction and my need for repentance and the need for his forgiveness. Thank you God Almighty for chastening the most wicked of men and the most vile sinners such as me. May Gods light shine through me and onto you. There is so much on my mind to say but I could never make sense of it if I had to write it down so, once my mind processes more of what's been happening with me spiritually I will expound more later. So my question in closing will be to anyone reading and hopefully anyone I meet , Do you really know God? I asked myself this just today,  I can just thank him for his continual love and mercies on an undeserving sinner like me.



Love in Christ Jesus
KB
                 

finally a post! more pigs, a donkey and THE baby!

Well, I have procrastinated long enough! Here is a compilation of pictures from Easter until today, my computer couldn't handle much more of the edible pictures of my adorable child(YES im partial)! At any rate, we had a wonderful trip to TN to stay with the Lee's, some of the most gracious hosts Ive ever met and excellent cooks to boot! I unfortunately do not have many pictures from the weekend because I was too busy having fun! We did however get to meet a lot of new families and spent quality time with our own family(THE W's ) even though we were missing Mal, Booky and Thin Lips. I cant tell yall how much fun we had, we went to Mule days, looked at farms, got to fellowship with believers in Christ, drove to an Amish town and even got pulled over :) Thank you to the Lee family for tolerating us all weekend, we had an amazing time! So the synopsis of photos is everyday Abigail, growing piggies, and harnessing the beast. Oh and one of Jesse's "other" baby.... thats all for now folks! God is good to give me so many happy things to post about!

God bless,

Kay B

just when i thought cute had a limit, someone made THESE

i could E A T her!

shveet babae

watching mommy put away her ridiculously large wardrobe!

lets chew

first painted toenails : )

beautiful little sweety

squeaky clean stinky!

mom...really?

so you come here often?

um, are you done...im hongray

yeah thats what i wanted!

awwwee love that toothless smile!

"..and like,"

"totally..."

"yeah i know!"

okay.... drum roll....prepare to be humored...

TAAADAAAAAA!!!! im still laughing, are you?

Abigail and gram on Easter Sunday

Ganma and Abigail

Jess and his sweetheart

widdle piggy cuteness!

2 week old piggy

Sadie Rose

Rhett loves the water hose

i think its pretty funny Shooter bosses HER around

aww sometimes sweet Pearl is growing up so fast

garden spot, jess is laying out the drip tape

The Lees BEAUTIFUL place!

shhhhh

liked this one

Sadie with her tight fitting blinders

adjusting harness

taking her for a spin

WELL thats all she wrote....see on the next one!

God Bless,

Kay B

Two farrows of piggies and an extra cute piggy!

Wow, spring has exploded on the farm with lots of busy activity and lots a busy work. Thankfully the Lord gave us an exceptionally sweet and easy baby to go with the flow of things out here. : ) our latest happening is our 2 gilts, Wilhelmina and Fiona farrowed and poor Wilhelmina fell into some farrowing trouble which we are still battling. Here is the long short of it, they went on the same day. We are in a pasture situation so they are not confined to a very small pen or in crates. So gilt #1 starts first I found her at 11am tue morning and births 4 live pigs and 2 still borns, i watch her closely for the next few hours...nothing else. She seems fine up and drinking and active, all pigs nursing well. she expels 2 more placentas and lays back to nurse. So i thought she was done. Come back out occasionally to check on next gilt, she starts has 6 live one dead by that night. Then i look to find gilt #1 pushing again with no discharge or anything suspicious. Thought maybe she had retained a piece of placenta? So I stay for a while but decide to leave her be, next morning I get up to check on everyone, when I look I see a big snout sticking out! So I pull that big one and wait, the afterbirth didnt come right out so I wasnt going to force it, I left to go back in for about an hour come back out and she dropped the rest of it and moved in with the other gilt, the other gilt is letting her pigs nurse now. But she seemed in pain still but much more calm and relaxed. I got on the phone with my vet (who's out of town) and palpate her best I can and feel nothing. Come back out every hour or so to check on them. Gilt #2 is great, #1 is lethargic but no discharge or problems all day, they both get up and drink and lay in the sun a bit, then back to the piglets. Last night to my amazement I found two feet sticking out of her that came sudden and she wasn't pushing. I pull that one and it is just mush, fell apart but I did get it all out at least. So then I finally got some oxytocin and penicillin(which i was waiting for) in her, she vomited a little, But we got her up and drinking and cooled off. We palpated again and just could not get a hand in very far. By yesterday morning she has not delivered anything else, Still lethargic but grunting when I walk up. Sometime between 6 and 8 her body started ticking to the rhythm of a heartbeat. Breathing is normal. Wake up this morning to check her and give her antibiotics, she was much more alert and jumped up and wheeled around only to stumble and sit back down, but much more talkative. At this point she hasnt gotten much in the way of food since monday, so its time for a tube if I cant force her. You can lead a pig to water, but you cant make them drink. just sayin' ANYWAYS, I have learned a lot from this and this being one of the worst case scenarios for a new gilt, pigs are STILL easier and more enjoyable in my opinion than the droves of other animals Ive raised! Stay tuned for more updates.... :) and also I am throwing in a few pics of my favorite little piggy eating cereal for the first time! interesting combination I know.

God Bless,

Kelsey, Jesse and Abigail

I laugh every time.....she wasn't sure how exactly this bottle worked!

Daddy got her eating good

ummm...Mom, your not putting this on the blog right??

ohhh Laugh

on to more piggies! All 9 piglets left are doing great, so cute!

Poor Wilhelmina :( she is a trooper! Not to mention has been so gentle to let me do so much to her without a fuss. Anyone who knows a momma hog knows they can be pretty mean!

the cute crew

wittle baby

Mr. Big was waiting outside the pen

Willy and her baby

Well thats all for now, may God bless you and may we serve Christ in our day to day routines and beyond!