Let's Go to the Movies!

I decided that the Pure Water Hollow crew needed a little break from all the mowing, gardening, fencing and farm chores, so last night we enjoyed a rare "night on the town"!  We ventured over to a town we seldom visit in a neighboring county.  We ate at a quaint diner/dairy bar and then found the movie theater located in the community center.

This is the Roy F. Collier Community Center in Inez which houses, among many other things, a movie theater!  It is a nicer and cleaner movie theater than the one in Paintsville.  The place we ate was across the street, so even though it took too long for them to bring our food out we were just minutes away from the movie.

I had originally planned on taking the family all the way over to the Mountain View Drive-In movie theater in Stanton to watch the new movie, "Monsters University", but there was a threat of thunder storms.  I doubt a drive-in movie would be very much fun in the rain!  Two years ago we went to that drive-in and watched the Pixar movie "Cars2".  We took our one-ton with the large 12 foot flat bed so there was room for the whole family.  We set up our chairs and cushions on the truck, ate pizza, and enjoyed the movie.  That was a lot of fun, and I was hoping to do it again this summer.  But, the possibility of rain took my thoughts in a different direction.

Thinking about "Monsters University", I realized that it was being shown in both the 2D or 3D formats.  This may sound odd to those of you who go to the movies all the time, but my family had never seen a movie in the now popular 3D format.  Instead of going to the drive-in, this would be our first movie experience in 3D!

Actually, Christina and Simon had seen Toy Story 3 in 3D when they stayed with Grandma up in Cincinnati during the summer of 2010, but Monsters University would be the first 3D movie that we would see together as a family.

I was pleased with the 3D and everyone had a great time!  I still have many of my old viewmaster reels that we get out and look at every now and then and this movie made me feel like I was watching a viewmaster reel with movement!  How fun! 

Actually I was surprised how quickly I got used to the 3D effects.  I realized this when I noticed that I was no longer being amazed, even though the picture was still in very life-like 3D.  If the 3D trend fizzles out, this would probably be the reason, coupled with the higher cost.  (I can't believe I actually paid $9 for each ticket.  $54 for my family just to see a movie, not counting any refreshments, is rather steep!  But my wonderful family deserves a treat every once in a while, and I thank God for blessing me with the means to make it possible!)

I wanted to get a picture of us in the movie theater with our glasses on. Christina really enjoyed the movie, even though she did not think it was "cool" to have her picture taken in the theater with the glasses on!  I'm glad she still puts up with me! 

The 3D glasses sure have come a long way since I was a teenager!  For the one or two movies in 3D that I saw in the 80s we had white cardboard glasses with one red lens and the other blue, if I remember correctly.  Talk about a "not cool" fashion statement!

In the same building as the movie theater, there was a McDonald's play place, which was pretty neat.  No restaurant, just the play area!  After the movie, Timothy had to try it out some.

  That's Timothy up there in the tube and also flying an airplane.

This is a picture of the seating area next to the play place.  Lisa and Simon are looking up at Timothy.

And here is Timothy at the bottom of one of the tube slides.  He had a great time playing here and I think he may have enjoyed this more than seeing the movie!  (Wouldn't you know he would have more fun with something free than something that cost money?)


But enough of play time!  Let's get back to some more work around the homestead!

Sunday Meetin' and Dinner On the Grounds

Today we officially dedicated our new fellowship hall to the Lord.  It has been a very long time in the making, but the church built it all debt free.  We have used it several times in it's unfinished state during the past couple of years, but now all construction inside and out is finally finished!  In the pictures that follow, the fellowship hall is the white building behind the red brick church house.  The church decided to have a cook-out fellowship meal after church today to commemerate the occaison, and it was nice to see the new building full with fellowship.  I took several pictures in and around the church grounds, as well as inside the new fellowship hall.  I'll just post them and let the pictures speak for themselves.

     

Where The Green Grass Grows

I am blessed to have a morning commute of about 8 miles along a curvy country road into the town where I work the job that pays me money.  Sometimes I am frustrated by a car or truck pulling out right in front of me along the way, or often times one of them whizzing up from behind me and keeping close to my bumper, too much in a hurry.  Many times, however, I have driven the entire way without seeing another vehicle at all until I got to town.

Several mornings recently I've been awestruck by the mysterious beauty of low hanging bands of fog in the hills which hide the middle parts of the mountains.  These fog bands are seemingly held down by an invisible hand in order to allow the tops of the mountains to peak above the murky mists. 

Driving home I have been treated to the shows of the Dogwood and Redbud trees in bloom along with a variety of flowers of yellows and blues along the hills near the road.  I enjoy looking across the fields of the several hill farms I pass and seeing a man tending to his cows or horses, and I drive carefully by several homes where I have needed to brake in the past to allow for chickens crossing the road.

This morning it was not fog that had my attention, but the crystal clarity of the morning sun, shining on the mountains in the near distance.  It was unreal how it brought out such vivid shades of greens from the trees of the distant hills.  I thought to myself that the varied subtlety of the green colors seemed too perfect, like the artist had over exaggerated what the true colors of the trees were.  I realized that God was speaking to me, as He often does during my commutes.  He doesn't usually give me a specific message, He just taps me on the shoulder, reminds me that He is here and that He loves me.  I felt led to immediately thank Him this morning for the beauty of His creation and for blessing me with my wonderful family and home and providing for all our needs through the blessings of the employment God has allowed me to have.

My day at work today was unusually busy, but it was a good day.  As I got into my car to head back to the homestead, the radio started playing with the turning of the ignition key.  The last station that was playing this morning was the local country music station, becasue I was listening to the news at 8:00am.  I try hard not to make a habit of listening to the music on this station due to the offensive messages that so many of today's country songs offer.  However, there are still some songs that come out on the country music stations that are good!  I enjoyed the song that began playing this afternoon because it touched me so close to how I've been feeling lately.  Here's the chorus, which is pretty much the whole song.  You can sing along if you want...

I'm gonna live where the green grass grows

Watchin' my corn pop up in rows

Every night be tucked in close to you (Lisa)

Raise our kids where the good Lord's blessed

Point our rocking chairs towards the west

Plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows

Where the green grass grows

I am very thankful to live in this part of God's creation where there are grass and trees and hills and streams;  a place in the country where we can grow food, raise animals, and where our children can run and play and be loud if they want to.  I'm thankful that God has allowed us to plant our dreams where the peaceful river flows!  And where the green grass grows...

Pondering 20 Years Ago Today (and some colorful previous history)

A momentous event took place concerning the history of the land we now call Pure Water Hollow on February 11th, 1993. At least it was momentous for my family. On this day, 20 years ago, this land found itself officially belonging to new owners.

We were a young couple, toting a 15 month old baby girl, looking forward to the Lord’s blessings in our new home. During our first 4 years of marriage we had lived in 4 different places and we would now celebrate our 5th wedding anniversary in our 5th house! This move, however, would be of a more permanent nature. During the next 20 years, this place would see not only our 5th wedding anniversary, but also our 10th, 15th, 20th and in three more months, our 25th! During that time, God increased our family to 7 members as He blessed us with 4 more children to be raised on this beautiful property.

Reflecting about our 20 year chapter in the history of this land leads me to ponder upon the previous chapters. I wonder what stories this piece of property could tell about the families of the past who have also called this land home?

Being interested in the past, I have dug out the old deeds from previous owners of this land. I know the names and dates, but only the land really knows the stories. In 1860 Isom Daniel passed away and his very considerable amount of land went to his heirs. He had 9 children; John, James, Catherine, Isom, Hettie, David, Sarah, Peter, and Wyatt. Peter and Wyatt got the land March 12, 1860 and paid the other siblings a total of $2,125 for their interests in the inheritance. In 1874 there was a division of land between Peter and Wyatt, with Peter keeping a considerable amount of land, part of which would become Pure Water Hollow.

Peter also had 9 children.  Some of their names are a bit unusual to 21st century folk; Valentine, Isom, Farmer, John, Major, Ruthford, Louis, Samona, and Sarah. According to the 1880 census Peter was a 47 year old farmer in 1880. Peter lived a long life and owned this land for 54 years. Like I said, part of Peter Daniel’s lands contained Pure Water Hollow, but I don’t know exactly where on his lands his homestead was. I can only imagine how his family may have used the part of their land that we now call Pure Water Hollow. I would love to be able to see the kind of farm they had!

Peter Daniel passed away in 1914, at which time his lands were apparently divided into 9 lots, one for each of his children. They appear to have made 9 different deeds and deeded each other their respective interests in their father’s estate, dated January 28, 1914. Pure Water Hollow went to Major A. Daniel. This is the deed that contains the wording which has continued down through the decades to the deed we have now held for 20 years.

To commemorate our 20th anniversary of owning said property, I would like to record the description of Pure Water Hollow from that deed. I think it is rather interesting, even though it makes little sense to anyone a century later. I am also leaving the original spelling.

“Beginning at a beech near the county road about 25 poles below the mouth of the Sand Branch on the west side of Sandy River, it being a corner of the widow’s dower of the estate of the late Peter Daniels and being Lot No. 8 of the said estate and allotted to the said Major Daniels; thence to Sandy River and up the River to the out side line of the said Peter Daniels’ farm and with said to the top of the knob to a corner on said line, it being a corner of Lot No. 7 or John Daniels’ corner; thence with Lot No. 7 a straight line to a hickory corner in John Daniels’ former deed; thence reversing said John Daniels’ line to the line of land laid off for the widow’s dower and with her said line to the beginning, containing 35 acres, more or less.

Being a part of the same land conveyed by John Daniel, David Daniel, etc., to Peter Daniel by deed dated March 12, 1860 and recorded in DeedBook No. “D” at page 310.”

Major and his wife Brilla owned the land of Pure Water Hollow for 8 years from January 28, 1914 to June 10, 1922. According to the 1920 census, Major was a 50 year old coal miner and Brilla was a 42 year old house wife. At the time of that census they had 5 children living with them; Grey (18), Gladys(17), Jay(14), Arnolis(12), and Genna May(8), which means they were all born before Major inherited our property in 1914. I wonder if his family ever lived here or if those children ever hunted this hollow or explored the rock houses in the sides of the mountains?  A neighbor of ours who is 86 says that some of her kinfolk named Daniel once lived here.  She thinks their house sat where our garden is now.  Maybe this was Major's family?

June 10, 1922 found this hollow being owned by a non-Daniel family for the first time in perhaps a hundred years when Major and Brilla sold the property to David O. and Maltia Johnson for $200. They evidently moved here with a 5 month old baby.  Their first child, David Jr., was born on January 11th of the
same year they purchased the land.  I have discovered that they had a total of at least 6 children with some decidedly, delightful names: David Jr., Dennis, Delmer, Donald, Delores, and Doris.  We've been told that the Johnson's are the ones who moved this house that we are currently living in to it's current location, which is a fascinating story in itself.

David O. supposedly bought our house at an auction from the Consolidated Coal Company at the White House Coal Camp, which is a couple miles down river and on the opposite bank.  It was one of the foreman's houses so it was much nicer than many of the other houses in the camp.  They apparently put the house on skids and dragged it to the river, poled it up river on a raft, and then pulled it up the riverbank on skids again and up a hill and then across a good section of land to set it up where it is now. 

I want to believe that the Johnson family had many wonderful times in this home and on this land, but their 22 years here are marked with two tragedies that I don't think I could bear. Their second son, Dennis, was born on March 20, 1925 less than three years after they bought the property.  The first tradegy I speak of was when that baby died just a year later on August 28, 1926, not even seeing his 2nd birthday.  Meanwhile, David Jr. grew strong and tall.  I wonder if he enjoyed his childhood and teen years growing up with his siblings here at Pure Water Hollow?  I wonder what he thought of the war in Europe calling him away from these sheltering hills?  He was just 19 years old when the USA entered WWII after Pearl Harbor was bombed.  I don't know when he went off to the war, but I know when he came home.  He was killed in action in October, 1944, in a far off country named France.  I wonder how such an event affected his mother, father, 2 brothers, and 2 sisters who were still here?

Less than two years later, on August 16th, 1946, David and Maltia sold their homestead here to Don Carlos Meek for $500 and they moved to Pike County.  An interesting footnote to the Johnson chapter of our land is that the Johnson's are buried in the cemetary next to the house at Pure Water Pastures down the road from here.  The graves of Baby Dennis and PFC David Jr are there, as well as both David O. and Malta. 

David O. died in 1954 but Maltia outlived David by a considerable number of years and didn't pass away until after Lisa and I moved here in 1993, one month before her 95th birthday!

The Meek chapter of Pure Water Hollow ran from 1946 to 1966.  Don and Willa Mae Meek raised 7 children on this piece of property.  One of those children, Jewel Meek Harwood wrote a 490 page book about her family's experience here, called Swimming Upriver, so I have many details concerning this chapter.  It would be safer to say that Willa Mae raised the children, as Don Meek was not always around.

Don's many faults are detailed in the book. He and Willa Mae divorced after 23 years of marriage, which was unusual in the 1950s. Don deeded the property to Willa Mae on August 12th, 1958.  I think it is interesting that during some good years in the late 40s Don Meek was a school teacher and taught in the community school that was just a half mile from Pure Water Hollow.  He then changed jobs frequently, being a furniture salesman, running a sporting goods store in town, and then leaving our county to be a used car salesman in Barbourville, Kentucky during the week.  (The Barbourville, KY connection is a strange coincidence, being Lisa's hometown.  It is possible that her dad could have known Don Carlos Meek.)

Ownership of this land changed hands once again on February 16th, 1966 when Willa Mae Meek sold the property to Joe and Lockie Mae Pack.  Joe was a lineman for the power company and he and Lockie raised two children here, both of whom still live within 5 miles of Pure Water Hollow.  Lockie passed away in 1988 and before long Joe was ready to sell his old homestead.  This brings us to the magic date of February 11th, 1993, when Joe sold the property to us after owning it for 27 years. 

A few years after Pure Water Hollow became our homestead we had the honor of attending church with Joe when he started going to Baker Branch Free Will Baptist which was the church we belonged to at the time.  I wish I had asked him more questions about his feelings about this land before he passed away.  I know he had cattle on these hills once upon a time and he had some of the land logged in the early 80s.  I wonder how else he may have made use of his homestead here?

So, over the years, many families have had the joy of being a part of this land.  Some were here longer than others, but they all came and went.  Isom Daniel owned this property in the early 1800s and he died; his son Peter Daniel owned and farmed this land for 54 years and he died; his son Major Daniel owned the property for  8 years and he is now dead; David O. Johnson had this land for 22 years and he is now deceased; Willa Mae Meek was here for 20 years and she is now dead; Joe Pack owned the land for 27 years and he has now passed on.  I have been blessed to own this property for the past 20 years.  Do I think I am really any different than the ones who came before me?

They each had their turn and are now gone.  We are all just temporary stewards of earthly gifts such as houses and land that God allows us to have during our brief time here on His footstool.  I desire to make the most of the chapter of my stewardship of Pure Water Hollow for the glory of God!  We are now 20 years into it as of today, and this chapter could easily last another 20 years if the Lord tarries His return.  But one thing is for certain:  one day, I will not be here.  If time continues on there will be another generation that will call this place home; there will be another custodian of this hollow and these hills that I love so much.

God's Word is so profound.  Solomon knew all about this truth that I have been pondering.  God led him to write about it many years ago in Ecclesiastes chapter 1 verse 4,

"One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever."

I was going to end this post with that quote from Ecclesiastes, but Lisa pointed out that it could be regarded as a bit depressing to do that.  I don't want to leave any doubt about the lesson my ponderings have turned into so I should go ahead and add that I agree with Solomon when he explains the most important thing in life: 

"Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:  Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man." 

I love this land that the Lord has given into my trust, but I use the word love loosely.  God has blessed Pure Water Hollow Homestead greatly during my time here, but I must not allow this land, or anything else, to become more important than loving and serving my Father in Heaven, as well as loving and serving my fellow man here on earth. 

I have learned that I should be careful to not allow my attitudes towards this land (or any of the wonderful things I possess), to even remotely resemble the fool that Jesus speaks about in Luke 12:

15 Take heed, and beware of covetousness:  for a man's life consistesth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.  16 And he spake a parable unto them saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:  17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18 And he said, This will I do:  I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.  19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.  20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?  21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

I'm also reminded of the clear words of Jesus in Matthew 6:19-21,

"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:  But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

I have some temporary treasures here on earth.  I thank God for them, but they are not important at all in the eternal scheme of things.  Will any of these treasures matter to me 100 years from now?  My true treasures are laid up in Heaven! 

May God bless all of you who are reading this, whether you be family, a stranger, or perhaps one of my decendents in the far off future;  whoever you are, my prayer is for you to be with me in Heaven one day!

A Brief Reflection on Our 2012 Homestead

The year 2012 has absolutely flown by, it seems!  On this final day of 2012 I find myself reflecting about many things in my life concerning the past year.  However, for this post, I'm going to try to stick to mainly my thoughts concerning our "homesteading" aspects during 2012.  It is with some difficulty that I attempt this, as the entire year of 2012 seems like a blur to me.  I notice that I only blogged sporadically and missed writing about many daily homestead happenings throughout the year.

We were very successful raising 3 hogs from feeder pig to butcher hog during 2012.  Our new lot worked well, they grew fast and large, and did not present much trouble at all!  Simon took care of the feeding and watering chores most of the time.  These pigs reminded us that raising home-grown pork could still be done very efficiently and also be a rewarding experience.  We had two of them butchered in the summer and then processed the final one ourselves in November.  I regret that I did not find a boar to go with that 3rd hog as my original hope was.  I think she would have thrown excellent piglets as her genetics seemed to be of  a fast growing large hog!

We also had some bad experiences trying to raise some pigs from an outfit that sells "show pigs".  These were supposed to be superior genetic hogs, but ours did not want to grow and actually had trouble surviving!  We first bought three girls and they all got sick.  When the first one died the fellow gave us the boar I was wanting for free.  I wonder now if he was worth the price, because he has also had trouble growing!  A bit later another of the girls died.  It looks like the other girl along with the boar have at least survived as they are now 9 months and 7 months old, respectively.  We think they have bred so I have decided to keep them around to see if they will have piglets and then see if those piglets will grow better than their parents did.  I am afraid it will all turn out to be a disaster and we will have to start over again with new stock.  But, let's try to be optimistic and enjoy the adventure!

Our garden did well in several areas, although it seemed difficult for us to focus on it the way we should have.  Our artesian well did the job keeping everything watered during the drought.  Thanks to the drought, there was not much weeding that needed to be done early in the season.  This turned out to be bad for a family that was having trouble focusing on the garden anyway because sometime in there the drought was over and the weeds were ready to make up for lost time!  Since we never got in a good habit of working the garden earlier, it seemed like in no time those weeds completely took over!  We learned that tomato plants and pepper plants are very forgiving as they still provided abundantly for us, even when they could not be seen!  We had a modest harvest of most of the crops that Lisa planned, although the watermelons and pumpkins did not do anything.

Our honey bees did a fine job keeping everything pollinated.  2012 was the year of the swarm as they swarmed much more than we wanted!  Perhaps it was the mild winter, but whatever the reason, they swarmed and swarmed and swarmed!  Sometimes we had two and three swarms hanging in our trees at the same time!  We were able to capture 3 swarms and start new colonies, but one of them was a partial swarm and did not make it.  We did get 10 quarts of honey from the strongest hive, but since the other one swarmed so much they didn't produce as much honey and we decided that they would need what they had to survive the winter.  As we end 2012 we think we have four good stands of bees.  We just need to get into them and take out the queen cells so they won't swarm themselves to death in 2013.  If all goes well, they should make plenty of honey for us this next season!

We also attempted to re-stock our chicken flock in 2012.  Twenty-five white-rock chicks arrived on July 13th at our post office in town.  Due to the fact that we free range our chickens amongst a predator laden environment, we were expecting to lose some of them.  I thought we may even lose a third of them by the time they reach maturity.  I expected, however, to still have at least 17 or 18 at this time of the year.  I am sad to report that we only have 11 white-rock pullets as we close out the year!  We lost them gradually.  Some were taken off by hawks (I even witnessed it once), some were hit in the road, and some just disappeared.  But the 11 we have right now are all beautiful, big hens and should start laying eggs any time now.

The worst chicken news of 2012 happened one of the nights that I did not close up the cage where those chicks slept with their surrogate mother, One Feather.  One Feather was the beloved game hen we had had for 8 years who had raised clutches of chicks every year, sometimes 2 and even 3 times during some seasons!  She could always be counted on to go broody and she was always an excellent mother to any chicks we gave her.  She was one of the hens helping to raise some of the new white-rock chicks. They would free range during the day but One Feather always took them back to the safety of her cage at night which I would then close up for the night.  I had been lulled into a false sense of security as there had been no night-time evidence of any predators for quite a while. 

That night had not been the first night I neglected my duty, but it turned out to be the night that I severely let our beloved mama hen down.  We heard the squawking from the house after we had gone to bed, and got out there as quickly as we could.  She obviously fought the predator off as evidenced by the 50 foot trail of scattered feathers leading away from the cage down to the creek to where her body was left.  At least the predator did not have the satisfaction of having One Feather as a meal and, as best we could tell, all of the chicks under her care were also accounted for.  We found them scattered all over the yard, hiding in different places, but not harmed.  One Feather gave her life to save these chicks!  She will be greatly missed and I doubt that we will ever have another hen quite like One Feather.

So as we end 2012, our laying flock consists of 3 mature Buff Orpington mixed hens, 11 almost mature White-Rock hens and I think 4 black pullets from eggs we hatched that a friend gave us later in the summer.  By next summer we should have 14 to 18 hens laying for us, so we will be getting plenty of eggs!  We have already been getting one or two eggs a day these last few weeks of December which we have been happy with.  Our butchering flock currently consists of one Red-Star hen (who developed a habit of eating eggs and plucking feathers), as well as 6 black cockerels hatched from those eggs from a friend.

The summer of 2012 was also the summer of the horse as Christina and Simon took lessons with Gracie as we had her trained.  Gracie did very well and is now a good saddle horse.  The children had fun and I think it was a great experience for them.  After we finally got Gracie moved to Pure Water Pastures, the children did ride her some on their own, and I expect they will more as the weather gets better this spring.  I think we have a potentially nice place to make a horse trail along the river up there, but some fallen trees will need to be cleared.

Fall found us fulfilling a dream of having a family milk cow.  Violet, the 4 year old Jersey cow, was already in milk and had two bull calves with her.  Dandelion, the 2 year old Jersey cow, was expected to calve in December.  So our plan was that we could milk Violet now and dry her up around March or April in order to help her have a healthy calving in June.  About the time Violet was being dried up, we would be milking Dandelion pretty heavily.  A note about Dandelion calving:  today was the last day of December and she has still not calved!  She has been put up by herself in the barn since December 10th, and it has been driving me crazy wondering where her calf is.  She still seems healthy, and as far as I know, she is ready to calve any time (just like she was on the 10th.)  It looks like the New Year will find us learning much more about raising dairy cattle!

It was a great accomplishment to get a large section of our pasture fenced for Gracie and the cattle.  I was amazed at how quickly the field got eaten down, though.  It has really demonstrated the need to get some more areas fenced as soon as possible so we can rotate pastures in the spring.  It was also wonderful to see the shelter being erected for the cattle that Matthew, Christina, and Simon have been working on.  There are many, many other projects that still need to be done, however, both there at our pastures as well as here on the home front!

After re-reading the above paragraphs and thinking over the past year, I can't help but notice that our homestead in 2012 was only marginally successful.  At every turn there were challenges, setbacks, and unfulfilled plans.  I think the word I used about the garden sums up our entire year:  a lack of focus.  There were some serious distractions that we were dealing with throughout the year (which I have not written about), and I believe that they affected our overall family and homestead more than can be measured.  It is difficult to stay focused on anything while dealing with serious emotional disharmony and stress. 

These issues are still not completely resolved, but, for the sake of my family, we need to regain our focus in this coming year!  As we enter 2013, I want my life, my family, and Pure Water Hollow Homestead, to glorify God in every aspect of what we do!  We cannot do that without living purposefully and staying focused on the tasks at hand while also staying focused on God and His will!  To Him be the glory and we give Him thanks for all he allowed us to do in 2012 and for the lessons He taught us along the way!

Good Ole Boys

I always thought this was a great song, but I even liked it more hearing it today! I must admit, that I really identify with it. Before I was saved I fancied myself pretty much as just a good ole boy! Here is a link so you can listen to the Dixie Melody Boys sing it: (I picked a different video from the last post, but it is the same song. I hope it will be a blessing!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqwF4WipeHs

Here are the words:

Just some good ole boys, never meanin' no harm,
You can take it from me, I used to be a good ole boy.

Good ole boys, they come a dime a dozen,
Doin' good, good as they care to be.
And everybody loves to be around them,
Because a good ole boy, he'd never harm a flea,

But the only life they know is their pleasure,
They live their lives for things that they enjoy,
And when they're asked about the love of Jesus,
They say don't worry about me, I've been a good ole boy.

Good ole boys won't make it into heaven,
Good ole boys won't wear a crown,
Good ole boys won't live forever,
Where the Saints of God are found,
So don't you dare be misled,
Only Jesus gives real joy,
You can take it from me, I used to be,
A good ole boy!

The weekend comes and they're out on the road again,
Waylon and Willie, playing on the radio,
They worked all week and they didn't cheat one person,
'Cause a good ole boy is good, don't you know,

So good ole boys, I beg you heed this warning,
'Cause very soon we're going to see the Lord,
And when he asks just why you should go to heaven,
I pray you won't say, "I've been a good ole boy".

Good ole boys won't make it into heaven
Good ole boys won't wear a crown,
Good ole boys won't live forever,
Where the Saints of God are found
So don't you dare be misled,
Only Jesus gives real joy,
You can take it from me, I used to be,
A good ole boy!

It turned out that God called on me today in church to preach the sermon I typed out here this morning. When He was giving me the message yesterday evening, I thought maybe I would be asked to preach today. But then I thought it may be just a sermon idea that God wanted me to share with the internet via this blog!

Our small country church down the road has 5 of us preachers as members, but it is rare that all 5 are there at the same time. Today there was a good crowd, even though it was raining, and all 4 of the other preachers were there! At the beginning of the service, I thought that the chances were pretty good that one of them would be called upon to bring the message. But when the time came, the pastor called on me! God knows what is needed!

The message went really well, but I didn't preach it exactly the way I wrote it down in the previous post. You got the general idea, though. I actually think the points came across much better delivering them in person rather than in writing!

I didn't use the song from the Dixie Melody Boys at all in the church service, either. That was just for you guys here on the blog! By the way, I didn't think of that song until God had already given me the entire message, so I did not just try to preach the song!

But I wanted to post it again here for those of you who didn't really want to sit through and read the entire sermon on the last post. I figure there is a good chance some of you didn't stay with the sermon and didn't even see the link to the song! Maybe now the song has gotten you interested and you will go back and read the sermon and the Bible verses that go with it!

God bless!

He's A Good Person ... Or Is He?

I feel like sharing the sermon that God has placed on my mind this morning. It's a simple topic, but one that most folks need to reconsider.

I have often heard comments like, "He's really a good person. He just needs God in His life." I'm sure I have even thrown those types of words out, and I realize the intended meaning when we say things like that. We mean that the person is hard working, mostly honest, provides for his family, and is glad to help out a friend in need if he is able. Things like that. And those are all important qualities to have. But I'm afraid that our society is made up of a whole lot of really "good" folks who are on their way to Hell!

You see, the idea that someone can be a "good" person is a lie straight from Satan, and is trapping many people! We in the church are even contributing by making such comments about our lost family and friends. By saying nice things about them being "good", we are actually pushing them towards the very gates of Hell!

The Bible is clear that no one is "good" instrinsically, even if they have some good, moral qualites about them.

"All have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way;" (Isaiah 53:6)

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

"Most men will proclaim everyone his own goodness; but a faithful man who can find?" (Proverbs 20:6)

And in many, many other places in God's Word. Let's consider some passages from Luke Chapter 18, verses 9-27. I suppose a good title for this would be:

Good People Going to Hell

I: "Good" People Are Not Justified

9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:

10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican.

11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.

12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.

13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.

14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

One thing I notice is that the Pharisee prayed "with himself" in verse 11, and not with God. He was obviously "proclaiming his own goodness" as the writer of Proverbs calls it. The publican recognized that he was in fact a sinner and asked God for mercy. Jesus said that the publican went to his house justified, but not the Pharisee. Being justified means to be declared righteous before God !

Paul writes a lot about justification, but let's look at just a few verses from Romans chapter 3:

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets;

22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

26 To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

I know those are some deep verses but they are so powerful! He says that the righteousness of God is manifested in Jesus Christ and we can all have that righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ when we believe! (v21 & 22) He goes on to explain that Jesus does this freely because of His amazing grace (v24), and that Jesus is "a propitiation" for God which means that His sacrifice satisfied and appeased God's wrath against sin. This is why we can claim His righteousness for the remission of sins! (v25) Jesus declares His righteousness because He is just and is the justifier of we who choose to believe in Him! (v26)

But "good" people are not justified unless they repent of their sins and accept Jesus!

also,

II: "Good" People Are Not Born Again

15 And they brought unto him also infants, that he would touch them: but when his disciples saw it, they rebuked them.

16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

These verses speak of the innocence of a babe and that the kingdom of God belongs to such as them. We must receive the kingdom of God as a little child, without relying on all our "goodness" and past history. We must become as innocent as a child by being born again, spiritually!

Look at Jesus's words to Nicodemus in John chapter 3:

1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

I think these verse speak for themself pretty nicely. A spiritual re-birth is needed to enter the kingdom of God. This passage speaks of another Pharisee, but this time he has an open mind and is not proclaiming his own goodness like the first one we looked at. Nicodemus is not yet persuaded to accept Christ and be "Born Again" at this point, but later he will speak up for Christ among his peers in John 7:50, and will eventually help bury Jesus in John 19:39, indicating that he gradually came to faith and belief in Christ and was indeed "Born Again" sometime after this first encounter with the Master!

But being a "good" person does not mean that person has been "born again".

Let's continue along in Luke 18 with another rich person who is "good". We will see that:

III: "Good" People Are Not Going To Heaven

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

This rich ruler was a very "good" person. He obviously thought that his goodness counted for something, but he still wanted to make sure that he would in fact acquire eternal life.(v18) Jesus wanted him to realize that only God is truly "good", and that this rich ruler was not really "good", no matter what he thought of himself!(v19) The guy claimed that he had kept each of the 10 Commandments that Jesus mentioned (which is not possible, but that is another sermon) from his youth up, and I'm sure that society had branded him as a very "good" person.(v20-21) He failed the test of the first of the 10 Commandments, however, "Thou shalt have no other god's before me" as he had made his riches his true god. When Jesus told him to sell all that he had and give to the poor so that he could have treasure in Heaven, he went away sorrowful, without salvation, because he had great riches.(v22-23) Even though he was a "good" person he could not go to Heaven! Even if all his "good" deeds outnumbered all his "bad" deeds, he could still not go to Heaven without being obedient to Jesus and accepting His invitation of "and come, follow me." (v22)

So, good people can not go to Heaven based on their own "goodness" nor based on their riches.(v24-25)

They that heard this teaching asked, "Who, then can be saved?" and Jesus explained that it is impossible with men, but it is possible with God!(v26-27)

In Luke 19 we see another man. We don't know for sure if he thought of himself as "good", but chances are someone in his family would have said that he was actually a "good" person no matter what his life was like! We do know that he was rich, however, and we know that he learned "it is possible with God" first hand because Jesus states in verse 9, "This day is salvation come to this house". He is an object lesson in answer to the question of "Who then can be saved?" Zacchaeus did not get caught up in his riches like the good ruler did in the chapter before. He also could not trust in own "goodness". He repented of his sins and received Jesus joyfully!(v6) That is the type of person who can be saved! Here are the verses from Luke 19:

1 And Jesus entered and passed through Jericho.

2 And, behold, there was a man named Zacchaeus, which was the chief among the publicans, and he was rich.

3 And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature.

4 And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way.

5 And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house.

6 And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully.

7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner.

8 And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord: Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.

9 And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham.

10 For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.

Zacchaeus decided to do basically what Jesus had suggested to the other rich ruler in Luke 18. He gave half of his goods to the poor and wanted to make restitution to anyone whom he may have cheated!(v8) He did this after he received Jesus joyfully, and not as some work trying to earn his way into heaven. He did good things because he had repented and recieved salvation, not because he was "good" in and of himself.

As the Bible says in Ephesians Chapter 2:

8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.

10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.


You see, we are saved by grace through faith in Christ when we are born again and allow Him to justify us. It is not because of any works that we may do out of our own "goodness". We then have a home in Heaven, but before we go there we are called to do good works because we are saved!

So "good" people are not justified, are not born again, and are not going to Heaven.

I could go on and on, as more verses keep coming to mind as I type, but I believe this is where the message should end.

I'm also reminded of a great old Southern Gospel song that goes along perfectly with this topic. It was by the Dixie Melody Boys as they were doing a spin off the the Dukes of Hazzard theme song, called Good Ole Boys. I found the song on You Tube and I really hope you will listen to it.

Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzDd9Agob_g&feature=related

And here are the words:

Just some good ole boys, never meanin' no harm,
You can take it from me, I used to be a good ole boy.

Good ole boys, they come a dime a dozen,
Doin' good, good as they care to be.
And everybody loves to be around them,
Because a good ole boy, he'd never harm a flea,

But the only life they know is their pleasure,
They live their lives for things that they enjoy,
And when they're asked about the love of Jesus,
They say don't worry about me, I've been a good ole boy.

Good ole boys won't make it into heaven,
Good ole boys won't wear a crown,
Good ole boys won't live forever,
Where the Saints of God are found,
So don't you dare be misled,
Only Jesus gives real joy,
You can take it from me, I used to be,
A good ole boy!

The weekend comes and they're out on the road again,
Waylon and Willie, playing on the radio,
They worked all week and they didn't cheat one person,
'Cause a good ole boy is good, don't you know,

So good ole boys, I beg you heed this warning,
'Cause very soon we're going to see the Lord,
And when he asks just why you should go to heaven,
I pray you won't say, "I've been a good ole boy".

Good ole boys won't make it into heaven
Good ole boys won't wear a crown,
Good ole boys won't live forever,
Where the Saints of God are found
So don't you dare be misled,
Only Jesus gives real joy,
You can take it from me, I used to be,
A good ole boy!

My prayer is that all who read this little sermon will one day be rejoicing with me with Jesus in His Kingdom!

God Bless!

A Common Man

I've been listening to the radio this morning via the internet, and the station I'm listening to just played a song I really identify with. It's called "A Common Man" by Carroll Roberson.

Carroll was actually the evangelist in a revival meeting at Liberty Baptist Church in Berea, Kentucky way back on April 26, 1991 when I first accepted that God was calling me to preach the Gospel! He has recorded many, many wonderful songs over the years.

Here are the lyrics of the song that really blessed me this morning:

"I'm just a simple, common man,
an ordinary, common man.
I know the world don't really care.
But I've got eternal life,
Because I know Jesus Christ.
That makes me a millionaire.

Wherever I go, whatever I do,
I'm just as common, as a plain old shoe.
But in God's eternal plan,
He chose a common man
When Jesus came, to set us free,
He became a common man like me.

I'm just a simple, common man,
an ordinary, common man.
I know the world don't really care.
But I've got eternal life,
Because I know Jesus Christ.
That makes me a millionaire.

I don't fit in, with the modern days.
I like those good, old fashioned ways.
And you don't have to pretend,
When you've been born again,
You can be, just what you are,
When Jesus comes to live, in your heart.

I'm just a simple, common man,
an ordinary, common man.
I know the world don't really care.
But I've got eternal life,
Because I know Jesus Christ,
That makes me a millionaire."

I realize it is a pretty simple little song, but I guess that goes along with the message! Here is a link to a video of the song if anyone out there would like to listen to it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlO3xdu3n5Q
I pray you each have a wonderful day today as you get to know our wonderful Savior in a greater way! God Bless!

Just a Moment to Pick Some Blackberries

Lisa, Timothy and I did a bit of blackberry picking this evening. I was suprised to find only a meager selection of ripe berries because the briers are usually full by this time of July. Most of berries are still small and red, but we did find some juicy black ones. Perhaps they are behind this year because of the record amount of rain we had in May? Or maybe this will just not be a very good year for blackberries here? Most of the ripe berries today were pretty small, but they were still tasty.

Timothy loves to eat berries of any kind, and this is the first season that he has been able to pick them himself. He has already mastered the art of picking and eating our black and red raspberries, which were producing a good crop a couple weeks ago. He has also gobbled on our wild strawberries and some of the few regular strawberries we've had so far this year. When he heard that we were going blackberry picking tonight, he was very excited and kept saying, "Bite! Bite!" I took a few pictures of him up at the clearing where most of the blackberries of Pure Water Hollow grow. He is a cute little berry picker!

After a while, Simon came up on one of Matthew's four-wheelers to let us know that the girls had homemade pizza ready. Timothy was very glad to get a ride! I think he enjoys four-wheeling better than berry eating!



And that's all I have for this post. Just a glimpse into a few moments of our evening.

God blesses us with special times so much that we can forget how special they truly are. It is easy to get into a rut and just take everything for granted, and I think that is what I had been doing for the past several months. I guess that is one reason I haven't been blogging much.

But I don't want to let things just go through the motions without realizing how blessed every moment is with these precious ones that God has placed in my life. I only have a brief time to be with my children before they will be grown and gone! I must make the most of every moment God gives me, and I will give Him thanks!

I love these verses in Ephhesians chapter 5:
15 See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
16 Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
17 Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.

Erica's Thoughts On Holiness

Erica is currently in her second semester at Kentucky Mountain Bible College. She has not been home since January 3rd, so we are all missing her. Last Monday evening, Matthew and I stopped in to say "hello" after we sold Boris at Lee City. (KMBC is only about 20 minutes further down the road from the stock sale, so it was a good oppourtunity to drop by, even though we were wearing work clothes and pulling a hog trailer!). We only talked with her for about a half hour, but it was nice seeing her again. She is doing very well, and I am proud of her.

One of the slogans of the college is "Holiness unto the Lord". I have always emphasized holy living in my preaching, and I hope in my life. I am thankful that Erica is studying at a college that places a high premium on holiness. It is the major thing that attracted me to KMBC from the beginning. Erica wrote about Holiness for her Theology class this week and shared it with me. It was a blessing to read! I would like to share the first paragraph, here on the blog. It goes along nicely with my post from yesterday. No matter what kind of homestead projects we may get into here at Pure Water Hollow Homestead, we always desire to put the Lord first!

Now for Erica's words:

"I think that Holiness is reached when a person has fully surrendered their life to bringing glory to God. Holiness has to start with loving God completely, to love Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. When we love God in such a way, we will want to follow Him and keep His commandments. A life of holiness will not be hindered by habitual sin, or a constant lack of trust in God. Holiness has to be a desire and a commitment that begins in the heart at the point of Salvation and works its way out to be seen in the daily life. Salvation comes from the realization and rejection of sin and the desire for holiness. Holiness is the result of persistently seeking after God and constantly asking Him and allowing Him to cleanse you from sin. "

I don't need to add anything to the words Erica has written, but I would like to mention the verses God put on my mind while reading this:

"Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:" Hebrews 12:14

"Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16

May the Lord's blessings be on each of you as you seek after His holiness and righteousness!

Snow, Significance, Salvation

The snow is pretty this morning! We almost got 2 inches yesterday evening, but it was very wet and clung to everything it touched, making some beautiful scenes. I haven't taken any pictures, I guess because it isn't that rare of an occurrence any more!

When we began our Bible study at the community center at 6:30 yesterday evening, rain had begun and it was 40 degrees. By 8:00 everything outside was completely white! I really didn't think we were going to get any snow this go around because it had been so warm. I didn't even post the snowfall graphic that was out!

I have been trying lately to not allow the weather talk on the internet to consume so much of my time. Right now there is buzz about another potential big winter storm for early next week, but it is no fun to follow all of that pre-game excitement and then have the game itself be canceled! We have had snow this January, but basically it feels like much of the pre-snow chatter has been over-rated this month. I think that December surprised a lot of weather watchers with all the snow, and they have been over-emphasizing the snow possibilities this month so they won't be taken off-guard! I have found it is more fun to be taken a bit off guard, though.

Our weather-men have not really missed any snow forecasts yet, but they have changed things as they got more data, which gets on my nerves. For instance, the data for the snow last night was showing more snow for us a few days ago. Had I posted some of those "first call" graphics you would have seen our location on a line between 3-5" and 4-6". A later graphic showed 2-4" and the final data was showing 1-3" several hours before the snow got to us! I was beginning to think that all we would get would be rain!

I've been trying to analyze why I have been so excited about all the snow talk this year. (It's a good exercise to occasionally get into your own head and reflect.) I've come to the conclusion that is more than just the fact that schools are called off for snow days and I get to stay home. No, it is more of a longing of mine to be in the midst of history in the making! I like the idea of witnessing something that will be long remembered; something important; of being a part of history!

The winter of 95-96 was such a winter with 62 inches of snow for us and folks talk about January of 94 as the worst January ever. We experienced those winters here at Pure Water Hollow, and now I wish I had better records and memories of such historic times! If this winter is one of those history-makers I don't want to be on the sidelines and just watch it go by.

I guess it is part of the basic human longing to find some significance to our existence here on planet Earth! The desire for life to be more than the routine, boring, day-in-day-out grind that can feel so dismal and meaningless!

Living through a historic winter is significant, albeit rather shallow compared to the truths God has been reminding me of lately! The real news is something we touched on in our Bible study last night. We are significant because we are created in the image of the almighty God!

"Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Genesis 1:26-27

My life ultimately draws meaning and significance not because I may become part of something great or historic, but because I have a living, eternal soul! My life was created by God and for God! My name will most likely never be famous or show up in a history book. But if it did, that would not make my life significant. My life is already significant because the Great I Am knows my name and it shows up in His book! Finding meaning to my life is easy when I remember that I am a child of the King and He has work for me to do! Our daily lives may become routine, but they never have to be boring if we remember Who we are living for!

My life may mean little in history, but praise God, I am important in His-story!

In addition to the natural beauty of snow, there is a spiritual emphasis that God places on the whiteness snow brings to our lives. Thanks to my Savior Jesus Christ, I have experienced this spiritual allusion to snow personally, and it is His will that all should experience it!

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."Isaiah1:18

"Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow."Psalm 51:7

Nothing else is as beautiful as that!

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow....