God’s Providence

When we started this endeavor we believed the God was working in our lives and calling us to farm country as part of His sanctification process.  We have been striving to dedicate our lives to Him and His glory for years now, but still found us being pulled by the ways of the world day after day.  There is something about farming that can draw you closer to God for there are so many variables at play-it is impossible to be fully in charge and master of your own destiny.  We (Alison and Thom) wanted to find a way to show our children how God works in our lives by humbling ourselves and relying more on His provisions day after day.  Thus far this experience has taken us far beyond what we would have ever imagined and in doing so we have seen God working in our lives in ways were not able to see before.

We have seen God working in many ways.  Bringing us here and providing for our needs each day we see how gracious He is and how active He is in our lives.  There is no way we could do this without Him and His providing and directing our every need.  Putting ourselves out there and in positions completely foreign to us shows us how He provides and is with us every step of the way.

This came clear to Thom the other evening when we were milking the cows as a family by ourselves.  This was the moment we were waiting for-but hoping would not come for some time.  It was the occasion of Harrison’s Birthday (the Alexander’s now 10 year old son).  They took him out to celebrate as a family knowing we would be at the farm that evening to help out with the milking.  When they discovered the restaurant they wanted to take him to lunch did not open until 4pm (and milking starts at 4:30pm) they called and asked if we could get started without them.  This was around 1pm that day.  Wanting to help out we agreed we could do it ourselves.

When we arrived at the farm it was noticeably quiet.  There were no Alexanders running about working in their usual routine.  We prepped the milking room and went out in the field to release the girls (that is what we call the cows) and bring them in to milk.  When we arrived at the paddock (where they were grazing) they looked up at us with a hint of confusion (Thom took the lead and they have been getting used to him being around) and stayed where they were and did not move.  Thom (brave as he is becoming) walked closer to the cows and persuaded one cow to lead the charge to the milking barn.  It was an interesting site to see the cows respond one by one to the call and follow up the long path to the barn.  Alison and the kids ran ahead to open the barn door and ready for the cows arrival.

There is an old saying (from what we have heard) in show business that you should never work with kids or animals because they are unpredictable.   We have learned this well with the cows.  It is intimating enough for us to be so close (around and under) these large animals while they are locked in to their stall at milking time.  It is more intimidating when they come into the barn together and search for the perfect stall to settle in to be milked.  No two days are alike and you must always be on your toes.  At this time we send TJ and Margaret Rose out of the Barn so they do not get into the way. 

Once we locked the cows in (and counted to make sure all were there) we started the milking process as a family.  Thom and TJ were in charge of the milking room while Alison and Rose worked in the clean room (where they bottled the milk).  TJ was most helpful for he kept us on track-remembering the names of the cows (they still all look alike to us) and which order they needed to be milked.  He also did a great job remember which stage each cow was in (which were milked, which were prepped to be milked and which were finished milking and prepped to leave).  It was a blessing for Thom because he has so many other variables to watch out for it kept him straight.  Rose helped Alison in the clean room be keeping her straight as to which cow’s milk she was straining and how much each cow produced to record in the book.  It was a team effort.

In the midst of this process while Thom was stooping under a cow preparing her teats for milking it hit him all at once-the idea of the Fear of the Lord.  We have been studying proverbs lately as a family and this is a familiar theme.  Thom knew all too well that God was in charge of this milking process and the results would ultimately be up to Him.  Thom also realized that we were doing this for the Lord for it was He who put us there and it is He whom we serve.  It was up to us as a family to work together toward the common cause and completing the task.  That is what we were called to do.  Success or failure was ultimately up to God for either way he would use this to His glory.   It was a humbling experience.

There are probably a million cows milked by a million people everyday (of course we are guestimating-don’t quote us on this).  We have watched the Alexander boys milk these cows many times (and used to watch Ms. Kitty milk at Hedgebrook farm many more times).  For those who grew up around cows or those who are charged with this task twice a day everyday this is no big deal.  For a family who not too long ago only watched this process from a distance it is still a daunting task.  The cows do not always stand still and cooperate in this process and there are more variables then one can control.  Only God can truly manage this process and we can complete the task through him who strengthens us. 

In the end this was a successful experience.  Not because we milked every cow without issue (there were many issues that came up along the way-some glaring ones which showed us how selfish we can be).  It was successful for we came together as a family and worked toward the goal God set before us.  We are learning quickly to die to our individual needs (the kids did well hanging in when the Alexanders came home and Harrison wanted to show TJ the new basketball he got as a present-TJ waited until he was done with the cows to check it out) and work toward His needs.  We can only do this through God’s grace for left to our own we are dead in our trespasses and sins. 

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

Ephesians 2:10

This is why we are here-we are striving to be doers of the Word and not hearers only (James 1:22).  We face our inadequacies daily which is a humbling experience.  We put ourselves in these situations not because we are Godly, but because God has convicted us of our sins and we are getting a glimpse of who we truly are.  We decided to let God be in charge.  It is through His grace that we learn daily to seek Him first in all we do-a lesson we have not yet perfected.

To God go the glory!

The Homecoming

The Homecoming

You all have seen the pictures of our new chicken coop and the time and effort we put into making it safe and livable (we thought Thom would never be finished making modifications to it as he continued to work to make it better day after day).  Once complete it has sat empty until last evening-when we finally brought our girls home.  We purchased the chickens from the Alexander family.  Their boys drove up to Pennsylvania to purchase some 300 laying hens for their chicken business.  It was a long ride, but the chickens survived and have been doing well at their farm.  They graciously allowed us to purchase 5 of them to bring home for our personal flock.  We waited until last evening to bring them home-after our weekend trip to the Creation Museum with our friends the Fields family. 

They are young chickens who have yet to lay an egg, but should be ready to start laying in a couple of weeks.  Bringing them home was a big step for us.  We have been wanting chickens for years now-but our home in Winchester was governed by covenants which did not allow chickens (ironic since we lived on farm land and were surrounded by farms full with cows, chickens, lambs, goats and an array of other animals).  This step is the culmination of years of planning, reading, praying, and wondering what it would be like to own livestock of some kind.  Here are the girls coming home:

TJ retrieving the chickens from the carrier

One of our girls in her nesting box-probably leaving something other then an egg behind.

Being novices we spent a good deal of the night looking out the window down upon our coop to see how they girls were getting along.  TJ did a great job getting the chickens transferred into the pen and making sure they had food and water.  We all walked around the pen to make sure all doors were locked and the place was as safe as it could be.  Living in the “woods” (or cottage is in a large expanse of trees) we know we have a great deal of predators who would love a fresh chicken dinner.  We have been working to make the coop as safe as we can, but realize it will be up to God as to how well our girls do in their new home.  We will keep you posted.

Speaking of predators, Thom has launched a new campaign to keep the deer out of our garden.  He has been on a mission ever since we came home one night last week and spotted a beautiful deer in the middle of the garden feasting on our green bean plants.  He drove quickly down our lane (our driveway is several hundred yards long and runs past the open field in which the garden rests) to scare the deer.  It was an impressive site to see this deer leap high in the air over the fence we constructed to protect our garden.  He cleared the fence by at least a foot.  Thom new at that point he was dealing with experts.  Since that time Thom has researched every type of deer repellant recipes he could find.  We have an array of hot sauce, hot seeds, Millie hair and feces (watch your step!), TJ hair (Thom cut TJ’s hair at the edge of the garden) and even some deer repellent “guaranteed” to work he bought online through Amazon.  We even grilled some deer steaks outside one night in our fire pit-hoping the deer would get the message.  Our garden is still growing at this point-but we once again saw a deer at the edge of the woods last night as we came home from the farm.  We will keep you posted.

Alison is now in training to learn how to milk the cows.  Thom is her teacher.  It is a matter of getting comfortable around the cows and learning the coordination needed to hook up the milking machine.  She is doing a great job-especially priming the cows for milking (Thom can attest to this for his shoes and leg often get sprayed with milk when Alison is priming the teats-her aim is perfect).  We have graduated to milking on our own (The Alexander boys are not too far away for advice) and will continue our milking this week while also making cheese and other dairy treats to share with the cow share owners Saturday at the next open farm day.

We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers and we work to settle in here in Amelia. 

It Is Only Thursday?

What a busy week we are having.  We are quickly learning that farm life is nonstop and the chores are never ending.  Animals need constant care and gardens need constant tending (and in our case constant patrol for foraging Deer).  This is especially true working on a dairy farm.

One of the many new phrases we are learning is “make work.”  “Make work” means you do whatever you need to do to make it work.  There is no time to take to repair or build things in accordance with plans or detailed specifications.  You need to work quickly to make whatever you have work for your needs.  This is especially true when the nearest hardware store is miles away (30 plus minutes to be exact).  You learn quickly to use what you have or do without until there is time to get it together and make it work.

In light of this we decided to build our own chicken coop (rather then buy a pre-made kit or buy a pre-built coop).  As usual, Thom researched nightly to find the right coop to buy or kit to build and he never found one he liked.  They were either too expensive, not well built, or some combination thereof.  Also, when Thom asked Tim Alexander about where to buy a chicken tractor Tim looked at Thom with a confused look and explained that Harrison (The Alexander’s 9 year old son) built their personal chicken coop.  Thom was put in his place.  After lengthy discussion with Edgar (Alison’s dad) on a recent trip to Winchester Thom decided we would build one together as a family.  This is why we came down here-to work together as a family and learn how farmers live.

Here is our result: The Morra Chicken Coop  (https://picasaweb.google.com/atmorra/MorraChickenCoop?feat=directlink ) After a couple of trips to Lowes and a couple of mornings working together this is what we came up with.  It is a lot bigger then we first planned (and it does not move as easily as we had hoped-who knew you needed to put skids on the bottom), but we are satisfied with our efforts.  It was an amazing family experience.  We are so glad we trusted in God and allowed Him to work through us to build this coop.  Our chickens are at the Alexander’s farm and we will bring them home in about a week.  We continue to make modifications to it and hope it will keep our girls safe and secure.

We built this in the mornings over this past week since we have also started milking cows in the evening at the Alexander’s farm.  Alison and the kids have watched cows being milked at Hedgebrook farm by our house over the 3.5 years we have lived in Winchester and dreamed of the day they would be able to get into the action.  Well, they are still dreaming for it has been Thom who has been milking the cows.  He has been working with Oliver-the Alexander’s 17 year old son.  Thus far Thom has done everything from cleaning the utters and teats, priming the teats the old fashion way (with his hands) hooking up the milking machine and washing the teats after he is done.  He has done it all for the past week.  At dinner each night Thom asks at the table: "raise your hand if you ever milked a cow?”  He has been a brave soul for a city boy.  These are massive animals with their varying needs and quirks and Oliver has been a patient and respectable young man who has guided Thom through this process.  He is the kind of boy Thom hopes TJ aspires to become for he is a hard working, humble and respectable young man who diligently serves his parents and the Lord.

Alison has also gotten into the action for she works at the other end of the milking process-bottling the milk for distribution to the farms customers.  Next week Thom will cross train with Alison while Alison will work with the boys and learn how to milk as well.  In the end this will be helpful for the Alexander’s for it gives them extra people who can fill in when needed for the cows need to be milked everyday (twice a day in fact).  TJ and Margaret Rose have also gotten into the action for they help bottle feed the new calfs and are working to learn the names of the cows.  This is helpful for they each have their special milking needs and Thom is not able to name them all-yet.  From the end he works with they all look the same.

It has been a busy and productive week thus far.  We are keeping busy tending our garden (out here in the woods we have Deer eating up our seedling so we need to take more serious action) readying for our chickens and getting more acclimated to the area.  Being busy is a blessing and we are thankful for the work. 

Next week we hope to get to process another batch of chickens while continuing our milking efforts.  We are also hopeful that our new mobile brick oven will arrive soon (Frank the builder is working on the trailer which will help us pull the oven around with us wherever the Lord takes us).  We also head out for a trip at the end of the week to the Creation Museum (TJ needs to make good on his promise to Ken Ham-the museums founder) to meet up with our friends the Fields family whom we met at the Family Economics Conference.

We hope you all are well!