About an hour before Shabbat, Mavis brought twins into this world. Mavis is my Toggenburg goat and she arrived in Goshen right about 5 months ago. All day, I could tell by her behavior, she was getting close, but since she was such a recent newcomer, I wasn't sure how close . . . As I walked out of the milking parlor with Lily, I thought I saw something small and moving in the south east pasture. I took the milk into the house, then for the first time in nearly two weeks, put on shoes to walk down to see what was going on. By the time I got there, a second baby was on the scene. Mavis wasn't "tending" to them as I thought she should be, so I stepped in with a couple of the "goat towels" and dried the babies' faces and rubbed them up a bit . . .
The next thing that happened truly upset Mavis, as the babies were nudging at my legs, rather than hers. I tried to unite mama and babies, but that only made everyone more stressed. In the midst of my intrusion, Mr. B decided to join the mess and got behind Mavis to pick up hay wrapping or something, and having someone behind her only irritated her further. I suggested we back up and stop intruding in this bonding period. Let me share just a bit. Once I realized she was getting close, and it's nice weather, I didn't pen her up, but there were nice clean goat huts for her to give birth. Rather than use the nice, clean, private huts, she opted for the RV carport where all the goats have been lounging through this rainy August! So, the babies were born in that mess . . .
As I headed for the gate, I asked Father to raise up the maternal instinct He'd placed in Mavis. I looked back toward her. She was absolutely refusing to let the kids get close to her and she wasn't licking them at all! At this point, I began to formulate a plan to obtain the colostrum and feed it to the kids. A short quote from the prayer book at shul came to mind. "Pray as though everything depends upon G-d, then work as though everything depends upon you." I'm sure the dissection of the soundness of this theology could take many tangents, but I do believe in putting feet to my faith. James tells us "faith without works is dead."
So, there was one important factor, I was really doing wrong, and sadly Father had to tell me about it. The plan I hatched seemed brilliant. I would lure Mavis with grain, to the milk parlor, break in a goat that had never been milked, then bottle feed the kids, but since it's August, I could leave them outdoors. All these years the kids arrive in late winter and early spring. This is my first year of having both spring and fall kids. So, I'm not fully sure what I'm doing, but I never let that stop me. Back to my plan. I took the milk bucket to the milk parlor, got grain in the feed box on the stanchion, put some grain in a bucket, grabbed the lead and was heading out the door, when I heard the Voice of our Creator.
It was a simple question that stopped me in my tracks. "Why are you preparing for the opposite of what you asked of Me?" I had asked Him to raise up her maternal instinct, even acknowledged that He was the One who created that in her, and then . . . I had already realized my "help" initially had been an intrusion to her, so, here I am preparing to commit further intrusion . . . All I could do, was hang my head in shame, ask forgiveness, and STOP. I had actually been working against what I'd prayed. That's not feet to faith!
Thankfully, in spite of my demonstration of lack of faith, He honored my request. Within moments, I could hear Mavis "cooing" to them. Then just as Father ordained at creation, those babies were latched on and tails were flagging.
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Sunday, August 6, 2017
An Unexpected Answer
When I fell, last winter, the injuries were pretty severe. I prayed and asked for prayer. Actually, I fell twice. The first time was painful, but I kept going, the second fall . . . was a show stopper! Some nearby friends reached out to help me do some things around here, that I was simply too injured to do. Even Mr. B stepped up to the plate. I was really in a bad way. Half of my face was black and blue, but it wasn't as painful, swollen, or discolored as my back, hip and leg. Several folks were praying for me. Giving all glory to ADONAI, He has healed me instantaneously, and used me in healing others, but this time, as I prayed and cried and wailed, and prayed some more, NOTHING. Although He didn't speak it, there was a knowing in my spirit that there would be no sudden or even quick healing. There were a couple of times, it was so severe, I was tempted to seek medical relief.
Moving was so very painful, but then, so was sitting as well as laying . . . In this, Father did bless me to make a wonderful new pain relief formula, and He did deal with me about other matters . . . For a time, life just felt very, very bleak. Thankfully, I never spoke it aloud, but there were a few times, the thought crossed my mind that I would never recover . . . As I was struggling to get some seeds in the garden, while still on crutches, I heard The Voice of Father! It was a short and very direct statement, "Finish the Book." Immediately, I knew the book to which He referred. I'd had the title for awhile, and started it four different times. The fourth attempt was in the works, but still wasn't gelling as I'd hoped. What does one do, when hearing a specific instruction? Just DO IT!
Any one position for very long, was painful, but soon there were writing stations for sitting, reclining, and standing. As I progressed in the book, my body was improving . . . I'm not a patient patient, actually I'm a horrible patient! So, I maintained a certain level of my activities, like seeing clients and maintaining orders. I did slack on housework and the garden . . . just hitting the high spots in the house, and facing the fact, the garden just wasn't going to be large. As it turns out, now through canning season, I didn't need to plant much, as there aren't that many empty jars. In my slacking due to the injury, I hadn't done as much cooking through the winter. Mr. B's idea of helping in the kitchen is going to the deli in town, so I didn't have to cook for him. Even with the small garden, there is abundance to share produce with others. Back to the book . . .
This book was built, and built in pieces, by faith. As I wrote, I literally had no clue how it would be assembled. When the time came to type it, Father again spoke. "Arrange in recorded order, not historical order, and use recognized dates." Now, I had the plan. As I typed, it just flowed so easily. Adding the dates was a bit tricky, but once I established a pattern, it flowed as well. As the book came together, I realized I was able to physically do more, as well as a dramatic decrease in my pain level.
By the time "Coffee with Paul and Moses" went to the publisher, I was back to my regular activities, and I got up from my desk walking like I had before the two accidents. Although I can now accurately forecast rain coming, I'm healed, stronger, and more flexible than before. I've also learned some great stretches and exercises through this recovery time. What did "finish the book" have to do with my healing? Nothing and Everything! It wasn't the book, it was Father's blessing of obedience! In the nearly 20 years that I have completely trusted my health to our Creator, this was a real test of my faith. More than once, I spoke aloud that Messiah Y'hshuah is my High Priest, and the High Priest intercedes in the health care of Israel.
YHUH Raphah b'shem Y'hshuah HaMoshiach. Amein
Moving was so very painful, but then, so was sitting as well as laying . . . In this, Father did bless me to make a wonderful new pain relief formula, and He did deal with me about other matters . . . For a time, life just felt very, very bleak. Thankfully, I never spoke it aloud, but there were a few times, the thought crossed my mind that I would never recover . . . As I was struggling to get some seeds in the garden, while still on crutches, I heard The Voice of Father! It was a short and very direct statement, "Finish the Book." Immediately, I knew the book to which He referred. I'd had the title for awhile, and started it four different times. The fourth attempt was in the works, but still wasn't gelling as I'd hoped. What does one do, when hearing a specific instruction? Just DO IT!
Any one position for very long, was painful, but soon there were writing stations for sitting, reclining, and standing. As I progressed in the book, my body was improving . . . I'm not a patient patient, actually I'm a horrible patient! So, I maintained a certain level of my activities, like seeing clients and maintaining orders. I did slack on housework and the garden . . . just hitting the high spots in the house, and facing the fact, the garden just wasn't going to be large. As it turns out, now through canning season, I didn't need to plant much, as there aren't that many empty jars. In my slacking due to the injury, I hadn't done as much cooking through the winter. Mr. B's idea of helping in the kitchen is going to the deli in town, so I didn't have to cook for him. Even with the small garden, there is abundance to share produce with others. Back to the book . . .
This book was built, and built in pieces, by faith. As I wrote, I literally had no clue how it would be assembled. When the time came to type it, Father again spoke. "Arrange in recorded order, not historical order, and use recognized dates." Now, I had the plan. As I typed, it just flowed so easily. Adding the dates was a bit tricky, but once I established a pattern, it flowed as well. As the book came together, I realized I was able to physically do more, as well as a dramatic decrease in my pain level.
By the time "Coffee with Paul and Moses" went to the publisher, I was back to my regular activities, and I got up from my desk walking like I had before the two accidents. Although I can now accurately forecast rain coming, I'm healed, stronger, and more flexible than before. I've also learned some great stretches and exercises through this recovery time. What did "finish the book" have to do with my healing? Nothing and Everything! It wasn't the book, it was Father's blessing of obedience! In the nearly 20 years that I have completely trusted my health to our Creator, this was a real test of my faith. More than once, I spoke aloud that Messiah Y'hshuah is my High Priest, and the High Priest intercedes in the health care of Israel.
YHUH Raphah b'shem Y'hshuah HaMoshiach. Amein
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