Isnt it just like the Lord....

We give little to nothing and He pours out on us abundantly...

I cant help thinking about that when I look at a little tiny seed that Im about to plant. Look at the tiny little thing we put in, and He blesses it and grows it and gives us abundantly from it!
Thank you Lord!

War Between the States~John Dwyer

Here is a personal email to Brett from John Dwyer that I cant wait to share with you!!

   Brett, it is great to hear from you, buddy... we are getting close to big news on a 3rd Edition of the WBTS book. First up will probably be an eBook version, followed by the print version similar to the previous one and color cover but black and white interior and less expensive. The Adams' prayers are appreciated!

God bless you,

John D  (Isnt that great news! Those of us who have been waiting for a copy, or for another copy, like us, have something to look forward to soon! We will keep you updated!)

Christianity is;

(Archibald Brown)

Christianity is all centered in a person.

Conversion is not a mere change of human opinion; it is the devotion of heart to a person. A converted man is not a man who just changes his views concerning certain facts, or theories, or doctrines--but he is a man whose heart has become devoted to a living Christ. All of your religion, if it is worth anything, will just be centered in a living personal Jesus.

How having a cow changed my life....

Rosie

Having a cow has CHANGED my life! Only for the better though! Aside from the fact that there is
no more sleeping in, we leave friends houses at a decent hour in order to be home to milk~ there are some other strange things that we have been known to do now;
1. Chase down trucks that are hauling great looking hay to see where we can get some!
2. Pray for rain and study fields to see if farmers are going to get a second cutting~
3. Constantly check 'feed' prices, dairy grain prices, and instead of looking for clothing sales,
we look for sales on fodder:)
4. Make absolutely sure that there is ice in the house even if there isnt an over abundance of food
(as ice is necessary for immediate cooling of the milk)
and last but not least
5. Scan the fences of the neighbor with cows to be sure they are in good condition so we dont
end up with a crazy bull in our yard while the littles are running around..
So I guess if we had odd interests before , we are OVER THE TOP now!
It is an interesting subculture to be a cow owner.
I guess I should add;
6. I now have someone else to talk to that talks, or rather moos, back to me:)

Dr. Joe Morecraft

Have you met this man? This is 'THE' Dr Joe Morecraft! We were so thrilled to meet him! I was so happy to meet him I shook his hand twice that weekend!

He is the pastor of Chalcedon Presbyterian Church in Cumming, GA. He has been the pastor there

since 1974! He is an amazing man. A complete Souther Gentlemen, extremely intelligent...it was our absolute pleasure and joy to meet him at the CHEF convention this year! To copy a quote from his

website "Pastor Morecraft has produced the first comprehensive commentary on the Westminster Larger Catechism. This five volume set titled Authentic Christianity dissects and explains the teachings of this oft-neglected encyclopedia of biblical truth for today's readers in language they can understand"...

This is a most coveted set of books I can tell you! I know several families who are looking forward to getting this set!

So, if you ever get the opportunity to meet or listen to this great man I would encourage you to do so! We have listened to him for years on Sermonaudio and we would strongly encourage you to listen to any and all of his sermons!!

Thank you Mr Morecraft for your work for His Kingdom! Youre amazing and we think youre great!

A funny.....

• Posted by Brett and Dana Adams on June 27, 2012 at 10:58am

Our air is out and it has been 100 degrees here. We got in the car yesterday and the air stopped working in it too! By the time we drove across town, in more heat, I was ....lets use the word...grouchy?
So we got to our friends business and we all filed out to go inside. No sooner were we in that nice air conditioned office and the 5 year old ran across the room. Not good business office etiquette. I of course took him outside , in the heat, to reprimand him. By this time my brain was fuzzy from the sweltering heat and all I could think of to say to him was; "If you run in his office one more time, ....well youre just toast little buddy". The 3 year old was standing behind me and said to Sam "Yes Sammy, if you be bad you only get to eat toast! Humph!"
Well I guess I got the point across after all:)

J.C. Ryle "Reality"

IS THIS YOUR RELIGION?
"You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes nor figs from thistles, are they? So every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit." Matthew 7:16-17

If you would know whether your religion is real, try it by the FRUIT it bears in your heart and life. The Christianity which is from above--will always be known by its fruits. It will produce in the man who has it: repentance, faith, hope, love, humility, spirituality, kind temper, self-denial, unselfishness, forgivingness, temperance, truthfulness, brotherly-kindness, patience, and forbearance. The degree in which these various graces appear, may vary in different believers. The germ and seeds of them will be found in all who are the children of God. By their fruits--they will be known.

Is this your religion? If not, you may well doubt whether it is real.

Your religion, if it is real, and given by the Holy Spirit--must be in your HEART.
It must occupy the citadel.
It must hold the reins.
It must sway the affections.
It must lead the will.
It must direct the tastes.
It must influence the choices and decisions.
It must fill the deepest, lowest, inmost seat in your soul.

Is this your religion? If not, you may well doubt whether it is real and true.

CHEF Conference 2012 Part 2

Have you heard of this man? I am CERTAIN you have! In the off chance you havent, you can go meet him here! bondbooks.net and douglasbondbooks.blogspot.com.

Amazon says about Bond: "Douglas Bond, author of more than a dozen books, lives with his wife and six children in Washington State. He is a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), has a master's degree from Saint Martin's University, teaches English and history at Covenant High School, and was awarded the regional Teacher Award for teaching young people how to write. He lectures on literature and Church history and leads study tours in Europe."

All of that is true but that isnt all! He is a very kind, godly man and also an fantastic speaker! You should hear his 'cool' Scottish accent! He has an amazing book series called ; The Crown and Covenant Series. Our grown children read and loved this series 10 years ago and it is no less popular now with our other children!

When we attended the Reformation Faire at The McDonalds church in Peoria last year, Charity bought "Hostage Lands"....

this was the favorite until....at the CHEF conference we bought "Betrayal"..now that is the favorite...except that we also bought "The Mighty Weakness of John Knox"! Sigh! There is no favorite now! They are all amazing books! He is an excellent author that we highly recommend to any and every adult or child!

Thanks Mr Bond for giving us and our children amazing literature to read!

All Natural Fly&Tick Repellent

Well I could have called it 'organic' but...the essential oils (EO)I use for this are not! I save the good stuff for the family when they need to use them. I buy 'good' quality oils for my repellent but not the 100% Pure organic stuff!
So here is my long awaited repellent recipe, let me know if you try it!

I first get a 'sprayer', recycled that had something else in it or a new one from the almighty dollar store:)
I add 1 1/2 c. vinegar (not a.c vinegar either, I save that for the cow:)
1 cup of oil (usually vegetable)
And a cap full of these EO...which works out to about 2 dropper fulls...
Lavender
Eucalyptus
Peppermint
Citronella
After adding the oils, you fill the rest of the bottle up with tap water. Wella!

For the oils I use to make this, I buy from The SanFranciscoSpiceandHerbCo their bulk oils are not what you would use for medicinal or internal purposes as they are not organic, nor do they even claim to be pure. They are really good for cleaning and fly spray though.

Adrenal Recovery Update...

  I realized I hadn't posted recently on how my journey to recovery is going. Thanks to all of you who have prayed for me, counseled me and encouraged me on my way.
  It was about last Oct when I 'crashed', and my health turned around for the better on May6th! Praise the Lord with me!
  Many have asked, "What did  you do?" "Do you think (fill in the blank) did it?" "What one thing do you think I should take?"
  Well unfortunately there is no silver bullet. For example in my case; it took 42 years to get that way, one has to expect it to take time to 'come out of it'. In this case meaning, give your body time to recover, restore and start functioning properly, the way God designed it to do; on its own.
  It wasn't really a difficult decision for us to choose the natural path to recovery. Though, when some days were tough, and I was riddled with pain and fatigue, someone would say "Meds will make you feel better NOW!" Sigh, that was tough! I soo longed to feel better, but not at the expense of future wellness and true healing.
  So here is the long and short of what I did, what we did as a family and what we continue to do to this day.
  First let me recommend HIGHLY, Dr. Lam. He can be found online. He is a wealth of information, highly learned in the area of adrenal issues. He is QUITE expensive if you 'hire' him...so make good use of all of his free materials online to get headed in the right direction.
  SUPPLEMENTS; One of the biggest necessities in restoring your exhausted body is quality supplements. I take 'Special 2' by NOW, but I buy them at LuckyVitamin.com. Next in abc order here are the other 'vitamins' I take;
Bcomplex-sub lingual
Cal/mag-liquid
C-1500 mg daily
D-5000 iu daily
FlaxSeed oil-1
Iodine/Chlorophyll-interchangeably. Ill not say which type I use...research what is best for  you
Lutein-daily recommended dose on packaging
Selenium -1
Probiotic
That is it for the most part on the vitamins. Now that I'm feeling better, I don't take everything every day. I do faithfully take my awesome multi vitamin though!
  Another very important factor in helping our ovaries/adrenals/thyroid recover is the use of essential oils. I am a firm believer in essential oils, they really work.
  Linda at heritageessentialoils.com sells a product named 'Vitality', 'Master', and the oil 'Nutmeg'. You can read on the website how to use these and see testimonies from users and how they were helped by them. I am certain that Young Living has some blends that do the same thing. I am not sure what they would be called. If you prefer to use Young Living oils (which are also excellent!) you can contact Stacy McDonald through her Y.L website "The Common Scents Mom". She sells them and has some good offers available.
  Last but not least...part of the problem with women my age, and adrenal issues, is the fact that we have, by this age, been exposed to years of toxins, pesticides and insecticides. These have an effect on our body in a way that they 'mimic' estrogen. Adrenal issues are hand in hand with low progesterone, and with estrogen dominance.
  So how do you avoid those environmental chemicals....make your own things!
  We have never been big on using any type of poison. So some things are easier for us in that way. Weve never used oven cleaner, or toxic fly spray, only last year did we finally use 7 dust in our garden...MY BAD!!! And last summer was the first time in years we had used mosquito spray!
  But those are only the obvious places that we see chemicals which damage our body. What about your toothpaste? Shampoo? City water? Deodorant? Hair Dye? Dish soap? All of these things contain chemicals that mimic estrogen in our body. So...out they go! We make toothpaste, powder, shampoo, hand soap, have a well for water (if you dont I would highly recommend a filter for your shower head) So far I buy deodorant only because Ive been busy making fly spray and udder balm!..I bought Henna hairdye and I bought chemical free dish soap! That can be easily made too Im sure:) OH! I am in the process of ordering and trying out soap nuts for my front loader...I hope I like them!
  LAST BUT NOT LEAST....food. Sugar, white flour, pastries and soda pop....oh my those are soo bad for us! There are such wonderful replacements available too! Xylitol and stevia are wonderful natural sweeteners, spelt flour tastes amazing and if you just like the burn of soda there is Perrier water!
  Another huge factor in the chemicals our bodies are bombarded with come from our meat, dairy and vegetables. Commercial beef/chicken/pork/ is fed grain, lousy hay, antibiotics and growth hormones..then we eat it!
  Dairy cows are fed huge amounts of grain, lousy hay, growth hormones, bht and antibiotics. And have you seen a yard where dairy cattle are kept??? How about a commercial 'chicken pen'....Did you know that 70-90% if chicken meat is saturated with chicken feces? Ugg..
  Vegetables/Fruit are another problem. They are LADEN with pesticides and insecticides. It is so important to wash your fruit/veggies properly and thoroughly before handing them to our precious children to eat! Soak them in vinegar or scrub them down in the least. Peels of veggies are so good for us but not unless the are organic or naturally grown.
likeminded in these endeavors, and things have just become available that we didn't notice before.
  And as usual, as I always say, we do the best we can and don't worry about the rest. At first our goal was to eat one organic meal a day. Sometimes we don't eat one, other times we eat organic all day for several days in a row.
  One huge encouragement is from Dr. Weston Price in the 30s-By the way dont forget your Butter oil/Cod liver oil...3 T daily, very important!...he had a group of children for only one meal a day. That one meal a day, plus the butter/cod oil, was enough to drastically change the childrens teeth and health for the better! Also, as we are subjected to soo many dangers in the environment, any changes we make at all will be noticed and appreciated by our fearfully and wonderfully made bodies!
  So here is to your good health, and your attempt at organic! ~OG

A Mothers Influence

(Timothy Shay Arthur, "The Mother")

Upon the character of the mother depends, almost entirely, the future character of the child. No matter how wise and good the father may be, his influence will do but little--if opposed by that of an injudicious mother.

The father is with the children only for a short time each day, and cannot know their characters thoroughly, nor the means that best react upon and correct their evils. Upon the mother devolves, therefore, of necessity, the high and important duty of molding the characters of her children--of impressing them for good or evil--of giving them true strength for their trials in after life.

The whole life of the child is affected by the mother's character, and the influences which she has brought to bear upon him.

What is Faith?

We know that Scripture says that Faith is the substance of things hoped for , evidence of things not seen....but what is Faith....? Hear what Thomas Brooks said in 1667
(Thomas Brooks, "Heaven on Earth" 1667)

Faith is an appropriating grace.

Faith looks upon God, and says with David,
"This God is my God forever and ever!
He shall be my guide unto the death!"

Faith looks upon Christ, and says with the spouse,
"I am my Beloved's--and my Beloved is mine!"

Faith looks upon an immortal crown, and says
"Henceforth is laid up for me a crown of glory."

Faith looks upon the righteousness of Christ,
and says, "This righteousness is mine to cover me."

Faith looks upon the mercy of Christ, and
says, "This mercy is mine to pardon me."

Faith looks upon the power of Christ, and
says, "This power is mine to support me."

Faith looks upon the wisdom of Christ, and
says, "This wisdom is mine to direct me."

Faith looks upon the blood of Christ, and
says, "This blood is mine to save me."

Faith has a kind of omnipotence in it;
it is able to do all things.

My new nickname....

GFO~Glutton for Organic, how do you like it? LOL!

Prayer of Lady Jane Grey

My 'The Homeschool Channel' friend, Anne, from http://www.educatorsathome.com/ posted this. Thanks Anne~beautiful. May it be the prayer of our heart also.

O merciful God, be Thou unto me
A strong Tower of defence,
I humbly entreat Thee.
Give me grace to await thy leisure,
And patiently to bear
What Thou doest unto me;
Nothing doubting or mistrusting
Thy goodness towards me;
For Thou knowest what is good for me
Better than I do.
Therefore do with me in all things
What Thou wilt;
Only arm me, I beseech Thee,
With Thine armor,
That I may stand fast;
Above all things taking to me
The shield of faith;
Praying always that I may
Refer myself wholly to Thy will,
Abiding Thy pleasure, and comforting myself
In those troubles which it shall pleased Thee
To send me, seeing such troubles are
Profitable for me; and I am
Assuredly persuaded that all Thou doest
Cannot but be well; and unto Thee
Be all honor and glory. Amen.

Raw Milk...

I suppose I should post about the benefits of raw milk before I post this defense of it! But, I cant wait to post this comment I found on the Internet. This guy is such a clear thinker. He was on a forum in 2009 and some folks were talking about how society needed to be protected from unpasteurized milk. Personally I think we should make our own choice, the gov't shouldn't have the right to tell us how we consume our food. I am not of the opinion that people are ignorant and need protection from themselves.This mans name is Christopher and that is all I know; Is it certainly something to think about~
Raw milk as well as pasteurized milk are both excellent media for propagating bacteria. Pasteurization kills bacterial and fungal pathogens that have contaminated the milk prior to pasteurization (though heat resistant strains are beginning to become problematic). Following pasteurization, the milk is just as susceptible to contamination as raw milk (it may even be more susceptible as raw milk contains probiotics that can prevent the growth of pathogens). Recently, in Massachusetts, there was an outbreak of Listeria traced back to contaminated pasteurized milk, that killed two people.
As pathogens have killed quite a number of people throughout history, we are not surprisingly fearful of them. However, it is becoming more apparent, that there are many beneficial bacterial strains as well. It is estimated that the human body is comprised of 10 trillion human cells and 100 trillion bacterial cells. It appears that these symbiotic bacteria have numerous and profound effects on a variety of biological processes. 10% of human breast milk is comprised of oligosaccharides (complex sugars) that humans cannot digest but beneficial bacteria (bifidobacteria) can. I think at this early stage in our knowledge of how intestinal bacteria effect our health it would be premature to say that pasteurized milk is healthier than raw milk, as the full benefits of raw milk are not yet known. Human breast milk contains pathogens (in addition to multiple redundant anti microbial mechanisms), would proponents of pasteurization also suggest that pasteurizing human milk is a healthier alternative to simply breast feeding?

Still Waters Revival Books!!!

I had to share this with you. This is an amazing resource of some of the greatest material in print! Please go to the website and check it out! http://www.puritandownloads.com/swrb/

THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD BY AL MARTIN (17 FREE MP3S & MORE!) NEW ADDITIONAL COMMENT BY DR. VODDIE BAUCHAM ON THE PURITAN HARD DRIVE "I actually need to buy another Puritan Hard Drive! I was in Zambia showing it to Conrad Mbewe (the Spurgeon of Africa) and he absolutely fell in love with it. I simply had to leave it there. It is a valuable tool, and I meant everything I said about it (click here to see Dr. Baucham's full review). All of our guys love it. We'll probably start buying them for our interns and leadership/elder training students as well. Soli Deo Gloria! - Dr. Voddie Baucham, Reformed Baptist Pastor (Grace Family Baptist Church, Spring, TX, Voddie Baucham Ministries, etc.), Author, Conference Speaker, Seminary Professor, Church Planter, etc. Just Released: Full Printed (PDF) Puritan Hard Drive Manual (Click Here) Free MP3s on God's Sovereignty Scroll down at each link below, to the MP3 player on each page. Enjoy! Al Martin, the Modern Day Spurgeon Sovereignty of God 1 of 17 Introduction - The Scripture Alone As Our Guide by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 2 of 17 Creation; Providence; Grace: Sovereignty Clearly Asserted by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 3 of 17 Grace (Includes Common Caricatures) What the Bible Means by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 4 of 17 Key Words: Election, Elect, Chosen (Pick Out From Among) by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 5/17 Key Words: Foreknowledge; Those He Foreknew He Predestinated by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 6/17 Key Words: Predestination; Called/Calling; Appoint Beforehand by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 7/17 Key Passages: Matthew 11:25-27 and John 3:1-11 by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 8/17 Key Passages: John 6:37-40; John 6:60-65 by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 9/17 Key Passages: Romans 9:1-24; Introductory Perspectives by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 10/17 Key Passages: Romans 9:1-24; Exposition & Applications #1 by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 11/17 Key Passages: Romans 9:1-24; Exposition & Applications #2 by Al Martin Sovereignty of God 12/17 Key Passages: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 by Al Martin And there is more! Follow the link at the top of the page!

Gotta love this little guy!

Isnt that the sweetest face?

He had his 'procedure' yesterday, woke up mad as a hornet! Finally calmed down, took a nap

and woke up good as new. We love you baby JAX! You are truly my

Noni bug!!!

All things work together for good!

(Sometimes it is difficult to grasp or believe but....)Dana

"All things work together for good!" Romans 8:28

What! Shall all my severe trials, troubles and afflictions work together for my good? Yes--but they are not good alone--but only in connection with other things.
Outward--and inward,
painful--and pleasant,
joyous--and grievous,
gains--and losses,
victories--and defeats,
all work together! And God superintends the working, so as to secure our good and prevent our injury! God aims at our real and lasting good in all that He does--and in all that He permits. He does nothing, nor allows anything to be done which affects us--but what we shall bless and praise Him for, when we see the entire whole in the light of glory!

"He has done all things well!" Mark 7:37

(James Smith, "Food for the Soul" 1867)

HOMESCHOOLERS!!!!

Have you joined The Homeschool Channel yet? What are you waiting for? Your input and influence are being missed! Follow the link on the right and see how you can be blessed and be a blessing and encouragement to others.

Ticks...

Nasty little critters arent they?
Well there is a natural way to deal with these too! Are you familiar with Tea Tree Oil? Once you have smelled it you will never forget the smell! If your pet (or family cow!) has a tick embedded in it, all you need to do is put one drop of Tea Tree Essential Oil on it...the tick will pull out its head and you can thunk it away~or deal with it however you choose! When you read about this online folks say the tick will pull out its head and 'drop off'...well we dont see them drop off but they are easy enough to flick off and stomp on once they pull out their head!
  Now that you have the tick out and off, and have meted out justice to it...the next thing to do is to keep them away. Research online indicates that healthy people/animals will not be bothered by ticks...hmmm...well anyways the next best thing to do it use a natural yet effective fly/tick repellent.
  We have a great natural fly spray recipe but we found that we need to add the additional repelling properties to keep away ticks so we have added to it. That is a post for another day though:)
  Additional note; I just heard from Linda, whom I call my 'Essential Oils' gal:) I told her about the Tea Tree oil for ticks and this is what she said;
  Hi Dana,

Thanks for the tick tip - we've found that any EO we've had on hand worked to get the tick to back out - just too much for the little guy! Tea Tree is a good choice because it doesn't burn the skin (like oregano) and is also good for wounds and sores.

Thanks!

Linda

Heritage Essential Oils

PO Box 223

Ross, TX 76684

Linda@HeritageEssentialOils.com

Facebook.com/HeritageEssentialOils

HeritageEssentialOils.com

254.829.0384

Toothpowder

  Ok I did a post on homemade toothpaste, now here is one for tooth powder!
5T Calcium powder
1T Baking Soda (or food grade D.E)
3-5 T Xylitol (or stevia)
Dash Salt (Himalayan or Sea Salt)
  When I first started making tooth 'stuff' I was a bit intimidated by the 'Calcium Powder', but it is easily purchased online at Lucky and Im sure Walmart even has it.
  One of the difficulties with toothpowder is getting the powder to stay on your toothbrush. The solution I use is, I keep a small container of Coconut Oil in the bathroom and dip the toothbrush in it, before shaking the powder on the brush. Works great and Coconut Oil is so beneficial! Try it and enjoy!