Home Birth
Topic: Baby/Pregnancy
Have I mentioned we are expecting our fifth child on March 22? My wife is now very ready to have this baby. We were waiting for the 37 week threshold to pass, as our midwife will not deliver a pre-term baby at home.

This will be our first home birth. Our family has been somewhat bewildered by this decision. But they often are at most of our decisions. When you purpose to follow the Lord, people are bewildered.

I think that is like the deer I mentioned in my previous post. They see something unusual, and in their amazement, their normal activity ceases, and they just stand still in amazement. It's as though they can't quite comprehend what they are seeing.

Our midwife is at the Gentle Birth Clinic.

Beauty in Creation
Topic: Nature
I remember now one of the things that attracted us to this farm. My wife and I went for a walk down the gravel road. Just as we rounded the bend, two bald eagles came out of the trees in our pasture and flew right over our heads. What a beautiful sight of majesty and God's design! (I should take a camera on our walks.)

As we continued on, we saw two deer through the trees. They were looking at us with a "what are those people doing walking on the road?" look. There are not very many people in our area, so when we are seen by animals doing something unusual (like walking on the road), they tend to stand there in amazement, watching us as much as we watch them.

As the sun set, we were moving out of the wooded area . Behind us, we heard the eerie cry of coyotes. They like to stand afar off and yip & howl.

We covered about three miles in an hour.

Praise God for His creation. Even though we know it is a destroyed world we live in, the remnant is beautiful. How must have the pre-flood world displayed God's wonderful design?

Farm Vision I
Topic: Farm
Part of the reason we bought this farm in 2003 was to produce our own clean food. But the principle reason was to provide the tremendous opportunity for teaching that a farm provides. As home educators, we are always looking for teachable moments, but sometimes (I think) we need teachable lifestyles.

Our farm, if successful, should be able to produce a future for our children and grandchildren. How can 65 acres do that? It starts with contentment. (1 Timothy 6:6-19) But it also uses the Old Testament model of the family economy. How did God prosper the patriarchs? Did the children strike out on their own with independent households at 18 or 22? What expectations does our culture set, and how should we set our children's expectations?

At first, I thought we should give an enterprise to each of our boys. They would run the business with my help, but it would be theirs. We got a checking account for my oldest when he began running our broiler operation. But after building a tidy sum in an independent account, God's Word changed our minds.

We want to encourage the children to serve others, not themselves. Certainly we are motivated to feed and clothe ourselves. But do you work even harder as a father to provide for your family than you did when/if you were on your own? Why not foster that spirit of service from childhood?

So now the boys are still operating their enterprises, but to the benefit of the whole family. Each of us contributes to the economy of the family. I'm brining home most of the capital at this point from my outside job. My boys are building up the farm with their work and my management assistance. My wife and daughter contribute to the economy of the household by producing a garden full of vegetables, homemade household goods and clothing, etc.

Perhaps the best way to put what the future might hold is this: A farm where everyone contributes, including adult married children and their families.

More to come...

Mood:  happy
Thank you for the encouraging comments, Kristen and Carmon!

Welcome to SLF Blog
Mood:  not sure
I now intrepidly enter the blogosphere. Although I read a few blogs, I can't understand where people get the time to read these things. Now that I'm writing one, I'm wondering where the time will come from to make entries on a regular enough basis that someone will actually want to come back!

For the next few posts, and perhaps longer, I'll try to flesh out who I am and what my family and I are up to. The site is primarily for Shady Larch Farm, our business, home and vision. Since this place represents a large portion of our life, I will post on various subjects as we progress.

Perhaps this site will simply be a way for me to track my own progress and the progress of our family. So if you wish to lurk and listen, welcome. If you are a brother or sister in Christ, I'm anxious to hear from you. I hope to encourage those out there that are looking for a biblically directed vision for family, church, government and business.

I recognize I am not an expert. My opinions are subject to revision, because God continually reveals His purpose to me through the study of His Word. I also welcome your admonition.

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." Proverbs 3:5-7 (KJV)

Glory be to God the Father, Jesus Christ His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.