It has been so long since I have written because we have been busy, busy about the farm.
The more we know, the more we know that only God can do this amazing work, the more we call out to him for direction and help.
We have been looking into the options, finding facts, building a workable farm plan, and praying, a lot.
Some of the things we have discovered is that this farm is a great place to implement our farm model.
The first aspect our our farm plan is to start a CSA based on the square foot gardening method. There is a field with full sun close to the house. There is access to water and electricity. We wouldn't have to disturb the existing soil. We could just build the boxes and get started.
The the lower part of this same field would be a perfect spot for a test plot of American Chestnuts interplanted with blueberries. We have found a partner at the American Chestnut Foundation who is very interested in helping us implement this project.
Byran is searching out the option of running a saw mill and making flooring and molding from trees that would be harvested from the property. He could also purchase logs from a supplier to help support the other operations of the farm.
The two other possible sources of income would be renting out one of the two houses and boarding horses in the horse barn.
There is SO MUCH to consider and SO MUCH to learn. Our main obstacle as always is funding. We are exploring the option of becoming a non-profit, but then we couldn't own the property ourselves, the non-profit would, and I suppose the non-profit could at some point find someone else to run it. Ouch!
So we continue to seek advice, look for partner organizations, and ask the Lord to guide us. Where will all this lead? We are unsure, but we know the Lord is at work. Tomorrow, I will fill you in on our visit to see the farm and our families. For now here are some words that have spoken to our hearts...
"Frequently the Holy Spirit brings to our remembrance with life and power words of the Lord which else we might have forgotten. He also sheds a new light upon well remembered passages, and so reveals a fullness in them which we had little suspected. In cases known to me , the texts have been singular, and for a while the person upon whose mind they were impressed could hardly see their bearing. ...
Before this dispensation shall close, we doubt not that every sentence of Scripture will have been illustrated by the life of one or the other of the saints. Perhaps some obscure and little-understood promise is still lying by until he shall come for whom it was specially written."
-C. H. Spurgeon
from According to Promise
A section from According to Promise is printed each month in our church's newsletter. Each month I look forward to reading the next selection. The words of Spurgeon on this subject have spoken deeply to my heart. They have also brought to remembrance verses that were impressed upon my heart last year when we first starting praying about this property. I was working though a wonderful study by Andrew Murray entitled Waiting on God when these words acquired new significance for me.
"Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land..."
Psalm 37:34
Could the Lord really be using this verse to speak to us about our current prayers? The verse was burned into my memory but I feared I might be abusing Scripture to comfort myself. My husband asked me about that verse again recently and I have been taking this verse to the Lord. Is He using these words written by David long ago to speak to us now? Is that what Spurgeon meant when he penned the aforementioned passage?
We pray the Lord will continue to guide us into his truth so that we will rightly divine his purposes for our lives and bring only glory to His holy name.
