Thursday, April 19, 2012

Restoring the Land

Once we have moved to the farm there will be many things to do before we begin producing any product. Among the things is building a barn, a shower house, a chicken coop and a small place for private meetings.
Since our soil is clay we will be bringing in several truck loads of compost and using a walk behind tract or like this to work them together.












We will be using an attachment like this to build raised bed as seen in the next photo.









We hope that our soil will end up looking like this.









As I think about our soil and my life I am struck by how similar they are. My personality was similar to our soil in that it was at times hard and resisted the Holy Spirit. God used several different tools to work me as we will the soil.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

We Dreamed it, We Pursued it, God Delivered it


We placed an offer on the 11 acres that is located just north of Stover, MO and the seller accepted our offer. The interesting thing that God has done is take us from looking for a farm close to a large metropolitan area to looking in a more rural area which is close to a very popular lake area. The property we settled on is fairly close to what we began looking for and very close to the price we set a year ago.


The property has a mixture of open and treed land, a pond, a well, a small creek and a small house. That is almost everything we had on our list. It is secluded yet easily accessible.

Here is what has taken place in the last few years. We have become open to the dream God placed in our hearts, we have become debt free, we have trusted as God moved us to the area He wanted us to have the farm in and we have looked at every set-back, road block, closed door and disappointment as the next step to God revealing where He wanted us. We have had the support of our family and friends which we look forward to having down often for visits.

Today I want to encourage you to move forward on the dream God has given you and if you do not know what that is I encourage you to pray about it. It will most likely have something to do with your life experiences and the gifts and talents He has given through them and through His Spirit.

I want to leave you with what I saw in the bathroom at the McDonalds in Versailles, MO. It goes something like this: "Be willing to give up yourself to become what you can be."

Pray about it, Move toward it, Work for it and Let God Deliver it.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

11 Acres We are Considering for the Farm

Kat and I walked these 11 acres the other day and really like the feel of this property.

This view looking towards the south.










This view is looking towards the east.














This a view of the house and shed looking directly east.












This is a view from the pond back to the house.



























This an overhead shot of the property. The open land at the top is not part of the property.


View Larger Map
We have not placed an offer on this property yet and are still in the process of praying about it. We feel good about it but we want to be in God's will not ours.

The soil is like most of the land in the Ozarks with a clay rock mixture and we would have to build it up. We have found a local company that does composting and they will deliver dump truck loads to the property for a reasonable fee.

Please pray with us about whether this is where God wants us to establish Restoration Farms.

Friday, April 6, 2012

I Woke to a Cold Trailer for No Reason

Last night the temperature got down to about 41 degrees and I had not turned on the heat in our trailer. One reason I had not turned it on was I wasn't sure how to and another was I was somewhat afraid of running the gas furnace since I did not understand it's operation. As I ate my breakfast I read the manual and tried the furnace. I now sit typing this in a comfortable 68 degrees.

It then occurred to me that our relationship with God is like that. Because we do not read the manual God has had written for us we do not trust Him. Instead we fear Him because we do not understand how important we are to Him. We think He is mad at us for our sins and He wants to punish us.

In John 3: 16 we read that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."

Once we truly understand and grasp what this verse means all fear and misunderstanding of God disappears. You see God does not have a goal of punishing you for your sin but of forgiving you of it.

This Sunday we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus and we need to remember how amazing grace is. I hope you enjoy this song by Chris Tomlin as you think about what God has done for you. Then listen to the second song by Pocket Full of Rocks.

Sunday, April 1, 2012

We're Not In Kansas Anymore


We have been in the Ozarks for a week now and I think this photo sums up the transition very well.

We have left the comforts of friends, family and church community to new surroundings, new beginnings and a new comfort.

I am reading "Culture of Honor" by Danny Silk which I will use as the foundation for the Restoration Center.

The idea is to show people who have messed up who they are and whose they are. Our job is not to point out the sin in others but to shed light on what Jesus has done for them. As followers of Christ we have been given a Ministry of Reconciliation, 2 Corinthians 5:18, and we have been called to have self-control not other control, Galatians 5:22-23.

The Restoration Center will be a safe place where the Holy Spirit will reconcile wounded people. In a future post I will go into more detail about how this will look like at the Restoration Center.