Happy September Friends!

Fall is right around the corner and we have so much to look forward to! Trexy is due to calve in just 44 days! Fingers crossed we get a red steer from her this year! We are also planning and preparing for our goat breeding season that will be here before we know it. I am hoping to get a blog post out this week with all the fall preparations we have planned for the farm.

I wanted to share something that God illuminated to me this past week. I was reading the passage in John 10- The Shepherd Know His Sheep. I've read this passage many times but the concept of this illustration became, well illuminated. As farmers of livestock we see the difference between how our animals respond to us versus how they respond to strangers. They know us. They know our voice. They trust us. But they won't come if a stranger calls them over. They just stand there staring at them, trying to discern if they are trustworthy or not, and most of the time they opt to stay put or walk away from them. But we were once strangers to them too. We had to show them that we are trustworthy. It took intentionality and effort to build the relationship we have with our animals. Much is the same with our walk with Christ. He is the Good Shepherd and He cares for us more than anyone in this world. He is trustworthy. He is caring. He is kind. He knows exactly what we need and knows us better than we know ourselves. Again this was illuminated as we treated Luna's pink eye. Luna didn't want us to spray her eye multiple times a day, or give her an antibiotic injection. Luna tried to run from the discomfort of the remedy but we knew she needed it. So we gently lead her and had to be patient with her. Eventually as her eye began to heal, she could see that we were not trying to hurt her, but help her. How many times in my own life have I fought to avoid the hard things, thinking I knew better than God. But God was patient with me, He was kind. He knew what I needed and He provided.

I hope that was an encouragement to your heart, it sure was to mine!