Prospering

Last night our pastor finished a sermon he had begun on Sunday night about putting the pieces together to prosper scripturally; not prosper in the sense of becoming wealthy, but rather to have enough to meet all your needs with some left over. I like that definition. Most of us are not going to be wealthy, but to have all our needs met with some left over would lead to a pretty good life.


Some points were; live according to the Bible, pay your tithe (10% of the gross income), give more than your tithe ( to missions) and be generous – especially to the poor among us. He clarified that the poor are those who still lack after their best efforts, not those who are lazy, or who have thrown their lives away to addictive habits.

So I can safely say that Mama and I are prospering. All the left over after our tithe and faith promise is given is being spent on the farm, on the children, on the grandchildren, etc. but if we were not prospering we could not do what we are able to do. I would say we have a good life; not struggle free, but a good live.

Heavy rain is forecast for today and tomorrow in Bowie, so all deliveries to the farm have been postponed until either Saturday or next week. Personally, I vote for next week since we are planning on being there and it would be great fun for Mama to participate in. I, of course, will be working. Somebody has to work.

Saturday would be okay, but Mama and I are going to Rogers, TX to get some things from my sister, Sarah. We are hoping to take Grandpa along with us but any delivery of animals will necessitate his staying behind. If Sarah’s in-laws show an interest, we will be buying some guineas from them. Hopefully, the more mature guineas will fare better on the farm. Our survival rate for that particular breed of fowl is not good: Farm 0, Predators 4.

No one is complaining about the rain. We are still several dozen inches behind from the three or four previous years. With the creeks flowing again and the tanks overflowing, there is a tenuous hope for an end to the shortages we have been enduring in Texas – of water, crops and livestock. Grandpa is getting ready to broadcast some grass seed in one of the upper meadows once the nights begin to stay above 40 degrees. The ground is wet enough to make the idea practical. The prospect of even more moisture coming adds to that practicality. There are no guarantees, but it is a good bet.

Capitalizing on that idea, Grandpa and Victoria are starting some seeds in the back room of the little farm house. We hope to put the plants in the ground in early April, after the last threat of frost. With the weather as it is, it is difficult to tell if normal weather patterns will prevail, but it is the best information we have to go on at this point. We have a big garden planned.

I asked Mama to keep an eye out for canning supplies. If we can produce the vegetables and fruits we are hoping to produce we will need several hundred jars and another freezer. I have not given that number to Grandma and Mama yet for fear they will faint before we get started. If we bite it off in little batches, we can do quite a lot. We will count the total this fall and see how close I was in my prediction.

I guess we should consider that prospering.