Hope...

Verse of the Day: Romans 5:3 "And not only [so], but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

⁴ And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

⁵ And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us."

 I have been meditating on hope this past week, and a short devotional by a beloved friend, Pastor Jay Folk, led to some interesting insights. So here is a short combination of our thoughts.

Hope: It makes the farmer go out every year and plow the field...

And plant...

And cultivate, fertilize, watch, and pray...

As  the  crops grow throughout the summer...          .

Never giving up, for they are his livelihood.

Storm- clouds may gather... hail, blight, and insect menaces are an ever-present possibility...

But even after the greatest disasters, the farmer goes back out the next spring and plows again...

Never giving up hope... the hope of the Harvest.

The crib may be empty today...

But soon it will fill...

With the blessing of harvest.

Are you giving up hope in life?

                  Are your dreams beginning to look doubtful and hazy?

                                   Does it seem that you will never become the man or woman God wants to make you?

Never stop hoping, striving, praying, reading the Word, reaching, pressing toward the mark.

God has given His promises...

...And one day Hope will be fulfilled.

Of Wheels and Deals

I have had quite an adventure over the course of two months. I have been doing nothing but fix cars, it seems. First, the brakes went on my truck.

Mr. R. willingly gave of his garage space, time, and experience to help me rebuild them. He's such a blessing!

Finishing up at 9:30 PM...

...And we're back on the road. Sure glad that's done; I had an hour-and-a-half drive the next day.

(Thanks to Amy for the pictures!)

But alas, when I replaced one of the rear brake lines, I snapped off the rust high-pressure fuel line. I spliced it and we were good to go again. Then a couple weeks later a large wate tank in the bed of my truck pushed down on the top of the fuel gauge sensor conector. The old, weak plastic broke, rendering the fuel gauge useless and allowing dirt and gravel to mix with the gas. Of couse, soon my fuel filter was clogged. I replaced it, but the fuel pump was evidently ruined. I sized up the job.

*Fuel tank: $160

*Pump:        130

*Sending unit: virtually unavailable.

It looked like the poor truck had outlasted its usefulness. So I took it to a junkyard/used car lot up the road and offered to make a trade. The fellow had afew decent cars, and I had my old jeep and truck to work a deal with. I settled on a '97 chevrolet Malibu with the 3.1L V6, and we did a straight-up trade. 

So goodbye to the truck...

...and my once-trusty jeep, with all its good memories.

And welcome to my latest steed.

I've replaced wheel bearings, strut assemblies, pads and rotors, and hopefully it will take me a good many miles. I'm already enjoying the gas savings!



Sunset

Verse of the Day: Job 17:12
They change the night into day: the light is short because of darkness.

I packed a picnic supper and went out to Golden Hill to watch the sunset.

Calm Waters

Sunset Fun

Toronto Tower

Repast on the Rock

Yeah, I'm still alive...

Here's a smattering of whats been going on at SimpleAcres Farm

Our tractor, An International 154 Cub Low-Boy

A wild turkey hen visits the garden on a Sunday Morning.

A Baltimore Oriole in my back yard.

My latest musical exercise: Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring for String Quartet

Like the music stand?

My five-string violincello. (Commonly called a cello [chel - oh])

A wondrous sunrise.

My cow, Blessing. She is a friendly little Jersey. Find out about her home farm here. Very good friends.

See ya later!