Friday Thoughts
August 5th, 2005 by Northern FarmerSometimes I do wonder about what the heck is going on in this world. I almost hate to do it because it gets a guy down if he’s not careful. Seems like every direction a person turns there’s something or somebody out there that hates farmers, especially self suffficient ones, agrarian types. It seems like everything that goes on at the USDA now is against anything to do with family farming. Anything multi national ag companies want they get from the government. So called enviromentalists are against farming. Recreationists are against farming. The person wanting to escape the city or suburbs and build a house in the country to establish a new suburbia is against farming. Many hunters are against farming but I suppose they could be classified as recreationists. As society has become industrialized they have tended to devalue the profesions that care for the land. The “free” market does not place value on a farmer’s stewardship of the soil, the water, the air, or animal life. This is not just the “other” people thinking this way, some non Christian moderns. This is what is happening in the very church that I have attended for two decades. It saddens me so very much that even the church is so caught up in the modern ways that they look at farmers as the bottom of the heap. In some of the blogs that talk about debt and over borrrowing in modern America it’s unbelievable what this society is doing to itself, and from my point of view there are no worse offenders than the modern Christians. At our church my Christian agrarian beliefs are a joke or at least politely smiled at.One time during prayer and praise the pastor even was praising God that the farms were dissappearing and being replaced with beautiful new homes.That tore through me like a knife in the gut. I’m not a good Christian because I’m not following the crowd in total immersion of the modern ways. So we still go but you know, it’s so sad. We go to worship our Lord and to try to follow Him. It’s difficult being a lone wolf, lonely too, as I watch the ever maddening race to insanity. These are just the beginning of my thoughts on the subject of many modern churches. I thank the Lord for the bloggers that share my points of view on Christian Agrarian Living. It gives a boost of courage when it’s badly needed.
August 5th, 2005 at 11:18 pm
Ezekeil 37: 10-14 says “and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. 11 Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are clean cut off. 12 Therefore prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Behold, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, O my people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. 13 And ye shall know that I am Jehovah, when I have opened your graves, and caused you to come up out of your graves, O my people. 14 And I will put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I will place you in your own land: and ye shall know that I, Jehovah, have spoken it and performed it, saith Jehovah. ” I see God working through small alternative farmers to build a great army. While it is a loney movement, one that estranges us from even church family it is one that is very powerful and effective for God. There are graves all around us. We live in a society of walking dead people. We live in churches with walking dead souls. But, as we hear the leading of God to farm the land, we are given life and know and acknowledge God. Kind of powerful huh?
We haven’t really gotten into sharing our farm beliefs with church brethern. We have been chastised for not attending all three services because we milk cows for a “hobby” , it interferes with the Lord. Go figure. We have been ridiculed enough for our other beliefs: homeschooling, homebirthing, large family. Why push them more? God has a way of giving us solitude reducing our dependence on people so we can totally rely on Him. The agrarian life is one of solitude in many ways.
August 6th, 2005 at 4:06 pm
Thank You!
Tom
August 8th, 2005 at 7:52 am
Hey Brother,
Sounds like you’re feeling kind of down. Our heart goes out to you. We were in a similar position (regarding children, though, not farming). We will keep you and your family in our prayers. Sometimes those who are called our brethren are the ones who will attack us the hardest.
Like Milkmaid, you don’t fit their mold. If you are not doing the church programs, you are simply not a “good Christian”. My FORMER preacher even told me (in regards to children’s church and youth groups) that I was wrong not to put my children their. Why? Not because of what scripture teaches but “because all the mainstream churches are doing it and since the Holy Spirit leads the church, it must be right”…
Judging by what you’ve written, you are doing the right thing for your family and for the Kingdom of God. The moderns (whether heathen or believers) just don’t quite understand yet. Keep up the good work and the good posts.
Milkmaid, I really like your encouraging words.
August 8th, 2005 at 7:34 pm
Thanks Matt,
I have nothing against the church here just I’m not going to follow them on the course they’re heading. Maybe I’m wrong, but I only have this one chance to follow our Lord. I don’t want to follow the path modern society is taking. I post these to show how even out in the country the masses are finally giving in and following the world, sad, but true.I know we’re not alone.
August 9th, 2005 at 12:23 pm
Amen Tom!!!
We have started home-churching and while I’d like to see us grow, we are more like minded as a fellowship..
Keep it up, Brother.
JM
August 9th, 2005 at 6:30 pm
JM,
That sounds like a good way to go, home-churching. If that’s what the Lord has in store for our family down the road we’ll be ready.It’s hard to even imagine it, worshipping with like minded folk.
Tom