We came back from Mission Conference in PA last week. It was 0°C most of the time and no snow. When we were back to Ontario, we got snow and -20°C at night most of the week. Anyway, it is time to order seeds again. I really want to have a seed starting rack indoor but with 7 ppl in the house, finding space is always a challenge. However, rather than buying packets of seeds, I am going to buy them in bulk, at least some of them. I try to buy heirloom and open-pollinated varities, but sometimes hybrid grow better with less disease. Of course, we stay away from GMO seeds. Buying seeds in bulk save money but you would have to store the remaining seeds properly.
1. Put the seeds in plastic zipper bag of the right size. Make sure the seeds are dry.
2. Put a label with the date and name of seed on the zipper bag.
3. Put several bags in an air-tight jar. A canning jar is good.
4. Put a bag of silica gel into the jar. This will absorb excess moisture.
5. Put the jar in the refridgerator. Make sure it is air-tight.
6. when it comes to next year’s planting time do a seed starting test for germination rate.
All posts by Derek
Little Helpers
Children can be trained to be your great helpers at a very young age. Make it fun for them to help you. Let them know you appreciate their help with lots of praise. In this way, an 18-month can help you peel the onions together with your 3-year-old. Your 4-year-help can peel the parsnip for you. Your 6-year-old can peel potatoes while your 8-year-old can fry the eggs. Then you can sit there and enjoy the scene 🙂
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Goodbye to our hens – with a sad ending
We are going to a mission conference in PA for a couple of days so we have decided to butcher our layers. I have arranged an arbattoir to process them 1 month ago. So I picked up the crates the night before and brought them to the plant last Thursday. I got a call Friday night saying they have forgotten that I was sending the hens and thus there were no inspector and no butchering. They asked me to take them back and rearranged another date. Well, my neighbour has to work that night and so I don’t have the trailer. I replied back saying I couldn’t make it and asked them to dispose the hens. So it was a waste, no free-range, farm fresh stew hens for us. I hope this year when we are going to raise 50 -100 broilers this won’t happen again.
The Authorized King James Version Bible
If you read English and are going to get a Bible, please get a King James Bible. It is true that there are some words were “old English”, but there are lots of resources and dictionaries to help us. The more I read the KJV, the more I believe it is the Word of God and I can trust it. If you are a Christian, you need to get your foundation correct — the Bilbe.
It is often said that all Bible versions are basically the same, that their differences are just minor wording changes. Read the following comparison between the King James Version and the best-selling modern Bible translation, the New International Version, and then decide for yourself whether or not this is true. We have added bold text to assist the reader in recognizing changes.
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KING JAMES
BIBLE |
NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION |
Why did Jesus come to earth?
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Luke 9:56 For the Son of man is not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them. And they went to another village.
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Luke 9:56 and they went to another village.
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Is repentance important?
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Matt. 9:13 …I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. |
Matt. 9:13 …I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners. |
For whom did Jesus die?
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I Cor. 5:7 …Christ our passover is sacrificed for us: |
I Cor. 5:7 …Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed. |
In Whom must you believe to be saved?
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John 6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. |
John 6:47 I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life. |
Was Joseph really the father of Jesus?
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Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him. |
Luke 2:33 The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. |
Did Jesus give His disciples power to heal?
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Mark 3:15 …power to heal sickness, and to cast out devils. |
Mark 3:15 …authority to drive out demons. |
If it’s hard to do, should we just remove it?
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Mark 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. |
Mark 11:26 (missing) |
Who is in charge?
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I Cor. 10:28 …for the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof: |
I Cor. 10:28 (last part of verse missing) |
How must we deal with our enemies?
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Matt. 5:44 …Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. |
Matt. 5:44 …Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. |
Where did Jesus go?
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John 16:16 A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father. |
John 16:16 In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me. |
Question: Aren’t some of these things included in the NIV in the footnotes?
Answer: That is not the same as including them in the text. When a young Christian sees these passages have been moved to the footnotes, he or she will assume that they are probably not really part of God’s Word. After all, the translators did not include them in the text, but simply implied that “some” manuscripts include them. What they are not told is that the vast majority of texts used by the early church included these words. They are God’s Words!
The above passage is taken from Chick Publications KJV vs NIV
We finally have a hand grain mill
I have finally decided to buy a hand grain mill for my wife. Because of her candida, we have come to learn a whole variety of grains. We used to eat just wheat and rice and now we have tried quinoa, buckwheat, millet, armaranth, etc….. Having a grain mill is handy because the store-bought flour turns rancid easily. Fresh grounded flour should be consumed within 2 weeks for peak nutritious value but I believe most of us keep our bag of flour at least 6 months.
After some search, I decided to buy the Wonder Juionr Hand Grain Mill. It is not cheap but it is solid built and comes with 2 sets of burrs, 1 for dry grain and 1 for oily seeds. We have tried it and it works wonderfully. It is pretty tiring to mill just 1 cup of flour but it is good exercise afterall. I don’t think I need to work out if I use the mill everyday. Surely an electric mill will be a time saver but our kids enjoy turning the wheel. I can’t wait when Kay recovers we can have some fresh yeast-free sourdough bread made from fresh grounded grain.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
To all visiters of our online store and blog, we would like to wish you a wonderful Christmas and Happy New Year. Remember that Jesus Christ is the reason for Christmas. That is the historical truth. It is not about Santa Claus, not about exchanging gifts, not about boxing day shopping. It is about Jesus, the only Saviour of mankind. It is sad to see so many people purposely or ignorantly forget about this. Living here in North America with an abundance of material, I fear that my children will expect gifts during Christmas and take it for granted. It is pretty hard for me to explain to them that millions of children around the world never receive a gift, let alone they struggle each day just for a piece of bread or a bowl of rice.
We are so blessed by God that we have a roof over our head, food in the fridge and storage, a vehicle for transportation and clothes to keep warm. As another year approaches, I pray that we Christians will be serious about our faith and separate ourself from the world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15 KJV)
May God give peace and joy to those that abideth in Him.
Anyone like sweet potatoes?
I am planning to grow sweet potatoes next year. This is an easy-to-grow and nutruious plant. If anyone is interested, please email Greg Wingate for electronic copy of his catalogue at wingate@nbnet.nb.ca at Mapple Farm. Growing instruction is included in the free catalogue. I will still grow potatoes next year but only to about 20 plants.
Square Foot Gardening in winter
After a couple of snow days, the mini greenhouse supported by the flex plastic pipe collapsed because of the snow load. On the other hand, another mini greenhouse supported by platic electrical conduit still stands. So my experiment has proved that the flex plastic pipe is good for summer use while the electrical conduit can be used in all 4 seaons. The electrical conduit costs a little bit more and is harder to bend.
The veggies we try to grow is lettuce, spinach and choy sum. It looks like under this cold weather without any heat source, the growth is very slow but the plants survive.
Firewood Cutting video
Here is a video showing how Tiffany and Odelia work together to split firewood: Watch it now
The Godly Home Series
A brother in Christ gave me the website for Charity Ministries. There are a lot of free sermons but I am especially interested in The Godly Home. It is about 20 hours of sermons on how to build a godly home. It covers all aspect of how to train and bring up a child, how to build a home strictly according to Scriptures and how to keep your children’s hearts, etc…. I highly recommend you to take time and listen to them.