Back in November last year I wrote about the difficulties living on the farm.  And sure enough this winter we have more than enough share of snow and gusty wind.

I would like to share the following from DailySuccess program by IBLP: 

G—Give thanks: “In every thing [including reviling] give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you” (I Thessalonians 5:18). If our first response is to thank God, we will have the right heart attitude to understand the deeper reasons for God allowing it to happen.

R—Rejoice: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4). Giving thanks is an act of the will; rejoicing is a response of the spirit when we list the benefits that God intends to give us through the trial.

E—Engraft God’s Word: “…Receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). During His wilderness trial, Jesus defeated Satan three times using Scripture: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). We are to follow His example.

A—Appeal to God: “Call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me” (Psalm 50:15). Crying out to God is powerful! David testified, “When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me” (Psalm 56:9).

T—Triumph With Good Works: “Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). It is through good works that we put to shame those “that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ” (I Peter 3:16).

I found that when I face difficulties or something not get accomplished according to my plan, I start to complain.  I start to complain that my wife is not a good help, I don’t have boys to help me on  farm work, the girls don’t tidy up without me ordering them to, I don’t have good tools to do the job, not enough time to weed the garden……on and on and on.  However, after these months, I come to realize that it all depends on my heart.  I did not pray to God for help and need, and I am not content with what He gives me.

When I start to analyze, I found that my wife is a big help to me.  She homeschools the girls, teaches them Bible everyday, teaches them to clean, cook and do the laundry.  She prepares tea for us everyday.  She researches on the internet and in books about cooking healthy food.  She posts in this blog about dangers of modern packaged food and how to stay healthy because she wants to help people.  She keeps a small business selling tea, books and salve.  If you look at her schedule, you will be amazed at how she accomplished all these.  She is a HELPMEET to me.

My girls are wonderful.  They take turn to setup the table, clean the dishes, clean the table and vacuum after meals, put away clean clothes, tidy up the toys and give us hours of laugh.  They are very creative in arts and making up their own games.  They always remind me to read Bible to them.  Last summer, they all helped me water the garden, laying mulches, feeding the hens.  They are gifts from God.

My tools are good.  I have a good-sized collection of carpentary tools, plumbing tools, electrician tools etc…..What I want were “professional” tools which in fact, would be a waste of money because I won’t get to use them that often.  For example, I hope I can have a lithium-battery cordless drill so that I don’t have to charge an hour before using my drill.  My drill is also very weak on power that after 15 mins of heavy use it starts to die off.  However, do I really need a high-end drill?  I doubt it. 

You see, when I start to look at my life closely and see how good the Lord has been to me, I start to give thanks rather than complaining.  There will always be difficulties in life, but if the Lord allows them to happen, there is a meaning.  He wants us to grow in character during the hard times.  And sure enough, if the ceiling never has the water problem, I would never go up to the attic and never know how to add insulation and install turbine myself.  If it wasn’t because I don’t have enough time to take care of the garden last year I would never thought of using mulches and practise companion planting.  If we never get sick, I would never know that herbs are so powerful and better and cheaper than drugs.  If I never come into something that I cannot handle myself, I would never know that I can enlist my family and friends to help.

The last point above is very true.  God allows adversity because He doesn’t want us to face them alone.  He wants to remind us that Jesus is with us and we have family and brothers and sisters in Christ around us.  We don’t have to fight the battle all by ourselves.  As body of Christ, we can come together and help each other out.  What a wonderful God!  I know it will be a life-long process to be able to say, “I fear no challenge because the Lord is with me.”  At least sometimes I am still weak and complain.  However, knowing that the Lord is our tower and shield really comfort me.  Knowing that we are just visitors of this world allows me to focus not on earthly things but heavenly things: other people’s souls.

Last thing I want to add is about mortgage.  We have watched this DVD seminars from Jim Sammons on financially freedom and one chapter talks about borrowing money.  The warning is:  don’t do it.  And if you are in debt or have a mortgage, pray to God that you will do everything possible to repay it.  I struggled on this for a long time.  Finally I said to God that I would sell my RRSP investment and pay down the mortagage.  I also asked God if He wants us to move again so we can have a smaller mortagage, but meaning losing my “country dream”.  For 2 months I have waited on the stock that I hold to go up in value because I was losing in position.  Finally I stopped rationalizing myself and I sold at a loss because if I don’t do something right that God has put in my heart, it is a sin.  Then after 2 days I sold the stock my parents said they would like to give me some money to help me pay down the mortgage.  Wow, God is working here.  I take that as a sign that He still allows me to live on this farm.  One thing I pray is that my parents and brother William can be saved soon.  They have helped us tremendously in finance and I am very grateful to them.  If you are reading this post and you are a Christian, please pray for their salvation:  they are Spencer(dad), Judy(mom) and William (younger brother).

Enjoy the snow and be proud you are Canucks!

This year we have so much snow.  Thank the Lord I purchased a snowblower last year and it is running.  The snow is up to my knees.  It is a good thing to the ponds and rivers and streams because last year we had little precipitation during summer. 

The weather has been -10°C for a week now so the pond should be good. We gave it a try and bingo! It is good for skating. I shoveled about 1/3 of the snow aside and we were skating on the pnod for the first time our life. It was fun!

First it was Sonia, then Viviana, then Tiffany, then Odelia and now Kay and me. The cold has been dragging for more than 10 days now. Thank God nothing serious, but mild fever, sneezing and coughing. Herb, garlic, giner, cinnamon, lemon are all we take. NO DRUGS, NO COUGH SYRUP.
Hope God can restore our health for Christmas.

Recently the ceiling of our garage-turned-studyroom show sign of condensation and mold. I installed a turbine thinking if it is ventilation problem. Then check each soffit vent too. Upon investigation I found there is no insulation above the gymsum board along the exterior wall. Bought 3 bags of R-31 fiberglass and fill those holes. Also double up existing insulation because there is only 1 layer of 6″ fiberglass. Thank the Lord there is no mold, condensation in the attic. No sign of decay of roof plywood.

We just had our first snow storm and winter has not officially arrived yet.
Thank God that we had a snow thrower and it does speed things up.
Our garage ceiling is leaking water and don’t know if it is condensation or roof leaking. Hopefully the contractor can fix it soon.
The water for chicken is frozen everyday and I really wonder if I should turn on the heat, but the chickens look fine and still laying.
Sometimes I don’t know if I have made the correct move to a farm because of so much trouble. Machines break down, water pump needs replacing, long driveway to shovel snow. Not to mention the time to cut grass and gardening in spring to fall. I feel overwhelmed that it seems like I am the only person doing everything (outside). So I think we should wait upon the Lord to give us the right time to move, especially when we still have debt for living here. Maybe His will is for us to stay in city for a while until we can afford to be debt free. And after moving to the farm, initially I thought “This is it, this is a dream comes true.” But then, after 1 year living here, because of lack of knowledge in farming, carpentary, mechanics, etc…. I am so tired. I asked myself, did I make the right move?
I believe God has put into my heart to move to the country. But maybe later, maybe when my girls are older. But most importantly, when a problem came up, I did not pray about it and asked God for help and direction. I just simply looked up books, asked neighbours, searched the Internet. It is time that I focus back to God and ask Him:
I did not wait upon you and made the move, and now I am tired and burnt out. Please forgive me.
Please show me your will and ways to glorify you. If it is your will for us to stay here at the farm, help me to cope with difficulties. If it is your will for us to move, let us know. Please help us to repay the mortage as soon as possible.

You see, I believe if I have a content heart and focus back to God, those problems will be much easier to handle because God will be with me there. And I will thank Him for the opportunity to learn.

Today is my first time bring my second daugther to take out the garbage. We have a medium size driveway, long enough to park 12 cars head to tail. I always remember to take them whereever and whenever possible at least one of my children with me. This way, they get to know things work around them in everyday life. They also feel good about themselves helping us doing the chores. They feel they are needed and they are now “big and strong” to do something that they cannot do when they are small.

My wife also asked our oldest to gather eggs alone. And she did a good job.

You see, if kids were sent to school, they missed out all these opportunities

Today we plant the bak choi, spinach and romane lettuce.

Due to my ignorence, I turned off the heat at the shed where our barn pump is located. I thought the insulation is enough to fend off the cold but BIG MISTAKE. The pump is damaged because of the frozen water inside and water is leaking from it. Have it fixed today at around 400 for a rebuild model. Hydro bill is going to go up 🙁