The Joys Of Goat-Ownership

Our farm has grown...quite significantly. To the original six cows (Which are, by the way, sticking around at last!) we have added three cats, twenty-three chickens, two dogs (the second one was dropped off at our house about three weeks ago and we have been unable to get rid of it.) and, the latest addition (as of five days ago) - sixteen goats.

A Few Of The Goats...

For the past several weeks, the goat-crazy members of our family (which would be myself and my Dad) have been doing a great amount of research and investigation on the subject of goats. We've received at least sixty e-mails on the topic and considered dozens of propositions. We've fenced in a pasture for them with electric fence (In my humble opinion, electric fence is THE solution to all fencing difficulties).

Unfortunately, the previous owners of our goats were either uninformed about caring for livestock or extremely negligent. As several of the animals were looking rather sickly, we had a big antibiotic and vaccination session. It lasted for about three hours on Saturday and was quite an experience. I was actually OK with it until around the tenth goat - she kicked me just a little too hard and flipped herself over before running off and jumping over the fence. We've also had to treat most of the herd for lice and some of them for foot rot - I must say that the veterinary work is my least favorite of the joys of goat-ownership...

Three of the goats in the herd belong to my sister and I - actually they were the three original goats. We bought them together as our first experimental investment. So far they haven't yielded us any profit - and we've spent a good deal of money on them :) - but it's been fun.

We do not have a herdsire yet. So far, the only buck in our entire herd is the little kid that my sister and I bought about two months ago. His previous owner had named him Earnhart Junior. (I had to innocently ask him who that was...) and tagged him J.R. Raora and I were not pleased with that name so his name is Jason aRgonaut. Unfortunately he is only about six months old and exceedingly spoiled. He'd follow us around like a dog if we let him.

Apart from the veterinary sessions, the process hasn't actually been that bad, but I am a little nervous about kidding season...

We are currently looking for another addition to the zoo...a donkey! Would you believe that one of the most popular guard animals for goats are donkeys?

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

A Day Without The Master

I just finished The Holy War a couple weeks ago. I didn't think it was Bunyan's best work. Some parts of it were allegorical to the point of being frustrating and it lacked authenticity at times but the story was thought-provoking nonetheless and it has some very good lines.

One thing I liked about the book was how well it dealt with the issue of playing with sin. In the story, when Emmanuel has the city of Mansoul under siege, the evil Giant Diabolus at first refuses to give up the city to Him. After a long period of parley, the Giant's emissary finally comes to Emmanuel with a new proposition.

"But, sir, suppose that my Lord would resign the whole town to you, only with the proviso, that he sometime when he comes into this country, may, for old acquaintance' sake, be entertained as a wayfaring man, for two days, or ten days or a month or so. May not this small matter be granted?"

Then said Emmanuel, "No. He came as a wayfaring man to David, nor did he stay long with him, and yet it had like to have cost David his soul. I will not consent that he should have any harbour more there."

I wrote this after reading those lines...

A DAY WITHOUT THE MASTER

"May I come again to see you?
Not often and I won't stay long
It'll just be for a single day-
When you get up, I'll be gone.

May I slip in after midnight,
Just to see how well you fare?
I won't attempt to wake you,
I just want to know you're there.

I will keep this poor heart quiet -
You won't even know I've come
Until day on the horizon
Lights my footprints with the sun.

Footprints gentle and unnoticed,
Barely marking your clean snow.
Oh, the Master will not mind it
Why, He'll never even know!

You are always with the Master.
Do you think I do not see?
Surely you can take one day off?
Spare one day for me?

Get behind me, Satan,
For your words are poison rain,
And not even my poor, foolish heart
Will fall for you again

You took our joy and innocence,
You chained us up in Hell,
And as if that were not enough,
You want our hearts as well.

'But we are not your slaves
And will not be your slaves' we say
Our houses will not harbor you
Not even for a day'

For a single day you spent with David
And dug his feet a hole
And David, though his heart was pure
Had like to lose his soul

And if that boy after God's own heart
Could lose sight of the heart he was after
Than which of our trembling hearts can survive
A day without the Master?"
-B.J.J. aka StrongJoy

The Pain of Desire

"All men desire happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and to others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. The will never takes the least step but to this object. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves." -Blaise
Pascal

I think this is profoundly beautiful and John Piper must have thought so too, because he wrote a book about it. The book is Desiring God and it is beautiful too.

Piper begins his book like this,

"You might turn the world on its head by changing one word in your creed. The old tradition says, 'The chief end of man is to glorify God AND enjoy Him forever.' 'And'? Like ham and eggs? Sometimes you glorify God and sometimes you enjoy Him, Sometimes He gets glory, sometimes you get joy? 'And is a very ambiguous word! Just how do these two things relate to each other? Evidently the old theologians didn't think they were talking about two things. They said 'chief end', not 'chief ends.' Glorifying God and enjoying Him were one end in their minds, not two. How can that be?...What does God say about the chief end of man? How does God teach us to give Him glory? Does He command us to enjoy Him? If so, does this quest for joy in God relate to everything else? Yes, everything! 'Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.' The overriding concern of this book is that in all of life God be glorified the way He Himself has appointed. To that end this book aims to persuade you that 'The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever."

I think we all know about what I call "The awe and the joy." C.S. Lewis says, "There is a kind of happiness and wonder that makes you serious." We might call it "heartbreaking beauty" because it HURTS. Ultimately, we desire it above everything else.

Desire is that burning, throbbing thirst within us for the "perfect." Everything perfect HURTS. It just hurts. It's hard to explain it because it doesn't seem to make sense. Why should desirable things hurt? But this is an addictive pain, a bittersweet pain. It may hurt us, but we can't get enough of it. And I guess that's precisely why it does hurt. It hurts BECAUSE we can't get enough of it.

So, what's the answer to the problem? Why can't mankind satisfy DESIRE? John Piper says that we are looking for it in all the wrong places. We are looking for the perfect in an imperfect world. C.S. Lewis agrees. He says,

"What Satan put into the minds of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could 'be like gods'- could set up on their own as if they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves, outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy...God cannot give us a happiness apart from Himself because it is not there. There is no such thing."

And so here we come to the crucial point. The only thing that can satisfy desire is GOD. "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (-Psalm 37:4)

Sonnet II

Sonnets again. You know I've never been big on sonnets but writing them gives me a sense of achievement and I'm learning to value the rhyme scheme a little more. In fact, I actually enjoy the sound of it now. I guess most all tastes are acquired :) Some of you may remember my first sonnet, written way back when...well, I have another one. I like to think that this one is better than the first one, but you decide. I'm an amateur and so I like every poem I write better than the one before it. :)

This poem came into being through a number of experiences. It touches a little on the "free choice" issue, which has confused me a lot in the past. God has given us the freedom to choose. Why can't we choose whatever we want? If there is only one acceptable choice, why doesn't He just make us choose that? Reading Desiring God (awesome book!!) really helped me to make more sense of that subject. In the poem, I wanted to express the idea that giving up our rights (including the "authority to choose") is The Choice. Submission. And John Piper would say that in return for it, we get JOY!!! "Joy inexpressible and full of glory." Who would not sacrifice everything they have for Joy?

I must admit the thing that moved me to actually write this poem (instead of just sitting around and thinking about it) was one of the last scenes in "The Empire Strikes Back" - the scene where Luke, completely battered and conquered, throws himself over the tower rather than give in to Darth Vader. That was the only part of Star Wars that made me cry. It was too beautiful.

It's reminiscent of Matthew 10:39- "He who has found his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake shall find it." Almost suicide. Dying to live - and essentially, dying for JOY! That's what Jesus has been asking from us for roughly 2000 years. Anya posted about this not too long ago: "Giving what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose."

Another thing is that I wanted to express a little bit of anger towards The Enemy. You know, the way Luke says, "I'll never join you!" That is why the majority of the poem is addressed to The Enemy and only in the last two lines do I switch over to address God.

As always, I welcome suggestions and recommendations. All the poetry I post here is subject to ruthless editing :)

SONNET II
I know of all the things that I will lose
But I'll not serve you even for their sakes
For I have yet the power to refuse
Along with other things you cannot take.
I treasure them for they are worth the spheres
Worth more than galaxies that I could lose
But I hold still another treasure here
The crystalline authority to choose
The power to know the agony of the heights
To see the torture just as it will be
And throw my life, my treasure and my rights,
Like falling flowers into the ebbing sea.
I die, oh, God, unless I understand
My one choice is to reach out for Your hand.
- B.J.J. aka StrongJoy

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

Cowlessness

Yes, I'm still here and still alive. I do occasionally turn on the computer and check e-mails...and today I'm making a blog post! Woohoo! :) I do have a good reason for my long absence, though. It can be conveniently summed up in one word: cowlessness.

Cowlessness: The lack or absence of cows in the vicinity in question, and the severe mental distress following such occasions. *There is a higher known occurrence of this malady in rural areas, particularly where the fences are of a more ancient quality.
The story goes like this...a little over a week ago, we were the proud owners of three beautiful pairs of brand-new cows. They were the prettiest cows in the world, with special characteristics such as crooked horns, skittish behavior, healthy tendencies to run upon being slightly startled, etc.

Due to unfortunate problems in "ancient quality" fencing, we now own three pairs of cows, with much the same priceless characteristics but in a much different location. To speak plainly, our precious animals have vanished. Following days of fatiguing search, that involved specifically hour-long treks through chigger-infested grass, entire afternoons spent hiding by the gate to wait for the truant cattle (obviously I brought a book), evenings spent sitting in the gully stalking a family of field mice (to make up for our inability to stalk the cows) and other such thrilling and intriguing experiences, we have at last located the missing beasts.

Taming them is a gradual process of course, involving lots of molasses feed in a conspicuous yellow bucket, but we're getting there, and hoping to see them on our side of the fence again tonight.

I will try to post something more substantial as soon as possible, but wanted to let you know that this is not a deserted blog!...

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

It's Memorial Day - A Tribute To Our Veterans

"War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself." -John Stuart Mill

I want to say "Thank you" to our troops. Regardless of what we think about politics or about this war, we appreciate you for doing what has to be done. You are heroes and we are blessed to have men who will defend our freedoms.

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

Almost Perfect...But Not Quite

I think this is one of Shel Silverstein's best works...I love the irony in the poem and the way he was able to get such a great point across to us through this simple poetry.

ALMOST PERFECT BUT NOT QUITE
"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of Mary Hume
At her seventh birthday party,
Looking ‘round the ribboned room."
This table cloth is pink not white—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of grown-up Mary
Talking about her handsome beau,
The one she wasn’t gonna marry.
"Squeezes me a bit too tight—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

"Almost perfect… but not quite."
Those were the words of ol’ Miss Hume
Teaching in the seventh grade,
Grading papers in the gloom
Late at night up in her room.
"They never cross their t’s just right—
Almost perfect… but not quite."

Ninety-eight the day she died
Complainin’ ‘bout the spotless floor.
People shook their heads and sighed,
"Guess that she’ll like heaven more.
"Up went her soul on feathered wings,
Out the door, up out of sight.
Another voice from heaven came—
"Almost perfect… but not quite."
-Shel Silverstein

And yes, I regret to announce that I will be traveling AGAIN for the next two weeks, so I may not get around to the computer too much for a little while....


Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

Hab Keine Angst Vor Menschen

Then I said, "Alas, Lord God! Behold I do not know how to speak because I am a youth." But the Lord said to me, "Do not say, 'I am a youth,' because everywhere I send you, you shall go, and all that I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you." declares the Lord. -Jeremiah 1:6-8

One of the many repeated lines in the Bible, is "Do not be afraid," or "fear not." I didn't realize the significance of this until very recently. I guess that the reason I did finally start thinking about this was because I was reading the verse in German ("Hab keine Angst vor Menschen") and I loved the sound of it, even before I stopped to figure out exactly what it meant. The German version sounds so powerful and authoritative that it made me pause and think about the verse. In doing this, I noticed something about the line "Do not be afraid of them": it doesn't stop there. It goes on to say "for I am with you." And I realized that nearly every time in the Bible God says, "Do not be afraid," He concludes, "because I am with you."

Seize The Day!

-StrongJoy

We Love Our New House...

...which is one reason why I'm not posting much lately :)

We moved out here on Saturday and some very sweet people we know surprised us with a big reception at our door and a whole troop of helping hands to unload our truck. This was a wonderful blessing and we were able to get everything into the house in very good time.

On Saturday night we were down by our pond, (which is more like a very small lake, by the way), watching the fish jump and I was inspired to suggest that we go buy some fishing poles and try fishing in the morning. It took some work to convince the older members of the family that this was actually a good idea, but we did it, and we've caught about thirty perch, a catfish and a bass so far. For us, that was a phenomonal thing. I'd only caught three fish in my entire life, none big enough to keep, and my littlest brother and sister had never been fishing before. Where we lived in Turkey, there was never a place to fish and the water was pretty polluted. Our uncle gave us some fishing poles once, but we couldn't really use them because we had no place to go. It's hard to believe that we can fish on our own property now!

There's a lot of work to be done at this new place and our internet situation is still shaky, but I'll try to update before too long.

While you're waiting, here's a hilarious video I found a long time ago and have been meaning to share with you guys for quite awhile...

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

The Cross And The Switchblade - A Call To Anguish

Not too long ago, I stayed over at a friend's house with my brother and sisters while our parents were out of town. I was sleeping with my little sister, who was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, so to speak, but I always have troubles getting to sleep in strange houses, so I went over to the bookshelf, looking for something to read. The book that caught my attention was The Cross And The Switchblade, because I had just heard my Mom talking about it that week, and I wanted to read it. So I did. I started on the very first page, and I said, "I am going to read this book if it takes me all night." (We teenagers don't have any problems with staying up all night - we're very flexible about bedtimes:) That was one decision I will never regret - one night that was not wasted... I laughed, I cried, and over and over I set the book down and prayed, because you cannot read that book without praying. I should warn you, The Cross And The Switchblade is a hard book, and you will probably break your heart over it, but I'm learning every day that it's OK to break my heart. And it's OK to keep breaking it, over and over again. That way I keep a vision of The Perfect. I don't get so used to how it is that I forget how it SHOULD be.

The Cross And The Switchblade is the incredible story of how one young man got a call to do a hard thing - and did it. But it's also the story of the New York City street gangs and the teenagers like Nicky Cruz who were so lost that Wilkerson thought no love could reach them. David Wilkerson was a young, married preacher in Pennsylvania and his call to go to NYC came through a murder-trial picture in a magazine. The murderers were kids, all under 18. And Something told Wilkerson to "go to NYC and help those boys." He didn't want to go. He didn't know anything about violent, teenage street-kids. He didn't WANT to know anything about them. But he knew he was supposed to go, so he did it. What happened afterwards is a story that actually defies reality, but don't get me wrong here - this is not a book about David Wilkerson changing NYC. In fact, much of this book is about moments of absolute miserable desperation, moments of shock and that sickening feeling that comes with the realization of a nasty truth. Much of this book is about defeat and anguish.

Wilkerson says that everything in his life that ever mattered to God was born in anguish. I can testify to that fact, for I have found it to be true in my own life. If I am not anguished over something, I will not do anything about it. The only times in my life where I have committed to set my alarm for five in the morning and get up to pray, were those times I have been anguished over something and could not live with the hurt of it any more. And, to be honest with you, it is only this year that these moments are beginning to come regularly and I am starting to realize what all of this anguish means and how it all works together for good. If you feel up to hearing something that will bring you to your knees, I'd recommend that you listen to A Call To Anguish.

I'd say it is really passages like this one, detailing Wilkerson's first meeting with Nicky Cruz, that show the reader of The Cross And The Switchblade the anguish that birthed everything Wilkerson did for the NYC gangs:

'Go to H---, Preacher,' he said. He had an odd, strangled way of speaking and he stuttered badly over some of his sounds.

'You don't think much of me, Nicky,' I said, 'but I feel different about you. I love you, Nicky.' I took a step towards him.

'You come near me, Preacher,' he said, in that tortured way, 'I'll kill you.'

'You could do that,' I agreed. 'You could cut me in a thousand pieces and lay them out in the street and every piece would love you.' But as I said it, I was thinking: and it wouldn't do a bit of good - not with you, Nicky - there's no love on earth that could reach you."

That is tragedy. There's only one word for that last line: tragedy. It's surely a good thing it wasn't true. The Cross And The Switchblade testifies relentlessly to the Power of Prayer. It cries over and over again, "never, Never, NEVER underestimate the Power of Prayer." If you've read it, you probably know what I mean.

My favorite line from that book is Nicky Cruz' first prayer: "Dear God, I'm the dirtiest sinner in New York. I don't think You want me. If You do want me, You can have me. As bad as I was before - I want to be that good for Jesus." Anybody can say, "I am the dirtiest sinner" but in Nicky's situation, it was probably true. I think it would be hard to imagine a sinner worse than Nicky Cruz...and yet he fell to his knees in tears at the altar and gave it all up to Jesus. How can anbody refuse to believe in miracles?!

I recommend this book to everyone who isn't afraid to cry for the utterly lost kids in our country and to pray for them, not just today or this week or this year, but as long as we live. And I recommend this book to every teenager because we need to know these things.

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

How Many Countries Can You Name In Five Minutes?

57

Seize The Day!
-StrongJoy

The Awe And The Joy

Well folks, I've never linked you to another post by someone else and sent you on to read that, but I feel this one is worth your time. Anya has hit the nail on the head and I couldn't have done it any better than she did, even if I did trust myself to try explaining such an indescribable thing. Please stop by and read her beautiful post about the awe and the joy.

Seize The Day!

-StrongJoy