Category: Holidays

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Thanks Giving

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
‭‭Colossians‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This week, we celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday. What’s sad is few people actually celebrate the holiday for what it was originally intended.

The “first” thanksgiving was a celebratory events that brought together God fearing believers with non God fearing people to celebrate a great harvest, a sharing of knowledge, friendship, and fellowship. Everything was provided by God to all at that “first” thanksgiving.

It was not the “first” thanksgiving in history. The Bible tells us that from the beginning of our planet by God, thanksgiving has taken place. In the beginning, God provided for us with plants, animals, and knowledge, all for us to survive, thrive, and worship. Worship by the way we fellowship and by the way we live each and every day.

Here on the farm, we are shown each and every day how God gives and provides for us. God’s giving comes in many different ways, even ways that we often don’t see as good or as a way to give thanks for. But every day, we should give thanks to God. He allowed you to wake up, to eat, to work, to learn, to grow, to fellowship, to give to others, and the list goes on and on. So in every moment give thanks to God, not just at special events or on special days.

As with every day, today we, here at Serenity Acres Farm, give thanks to God for all that he provides us and that he provides you, our friends. Thank you visiting and welcome to Serenity.

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The protector

“The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭20:7‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Being a father of two daughters, I understand the duties and responsibilities of protecting and providing for my children. Your children become your world and your purpose for living. Their happiness becomes your happiness and their sadness becomes your sadness. Protection of our children becomes our top priority.

I have many stories from years on the farm, but one story reminds me of a protective father.

The story took place when I was 13 or 14 years old. My family raised cattle on the farm at this time and it was time to take weaned calves to the market to be sold. My dad, my granddad, and I started the day sorting the calves that we wanted to sell from the rest of the herd. As we worked on sorting the calves, the bull and father to the calves watched us intensely all morning. Once the sorting was completed and the calves to be sold were loaded onto the livestock trailer, we prepared to pull the trailer to my grandparents’ house before leaving for the livestock market. I drove the pickup pulling the trailer. As I pulled up to the main gate, the bull that had been watching us was blocking the gate. I honked the horn and yelled for him to move but he stayed put. I got out of the pickup and moved toward him to get him to move, he turned and looked at me but never moved. I walked back to the pickup to honk the horn again and move the pickup a little closer to him. While I was walking back to the pickup, the bull moved to the left side of the livestock trailer and with his body pushed on the trailer. He then went to the other side and did the same. As he was doing this, I ran to open the gate. By the time I got back to the pickup, he had returned to block the gate opening. He continued the back and forth blocking the gate and rocking the trailer for ten minutes until my dad came and helped me get him to move. For the next two days, the bull stayed by the main gate waiting, he was never the same after that.

That’s the way it is with dads, we want to protect our children from all of the suffering, the pain, and the disappointments of the world but we can’t. With each event in our children’s lives that cause pain, suffering, worry, stress, and disappointment, it changes us because it changes our children and we are never the same. Dads work hard to protect and to provide, knowing all along the impossibility to fully achieve. Yet, we do it anyway.

On this Father’s Day, tell your dad that you love him and thank him for all that he does for you, but mostly thank him for loving you more than he often loves himself because he blames himself for all of your shortcomings.

To all the dads out there, thank you for all you do and Happy Father’s Day from us here at #welcome2serenity. Thank you for visiting.

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Generations

“A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.”
‭‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭1:4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Next to the driveway for the farm is a Southern Red Oak tree. This oak tree is one of the oldest trees on the farm. It has survived storms, droughts, pests, and damage to its trunk and limbs.

I remember playing under and in this tree as a child. My granddad worked under this tree on farm projects and equipment repairs. It served as the afternoon shade during hot Mississippi summer days.

For generations this tree has been here, just like my family. For generations my family has owned, worked, and lived on this farm. Through bad times and good times, we have survived and thrived. Sacrifices were made and compromises found so our family and this farm land would continue to exist.

This Memorial Day, we think about those who sacrificed everything so we can live in a free country. For generations, this country has survived and thrived as the free country it is. By the grace of God and the sacrifices of generations, we are free. So this Memorial Day, let’s remember those who gave all for us so we can thrive. Thank you from #welcome2serenity and may God bless you all.

To view our photo of the week, go to https://welcome2serenity.com/photo-of-the-week/