Tag: Devotion

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A Love as Sweet as Honey

Psalm 19:10

They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb.

Today is Valentine’s Day, the day that is known for love and lovers. Most people don’t know the history behind the day. It is the day associated with Saint Valentine, but who was he?

Saint Valentine lived in the third century and during the Roman Empire. According to historical records, the Emperor of Roman banned marriages thinking that single men made better soldiers. St. Valentine was arrested and found guilty of secretly performing weddings. During his time in jail waiting for his execution, St. Valentine converted jailers to Christianity and was asked by the head jailer to heal his daughter. St. Valentine started praying for the girl and after his execution, a letter was found written to the girl which was signed “your valentine”.

You may be asking “what does this have to do with the farm?” Well, in 496 AD St. Valentine was made the Patron Saint of Beekeepers. “Why?” you might ask. Well in many cultures, bees are symbolic of love and beekeepers symbolize the protection of love, marriage, and family. Beekeepers work to maintain the growth of the beehive, so the bee colony thrives. As the bee colony thrives new generations are born continuing the love and the family. The love flow is symbolized by honey which a strong colony can easily produce.

Throughout history, honeybees have been associated with love. In some cultures, a bride and groom walk through a honeybee swarm together and if one of the two is stung then the marriage must be meant to be. In many cultural myths, honey is used as a love potion and said to cause couples to fall in love.

Here on the farm, we have always known that our honeybees are special and work hard pollenating and producing honey. As a beekeeper, we love our bees and strive to protect them so that they can help us. We have seen through the years, the more we do to protect them and provide for them, the more honey that flows from the hives.

So, on this Valentine’s Day, show love with honey from the symbol of love and let the love flow as sweet as honey.

Thanks for visiting and welcome to our Serenity.

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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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Liquid Gold

Psalm 19 NIV – Psalm 19:9-10

9 The fear of the Lord is pure,
    enduring forever.
The decrees of the Lord are firm,
    and all of them are righteous.

10 They are more precious than gold,
    than much pure gold;
they are sweeter than honey,
    than honey from the honeycomb.

Being a beekeeper is a very interesting hobby for me. I am still a novice so I learn new things everyday. It fascinates me how some many bees can work in harmony for a common goal. There is no fighting among the bees or undercutting coworkers to get ahead. The goal is simple: survival. Every bee knows its job and does it for the betterment of the hive —to make HONEY!!

Making honey seems simple enough, but is it really? In order to make one pound of honey, it takes about 768 bees to fly over 55,000 miles and visit over 2 million flowers. One bee will only produce 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime. That bee will visit 50 to 100 flowers in a single flight harvesting nectar for honey production. Seem simple now?

Honey is not only food for the bees, but it is also their medicine for diseases. It is 80% sugar and 20% water and is the only food that can completely sustain life. It does not spoil or ruin. It is so valuable that it has been used as currency and valued greater than gold.

Just this week, we harvested honey from one of the bee hives. While processing the honey, I started thinking about what all bees do to make this small amount of honey. It occurred to me that if our society could work together in harmony like the bees there would be nothing that we couldn’t do. But we are caught up in our own agendas and not the betterment of our society. We live in a “me” world, where everyone is focused on themselves. So we have people starving, homeless, and dying because of greed and corruption. God has shown us in the Bible and told us through his son that all we have to do is LOVE. Love is the greatest thing. It is part of every commandment and Jesus even said that Love was the greatest.

So why can’t we just love one another? It all goes back to a garden where sin was released on us.

Love is the honey for our lives. It is liquid gold, sweet sustaining food for life.

Starting today, let’s love one another and care for one another so that we can sustain life and happiness. For God gave us the way, all we have to do is following.

So from us to you, we extend love to you. Thank you for visiting and #welcome2serenity.

Check out our photo of the week that relates to this post.

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The first sign

“Then the Lord said, “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the first sign, they may believe the second.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As a beekeeper, I am asked all the time about getting stung or being afraid to get stung. I always repeat the statement that my instructor at my first beekeeping class said. “If you are afraid to get stung, then you don’t need to be a beekeeper.” Being stung is part of the hobby or the profession.

I can tell you that every time I have been stung was because I did something wrong. Just like with most animals, bees will give you a first warning or sign. I even have a warning sign for all visitors just outside my bee fields.

Bees change the sounds they emit as a warning to their mood or level of comfort. That’s why a beekeeper has to stay calm and collective. He or she has to control movements and slow down. If a hive gets irritated, then it’s time to give them space and time to calm down. A common myth is that smoke calms bees. Smoke actually causes the bees to focus on other issues. They believe the hive is on fire and start hive fire duties — protecting the queen, the food supply, and the young.

As with things in our lives, God gives us warning signs, but most of us ignore the first sign, the Holy Bible. He has warned us of all the dangers we will face and how to handle them, but we ignore them and get ourselves into so much trouble. We ask for signs but ignore them; we beg for signs and ignore them. Why? Because we are so focused on what we want or what we think things should be that we ignore the simple first sign. We ask God why even though we know the answer.

I don’t ask a bee why it stung me. I know why immediately. It is simple, I did something wrong. It’s the same with other animals on the farm, why did a hen peck my hand? Because I was to close to her eggs or chicks. Why did a cow get between me and the calf? Because she is protecting her calf. These are first signs and on a farm you learn to read those signs.

In this world, signs are everywhere. We choose to ignore them whether they are our first or second sign, but in the end we pay a price for our choice of choosing to ignore them. So from us here at Serenity Acres, let’s start paying attention to these signs and have better lives.

Thank you for visiting and #welcome2serenity.

Life Tip: When you are around bees, don’t wear perfume or cologne, don’t wear dark colors, and don’t swipe or fan a bee away from you just walk away as calmly as you can.

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Directions

“… in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭3:6‬ ‭NIV‬‬

One thing that we give and use is direction. Direction is as much a part of our lives as anything else. In every process or task, we use directions. From washing hair to tying shoes, fertilizing plants to feeding and caring for livestock, directions are followed.

When I was a child, people were always stopping at my grandparents’ house on the farm and asking for directions. I remember my grandfather would always say the famous line, “You can’t get there from here.” No matter where the person needed to go, that was my grandfather’s response. He then proceeded directions with, “You are going to start out by pulling out of my driveway, and …,” in his best Southern terms.

Not knowing our final destination is sometimes the biggest problem. Just as my grandfather would say to lost travelers, you have to first pull out of your current situation and move to reach your destination. God has a destination for you. Every part of our lives has been a step in the direction to the destination God wants from us. When we get off the path to that destination, God provides us with someone or something to get us back on track. God does not say, “You can’t get there from here.” He says, “I have you and I will get you there, just have faith.”

At the farm, we are often brought back on track after deviating from the path. For example, you cannot feed livestock from the bucket. You start by filling the bucket with feed first, and then by emptying the bucket into the feed trough. Otherwise, you will risk leading livestock off the path and changing the destination to you. We have to stop and get new directions, ask for forgiveness, and start the new set of directions. Directions for life are no different. Yes, they may not be simple directions, but they will get you to that final destination.

In the end, we are to get the directions, start the journey from where we are, follow the directions, stay on track, and reach the final destination for the glory of God. There have been many times on the farm where we have contemplated if we were ever going to reach the destination. But, by faith, we stayed the path and followed the directions toward the final destination.

If you are not sure of what your final destination is or what you directions are, then stop and start praying. God will give you both and when he does, take action. Life is a great journey and we are loving the trip through it. We hope you are enjoying yours. Thank you for visiting and #welcome2serenity.

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The Dam

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Matthew 11:30

One thing about a farm, any size farm, is the To-Do List. It never gets shorter and always grows, even when other things on the farm will not. The list can, at times, get so overwhelming that it becomes a burden creating a mental and emotional dam. A dam that seems to hold back progress, success, and project completion. It keeps in the stress, fear of failure, and emotional depression.

For years, my family battled beaver dams that blocked creeks, streams, and drainage around crop land and cattle grazing land. The dams would cause flooding and destruction costing the family financial woes and physical maintenance woes. My family, over the years, used many different ways to clear the dams out and release the trapped water. One method was using a large grappling hook that my grandfather forged. We would place the hook, either via launching or climbing down, behind the dam and using a truck or tractor to pull the hook moving the materials holding the dam together. It was a constant battle for several years. Remove one dam and another one would get built, over and over pressure was released to be caught and built up again.

That’s the way it is on the farm. You remove one dam to have another build up or develop. In life, we have the same thing happen. We let our burdens build up creating a dam until we either breakup the dam or the dam floods our life with depression, dread, and fear. I still battle with this on the farm and in my own life. The great thing is God has already given us a way to deal with burdens, turn them all over to him. When you feel overwhelmed and your dam is flooding your life, turn it over to God.

There is no feeling like the feeling of release when all your burdens are gone. The farm reminds me of this over and over again. It’s not just my serenity but my church, where what I learn from the Bible is reinforced. Thanks for visiting and #welcome2serenity.

If you would like to see a photo of the grappling hook, then go to our photo of the week page. It is this week’s photo. https://welcome2serenity.com/photo-of-the-week/

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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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Life’s repairs

“And to the masons and the stonecutters, as well as to buy timber and quarried stone for making repairs on the house of the Lord, and for any you outlay for the repairs of the house.”
‭‭2 Kings‬ ‭12:12‬ ‭ESV‬‬

There are always repairs to be done on the farm. Some are small and simple, such as replacing the tractor’s broken battery cable. Others, like clearing fallen trees and rebuilding fences after a major storm, are large and complex. Some require help, and others require none.

In life, we have to perform repairs. Whether it is repairing a broken friendship or a life affected by divorce or personal loss, we all face daily repairs. However, God assures us that we have his help and support through all of it — every break and every repair.

The keys to every successful repair are having the right tools, the right help, and the right knowledge. Some repairs require either starting over or replacing with a new item. Being human, it is often hard for us to give up what we have grown to trust and had in the past. To move forward, we have to start over because that is the only way to truly repair the break.

So keep working on those repairs, you never know what you will discover about yourself and how you will expand your knowledge for future breaks and repairs. Thank you for visiting and #welcome2serenity where we are all about repairing broken things.