September 22, 2016

Greetings My Friend, Lately I have seen pictures of some of our political leaders homes. These people live very lavish lifestyles in lavish homes. They have gotten rich on the back of the American people and today I read in the Bible about the people of Israel's lavish times. God spoke to them saying " They cast their silver into the streets, and their gold is like an unclean thing. Their silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it. For it was the stumbling block of their iniguity." I sensed the Holy Spirit telling me that I need to trust God not my money and to look and see the provisions that are all around me in His creation. This lesson is one I am learning to see more often. As I learn to put food up for the winter, learn to live more simply I find I am more content than when I was trying to live the American dream by having a nice home, a nice car and nice clothing. Just as I learned to eat whole foods instead of processed foods I am finding that the addiction processed foods had on me and my body was unhealthy so too I find the need to keep getting bigger and better things. When I am chasing after the wind I do not see the plenty that I truly have. The Apostle Paul teaches us to be content in all things, I am learning this lesson as well. The best way to live life is in the Lord the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. God teaches us that He is what we need and only in Him will we find satisfaction. The more I seek to live a simple life the more I am content with less. I find that I am happier putting up food for our needs, sewing more of our needs like quilts, simple dress' and even making cloths to use for wiping up spills instead of using paper towels for everything. We are learning to grow food and have done minimally well which means we buy a lot from the grocery store or produce stands still. The more we finish the house the more our focus is turning to gardening, for now though we attempt to only eat and put up whole food. Our government utilities have shown us to rely more on our own resources of late with the water systems failing and power outages that have lasted longer than in the past. We use propane and a wood-coal stove to heat our house and cook our food. We have a generator for electrical needs and we have a well for our water needs. In this God has led us to these resources and to Him for our needs. With food put up for the winter and a heat source we are in a good place over all. Today we are less connected with each other than the pilgrims or the people moving towards the west. People were able to rely on each other and came together to build homes, barns and to socialize making quilts. The interaction was genuine not phony like I see today. I pray for our nation as we enter into this election year I sense our choice of leadership will dictate the type of life that will strengthen us or break us. May God bless you and keep you make His face shine on you. Love Janet