"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." James 1: 2-4
"I am certain that the world outside is not going to pay much attention to all the organized efforts of the Christian church. The one thing she will pay attention to is a body of people filled with this spirit of rejoicing. That is how Christianity conquered the ancient world. It was this amazing joy of these people. Even when you threw them into prison, or even to death, it did not matter, they went on rejoicing; rejoicing in tribulations." ~Martyn Lloyd-Jones (Joy Unspeakable)
The past few weeks have been filled with excitement and frustration, yet through it all, the Lord keeps bringing to my mind James 1: 2-4. The wife of one of our Elder’s has been such a sweet source of counsel and encouragement and each time I call her needing advice on a different problem we find ourselves facing in our new home, she points me back to those verses as well. It truly has been such a blessing to be a part of a local body of believers who quite literally have become family to us. We have continually been blessed by our sweet friends who live hundreds of miles away too – some that we’ve never met face to face! I wonder if the Apostles felt the same way when they received letters from different churches – some of which they may have never had a chance to visit in person. While we have the ability of instant communication with those who live far away – even in different countries – the Apostle Paul had to wait for new letters to arrive. I’m sure the communications the Lord blessed him with while in prison or traveling were a sweet aroma to his soul that brought great joy and strength to his spirit.
Since moving into our new home we’ve battled all kinds of nature – and it seems we are still waging war against intruders – mice and ants! While I did spend time with my great grandmother when I was a little girl – I was raised as a city girl. Mice were never apart of my daily dealings growing up, and while we did battle mice when Malachi and I lived with his mother shortly after we married – this time around the mice are in “our” home. I’ve tried to keep everyone updated on our progress with fighting the mice via Facebook and as I look back at my statuses regarding said rodents I just chuckle. Don’t get me wrong, having mice in the house is frustrating and does cause me much anxiety when I think of all the diseases the little fur balls are capable of spreading – think Bubonic Plague! Ok – so my imagination runs wilds – I do not really believe that my house will see the plague, but you get the point.
It seems that the mice have outsmarted the traps we had put around the house. Initially the traps were highly successful – we’ve caught 6 or 7 mice so far – one even got caught in the girls’ fan (however, I didn’t find it until it was good and dead! GROSS!) Now, the little vermin just mosey on in the traps, eat to their hearts content and then mosey right on out – of course leaving behind their droppings as a token of their appreciation. (Double Gross!) A local pest control company said at this point the only thing they can do for us is to put out poison – which, if you know me well, you know I am totally against anything that is toxic to me and my family. I mean, don’t get me wrong – I have no problem killing mice by any measures necessary – I just don’t want to put my family or pets at risk. For now – poison is not an option. I cannot tell you how many mice I think are in the house – but I do think the problem is bigger than we anticipated.
In the midst of it all, I keep reminding myself of James 1:2-4 – "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." I am counting it all joy! Even if the house falls down around us, I will count it all joy! I look back over the past couple of months and I am reminded of God’s goodness. He orchestrated every step towards owning this home – even when the odds seemed completely stacked against us. I’ve learned those are often times when we truly see God’s power – when He stacks the odds against Himself just to prove it is Him doing all the work. His will was for us to have this house – and I know His will for us is to take dominion over this house – even the mice!
We have had fire ant issues in the house. Malachi has sprayed (last resort) and our poor Charlotte found herself the victim of about 10 fire ants when she decided to plunge a shovel into their home! She was stung again the other day and since then is completely traumatized. Thanks again to the wise counsel of a sweet friend, Charlotte seems to be doing much better now. We anointed Charlotte with oil and prayed over her. We talked about how God created all things – even the pesky fire ants. We taught her that God created every creature for a special purpose and that fire ants will eat dead things and keep disease away – think Bubonic Plague! (Yes, yes, I know – I’ve got an over active imagination sometimes) The ants may very well be here to take care of any mice that have died or will die in the walls from being trapped in. If that is so – then by all means we want the ants to stay, just so long as they don’t feast on me, my family or our pets. Even ants need to know who is boss!
All in all we know the Lord is working all things for His glory and our good. We’ve learning much in the way of patience and resilience and the dominion mandate in regards to creation. We’ve been given such sweet opportunities to minister to and teach our children about the marvelous creation the Lord has set before us to subdue and take dominion over. So many priceless memories the Lord is providing for us and our children. I’m learning that we are such a society of convenience, decadence and entitlement. Even among the “housewife” crowd it seems the very thought of some good old elbow grease or dirty hands is enough to send us running for the hills! I quite enjoy the lessons the Lord is providing for me. Washing my clothes in the bathtub – washing all of my dishes by hand with NO intentions of ever getting a new dishwasher – life without a garbage disposal and learning to compost - living with just 1 bathroom – the prospect of surviving on the land we have by growing our own crops and raising chickens for eggs – finding new and creative ways to entertain my family when the power goes out – so many things I’m learning. Don’t get me wrong, I still want a food processor because time is valuable too. If I can get my veggies and other things prepped quicker than hacking away at them by hand – then I’m all for that. However, I’m perfectly content to continue doing things the “old fashioned” way – and I quite enjoy it. Hard work is good for the body and the soul!
I am counting it all joy. I love that we don’t get the best phone service. I love that we no longer have cable (it was a stupid waste of money and time) – in fact, I think the next step is getting rid of the television all together. The girls enjoy watching movies on the iPad or the laptop anyways! I love that we’ve had to learn about septic tanks and generators. We’ll be hanging a clothes line up soon to take advantage of the fresh air to dry our clothes (and save on electricity). I’m learning more old fashioned recipes to prepare for my family that can be put in the crock pot or grilled outside on the weekends. Getting up at 4am is still a bit hard – but I keep trying. Eleanor wakes up at 4am to nurse and I’d love to get to a point where after I put her back down I get started on the day – as of late however, the snooze button has been calling my name.
I also love that Malachi and I are completely exhausted by 8pm! We put the girls to bed at 8pm and we are ready to hit the hay then too! Staying up passed 9pm simply isn’t an option anymore. I’ve enjoyed preparing Malachi’s lunches each day and thanks to modern technology we can Facetime with him during his lunch break.
I love our country life and all the changes that come with it. I am counting it ALL JOY!
Soli Deo Gloria!
Serving God and My Family,
Crystal <><
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