I know that many have seen Food Inc.  For us, this didn’t start with the movie, or with a reading from Michael Pollan.  It started with personal tragedy.  In 2006, we were reeling from two cancer diagnoses in our family.  Cancer, sadly and like most, isn’t new to us.  But these were very close cases.  The first, our infant niece was diagnosed with a very nasty tumor and not given the night to live.  Later, after she defied the first diagnosis, my wife’s step-father was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, a type that is particularly heinous.  That’s when we, my wife and I, started thinking about the foods we eat.  We started with bread.

For us, we learned initially through reading at the Bread Becker’s site, but ironically, it was coffee that most likely led us down the path.  With home roasting, I had learned what fresh coffee was, how great it was, and the wonder of the cup.  My exuberance has been evident to my wife, and as we started thinking about food, the freshness idea made a natural pathway into other realms.  The first was grinding our own flour and making the majority of our bread.

Then came the goats.  It was 2009 when we picked up our first pair, two Toggenburgs that were from a shared line.  They are still with us and one is a champion milker on our little stead.  I am like many of European ancestry and can’t tolerate cow’s milk.  But goat was a viable alternative.  Problem is that the cost is quite high.  So, being now tripartite  DIY-ers with respect to food (coffee, flour and eggs), we decided to make the jump to milk.

Seeing what happened with eggs and flour made us think more about what goes into what we eat.  Now, we can’t bear the thought of buying milk or eggs: the eggs are pale, pasty, anemic in color when compared to ours.  So, we’ve changed gears to provide for ourselves.  To say it’s a cost advantage is a lie; there is no way we save money in this endeavor.  Now, it’s a sacrifice to have a higher quality, and better food for us.  We control most of what goes in, and enjoy the fruits of that labor.

There is no magic bullet that gives us perfect health.  I’m suspicious of anyone who offers such.  But fresh is better, from coffee to vegetables to eggs.  It’s a choice we’ve made.  It’s hard sometimes.  It takes discipline, but who among us couldn’t use some more discipline?

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

But all too often, life consists in following the directions on the shampoo bottle: lather, rinse, repeat.  Sunday afternoon as I headed out to milk, I raise my eyes and see the bugger back in with ‘his girls’.  Now granted, the girls aren’t real happy to be chased about, snorted over, jostled and beat about the pen.  In fact, I had to climb the gate so they wouldn’t all escape the interest of this wayward buck.  Once my feet hit ground and buck saw me, he stood on hind legs.  If you’ve never been around goats, this is a typical position that proceeds a stout head butting.  I may be hard headed (ask my wife), but not that hard.  And that’s also where the dancing ensued.

Dodging the attempted head-butting, I grab his horns.  Quickly and deftly, but ultimately uselessly, I slip a leash over his head.  It was useless because I could never release his horns for fear of being impaled thereupon.  So there I went, leading buck out of the pen and around to his, with my eldest being the door operator.  Once he’s in his pen, I realize that I can’t release him and turn to leave.  So, in earnest, the struggle ensues until I’m able to safely depart.

As frustrating as this may be, and if my guess is right, it’ll be repeated today, I still appreciate what we get from the girls.  Overall, they’re interesting and somewhat fun animals to have.  Work -yes.  But there’s nothing wrong with hard work.  I’m thankful for the milk, for family, especially as they help (eldest daughter and wife, especially), and for a reminder that I am not perfect.

As I’ve thought about this and recounted it, I realize I’m even worse at ‘jumping the fence’ into what mess might be found.  No, I’m not dealing with criminal or a congruent sexual reference, but the more ordinary sins that we all face.  To God, I’m not a whole lot different that this contrary goat in rut straying from his pasture and pen for what is enticing.  It’s reminded me that patience is needed more in my life, and a reminder that I’ve been given great patience from our Lord God.  Sometimes, it’s humbling to work with the beasts of the field; they teach us much about ourselves.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

First, the kids.  We sold all but three of this year’s kids, plus a buck from last year.  That was a relief – feeding 15 goats can get pricey!  But of what we kept, we have two does that will go into the milking cycle next year, we hope.  The third will be a buck companion, but he’s yet to be wethered.  Of the three, one is a Nupine (Nubian-Alpine cross, but looks predominantly alpine), and the other two are Nubian-Toggenburg crosses.  One looks a bit more Nubian and the other completely Toggenburg.  We’ve had a bit of sickness, but nothing life threatening.  Overall, on the goat front, it’s been quiet.

On to the gardens.  The peas I planted were the wrong kind, but the chickens and compost critters will enjoy them.  The tomatoes are coming along, albeit slowly.  The summer has turned hot here quickly, but not as dry, up to now, as last year.  So, there is hope.  What root crops we did do in the raised beds did very well, and for that we are truly thankful.  It’s amazing to see the bounty you can get from a relatively little amount of work.  And it’s a great reminder that we are to be ever thankful for what we do have.

One great highlight of the gardening season has been volunteers.  We had volunteer potatoes (a few harvested and they were delicious!), currant tomatoes (though I’m rethinking these) and Rutgers tomatoes.  The Rutgers were transplanted but the currants were left to their own desires.  We still have basil and oregano from last year, and boy, are they large!  But we too often forget about them.  Maybe tonight they’ll go into the pizza.

With scripture, I have a great desire to spend more time in the word, but all to often, it seems as if there is no time.  Or, when there is time, there isn’t enough energy to pull two verses together and make sense of them.  But, I suppose that is the plight of a father, a father of five children, full time employee and part time gardener.  Sometimes I think some things need to be changed, like less work and more family and farm time.  But that doesn’t easily pay the bills.  If only…

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

Well, as craigslist would have it, we’re getting rid of several more this weekend, assuming all goes as planned.  That should have us back down to our desired place of four does, two doelings for 4-H projects and breeding next fall, and one buckling to wether as a companion to our buck.  So, eight goats should be our stabilized point this year.  That’s better from a feed perspective than fifteen for sure!

Soli Deo Gloria,

jason

Philippians is proving to be a challenge as a discipline.  It’s interesting how old translations can really bugger up your mind.  Philippians 1:3-5 is in my head from some other translation, and the ESV, despite its elegance, has proved to be very difficult to get in.  That’s thrown much of the schedule off for me.  But despair, I do not.  I will trudge along, praying to complete the task.  I may not end, however, with everyone else.

On similar, spiritual notes, please take a look at this quotable from R. J. Hayton.  This one is from Dorothy Sayers, from one of my favorites essays of hers, “Creed or Chaos?”.  It’s a magnificent explanation of what Christianity is, that it requires the uncomfortable and difficult task of dogma, or systematics, to be anything.  It’s not a feeling, a perception.  It’s truth, and it’s not something you can learn in a few sentences.  Read the full essay online, if you like.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

Merry Christmas to all.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

If you start down this path, I’d encourage you to select a short book, say an epistle.  I chose Colossians – short (4 chapters), but there’s plenty to notice as you stroll through.  And that is the benefit I’ve seen: you are forced to slow down, chunk through the text piece by piece, then write it yourself.  The one thing I would change is to write only on the left page, thus leaving the the facing page for notes, comments, etc.  There were several places where I had those “a-ha” moments, but I failed to note them.

As for the hardware, I’m a bit idiosyncratic, liking the same, or very similar pens (in output) for writing.  I keep one with me at all times.  So, I used that one, entering Colossians into a large lined Moleskine.  It lies flat well (something that I wish a Miquelrius Flexible would do better) and makes the input fairly easy.

Let me know if you try this, how it works for you.  I’d be interested at other’s insights here.  And I’ll see about snapping some pics later, but no promises there either.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

Deuteronomy 17:18 “And when he sits on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write for himself in a book a copy of this law, approved by the Levitical priests.”

Why this obscure Old Testament reference?  I recently saw a post about Reformation Heritage’s Journibles.  The idea they had in creating these volumes is that most folks are kinetic learners; that is, we learn by doing/writing/some other physical act.  The physical reinforces the learning.  Seeing the aforementioned OT passage, they made a notebook for the express purpose of writing scripture by your own hand.  So far, they cover much of the New Testament Epistles, the Gospel of John, and Proverbs.  The volumes space on the left page for copying scripture; the right is for notes, comments, etc.

Now, I don’t own one of these volumes, but I started something similar today.  At lunch, I started copying the book of Colossians.  You see, I’ve carried a small article around in my planner for two years, along with a laminated copy of Colossians (it can fit on one sheet of paper).  The article, which I can no longer find online, is “Scripture Memory: Uploading Chunks” by Chris Gonzalez (a VI Resource Paper) and it details how it is better, and can be more efficient, to memorize hunks of scripture.  The example encourages using a small book, like Colossians.  So, today I started writing the book in an effort to get more into this practice.

The idea is solid from several perspectives.  But you don’t necessarily need the Journible.  Any pen and paper will suffice to copy scripture.  If you want it consolidated into one location, then a Journible might help.

Think about it.  If you try it, let me know how it goes.  I’ll see about posting a bit more as I go on.

Solo Deo Gloria,

jason

Thoughts?