The Lord Will Provide

I and my brother had worship team practice last night and we learned a new song that, each time we went over it, just became more and more profound and meaningful.

It was written by John Newton, the writer of "Amazing Grace".

Without further adieu, "The Lord Will Provide":

Though troubles assail and dangers affright,

Thought friends should all fail and foes all unite,

Yet one thing secures us, whatever betide,

The scripture assures us, the Lord will provide

The birds without barn or storehouse are fed,

From them let us learn to trust for our bread;

His saints, what is fitting, shall ne'er be denied,

So long as it's written, the Lord will provide

We may, like the ships, by tempest be tossed,

On perilous deeps, but cannot be lost,

Though Satan enrages the wind and the tide,

The promise engages, the Lord will provide

His call we obey like Abram of old,

Not knowing our way, but faith makes us bold;

For thought we are strangers we have a good guide,

And trust in all dangers, the Lord will provide

When Satan appears to stop up our path,

And fill us with fears, we triumph by faith;

He cannot take from us, though oft he has tried,

This heart-cheering promise, the Lord will provide

He tells us we're weak, our hope is in vain,

The good that we seek we ne'er shall obtain,

But when such suggestions our spirits have plied,

This answers all questions, the Lord will provide

No strength of our own, or goodness we claim,

Yet since we have known the Savior's great name;

In this our strong tower for safety we hide,

The Lord is our power, the Lord will provide

When life sinks apace and death is in view,

This word of His grace shall comfort us through:

No fearing or doubting with Christ on our side,

We hope to die shouting, the Lord will provide

It came!

My whole family has rediscovered the wonderful Waltons. Each episode is just so rich! I love how in each episode there is some crisis or trial or hardship that they as a family are able to get through. I feel like I can identify sometimes...

I would love to have a family like John and Olivia. Simple living, several children, country home, family business...But I would want a husband who would be much more of a spiritual leader than John Walton was. He had great qualities, but the most important, faith in God, was lacking.

I have found the best deals for the seasons 1 and now 2 on DVD through Amazon. 

I think the Fowlers are enjoying them too : )

Here's the list of the episodes in season 2...

The Journey- Johnboy takes drives an elderly neighbor to see the ocean before she dies. 

The Odyssey-Johnboy delivers a baby. (guest star: Sissy Spacek) 

The Separation- Grandma & Grandpa have a fight & Grandpa moves out. 

The Theft- John is accused of stealing & won't deny that he didn't do it. 

The Roots- Verdie Grant meets Harley Foster & asks Johnboy to help keep him on the Mountain. 

The Chicken Thief- Johnboy see Yancy Tucker stealing chickens & must decide if he should turn him in to the sheriff. 

The Prize- Olivia's old boyfriend, who is running for office, pays a call to the family. 

The Braggart- Hobart Shank, an old orphan friend of the family, arrives to stay with the Waltons until a baseball scout shows up. 

The Fawn- Johnboy becomes a rent collector, a hated landlord. Erin nurses an orphaned fawn. 

The Thanksgiving Story- Johnboy gets a visit from his girlfriend, Jenny & prepares for scholarship exam. 

The Substitute- Miss Pollard, a strict teacher from New York, is hired to teach the children. 

Th Bequest- Grandma receives a letter stating a $250 inheritance. 

The Air-Mail Man- A plane makes an emergency landing in the Walton's meadow. 

The Triangle- Johnboy gets jealous when Miss Hunter & Reverend Fordwick become a romantic couple. 

The Awakening- Mary Ellen get kissed by a college boy who doesn't know how young she is. 

The Honeymoon- While John takes Olivia on a second honeymoon, several mishaps occur at home. 

The Heritage- John considers selling to mountain. Zeb & Ester celebrate their 50th anniversary. 

The Gift- Jason's friend has a fatal disease and learns he going to die. (Guest star: Ron Howard) 

The Cradle- Olivia discovers she is expecting another baby. 

The Fullfillment- The Waltons try to convince their neighbor, who can't have children, to adopt an orphan boy who is staying at the Walton home. 

The Ghost Story- The children play with a Ouija board & believe they hear from the spirit of a young boy's deceased mother who is trying to warn them her son is in danger. 

The Graduation- The family buys Johnboy a suit to wear for his highschool graduation. He must return the suit for the money, when the family cow dies. 

The Five-Foot Shelf- Olivia & Johnboy get swindled by a traveling book salemsman. 

The Car- Johnboy does work for a man to buy a car for college. Afterward, the man refuses to give it to him because the car belonged to his dead son


Can't wait to get started!

Baby chicks on August 12th?!

We are so excited to announce...we have a broody hen!

Nathan went out Friday to gather the eggs. He found one of the Barred Rock hens sitting on the eggs he needed to gather, which happens occasionally. He thought maybe she just happened to be laying an egg when he went out there.

But, Saturday, she was still sitting there. She even went into attack mode.

Sunday-still there.

And today, I went down there to investigate. I was the one taking care of the chickens the other time a hen went broody. I thought I might recognize the signs. And sure enough, we went down there and she came out and ran at us! Even her clucking has changed to a different sound. I wish I could see how many eggs she has. Mom thinks it could be about 6.

So, 21 days, the incubation period, from Friday the 23rd is August 12th. Will have updates as they happen : ) Maybe even pictures.

Does it have to be one or the other?

Since becoming a member at Simple Truth Bible Fellowship, Calvinism, or the doctrine of Election (predestination), has come more and more before me. Either through Pastors of other FIC churches or through my own Pastors. And while it was an unfamiliar idea, and rather hard to swallow at first, I am beginning to see how it is backed up in the scripture. I would not call myself a "5-point Calvinist", but rather one who accepts the sovereignty of God and His "right" the choose whosoever He wills.

I still believe man has responsibility in the "choice" he makes, but it is God who 'flips the switch' so to speak, allowing us to follow Him. No, more than that, gifting us with the ability to follow Him.  And so everyday after that, we have choices to make. To do what God says to do in His will, or to do what our flesh wills. Nothing we do is apart from God's will, i.e. what He knows will happen. But, when we follow our own desires, this will go against His will, i.e. His commands.

I found this quote by Spurgeon that sum my feelings up well:

"I have long felt that I shall never understand where
the two great truths of free agency and predestination meet. I believe them both—
believe them with equal faith; but how to reconcile them I no longer wish to know,
because I do not think that God intends we should know."

Romans 9:10-13 says: "And not only so, but also when Rebecca had conceived children by one man, our forefather Isaac, though they were not yet born and had done nothing either good or bad-in order that God's purpose of election might continue, not because of works but because of His call- she was told, "The older will serve the younger." As it is written, "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated."

And Romans 10:9-10 says: "...because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved."

So, here we see God's choice and our choice. I leave the reconciling of the two up to God who is Infinite and Sovereign over this finite mind which I possess. Amen.

New endeavor

While I love keeping up my family's blog, it's purpose is to keep friends and family aware of what we're up to and to share a part of our lives. I don't want to glom it up with my thoughts and wonderings.

This new blog will be the place for those musings, whenever I happen to have them...and I'll blog about projects and experiments too.

We shall see how I do with keeping this blog, the family blog and my brothers page.