For I know the plans I have for you...

Some of you may recognize the title that comes from Jeremiah 29:11. The full Scripture reads "For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope." This comes from something that has been on my mind lately. It concerns many aspects of life and I referenced in an early post in regards to what's going on within our nation. God had caused the tribe of Judah to be captives of Babylon and I imagine it resembled much of what we're experiencing in our own culture. There was likely dismay amongst the people, but there is hope for those of us that stay the course and align our plans with His plans.

I recently heard a quote from Jordan Peterson that goes something like this, "If you don't have a plan, you will fit into someone else's." That challenged me in several ways. One of the challenges is that we are prone to resist planning. Why? Plans limit us and we don't like limits. The advantage of setting limits is that it provides boundaries which we can then focus all of our efforts within. In other words, it decreases the distractions.

Elizabeth and I recently went to a friend's wedding in Delaware. That's a long way from Inman, SC! We decided to make a weekend of it and that in itself is nice, but what really made the difference is that she provided a plan. She's identified that we can go on vacation or a trip of some kind and once we arrive, if we don't have a plan, we try to muster one together while we are there. Some may say, "What's wrong with that"? Nothing really, but would we be making the most of our time there? We've all experienced this to some degree. The age old question of "Where do you want to eat"? The age old answer is "I don't know, where do you want to eat"?

Recognizing that this may be our one shot in that area, she researched what we could do. We then discussed the opportunities and she formulated a plan. Boy what a difference it made!!! We had a great time and saw many things that we never thought we would see. All thanks to having a plan.

This can be applied to our daily lives and mature into routines. Again some of us are resistant to such words, but these too can be so beneficial and productive. I am under the conviction that I need to first identify that God has a plan for my life and I firmly believe He does for each of us. Identifying that plan can require some deep thought, but He will reveal it as we seek Him with our whole heart. Often times it aligns with our own heart's desires if we are walking with Him. That's what's so amazing about God and what's so revealing about mankind. God takes our uniqueness and uses it where man likes to take our uniqueness and force it into their image of what should be. How limiting is that?!?!

I do believe that we are all called to be like Christ Jesus, but that is limited to our hearts, demeanor, and actions. The "how" is to be expressed in your own uniqueness and that my friend is wonderful. We may not all farm the same, dress the same, or talk the same and that's okay! Are our goals the same? If so we can experience unity by identifying that others may have their unique way of going about it and it may actually fill the voids that we have within ourselves. Nobody can do everything well and that too is okay. I personally think that is by design also. We can and should learn from other's uniqueness.

There's another saying that goes something like this, "If you don't plan to succeed, you plan to fail". Again this is prevalent on my mind because it's time to plan for next year's garden and livestock. Planning for success by clearing out the garden, making amendments, and covering it. Planning for livestock with fencing, rotation, watering, etc.. Each one of these goals, requires a specific plan if I'm going to be as efficient as I can be. Or one may say, being a good steward of the time allotted to me :-)

I hope this serves as an encouragement or inspiration. There's not much of that out there in the current world in which we live.

FARM NEWS

Thanksgiving is just around the corner!!!!

We are presently taking members pre-orders for pasture raised soy-free organically fed heritage turkeys.

• Due to the variability of weight, we are collecting a $20 deposit only. The remaining balance of $7/lb. will be collected upon pickup.

• Specific weights are first come first serve. We will not be taking weight requests this year.

• Pickups from the farm begin Thursday 11/21 through Saturday 11/23, 10am-5pm.

• Turkeys are slaughtered in early August & early November on site at the farm by our team and frozen.

• Turkeys will be fully frozen at pickup with plenty of time before the big day to thaw in your fridge.

• Giblets are included in your turkey and will be inside the cavity.

There are whole chickens and some cuts still available.

Your thankful fellow steward,

Gordon