Living on the Fringe

Happy to report, our chickens faired well and we didn't lose any!!

Over the icy weekend and the snowy weekends, I did some reading. As I read, one of the topics talked about remote tribes in northern Asia. These tribes were difficult to assimilate into the structure of the state because they were content with living with less conveniences and comforts of society. Purposefully living in terrains difficult to modernize, these people had collectively made this choice to avoid such assimilation, they still opened themselves up for periodic trade with the state. Once they acquired what they desired, they went back to their remote areas. Not too far off from what Native Americans may have practiced for a short time in America.

This brought to mind a number of tender areas in my heart, but two at the top are that of ungoverned food sovereignty and the unhindered practice of spiritual beliefs. The author used the example of being little mice that existed amongst the dinosaurs and survived. How they survived was living on the fringe. It provided a different perspective of something I've heard often in my Christian upbringing. "We are in the world, but not of it". Now I don't want to get into a discussion, nor debate about how or why the church looks more like the world than anything else. What I do want to question or rather consider is, was this the lifestyle that Jesus was teaching? To live on the fringe of societies? Naturally I would argue that we are to submit to governing authorities, and we should render unto Caesar that which is his, but we are to more so to render unto God what belongs to Him. I think in a lot of ways, we have rendered unto Caesar what belongs to God. Our faith, our allegiance, our obedience. We trust the grocery stores more than our neighbors back yard or our own back yard. We trust in agency guidelines before testing if the guidelines even make sense. We offer our allegiance to political parties or people without ever testing if they align with Biblical morals and guidelines any further than name sake . We often get so wrapped up in the frivolous entertainment of the world, by which we become assimilated to the very thing in which we are called to be set apart from. Further more, those of us that have accepted the call to be "in Christ" should have the wisdom to know better. In many ways, we too have bought into the model that because it makes dollars, it makes sense.

I guess my decision to go in the direction of the PMA is one of my expressions of living on the fringe. Being able to live amongst the people while staying on the outskirts. Not opposing government authority, but choosing to do business privately, not publicly. Within the PMA, members have the ability to choose for themselves whether or not to purchase something they feel aligns with their convictions, determine for themselves if the practices are safe, ethical, and humane, provided the PMA is transparent, which ours is. The widely accepted public agency model does not fit that criteria for me and my family. Not that we never purchase anything in the public domain, but we know to be careful because transparency is hard to come by in that model. Greed is hidden behind great sales pitches, that are aimed to appeal to all my senses. When I dig deeper, I find that they are compromised and don't produce products that align with Earth stewardship, nutrient density, and overall can't be described as a wise investment further than being cheap. Just because garbage is cheap, doesn't mean it isn't garbage. The public model looks to me more like a rape and pillage model. Use up all we can here, sell the cheapest resemblance of food and faith, then move on to the next. When it's done all it can here on Earth, seek out another planet to then do the same.

The voluntary release of food sovereignty to agencies and systems that are profit driven, remove our connection from what God gave us to feast upon. Sadly, I see the western Church model not looking too different from public food agency model. There is such hypocrisy within the church where we Christians agree on the Scripture in Genesis where it states that what God created was good, but then at our potlucks and the like, you see a smorgasbord of plastic and styrofoam serving an array of ultra processed food and drink and we've become so deceived to think that this is the "abundant living" that God spoke of receiving through Christ. Foods and sermons that are void of the nutritional complexity they once had because the world model has embraced the goal of efficiency and profit over the connection that God designed us to have through our food. Mind you, I said through our food, not with it. It was the original design that we should see the goodness of God in every bite of what our Creator provides. That is what is mentioned in Genesis as well, that what God created was good, He planted a garden and placed Adam in it, and all the plants were good to eat, only avoid these two trees. It reveals that even when we're given true abundance, we are not satisfied. Even though we may know this, we often choose to not identify our propensity towards dissatisfaction, and we most often, do not guard against it. Whether that is by conditioning or by choice. This looks just like the world whose goal is deception, dependence, convenience and profit. We have somehow gotten so far off the course, while thinking we're hitting the mark. This is evident in our physical and spiritual diets. This brings to mind a quote I read sometime ago, "People would rather change the truth, than to adhere to it." My apologies for not knowing who said it, but it stuck with me because I find it to be true in many situations.

I digress... back to the fringe. I think it is easier to comply with my convictions living on the fringe. Maybe that's been the direction I've leaned towards most of my life. I can't say that I ever really fit in with any one "friend group" but I visited many and had relationships with all of them. Maybe I'm seen as a bit odd, eccentric, problematic or even offensive at times. It is not my intention to be offensive or problematic, I want truth to be found, embraced, and stewarded well. The thing is, if those characteristics come as a Biblically based expression of conviction and obedience, then who can judge? I'm just trying to work it out to the best of my current ability. That reveals to me that I'm on a journey and that is a truth I try to remember when it comes to others. We are all on a journey and it is our job to encourage one another on the journey towards truth and the adherence it. It is Biblical to be unified, but to be unified, there must be the subject by which we are unified by. In the Christian model that is Christ, who stated that He is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. Nobody get to the Father but by Him. It is the only faith where I find that obedience pleases the Master, benefits the practitioner and everyone else affected by said obedience. It's remarkable. It is far less to do with the outward appearance as mankind tends to focus on and looks at the posture of our hearts, or the motive by which the expression is birthed. When we look at others by applying this same filter, we see that we have so much more in common with our fellow species instead of the divisive social status we've been trained to view from.

In summary, this is what I feel Embrace Farm is about. A ministry that identifies that we have commonality because we all need physical resources from the Earth to sustain us, there is also a spiritual need that we need to sustain us and that comes from the same Creator that provides all of our physical needs. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Duet. 8:3, Matt. 4:4, Luke 4:4. They are not meant to be separated as the model by which the world lives teaches, but unified by both being nutritious. One to our physical bodies and the other to our souls. Both reflect the same goodness our Creator has bestowed upon His creation. When we begin to see this truth, we begin our journey to the abundant life Scripture refers to. https://www.bible.com/bible/100/JHN.10.7-18

Farm News

We're still considering what this year will hold...

Some thoughts being considered are;

• Pre orders for all meat

• Commercial Turkeys due to not breaking even on Heritage breeds

• On farm working opportunities for members

• Whether or not to participate in Tryon and Landrum Markets

• Increasing egg producers

• Ability to offer vegetables

• Smoked Chicken (Whole, 1/2's, 1/4's, etc)

Note to our members

Your communication is vital to our direction. We see this as a ministry and we want to serve our members well. If any of the above mentioned items are of interest, please let us know by texting me or emailing me. Our success in serving requires feedback from each of you.

Side Note

I will be sharing the message at Full Proof Ministries in Tryon this Sunday (2/15/26)

Information is available at fullproofministries.com for all ministry scheduled opportunities.