Seasons

2 Co. 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Isaiah 12:2 Behold God is my salvation: I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

 

Living in Minnesota we are blessed to experience the four seasons. Spring brings so many new beginnings for the earth.  Spring on the Bittersweet farm brings new beginnings,  there are new gardens to plant and fences to build. There are new calves to be born and chicks to be hatched.  The spring season brings to us a time of change.  New life in the spring and a closing of another season of life.

 For the past year we have experienced so much change. This has been a tough time when it came to living a long distance from our last born. As parents our goal is that our children will grow up and be ready for the world. One thing this year has confirmed that Isaiah is ready to enter his next season of  college life. He has proven that he is prepared.  For this mom I have to say I am so proud of him. The Lord has carried this overwhelmed mother as I am reminded in the scriptures  in  Psalm  61: 2-4 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed lead me to the rock that is higher than I.  For thou hast been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy.  I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings.  This reaffirms to me that the Lord is our rock and that we need to trust in Him to carry us through on His wings. As this season of our family is changing after having them under our wing for the past 32 years we will now trust that they will be under the Lords wind as the last one will fly out of the nest. 

The nest of Bittersweet farm has proven to be such an answer to prayer for us. however our home of 22 years holds a special place in our hearts.  Leaving the Crosslake area and family that are there was not an easy decision. We had our last gathering at our homestead in June  to celebrate Isaiah's graduation. We took that time to say our “see you laters” to our friends there. It truely is a bittersweet time to know that this change will mean that our friends are such a distance away from us now. We are thankful for a wonderful day and a true testiment of Isaiah's talent and love for people. We heard over and over again what an impact he had made on their lives and that he will be successful in what ever he does. We know that this is true for him and are excited to see what the Lord has in store for him. 

We can not say that we are really 100% liking the empty next season of life so we are hoping that our family and friends stop by often. Each weekend we keep an eye on the long driveway waiting for a visitor or two. One thing we know for sure is there are many empty rooms so you might as well bring your bags and stay a while.    

 

Love and Trust

When I became a mom I thought I could never love more.  As our family grew I found that I could indeed love more and more As my children married I found I had more to love as they found the love of their lives. However when my grandchildren began to arrive it took on a whole new meaning of love. I felt as though my heart was like a balloon floating above  and now stretched even more.

Our granddaughter Evelyn Grace has a medical need that she not only needed a physician's assessment but now has been referred to a surgical specialist. As a grandparent it affects not only that part of my heart that she has but that of her parents.

Many times people chose not to love and invest in those in their lives because of the risk of hurting that part of their heart. By giving a large portion of our heart to them when they hurt, so do we. They tend to put up barriers to protect themselves so that the hurt will never come. That is not what the scripture teaches us to love only under certain conditions. In Deuteronomy 6:5 it states, And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. As in all things we take a chance in loving but this is our role.

Trusting the Lord that He will carry us through is in his promises. Trust is like that balloon full of love that I have only the trust is the insurance policy that all things are in His hands. It is like the string that we attach to the balloon to make sure it does not float away. In the book of Isaiah it states verse 26:4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever, for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.  Are you hanging on to that string?

Psalm 73:23 Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast hold on to me by my right hand.
Psalm 73:28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, that I may declare all they works.

Bittersweet Haven Farm

In the year 2014 our family had many changes. We never anticipated that we would be relocating back to the metro area after being gone for 22 years but that is what happened. We were praying for the Lord to show us his plan and He was faithful to us and did. Deb found a new job in the Monticello area.  The youngest son Isaiah would be graduating in 2015 so we decided to complete his high school years at Pequot Lakes High School.  John completed his term on the city council and even though he had planned to run in the Mayoral race, he decided to step down. We prepared our home in Crosslake to be placed on the market. We created a list of everything we would want in our next dream home. In February we thought we had found it even though it was needing a lot of work we signed papers and John began arranging for the remodeling project to begin. Because we had decided to pursue this new venture as a farm business we had found financing through the farm agency. At the end the property appraised $80,000 below the price. We than began the search again. It was only a few days when we found a property that was brand new to the market. As we entered the home and walked the property we could feel that this was what the Lord had been preparing for us. From that moment forward every detail went smoothly and we were able to close on the property in November. After seven months of living with our daughter, Elizabeth and family Deb unpacked her suitcase. We were home and the weekends now consist of John traveling back and forth from Crosslake.

Farm name; One day Deb was walking the property with the dogs and she came across a patch of bittersweet. For years she had hoped to find this beautiful plant in all the adventures in the woods of the north but had never found any. She felt that this was what the Lord was speaking to her that this adventure has been bittersweet; leaving her friends and family in Crosslake and living apart from John and Isaiah for the past year but it was the Lords way of making this dream farm happen. She did not share this with John and they had discussed a few possibilities of names for the farm but as Christmas was approaching Elizabeth had asked what we were thinking about for the name of the farm. John replied that mom had found some bittersweet on the property and perhaps this would be a good name for the farm. This is how the name Bittersweet Blessings was born.