The Swiss Connection

Pasture Laughter

2011-12-19T19:50:00.005-05:00

I am thankful to God for the gift of unexpected reasons to laugh. Today I was sitting on the ground, waiting on the water tank to fill up for the cows. My border collie Zeta was with me, and I started teasing her and playing with her, making playful growling sounds and blowing on her, which makes her want to jump at me and slurp me on the face, neck, wherever she can get at. She started making ...me laugh as we were tousling on the ground beside the water tank. Then I looked over at the cows that were all lined up around the tank on the other side of the fence. They just made me laugh more. Cajun, especially. She's this little cow who is very laid-back, almost always waits till the last to come in the milking parlor, just rarely ruffled or excited by much. But the look on her face as she was looking at me and Zeta was too funny. Her eyes were wide as she stared at us, as if to say something like, "WHAT is going on? I have never seen this side of you, and it does not seem natural to me!" I so wish I had taken my camera with me today!

The Simplicity of Humility

2011-10-06T23:25:00.003-04:00

Tonight on the way home from the Wabash Valley International House of Prayer some lines from a song on the radio reminded me of a brief conversation I had with my cows this afternoon (it was one-sided as far as I could tell). This week has been kind of a whirlwind because of two different situations where friends were going through some really tough situations relationally. The magnitude of the problems can seem overwhelming, to the point where you almost just don't know where to start to find the solution. I believe with all my heart that no problem is too big for God to set straight, no wounded heart too far gone for Him to mend. But sometimes we stand in the way and delay His healing.

So when I went out to roll up the fencing for the cows the final time this afternoon, I walked through the herd, enjoying their contentment. Aggie and Ashlyn happened to be nearby, curiously sniffing me, and I asked them, "Why do we avoid a life of simplicity? I bet you guys are glad to be cows. You've got it pretty good, really." We humans make life so difficult, don't we?

This week a scripture verse has come to my mind several times, but I hadn't had a chance to look up where it was in the Bible. The words in my heart were the Lord's, "For I have wounded that I may heal." Tonight I was late arriving in the prayer room, so I kind of jumped into the middle of the worship set and the scripture they were singing. Soon the worship leader sang some words that were very close to the words that had been on my heart. The scripture listed on the screen was Hosea 6:3. I looked it up and found I had already highlighted it. Verses 1-3 read as follows:
"Come, let us return to the LORD.
For He has torn us, but He will heal us;
He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
He will revive us after two days;
He will raise us up on the third day
That we may live before Him.
So let us know, let us press on to know the LORD.
His going forth is as certain as the dawn;
And He will come to us like the rain,
Like the spring rain watering the earth."

These words spoken through the prophet Hosea to Israel and Judah centuries ago are still very spiritually relevant to us today. Yep, the Lord is speaking!

Well, on the way home "All of Creation" by Mercy Me was playing. The chorus says,
"All of creation, sing with me now
lift up your voice and lay your burden down
All of creation, sing with me now
fill up the heaven, let His glory resound"

Lift up your voice and lay your burden down. What's your burden? Lay it down. God is offering to take it for you. He carries my cows' burdens, and they live pretty carefree lives, it appears to me. Most of creation lets Him carry the burden, and creation is pretty good at singing His praises, too. Why can't we? Why do we make life so difficult? Why is loving each other so difficult? Jesus showed us how. "Greater love has no man than he who lays down his life for another." Because Israel and Judah would not humble themselves, because they chased after other gods, because they did not do justly and love mercy, God's hand was forced. Rather than lose them, He tore them and wounded them, that He could heal them. I think this means that He couldn't heal them until they were in the place of humility.

Whatever it is you are facing in your life, keep your heart humble, for if you "humble yourself...He will lift you up." God wants to heal you and make you whole. Spirit, soul, and body. And out of your wholeness, you will be able to love others as He loves you. The Gospel really is simple. Just ask the cows.

A Lesson

2011-09-27T21:58:00.004-04:00

I had coffee (well, she had coffee, I had a smoothie) with a friend yesterday and was sharing something the Lord had told me this summer. Her response was something like, "You need to write this down and share its prophetic message." It was already written in my journal. Now I'm sharing it.

This summer I was feeling frustrated with a friend. Angry even. Part of the reason why I felt that way was because this person wanted more for some areas of their life than they currently experienced. I could see the struggles this fellow believer faced, and could also see (not anything specific exactly, just in general) this sort of higher plane God was calling my friend up to. I could see there were things that would need to be surrendered...some idols cast down...in order to realize this onward and upward movement. And it frustrated me as I watched my friend continue in the same choices and struggles and not just accept the gift that was right in front of them.

Then the Lord spoke to my heart. Gently, but bringing great conviction. "Kate, if you think you can see more than your friend can see, how much more do you think I can see than you? How much more for you (and each of my children) do you think I want than you want for your friend? How many times have you been too blind or stubborn to lay something down that stood in the way of you coming up to Me? I do not get frustrated with you. I do not get angry with you. I am not impatient. I wait for you in love, ready for your moment of surrender. Because I do that for you, you also can do that for your friend."

Gulp.

There is nobody better than God at loving people where they are. But He at work within us can make us like Him. Keep going, Lord, you're making progress with me!

Do You Love Me?

2011-09-25T14:30:00.002-04:00

I was reading John 21:15-17 the other day in the Bible. This is where Jesus appears to seven of his disciples who had returned to their fishing boat after Jesus' resurrection. The disciples had fished all night to no avail, and towards morning Jesus pulls out a familiar card and tells them to throw their net on the other side of the boat. The result was 153 large fish and an intact net. When John tells Peter it's the Lord, Peter jumps in the water, unable to wait for the boat to get the short distance to shore. Jesus then invites them all to breakfast, which he has started cooking, although he suggests they bring some of their own fish to add to the fire.

After breakfast came reflection time. Whether Peter wanted it or not. Jesus asks Peter three times if he loves him. Peter says yes, and each time Jesus responds with something involving sheep and lambs. In verse 17, we are told that Peter was grieved because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" At first glance, this conversation might seem like a grilling by Jesus to get a point across. Or I have heard also that Jesus asks him this three times because Peter denied him three times. But there might be more to this than I used to think.

The first time I read a version of the Bible that had footnotes on the meaning of these words for love, I learned that the first two times Jesus used agapeo, which means to love unselfishly to the point that you would be willing to sacrifice. The third time he uses phileo, which means to be a friend or to have the same interests with another person.

To us who read it in English, it looks like Jesus asks the same question three times. But in Greek he asks one question twice and a different question the third time. Peter wouldn't have been grieved because Jesus asked him the same question a third time. He was grieved because the third time, Jesus asked him, "Simon, son of John, do you phileo me?" "Are you my friend? Do you like to do the things I do? Do you like me? Does your heart get mine?"

Agape love is no small thing. Selflessness is counter-cultural perhaps now more than ever. It's not the natural response of fallen, broken people. Sacrificial love truly does require a power higher than our own at work within us. And yet, I wonder, is it possible to agapeo out of duty alone? Can we tend lambs and shepherd sheep simply because we feel obligated or guilty if we don't? In my own experience that is a resounding yes. Then again, maybe that's not really agape love either. Maybe it's just a superficial form of it. Not that good things won't come of that, but with God, it's always a matter of our hearts first.

So what about phileo? It seems like that is possibly even more a reflection of my heart's desires. When two hearts connect, joy results. We are relational beings, and experiencing that deeper kind of connection with another is an important component of true friendship. Jesus gave Peter cause to reflect on their connection. On all they had been through together since His ministry became public. On the common purpose they shared. Maybe Jesus wanted to show Peter that even if he couldn't see Him present physically, what they had in common would preserve their bond.

When Jesus came to the disciples this time, he found them fishing in the boat. When Jesus first met and called them, they left the boats, the nets--everything--and followed Him. To be fishers of men. Interestingly, they could be found in boats in various places in the gospels. Jesus got in the boat with them often. To preach. To calm the raging storm. And then he walked toward the boat on the water, calling Peter out of the boat to walk toward Him. But on this post-resurrection morning, Jesus was on the beach. He called them all out of the boat. It wasn't about fish anymore...it was about sheep. For Peter, Jesus said that loving selflessly and sacrificially could be exemplified by tending His lambs (those new, vulnerable ones of His flock still on spiritual milk), and shepherding His sheep (the big-C Church needs shepherds who have the very heart of God). Which leaves the third question...."Do you phileo me? Tend my sheep." Who are the sheep? If the lamb and sheep analogies are parallel, the sheep are the mature ones of the flock. They, like Peter, have walked with the Lord for a while and know His heart. They are His philos. And just as we gain strength and joy from a heart connection with Christ, we will be blessed in the same way by serving, loving, and living in community with His friends.

Earlier in John's gospel, Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment, "that you agapeo one another, even as I have loved you...By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have agape for one another (13:34-35)." Lest all these thoughts on phileos be misconstrued as an excuse to love and be friends only with people we like and with whom we have common interests, Jesus and His agape love sets the standard. He laid His life down. For us. Because He knew that giving it all up was the only way to gain everything that pertains to life. Go and do likewise.

"Even as I have loved you..."

Cows Are a Window To My Soul

2011-06-29T13:11:00.005-04:00

I read an Erwin McManus book once in which he made a statement that went something like this: "Absolute power does not corrupt. Absolute power reveals." This was based on the fact that God is all-powerful, but God is also good. Absolute power has not corrupted Him. Therefore, absolute power reveals the inherent goodness or evil of the possessor.
That popped into my head just now because of a series of incidents that happened on the farm last week. I am not proud of it, but it was an important lesson for me. God hasn't given me absolute power. He gave me cows. And it seems that He has a way of using them to expose darkness within me that has yet to be replaced with light.
The story begins in the middle of May, and Tansy the cow had her first baby, a heifer calf. Tansy is a nice-looking cow, pretty good disposition, good milking potential, so her calf will probably make a good milk cow one day, too. The problem was, she was born about 6 weeks after the first calves started coming and when the age span is too big on a seasonal dairy, the young ones can fall behind their herdmates in growth after weaning, as well as being smaller at breeding the following year. So I debated, "Do I sell her now or keep her? Sell her or keep her?" I finally opted to hold on to her.
Fast-forward to June 22. We had separated the calves the day before, after putting the weaning rings in their noses a few days earlier to break the nursing habit. Unfortunately a handful of the calves had figured out how to nurse in spite of their new jewelry, and Tansy's calf Twyla had lost hers twice so I didn't bother putting it back in a second time. The morning after separating, I woke up to hear cows bawling and discovered the calves had managed to get the gate off the hinge and some had been reunited with their mamas. All of those were ones that had still been nursing, including Twyla. The others were across the road, fairly contentedly looking at the remaining bawling mamas! That was a lot of extra work to go through that morning, but we got them separated again and fixed the hinge problem.
The next morning as I was getting the cows in I realized I heard a cow, not just calves, bawling up at the weaning pen. It was Tansy. She had jumped through or over more than one electric fence to get up there. Dad found her and brought her down the lane to the milking parlor. She was milked and sent back out with the others. Before I finished hosing down the lot after milking, she was back in and went through the fence...and another...and another...and another... and was back up the road within minutes.
By this time, I was starting to get a little disgusted with her lack of respect for the fences. I should also mention that I was getting extremely tired from not enough sleep recently and my emotional reserves were just about shot. If you've ever seen Aladdin, where Genie is disguised as a bee while his master is trying to woo Princess Jasmine and she is trying to trip him up, Genie sees what's coming and starts the sirens and beeping, yelling, "WARNING! WARNING! MAYDAY! MAYDAY!"...as he crashes and burns. Yeah, Tansy needed a bee like that. Or maybe I did.
So dad and I joined forces and we got her back in the lane. I tried to keep her moving straight ahead, but before we got all the way down to the other barn, she went through the fence again and I could not keep her from running back up through the field. If blood can boil in a body, mine was then. My rage exploded in the form of shouted threats of violence of a terminal nature to the cow (she was completely oblivious, of course, maybe for the best), followed by angry sobbing.
In the end, we loaded her on the stock trailer and she spent the next 20-some hours in solitary confinement. Rather quietly, too. The next day she bawled a bit, but stayed where she was supposed to.
As I confessed my stupid antics to my friend the other day, she said if she was a farmer she'd just end up letting them all stay together because she wouldn't have the heart to separate them. "All she wanted was to be with her baby." Yep, Tansy was just following her God-given maternal instincts. I gave in to some carnal instincts, which was beneficial in no way except to release steam in the heat of the moment. And really, it's embarrassing to admit and even think about what I sounded like to anyone who happened to be within earshot.
Well, the ironic thing about all this is that I sold Twyla yesterday. A man who has been buying my summer heifer calves was wanting more of them. Twyla wasn't as fat as the other calves and I knew there was a chance she might not keep growing as fast as the rest of them in the group so I thought I'd let her go somewhere that she'd get some special individual treatment and do just fine.
When the fact hit home that I could have avoided the biggest part of the grief of last week if I'd have just sold her soon after birth, I had a moment of regret. But then the thought occurred to me that in all likelihood, God had just used this calf and her mama to reveal another place of darkness in my soul that he wants to heal and transform. And honestly, when situations like this happen on the farm, it's always in concert with other triggers like fatigue and emotional stress. In other words, it goes deeper than disobedient cows. Disobedient cows don't corrupt, they reveal! Well, sometimes they corrupt, but that's another story, and the corruption is with their herdmates, not their shepherd...
Like Paul describes in Romans 7, there are times when I do what I don't want to do and what I want to do, I don't. God knows all this and continues to patiently wait for me to walk all the way out into the River (Ezekiel 47) so He can have His way in me, probably knowing all the while I am my own worst enemy. He is not holding last week against me, and has probably already chosen to forget it, although He still desires to help me work through the root causes for the anger and hurt in the first place.
So there you have it. Proof that I'm still a work in progress.

Mary & Martha Revisited

2011-03-18T08:37:00.003-04:00

My mom and I went to visit my brother Jess last week in Maryland. While we were there, we got to talking about the idea of rest. I mentioned how this past year there had been several times the biblical account of Mary and Martha had given me cause for reflection. When Jesus came to visit, Martha busied herself with many tasks, but Mary sat at his feet drinking in his every word and soaking up his presence. I saw why it was so important to have the same heart Mary did in recognizing what was most important, but it was hard to figure out how to achieve that without shirking responsibility.
Our conversation that evening at Jess's cleared up some confusion. How many of us are driven to perform for the sake of something? It could be for something as material as money, or the less tangible deep emotional need for approval. Maybe it's a desire to maintain some sort of control in life, or a feeling that our human efforts are the only thing standing between success and failure.
Whatever the reason, if we labor under the delusion that we must perform to have value, I think we'll miss what Mary found. The fact is, God loves each of us simply because you and I are human beings...not human doings. There is nothing we can do to be accepted, to be loved, to be deemed worthy. We just are. The sooner we give in to this, the more Mary's choice will make sense. Her relationship with Jesus is what defined her. Maybe Martha's tasks weren't the problem. Maybe it was that she busied herself with accomplishing them at the expense of the relationship. It may be a very fine line to walk, but if we can find our identity in who the Lord is and who He says we are, we can work from a state of rest. Psalm 46:10 says, "Cease striving and know that I am God."
As the winter draws to a close and a new production season is about to begin, I know that things are going to be getting busier around here again. I would do well to remember that my efforts may be necessary in being a good steward of what God has loaned us for now, but having a heart that, like Mary's, will sit at Jesus' feet whether I'm working or not could mean the difference between burnout and Sabbath rest.
What about you? Have you learned to work from a place of rest?

Drought

2010-09-15T14:42:00.011-04:00

Six months is a long time to go between blog entries, but everyone needs a sabbatical now and then, right? I haven't been writing much at all for a while other than some emails. My last SGF article (one of two this year) was written in May, and I thought I'd never get it done! There are times when the ideas and words flow, and other times they barely trickle or almost dry up. This summer proved to be such a time for me. At least a couple of things played into this I think.

For one, when the workload is high enough that there is little time to play, it's also difficult to be creative. In the busy season I can get bogged down and blinded by the daily grind, and that is a good way to stifle creativity. I am being taught again the importance of rest, of being still. This summer the Lord has pricked my spirit a few times with the lessons from the lives of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42).

Martha invited Jesus to her home and then busied herself with "much service", while her sister Mary sat at Jesus' feet and just drank in what he had to say. Martha noticed this and tried to get Jesus to spur Mary on to help her, but he would not. He said Mary had chosen what was necessary and good, and he wouldn't take that away from her. How many of us are so much like Martha, going, doing, and serving, while all those seemingly imperative tasks rob us of listening to the Lord's word as we sit at his feet (not to mention what little time we might have left to listen to Him, we're so worn out we'll fall asleep sitting up)? "But who's going to do Martha's job if she sits at his feet, too?" you may ask. I don't know. This is what I've been wrestling with. Who will milk and feed my cows, get grandma's groceries, mow yard, etc., if I'm tuning out the world at Jesus' feet for a while? Martha's tasks seem so necessary to us, don't they? Make no mistake, serving others with the love of Christ is part of our calling as followers of Jesus. But it must flow out of an existing, vibrant relationship with the Source of Living Water. And being too taken with even something as honorable as serving can lead to a dry cup not running over. Thank goodness the Father is ever faithful to restore us when we realize our need for Him. He fills our cup and helps us see our Martha tasks don't need to be so overwhelming.

A second reason the words haven't been flowing as freely is that my noble theories and attempts at better grazing management were a miserable failure in cocklebur prevention this summer. Most of our pastures ended up with an infestation of the resilient undesirable weed again this year, which resulted in decreased grass production. We did get our broken mower repaired in order to try a different approach at combating them and have been clipping them off after the cows have grazed what grass remains. We are still working on the issue of why they're there in the first place. There is a reason for them, whether it's soil fertility issues, past or present grazing management or something else. But it has been a literal thorn in my side knowing the grass was being crowded out, and that any we don't get clipped in time will be sticking to the cows and dog! Once again, sometimes the problems at hand loom pretty big and in this case, it really made me feel like a bit of a failure. The heat and drought this summer coupled with the cockleburs have done a number on pasture quality and subsequently milk production. The bright spot is that the milk cows seemed to handle the heat as well as they ever have other than decreased milk, but the nurse cows' body condition suffered a bit and there were discouraging numbers of udder infections in my heifer calves. So when a lot doesn't seem to be going right here, I hardly feel like I can offer offer much inspiration.

But just as serving can distract us from divine communion, so discouragement can blind us to opportunities of hope. The key is in perspective, right? There is something to be learned from this trial, and there are resources out there from which to learn it. When all I can see is the problem at hand it appears to me an impassable mountain. But if I can step back far enough I realize it's part of the greater landscape. Most of all, I can trust my Provider, who knows all about my needs--and my cows' needs (He does, after all, keep a running count on the number of sparrows!)--to give us every tool necessary to scale the mountain. It's not beyond Him to move mountains. But if He calls us to climb it, the view from the top will be breathtaking.

The Early Bird

2010-03-21T14:15:00.003-04:00

Every day while the cows are up at the winter pasture we go check on them, pump water, and give them a fresh strip of grass. About a week, week and a half before we were to bring them home, I found a heifer named Brooke whose udder was developing quickly and ahead of schedule. Sometimes they'll start doing that a few weeks before they calve, but it kept looking more and more like she was getting serious about the process. I was concerned, because I didn't think she was due until mid April, and a calf 5 weeks premature would have little chance of survival.

On March 9 we took care of the cows in the morning, and since Brooke's udder was looking pretty tight (a sign that calving usually isn't far away), I went back up to check on her in the afternoon. As I walked down the hill I could see she was off by herself in the middle of the leftovers from a round bale the cows had just consumed the day before. I figured she was either going to have her calf soon or she already had, but I couldn't see anything from where I was. She would put her head down but I couldn't tell from a distance whether she was eating hay or licking something.

As I got close, I realized she had already had the calf. And I was amazed to see that it was alive! She looked fully developed, but she was the little bittiest thing! Somehow Brooke's breeding date must have been off, because she had to have been at least 3 weeks early based on when I turned the bulls in, but since the calf was alive and developed she surely wouldn't have been 5 weeks early. Still slightly damp and shivering a bit, I rubbed her a bit with some hay while mama looked on and mooed at me. I called Dad and asked him to get some colostrum thawed out and warmed so we could get some milk in her right away. We fed her on the bottle, and she was able to get up and start walking around. She couldn't have weighed much more than 20 lbs, and only came up to my knee (I'm not tall). We left her with her mama for a few hours and then Mom and Dad brought her home that evening so she didn't wander across the fence into the trees and the opportunistic jaws of a coyote. We bottle fed her for the next 4 days until all the cows came home. I was hoping Brooke would remember her baby and take her back. After the cattle drive, I let the baby follow me out into the pasture. All the cows nearby had to come over and smell her, as if to say, "Where did you come from?" or maybe "What is that?" As we rounded the corner Brooke was standing there contentedly chewing her cud, and when she saw what was with me, her head popped up and her ears perked up. I think her actions said, "Hey, that looks familiar...is that what I think it is?" After she smelled the baby, she mooed at it a little bit, and I knew all would be fine.

All this time I've been trying to decide on a name that fits the calf. The babies have the same first letter to their name as the mama so it's easier to keep track of cow families. I kept calling her Little Bit, but I already have a cow named Bitty (who was also very small when she was born) and I call her Little Bitty. I thought Bit might be a little confusing (although not as confusing as the time when we had two Natalies...when I was away in college the rest of the family did more of the naming and didn't know we already had one). So, without further ado, I introduce to you the first calf of 2010... Butternut!

She's already growing fast thanks to Brooke's good mothering. And later this week she'll probably start having lots of little buddies joining her, since there are several cows showing signs that they're getting closer to calving...on schedule!

So we are officially back in the milking business, and looking forward to another adventurous production season!

Driving Miss Daisy

2010-03-01T22:24:00.002-05:00

Every winter goes by faster, doesn't it? I can't believe I'll have baby calves running around in about 4 weeks. As usual, spring means things will get really busy around here in a hurry, but a big part of me still always looks forward to the explosion of new life on the farm. After having a slower pace for a couple months, by March we usually begin to get a little excited about production starting up again. And I'm sure I could get an amen or two if I say it will be wonderful to have some warmer temperatures and green grass once more!
Well, before we can start milking again we need to bring the cows home from the winter pasture in the semi-annual "cattle drive". We're planning for Saturday, March 13th at 10:30 am. Everyone will meet at the Swiss Connection to ride the hay wagon (or other vehicles) to where the cows are and walk them home from there. There will be a lunch back at the farm afterward. If you want to get some good cardiovascular exercise with a bunch of great people (and a herd of cows that I'm hoping and praying will be well-behaved!), come join us! All we ask is that you rsvp by e-mailing or calling (info @ www.swissconnectioncheese.com) so we can prepare enough food.
By the way, Daisy the cow will be among those marching home...she's getting to be an old pro, as this is probably about her 7th round trip.

Trust

2009-11-06T08:22:00.002-05:00

It's easy to have faith when you have a safety net. When you can tell in advance that things will work out and the uncertainty is small. It's when it looks like you might come up short that the proverbial rubber meets the road. Sometimes my faith gets too small for God. I worry about the what-ifs, and it affects not only my trust in my Provider but also my sense of peace and patience with the rest of the world. Makes me harder to live with, I'm pretty sure.

This time my worries stemmed from what I see here on the farm this fall in relation to the coming winter and spring for grazing. This year provided another learning experience about high stock density grazing in terms of weed control. I think I know some changes to make next year for reducing weed pressure, but in the meantime this summer's unbelievable crop of cockleburs reduced the grass supply in many pastures (for some more thoughts on this, click on the "Cockleburs" article on our website). I knew we had enough grass to feed the cows here on the home farm until we stop milking in early December. At that point, most of the herd will be moved three miles up the road for winter grazing. My concern was whether eating all that up now would leave us with enough pasture to graze the young stock and bulls here all winter, not to mention the necessary stockpiled pasture when the cows come home in March.

So last week this was all getting me pretty down, and I wanted to trust God to provide but didn't know what I should do in the meantime. I mean, should I sell some cows, or what?

Dad was away last week in Maryland helping my brother Jess prepare for moving into his new house right before a week-long mission trip to Mexico. His perspective on trust after returning from that visit helped me quite a bit. Jess has been learning to completely surrender to the Lord and trust Him for everything. In this instance, he was in the final week of an extended fast. Physically he was weak and could literally do next to nothing in his strength. The human perspective might say he was killing himself. The spiritual perspective might say, "My power is perfected in weakness." (2 Cor 12:9) Jess knew without a doubt that since the Lord had called him to this fast he could trust Him to provide anything he needed.

Now I am not claiming to be exceptionally good at always hearing the Lord correctly, nor am I obedient to His voice without fail. I get it right sometimes, but sometimes my flesh gets in the way. That said, our farm and business has been committed for the Lord's work, and I believe He is leading us in how to manage it and serve people who come our way. This is His project, and we are simply some of His Chosen workers. I think this means that I can say, "God, this is Your baby...it's up to You to make it float!"

Dad reminded me that oftentimes God will take us right up to the brink of what seems to be the impossible before proving to us that "with God, all things are possible." In this case, it really hasn't been looking like there will be enough grass. But I am going to sell a handful of animals that I had already been feeling like I should move on. It won't make a huge difference in the number of mouths to feed, but I have decided that trusting in the Lord beats stewing about the situation. I don't know how He will do it, but I know He will come through.

Since making this choice I have not only felt more at peace, but also sensed Him showing me that He could provide in several different ways. For one, I learned that the number of big round bales up at the winter pasture was nearly 2/3 that of previous years even though the number of acres hayed was more on the order of 1/3 of previous years. Secondly, some pastures here at home are growing even in the cool October and November days, and should be substantial for grazing with the cows in the spring. Additionally, some late-fall warm weather is in the forecast. Whether that just grows more grass or makes the cows eat a little less or both...it's all classified as unexpected provision in my book.

The other day I read Isaiah 12:2, which says, "Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; For the Lord God is my strength and song, and He has become my salvation." He is worthy of my praise and my trust, but not simply because of what He does for me--rather, because of Who He is. Like the prophet Habakkuk, I want to honestly say, "Though the fig tree should not blossom, and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail, and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold, and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength..." (3:17-19a)

Trust. Little word, big concept.

(Awe)Struck

2009-10-14T21:35:00.006-04:00

Things are happenin', I tell ya. Happenin' enough to get two posts out of me in a month...and the month is only half over!

The past six weeks have consisted of activities ranging from dehorning, castrating, and weaning calves to shucking sweet corn and making apple cider. Not only do many hands make lighter work, they also make it possible to get more done! It's probably been three years since we last made apple cider. How sweet it is...

We have three apprentices who have been here since the beginning of September. Jason and Kate are a husband and wife team gaining experience in different agricultural sectors in advance of operating their own farm one day, and Sarah is learning the art of cheesemaking in pursuit of adding value to her family's operation. God has definitely blessed us with their presence, and as seems to be a common theme around here, our paths crossing has purposes that go beyond the surface of agricultural interests. Sometimes those purposes are revealed quickly and sometimes it takes a while to unshroud the mystery.

Have you ever had something really big happen in your life and you know there's more to it than you can grasp at the time? Well, I had one of those happen last Thursday afternoon. Sarah and I were finishing up the afternoon chores. We each sloshed our way to separate pastures on that rainy afternoon to give each group of cows some more grass. It had been raining lightly most all day, and there were a couple of light rumbles of thunder as we headed from one pasture to the others. There was no lightning to be seen and the thunder didn't seem very threatening, which is why I chose to continue on with the work and get it done since we were already wet. The gentle, even chilly, rain pattered on my raincoat in an almost comforting--though not necessarily comfortable, since I was still getting wet underneath--way, lulling me into oblivion.

Now, I like weather. Watching the weather, knowing what conditions are coming, and all that. And working outside most of my life has taught me a few things about the predictability...and the unpredictability...of nature. Last Thursday showed me that apparently the unpredictability is supposed to help keep us humble. As I walked across that pasture setting up the fence for the next day's break for the heifers, all of a sudden a crack and flash exploded close enough to me that the fence picked up the current. Almost instantly the charge lept from the electric fence reel I held to my hand and out through my foot. Remember how on Home Alone the tall gangly thief named Marv grabbed the electrified appliance and uncontrollably screamed like a girl? Well, there were no "earwitnesses" close enough to hear or duplicate the sound I made, but I definitely yelled. Maybe just not quite as long or as high-pitched as Marv! And it either knocked me down or else I dropped because I didn't want to get hit again. It all happened in a VERY short amount of time, so it was hard to process it all as it happened!

As I processed the thought that I had just been struck by lightning and took a quick survey of my physical state, my next thought was an incredulous "I'm still alive and not burned up?" My hand was quite numb/tingly and it felt deformed. I started praying almost immediately. Maybe because that's the kind of response a close encounter with such raw power elicits. When I read about people like Ezekiel and Daniel who were visited by the Lord, or angels, they immediately fell on their face. Isaiah's encounter brought humility and repentance. I have been more humbled since hearing that a man in Illinois was killed by lightning while taking care of his cows that day. It was another reminder of how undeservedly great His mercy is towards me!

I was able to call Dad on my phone (with my other hand), so he came and got me (he was almost faster than the lightning!), then we went to get Sarah in the other pasture. The feeling slowly started returning to part of my fingers, and by the next day most of the effects were pretty well gone. There was a slight burn on the arch of my foot where the electricity exited my body, and within the reddened area was a mark--a perfect letter K. I thought maybe God was saying, "Just in case you forgot who you are..." Or perhaps it simply shows that God's touch is personalized.

Nowhere in the Bible do I remember any mention of lightning that pertains to anything evil or having to do with Satan. If it's there I've not seen it yet. But over and over again lightning accompanies God's presence or signifies his power or glory. That night as I lay thinking about what had happened I suddenly wanted to read some passages in the Bible that talked about lightning. So I looked some verses up and started reading. The second one I found was in Job 36:32-33...
"He covers his hand with the lightning, and commands it to strike the mark. Its noise declares concerning him, and the cattle also, concerning what is coming up."
Talk about getting my attention! God speaks to those who are listening, those who are willing to seek out His mysteries. Jesus spoke in parables all the time when he was teaching the crowds, and it was those closest to him who sought the meaning within the parables. I have a feeling this lightning strike might be part of a mystery He's beckoning me to seek out. "For it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search it out." (Proverbs 25:2)

The Spiritual Sandwich

2009-10-06T20:48:00.003-04:00

When I first started this blog, I envisioned using it to keep fresh news of happenings on the farm in front of inquiring minds. I guess other than the fact that I've been intermittent at posting regularly, that's what I've done, but it's kind of taking a different direction presently. If I continually write about cows and cheese this could get redundant. But if I write about what God is doing through cows and cheese, the adventure ramps up considerably!

As I mentioned in the last post, God does things in the natural to reveal the spiritual. Well, I was reading a verse in Isaiah the other day and saw something pretty cool. The verse was in chapter 55, verse 11. A great promise in and of itself, but it was what the Lord said through the prophet before and after it that revealed a magnificent pattern...

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth, And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater;
So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.
For you will go out with joy, And be led forth with peace; The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you, And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.
Instead of the thorn bush the cypress will come up; And instead of the nettle the myrtle will come up; And it will be a memorial to the Lord, For an everlasting sign which will not be cut off."
Isa 55:10-13

Did you catch the physical, natural example in the rain watering the earth? With a physical purpose, to perpetuate life. God says, just like that, that's how it is with my word (Jesus is called the Word!). That right there is worthy of plenty of meditation (the meat of any sandwich takes more to digest than the bread that surrounds it). But fast forward for now to verses 12 and 13. I noticed He said, "For YOU will go out..." Maybe Isaiah was prophetically speaking of Jesus. But maybe, just maybe, the YOU refers to all of us who know this Creator, Speaker, Author God through the Word and Spirit. Regardless, "YOU" will go out with joy, FORTH with peace (his word goes FORTH from his mouth...perhaps He "speaks" us into mission).

Now get this...when "YOU" goes forth, the physical world responds! Mountains and hills shout for joy (don't ask me what this sounds like!) and trees clap. But what is more, those thornbushes and nettle--painful plants which are often part of the natural succession from wilderness to Eden--give way to the cypress and myrtle. If I did a study on those two plants there would be even more insights into the promises of God, I'm sure. Maybe you could call this sandwich Big Mac style, since just when you thought you found the edge of the sandwich you discover this piece of bread just leads to another layer (and that's where the similarity to the Big Mac ends)! I will claim this promise for the natural world in faith that we will see healing and increased fertility in our pastures and on our farm. But I claim this promise for my soul as well, as those difficult, prickly and painful circumstances God leads me through are sometimes a necessary evil for my own journey to true wholeness.

One of the bottom lines is that the Father desires and plans to bring healing and restoration to the physical world, but there is a spiritual connection that will come first. And before that He very well may share what He wants to do with those of His children who are willing to slow down enough to observe the world around them.

Right now as I type, a song is playing on my computer about restoration. The words hold incredible promise: "You take my mourning and turn it into dancing...You take my weeping and turn it into laughing...You take my mourning and turn it into dancing...You take my sadness and turn it into joy! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! You make all things new! You make all things new!" The word has been spoken. I can believe that it will be accomplished. So the lingering question is, am I living in a way that is causing the mountains to shout for joy? Some food for thought...chew carefully.

Baptized

2009-09-16T19:46:00.006-04:00

I just realized the last time I posted was on the one-year anniversary of the biggest flood these parts have seen in I don't know how long. On my way home from the Traders Point farmer's market that Friday evening in June there were times when it was hard to see the road through the wall of water falling from the sky. The ensuing 10 inches overnight on already-saturated ground resulted in water where most people had never seen it!
We were some of the more fortunate ones. A couple of flooded basements to clean up and refurbish, and life goes on as usual. Well, maybe "usual" is a thing of the past.
Last fall God brought a family into our lives for mutual ministry. They needed a place to stay while waiting for the Lord to fulfill their calling to ministry on a Reservation in the state of Washington. They opened our eyes to more of what God is doing and helped us grow closer to Him. Their stay here ended up being a year (minus a week or two). Armed with their few possessions and faith in a sovereign God but no contacts for anyone out in Washington, they have called to tell us the amazing ways in which God has led them on their journey to the right people. Though they told no one there they were coming, upon meeting the leaders of the reservation our friends were told, "We've been expecting you."
This summer a family from New Zealand forever left their imprint on the lives of many in Clay City. Andy and Claire and their four children wanted to experience life in a community during their stay in America, and the nearly 3 months they spent in our town gave them the chance to do just that. It was another of those path-crossings that I know wasn't by accident. The relationships begun here will continue, and the full extent of the purpose of our meeting is yet to be discovered.
The other day I was setting up a portable fence for the cows in a pasture near the barn. In this pasture is a tree that has been dead for years. So dead all the little twigs and branches have long fallen off and there is a hole at the base almost big enough to crawl through. So dead I have worried that one day it might fall on a cow grazing innocently nearby. Naturally, I checked on the tree as I set up the fence and stared in disbelief at what I saw...
New life has shattered the reign of death! Unmistakable in parallel, that is the message of the gospel we wrap our lives around. Our God is a God of new life, of resurrection, of hope! He left the perfection of heaven to live as a man named Jesus on this sin-stained earth in order to prove his love for us. He showed us by example the only path to true life. And it involves death. He gave his life because He loves (John 3:16). He sacrificed because he knew what joy awaited (Hebrews 12:2). He asks us to do no less, but the reward is just as great. We can live for ourselves, or we can give ourselves away and really live. So many people have been wounded by the brokenness in this world and just want to know someone cares. And someone does. And He's (at least in part) relying on those who have experienced His healing touch to show them that life can and does come from death.
One thing the family who lived here this past year told us many times is that God does things in the natural realm first to explain the spiritual. Could it be that the floodgates are being opened for the waters of cleansing? The immersion that results may look curiously like death, but resurrection is not far behind. I think we've been baptized.

The time-space continuum

2009-06-07T13:48:00.002-04:00

People always say, the older you get the faster time goes. I have a theory that time really is speeding up. I just googled "time-space continuum", and noticed on Wikipedia's link that "the rate at which time passes depends on an object's velocity relative to the speed of light and also on the strength of intense gravitational fields , which can slow the passage of time." Humans go a lot faster than they used to, thanks to planes, trains, and automobiles. We've been pretty intent on besting gravity for the last century, too. With only a little bit of faith, one might even surmise that we as a human race are responsible for how swiftly or slowly time passes based on the pace of our activity. Also, I guess if you don't want your kids to grow up so fast you might consider moving closer to a black hole.

This may have seemingly little to do with cows and cheese, but as I sat down to write this afternoon and realized I have yet to create more than one blog entry in a single month's time I had to marvel once more that we are already a week into June. May was very busy, but that had little to do with calving. Only 7 calves were born the whole month, and two of those were on the last two days. So like it or not, my calving window closed a little earlier this year because of the age gap in the calves. I have some nice calves to sell now, though, sired by our new bull.

The grazing is going pretty well so far. We're trying to manage the pastures in a way that builds up soil fertility through trampled mature forages. This is not only beneficial for the soils, but the cows' digestive systems work more optimally, and the densely covered pastures provide a good deal more drought tolerance by holding in more moisture. On the flip side, there is more erosion protection during heavy rains as well. This year's experimenting will focus on trying to find the best balance in trampling forage and maintaining a little better milk production than last summer. The summer heat waves that usually come may have the final word on milk production though!

And a partridge in a pear tree

2009-05-16T22:49:00.004-04:00

This has been one of those weeks you can almost sing about to the tune of The Twelve Days of Christmas. Between the regular daily cow chores (and it was only one maid a-milking, not 7), we entertained third graders from 5 schools in Clay County on farm tours (thanks to Farm Bureau's sponsorship of Farming in the Classroom), went to three farmers' markets, made two batches of cheese, separated cream for butter, and took a calf to church (well, that's tomorrow). The children's ministry is featuring some lessons with a cow theme and Deb thought having a real calf there would make for a great prop (I hope the kids can come outside, because this prop will poop). I told Cristina the cow that she was going to have a holy baby because he was going to church this weekend. I don't think she was impressed.
So far this spring 50 cows have had calves. Hopefully a few more will deliver before the end of the month, and then I will have newborn calves to sell beginning in June. The calves have done very well this year. Numbers are down a bit, but perhaps what is lacking in quantity will be made up with quality!

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-04-27T12:48:00.007-04:00

The whirlwind of activity has resumed around here. The first calf was born on March 22, two days after I had left for Mississippi with a team of people to do hurricane relief work. We named her Cajun, in honor of my whereabouts! No babies were even due until I returned, but some just couldn't wait, as there were a handful that made their appearance before I arrived back home. As of this morning I think the latest count is 42 calves.

Today the first batch of 2009 cheese--Colby-- is in the works. Everyone was so excited about getting milk and butter again that the cheese just had to wait until now.

I've been learning about web design this month, too. It's amazing how God provides what we need when we need it. We met a new friend through pursuing advertising with the Terre Haute Tribune Star who helped me immensely with updating our website, and I actually understand enough to do it myself now! It's very gratifying to have the capability to make changes whenever the need arises now. Many thanks to Mike!

With a somewhat slow, cool start to spring for most of March and April, I have that much more appreciation for the recent warmth and the resulting growing grass, blooming trees, and smells of spring. It truly is my favorite time of year!

Party Till the Cows Come Home!

2009-03-10T15:51:00.003-04:00

Most of our herd spends the winter about 3 miles down the road on another piece of land. To minimize stress on the animals, we walk them there and back instead of loading them into trailers for such a short trip. This process has become known as our semi-annual "cattle drive." In actuality, it is more along the lines of a cow walk, but the former sounds more adventurous! To pull this grand event off, we gather friends and neighbors to act as living fence posts, walking alongside the cows while holding a strand of fence which the cows believe is electric. This forms a moving rectangle, and most of the time everything goes off without any hitches!
It's nearly time for the cows to come back home before they begin calving. Saturday March 14th at the Swiss Connection will bring lots of good old-fashioned fun, food, and fellowship!

21st Century or Bust!

2009-01-27T15:06:00.003-05:00

Though we have had a website for The Swiss Connection for several years now, technology is not our strongest suit. Keeping the site updated and fresh is a constant challenge. To attempt a less-complicated way of sharing with you new information about what's going on around here more regularly, I'm embarking on my first-ever blogging experience! Stay tuned for news about cows, cheese, and all kinds of delicious, nutritious products!