It was a Simple Question

yet most answered with a no.

credit - Siddalee Photography

Hello Friends,

We managed to take a few days off the farm last week, and the inspiration for this week’s newsletter happened while we were being tourists! I hope that you enjoy the retelling. Let me know your thoughts by hitting reply. I love hearing from you.

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It was a simple question.

It was a simple question posed on a beautiful fall day.

No thanks, was the reply.

I’m not interested

Oh not right now

Most just silently turned their head away.

On a busy square in a popular downtown area, a woman respectfully approached passerby’s.

A simple question

Can I pray for you.

I watched as passerby’s uncomfortably walked by, most not acknowledging her question

I saw their discomfort and reluctance to look at the woman

She was older, reminded me of a school teacher. She was dressed conservatively and not scary. The prayer was obviously the scary issue. She was respectful of their avoidance. I saw a man on a bicycle stop and accept a prayer card. But he said he didn’t have time to pray.

And then it was my turn. As I struggled to download the app for the parking meter (I could write an essay on this alone) the woman approached and asked if she could pray with me.

And so I was confronted with my moment of truth. And I said.., can you pray over this parking meter situation?

Yup.

And she did. I of course bowed my head but part of me was shamed. I had not intended to make light of her bold faith. I was being lighthearted but now I felt awful.

My parking meter app finally cooperated and I was grateful. I struck up a conversation with the woman. This time when she asked if she could pray with us I said yes please.

We prayed. Her prayer was long, as prayers can sometimes be. I listened to her words. They were respectful and heartfelt. Her concern for an ungodly world, wars, and the ills of society, unbelief and sinful behavior spilled out on the pavement and into our hearts.

There were two times I thought we had hit Amen, but she went on. She needed more time to tell our God her concerns. And then we did reach Amen. She thanked us and gave us a prayer card. I thanked her for being a Godly force in the world.

And then she walked off to another person.

I have used my accounts before to talk about bold Christianity. I wonder why we as a people shy away from boldly proclaiming the greatest gift ever given.

Prayer is a gift. And it cost nothing in worldly fees. Yet, we feel threatened by it when we are asked to pray. A nicely dressed woman on a city square, offering to pray with people, and folks avoiding her as if she was contagious.

Is that the crux of it? Are we worried that we might become bold like her? Standing boldly in the gap between believers and non believers. Praying for all, no matter if they believe or not. It’s not scary. We were not kidnapped while praying. My bag was not stolen. We sent up a heartfelt prayer to God on a street corner. Isn’t this what our country’s founders fought for?

People walked by as we prayed. I hope they witnessed what was happening but I don’t think they did. Too busy, not religious, unbelievers, it’s not for them, they stepped around this bold statement on a street corner.

My prayer is that seeds were planted. I hope later, that some felt regretful of turning down prayer. Often times, seed planting is all we can do. Each of us must come to Jesus through free will. Seeds do sprout. At the right time, faith will grow.

I have no doubt that at some point in my life I would have looked the other way. I would have said no thanks to the woman on the street. I have sat in the seat of mockers, thinking that it was weird to proclaim Jesus in the public square. Thank you Jesus for turning my heart and mind to what truly matters. I hope we blessed the woman’s heart by accepting prayer with her. It took mere minutes. It didn’t alter our plans, but the prayer, well that might very well alter someone’s heart and choices.

Be Bold friends. If you can’t be the woman on the square, be the person who prays with her

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See you next time! Keeping reading for the farm and bookshelf updates.

God Bless

Janet

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Around the Barnyard

The best thing I could have found was a single egg, laid under the small coop, in a most inconvenient space. Yet, it signaled that Rosie, my broken legged hen, is healing. The next day Rosie laid a second egg. Great rejoicing! Rosie has decided that living with Cecily and Oleg in the brown coop, isn’t so bad. She tucks herself into a nest box at night because she is not able to roost yet. She seems content and is not fretful about being with these two calm chickens. As it gets colder, I am glad she will have friends to share body heat with at night.

The sheep send their best wishes. They would like to winter somewhere that is 70 degrees with fresh grass. Unfortunately for them, we are entering the brown time period. If you like sepia photos, stay tuned! The leaves have hit their peak and farm is welcoming the end of fall.

On the Bookshelf

One more week of Soaping Clean being on sale! If you are looking for a gift book for the DIYer on your list, this is a great choice! (Look for a combo item coming soon, including the book, a set of soapmaking tools, and a bar of hand made soap from the authors! I should have that listing up this weekend)

www.sawdustpublishing.com We have books for all ages and interests. Please remember us when you are shopping. Each sale supports the authors of these wonderful homesteading and farming titles.

In the Wool Shop!

Yes! I am back dyeing yarn in the wool shop. A good friend made a request for a special color and I was happy to say yes. It inspired me to clean up the space and get the dye pots simmering again.

And in even more good news, the fiber mill is finishing up my order of two years of fleeces! That should amount to plenty of yarn to play with for the near future. What colors are you hoping to see me create? For those new to my wool escapades, I use all wool or wool/alpaca blends and dye with only natural dyes. I have been creating with natural dyes for ten years, but took a break last year to work on the publishing company full time. It feels good to be back creating in my wool shop.