Raising Capital

Acquiring capital for most small businesses and/or farms is as simple as going down to the bank and applying for a loan. However, in my desire for a farm, I will not put undue financial pressures on my family. I really enjoy the way things are right now. The one who brings home the bacon is me and the one who cares for our child is my amazing wife. I cannot find the sense in sending her to work and my daughter to school just to make a few extra bucks to pay off a loan. So I'm challenged with raising capital for my farm without financing everything. So, I will be keeping my family home and being creative about saving.

One idea I have is something I started doing while in Colorado, and now that I have a place to work it is even more convenient. Maintenance and small repairs on cars and light trucks can be a good source of additional income. I can charge 1/3 of what dealerships charge for the same work. I get closer to my goals,  and the person I am helping is pleased they got a great deal on their auto repairs. Since I am already doing this as a full time job at a dealership I already have the tools I need to complete most any job.

Another idea I have is creating a small woodworking shop in my garage making jewelry boxes, music boxes, humidors, mantel clocks, etc. Since I have a serious lack of wood tools I will need to find some tools for a reasonable price. Craigslist is a resource I can use for finding cheap used tools. And I also have Menards just down the road. I do still have the challenge of finding a marketing plan that will get things off to a good start. I believe I will be checking out "Gorilla Marketing" from the local library. And in the Spring/Summer months I will try to get connected to some farmers markets and arts and crafts shows. Until then I will try to get an inventory built up and check into some of the legal matters of what I am trying to do.

This will not make me rich overnight, or at all. My goals are simply to start a self sustaining farm in the Forest Lake area. The name of our farm will simply be Johnson Farm with many headings (example: Johnson Farm Woodworking or Johnson Farm Meats and Eggs). As we go along things will change and ideas will keep coming and going. The main goals however will stay the same.

Eating and Cooking Bison

If more people knew about my desire to raise bison they would ask questions. But since very few people know of this passion, I will ask myself these questions. I hope you enjoy.

Why should a family add bison to their diet?

As a man, my reply would simply be "for the taste". If you cooked any main dish involving meat (say lasagna) with bison, and another with beef or sausage, the bison lasagna would win the taste test every time. Even comparing cheeseburgers, bison will taste better and will have a lot more moisture when prepared correctly.

Not only does bison taste better but it is also better for your body than beef, chicken or fish. Bison has 76% less fat than Beef and 68% less fat than chicken. It also has 43% more protein than beef. According to readers digest magazine, (something I have never read) bison is in the top 5 foods women should be eating.Their reasoning is because of the iron content.

Can you cook bison in the same manner as beef?

This is my first experience with buffalo prime rib.
It was the best cut of meat I have ever eaten.

Preparing bison is similar to beef in many ways and can be substituted for beef in many recipes. However bison needs patience and low heat. Over cooked bison is just like any other meat that has been overcooked, dry and tough. The FDA recommends meat to be cooked medium. I recommend medium rare steaks and medium burgers. But remember, cook em' slower and NEVER press down on your burgers while cooking. With bison meat, there is very little shrinkage when cooking, what you see is what you get. There is almost no fat to be cooked away. Don't be afraid to use a little bit of oil when cooking steaks and roasts. I have never tried a bison roast! What is wrong with me? Just imagine a bison roast just falling apart into bite sized pieces... Yuummmmm

And with that thought, I will leave you.

The Perfect Autumn Ale

There are very few people that know how to brew there own beer. So, I decided to share an easy way to brew quality beer in the comfort of your home. 

First things first. Pour a beer from your last batch (if this is your first batch a microbrew will work). In this case my last batch was an American Amber Ale that I named the "Tuff American Amber Ale". It had a beautiful amber color, complex flavors, wonderful aromas and 6.5%abv. What more could you want? 

Now to get started Brewing our Pumpkin Ale. 

1) Make sure you have all your equipment and ingredients. You can start your home brewery by buying a kit from your local Homebrew shop. Don't forget most kits do not include a brew pot or a food grade spoon. For my beer I purchased a pumpkin ale kit from Midwest Homebrew supply in St. Louis Park. Pumpkin was purchased at a local grocery store. I doubled the amount of pumpkin to give it a more pronounce flavor. There is a total of 60oz. of 100% pumpkin in this brew.

 2) Clean your brew pot, rinse thoroughly and add 2.5-3 gallons of water into your brew pot. Turn burner to high and watch the temperatures. Your goal is to reach and not exceed 150 degrees.

 3) Clean and sanitize the rest of your equipment. I cannot stress this enough. If you have unsanitary equipment you will taste it your final product. Once sanitized it can only be placed on a sanitary surface. Paper towels work just fine.

 4) You need to get all your crushed grains into your grain bag. I have mine crushed at the store because I don't have a grain mill at home. You only want to crack open the shell of the grain. Do not crush to a powder. You just want to get the flavors and colors out of the specialty grain leaving very little grain behind.

 5) Put your liquid malt extract in hot water (make sure its completely sealed). This makes it easer to pour.

 6) Now that your water is at 150 degrees you want to insert your grain sock into your brew pot and let it steep for 20-30 minutes.

Starting to infuse color

 7) Once your timer goes off take the grains out. You should have a nice color wort (pronounced wert) and a great foundation of a wonderful beer.

 Discard your grain bag any way you chose. I open the bag and scatter all my spent grains in the lawn to give the grass some carbons. 

 8) Remove your wort form the heat and pour in your malt extract. Make sure you are constantly stiring the wort so you don't scorch your malt extract. Its not fun to clean later.

 Add the brown sugar. Place back on burner and crank the heat to high. Get a good boil going. 

Pellet Hops 

9) Once you get your wort boiling, add your first package of hops.

 This will boil for  55 Minutes

 10) Prepare you pumpkin for easy handling and get your yeast soaking in a 1/4 cup of water. This will help your yeast start working quicker than just putting it in wort dry. We will come back to the yeast.

 11) Now that your timer has gone off its time to add the 60oz. of pumpkin...

 the cinnamon and nut meg and your last package of hops. Let this boil for another 5 minutes.

 12) When your last timer goes off you need to cool your wort as quickly as possible. The best way is with a wort chiller. But since I don't have one yet, I found an ice bath is the next best thing. Once the ice water gets warm, drain it and refill the sink with cold water.

 13) Once the wort reaches 100 degrees you can put it in your food grade pail.

 Top off your pail with cold water to bring the total liquid level to 5.25 gallons. This should bring your wort temp to 70degrees.  

 14) Take your original gravity reading. This  number tells you how much fermentable sugar are in your wort. It will also give you an indication of when your beer is done fermenting. You will also need this to measure your final alcohol reading when you bottle later.

15) Now you will pitch your yeast that has been sitting. Yeast will eat the sugars in your beer and convert them to alcohol.

16) Get your wort into your primary fermentation vessel. For my primary fermenter I chose a 6 gallon carboy.

 17) Put your air lock on or your blow off tube. A blow off tube is great in high gravity beers. Without it, you have a big mess all over your baby room... I mean... fermentation cellar.

 18) Place your fermenter in a cool dark place. Light and heat are enemies of fermentation. My fermentation cellar is the hall closet.

The beer on the left is a dunkelweizen. Going into bottles tomorrow.

If homebrewing is something you are going to try I wish you the best beer you have ever tasted. The most valuable books I have found are Homebrewing for dummies and The Complete Joy of Homebrewing. Both books are great resources for all experience levels.

Raising Bison

Lately I have been giving a lot of thought to raising Bison as a main enterprise. There are farmers that advise not to raise exotic breeds as a main income source, and with the advice from the old is usually the advice of the wise. So my pursuit of bison farming is definitely in the "lets think about it stage".

So, what am I thinking about?

I want to know how my animals are going to manage the cold Minnesota winters. With wind chills dipping down into the -50's to -100's I need to make sure cold weather will not be a problem. Before commercial hunting in the 19th century, Buffalo roamed from Canada's Great Bear Lake (in the Upper Northwest Territories) down to the center of Mexico. So the freezing cold winters and the sweltering hot and humid conditions we are currently experiencing will not slow the growth or production of this great animal. I also want to raise an animal that attracts attention from the public. I want to educate people about bison and how to responsibly steward God's beautiful creation in ways our ancestors never did.

The sad history of the bison. At one time there were bison herds as large as some of americas largest cities. They roamed across the land in such great number it literally made the ground shake. In the 19th century bison ware hunted commercially and endorsed by the US Army in order to force the indians onto reservations by depleting there food supply. Indians were hunting bison as they have for thousands of years. The indians alone were killing about 250,000 per year. Most indians would utilize the entire animal. Commercial hunters would strip the bison of there hides and leave the carcass in the field until all that remained were the bones.

Currently in america there are about 225,000 bison. Most are being raised by farmers that are trying to steward these animals well. This is considered an inspiring comeback from just a couple thousand in 1874 when President Ulysses S. Grant pocket vetoed and bill protecting the bison.

Bison are powerful, graceful, efficient, fast, beautiful and delicious. Far more nutritious than beef, the taste alone is truly amazing and will bring delight to any meal including breakfast.

On a later blog I will explore the special requirements for raising Bison as opposed to beef and how it will all fit together with my pigs, chickens and other enterprises.

Family Growth

Farming requires great stewardship in growing a variety of different things in a variety of different ways. Our most recent addition to our family has got me thinking about growing and nurturing our family physically and spiritually.

Growing... easy, be fruitful (ie. sex) and multiply = bigger family. However, there is more to growth than just numbers. There is growth in though, action, intention and healthy maturation. In the land of casseroles and hot dishes, passive religion, liberal individualism and crapy sports teams, I am becoming more and more conscious of outside influence and there potential effects on my family. Growing my family means to be a stronger influence than all outside influences combined. Example, any casserole containing cream of anything cannot compare to a pasta made with fresh, perishable and nutritious ingredients with a salad on the side (even though my taste buds say mashed potatoes with garlic for a side). Our lousy sports teams can teach us loyalty and and our passive religions can be used as a tool to teach passion. Finally, liberal individualism can be used to teach proper mockery.

Nurturing on the other hand can get really deep really quick. Keeping it simple, my desire is to teach Jesus and his works and plans in his creation. Everything follows on the footsteps of what my family believes about Jesus and the Bible. Reading, writing, arithmetic, athletics and music are all seen differently through the unencumbered lenses of faith. Love forms a new definition, passion takes on new meaning and sacrifice is done with a smile.

When we grow things, may it be basil and cilantro, cattle and goats, brewing beer and making wine, we always keep the growth of our family at the for-front of our minds. By the grace of God we will steward our families and our farms well.

Brewing Beer

 For about the past year my wife and I have been getting into the home brewing action with a trip to the local-not-so-local homebrew shop in Westminster CO. Our first brewing endeavor started not with beer, but wine. At the time I was not at all into wine. I was a microbrew guy to the core. Elise was definitely a wine girl with a knowledge of good beer. As the story goes, during our engagement we visited "Do your Brew" just to "look". After spending a short while looking, we were told that making wine was a simple process and would only take a little bit of our time and we could brew on premises. That day we started a Old Vine Zinfandel. And our home brew fun had begun.

 Last November my wife and I brewed our second batch of beer. It didn't have a classification of its own, however it did have a kick. Measuring 14+%ABV this was a strong beer. It had problems though. The taste was too earthy and there was very little carbonation, if any at all. The brewing part was great, my wife, brother and good friend all came over to enjoy the event. Thanksgiving dinner was the debut of the beer and I was disappointed. I believe all the guests at the thanksgiving dinner thought the same (even though they didn't say anything). Except Elise, she is always an encouragement and never lets me be defeated.
...Fast forward 4 months and a move to Minnesota...
I decided on a Imperial Nut Brown Ale for our next brewing adventure, the only brew since the epic failure a few months prior. Whenever we brew there is always beer on hand to drink, after all, its part of the experience. I have a few bottles of the failure brew sitting in the corner of our dinning room and I decided to pour a glass and give it a little sip. After pouring I noticed  a great deal of carbonation, full head, and the aroma of the beer was good, the taste was a lot less earthy. It actually turned out ok. The only venerable was the temperature, room temp instead of refrigerated.

 Now for the brewing of the Imperial Nut Brown Ale...
We begin the night by drinking Trout Slayer made by Big Sky Brewing Company in Montana. By we I really mean I because currently Elise is carrying our first baby. (We will get to meet our little girl in about a month). First steps in brewing is to clean everything to make sure your beer does not pick up any off flavors. At this stage I'm also making sure I have everything I need, ready and available.

After the steeping grains 

During the boil

 Time to get the brew pot doing its thing. I put about 10qts of water in and bring it to a temperature of 150. I steep the grain bag in this water for about 25min then remove the brew pot from the heat before adding the extract. (This beer is a partial mash so it includes both grains and extract). This brew calls for a couple things I have never used. Maltodextrin and powder malt extract in addition to the liquid extract I am familiar with. Then back on the burner to a full boil once everything is dissolved. The total time boiled is 1 hour with three stages of hops. The hop schedule is 45min 5min 2min.

 After the boil we cooled the wort as fast as we could by putting the brew pot in the kitchen sink and spraying down the sides of the pot with the sprayer attachment, making sure no water enters the wort. Once I got the temperature down to 90 I transferred the wort to the primary fermenter and added cold water to bring the total volume up to 5 gallons. Once we get to this point, we take a gravity reading. This beer has a gravity of 1.076 which translated into a potential alcohol of 10%. So with those numbers, I figure the final alcohol reading will be between 6-8%ABV. After I take my readings I pitch the yeast and seal it up. We will be leaving it in the baby room where it is currently dark and cool. Not to worry, the beer will be out before the baby comes in.

Pork for your table

Recently I borrowed a book from the library entitled Storey's guide to raising pigs. So far this book has explained the basic demands of raising and keeping pigs for personal use and small farm use. After reading the first three chapters of this book I think I am that much closer to successfully raising and breeding swine. This is also bringing some good questions to mind about local problems. Where do I find breed stock? Where do I start looking for feedstuff? Both issues are talked about in the book, however it still seems a little intangible until I can start finding the local people I need to talk to. 


First things first. We need to acquire land. Fortunately it only takes 2/10 of on acre to raise a couple sows and there litters. Not to mention the boar for the breeding. Currently I am looking for something in Anoka county that has .25 to 5 acres of land for close to $100k. It may seem like I am asking for a lot but the current market allows for such aggressive goals. While we are living in our apartment, we have time to look for a place and if necessary do a little TLC or minor repairs. 


Back to my main point, raising swine is low maintenance with low requirements. Depending on the breed your pork can have wonderful taste and pack a standing freezer. If you don't want to deal with the maintenance of a pig you can have someone raise and butcher your pig for you for less than what the equivalent would cost at the grocery store. Not to mention the taste will be far superior to the grocery store pork. Hopefully we will be raising and selling pork in the next year or two. 

Pigs are delicious

I have been on my pig kick lately. I want to know everything there is to know about those delicious creatures, form breeding to eating. Fortunately our library system has a inter-library loan program where I can get all the farming books I want. The problem is waiting a week or more to get the information. Since we are currently renting an apartment I don't need the books immediately. I just want to have the knowledge I need to get my feet on the ground when it comes time to buy a home for my family.

That brings me to the next thing I have been thinking about lately. Housing...
Currently it is not feasible to buy a farm with the kind of income we currently make. "Start small and grow" is something all the farming books seem to have in common. But a frequent question becomes "whats a farmer without lots of land"? My response is simple, a small scale farmer. My plane is to buy 1/4 - 2 acres of land with a nice house on it. Plan my small enterprises around the land and learn everything I can in that time we own that home. I can raise most animals, from chickens to goats to pigs. What I am reading, tells me it only takes 1/5 of a acre to raise pigs and/or chickens. The bottom line to all this is: raising a family in a happy, safe and Christ centered home is top priority. Beyond my faith and my family, everything else just is. fortunately, I have married the most beautiful and supportive woman I have ever met. If my wife was not with me emotionally and physically and any other way, there would be no point. She is the love of my life.

With time and good stewardship, everything will fall into place.

Whats with the farming?

As some of you know, I have been becoming more and more interested in farming lately. Not just one aspect of farming, such as a cattle farmer or a corn farmer, but a farmer that is diversified in his undertakings. I have ambitions to raise my beautiful family on a self-sustaining farm by marketing a variety of different enterprises and supporting enterprises. Over the past several years I have kicked around a lot of different ideas for self employment. Some were ridiculous while others showed promise. Bottom line, I think this is a calling...

Down to the wire...

There are 15 days till the wedding. Things are coming together in a way that I never expected. My bride is becoming more beautiful everyday, not to mention my love for her continues to grow. I look forward to everyday we will have with each other, living our lives as Christ and the church. With all the premarital counseling, life lessons, good examples and bad, we are now prepared to be totally unprepared for life together. We continually thank God for the gift of each other and those he has put in our lives.

The honeymoon will be in the seclusive mountains of northern Colorado. This week will be one of enjoyment, relaxation and adventure.

More to come...

Rejoice in your sufferings

While listening to messages by Mark Driscoll regarding 1 Peter I was reminded the importance of being grieved. It has been a long time since I have allowed myself to feel anything. I can now understand putting everything away temporarily in order to accomplish a task or objective, However; over the past year or so I have been so disconnected from emotion I do not feel much anymore. Most regrettably I am struggling with the feeling of eternal security found in Jesus Christ. There have been times where, in an analytical way, I have been able to discern things about myself that need drastic overhauls. 1 Peter states "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials." My desire is not to be grieved but to praise God in all seasons of life. I want to rejoice with heart-felt, loving emotion. I will, Lord willing, avoid all selfishness and self pity to say in hard times "this is difficult but by the grace I have been gifted, I praise God and rejoice in the fact that He is sovereign." 

Please go live a life filled with heart-felt emotion for your Savior Jesus Christ. Don't hide behind feel good verses and lie about what you are going through but rejoice. Take comfort that your trial is only for a short time. 

To my Brothers, Sisters, Friends and enemies. 

The sharpened blade of Faith.

At this time in my life I need to trust in the Lord like I never have before. After reading Genesis 22 I have realized my trust in God has been lacking. In the preceding chapters Sarah reflects my attitude better than that of Abraham. When God says he will provide I stand where I think he wont see and snicker to myself. The reality is, God is willing to take care of all our needs if we are to look to him. Even in the case of Sarah, God worked. This was not to accomplish any boasting in Sarah's life but to bring ultimate glory to himself. The faith I need is that of Abraham, A man submissive to the Lord. A great leader who was not afraid to display his faith no matter the manor asked of him. If you think about it the same day the lord asked him to take cold steel to his "man parts" he did so. Not only to himself but to the men around him that were 8 days old or older. The same displays of faith brought him to take a knife to his promised son with the intent to slaughter him. What would this kind of faith look like in 2008? 

5 Minutes

While reading, My iTunes was jammin' out. A song came on I have listened to multiple times. The song was "5 Minutes" By KJ-52. The only difference was my reading of Matthew 26:36-46 (amazing how God uses numbers) while listening to it. 

1) A soul extremely sorrowful, to the point of death. How does Jesus deal with this? Stress to the point of blood. Jesus has 3 friends wait and watch with him. We need to value the relationships God has divinely placed in our lives. We also need to ask for encouragement and help in times of sorrow and despair. More important is what Jesus does next, He prays. He pleads his case to God (this is of highest importance) while being submissive the entire time. "Not as I will, but as you will". How would we deal with friends that let you down? Vs. 40-41, Rebuke, command, and encourage. People will let you down! that is something you can be assured of "the spirit indeed  is willing but the flesh is weak". The three disciples are told to "watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation". What was their temptation? Was it sleep? Was it Satin working in another way? In either case they were to pray in order to combat temptation. Jesus prayed again, this time it was full submission to God the Father. I want to note the time it takes for a response and submission to authority.  I know I have a hard time listening and responding when I finally do listen. It should be in the moment. Next, more prayer! I love this. Its not just one prayer, Jesus doesn't pray just once, he prays 3 times. (the number of times Peter denies Jesus, relation?) What's next? Jesus prepares his disciples (friends) for what's to come. 

2) The joy of Jesus in a troubled time. How can we connect the two? Joy and sorrow. Hebrews 12:2 explains. "looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Jesus had the joy that was set before him, not on the physical act we can see, but of the salvation of sinners which would reflect back to the Father for his glory. (Hebrews 2:11) How are we to respond to this great act of worship? Take up your cross daily. (Luke 9:23) Praise God like the psalmist in Psalm 98. Sing, clap, play an instrument to the Lord. Make joyful noise! 

So, how did the song impact me? I was placed in the garden, watching this take place. My emotional state was not brought to the place it should have been. I was not broken. I was not crying. I was not in prayer. I did not have the heart of gratitude. I did not drop to my knees... 

And now I repent 

Answers to Matthew 19:24

Again I say to you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God. (Matthew 19:24 esv) 

The controversy at work is the meaning of this verse. After reading ESV, NIV, KJV, NLT, and the Message, there is no wording that would indicate the eye of a needle is a gate in a wall that camels need to get down on all fours to pass through. Nor is it a gate in a barn. 

So what is the true meaning? When Jesus says a needle, he means a needle. Artifact #2 in the top picture would be the needle used in the day of Jesus.

 Try getting a camel through that (lower picture for the challenged). Why is this parable about an act that is impossible? Because it is read with a man centered view of the Bible. 

Jesus continually said things in a way that was intended to get our attention. Read John 4:1-45 when Jesus talks to the woman at the well (particularly John 4 16-18) Jesus intentionally says things here in a way to get the women's attention. 

When referring to the eye of a needle the word is used in the singular sense in all translations I have looked at. Unless there was only one "eye of a needle" gate this would not work. 

Another reason this would not work is continuing on to verse 26 Jesus responded to the shock of the disciples saying "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible". If even Jesus says this is impossible why are we trying to translate it to mean it is difficult? Men freak out if there is something they cant do, so they have to view things in a way the end result can be obtained. Unfortunately the extent used in this case is the misinterpretation of scripture. Please don't read your Bible to honor yourself or tickle your ears. That is not what Jesus taught, He taught the glorification of God the father, Jesus the son, through the Holy Spirit in us. 

Please feel free to post comments and questions.

Proverbs 15:33

A hedonist's treasure

What is the treasure for a worldly hedonist ? The dictionary defines it as the pursuit of pleasure, or sensual self-indulgence. When I think of an american hedonist, I think of the sinful pursuit of sexual lust, over-indulgence with alcohol, mind altering drugs (yes this includes marijuana) and money. 

As christians we are to live contrary to the culture. Have lives set apart from the norm. This would lead to christian hedonism. How would we begin to define such a dominantly worldly expression? Matthew 13:44 I feel describes it through a short parable, "the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field." 

We are to forsake all the world says to find pleasure in. We are to joyfully trade in our old ways to treasure Jesus. Is this easy? At times yes, absolutely. Yet at times our treasure is not always Christ, this in turn, making it impossible to forsake the pleasures of the world. "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." (Luke 12:34) 

The forgiven' duty

My life has been all about the experience of sinful indulgences. Some experiences conscious and others unintentional. Either with intent or not the act was never-the-less sinful. How much have I been forgiven not to forgive others. "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses." (Matthew 18:35) Where is it my duty other than to forgive those in my life? For all those I have ever committed a trespass against and to those I will inevitably hurt in the future I sincerely ask forgiveness. My intention as a man striving to live not in the flesh but the spirit, is to experience the supremacy of God in all life. This can only be obtained by seeking God above all things. "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:13) "For thus says the LORD of the house of Israel: "Seek me and live"(Amos 5:4). My heart yearns for a sinless spotless life. Repentance is often. My flesh weak. 

 

Ya don't see this everyday...

Yard work is commencing along nicely 

A hateful passion

A fleshly love for sin is constantly in battle with my spiritual love for Jesus. I don't for one minute desire to sin, so if that were the case, why is it I find myself knocking at the door of temptation? 

I do love, the question that is frustrating my life is what or who will love more.

I ask Jesus for his work to rebuke me when my path seeks worldly pleasures. My need for redemption can only be realized through the word and work of Jesus.

may my hate take over when temptation is persistent. HATE for worldliness, may it be a great treasure! 

Great fathers

After tonight I now have a better understanding of the value a great parent brings to a family. A dear friend brought this to my attention when he witnessed an incident in our drive thru tonight. After witnessing a father physically and mentally abuse his child it brought back horrific mental images from his child-hood. 

After witnessing this I now know how valuable it is to have a  Christ centered home. A place of safety for the children and wife.  

Grace abounds

Who understands the full reaches of Grace?

I wish there could be full comprehension of this grace that has saved us.

We got the grace we did not deserve, because Christ died the death we should have died. 

Now thanks to Gods gracious calling, we can live the life we never could have otherwise.