Are You Amish?

This is a question that Elizabeth and I get asked frequently when we go out in public. We don't take offense from it. We know that many people around the country are not familiar with the other anabaptist groups and are also unaware of the various differences between the multitude of Amish communities.
















It's easy to see how someone unfamiliar with anabaptists would directly associate us with the Amish.
But here is something I perceive that many people don't know about the "plain folk", that is, we identify ourselves by the way we dress. It's a way of saying, "I belong to this or that community".


When a multitude of plain communities are living side-by-side it is a way to prevent awkward situations but also to preserve a communities distinct identity amongst the mass of plain folk. Just attend an auction and you'll quickly see how many different groups are present.



What kind of awkward situation could potentially arise?





Well consider this.


The Old German Baptist Brethren practice the "holy kiss", also known as "the salute". It stems from several verses in the New Testament that we understand to be a command.
The Biblical references are:

Romans 16:16, 1st Corinthians 16:20, 2nd Corinthians 13:12
"Greet one another with a holy kiss."

1st Thessalonians 5:26
"Greet all the brothers with a holy kiss."

1st Peter 5:14
"Greet one another with a kiss of love."



Now from what I understand and have seen there are some Amish communities that don't observe this. So if an OGBB man mistook an Amish man as a fellow of his community, you can imagine the awkward fall-out from trying to "greet him".



This is just one simple example.



The various ways in which subtle differences of standards are applied would include, but are certainly not limited to:

Colors of materials used, both jean material and shirt/dress material
Buttons vs Pins or hook & eyes
Cuts of a pattern, especially for dresses
Length of dresses
Tightness of jeans
Hat brim width
Hat color
Mustache or no mustache
Hair cut-for men
Beard length-some groups trim, others don't
Covering style-for women




Elizabeth and I are much less restricted in our freedom of dress. I strongly believe that an individual should be able to dress as they desire as long as they are modest and not following the fashions of
"the world".

The few things that Elizabeth and I are consistent with would include:

Her covering-we are happy with it and see no reason to change it. It fulfills its purpose and is attractive. It is not a typical anabaptist covering but we feel strongly that it is more Biblical than what is typically seen. We often have brethren bring this up in conversation. We try not to "beat them over the head with it". I don't need to tell them something that they can see for themselves. Many of them agree with us but don't want to be "the nail that sticks up that get's hammered back down". Being contrary is antithetical to the foundation of many anabaptist beliefs. We are starting fresh, without a heritage, so we have no family to worry about offending.



My hat-It's a simple straw hat, but I'm happy with it. I'd like to learn someday to make one for myself. Isn't that the homesteader tendency? When I leave the house I have it with me 99.99% of the time. I do remove it during prayer, meeting, and worship in accordance with 1st Corinthians 11.



My beard-It's simple to me. I just let it grow. I maintain it as proper hygiene determines and that's about the extent of it. I do have a mustache and always will, I do trim it. A man has to eat. I have wondered though, if I didn't, would it grow as long as my beard? Makes me chuckle.

The mustache is my red-flag to the Amish and Mennonites that I am not part of their community. The Amish strictly hold that no man is to ever have a mustache in their community. Interestingly I held myself to this standard before I learned that there were some "Brethren" communities that did the same thing as me. I'm not Amish and I don't pretend to be. That being said, people still mistake us. For me the entire beard issue comes down to a simple precept.

God created nature, "work with nature, not against it". What a waste of time and money shaving is. Not only that, but the early Christians taught that a man that shaved his face was effeminate, in other words, that he was trying to look like a woman! To me, shaving your beard is akin to telling God that he designed your body incorrectly, that you know better than him. He's our creator, I'll trust his judgment on the issue.






All of this to say, No, we are not Amish. But from the outside looking-in it can certainly appear this way. We describe ourselves as anabaptist and feel that this is an adequate way of identifying ourselves. There will be a time when we are horse-and-buggy, if the Lord tarries, and even then we will still have a separate identity from the Amish. For one, we would not believe that our buggies would need to be black or our farm wagons John Deere Green. Our freedom in Christ allows us to be free of such legalism.

An individual can be plain (or as I prefer, simple) and still "fulfill their identity" while simultaneously cultivating a culture of cohesion. The Amish disagree with this idea. That's why we could not join them with a clean conscience.


There are many different dynamics to this that Elizabeth and I are so accustomed to that we no longer are cognizant of all the vantages. Some of the small details we skip over unawares and other larger details we take for granted to be self-evident.


All that to say, if you have questions-just ask. Email us privately or message us on here and we'll be content to answer anything.


Shalom

Lord and James

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure who will find this information useful but here is something you may not be familiar with.

The word that is commonly translated from both Greek and Hebrew as “Lord” is actually the Hebrew word “Yah”, as in “Yahweh”. This is interesting to me, so out of curiosity I cross-referenced this with a Bible I have that is written in Pennsylvania Deitsch. I wanted to know what the German plain-folk translated it as, to see if they felt it had a modern equivalent.
I was actually surprised to see that they didn’t translate it as anything! It was written as Yah in the Hebrew and it remained Yah in the Pennsylvania German.

 

Yah is the Hebrew name for the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

I’m not sure what you can do with this knowledge but I still think that it is worth knowing.

 

 

Hallelujah, meaning "Praise Yah!" or "Praise God!", is not a comment towards God himself. It is a declarative exclamation telling the worshipers of Yah to praise him! This really changes the dynamic of worship. It takes things from being as simple as simply saying "Praise God", to actually having to be more proactive and to have to think of ways in which to praise Him.
 

 

 

Another factoid; there is no such book as the book of James.

It is actually the book of Jacob, or Jakobus in Pennsylvania German, I’ve also cross referenced this with a translation to Hebrew, I can’t remember the way it was spelled but it was clearly a version of Jacob.

Why was the name changed?

Because King James was a very vain man and he wanted a book named after him. Plain and simple.

I hope this helps you in some way.

Revival, And What It Really Means

I've been to dozens of church gatherings commonly referred to as "revivals".  These were exciting meetings with well spoken evangelists lifting up the congregation and chastising them when the Lord prompted them to. In these meetings there would be many more people than the congregation would typically hold. Many would be visitors, many would be family that were not committed, and others were people that had heard through word-of-mouth. In these meetings it was always exciting to see new people hear about what we knew about the Lord. We were full of fire and wanted everyone to know and have what we had and to see what the full word of God had to give.

I took a lot away from these revivals and was glad to attend them for years.

As I got older I began to realize that not everyone was taking away the same thing I was.

Everything has it's season. Everyone has their "down season". We all need to be lifted out of it, sometimes we are able to do it on our own, other times we need the encouragement of another brother. Hence the term revival, "To bring back to life".

For the two camps (believers and new believers) the change had from the revival would look two very different ways.

For the New believer, the change could be disorienting. A world of new emotions flowing around everything they have known their entire life. Looking at the world through the prism of "what is holy and what is not holy?" alongside thoughts of "now that I believe, what do I believe?". All of which should promptly be followed by a reading of the New Testament. Reading the Word is the foundation of our faith, and the fertilizer that helps us to grow in our youth. Every Christian has been there.

For those people that have been believers and have had a walk with God, a revival should simply bring back to life our depth of conviction, not only to witness but also to purge our lives of any immorality that we have allowed into it. Whether that be through the media or even immodest/immoral clothing.

 To maintain our separation from the world the Lord gave us commandments and convictions. Convictions are simple truths we live our lives by that we feel are biblical. The general public may be oblivious to some of our more simple convictions that are truly insignificant, but do matter to our Lord on a personal basis. I am not here to tell you what convictions you should have, or even what half of my convictions are. Many I have had and lived with for so long that I am almost not even aware of them, they are my normal.  

After attending revivals, I had new eyes for what was sin in my life. I looked at things and people I had allowed into my life with different eyes. Some things are best to be ridden of, other things we have in our life, we have to tolerate against our will. The same goes for people. Sometimes in order to have a closer walk with God, we have to say farewell to people that we know are not healthy for us to be around. Other times, we have to adjust the way we interact with those that we have to be around.

After years of having attended revivals, my disappointment came from seeing the parable of the sower illustrated. It hurt to witness people come to know God but then deny him the next day.

We all walk our own walk with our Lord, and we are all on different levels with him. Don't give up and don't be discouraged. Be revived in your walk. Be firm. Count it all joy.

If you have any questions or need any support, we are here for you.

We are Anabaptist Pentecostals

It's been several years since Elizabeth and I last stepped into a pentecostal church. Ever since then we have been conflicted about how we identify or should identify ourselves. We are plain and we are pentecostal with a little "p". My laptop keeps trying to uppercase the "p" so forgive me if I miss one, I am not that vain.

It's frustrating to know that there is more than one congregation in the local area that we agree with biblically but disagree with "culturally". It's weird here in the U.S. We are so removed from what people identify as culture in other countries that we can't identify what culture is in our own country.
I think the main reason for this is that we are taught in school that we are to be accepting of everybody and everything and that no one is ever wrong and that all people are always right. So all ideas and concepts that seem unique at first eventually get blended into the broad picture that is the U.S. landscape.

It's hard for me to communicate what I feel and am trying to say.

At the core of it, I am really just repeating what I have said before. Take a look at A READER'S EMAIL post. Good churches are still out there.

We are Anabaptist and pentecostal.

We are not ostentatious.
We are not Materialists.
Our sense of identity does not come from the media.
We liv separated and are a peculiar people.
Our walk with God is not focused on us but rather our families and our friends. We are here to encourage and edify them, for the strengthening of our community.

Since we walked away from our pentecostal congregation we have struggled with our identity.
People will ask us "what we are". We both just look at each other and say "plain pentecostal" but that really doesn't say everything for us.

People will push us further and say, "But what are you?" To which we finally just gave in and started calling ourselves Porters. A porter is a person that opens a door. And that's kind of how we view ourselves. We see it as having the best of both worlds. We are pentecostal yes, but it's not the centerpiece of our entire walk with God. There are 65 other books in the word of God than just the book of Acts, and 1st Corinthians 14.

"Both worlds" meaning that we have the joy of the Lord matched with the pleasure of simple living.
The sad reality that many people familiar with the Anabaptists groups are aware of, is the depression that is abundant in those groups. When individuals don't have the liberty to express themselves in various ways, depression will follow. Whether that be through playing musical instruments, or designing clothing to their own preferences. If we go about this world always concerned with satisfying other peoples ideas of what we should be, we ourselves will never be satisfied. A sincere deep walk with God matched with striving to utilize all the talents he gave us, will bring all the satisfaction he designed us to have.

For us, saying that we are pentecostal is an overstatement, the kind of thing that should be understood when we say that we are Christian. However being as the majority of modern Anabaptist are not pentecostal, the simple act of clarifying becomes relevant.

This week we have finally decided.

We are comfortable with being called one of two things.

"Anabaptist Pentecostal" or "Porter".

I don't feel comfortable being called a "plain pentecostal" anymore. My identity is deeper than a single aspect of my walk with God. The single word "anabaptist" has the deeper meanings that more strongly convey where my family is coming from.

By calling ourselves Anabaptist Pentecostals, we feal firm and established. Finally separated from our roots  from years ago.

It was difficult back then to try to communicate to them
(the formal pentecostal church with a big P) why and how we didn't see things eye to eye. Their understanding of the Anabaptist was only what they saw on the surface or on the TV in their living room. They hadn't heard or read any of the theological ideas that establish the foundation of anabaptist ideology.

Honestly, I'm not sure where that conversation could start  with the Pentecostals nowadays. The separation that once existed is now fading away with every generation that passes. The media is so deeply imbedded in everyone's life that it has become normal to just accept it. And that media establishes the culture of the youth. It undermines and rewrites what culture the parents try to instill in their child.

Being afraid to stand-out in a crowd has also cost the church it's identity. We call them Christians in camouflage. Sure you might notice them if you had belonged to them at some point, but otherwise they would just blend in to any other scene in America. They would look no less out of place in a bar than they would just leaving meeting. I couldn't speak so harshly if we hadn't left them years ago.

I'll leave you with these last words.

Regardless of your age and standing with your family or church, don't be afraid to liv separated and holy. It is our father we answer to, not our family members or our church. To reestablish separation, there has to be a first person to do it. Let it be you. From the clothing you wear, to the places you will and won't go. Start a home church, even if it's in an apartment. God bless! It's a difficult road, but the Lord blesses us abundantly for being faithful! We started this walk 6 years ago and we are still going. We are not where we want to be yet, but in time we will get there. Our children will be blessed with our support and direction. Think of your children as well : )

Happy Marriage Day!

We took this picture in the sand of a California beach. Your marriage should be your second most important focus of everyday. Second only to your walk with God.

Marriage is intended to be a happy union. There will be times of "intense fellowship", but overall a marriage should not be founded on straight faces, frowns, or discomfort in general.

Elizabeth and I have been married over six years now and every day we both do what we can to make the other smile. Everyone on this earth will only liv once, what's the point of living a life that is unpleasant. The happier you are, the healthier you will be and in return the longer you will liv. 

Elizabeth and I had been married for a while when I made the observation that there is no nationally celebrated "Marriage Day". We have many other "Days" in this country. We've got mothers, fathers, and even grand-parents day. But I've never heard anyone reference "Marriage Day". So with rebellion against a country that doesn't honor marriage as it used to be; I decided that we would make our own "Marriage Day". So with love in our heart and smiles on our faces we have always gotten much pleasure from celebrating our "Happy Marriage Day".

What day of the year do we celebrate our Marriage Day?

Is it our anniversary?

No

Is it the first of the year?

No

Is it a randomly chosen day of the year?

No

Our Marriage Day is every day that we are together.

We let each other know that we are enjoying a moment together when we say, "Happy Marriage Day!". We don't need an instituted Holy-Day for us to recognize each other out of formal obligation. Instead we choose to let each other know that we don't take each other for granted. Being genuine is the most heartfelt satisfaction that one can have, it's especially strong when our intentions can't be misinterpreted as "obligatory".

This is a special thing that Elizabeth and I share between us but I encourage you to do the same.

Sometimes we say it daily, and other times we might say it once or twice a week. It always makes us smile when the other person surprises us with it. It's a genuine exchange between us that isn't derived from pop-culture.

Always value your marriage, NEVER say the "D" word and do all you can to make yourself a better person in the marriage. When "intense fellowship" arises, be wise and take time to think about what has passed. If you still feel that they are in the wrong or have a habit that needs to be fixed before it passes to the next generation, bring it up when spirits are light. Loving spouses care about their children and understand that only the other spouse can truly help them to raise a better generation through improving themselves and each other.

Take critiques seriously and commit them to heart. You'll raise a beautiful family if you do.

It's easy to become angry when someone critiques us, remember it's not an enemy, it's a "life-partner". Life being the important word. Intense fellowship will help the two of you to better understand how to communicate as adults and to better understand the personal needs of each other as well as boundaries that may not seem so obvious.

Love your spouse. You should be married to your best friend. Treat them as such. When you are feeling rushed, look in their eyes for an "extended moment" and just let them know you love them. Enjoy the small moments together. Those are the valuable things in your life that no one can take away.

This part is solely for the men.

Look into your wives eyes.  Deeply.  Until you can see her soul.  Then take in all the information that doing such will give you. You'll better understand her needs and also why she may not always do all the things you want to.

For both husbands and wives.

Read "The Five Love Languages".

It's that simple. Learn which ways in which your spouse conveys and receives love and refine it over and over until the two of you are both satisfied with how each of you receives and conveys love.

A small story. Part of my personality makes it so that I enjoy surprises. That is one of the love languages. Elizabeth on the other hand prefers to have everything planned. It's part of her accountant personality. When we first were married I had to learn that Elizabeth didn't appreciate surprises because they changed the parameters of what she was dealing with at any time. I on the other hand had to educate her that I love surprises. Unpredictability makes me feel young and healthy. It took her a while to learn to come out of her "box", but ultimately she found ways to let me know she loved me by appealing to such. Likewise I had to find ways to go against my nature by planning things that we could do together. It was weird for me. I always prefer to do things off-the-cuff. I'm not sure if I'm doing well enough, but it's having that thought in my head that matters. There is always tomorrows marriage day.

Communication is the most important aspect of a marriage. Second is love.

If you are married to your best friend you should be able to talk about anything. You may have to wait till the right time, but still there shouldn't be any topic off-limits. When you talk, talk with love-without raising your voice. Resorting to raising your voice shows that you've already lost control and are not willing to talk person to person. Being an adult means that sometimes you have to concede and to change. Change.

Doing these things will teach your children what "normal" is supposed to be. That's important for your health, your spouses health, your children's health, and societies health in general.

Being angry, yelling, or not talking to your spouse is not normal. Seek Normal. It's what is healthy.

You will have happiness in your life and in your marriage when you have self-accountability.

When having intense-fellowship, I strong encourage you to hug each other and then to take a break to reassess what transpired. You may likely find that there was nothing to be gained and that likely it was simply an ego, either of yours or theirs, that was getting in the way. When they have the humility to concede error, don't have the arrogance to say "I told you so", or anything of the like. There is no profit in that. Be married and make each other better people. If you or your spouse concedes error, simply love each other and give each other a sincere hug. This is what is normal.

 Being defensive is unhealthy and can blind you to what or whom is truly in error.

With Christian Love, blessed with the gift of salvation from God and our Father, I pray for blessings of the Lord our Savior to be abundant in your marriage. Be Humble. Husbands, be the head of your house by example. Wives, understand your place in the home. A man may not always be able to communicate how he feels disrespected, but he will always know WHEN he feels disrespected.

Humility and submission will heal any bruise.

Two smiles to leave you with.



The Blessings of New Life

The Blessings of New Life

 

“A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.” John 16:21

 

I must start this posting by stating I had a very easy pregnancy. The morning sickness was mostly isolated to a few weeks in August as we traveled to Colonial Williamsburg and back. I did have lots of swelling despite being on the Brewer Diet. My only other complaint would be the emergence of the dreaded PUPPS rash all over my stomach during the last two months; the intense itching was terrible. My only forms of relief were using black tar pine soap and drinking dandelion root tea. The tea helped the most. 

 

As my estimated due date approached, many people started asking if I was afraid of giving birth naturally. Most of the people I worked with were very uneducated about homebirths and many made predictions that I would ultimately beg to go to the hospital. To be quite honest, I was not afraid. I had stayed away from the “What to Expect” books (don’t ever buy these as a gift) and had focused on reading positive homebirth stories and hypnobirthing methods. Ultimately, the hypnobirthing was thrown out the window as it promised that I would not be in pain. I was in ALOT of pain.

 

I went into labor on Sunday with irregular contractions which I misinterpreted as Braxton Hicks; they soon escalated into 10 minute apart contractions the next day. By 8 pm on Monday night, the contractions were under five minutes apart. Unfortunately, it was excruciating back labor as the baby was trying to turn. She had been in the correct position (head down, face down) for the last three months but had turned during the last week (head down, face up). I took multiple showers and had Michael rub my back during each contraction just trying to get a bit of relief. My midwife checked me around 11:00 pm and I was only dilated to 3. She left around 2:00 that morning to get some sleep but the baby had other plans. My water broke at 5:30 am in a big gush and I told Michael to fill up the birthing pool.

 

After my midwife arrived, I was only at a 5. At that point, I started to get pretty discouraged. I was still experiencing back labor and by the time 9:00 rolled around, I was spent. I dozed between the contractions. Sometimes, there was enough of a lull that I could fall asleep but then the contraction would be twice as long and twice as hard. I was exhausted and needed relief. The midwife checked me again around 9:30 and I was only at a 7. I wanted to cry at that point.

 

She did give me some hope, though. If I could keep from pushing for the next half an hour, she would help thin my cervix manually or use some evening primrose oil. I clutched to that hope and ran with it. After what seemed like hours of contractions, I asked “How much longer?” It had only been 10 minutes. That was disappointing but I knew the end was near. The apprentice and my husband offered some much needed encouragement.

 

At this point, I asked my husband to pray over us once more as we began the final legs of our journey. It was such a special moment for me to have my husband there to not only offer encouragement but spiritual guidance as well.

 

Around 10:00, she manually pushed the rolled lip of my cervix back during several contractions and immediately, there was relief. I could feel the baby start to go down the birthing canal! Each contraction was bringing me closer to seeing my child! I found new energy and was very excited. Another eternity went by but soon I felt a very bad burning sensation and my midwife told me to reach down to feel the baby’s head. I remember saying that I didn’t want to (mostly because I was so focused on getting it out!) but she convinced me to take a break and let my body stretch. I reached down in the water and felt an immense amount of hair waving back and forth in the pool. Like seaweed in the ocean….

 

I joked that if the baby had that much hair, think of the beard it must have!

 

We were certain we were having a son,

 

A few more big pushes and I felt a huge gush! The baby was out! The midwife caught the baby and handed it to me. Michael and my mother-in-law gathered behind me and we all just couldn’t believe there was this crying, slippery baby with tons of hair. It was such an amazing feeling of relief. I remember saying over and over “Hi baby, it’s okay!” After a few minutes, the midwives were asking me to check on the gender of the baby and to our surprise it was a girl! What a wonderful gift from God.

 

The next few hours were a blur. I remember taking some Hem Halt, being lifted out of the pool, and placed next to the fireplace while we waited for the umbilical cord to stop pulsing, the placenta to deliver and stitching up a small tear. Various members of Michael’s family stopped by to see the baby and soon the midwives and my mother-in-law packed up their bags. Our little family was alone for the first time.

 

 

 

 

Takeaways for first time moms:

• When shopping for a midwife, think about what you need from her on your birthing journey. Are you one of those who ask lots of questions and want scientific answers? Do you need a cheerleader when that day comes? Ask for a client list. Call some of those clients and ask questions about the midwife – not their birth story. Everyone I talked to said the midwife I used was great and amazing but she wasn’t what I needed when that day came. I needed a cheerleader offering encouragement during every contraction and I was left discouraged more than once when I saw my midwife ignoring my pleas. I am thankful that I had a husband who stepped into that role.
• Ask about her methods for turning babies, dietary recommendations, and exercise regimens. My midwife did not know of any ways to turn a baby – others can. It may not have worked but we could have at least tried them. Having a child is comparable to running a marathon – you need to train for the big day. I wish I would have done more exercise than walking.
• Childbirth does hurt but there is a quote that I clung to: “The power and intensity of your contractions cannot be stronger than you, because it is you. - Unknown” Each contraction is one closer to bringing you to your baby. Embrace them and celebrate the end of each one.
• Don’t starve yourself during the birth. I did because I wasn’t hungry and have had a hard recovery. Force yourself to eat. Make smoothie ice cubes with a bit of avocado to keep up your energy. Drink chlorophyll water.
• Educate yourself. Do you want the Vitamin K shot and the eye drops for your child? We chose not to do either. Even if you have a hospital birth, you can opt out of these things. Let the placenta completely quit pulsing before the cord is severed. Newborns need this extra blood in their system. If you test positive for Group B strep, there are natural ways of combating this. Look for natural alternatives in everything you do – your baby will thank you for it.

 

Tips for newborns:

• Be sure to wake them up to eat in the beginning. Abigail wanted to sleep a lot and I thought it was just because of having a hard labor. She actually had jaundice and that can cause them to sleep too much.
• Co-sleeping has been the best thing for us. No blankets on the bed for the first few months. After that, be sure to have separate blankets for you and your spouse. Abigail always snuggles up underneath my arm and I have a light blanket covering the two of us.
• Clean around the umbilical cord during each diaper change with a Q-tip and water. Dry it with the other end. Continue after the cord falls off. If it starts looking reddish after the cord falls off, clean and slather with antibacterial ointment.
• Do not clean your child during the first week. Let the vernix soak into the skin. After that, you can wash the baby twice a week with a mild soap like Dr. Bronners. Be sure to get into the rolls around their neck and open their hands…it is a hiding spot for lint. If you cannot get them to open their hands, try stroking the back of the hand.
• Use reusable diapers to save money and as a healthy alternative for your child. We have not had a single case of irritation or diaper rash. There are many reviews out there and find what works best for your family. I currently use Diaper Safaris with Organic Indian pre-folds (Diaper Safari’s inserts are too bulky for daytime use) and Lalabye Baby diapers. I bought them from http://www.ecobabybuys.com/. They send daily emails with featured products at huge discounts. You may not get to choose from many colors or styles, but you can save a lot of money this way on baby products.

 

I will be posting a list of baby essentials for new moms/baby shower gift ideas as well as useful home remedies later. At this point, Abigail wears store-bought onesies and hand-me-down clothes. Soon, I will be making plain dresses for the upcoming bigger sizes and plan to post sewing tutorials. Please let me know if you have any other topics you would like for me to post on!

What's New?

Well I'm currently at home watching Abigail Grace. This is my first week of retirement from truck-driving. Everything is going well. I'll see if I can load a picture or two on here and make it look nice.

 

 

I've never heard parents comment about how much their child smiled, Abigail smiles all day it seems. Of course she has her bouts where she is upset, but that's only normal.

 

So as we have probably said elsewhere, our little piece of land is about .80 of an acre. Plenty of land to have some fun with for two adults and a baby. So Elizabeth and I eagerly adopted three goats. We had them for about two months when one of them decided to escape three days in a row. The local law enforcement didn't appreciate this distraction. They let us know that our goats were a violation of the town law. They then let us know that our chickens are as well. Yes, we seriously were ordered to remove our chickens in a town of less than five thousand people. The goats, although it made me angry to remove them, I could deal with it. But the chickens needing to be removed, that really angered me. Dogs with sharp teeth are ok loose in a backyard, but not chickens. Doesn't seem logical, but that's probably why I don't make the laws-They'd make sense. So now our back yard and back field are essentially vacant.

We toyed with the idea of growing produce for the local farmers markets but decided that in the end the financial investment would be too much and that the distraction from plane making would be intollerable. Realisticly any money that would be invested in gardening should really be put into tool-making. Right now is an important time to focus on that as a priority. I'm at the center of a perfect storm if I can do things just right. Ive got one life to liv and need to do this right.

Eventually we will have a very large and healthy garden, but this is not the year for it as the season has already passed and next year I will be deeply involved in my tools when time allows.

Ok so it"s been 11 weeks since Abigail was born. I'll try to get Elizabeth to write a posting on that. It was alot of work for the two of us. It was here, at home, unmedicated. So much work.

Thanks for keeping up on our posts. There will be many more now that I am at home and have two free hands! No more driving!!

Lord bless and always seek his will!

Michael

A Reader's Email

From a reader of the blog:





Hi. I stumbled across one of your pages yesterday and it was very interesting. I am a little curious about some things. I was raised in a UPCI church in the Deep South. It is very conservative. Our men, aside from the pastor, very seldom wear suits. Some of them never unless it was on their wedding day perhaps. They are very country, masculine men. Definitely not the suit wearing, accountant type. We still have prayer rooms that we use every service. Some of our people don't go to the doctor and still have their babies at home. Just wanted to let you know that every UPCI church isn't the same. Although, we have quit fellowshipping the UPCI due to the fact that they have voted in television and other things that we don't agree with. A large number of churches in the state I live in, among others, pulled out because of it. I hope this doesn't come across as rude, because that isn't at all how I intended it to.

I have long been fascinated with the Plain lifestyle. I admire them for the separate lifestyle they live. Although there are things that I don't agree with. There is a whole lot more to this salvation thing than living a separated life. You have to obey God's plan of salvation. I think that if you believe you are saved and you know the plan of salvation you should reach out to those around you with it. God called us to be witnesses. They as a rule keep to themselves. Although I have Mennonite neighbors that do get out and witness their beliefs to others. They have even attended my church before and have come to my house for a singing.

I do agree that some Pentecostals need to rethink some things and straighten some things out. There is a lot of things that have crept in and are creeping in that is not right. Mainstream Pentecost today is a far cry from the Pentecost of yesterday. That's why a lot of people are pulling away and identify themselves as Apostolic in doctrine and Pentecost by experience. And never forget that David danced before The Lord with all his might. His wife even looked on him in ridicule. He was not ashamed however. There are times and places that it is perfectly alright to openly praise and worship God. I am not saying act like a Pharisee. Please don't get me wrong, but I never want to hide the glory and majesty of God.

But this is a personal thing. It is each for their own. I can't save you and you can't save me. We each have to save ourselves.

In Jesus Name (Still name above every name!)

Your reader  



I asked the reader if I could publish this email. It's well written and was very informative to me. I hope that it will inform and help some of the readership. Feel free to comment on this. I will publish your comments if they are appropriate. I just ask that you don't submit them as "anonymous". 

Abigail Grace, May 7th 2013

Elizabeth Ann and I are so thrilled to announce the birth of our daughter Abigail Grace. Weight 8 pounds 6 ounces. She was born at 10:50 a.m. With a full head of hair! Elizabeth gave birth to Abigail at our home naturally and without any medications.

Music is a Part of Life

Music is a Part of Life

In our lives and our walk with God, we have always had music around us. Although we are plain, we don't ascribe to the standard of avoiding musical instruments. We have various acoustic guitars, drum sets, and other folk instruments, and most played is our piano. I'm not sure where the standard of avoiding musical instruments came from, I'm still trying to find it in the early German church writings. 

Although we have our instruments, we choose not to use them in worship as it helps us to feel closer to God. 

Often times when instruments are brought into worship, they (along with the musicians playing them) are made the centerpiece of the meeting.  

Instruments cost money, and quality instruments cost a lot of money. That is a resource we feel is better spent supporting our community like the fatherless and widows. 

Music is great when it's inside the home being played amongst the family to worship or just for fun. But in the situations where instruments are used amongst "privileged" individuals as status symbols rather than tools of worship, that's when priorities are misplaced. 

That is why we choose to keep our instruments out of worship but still play them for God on our own. It's similar to the concept of the prayer room. It is about being as genuine as possible with our savior when we worship him. 

If you ever have an opportunity to visit an Old German Baptist Brethren church, you will be very surprised by the music. It is all acapela and sounds like no other singing I've heard anywhere else. 

I'd be very happy to learn the style and teach it to my children but I have no idea how I could begin to do that. 

Their music has been handed down from generation to generation and is so tonaly unique that anything I would try to do to replicate it would probably sound false or severely degraded. 

There is a certain musical slur that the women use in their singing that is so beautiful to hear, I truly hope my future daughters learn to replicate it, as once again-I've not heard it anywhere else. 

The affect of the music on the singers is to feel very close as a family, and to feel very close all worshiping the same God. It is a very powerful feeling. 

That same feeling would be impossible to replicate if musical instruments were to be used. 

Though I do know from experience in the UPCI that musical instruments can be used in a whole different way to make a congregation feel close to God, but at the same time, you start to deal with those dangers that I've mentioned before. 

When worship is genuine, it is a beautiful thing before God; When worship is done for vain glory, it is a foul stench before The Lord. 

Covering Thy Head

In the six years that I have been covering my hair, I have tried many different veiling styles. At first, I started with a simple, white lace veil. At the time, I associated myself as Pentecostal and many of the girls at school asked me if it was part of my religion that I start covering myself with a "wedding veil" a certain number of months before the wedding. I knew that this wasn't working for me and had to rethink and seek God's will of what my covering was supposed to be like.

* I want to take this moment to pause and remind the women reading this posting that I feel the type of covering I wear is something that I feel God has led me personally to - I do not feel that this is the type of veil for every individual. He led me to this and it is also approved by my husband.

For most of the last six years, I have worn the Darted Veil from Plain and Simple, which usually drapes down between my shoulder blades: Darted Veil

Although I have ordered blue veils in the past, I have almost always worn black as a personal preference but I also believe that white should be reserved for those that are unmarried.

Helpful links:
Quaker Jane - Great discussion about things to consider before taking up the covering (or bonnet in her case)

Covered4Him - Wonderful long veils

Plain and Simple Coverings - Excellent selection and articles about putting up your hair in different styles of buns

Modestly Covered - I just found this Etsy shop a few weeks ago - beautiful long veils

We Have A Prayer Closet!

I make this statement not to boast, as a closet can be of any size or in any part of one's home. It's just a great feeling when one can liv by their convictions and Biblical commands.

It's probably a simple 3'x4' closet adjoining our bathroom. It has a simple padded prayer bench.

It is convenient, quiet,  and solitary. There isnothing ostentatious about it. It is a simple place to have genuine prayer with God.

I've not taken a foto of it yet, I will try to post one later.

Menno Simmons, Our New House, and Selling My First Plane

Menno Simmons, Our New House, and Selling My First Plane

Lately I've been curious about the origins of the movement encouraged by Menno Simmons. I've been very interested in the documents that came from the meetings of his peers whether Mennonite or Swiss Brethren. 

You can find links here to those documents.  

http://www.gameo.org/library

My deepest interest like I said is with the early history. I've tried reading a variety of Menno's early writings and I think I just haven't found the right ones yet. Most of what I have found so far has only been fluff meant to encourage his followers or has been brief paragraphs about "the ban".  His most thorough writing I've found thus far has been about the educating of children, there is no mention of college. Menno's educational references are all made towards the word of God. 

I've only begun to read, so if I find any interesting pieces I will bring them to your attention. 

Here is a link where you can specifically find Menno's writings. 

http://m.ccel.org/

Simply do a search for "Menno" and you will find anything you are looking for. 

Menno was known as a prolific writer, so there is a fair chance that I just haven't found his "meat and potatoes" yet.  

It's surprised me with what I have found that he can write so much and say nothing, but yet clearly he has had an enormous affect on Christian history. I'm certain there are writings I am missing or perhaps better translations. 

Our New House

Last weekend we received our appliances so now our house is a home! All of our furniture is in as well. Now we just need to take over the rest of our library and we will be set. 

I do unfortunately have to update that during the move Elizabeth Ann's loom was damaged and will not be usable until I am able to repair it. I'll try to remember to do a post on it. Including pictures. 

Hand Plane Making

I've not yet even begun to make and sell wooden hand planes yet, but I have already "sold" one to a good buddy of mine. It's a good motivation booster and also encourages me all the more to leave truck driving. 

Well with all things in our life, everything is very fluid. We'll try to keep you updated. 

Michael E McCartan

Why No Pictures?

The absence of pictures on this blog is not because of an ideology. We've just been unfortunately in a position where we are most often only able to update the blog over our phones. Due to this situation we have to deal with the quirks of the phone and blog format, they have shortcomings.

In roughly a month or two we should both be living in our home daily. This will open up copious hours that heretofore have been waisted.

I should also make it clear that we try our best to use only photos that we ourselves have taken, and in the instances where we have used photos from other sources we will be replacing them in time with our own illustrations or photos.

I'm sure you have noticed that there are no photos of us. That will also be addressed in the future. We don't intend to paint this blog with our faces, but we will let people see us to better understand our walk with God.

We encourage questions! So let us know if we can help you in your walk with God!

Michael E McCartan

A Poor Update

A Poor Update

Alot has happened in the last 4 months. We've been so busy between my driving for a living, moving into our house, and everything else in-between. 

Elizabeth Ann is still healthy with our child. Everyone save a lone individual is certain that the gender is male. We'll see coming the first week of May or so. 

Elizabeth is eagerly looking forward to her homebirth. 

It seems that aside from one weeks break, all of my weeks driving have been spent going to Pennsylvania. Ordinarily I would enjoy this, but the routine has become less than pleasant due to weather and rushing to get home by the weekend. 

It looks like I'll be able to leave driving in another month. I'm hoping that I'll be able to finish by April 16th so that when I have to go renew my license I can have it changed to a civilian license instead of commercial. That way I won't be able to go back to driving. 

I'll be staying home to watch our child. It's not the way we prefer things to be, but being the first generation to convert requires us to make some sacrifices as our name's first plain family. 

My sons will not be put in this situation as they will have learned a trade before they marry. 

I have so much to tell about woodworking news that I am disappointed that I can't even leave a teaser! It would leave to many questions! 

Bottom line is that I've made many new and good connections and have also acquired many new books and tools. I will try so hard to keep an inventory for this blog once I am home fulltime. 

This blog will be much more active once I am home. 

I am very encouraged that I will have a two car garage to use as my woodworking shop. It will have all the room I'll need for anything I pursue.  

Elizabeth and I are not your typical plain people. I think as the blog goes along you will learn more about that. 

Just one unique example, Elizabeth and I both believe that through proper diet that the body is able to restore health to the teeth. 

We'll explain how and tell you about our discoveries/realizations as we have them. 

Elizabeth will be making some bone broth pretty soon, I'll try to get a blog entry out of it. The idea is to use the marrow to strengthen your own bones. 

There is much more to strengthening your teeth than this, but it is one example of a much greater picture.  

Orchard!

Our property has .8 of an acre. It's not alot but it is plenty of room to have a small orchard. Something great for us is that it already has a fruit bearing peach tree! We've not yet decided on what trees we will have but we will need to decide soon as the time to make an order has come!

A small update on our chickens. We've still got only two, both of which molted and are no longer producing eggs. Once I am home fulltime and we can let them out of the coop more, we will see if they resume laying eggs. If they don't, then their fate becomes questionable as chickens are not intended to be pets for anyone but children. 

We'll post some pictures of them, they are both very fat now and could use some good sunlight. 

We apologize for the absence of photos on our blog, it's not out of principal but rather that most times we are updating our blog from our cell phones which often causes us trouble. We have many photos we'd like to upload and will in due time once we figure out how to reliably. 

Lord Bless!

I've got several ideas for topics of theological discussion that I'd like to touch on. Once again, that may be a while. We'll see

Christians and Halloween

It's difficult for me to write about this, just because I shouldn't have to. Christians celebrating Halloween at churches is the deepest evidence we have that the supposed saints of today, are not reading their Bible. There is nothing holy about Halloween. The Bible is clear when it talks about necromancy and witches and also wizards. We are to avoid them as best we can and are not to associate with them under any conditions unless they reject their unholy past and repent.

Lets look at some verses.

Leviticus 20:26-27

King James Version (KJV)

²⁶ And ye shall be holy unto me: for I theLord am holy, and have severed you from other people, that ye should be mine.
²⁷ A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Choose whom you shall serve.

Also:

Exodus 22:18

King James Version (KJV)

¹⁸ Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live.

Halloween has no holy or righteous association. No one thinks of our Lords gift of salvation. A child or adult that celebrates Halloween by dressing up or even giving out candy is still associating with the observance of the day. It is certainly by no means an opportunity to witness except by nonobservance. How are we to be an example if we set No example?

What finally set me over the edge with this was actually seeing a church with a sign in front of it that literally had the word Halloween on it. Unholy and unacceptable. They were advertising for a Halloween party they were going to have. If I have an opportunity I will try to get a picture of it.

I know that as Christians we are all coming to it from different directions but there are something's that just don't change, namely The Word Of God!

More Verses:

Deuteronomy 18:10-11 (NIV) Let no one be found among you... who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or cast spells, or who is a medium or spiritist.

Isaiah 2:6 (NIV) You have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob. They are full ofsuperstitions from the East; they practice divination like the Philistines and clasp hands with pagans.



Revelation 21:8 (NIV) But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.

Here is a quote from A.W. Tozer:

 "Christianity is so entangled with the world that millions never guess how radically they have missed the New Testament pattern. Compromise is everywhere. The world is whitewashed just enough to pass inspection by blind men posing as believers..."