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. 

Our Email

If you would like to Email us, please feel free. Your questions will inspire us to write new blog posts geared towards your curiosities.

Porterhomestead@gmail.com

We may miss some questions due to filters but I try my best to always check to see if we missed anything.

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.