Beautiful

Trout Lake Clinic

The Clinic with the beauty of the early February snow and sunshine. Snowflakes were falling in the sunshine, as I walked between the post office and the clinic.

Jack owned an Icelandic ram that mated with the ewes of our farm. Our Shetland ewe, Dolly, gave birth to Charley, so named because Charley came into the world like a charley horse. Marshal and I had to push and pull to set Dolly free from her charley horse. Charley later had a little black lamb of her own. Charley and her little black lamb were traded to Jack for Kune Kune pigs last summer. Jack was so pleased to add Charley and her black lamb to his own small flock of sheep. Jack is a kind shepherd, but he gives his flock boundless freedom to roam the mountain. So the first week of February, Charley, a headstrong ewe, led the flock away from her own mountain, as lead sheep. Charley left the shepherd, shelter, food, and safety, a shepherd unto herself.

Jeremiah 50 speaks of the peril of sheep that forget their resting place.

6 “My people have been lost sheep.
Their shepherds have led them astray;
They have turned them away on the mountains.
They have gone from mountain to hill;
They have forgotten their resting place.

Charley came to her birth place, surely a place of safety! The familiarity magnetized her to the place. She would not come into the fold, but she ran her wild flock around the perimeter for two days, running up and down the highway and up the steep bluffs of the hillsides! The shepherd left feed for them on the hillside, as the nights were cold, but they would not come to the call. Just before dark of evening, Jack miraculously caught Charley in a lasso that was thrown for the ram's head. The ram backed out of the loop as it slipped over Charley's head. Jack was filled with thanksgiving for answered prayer at such a marvelous coincidence. Charley was the lead sheep, so the others followed her all the way to our barn for overnight refuge. But we could not pen them. Charley was penned and tied, but the others bolted and went back on the run. Sheep without a shepherd, not lost, but wild, flighty, untrusting, and thus would not submit or come under protection of the master. They instead put themselves back out on the highway and spent the night hours on the hillside among the predators. An unseen Hand protected them from the coyotes and mountain lions that prowl under the cloak of darkness. At first light, they were still there, and Jack led Charley back to the hillside and gathered the other sheep behind. A shepherdess took up the rear guard.

Ezekiel 34 is a passage rich with imagery of the Shepherd coming to gather His scattered and stray sheep. The sheep do not know the Shepherd and their resting place as they ought, but He knows them!

I was encouraged by these pictures. Even the wayward, straying sheep are known by the shepherd. They are his. He lays his claim, even if he has to compassionately put a strong uncomfortable cord around the neck so that she falls in line and leads the others where they need to follow behind the master.

The Sun - February 5

The sun over the snowscape of Trout Lake Valley and the White Salmon River.
Compliments of Gabe and GoPro.

Isaiah 55

As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

Sunrise Moonset of January 21

The super, blood, wolf moon eclipse could not be viewed last night from the Trout Lake Valley floor. Clouds covered the entire expanse of sky like a blanket.

Marshal returned to the house after dawn's milking, commenting on the radiance of the full moon, low in the west. I missed it beforehand, and when I ran back out to catch the brightness of its beauty, the moon was plummeting behind a thick low lying cloud bank.

The sky brightening with pink strokes of new day.

If the moon is a sign for a season....
There is always a cloud covering where the glory of the Lord dwells. Will we be covered in that Day, separated from the darkness and gloom, the enemy army, the wolf that prowls?
The heavenly body that reflects the glory and radiance of the Son is hidden in Him.
Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

2018 Merry Christmas Family Update

2018

2018 has come… and comes to an end. I felt something akin to a dizzying disorientation with the changing of the seasons, as one melded into another. The seasons, ever changing, draw us closer to those days of which Christ spoke, “But for the sake of the elect, whom he chose, he shortened the days.”

Trout Lake weathered steady and mild seasons, quite insulated from the fires, floods, and shakings that wake and warn the children of men. Who has an understanding of the times? Daniel 11:32-35, 12:1-3, 9-10

Marshal settled into a year of steady routine. The farmer wakes before the sun, and cares for his cattle, pigs, sheep, dogs, and barn cats. There is at least two of everything. The chickens, geese, and guineas wait for Gabe to rouse. Then Marshal grooms himself for his self-employed day job at the clinic, prepares his breakfast, and checks in at the office by 8:00 AM. He is Dr. Harpe until at least 4 PM, although always the doctor night or day when the phone rings with an urgent request. We receive appreciative and loving feedback from the community in regards to our presence as a clinic in Trout Lake. Marshal invited his mom, Ruth, to join him as his volunteer staff in the clinic over the summer, and she took him up on it. Marshal’s dad moved a trailer over here so Ruth would have her own little house three days a week with us. She not only helped out as a receptionist, but supported Marshal in every task, whether it was an extra hand in patient care, clinic housekeeping, or outdoor maintenance. She washed windows, dusted, mopped, repotted the dying house plant, weeded and cut back the irises under the plum tree for starters. It was so nice for each of us to have Mom, Grandma, with us on a weekly basis. We also enjoyed the bounty of her Eastern Washington garden, fresh produce all summer.

Marshal coached Trout Lake X-Country for his second year and took the high school girls to State along with Gabe, qualifying as an individual. Running takes up the end of summer and fall, but the weather was perfect for it, and the days were still long to fit it all in.

I follow Marshal every day without a steady routine. I might fit in a load of laundry, strain the kefir, knead some bread dough, put away the dishes, clean the toilets, scrub the shower, wash the dog, control the clutter, oversee Gabe and Lydia as they embark on the day, forget breakfast, make a smoothie, and then head to the clinic. I’ll spend hours with a Nutritional Therapy client or two, learn something new, answer the phone, inventory supplements, pay bills, reply to emails, get lost in Quickbooks. Quickbooks- what an oxymoron. Then, I’ll follow Marshal home. What’s for dinner? Hmmm. The bread dough is still sitting in the pan; the counters have accumulated new clutter; the meat is still in the freezer, and there are clothes to fold. Think I’ll just see what the rest of the world is doing on Facebook.

I did do something out of the ordinary this year; I joined a small group that went to Baja, Mexico(see my June 1st blog post) for a week in the spring. Twenty years ago, I had become acquainted with Foundation For His Ministry, a children’s mission. Four years ago, I reread the story of how the ministry was raised up, Charla’s Childrenby Charla Pereau. It is a testimony of God’s work, not the work of man’s hands. This year, I had the invitation to go and see firsthand.

Just before Easter, Gabe joined the Langdon family on their one of many return trips to Malawi, Africa(see Aug 21 post) where they had founded a Baby Nursery ten years ago. When given the opportunity, he seized it. He had three super weeks in Africa, experiencing life, language, culture, food, climate and lots of children and babies on the other side of the world. His highlights were Easter Sunday worship service with dancing and music, jumping up and down for hours until his armpits were raw. The other was playing with literally hundreds of exuberant and competitive children. We loved his little iPhone videos he was taking during the time. He got quite sick at the end with concerns of Malaria, but in hindsight, figured it was a migraine reaction to the food coloring in Sobo and Fanta drinks.

Gabe came home when track season was in full swing, and it was off to the races in the 800 M. He went to State and ran well. He came home with Marshal from State and stepped out of the truck with a Norovirus. That GI bug took us all down throughout the week and cancelled our Anniversary plans to take the kids back to Newport, Oregon coastline.

Gabe hatched a dozen goslings, half a dozen mallards, over a hundred guinea keets, and chicks this spring and summer. He sold dozens of eggs, chicks, and guineas at the peak of production. Marshal wonders what we are doing with all the fowl, but I say that they are good for the soup pot if nothing else. Gabe was employed by our neighboring dairy farmer over the summer, moving irrigation wheel lines twice a day. Moving wheel lines is hard manual work and good money, but he found his niche in an additional side job, trapping gophers in the cropland. He did such a good job as a gophinator that he had to fill out a W-9 for another farmer!

Currently, Gabe is tanning hides. He was brought a black bear, a bobcat, and two coyotes all within a week’s time, so he has been busy!

Oh yes, he ran X-Country with Marshal, August until November. He ran strong through the season and qualified for the State Championship in Pasco on November 3. He placed 66th at state out of 150 runners. Not bad.

Last but not least, he bought himself a Dobro, so he can play music like musicians in Josh Turner’s band. He is teaching himself, watching the promos for online lessons, and I caught him playing along with the radio this afternoon.

Lydia got strep, rheumatic fever, in January and fought the rest of the year to feel good. We were thankful to have a doctor in the house. Marshal identified and treated the inflammatory response promptly. I came across a fabulous-four supplement combo, Ubiquinol, magnesium, L-Carnitine, and D-Ribose, in kefir and berries and Vitamin C to strengthen her heart and pulmonary capacity. She had to push herself harder for a slower time in Cross-Country, but she ran all season without fail and helped her team go to State.

Lydia has been home-schooling herself really well with LifePac workbooks by Alpha Omega. She gets up with an alarm and starts voluntarily with Bible in the morning. Many times she makes me breakfast. I take her over to Aunt Meg’s at 10AM. She joins their school day and studies alongside her cousin Naphtali. She continues to play her violin with weekly lessons and Thursday night Bluegrass. She just bought herself a mandolin. She also continues to teach herself piano and plays freely.

Lydia took a special childcare job, watching a baby boy, on Thursday mornings. I have joined her this school year so far, but I now get the luxury of sitting on the couch, studying and reading, while she becomes more and more confident and competent in taking care of Stephen, a darling one year old.

Christmas!

A celebration of Christ incarnate. Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. Such a reason to celebrate! Time to fill the world with royal color, reds and gold, evergreens, and shining light. Such a reason to do so many things out of the ordinary: parties, feasting, cookies galore, extravagant gift giving, choirs, caroling, children’s pageants. Today, Gabe strung lights; Marshal took Lydia to Whidbey to the Nutcracker; I sit down to right a letter.

Look at the heavens, remember the star that marked the time of His appearing. Today the Light of the World has shone upon our hearts that we might believe in Him, trust Him, obey Him, love Him and know His everlasting love. May our hearts be set on fire by His holy fire. May we reflect the light of His presence in a very real way.

Merry Christmas!!!

With Love,

Marshal and Shanea, Gabe and Lydia

Ice Skating

Found some room to play for the first time in a long time. We went with Meg and Jesse's family a week ago to check out the local skating ice. Jesse started us off with the first ever annual figure skating competition. I should have been filming, as there was material worth televising. At least for AFV.

December at the Lake with Family - Cocoa Break

We have a new puppy! Saphy came with us to the skating party.

Saphy loves Marshal.

New House Addition

Winter comes, but a violet blossom hangs on.

Pretty Monday Morning

Our new addition! We purchased Luke's hand built Tiny House this week. It is official. Luke brought it to us last Friday, and Marshal helped him settle it in its new location. We now have guest quarters.

Tiny House and the Little House

Be our guest.

Front yard view with another morning of new snow to start the week.