Merry Christmas!

Praying God's blessings on you and your family this Christmas!

~The Silveys~

"For unto us a Child is born,

Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder.

And His name will be called 

Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace."

Isaiah 9:6

Giving Thanks

“May not and ought not the children of these fathers rightly say: "Our fathers were Englishmen which came over this great ocean, and were ready to perish in this wilderness but they cried unto the Lord, and He heard their voice, and looked on their adversity, 

Let them therefore praise the Lord, because He is good, and His mercies endure forever. Yea, let them which have been redeemed of the Lord, shew how He hath delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. When they wandered in the desert wilderness out of the way, and found no city to dwell in, both hungry, and thirsty, their soul was overwhelmed in them. 

Let them confess before the Lord His loving kindness, and His wonderful works before the sons of men.” 
― William Bradford, Of Plymouth Plantation, 1620-1647

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“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  For His mercy endures forever.”

Psalm 136:1

Happy Thanksgiving!

Summer in Pictures

posted by Amanda Silvey

This past summer we stayed busy with our garden. We were blessed with a good harvest and twice a week we were able to take some of our produce to the farmers market.  We went to two different markets each week, which made our schedule kind of hectic, but we really enjoyed it and are looking forward to next year.

 

Tuesday at the Hope Farmers Market

Greens!

The boys had their own gardens this summer.  

Jared grew some mini romaine and also some orange and yellow carrots.

Yellow Carrots!

Jacob's turnips

Kale chips! We loved making this tasty snack (and eating it too J). There are so many ways you can fix kale; you can eat it raw in a salad, cook it like other greens, put it in a stir fry with some squash, or even make a smoothie out of it. 

Potatoes

Heirloom Tomatoes

Our olives came off about mid to late August.  We figured out that they are not a true olive, but a variety of a sweet olive.  They are great to snack on and taste just like a little green apple.

Zucchini Bread

Handmade items from the Silvey Farm: John Deere aprons, clothes pin bags, and laundry bags.

Grace liked to handle the money for Dad and Mom =)

Bluegrass pickin'.  Lots of fun!

Old Washington State Park is a neat historic town dated back to the Civil War.

Every Saturday they had a farmers market, and we really enjoyed coming out here.   

Fourth of July

Vine Peach Melon  

These little melons grow and look just like cantaloupe.  They don't taste very good by themselves, but they are great in cobblers!

Purple Hull and Crowder Hull Pea Jelly

This is made by boiling the hulls and then using the juice to make the jelly.  The purple hull has a light grape flavor and the crowder kind of has a peach or apricot flavor.

    

Hangin' out

   

Touring the town

It's always fun to take a walk and see the park's biggest Magnolia tree.

Streeeetch...... =)

Come out and see us next year!

Jared #19

Happy Birthday Jared!

August Birthdays

 Posted by Amanda Silvey

      The month of August was filled with birthdays for us: John’s was on the 1^st, Grace’s was the 22^nd, Will’s was the 24^th, and Jacob’s was the 26^th.  

Needles to say, by the end of that last week we were pretty much tired of cake. (Well, at least some of us were.) J  

Happy Birthday Will, John, Jacob, and Grace!                                                                                                          

Will #22  ~  John #17  ~  Jacob #15  ~  Grace #8

"Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD,

 the fruit of the womb is a reward.  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one's youth.  

Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate."

Psalm 127: 3-5

When God Changes Your Plans . . .

Have you ever had a time when you felt like everything was under control and then it all was pulled out from under you like a carpet?  That happened to me this past week . . . .

Saturday afternoon I prepared for our Sunday meal so my Sunday morning would not be so hectic.  I slept in a little Sunday morning because many of my meal preparations were complete.  That morning I pulled out a large glass bowl from the refrigerator that held the potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, and turkey I had prepared on Saturday for our Turkey Pot Pie.  I picked up the bowl to move it over to the next counter and it slipped out of my hands.  The bowl hit the counter and broke in pieces cutting up my hands as I tried to save it from hitting the floor.  I stood there looking at our Sunday lunch on the floor and my bleeding hands.

My first thought was, “I worked so hard Saturday preparing all this food and now it is all gone.  I have nothing else to fix for today.”  The only other meal I could have pulled out of the freezer was ham and beans; not a meal I could put together in the 40 minutes I had left before going to church.

At other times, I would have been anxious, thinking, “What am I going to feed my family now?”  I actually felt calm and had a sense of peace about the whole situation.  Just prior to this event happening I had been in the living room praying and reading God’s Word.  I believe this made the difference in my not falling apart.  God’s word is so powerful and so much needed during the difficulties of life. 

As you see in the picture above we ended up having a table full of food, mostly vegetables we grew in our garden and Amanda came to the rescue with her homemade rolls.  When I thought there was nothing else to fix, we ended up with a great meal full of good family fellowship.  The meal we ate was not what I had planned for that day, but what God planned.  Yes, it was a lot more work to get everything ready when we got home from church, but one of the verses I read that morning was Philippians 2:14,”Do all things without complaining and disputing.”

So . . . remember the importance of being in God’s Word on a daily basis because you never know when the carpet is going to be pulled out from underneath you and you will need God’s strength to carry on.

~Dana

The Blessing of a Praying Mother

Posted by Dana Silvey
It was a blessing to celebrate Mother's Day this past Sunday.  Mark taught on Hannah's prayer from I Samuel during our teaching time at church.  Hannah prayed a prayer and it was fulfilled in a very specific way in the life of her son.  This prayer renewed in me my privilege as a mother to pray for my children.  

A verse that I have used in praying for my children is from Colossians 1:9-11.  I pray that they would:   
be filled with the knowledge of His (God’s) will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that they would walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.

I pray this also for my husband as he leads our family.  Praying God’s word back to Him is very powerful.  I want to encourage all mothers to be praying daily for their children.  You can also pray for the future spouses of your children.  Let’s be praying mothers and grandmothers! 

Sarah's 12th Birthday

We are a little late in getting this post out, but Sarah celebrated her 12th birthday on March 18.  At age 12 we begin the specific time of training for becoming a young lady or young man.  We will focus on the Bible's call for a young lady to be one who fears the Lord and follows Jesus, values God's plan of being a wife and mother, serves in and through the home, and practices modest dress and character.  

For her birthday dinner Sarah chose Homemade Hamburger Helper with all the fixins. 

When our girls turn 12 years old, Mark presents them with a ring to mark this time in their training.  Sarah's ring had a heart with her birthstone in the middle to picture her devoting her heart to God's ways as a young lady.    

Mark said a prayer of blessing for Sarah that she would follow God's ways in her life in the days ahead.

Opening presents!  This is a doll dress that Grace made for Sarah's doll.

An apron made by Mom.

Amanda made Sarah's cake.

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“Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,

But a woman who fears the LORD ,

She shall be praised. "

Proverbs 31:30

Should We Celebrate Easter?

Do you celebrate "Easter"?  The resurrection of Jesus is a very important celebration for us as Christians. But does the name "Easter" have anything to do with the resurrection?  Why do eggs and rabbits appear at this time of the year?

Where did the name "Easter" come from?  Eostre was the Teutonic goddess of spring and a festival was held every spring called Eostur.  They celebrated this pagan goddess and the new life that came from the earth.

So how did we as Christians come to celebrate "Easter"?  In the early centuries, the Roman Catholics began using the pagan name of "Easter" in the celebration of the resurrection.  In Deuteronomy 12:1-4, God tells the Israelites that they were not to use any of the pagan objects from the lands they conquered in their worship of Him.  They also were told to destroy their names from their places.  We also should not use objects or names from pagan festivals in our worship to God.  The use of the name "Easter", eggs, and rabbits (a pagan symbol for fertility) all have pagan roots, yet every year Christian churches have these as part of  their celebration of the resurrection of Christ.

The name "Easter" does not have anything to do with the resurrection of Jesus.  We cannot take these objects that are linked to pagan practices and attach Christian meanings to them.  This is only paganism dressed up in Christian clothes!  Everything about our Christian life pivots around the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  He delights when we keep our focus on Him in the celebration of His works.

You may say, “But the word Easter is in my Bible.”  Our English Bibles are translations of the Hebrew and Greek languages.  The Greek word that was translated “Easter” in the King James Bible is the word “pasca” or “Passover.”  During the time of the translation of the King James Version the Christians had started using the name "Easter" for their religious celebration.  This is why they translated the word Passover as “Easter.”

"Easter" has long been known as a pagan festival and the American founders knew this.  When the Puritans came over to North America, they regarded the celebration of "Easter" with suspicion!  It was not until after the Civil War that Americans even began to celebrate "Easter."

Do your own research on this and let us honor our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ by taking the name "Easter" out of our celebration of His resurrection.  Instead of saying we are celebrating "Easter", let's say we are celebrating Resurrection Day.  We really celebrate Resurrection Day every Sunday, but it is good to have a special focus during this time of the year.

We hope your family has a happy Resurrection Day!

~The Silveys 

Snow on the Farm

Yesterday afternoon it started sleeting and then it began to snow! The kids were so excited and of course they had to get out in it right away .=) They played until it was time for dinner and then they were right back out in it the next morning. The girls made a cute little snowman and since Jacob wasn't feeling well they boxed it up and put it away in the freezer for him. =) The animals went crazy with the snow and had a blast playing in it. 

By the afternoon of the next day most of it had melted, leaving a few patches here and there. We didn't get a whole lot, but we sure enjoyed it while it was here! =) 

Mr. Snowman

Our neighbor's puppy from up the road has become a frequent 

         visitor at our house and she has fallen in love with John. =)            

This was the ducks' first snow and they didn't know what to do with it.

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"God thunders marvelously with His voice; He does great things which we cannot comprehend. For He says to the snow, 'Fall on the earth'; likewise to the gentle rain and the heavy rain of His strength."

                                                                     Job 37:5,6