Unsheathe the Sword

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
Eph. 6:17

Unsheathe the sword and wield the sword. The sword I’m talking about is the word of God. The Lord says in Is. 55:11 It is the same with my word that goes out from my mouth: It will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. If God’s word is shut up in the Bible and not spoken, how can it be released to do the work the Lord sent it to do? In a battle a soldier would not just leave his sword sheathed. He would fight for his life and wield the sword to defeat the enemy.

Jesus, our Savior and example used the word of God to defeat the enemy when he was in the wilderness. The tempter attempted to tempt Jesus in the wilderness by telling him to create bread from stones to relieve his hunger, to leap from a pinnacle and rely on angels to break his fall, and to kneel before Satan in return for all the kingdoms of the world. Luke 4:1-14 tells the complete story. In every case Jesus used the word of God to defeat the enemy. Luke 4:4 Jesus said, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’ Again Jesus unsheathed the sword of the Spirit and said Luke 4:8 “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” And finally Jesus said, “It is written:’ Do not put the Lord your God to the test.”

Wielding the sword means to handle with skill and ease, to exercise authority or influence, to govern, to rule, and to keep. God has given us his word so that we might use it skillfully and with ease. We are in a war in our world right now. This is not a physical war but a spiritual war. But we are not defenseless or ill equipped. Our Bibles are full of both offensive and defensive weapons. We must give them voice. We must speak them and watch the impact over situations and circumstances.

Let praises to God be heard in their throats, while they wield the two-edged swords in their hands.
Ps. 149:6

It’s winter here on the prairie. And we have been in a terrible drought. This drought stole the fall crops from the farmers. There was not even a reason to try running the combine through the field and see if there was any grain there. Only irrigated crops survived. Its been difficult to see the faces of the families as day after day we faced drought. My favorite color is green. Green grass, green wheat, green trees and anything green. and this summer was all brown. People have met to pray for rain and churches have met to pray for rain.

The other day as the farmer and I were praying, I remembered a dear sweet lady in our church from bygone years. She always had us sing “Showers of Blessings” hymn number 721 in the hymnal. Many times it would rain after we pleaded this song before the Lord. Not always did it rain but sometimes it did. So the farmer and I prayed and sang “Showers of Blessing.” We wielded the sword and spoke the scripture Eze. 34:26 I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

Last Friday it began to rain and snow and we got almost eight inches of snow. See the tree all decked out with its winter decoration of snow flakes. We are a thankful people. Farmers with smiles on their faces once again. Hope is springing to life.

Just had a call from a friend going into surgery. I thought, “God’s word doesn’t return void.” Ps 43:5b God is the health of my countenance and he is my God. I am speaking this over his surgery tomorrow. I wish I could say that I always do this but that would not be true. I must get some fencing practice in. Not the fencing that holds the cattle in the pasture but the kind of fencing done with two swords. It’s a beautiful art to wield the sword at the appropriate time with the appropriate word of God. But he says he will give us the words and so he has.

May our prayer be:

Lord, teach us to wield the sword, your word. Help us to unsheathe the sword and speak your word into situations and into others lives. We know your word does not return void so there is no better way to speak life into any situation but to speak your word. We ask you, Lord that our words would be divinely inspired to bless others. We ask for our mouths to be filled with your wisdom. Your word is in our hearts and minds and in our mouths. Fill us Lord, and teach us the lovely art of fencing with swords and winning great victories by declaring your word. Amen

2022 Is Now History

Our grandson on the far left, in the middle row was the project manager at school for making the sign we are holding. They had to come up with a project they could mass produce. We were so proud of his accomplishments and were rewarded with a sign that says, The Popp’s. Of course we are proud of this whole bunch and welcomed them to this little house on the prairie for Christmas. We went from a quiet little house to one that was full of life and energy. For this we are very grateful.

This grandma spent a couple of weeks prepping food and in other preparations. It takes some planning to house and feed this crew for a couple of days. But the farmer and I are feeling very blessed. I completed a king size quilt for daughter-in-law Wendy and the farmer used his new wood lathe to make some special little wood bowls and cups for each family. Grandma is excited that Addie and her mom invited me to Kansas City for a pedicure treat in the near future. This year I have one more king size quilt to complete for another special daughter in law.

Two of these kids are now in college and two more will be graduating from high school in May. My how time flies. Its hard to believe they are growing so quickly. May will be busy with graduations in Kansas and in Texas. It keeps us busy now trying to attend some of their sporting events. We wouldn’t trade this season for any other though.

Haley, who now is the owner of Hive Bakery in Flower Mound, TX used to bring us lots of delicious sugar cookies. She’s quite busy now so I got her recipe and made sugar cookies for the family. They were delicious. They were not as pretty as hers but tasty.

Peace filled us and our farm home this Christmas as we celebrated our faith, our family and our freedoms. It wasn’t quiet for a few precious days but it was peaceful. Our hearts were blessed immensely knowing that our Jesus came to rescue us and to be our Savior. He is the Prince of Peace. No matter the circumstances, He fills us with peace if we invite Him in.

Cornhusks have blown into the fence as the little house on the prairie is in the middle of a cornfield and we’ve had drought and wind. That is one thing the weatherman gets right; the wind does blow on the prairie. The ice on the bush is the most moisture we’ve had in a long time and we are grateful. We wish you and your family a wonderful, wet 2023!

Our Best

Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.
Henry Ford

The SOWER song that we sing every morning following our devotions is “Our Best” written in 1912 by S.C. Kirk. Sometimes we sing off-key and sometimes we sing it beautifully but we always sing it with feeling. Here are the words.

Hear ye the Master’s call, “Give Me thy best!” For, be it great or small, That is His test. Do then the best you can, not for reward, Not for the praise of man but for the Lord. Every work for Jesus will be blest, But He asks from everyone His best. Our talents may be few, These may be small, But unto Him is due Our best, our all.

It’s amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who get’s the credit.
Harry S. Truman

The staff at Living Waters had high praise for this great bunch of folks. They said the work we did was professional. We painted the outside of the Office, Snack Shop, Motel, and several other small buildings in our time here. The men leveled a big building, finished the inside of the new building, repainted the playground (much to the dismay of the kids who had to wait for the paint to dry before playing), plumbing and electrical repairs also. Stan Buttrick was the leader of the women paint crew. He and Carlie have done 180 projects. They will celebrate their 60th anniversary next year. He was a great guy to paint with and kept us all in line. I’m not a trim painter but through prayer and Stan’s direction he made one of me. I love to live in my paint and enjoy slinging it everywhere. But God answers prayers and He helped me to do my best. We had alot of fun and laughs also. There is never a dull moment with Stan and Carlie around. They are from Massachusetts.

Craig and Karen are from Wichita, KS. They were our fearless leaders. Karen is Canadian and is looking forward to seeing her family again. They are retired teachers and we were sure surprised to meet someone from Kansas there in our crew.

Linda and Richard are from Mississippi. We met them at the SOWER Roundup in Texas in March. Richard played guitar for us each morning. Accompaniment does help us sound better. I don’t think we set any dogs to howling this trip.

Roy has been a SOWER for many years also. He is trying to live again after losing his beloved wife last September. We admired him for his desire to continue to serve. We had also met him in Texas in March.

We have yet to meet a SOWER that wasn’t just precious to us. We seem to have such common goals. We all are retired and still desire to continue serving the Lord in any capacity. This might be cleaning toilets, painting, sweeping down spiders and rebuilding bridges. The three weeks go by so quickly. We are just really getting acquainted when it is time to leave for the next project or for home.

Since we had been gone from our little house on the prairie for five weeks now we were ready to head for home. We had a great time in New Hampshire seeing covered bridges, waterfalls, driving the Kancamunga highway and going to the top of Mount Washington. We saw a mama moose and baby on this drive. It was a sweet treat as we had looked long and hard for moose in Maine.

We traveled on to Vermont and wound up on a dirt road driving on a floating bridge in Vermont. We were in a mountainous region with no cell phone coverage but soon found our way to a highway that was on our old fashioned map. We still believe in map (paper map) navigation also. As we had not made any reservations this night we wound up staying in an older motel (but so clean) in Vermont with the kindest hosts in charge of the place. Since it was a weekend, in a very busy tourist area, we were blessed.

Driving along the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania was another highlight of the journey home. I think the highlight for the farmer with me was when we hit the farmland in Indiana and Illinois. Crops of corn, milo, sunflowers and beans were everywhere. Farmsteads with lovely old barns and cattle grazing in lush pastures were a wonderful sight to behold.

We saw a car in Ohio with a Kansas tag. We hadn’t seen that tag for a month. Home was beginning to call us home. Stopping and seeing our granddaughter in her first week of college was a delight and seeing our daughter and husband and their four children was another treasure. Our five year old granddaughter had one of her very first soccer practices while we were there. They played the soccer girls favorite music, ” Let it Go.”

It was bittersweet arriving home as we are in a drought right now and in desperate need of rain. But the sunset over the grain bin was a welcome delight. It was so good to be home.

Home is the nicest word there is.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

Back on the Prairie

It is difficult to leave a project and new friends and begin the journey home, but that is what the farmer and I did this week. We hooked onto the camper and stopped in Elkhorn, IA to check out this Danish Mill. It was fun to see and to visit the little gift shop here. Since the farmer was a windmill repair man for 25 years we love to see all kinds of windmills. There was also a fabric quilt shop nearby so I made a visit there while the farmer got a nap in the pickup. His nap was a little pricey.

Road construction was everywhere as it is summer. Our usual travel method is to take older two-lane highways and avoid interstates. We like to see the farms, barns, small towns and enjoy the slower pace. This made our day a little longer than we planned but were able to camp beside a beautiful lake in Nebraska.

We made it home the next day. There was no dog to welcome us home as we had to put our precious basset hound to sleep in January due to old age. Our son and two grandsons had mowed for us once while we were gone but the farm yard surely needed our attention. There is no place like home.

There is no place like home.
L Frank Baum

Home is the nicest word there is.
Laura Ingalls Wilder

As we reflect on our last month, we have been delighted to see our Lord’s protective hand on us in so many ways. A huge very muscular deer ran full speed across the road in front of us just two hours from home and we were protected. The farmer took quite a tumble and experienced no injury to his body. His dear cowboy hat got blown down the highway while he was attending to an issue with the camper and we got it back unharmed. We have been so blessed by the wonderful people we met, the work we were able to do, and the creation we have seen. But most of all by getting to know the Creator just a little bit closer.

Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.
Robert Frost

We came home exhausted with much to do here on the Little House on the Prairie. This little farm in the middle of a cornfield is home sweet home to us. Here we pick up the projects we left in May and prepare for some serious family time with our grandchildren and we count our blessings. We name them one by one. And we find peace and joy. We hear of the world in chaos and we pray daily for our world. In the midst of it all we find peace (indescribable peace) and joy.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:8-10

When Things Go Wrong

Have courage when things go wrong! A pandemic in these days is something gone wrong. Probably not one of us thought that we would be where we are today earlier in 2020. We had no clue as to the changes that would happen in our lives or the pause button that would be pressed. The giant PAUSE button. But as this quote says, “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful, to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” All of that statement is still very true. Maybe this pause in our lives has helped us to get back to some of the simple pleasures of life.

Here are some of my simple pleasures that have helped me to focus on the good and the many blessings that the Lord has given me in these days instead of focusing on the chaos and the difficulties in this world. And instead of focusing on the realities of missing friends, gatherings, church, and grandchildren.

Hand prints of some of the grandchildren from seven or eight years ago. Thanks to their momma for capturing their sweet hands in this clay so those hands could bless me today. As I cleaned out the flower beds to prepare for spring, I uncovered this cherished gift. This is a reminder of great memories of the grandkids coming to our farm and playing in the dirt and with kittens and building a fort in our tree row. I love hearing their shouts of fun as they run through the sprinkler or slide on our makeshift water slide. (Tarp and water hose and a slight slope.) Hills are hard to come by in this part of the flatland. One of the simple treasures.

Spring is beginning to bud out here on the farm. Oh how we love the songs of the birds. The meadowlark song is beautiful as he sings to his mate. Then we hear the sound of the Bob-white quail as he says over and over “Bob white! Bob white!” The trees are beginning to spring out their leaves and make shelter for our bird friends. A female pheasant hen is inside the yard fence and I worry that perhaps she is caught but she slides right under the woven fence like she does it daily. The bunnies play their bunny games and chase one another around the tree trunk. Yes, there is new life everywhere and that is one of the simple pleasures.

I imagine Laura Ingalls Wilder used an outhouse like this behind her school. The left one is for the women and the one on the right in the open is for the men. I am so grateful for the simple pleasure of a flushing toilet and running water.

A nice drive around an old fishing lake close to our farm has us driving over this bridge. All of the shelter houses and bathrooms around the lake were built in the 1930s by the WPA program. We are so thankful for those workers and those programs that still leave us much to enjoy today. This lake was bustling with activity and many boats and campers were enjoying this day. Social distancing and a nice quiet lake go together well. Many dads were showing their boys how to fish and it appeared there was some great family times happening. Oh the simple pleasures.

“Sometimes the smallest things take up the most room in our hearts.”
Winnie the Pooh

One simple pleasure is doing something for someone else. I was able this week to prepare a meal for a friend who is really going through a difficult time. Those struggles that are so hard are even more magnified in a pandemic with social distancing when what they really need is all hands on deck to hug and carry them through this. It is such a pleasure to come alongside others that are dealing with tragedies. It is also a pleasure to make a batch of cookies and put many in the freezer for when the grandkids can come again and share with a neighbor who has adopted three little ones. She is teaching online and homeschooling five children. There are so many unsung heroes in this time. When we get down in these days nothing lifts us up quicker than doing for someone else.

So as Laura Ingalls Wilder says, “The real things haven’t changed. It is still best to be honest and truthful, to make the most of what we have; to be happy with the simple pleasures; and have courage when things go wrong.” Our God is still the same, yesterday, today and forever. Our faith is still in Him and our trust is focused on Him. It is still best to be honest and truthful and ahhh those simple pleasures. Lets look for them. They are all around us.

If you sense you are losing all hope as David shares in Psalms 143:4, read that full psalm and let me know. I would love to listen and visit with you.

Psalms 143:4 I am losing all hope; I am paralyzed with fear. I remember the days of old. I ponder all your great works and think about what you have done.

verse 6 I lift my hands to you in prayer. I thirst for you as parched land thirst for rain.

verse 8 Let me hear of your unfailing love every morning, for I am trusting in you.

verse 10 May your gracious spirit lead me forward on firm footing. Because of your faithfulness bring me out of this distress.

We are in Kansas

The Little House on the Prairie is calling us home. This is the longest time we have been away from the farm. We’ve been gone two weeks in the past but not four. What an interesting time in history to be away from home as everyone becomes more distant from one another and more things are closing. We are incredibly thankful for this time at this camp and with these special new friends but are grateful that the Lord has shown us in many ways that now is the time to get back and experience spring time on the farm.

Psalms 59:16 But I will sing of Your power; yes, I will sing aloud of Your mercy in the morning; for You have been my defense and refuge in the day of my trouble.

Yesterday we picked up a few items to get us on home at the store here. A young man checked us out with his gloves on. He looked a little out of place and said he was learning on the job. He regularly worked in the tire and lube department but they had closed that down and now he was a cashier. He had a wonderful attitude as I know his job has not been easy at this time. He expressed his gratitude to have the job and grateful they did not send him home. What an inspiration he is to us all. I’m sure he has a young family and he is grateful for his work.

Cooking in preparation for the trip home.

We are grateful to have a house on the prairie to go home to. Having the grandkids come see us would make it even better but they need to stay at their own homes right now and not travel. I’m hoping for some new kittens and a small garden and to find my sewing machine again.

I know many of you have been stuck at home for several weeks already and getting away from home would be wonderful. Home means so many different things to so many people. Homes can be a cardboard box like I saw in Ethiopia, or a 19 foot camper trailer, an apartment, a house boat, or a farm. Home means an enjoyable, happy place where you can live, laugh and learn. It’s somewhere where you are loved, respected, and cared for. (taken from Meaning of Home contest).

In the word of God, the home has both a physical and spiritual meaning. We must build our home upon solid structural and moral foundation to ensure its sustainability over time. Scripture gives us guidance for creating a good home.

Is. 28:16 So this is what the Sovereign Lord says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation; the one who relies on it will never be stricken with panic.

Joshua 24:15 But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.

I always stock up on supplies living on a farm so we are in good shape for a 14 day self quarantine. Good to be home.