Growing Season

Sarah Philpott

Description

Sarah has a voice that can speak to us all, and this book is a beautiful representation of her ability to just be real. After reading this book you'll feel like shesyour best friend. Jill Wagner, actressWisdom on Everything from the Soil to Your Soul Farm life calls to the heart of every Christian, whether we experience it on daily walks through wide open spaces or in the country music we play while stuck in morning traffic. This is by God's designthe cycle of trusting, sowing, and reaping mirrors our journey with Him. With The Growing Season, you'll witness how intricately farming and faith intertwine. Illuminated through the Bible's truths and author Sarah Philpott's own stories from life on a Tennessee cattle ranch, you'll venture month by month and season by season towards relishing the splendor of God's creation, realizing the need for you to trust Him in good times and bad, and rejoicing in the vision of abundance He has for you. Packed with tips for baking, grilling, planting, and learning farm lingo, this collection of funny, moving, and inspiring insights will help keep you rooted in God's desire for your life. Kick off your work boots, pour yourself a glass of sweet iced tea, and draw closer to your Creator as you celebrate His provision.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Harvest House Publishers
• Date de parution: 12 octobre 2021
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780736982795
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS
EUGENE, OREGON
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ), copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Verses marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked TLB are taken from The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Verses marked GNT are taken from the Good News Translation (Today s English Version, Second Edition). Copyright 1992 American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Verses marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible (NASB ), copyright 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. ( www.Lockman.org )
Cover by Studio Gearbox
Interior design by Chad Dougherty
Cover photo by Brittany Casavant Photography
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is a federally registered trademark of The Hawkins Children s LLC. Harvest House Publishers, Inc., is the exclusive licensee of the trademark.
The Growing Season
Copyright 2021 by Sarah Philpott
Published by Harvest House Publishers
Eugene, Oregon 97408
www.harvesthousepublishers.com
ISBN 978-0-7369-8278-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-7369-8279-5 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2021935206
All rights reserved. No part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, digital, photocopy, recording, or any other-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The authorized purchaser has been granted a nontransferable, nonexclusive, and noncommercial right to access and view this electronic publication, and purchaser agrees to do so only in accordance with the terms of use under which it was purchased or transmitted. Participation in or encouragement of piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of author s and publisher s rights is strictly prohibited.
D EDICATION

To the best farm kids in the world:
Titus, Sophie, Beckham, and Stella .
I love you, my darlings. More than you shall ever imagine .
To the most wonderful farmer husband in the world: Perry .
Thank you for making family as much a priority as the land .
You build a heritage all around .
To my farm parents, Doug and Kim; my farm-in-loves, Dale and Ruthe; and my farm besties .
Thank you for all the down-on-the-farm love and support you ve gifted me .
But above all, thank you to our Lord .
For everything is of You and because of You .
C ONTENTS
Dedication
Introduction
WINTER
Welcome Winter
New Life on the Farm
Welcome to the Farmhouse
Good Soil on the Farm
Light on the Farm
Lost on the Farm
Winter Wonderland on the Farm
Cattle Out!
Breaking Ground on the Farm
SPRING
Welcome Spring
Planting on the Farm
Pruning on the Farm
Trucks on the Farm
Seeds on the Farm
Puddles on the Farm
Goats on the Farm
Bees on the Farm
Deep Roots on the Farm
Making Hay on the Farm
Rambo on the Farm
Picnics on the Farm
Bursting with Worship on the Farm
SUMMER
Welcome Summer
Fireflies on the Farm
Planting Pumpkins on the Farm
Heaven s Dew on the Farm
Blooming on the Farm
The Fourth on the Farm
Wildflowers on the Farm
Oh, Deere!
Bear on the Farm
Corn Shucking on the Farm
Getting Away from the Farm
Fowl on the Farm
Rest on the Farm
FALL
Welcome Fall
Apple Picking on the Farm
Fugitive on the Farm
Delayed Harvest on the Farm
Letting Go on the Farm
Spills on the Farm
Pumpkin Party on the Farm
Bulls on the Farm
Staying Present on the Farm
One-Room Schoolhouse on the Farm
Ducks on the Farm
Blessings on the Farm
Thanksgiving on the Farm
Royalty on the Farm
Christmas Trees on the Farm
Nativity on the Farm
Fallow Pasture on the Farm
Say What?
Notes
Thanks, Y all
Introduction

H i, friend. It s so nice to meet you. I m Sarah-farm gal, farm wife, and farm mom. I don t claim to be a real-deal farmer like my husband, but I do get to sit shotgun in his tractor and watch this world of God s whirl.
I hope this book will take you down memory lane or give you a reflection of what life is like in your neck of the woods. Or perhaps farm life seems distant from your current life, but you are intrigued by a place where the sign of a good day is when your boots get a little muddy.
Whether or not your home looks like mine, I wrote this book for me and for you. To help us both stay focused on God and grow in Him. He is the ultimate farmer. To Him we owe everything.
I like to watch the happenings of the farm and relate it to what God says in the Bible. This devotional is a little year-long glimpse into our Tennessee farm life, designed to encourage you and draw you closer to Him as you learn about the land. Are all farms and ranches the same? No way! Our farm experience is vastly different from that of the dairy farm down the road, the chicken farm across the state, the corn farm out in the heartland, the ranch out west, and the pumpkin patch off the Pacific Coast Highway. Farms and ranches are unique and varied. Perhaps what unites us is our love of the land and our recognition that we re part of the greater world.
As you read this book, you ll see statements like, It s time for us to plow the land. Now, I m not out there driving the tractor for that plow. I m the one doing the farm philosophizing. I do love planting pumpkins, harvesting sweet corn, and helping catch baby calves, but I don t consider myself a true-blue farmer. I m learning as I go.
I designed this book so each week you can read a seasonal devotion-some humorous, some contemplative. Some include recipes, some include journal tasks, and some include tips from my husband, Farmer Perry. I hope they encourage you in your day, make you savor the simple, or at least give you a chuckle.
Each season begins with a welcome page where we plot our intentions. Seasonally we will reflect on what we can plant in our lives, what we can cultivate in our lives, what we can prune from our lives, and what scripture we can meditate upon.
I m elated you are here for this little adventure down on the farm! Thank you for coming out to the country. We are excited to have you visit.
WINTER
W ELCOME W INTER

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.
ARISTOTLE
S mell the crispness of the air? See the gray skies heralding snow? Taste the hot cocoa? Hear the wind blowing through the trees? The weather is mighty cold, but there is beauty all around.
On the farm we have lots of winter tasks. Each day is different, but some of our farm goals for the season include
feeding cattle each day
mending fences and cleaning fencerows
checking for baby calves
fixing equipment
getting the ground ready for spring planting
chopping wood for the fireplace
ordering seed
pruning
Farm gal, while we prepare the land, how about we also spend time readying our souls for the new year? Let s make a list of our intentions. We can spend some time this week scribbling out our thoughts. Of course, just like on a farm, plans change. It s okay if our intentions don t all garner check marks. The best-laid plans often go awry, as the poet Robert Burns noted. Let s enjoy the ride!
What might you like to
plant in your life? What can you sow?
cultivate in your life? What can you tend to that s already growing?
prune in your life? What do you need to discard or trim a bit?

PICK A SCRIPTURE
What scripture can you meditate on for the winter season?
PRAY A PRAYER
Heavenly Father, may we take time to play in the snowflakes and look up to You, the provider of our very lives .
JANUARY
New Life on the Farm

God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.
GENESIS 1:26
Down here on our farm the newness of the year brings forth the newness of life. Winter is the season when our baby calves take their first breaths, take in their first milk, and take their first steps.
Sounds sublime, doesn t it?
January, February, and March are known as calving season for us. My husband, Perry, and our farm workers daily drive through pastures to see if any newborn calves can be spied lying in the grass. These calves must be located so we can check their health, ensure the mama is taking care of her offspring, and make sure predators are kept at bay.
We must also check to see if any mamas are having trouble with birthing and need a helping hand. No matter the time of day and no matter the weather, caring for our herds is our chief concern. We are privileged to live out this Genesis 1:26 calling of caretaking.
Hundreds of calves are born on our farm each calving season. Our goal is to welcome these sweets in an easy manner. We want our calves to be born gently to conscientious mamas. We also want to ensure no coyotes enter the fields.
That s our perfect-world plan. But we don t live in a perfect world, do