Fruits of the Spirit

July 2nd

So after an extremely long and difficult two month labor , Jezebel has finally given birth.  I had to again pull out both kids (yeah, there were only two) and believe me, by the size of them, she was way way overdue, most likely because of Milk Fever which reduces the strength of uterine contractions.  I won’t go into too many grimy details but let’s just say that after #2, who is about as big as our other 3 week old kids, Jezebel was not quite all in one piece and I was covered in “blood and guts” up to my mid-upper arm.  Definitely one huge kid!  Both of them are slightly weak, probably as a result of staying in the womb too long.  Pictures will follow shortly (probably anyway).  They were both bucks so I’m afraid nobody won the name contest but I’m still open to suggestions.

April 20th

Update #3: No one can tell a goat when to give birth and Jezebel looks like she’s going to hold back on us. Based on her current size (huge), I don’t imagine she’ll put it off for more than a couple weeks at most. Of course, judging from what I thought two days ago, you’d better not take my word for it . At any rate, when she does end up going into “real” labor I’ll bump these two posts to the top of the blog again.

April 18th

Update #2: 12:53 p.m. – No sign of kids yet. She’s had a couple of contractions though.

Update #1: 12:15 p.m. – I think contractions may have started. You can pray because she’s acting just the way she did last year when we had so much trouble.

Get your guesses in!

With the herd queen Jezebel due in anywhere from 1-5 days, I’ve decided to host a contest on my blog. If you win you will not only get to name the first goat born, you will also have the option of acquiring the kid at a discount of as much as $70. Most of these kids, depending on confirmation, will range from $50-$100. You could get it for $30. Or even (who knows?) for free if you’re willing to bottle raise it. And for those of you who don’t have room to raise a goat, the meat tastes just like lamb…if you can bear to eat anything so cute that is .

And this is the goat in question, Jezebel herself, and certainly in one of her more flattering poses.

Just so you can guess based on the same extent of knowledge that the insiders have (not much), here are a few facts about Jezebel.

1. She was a quadruplet, born March 04.
2. Last year she gave birth to three kids: 1 buck followed by 2 does.
3. When she was lying down I felt two hard lumps on one side of her.  Draw your own conclusions.

Guidelines:

#1. Leave a comment with your guess of how many goat kids you think Jezebel will have and what their genders will be in order of birth.
#2. If you get it all correct you get to name her first living kid born and in addition you will have the option of buying it for $30.

I’m currently working on memorizing more scripture and in the process am discovering just how difficult it can be to find the time and diligence to get it done.  Too often the day just slips by and I end up going to bed without having accomplished anywhere near what I had planned.  Why?  I’m ashamed to say that is mainly due to laziness and a lack of prioritizing what is really important in life.  After all, what is more important than meditating on God’s Word and hiding it in our hearts?  Anyway, this morning I came across a passage from Romans which really hit home.

Romans 13:11-14, “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.  The night is far spent, the day is at hand.  Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.  Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy.  But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.”

And so, I’d like to ask you to be like Paul, as he writes in Colossians 1:9-14, 

“For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy; giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.

He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

Josephine and Chantelle.

Horatio Hornblower.

Juan Pierre.Dante Alighieri.

Heavy with goat? I hope…

The proud and happy sire, “Bronc”.

Horatio (above) is the biggest and by far the most bouncy kid of the bunch.  He’s also super friendly and will suck on your fingers if you let him .

Last Wednesday our family (minus Dad, Victor, [both working], Galena and Iona [who was sick]) were able to go to the Oregon Zoo. We had a beautiful sunny day for it and had fun walking through the entire zoo and seeing all the different animals. Unfortunately the camera battery died when we were only half-way through the zoo so there are only pictures of the same.

Even though this picture has rather poor quality, it’s the only one I have of either of the two bobcats who amused us with their antics.

A fat and happy pig.  Some of the animals didn’t look nearly as content with life.  The two wolves, for example, did nothing but pace up and down over the same 20 ft section of path the entire time we were looking at them.

Mr. Ugly.

The only way to get a picture of yourself when you have the camera .

Galatians 2:16 – “That we may be justified by faith in Christ, and not by the works of the law; because of the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified.“

“Flesh, therefore, according to Paul, signifieth all the righteousness, wisdom, devotion, religion, understanding, and will, that is possible to be in a natural man, so that if a man be never so righteous, according to reason and the law of God, yet with allt his righteousness, works, merits, devotion, and religion, he is not justified.” — Martin Luther

John 15:5 – “I am the vine, you are the branches.  He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.“

So I think someone was going to post these pictures but seeing that they never did, here are a few photos from our hike up Cape Horn.  As you can see it was a gorgeous hike with really amazing views!  Pictures were taken either by Galena or myself (the reason I’m not in any of them).

So. I just finished attempting to orally drench a vomiting goat that had been poisoned. I hope it works! If she lasts the night she’ll probably make it. Believe me, trying to force feed an already very sick goat is not fun; but everyone watching from the deck of our house seemed to find it terribly amusing. Yeah right, guys. Ha ha, very funny.

(I think a shower is due before I head to bed…)

This morning I read a really great sermon by C. H. Spurgeon on Psalm 19:12. I found it very convicting and personally helpful so I thought I’d share some of his wisdom with you here in the form of the quotes that stood out to be the most.

“Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults.” (Psalm 19:12)

“Self-righteousness arises partly from pride, but mainly from ignorance of God’s law.”

“O! if we had eyes like those of God, we should think very differently of ourselves.”

“I can forgive the man who riots openly, and makes no profession of being better, but the man who fawns, and cants, and pretends and prays, and then lives in sin, that man I hate, I can not bear him, I abhor him from my very soul.”

“If you make up your mind to serve Satan, do not pretend to serve God; and if you serve God, serve him with all your heart.”

“Hypocrisy is a hard game to play at, for it is one deceiver against many observers;”

“A sin is a sin, whether done in private or before the wide world.”

Spurgeon made the point that those who sin in secret are in reality practical Atheists because, “they think more of the eye of man than of the eye of God; and they think it worse to be condemned by man than to be condemned by God.”

” ‘Can any hide himself in secret places that I can not see him?’ saith the Lord. ‘Do not I fill heaven and earth?’ saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24)

“Sin can not be held in with bit and bridle.”

“Choose you this day whom you will serve. If God be God, serve him; if Baal be God, serve him.” (1 Kings 18:21)

Strudel and her two bucklings.
Found a head and two feet.
!!!
One of last year’s babies thought this was all pretty neat.
It’s coming!
The head’s out!
Somewhere in there is a kid…it had a little bit of trouble breathing so I had to swing it by the back legs a bit. I won’t show any pictures of that part because it looks like we’re killing it.
Meanwhile, the other mom thinks life is good.

So cute!
And I’m happy, bed-head and all. I was actually thinking “I can’t believe I just did that!”
Back in for #2!
And #1 meanwhile wants food.
Pulling out #2.
It’s coming!!!  One leg was forward, the other back. Not the absolutely best position but we got it out anyway. And um…don’t look at my feet.

And out it comes!
Amazing.
Now I’m really happy.
Mom cleans them up.
My expression here is a little humorous. Believe me, I was totally as cool as a cucumber during the whole thing, really.

All pictures are thanks to Karl.