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“If people let government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.” Thomas Jefferson

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Halloween? Really? Response to a Comment

I felt my response would be too lengthy to post in the comment section under the post Halloween? Really? so I will post the comment and post here so that everyone can understand.

Here is the comment that I received:

Tracy said...

"Actually, that's not true. Halloween is falsely attributed to the Druids. It's actually an old world, pre-christianity celebration of the new year. In the 900s the catholic church completed for followers and redubbed November first as All Saints Day, making Oct 31 All Hallows Eve, Hallow meaning holy. Priests would go door to door asking for cake and prayers. Kind of a medieval mission to spread the word of God. It is said that if a house refused the occupants were threatened or curse. I am not sure if this is true. The only information I have read about the Druid involvement in Halloween is from Christain sources, not historical unbiased ones. I think many holidays and observances have changed through the centuries, even Christmas was once a winter solstace festival that slowly grew to become christmas as the popularity of Christianity grew across Europe. Don't judge others so harshly. Halloween can be a time of fun and playing dress up. If you don't want to participate fine, but please stop spreading false history lessons."

Tracy, first I would like to address that you think I am judging. I am certainly not judging anyone who has or will participate in this particular festival. What I am doing is judging the festival and the dark meaning behind it. I also wanted to make it clear in my post that stepping away from the things of this world is not an easy task. This so that others who are in the same place in their journey can understand that they are not alone. What feast and celebrations one chooses to celebrate is a personal matter that exists between them and God. However, it is nice to know sometimes that you are not alone and you are not crazy and you are not a fanatic. That was my purpose.

Now, I would like to address the history lesson behind this festival and upon whose authority I have relied upon. The druids and wicca do pre-date Christianity, so I am not sure where you find fault with that. However, it was not a celebration of the new year. That celebration was December 25th, the birthdate of Tamuz the son-husband of the goddess Ishtar, which dates back to Babylonian times. But that is a "whole nother can of worms" that I won't get into here. Yes, the church renamed and tried to "Christianize" a pagan religion. That is no surprise since they did the same with christmas (pagan winter solstice festival honoring the birth of Tamuz the son of the son god Baal) and easter (worship of the goddess Ishtar/Astarte, the goddess of fertility). Just because the church does something doesn't mean that it is ok with God.

Jeremiah 10:1,2 Hear ye the word which the Lord speaketh unto you, O house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen, and be not dismayed at the signs of heaven; for the heathen are dismayed at them.

Deut 12:29: When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them, and thou succeedest them, and dwellest in their land;
30: Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.
31: Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods.
32: What thing soever I command you, observe to do it: thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.

1 Cor. 10:20 But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have fellowship with devils. 21 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.

Now as to the sources of the history. Yes, most of them are Christian and since you feel they are biased I will not even give them here. However, Pastor David J. Meyer of Last Trumpet Ministries, I consider an authority on the matter. You see he was not always a Christian, in fact he comes from a long line of witches. He himself was quite a strong witch and astrologer. This history of halloween was his history, his family's history. They lived it in our modern world. So please take the time to read his articles on halloween/samhain...here and here.

Tracy, you say that many holidays and observances have changed over the years. I agree that in man's eye they have and certainly no longer have the meaning that they once did. However, it is not man's view that I am concerned with. For my family, it is God's view and His opinion of these things remains constant. While most view halloween as just a time to have some fun and dress up, there are darker forces at work whether one participates or not. Otherwise, Anton Lavey the author of the satanic bible would not have written that halloween was satanists second most important holiday.

Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Romans 13:11-14 ...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.

1 Thess. 5:5-8 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.

Again I say that what a person chooses to do is between them and God. My only purpose is to shed Light on a dark holiday that belongs not to God. Blessings on your journey, Kat

Monday, October 24, 2011

Halloween? Really?

I grew up in the Christian church and I also grew up trick or treating each Halloween until I was old enough that it was acceptable anymore. No one ever question whether or not this bit of "fun" should be something that Christians take part in. Several years ago when I started to question many things that the traditional church said was ok, I came across the true story of halloween. I was appalled and disgusted. That first year of my discovery I tried weakly to find ways out of the holiday, but my attempt was to no avail and I caved under the pressure from family and friends. Last year I stood my ground and we did not participate nor will we participate this year. Let's look at the facts of Halloween and then a short video that describes many of them.
1. Halloween was originally Samhain, the time of the year when the veil between the spirit world and this world is thin, allowing the dead to once again walk among us. It is also the time considered by witches to be the most powerful time of year.
2. Villagers would wear "costumes" on All Hallow's Eve because it confused the dead and caused them to leave them alone.
3. As evening approached, Druid priests would carry sickles and celtic crosses and drag a dead slave through the village. They approached each house saying "Trick or treat". The house must give them a girl or woman and if they refused then blood was taken from the dead slave and a hexagram drawn on the house while the druids invoked the "horned hunter of the night" to kill someone in the house. If the house relinquished the "treat" then a jack-o-lantern was placed at the door of the house.
4. The girls given to the Druid priests were later taken into a field raped and murdered and thrown onto bonefires (modern day bonfires) as a sacrifice to their god, the horned hunter of the night.
5. During later times, the villagers would put a carved jack-o-lantern at their door lit with a candle made of human tallow to keep the Druid priests from stopping at their door.
6. The Druids also played games that we are familiar with like bobbing for apples. The apple is sacred to witches and paganists because when you cut it crosswise it reveals a pentagram in the center.

Dressing up in costumes to parade through the streets, demanding treats from each house, jack-o-lanterns, skulls, devils, and pagan rituals....hasn't changed much over time has it.

And then the one thing we hear the most from the Christian community as they bring this abomination into the house of the Lord our God, Jehovah...that's not what it means to me!

However, as Christians we must look further than ourselves and our fleshly desires. We must ask...What does this mean to God?

Let's find out:
Leviticus 19:31 - "Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God."

Isaiah 29:1-16 - God's judgment fell upon Jerusalem because of witchcraft.

Deut. 18:10-14, “There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, 11or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. 12“For whoever does these things is detestable to the Lord; and because of these detestable things the Lord your God will drive them out before you. 13“You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. 14“For those nations, which you shall dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and to diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so.

2 Kings 21:6, "And he made his son pass through the fire, practiced witchcraft and used divination, and dealt with mediums and spiritists. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord provoking Him to anger." (see also 2 Chron. 33:6)

Isaiah 47:12-14, “Stand fast now in your spells and in your many sorceries with which you have labored from your youth; Perhaps you will be able to profit, perhaps you may cause trembling. 13You are wearied with your many counsels;
Let now the astrologers, those who prophesy by the stars, those who predict by the new moons, stand up and save you from what will come upon you. 14“Behold, they have become like stubble, fire burns them; they cannot deliver themselves from the power of the flame; there will be no coal to warm by, nor a fire to sit before!"

Lev. 20:6, ‘As for the person who turns to mediums and to spiritists, to play the harlot after them, I will also set My face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."

So what we should be asking ourselves as Christians is not how we view what is of this world, but how God views the things of this world and would this particular bit of "fun" be seen as harmless and innocent in His eyes. How would He view us as parents, commissioned to train up a child in the way they should go, training up His children to follow in the ways of darkness instead of light? I don't think He would view it as harmless. As for me and mine, we will bake cookies and sing songs in praise of God that night. Blessings from the farm.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Fall To Do List Has Begun

Well, it certainly appears that fall is finally making its appearance around here. We went from 80 degree days and 60 degree nights straight to 60 degree days and 40 degree nights. Needless to say it has been a little chilly and we even cranked up the woodstove in the evenings and early mornings to take the chill off the house. As many of you might remember this old farmhouse is VERY leaky. As many leaks as we have fixed over the years there are at least twice as many more. Anyway before I digress any further it is that time of year to get those fall chores done so that we are not out in the bitter cold and rain of winter trying to do what needs to be done. The less time I spend outside when it is 20 degrees the better. I always seem to never get everything done and wind up running around in the cold anyway at the last minute when there is a winter storm just about to blast through. I want this year to be different, let's see if I can accomplish that. So here is a rundown of the fall chore list to be done and what has already been completed.

1. Start the deep bedding in the goat barn and close off the northside of the breezeway. Done!
2. Start the deep bedding in the rabbit cages and secure them against the winter winds. Done!
3. Move pigs from the pasture to the finishing pen for their last month and a half. Done!
4. Finish splitting and stacking firewood. Working on it....
5. Fall/winter garden planted. Done!
6. Add compost and mulch to spring garden beds and put up trellises for spring peas (actually planted in late January for us).
7. Finish adding compost to pile and top it with a healthy layer of fall leaves to let sit over the winter.
8. Clean and re-bed chicken coop.
9. Cover the north and west sides of the chicken coop to keep cold winter winds from blowing through. Done!
10. Finish the stalls in the big barn so that all of the horses have shelter this winter at night.
11. Put the window coverings up in the house.
12. Put the electric blankets on the beds. Done
13.Cover the screens of the side porch.
14. Close up crawl space and basement vents. Done!
15. Wrap all exposed pipes for outside faucets.
16. Disconnect unused hoses and put away.
17. Put away, clean and oil all garden tools not in use.
18. Rake up all pine straw and leaves into beds or compost pile.
19. Burn off trash piles.
20. Clean up front and back yard.
21 Check fences for repairs.
22. Straighten up and tidy tool shed.
23. Bed the horse barn.
24. Finish getting in hay.
25. Put away summer clothes

Well, that about takes care of it. If we accomplish all of this then winter chores will run much smoother and that will mean less time out in the bitter cold winter wind and rain. I will keep you all updated on how the chore list comes along. Blessings from the farm!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Tales from the Green Valley

About a year ago, I watched a BBC series called Victorian Farm on youtube. It was totally awesome! 3 people went immersed themselves in Victorian Farm life. They lived on an old farm, raised period livestock, grew period crops, wore the clothes and did the chores in the manner and with the tools available at that time. Well, they also did the same thing in Tales of the Green Valley only this time they went further back in time to 1620. This series is now available on youtube as well. There is so much to learn from those time periods in farming, especially for the small family farmer like me. There are so many times around here where we have to use what we have and many times that includes basic tools and raw materials. In fact as my husband and watched the last episode of the show I told him how much I would love to do an experiment like that and totally immerse myself in a time period. He looked at me real funny and said, "Honey you already do most of that stuff, you just don't wear the clothes!" I guess he is right in many ways, things like cheesemaking haven't changed much in 400 years. My husband and I employ many of the same building practices using wattle fencing and raw wood fencing. The inside of the horse barn will be re-built with some trash trees that we need to be rid of in the pasture and the old shed needs to be rebuilt which will employ these same trash trees. I did learn a lot from the show though. One thing I learned was that I am very thankful for my washing machine. I certainly would not want to have to lug laundry down to the stream and then beat it on rocks to get it clean. With a 4 year old in the house we go through a lot of laundry! Anyway, I highly recommend the show. In fact I have seen all of them that they did...Tales from the Green Valley, Victorian Farm, and Edwardian Farm. They are great and it is very interesting to see the evolution of some farming methods and those that pretty much stay the same. It is also interesting to see how farming is different in different parts of Britain, just like here in the states it is different depending on where you live. Have fun and check them out. Blessings, Kat

Just an update

Well, Mom is home and seems to be staying home this time. She is actually doing pretty good for the moment. However, I am still trucking over to her house most days to do little things for her or just check on her. My time seems very limited these days and the days just keep speeding by. It doesn't help that everything around the farm was pretty neglected for over 3 weeks. You just don't realize how that little bit of daily maintenance and attention keeps things running smoothly. First the house was a wreck, then the porch had become a bad "catch-all", the chickens had made an escape route and several were roosting on the front porch (yuk), something happened to the electric fence controller and it no longer works so the goats spent 3 weeks escaping into what once was the garden (yep all fall produce gone), the garden fence has decided that now is the time to start falling apart, etc. etc. etc. So life lately seems to be a mad rush and now I am starting things around here much earlier because if I don't they simply won't get done. There have been times the past couple of weeks that I wonder if it is all worth it. Maybe it would be easier to live like the majority of people do and just get what I need from the grocery store, live on less land with less to maintain, and hire a housekeeper. Then a neighbor comes by and we sit out in the front yard and watch our children play, the baby goats play on the woodpile that is still taking up the front yard, listen to the pigs grunting at the fence in anticipation of goodies and watch chickens scratching for bugs under the bushes. What more could a girl want? Of course reality hit, when she left and the little one had to be bathed, cheese still had to be made, the kitchen had to be cleaned (again!), the critters had to be fed and a multitude of other things had to be done. But for that moment that she was here I had that chance to look around and say "Yeah, it's all worth it". I've never tried to paint this life in anyway other than real. It can be a hard life at times. I guess like any life it has it ups and downs, joys and disappointments. This life is hard work and even though on a daily basis doesn't seem to take much extra time you learn just how much time is spent when you are away for 3 weeks and unable to give the garden that hour each day or check the fence controller. But at the end of the day...yeah, it's worth it. Blessings from the farm, Kat