Lots of things happen on a farm. When you have to stack up bales of grass hay for food and straw for bedding you must be ever so careful not to get it wet and especially to keep out the rodents.

(In January we caught the biggest rat I have ever seen!) On any given day, I have to reach down and actually pick up that grass hay to take it to my goats, and a rat could be in there! But the poor BIG rats aren’t interested in me. They want a place to nest and to be able to get in with our animals.

My husband got a huge trap and POW he caught him the next day. (It’s amazing what a tiny piece of cheese can do.) We also discovered a tiny little mouse, who is determined to live with our Daisy Duck. It’s hard to tell whether Daisy enjoys the so-called fellowship or not, but we have discovered that every night, after Daisy goes to bed, that little mouse sneaks in (from who knows where) and shares Daisy’s dinner plate. By morning we can always tell when it dropped by from the little black pebble-shaped things it left behind in and around Daisy’s tray. We have to catch that little mouse trespasser as well, otherwise we would end up with 100 mouse intruders. And our geese, Adam, Lukie, and Evie who live next door to Daisy would have a fit!

The turkeys are so huge and so hungry all the time the rodents wouldn’t dare go in their house though! They would surely get eaten up by 35-pound Scrappy, who has always got his feather armor on. He doesn’t care what is in his plate as long as he can eat. Poor fat Trouble (that’s my female) waits till Scrappy’s almost finished before she gets out of her squat position and chows down. But the mice stay away apparently.

I have never seen any mice or rats in the goat barn either. Could they be afraid of the chandelier we have hanging which shines almost as brightly as the light of heaven? We know they prefer darkness to light. (But of course we have a chandelier in the goat barn! And why not?)

And what about the chicken house? Well, the ornery neighborhood Farrell cat, bless his heart, who lives underneath the house takes care of that. That ole’ cat apparently eats the varmints and is fat as a tick without any help from us.

Why is it important to keep out the rodents? Rats destroy that which is good by gnawing and feeding on the things that give others their nourishment. Once they have destroyed the area and eaten the food they will eat the life right out of you. They are also little informants (by telling their buddies to come and join them) thus overtaking an area with their filth. The more they eat the bigger they get. Mice, though much smaller and maybe kind of cute on the outside, spread their vermin quickly as well. They make their decisions slowly about where they will infiltrate, and infiltrate they WILL. The end result is the same. This is NOT what you want on a farm. That’s why it’s important to have your cats, your traps, a bright shining light, and your ornery turkeys.

I equate it a bit with the Christian walk. We feed on God’s Word for nourishment in order to grow in Christ. We want a clean environment and uplifting fellowship where we can grow closer in our relationship with one another. We keep our light shining brightly to push away the darkness of the world and the enemy and of course our flesh. We must be careful of the rats, however, that try to infiltrate and spread their vermin thus starving out that which God is teaching us. We have to be careful with whom we have fellowship. We have to be careful not to allow them to try to devour the spirit of life and God’s light right out of us. Remember, they will always leave something behind to replace God’s Word, which is never a good thing. The little brown pebble droppings can make one sick, starve out the joy and peace of God, and cause confusion.

Let’s keep our traps set (by wearing our armor) at all times, staying in God’s Word, and continuing in fellowship so we won’t be fooled by the rodents.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Ye are of God, little children and have over come them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God; he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error." 1 John 4:1, 4-6 KJV

Just What Is Accountability?

An article dealing with accountability caught my eye in a piece written by Patsy Sheldon and shared by Trudy Husband of HFC and SING. I have not sought permission to print Patsy’s mentioned article, but I would like to share some comments that came in reply by dokimos.

"Accountability is an important issue on the internet, yes, agreed... There are many who seek to make disciples after themselves separating from the believers and damaging Christian fellowship and ministry on the internet.

However, there is also another problem caused by others who seek to gain control and power of other Christian ministries on the internet by the line ‘You need to be accountable.’

It seems that hardly they themselves who seek others to be accountable, especially accountable to themselves, are willing ever to be accountable themselves to those they expect to be accountable.

Accountability runs two ways between people, moreover three ways with God.

The ministry of dokimos has ministry partnerships with other websites with a prime directive... ‘Your website is yours to conduct according to conscience in the sight of God.’

If a site amongst us were not in line with God's word and standards, yes, they would be accountable to the group. However the group does not have the right to pressure or act in lordship over another's website.

We are free servants of the Lord to serve the Lord as one body. If there are those who will go off in their own ways, they will consequentially move away from fellowship among Christians on the web, and will do so finding themselves alone.

On another issue, we at dokimos find it astounding how many Christians are on the internet doing ministry who do not actively attend church. It is a serious matter and one where partnered ministries can truly help.

The ones who separate themselves frequently seek to lead away others and do so. Therefore, the sense of accountability is important.

At times, there are such disagreements where two Christian parties must go in different ways in avenues of ministry. This should not be confused for the above, however.

There does exist an accountability on the web and it is available without having to surrender your own conscience and control of your site to another. It is available through internet ministry partnership.

We can actively move in the Spirit of God together for our internet ministries together to reflect Christ."

Dokimos
http://dokimos.org
(Used by Permission)

"If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen" 1 Peter 4:11

From the Kitchen of...
ANNA (from SING)

Recipe adapted from The Spice of Vegetarian Cooking by Martha Rose Shulman (Inner Traditions, 1991).
More Desserts/Baked Goods Recipes Solutions

These zesty muffins pair beautifully with soups and stews, or they make a delicious eye-opening breakfast or lunchbox treat. Golden and savory, bursting with the late-summer goodness of corn, Jalapeno Corn Muffins are sweetened with a hint of honey and so versatile you’ll want to make them all fall and winter long.

Do you have a RECIPE that you would enjoy sharing? Send it to us here in the Hearts for Christ Ministries Comments Section or e-mail direct: info@heartsforchrist.org. We will be thrilled to pass it along to our readers.

Sharing Hearts One with Another... The following letters excerpts from the correspondence Hearts for Christ Ministries has been receiving. Dear Hearts For Christ: Shirley, my dear sister in Christ I enjoyed your letter so much. I think it is so cute the way you name all of your dogs, goats and chickens. I love it. I also wanted to tell you about my nephew Johnny. He will be OK. He is having a lot of pain now that they took him off of morphine. Thank you for your prayers. Did you get sweatshirts yet? I always forget to look when I am on your website. I have very bad eyes. I have Glaucoma. I had Laser Surgery in August of 2002. But when I read too much my eyes get so red and they hurt so bad. I love to read and do things on my computer. But I can't do it too long at a time. I just thank God that He saved my eye sight through my eye doctor. My Dad went blind from Glaucoma ten years before he died God is so good to me. Thank you Shirley for being there for all of us. Love Lulu Ann Dear Lulu Ann, Bless your heart, Lulu Ann, I LOVE hearing from you. Thank you for your sweet comments about Koinonia. I HAVE to name my animals as they are very much a part of me! As long as God has them here on the farm I suspect I will be naming them...something! I even gave my puppies names (even though they are temporary till the new owners have them). Thank you for the update on Johnny. God is so good (my favorite phrase!) I can't wait to share that with the rest of the prayer team. No we haven't gotten the sweatshirts yet. I am waiting till we break even with the shirts. (We have a LONG way to go) I will be sure to announce it in Koinonia when the time comes. Oh, Lulu Ann, we will pray for your glaucoma. How difficult that must be! Our sight is so precious to us! Yes, we do thank the Lord that he saved your eyesight as he has. We are surely in his hands. God bless you sister. I love hearing from you. We all do. And I rejoice when I see your prayer requests because I know you are there with us! Love in Christ, Shirley and the Hearts for Christ Team Dear Hearts for Christ, I am in charge of a ladies retreat in October. I liked your study on The Joyful Christian. How do I obtain a copy? Thank you, Sharon M. Dear Sharon, Thank you so much for your inquiry regarding The Joyful Christian study on Philippians. This epistle is one of my favorites and I am honored that you would like to use the study for your group. I am attaching a copy of the study to help you out. I will also include a copy of the outline which you will want to make copies of for your retreat group and some group questions if you would like your ladies to break up into groups following the study. Reflection Groups help to instill what we have just learned. I would ask that you please follow the guidelines in my copyright for use. May God richly bless you. Retreats can be so fulfilling as we make the Lord Jesus the focus of our time together with other women. If you have any problems opening the Word Documents, I would be happy to mail them to you as well. In the Lord's Service Always Shirley and the HFC Team

Are You Ready to Share with Us? What is the Lord doing in your life today? Do you have a question, an experience, or a victory in trial you would enjoy sharing in a future newsletter? Send your comments and inquiries to "Dear Hearts for Christ." Article Submissions and Testimonies should be sent to Shirley@heartsforchrist.org. No names will be included without permission, and the editor reserves the right to edit submissions.