Restoration Farm

Greetings.

For the past five years I have been asking God to show me a ministry that my wife, Kat, and I can do together. At first I thought it might be an inner city ministry, then I thought it might be as traveling hosts and fill in ministers but neither of those panned out.

What God finally showed me through my wife exactly as I asked Him to was that we would purchase and develop a small farm. You can read about it at The Restoration Farm. In a nut shell it will be a small farm of 10-20 acres and we will grow crops that have been grown chemical free. We will also raise chickens and goats and give them only feeds that have been grown organically. We will produce cheese and soap from the milk that we get from our goats. We will sell eggs laid by our chickens, ducks and guineas. A key part of the farm will be one or two cabins, the Restoration Cabins, that we will invite missionaries and ministers to come and stay in when they need to be restored from the battles that they are fighting.

Our plan is to make enough income from the farm and other income producing endeavors to fund the two small cabins or RV Trailers that will be used for the Restoration Cabins.

What I want to share in this post is something I have struggled with for years. It has to do with funding for the ministry I believe God is calling me to. What I struggled with was the idea of asking people to fund my dream or to contribute on a monthly basis to that dream or calling. For the longest time I struggled with this funding concept but on the trip that Kat and I took this month to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary I came to grips with the struggle.

I thought the struggle had to do with pride or having to depend upon someone else but on the trip it came to me that it really had to do with expecting other people to fund my dream instead of me earning what it would take to make it come true.

When I was growing up my dad provided me the example by working hard for what he had and spending only what he could afford. He was not a flashy man and he did not need to be the one everyone looked at as an expert.

While traveling to a small farm outside Tulsa, OK I began to realize no one but me can fund my dream. You see my dream is to live on a small farm with Kat and to do what God has made us for. We were made to serve others and the Restoration Farm will provide us with the opportunity to do exactly that. Most of all I came to realize that if someone else was funding my dream I would also be tied to what they wanted for my dream and I would not be free to pursue it from the heart.

I invite you to come read about the Restoration Farm and if you do I hope God will reveal the dream He has for your life.

Working on the Dream

Not too long ago my wife, Kat, and I began to work on a dream that we and another couple have. You can read about the dream at The Restoration Farm blog. Kat and I have decided to take part of our retirement and sell our house and invest in this dream.

Lately I have been struggling with part of making the dream work. Old insecurities are surfacing that bother me. I am trying to discover the root of what I am feeling and so far I am not sure why I am struggling. Let me just state that these insecurities involve finances.

The last couple of weeks Kat and I have looked at several pieces of property that looked good to us but we did not get that feeling of this is it!

We have faith that God is going to lead us to the right property but we must put our faith into action by going out to look. I heard once from a friend that Faith was best spelled RISK. I have added to that by stating that Risk is best spelled WORK. I believe I reveal my Faith by the Risk I take in performing Work. My works do not save me but instead they flow out of me because I am saved.

I have heard people say that they have faith that God will deliver them but their actions did not necessarily show it. It is very true that we are saved by grace and as a result of our faith in Jesus Christ. It is also true that our faith is revealed in our works or good deeds. So faith without action is a useless faith.

James 2: 14-17 Dear friends, do you think you'll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, "Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!" and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn't it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

I believe that the idea behind The Restoration Farm is something God has stirred in us. I have faith that He will guide us through the process. He will IF and there is always an IF. He will if we will use the resources that He has given us to make it happen.

The Restoration Farm is both a money making and non-profit adventure. We will grow crops organically and in hoop houses and make a profit. We will also fund what I call The Restoration Center, which is a couple of small cottages and a center for Christian servants who need to be restored can come to free of charge. These servants could be pastors, missionaries, lay leaders. They could be hurt or have fallen in service. It will be a place where can spend some time recovering and begin the process of restoration, which God loves to do.

If you have a dream that God has placed in your heart take a moment and visit and then have faith by risking to work it out. Faith is not found in playing it safe by not taking action.

Please visit The Restoration Farm and follow our journey. Hopefully each week I will have something new to share.