Pause and Think Calmly

Selah! (Pause and think calmly). When you are fully aware of God's power you will not collapse with despair, no matter what happens. The Godly must not be anxious about the Day of the Lord. The Lord is sovereign over the whole Earth! Habakkuk 3:3, 9. By singing praises to the Lord, the Godly encourage each other to look expectantly towards the Lord's Coming! Selah!

Country Living-- Outpost Evangelism

Farm in Australia (wikipedia)

Country Living? Ed and I consider that we are meeting that criteria, but are we really? We live on a sort of 'suburban' 1/3 acre of land that we had hoped to grow a lot of food on, but the fact that a coal train track ran through our yard at one time (the fellow who lives on the other side of the fence has lived here for 55 years)means that we have that gritty, gravelly soil that you find on mountain ridges all over the world. And we have a huge, ungainly septic drainage field, put into grass, that is not available to any veggie growing or heavy structures (like a greenhouse for example). HOWEVER, we hear that we will be soon having the sewer in this area, so, on the one hand we might be able to build a greenhouse and do some plantings elsewhere. On the other hand, the coming of the sewer may be what the developers are waiting for, in which case we will be just another part of Courtenay's urban sprawl.

Swiss Country Home (wikipedia)

Do we want to move farther afield but nearer some metropolis to do the kind of evangelism that Mrs. White speaks to? That is an ongoing discussion. We need to pray about it more. What are your thoughts and how have you been led by God in these circumstances? I would love for you to comment below the EGW quotations on Country Living. (Your email address will not show up and you can comment as 'anonymous' if you prefer). Thank you! ~Cynthia

A half-timbered Welsh farmhouse (wikipedia)

TheDivine Ideal: Although everything God had made was in the perfection of beauty, and there seemed nothing wanting upon the earth which God had created to make Adam and Eve happy, yet He manifested His great love to them by planting a garden especially for them. A portion of their time was to be occupied in the happy employment of dressing the garden, and a portion in receiving the visits of angels, listening to their instruction, and in happy meditation. Their labor was not wearisome, but pleasant and invigorating. This beautiful garden was to be their home, their special residence.--3SG 34 (1864).

 What were the conditions chosen by the infinite Father for His Son? A secluded home in the Galilean hills; a household sustained by honest, self-respecting labor; a life of simplicity; daily conflict with difficulty and hardship; self-sacrifice, economy, and patient, gladsome service; the hour of study at His mother's side, with the open scroll of Scripture; the quiet of dawn or twilight in the green valley; the holy ministries of nature; the study of creation and providence; and the soul's communion with God--these were the conditions and opportunities of the early life of Jesus.--MH 365, 366 (1905).