Training as a Draft Horse Teamster - The Greater Purpose of Suffering

The first day of the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive at Marigold Meadows was quite an adventure! Excited about having the opportunity to drive our horses, Gary and I were having great fun discing the field in preparation for other teams to plow. I can’t even begin to describe how it feels to be a draft horse teamster. Ponyo and Nettie were responding well and seemed to enjoy the work as much as Gary and I.

After giving our horses a break from the labor, we decided it was time to return to the field. We hooked Ponyo and Nettie to the disc, double checked that we’d followed all that we’d been taught and I began to climb up on the disc. Having one foot on the implement and the other on the ground, the horses began to backup! My foot got trapped under the disc and the pressure of the moving implement pushed me down. The next thing I know, I’m lying on the ground with both legs caught under the disc!

While I certainly wasn’t comfortable, I was screaming, not so much from the pain, but in an attempt to get the attention of someone to help. Needless to say, Gary and the horses were frightened. Gary couldn’t leave the head of the horses in order to help me or we could have had worse problems. He was frantically attempting to get the horses to move forward in order to get the implement off of my legs. I feared that this would result in slicing my legs to pieces. Instead, the disc was inching further up my legs causing more and more twisting and crushing injury. While it was likely only a few minutes before helped arrived, it seemed to take forever.

It’s amazing what goes through a person’s mind in such a predicament! While my life could have been taken within seconds:

• I was concerned for Gary.

• I feared that I had let my brother down by not following his instructions in some way.

• I wanted to learn from what had gone wrong and was pondering the possibilities.

• I felt badly for the horses who were so confused.

• I didn’t want to frighten the visitors at Marigold Meadows.

• I was concerned about my sister-in-law’s camera which was in my pocket.

For a split second, I imagined the horses backing the disc and themselves right over the top of me!

The thought left me as quickly as it came.

I knew what I needed.

I had to get someone’s attention who could lift the thing off of me!

I went back to screaming for help and within a few minutes I was rescued.

What in the world went wrong? Stay tuned for next weeks article.

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/">http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/
>. You may also contact me at:

Bonnie Jaeckle

In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

Diagonal Progress

505 Jefferson St.

Diagonal, IA 50845

Marigold Meadow’s Pie

The first two weekends in October are busy times at Marigold Meadows.  While I have much to share with you about the last two weeks, I’ve had little time to write!  This note will be short and sweet!

Fox News came yesterday to do a clip on what was happening on the farm and interviewed several people, including one of the pie bakers!  Knowing more about keeping the fires burning and getting those pies in and out of the oven in due time than most of the helping ladies, my nephew, Craig was the chosen spokesperson!  Showing the flames from the firebox of our wood stove, Craig explained, “Many assume that we are baking in a gas stove which looks like a wood stove.  But, there is no comparison!  You can’t set a timer and just walk away from a wood stove!  You have to “baby sit” it to make sure the right temperature is maintained by adding wood, opening or closing the damper and sometimes even propping the oven door open.”

While a wood stove is more work, we think the results are worth the effort and evidently so do those who come to visit Marigold Meadows.  Even in the stormy weather, people were lined-up outside to purchase a slice of warm pie!  There’s just something about the taste of piping hot pie straight from a wood stove!  After sampling the melt in your mouth crust, it isn’t uncommon for our visitors to ask for the recipe.  We have little business cards with the recipe on them ready to give to those who ask.

While it won’t taste quite the same if you’re not baking in a wood stove oven, I thought you might like to try your hand at making

Marigold Meadow’s Pie

Crust:                                    Filling:

2/3 cup Crisco oil                  1 quart fruit

1/3 cup water                        1 ½ cup sugar

dash salt                                3 tbsp. corn starch

2 cups water                         cinnamon if making apple

Measure ingredients for crust accurately and mix in medium sized bowl.  Divide dough and roll between wax paper to desired size (makes two large or three small crusts).  Place dough in pie plate and fit into corners.  Cut remaining dough from edge of pan.  Mix filling ingredients and pour over crust.  Place top crust over filling and pinch top and bottom crusts together at edges.  Bake at 400 for one hour or until golden brown.

I thanked the reporter for coming out in the storm and gave him a slice of hot apple pie!  He ate it on the spot!  We’re hoping that he shared with his audience what he told us, “This is one of the best pies I’ve ever eaten!

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:

             Bonnie Jaeckle

             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

             Diagonal Progress

             505 Jefferson St.

             Diagonal, IA 50845

The Butt of the Pork Roast

I was recently in a setting where I was reminded of how ridiculous it is to listen to newlywed couples’ silly bickering in an effort to adjust to one another’s ways of doing things.

You aren’t supposed to do dishes on the right side of the sink and rinse them on the left!  You do it backwards!
Not only is her potato soup too thick, she puts carrots and celery in it!  When I eat potato soup, I want potato soup!

Differing ways of doing things can cause tension even in the best of relationships, including those in a Christian community.  The tendency is to assume that our way is the best way and to consider any other way as bizarre.  Often our way is simply a developed habit that we’ve never even considered.  The following is a good example:

Husband: Honey, why do you always cut the end of the pork roast off before you place it into the roaster?
Wife: I really don’t know!  That’s just what mom always did.  I’ll call and ask her.

Daughter: Mom, why do you always cut the end off of the pork roast before you put it in the roaster.
Mom: I really don’t know!  That’s just what grandma always did.  I’ll call and ask her.

Mom: Mom, why did you always cut the end off of the pork roast before you put it into the roaster?
Grandma: Because I didn’t have a big enough roasting pan.

Before criticizing someone else’s approach and assuming that yours is better, it would be wise to consider:

• Fools have no interest in understanding;
 they only want to air their own opinions.
Proverbs 18:2

• “Why do I do it the way I do?”  You may find that you really don’t know!
• the other person’s way of doing it.  You may find that it is better.
• that it never hurts to learn more than one way.  You may need an alternative someday!
• “Is sharing my opinion in this situation really necessary?”
• that it is encouraging for other people to feel as though they occasionally have something worthwhile to offer.

While there is certainly nothing wrong with considerately sharing an opinion or a piece of knowledge, a “know it all” is only exposing his foolishness (Proverbs 12:23)!

In Paul’s letter to the Christian community in Philippi, he writes, 

Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose.  Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others (Philippians 2:1-4 (NASB)).

If you truly desire to be a part of a community united in love, be careful about assuming that your way is the only way and condescendingly voicing your opinion.  Not only is this very detrimental to community relationships, you could end up being the butt of the pork roast!

Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie
P.S.  Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/.  You may also contact me at:
             Bonnie Jaeckle
             In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life
             Diagonal Progress
             505 Jefferson St.
             Diagonal, IA 50845

God's View of Pigeon Poo

While most people wish that pigeons would home elsewhere, we’d like to have a few on our farms. So… my brother Art, husband, Gary & I showed up in the night at another farm seeking pigeons. The owners opened their grain bin, allowing us to go in, and then closed the door behind us!

There the three of us stood with a cage, flashlights and a fishing net in hand!

Needless to say, the pigeons were frightened of these three intruders and were not only frantically flying all around us, but landing on us! Before we even arrived, I assumed that I’d get to laughing so hard that I wouldn’t be able to accomplish what I was there for. Pigeons landing in my hair, totally missing the target that I was swinging at and watching the others attempting to capture their prey was about all I could handle! I worked really hard not to become so hysterical with laughter that I would be of no help! At one point I felt that I was near to rolling on the floor in laughter. The urge didn’t last long when I considered what I’d be rolling in, if I gave into it!

We were quite the team. One of us guarded the door to the cage, while another netted a pigeon and the third carried it to its temporary confinement. When we caught the 30 some that we were after, the owners “released” us from the bin and we stood around reminiscing about our experience. The three of us were sniffling and coughing due to the dust that was stirred-up by the anxious birds. Rubbing my nose to relieve the itching, I ended up with a nostril full of pigeon poo! Can I be hysterical now!

I wasn’t thinking about it while confined in that dirty, ammonia smelling bin, but it’s since come to me that pigeons were considered sacred in the Bible. For those who were poor, pigeons were used as a sin offering which was a mandatory atonement for cleansing from defilement and as a burnt offering which was a voluntary act of worship, expressing complete surrender to God. The person making the offering laid his/her hand on the head of the animal symbolizing that his/her sin was now transferred upon it and then he/she slew it. The blood of the animal was accepted as atonement for that person’s sin making it possible for him/her to commune with God.

Prior to the Passover Feast, Jewish dealers set-up booths in the temple area specifically set apart for Gentile worship. They were selling, at extravagant prices, ritually pure items required for temple sacrifice.

Just as thieves hide in caves and think they are safe,
so the religious leaders were using the temple as a cover for their fraudulent activity;
that is until Jesus shows up and ruins their business!
Outraged by their blatant disregard for God’s provision for non-Jewish people,

Entering the Temple, Jesus drove out all who were buying and selling there,
and overturned the money-changers' tables
and the seats of the pigeon-dealers.
“It is written,
“My house will be called a house of prayer,
but you are making it a den of robbers
(Matthew 21:12-13).

While emphasis is typically placed upon the deceptive activity of the dealers, by clearing the temple of the sellers and the buyers, Jesus was announcing to the thousands of people who were there from all parts of the ancient world that He was preparing a new way for all people to have communion with God through Him. By specifically reacting toward the pigeon-dealers, who were getting wealthy off of those who could not afford grander sacrifices, Jesus was deliberately announcing that even the poor were included in His plan.

A few days after Jesus cleanses the temple of such deception, He offered Himself upon a cross to bear your sins and mine as the all-sufficient sacrifice. His Father is completely satisfied with the atonement that Jesus made on our behalf.

You also, like living stones
are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood,
offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ

(1 Peter 2:5).

The spiritual act of worship that is holy and pleasing to God is to offer ourselves to Him as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1). Don’t let anyone deceive you into believing that you have to come to a certain place on a specific day, wearing certain clothes, offering money in order to satisfy Him. Our Father has no requirements that we have to pray in a specific way, read our Bible any particular amount or praise Him from a mandatory position. If anyone speaks to you of such deceptive requirements in order to commune with God, you might want to look and see if they have pigeon poo on the back of their hands!

Whole-Heartedly,
Bonnie

P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/. You may also contact me at:
Bonnie Jaeckle
In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life
Diagonal Progress
505 Jefferson St.
Diagonal, IA 50845

Marigold Meadows on the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive

The first two full weekends in October is the anniversary of the Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive. This festival “celebrates the history of the people, land and river at the heart” of Fulton County, Illinois where I was raised and has drawn tens of thousands of people each year.
In 1915, Edgar Lee Masters published his Spoon River Anthology, which would eventually introduce the region to a worldwide audience. Masters, the observer, poet, author, and attorney, grew up in Spoon River County during the 1890s, experiencing the beauty of its hills and valleys and the ironies of the small-town folks. The Spoon River Valley Scenic Drive traverses this landscape that Masters knew winding amid both subtle scenery and the occasional spectacular views.

The annual event attracts visitors from all over the world for fall scenery, arts, crafts, music, food, produce, historic sites, museums, old-time farming, collectibles, antiques, and dramatic readings from Masters’ Anthology. – Fulton County, Illinois Visitor’s Guide (www.spoonriverdrive.org and info@spoonriverdrive.org)

　

Noted for Art Jones’ demonstrations of old-time farming with draft horses, a working sawmill, home of common and not so common barnyard animals, and Marcia Jones’ lip-smackin’, poppin’ fresh pies cooked in a wood burning oven, Marigold Meadows is one of the “hot spots” on the Scenic Drive. Fulton County has always been in my blood, but Marigold Meadows is the place where Gary and I now call home. Having recently purchased Marigold Meadows, we’re even more excited about the Scenic Drive than ever before!

This year, on October 6 & 7, 13 & 14^th, shimmering fall colors will once again be the back-drop for:
· multiple teams of mighty draft horses harvesting fields and working the ground for next year’s crops.
· a sawmill abuzz preparing lumber for future buildings.
· kittens and cows, goats and pigs, chickens, peacocks and more showing off their barnyard home.
· a new addition to the farm this year, blacksmiths will be fanning the flames necessary to forge iron for farm equipment repairs and household needs.
· farmhands demonstrating their skills: Spinning, weaving, and candlestick makers are a few of the possibilities.

Marigold Meadows is a busy, yet enjoyable place to be.

You may even have the chance to drive a horse,

ride a horse drawn wagon, hand-pick corn, spin some wool and more!

It’s not easy for me to choose a favorite activity on the farm. For me, working the horses is just as rewarding as baking a pie. Speaking of pies and favorite activities… I’ve heard it said by many visitors that delighting in the results of the enticing aroma wafting from the log cabin is hard to beat! Can you imagine baking 80 fruits pies in a wood burning oven in one day? It happens at Marigold Meadows and we would come near to bettin’ ya that Marcia’s results can’t be matched for miles around! We double dare ya to come for a bite or two and taste for yourself!

It doesn’t get much better than sitting around a campfire with family and friends on a cool autumn night listening to knee slappin’ music. That’s what we do Saturday evenings on the farm and we’d love to have you join us!

Some people refer to their trip to Marigold Meadows as “stepping back in time;” we call it “living the Whole-Hearted Life today!”

You can find more information about, a map to Marigold Meadows and read more about living the whole-hearted life at www.whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com. You may also contact us at whole-heartedlife@gmail.com.

If you’d like more hands-on experience driving horses, planting gardens, canning, making soap, etc, we’re making plans to offer classes, as well as opportunities for you to come stay a spell for extended learning. We’d love to hear from you if you have an interest in teaching, learning or reminiscing about living the Whole-Hearted Life.

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/. You may also contact me at:

Bonnie Jaeckle

In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

Diagonal Progress

505 Jefferson St.

Diagonal, IA 50845

　

Counting the Cost

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Our filly, Wonder will soon be 5 months old. In order to wean her, I moved her out of the barnyard which she shared with her momma, Nettie and “step-papa”, Ponyo. As I closed the gate behind us, Nettie and Ponyo became very agitated and began to whinny. Regardless, Wonder responded to my command to walk away. In order to get to the other barn, Wonder and I walked about a third of a mile. She occasionally hesitated a bit and whinnied, but never resisted my leading. If I were in her shoes, I’d have been thinking:

I really like this place; why do I have to leave it?

Where are you taking me?

Why do I have to leave my loved ones behind?

What will this new place be like?

Will I have what I need?

What will I do there?

Will there be anyone whom I know?

Will I be all alone?

As Wonder and I made our way through the field, I was amazed that she was so responsive to my commands and receptive of my reassurance. Considering Wonder’s astonishing trust, I began to ponder the cost of following Jesus and questioned if I have nearly the faith in my Master that Wonder seems to have in me.

As they were walking along the road, a man said to Him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus replied, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.” He said to another man, “Follow me.” But the man replied, “Lord first let me go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.” Jesus replied, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62).

The cost of following Jesus is always “pricey”.

Walking away from what feels safe and familiar is never easy.

Leaving behind those whom you love is often gut wrenching.

Stepping into an unfamiliar world can feel like one of the most risky things that we’re ever called to do.

Yet, we are commanded, Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:9

Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus is a challenge, especially when we are experiencing major transitions in life. As we make the necessary adjustments, it seems that we are more prone to getting distracted and off on the wrong path. Proverbs 4:25-27 warns,

Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

As uncertain as Wonder must have been, I marveled at the fact that she never looked back, balked nor attempted to dart off in a different direction. It was as if she knew that my intentions were not to jeopardize her, but were for her wellbeing. Just as my familiar voice and gentle words reassured Wonder, as I go through the necessary physical and emotional changes which commonly accompany a major life change, I must keep in mind that my heavenly Father has a panoramic view of my future that I don’t have:

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

In our humanness there are always “what ifs”:

What if I’ve taken the wrong turn?

What if I move to fast or too slow?

What if I miss what God has in mind for me?

We can be assured, however, Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.” Isaiah 30:21

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/. You may also contact me at:

Bonnie Jaeckle

In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

Diagonal Progress

505 Jefferson St.

Diagonal, IA 50845

The Move of God

 

The whole idea behind this column is to write about what God is teaching me regarding The Whole-Hearted Life. As Gary & I have sought to understand and personally live this out, through the last number of years, God has been leading us into a deeper understanding of Whole-Hearted Living within a community of believers. In the last year or two, He has guided us into several situations which seemed to be opportunities to live in such a setting; yet each time He seemed to close the door shortly after He opened it. Not understanding, we were hurt, confused and disappointed. I have to admit that after this happened a time or two we were also even a little embarrassed that we had shared our excitement with others only to learn that it wasn’t unfolding the way in which we had anticipated. In time, the Lord revealed that whenever He opened a door, He was using the anticipation to prepare us for what would come… down the road. It was like He was saying to us, “Oh, I was just checking”; yet, each open door led us to ask a lot of questions and deep soul searching:

Are we truly ready for this?

Are we willing to relocate, if necessary?

Are we able and willing to accept others where they are?

Are we willing to adjust from being quite isolated to being surrounded by others daily?

Are we willing to consider all that He has provided for us as provision for others, as well?

The process of wrestling through it each time was being used to build a necessary foundation within our hearts for His future plans. Once we realized this, we were no longer embarrassed by what seemed to be wishy-washiness on our part. In fact, any time someone questioned us with, “I thought you were planning to ….,” we came to a point of responding, “We thought so too, but evidently God was “just checking” again. While our hearts ached for fellowship with like-minded people, finally we were resting and waiting for Him while accepting whatever He set before us as “ground work”.

As most of us know, life is full and busy which causes us to lose touch with people we’ve known though the years, including family. This was true for me and my brother, Art who is 10 years older than I. Over the last year or so, however, Art and I have had more opportunities to visit and become reacquainted as adults. We’ve learned that we have a great deal in common regarding our spiritual beliefs, institutionalized “Church”, governmental regime, approach to health, living simply and off the land, love for music, etc. With each conversation, our hearts have been drawn closer to one another, coming to a point that a day doesn’t seem complete without touching base. We began to talk about how much fun and helpful it would be if we lived closer to one another. Art and his wife, Marcia have plenty of experience living off the land and we knew that if we could pool our time, energy and resources to work along side of one another, it would be helpful to all of us. The more we talked and prayed about it, the more it seemed obvious that God had been planning this all along. I would have never imagined that this was what He had in mind.

The four of us began to look for property near to Art & Marcia’s farm. While there were acreages available, none close enough for conveniently working together daily. One day, when Art called, I answered the phone jokingly saying, “I know, you have found the perfect property for us!” He responded, “Yep and it is right here!” He was standing on 12.5 acres on the backside of his farm. He shared that he was planning to sell this property in three more years, but felt strongly that the Lord was saying, “The time is now!” He also shared that through the years as he spent hours clearing the land, building the buildings etc. that he really didn’t know why he felt so driven about doing it. He “just knew” that he was supposed to set other things aside in order to get it done. Before we hung up he said, “I can’t imagine having any body better than the two of you living back there. Please pray about it.” To Gary & me the answer came quickly, “This is what I’ve been preparing you for.”

The move of God never ceases to amaze me!

We are excited about entering into this new chapter of our lives at Marigold Acres in Lewistown, IL. I’m sure that many of my future articles will come out of what God is teaching us here. I hope you stay tuned to hear about how He continues to move in our lives.

Whole-Heartedly,

Bonnie

P.S. Please feel free to contact me with questions, thoughts, topics you’d like to ponder or to read past articles at: http://whole-heartedlife.blogspot.com/. You may also contact me at:

Bonnie Jaeckle

In Search of the Whole-Hearted Life

Diagonal Progress

505 Jefferson St.

Diagonal, IA 50845