Category: providence (Page 3 of 23)

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: Surrogate Chicken Mommy to 2nd Round of Turkey Chicks

June 28, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

After we had a turkey mommy accidentally hatch out a chicken chick, we discovered in the barn next to the north footer in the middle a set of turkey eggs being sat on by both a turkey and a chicken. Since the turkey mommy worked well as a surrogate to the chicken chick, I started to wonder if maybe a chicken mommy might make a good surrogate for turkey chicks, especially because a chicken hen is much easier to work with than the larger and stronger turkey hen.

Well, the little things started to hatch, and eventually the chicken mommy ended up near the big door across the barn to the east with the chicks under her, and the turkey mommy kind of hanging out behind her. So, it was round up the youngin’s and the chicken mommy and get them into the summer kitchen (now basically what is a brooder barn).

There were 6 of them, and we initially started them in a cage on the table, which you can see in the video below.

Then not long after, another turkey/chicken mommy group in the barn hatched out 1, and it was walking around on the hay stack next to them, and so we grabbed it and put it in with the brooder barn mommy, hoping she would accept it, and she did!

And then, another 1 from that same 2 mommies in the barn, and so it was off to the brooder barn.

And so now, there are 8 turkey chicks with their chicken mommy in the brooder barn all still doing great! That last one is a little tiny, and I wasn’t sure if it was going to make it, but it’s still going!

And, along with the picture above, here is another picture of them. However, the chicken mommy at this point seems to be losing interest in attending to them as a mommy, and has been jumping out of the caged run area, so we may just let her go soon, although we do like the idea that these mommies being there might protect the young from snakes:

And here is their video:

We thank the Lord for granting these new little provisions, and for the idea and gracious success of a chicken hen taking care of the young turkey chicks!

— David

Storing Rain VI – West Tank (Pond) – Update I

June 20, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

Initially, when we had our west tank (that’s Texas for “pond”) dug last year, the Lord saw fit to stop the process before we had planned to finish by filling it up quite full — too full to continue.

Since then though, we’ve been in one of our worst droughts since we’ve been here. Since it was dug and filled as it was, there had been very little substantial rainfall. The tank lasted very well though, although it was getting lower, and was the only ground water available at the time for the cows.

But, God in His mercies and graces, saw fit to drop a decent amount of rain here, runoff rain, back in early June. It wasn’t a whole lot, but it was enough to put a lot of water in the other tanks on the land, and, for the first time, cause our west tank to overflow!

Since it was dug, I wasn’t sure if the water would make it around the bend without having to flood the entire area, but the expert diggers felt it would, and sure enough, it worked great!

Here’s looking back at the pond from the overflow side:

And then it overflowing (the top image shows it too):

And we recorded a video of it too:

The Lord granted a decent amount of grass to grow as a result also, which has taken some of the burden off having to feed the cows manually, and we have been thankful, although there hasn’t been any more rain since, and we are around 100 (give or take several degrees) every day.

We do pray God might have mercy on us again and bring rain soon, as we look to Him as our Provider, but until then, we wait, hopefully patiently, knowing He is good and faithful regardless of what we might see around us.

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: 2nd, 3rd & 4th Chicken Hatchings of 2022

June 10, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

After our first chicken hatching this 2022 came from a turkey mommy accidentally sitting on a chicken egg and hatching one out, the Lord has graciously continued to grant more chicken chicks!

This is group 2 for 2022. We usually put 12 eggs under the broody mommies, and she either hatched out them all, or close to it…I haven’t done a count yet, but there are quite a few! They are in the image above, and this one:

And here’s group 3. She actually hatched out 5 more, but I think she ended up killing them as she tore apart her nest after she lost her broodiness. Sigh. But, she still has these 4 going strong!

And here is group 4. Originally, these eggs were under a mommy under our house. We grabbed her and her eggs and put them in the mini-chicken tractor shown here. However, about 5-6 days short of the 21 required, she lost her broodiness, and tore apart the nest, and sent eggs somewhat scattering. We even found one dead not-quite-complete chick, I guess perhaps just broken out of the shell by her maybe?

Anyway, we gathered up the rest of the eggs and re-set them in the nest, and tried putting on them other broody hens we had that weren’t sitting on eggs (we pull their eggs if we don’t have a safe place to let them hatch out chicks). Well, finally, I believe it was the 3rd mommy attempt which stuck, and she did bring it home, hatching out these 2 little ones! She’s still acting quite broody, but I have a feeling the other eggs are not going to hatch. And at least, her little ones are apparently figuring out how to drink and eat regardless:

And lastly, here’s the video of all 3 groups:

As always, we are grateful to God for granting these new provisions, and we pray He glorify Himself through them, and that they might benefit others as well!

— David

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: First 2022 Turkey Chicks

June 3, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

With our first sitting turkey mommy of 2022 hatching out a chicken chick, our next one did indeed hatch out some turkey chicks — 3 this round!

As you can see, they’re a little grown up by now, but still doing well!

And here’s their video:

As always, we are very grateful to the Lord for Him graciously granting these new turklet provisions!

— David

First 2022 Chicken Chick by a Turkey Mommy

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: Surrogate Turkey Mommy Chicken Chick

May 13, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

We had a broody turkey mommy next to a hay manger in the barn goat stall. One day she had a hatchling showing itself with her. But, it looked funny for being a turkey, and that was because, it wasn’t a turkey! A chicken egg got in with her clutch, and she hatched out a little chicken chick!

But, turkey eggs need a week more of sitting than chicken eggs, and so we were worried she might stop sitting on her turkey eggs. Well, sadly, that sort of did happen, although 3 sort of hatched out. We actually tried taking them and all her eggs and putting them under a broody chicken, and 2 more tried to hatch out, but in the end, all 5 turklets didn’t make it. 🙁

However, this little one — I think now it’s a rooster — is still alive today and doing fine!

Here’s another picture of it with its “mommy” in the barn:

And then a video. I had to use a flashlight to try to get light on them:

Even though it didn’t go as we had planned, we are thankful to the Lord for granting this provision of the new chick, our first for 2022!

— David

Cattle Update – 2016-2021

April 6, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

The last time we did a cattle update was when a little heifer was born back in 2015! I’m not sure why I haven’t followed up more…I think once I got behind, it just kept being pushed off because of how long it might take to do.

But now, without further ado, I thought I’d try to get everyone up to through last year (note that not all the cattle shown were/are Sue and mine personally)…

2016

At this point, our very kind and generous neighbor was letting us run the cattle on his land…some 400 acres! And so for those years, we didn’t have to buy hay, which was really nice! And so, here they are…

Here’s the herd sire who wasn’t ours personally, Manolete:

2017

We didn’t apparently take many pictures this year, as they are all of cattle headed off somewhere:

2018

This is Mateo who eventually became the herd sire after Manolete in 2019, which you can see as a little calf on this blog post:

While over on our neighbor’s property, we finally put up a somewhat decent corral to be able to…well…corral them for loading into trailers. 🙂

2019

Well, early in the year, our neighbor said he was turning his place into a wildlife reserve, so he graciously gave us about a month to get our land ready, which involved shoring up fences, etc.

And here they are back on the land. It was nice to have them back, actually:

We moved the corral to our place, and here they are during “cube” time:

Ummmm….yeah….

One day, Amistosa, our best looking Longhorn as far as pure Spanish traits, came strolling up really skinny. I thought to give her some special feed, which I had given her before when she had gone down just before one of our worst cold spells here (which you can read about in this blog post), because it had worked before, and I did, but I guess I had given her too much, as she ended up extremely bloated.

We shoved a bunch of baking soda down her, which helped some, but over the next several weeks, including a vet visit, she never quite recovered.

One morning, when I was out of town, Sue found Ami fallen over in a little ditch that led to a small watering hole in our inner area, which is where we were taking care of Ami, and she was just struggling and rolling around, and just looked in a bad way, so Sue made the executive decision that she just wasn’t going to make it, so Sue solicited the help of a neighbor here, and he graciously helped to put her down.

When I got back home, we wanted to move her to a final resting spot under some trees in our north field, and so we hooked up a chain around her horns and towed her up there:

…and then said a final goodbye…goodbye Ami…you were one of our first group of cows for us. We thank the Lord for all the offspring He granted from her…

2020

Continuing on, it indeed was nice to see the cows around the house:

…and out our front porch:

2021

And finally, onto last year…

Here’s herd sire Mateo again, a little older now. However, he started going through and jumping over (after fixing the “going through” the fence”) to our neighbor’s property, the gentleman who let us run our cattle on this land those years ago. He was nice about it, but I couldn’t control Mateo anymore, so I sadly had to dump him at the sale barn. Bye, big guy!

But now lastly, to close this blog post off, here’s the compilation video across the years (I was wrong in the video with the 2 fighting bulls in the back of the trailer about how old they were…it was actually 1 1/2 and 2 years old):

We are always thankful to the Lord for His provisions of the cattle, the meat He’s granted from them, the sales to be able to pay for hay over the winter, and the provisions on the land He’s granted to feed them through the growing times!

— David

David’s Digest: What Does It Mean to Submit All Our Actions to God’s Will?

January 5, 2022 / David & Susan Sifford / 0 Comments

James 4:15 – “For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.“

At what depth should our wills in the actions of our lives be submitted to our God if we claim Him to be so? What does it mean to truly submit our lives in what we do to Him?

Puritan Thomas Manton in his superb work “A Practical Commentary, or an Exposition with Notes, on the Epistle of James” takes a deep and detailed look into what it means to submit the actions of our lives to God.

You can listen to all of verse 15 here:

or download it:
Download

The entire book is available here: https://ia800904.us.archive.org/2/items/apracticalcomme01mantgoog/apracticalcomme01mantgoog.pdf#page=375, and this section starts on PDF page 379 (in the print, page 360), or you can get it in other formats here…

…or you can listen to the entire book on this page:
Thomas Manton – James Commentary

From Thomas Manton:

Verse 15. – For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.

Observation. All our undertakings must be referred to the will of God; not only sacred, but civil actions. Our journeys must not be undertaken without asking his leave; as Jacob, “O Lord God of Abraham thy servant, send me good speed this day” (Gen. xxviii. 20, and xxiv. 12). No wonder, if this be neglected, that you meet with so many cross accidents; they do not come from your hard luck, but your profane neglect.

But what is it to submit all our actions to the will of God? I answer,

1. To measure all our actions by his revealed will [the Bible], that is the rule of duty. We can look for no blessing but upon those ways that suit with it. There must be a submission to his secret will, but first a conformity to his revealed will. Lust [generally, any corrupt desire of the heart] has its wills (Eph. ii. 2); but we are to serve the will of God till we fall asleep (Acts xiii 36).

2. We must the more comfortably undertake any action, when we see God in it. Acts xvi. 10, he gathered that God had called him to Macedonia: so, when we see God in the sweet means and course of his providence, or by inward instinct guiding and leading us, we may with more encouragement walk in the way that he hath opened to us.

3. When in our desires and requests we do not [try to] bind [constrain] the counsels of God; [we should say] “Not my will, but thine be done” (Matt. xxvi. 39). In temporal things we must submit to God’s will both for the mercy, the means, and time of attainment. Creatures that cannot ascribe to themselves, must not prescribe to God, and give laws to Providence, but must be content to want [lack], or have, as the Lord pleases. If any thing succeed not well, the Lord would not [wills it not to be]; that is enough to silence all discontents [discontentment].

4. We must constantly ask his leave in prayer, as before was urged.

5. We must still reserve the power of God’s providence. If the Lord will. If the Lord permit: God would not have us too carnally confident; it is good to inure the soul to changes. Two things we should often consider to this purpose, and they are both in the text:

(1st.) The sovereignty and dominion of Providence: the Lord can blast your enterprise, though managed with never so much wisdom and contrivance [of our own]; he can nip it in the bud, or check it in the very article of execution: and I have observed, that usually God is very tender of his honour in this point, and usually frustrates proud men that boast of what they will do, and conceive unlimited purposes, without any thought of the check they may receive in Providence.

It is a flower of the imperial crown of heaven, and the bridle that God hath upon the reasonable creature, to dispose of the success of human affairs; therefore herein God will be acknowledged: “A man’s heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps” (Prov. xvi. 9). Man designs, but the execution depends wholly upon God’s will and providence.

In peremptory resolutions there is a contest between us and Heaven about will and power; therefore, in such cases, the answer of Providence is more express and decisive to the creature’s loss, that God may be acknowledged as Lord of success, and the first mover in all means and causes, without whom they have no force and efficacy.

(2nd.) Consider the frailty and uncertainty of your own lives. Our being is as uncertain as the events of Providence. If we live, and God will, are the exceptions of the text, and do imply that there must be a sensible impression of our own frailty, as well as of the sovereignty of Providence, that the heart may the better submit to God. It is said, “His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts perish” (Psa. cxlvi. 4).

Frail men are full of thoughts and projects; this they will do, and that they will do; go to such a city, promote their interests by such an alliance, gain so much by such a purchase; and then they will raise up some stately fabric which shall continue their name and memory to succeeding generations, and all this because they do not mind the earth which they carry about them, and how soon the hand of Providence is able to crumble it into dust. Certainly man will never be wise, till he is able to number his days, and does sufficiently possess his soul of the uncertainty of his abode in the world (Psa. xc. 12).

Observation. We shall live, and do this or that. Mark! it is not enough that God suffer [allow] us to live, but he must also by the same will suffer [allow] us to do or act. The point is, that God’s will concurs not only to our lives, but actions. We may live, and yet not be able to do any thing for the promotion of our designs: for, if God suspend his concurrence, the creatures cannot act, at least not with any towardliness and success, which quite crosses the doctrine of the heathen philosophers. Seneca said, “That we live, it is by the benefit of the gods; that we live well, it is of ourselves.” So Tully: “This is the judgment of all men, that prosperity is to be sought of God, but wisdom to be gotten by ourselves.”

But in the Scriptures we are taught otherwise, not only to seek success of God, but direction; he gives abilities to perform, and a blessing when the action is finished.

Without the efficacious [effective], as well as permissive will of God, we can do nothing; he must give us life, and all things necessary to action.
We must not only look up to him as the author of the success, but the director of the actions.
It is by his conduct and blessing that all things come to pass.
Our very counsels and wills are subject to the Divine government, and he can turn them as it pleaseth him (Prov. xxi. 1);

and therefore we must not only commit our ways to his providence, but commend our hearts to the tuition of his Spirit. In short, all things are done by bis will, and must be ascribed to his praise.

May God grant that we indeed see our frailty, His greatness, His supremacy in all things, His worthiness to be submitted to, His lovingkindness in His dealings with us, and may He grant that we be full of thankfulness at all times, especially if by His graces and mercies we have the Lord Christ Jesus as our own!

— David

Category: providence (Page 3 of 23)

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: Surrogate Chicken Mommy to 2nd Round of Turkey Chicks

Storing Rain VI – West Tank (Pond) – Update I

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: 2nd, 3rd & 4th Chicken Hatchings of 2022

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: First 2022 Turkey Chicks

Providence’s Perpetuation Provisions: Surrogate Turkey Mommy Chicken Chick

Cattle Update – 2016-2021

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

David’s Digest: What Does It Mean to Submit All Our Actions to God’s Will?

Receive New Blog Posts by Email

We will never share your information nor solicit you.

Archives

Categories