Sunday, July 15, 2012

Scorched Earth

We haven't had any rain to speak of now in almost 3 months.  Many places around the country are suffering from high heat and low rain.  Watering by hand from the hand pump is just taking too long.  The Oasis pump has completely failed and I have returned it to the manufacturer per his request.  For us we still have water options despite the lack of rain.  We have city water which draws its source from Lake Michigan.  The 5 large lakes around Michigan comprise 20% of the worlds fresh water.  Because of the drought we are needing to water a lot to keep the plants happy.  For now we are using the city water via garden hose and spray nozzle instead of the hand pump and watering cans to save several hours each time we water.  It might not be the best water choice because the city adds chlorine, alum, and fluoride, but time is valuable too.  We have been looking at the possibility of getting a garden hose filter to pull out the chlorine.  We would also like to install some soaker-hoses or drip-lines into the beds eventually so that we can save even more time in watering.  There are many options and styles and PSI ratings to consider so I don't know the best thing to get.  Might just have to get something and see how it goes.
No, we don't live in a desert...  Yet.

Wood chips, sand, grass, dirt...  All brown


You can tell who waters their grass in the neighborhood...  Not us

This year we had some very warm early spring days in Michigan followed by some hard freezes that resulted in nearly total crop loss for cherries, apples, and peaches across the state.  The crop loss and drought hasn't affected the average person too much yet but apple prices are starting to climb.  If we have more years like this the effects will be multiplied.  I am reminded of Michael Boldea's dream of three men in a wheat field.  (http://www.handofhelp.com/vision_58.php)  It is worth reading so I have copied it below.


THREE MEN IN A WHEAT FIELD


Posted March 2010
Shortly after returning to the United States I began having a recurring dream.  I have prayed many nights as to whether or not I should share this dream, and I finally received confirmation that I should.  There are some dreams or visions that I receive wherein I know instantly that it was either meant for me personally, or that it was intended to be shared.  This was not such a dream.  After seeking the Lord on the matter however, I know I was supposed to make this dream public.  

I dreamt I stood in front of a large wheat field.  By the golden hew the wheat stalks had taken on, in my dream, I knew that it was close to harvest time, either late summer or early autumn.  It was beautiful and peaceful watching the wheat sway gently in the breeze under a picture perfect blue sky.  

As I grew familiar with the scene before me, I began looking around and saw three men, evenly spaced at the edge of the field.  One man stood on the left corner of the rectangular field, the second man stood in the middle, and the third man stood on the far right edge.  

All three men were dressed in white, and since I was seeing them from behind I could not make out their faces.  Each of the three men held something in their right hand.  The man on the left held a burning torch, the man in the middle held something that looked like a wineskin, and the man in the far right corner held an old fashioned sickle, and a basket lay on the ground next to him.  I recognized the sickle, because I used to play with one in my adolescence while living in Romania.  

As I stood and watched this strange scene before me, the man on the far left tipped his torch slightly, and touched one of the wheat stalks with the lit torch.  Suddenly about one third of the entire wheat field burst into flame.  The fire went out as quickly as it began a sudden burst of flame, followed by the scorched remnants of a once beautiful wheat field.  

As I continued watching, the second man uncorked the wineskin, raised it about shoulder level, and tipped it slightly.  One solitary drop of water poured out of the wineskin, but as it made contact with the wheat another third of the field was leveled as though a great wave had just swept through it.  

I did not understand what I was seeing but I continued to watch the scene unfold.  I was expecting the third man to do something as dramatic as the first two, but instead he simply bent from the waist, grabbed a handful of wheat stalk with his left hand, and with a practiced swing of the sickle cut through it.  He then laid the wheat he had cut in the basket.  Although there was a solemnity in the actions of all three men, the gentleness and care with which the third man laid the wheat in the basket stood out for some reason.  The man continued the process of cutting wheat and putting it in the basket until it was full, then with practiced ease, tied the wheat into a small bushel with a piece of twine he removed from his waist.  He laid the bushel aside, and returned to swinging the sickle and filling the basket.  This went on for some time as the man methodically and quickly made bushel after bushel of wheat.  

For the first two nights, this is where my dream ended, and as I knew this could not be the end of it, I began to pray that I might either see the conclusion of the dream, or receive the interpretation.  

On the third night, the dream began as the previous two nights, with the first man setting fire to one third of the field, the second man flooding one third, and the third man meticulously harvesting the last third, I thought it would be the same dream yet again, until the man with the sickle turned, looked at me and said, ‘the world will know hunger, the faithful will know the power of their God.’ I recognized him; I had seen him in both my dreams and my visions before.  

I woke up, and went about my day thinking that I would have the dream again that night, but the dream did not return.  I received no further insight or interpretation, but this is what I believe in regards to its meaning:

I believe that a worldwide food shortage is imminent.  Whether due to too much sun and not enough rain, or too much rain and unprecedented weather patterns, global agriculture will suffer a severe blow very shortly.  I also believe that God has already prepared provision for His children, that He will provide for them, and miraculously so.  I do not believe God reveals coming events to His children that they might grow fearful or panic, but rather that they might learn to trust Him, knowing that He who is already into tomorrow, has already made provision for it.  
Matthew 6:25-26, Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?  Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?
Matthew 6:31-33, Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the gentiles seek.  For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  But seek firs the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.  
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.

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