goats

Grafted

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment
Oreo and little orphan Buck

If this image looks a little strange to you, it’s because it is. We raise a breed of goats that are called Boer (they are the ones with white bodies and red heads typically). However, we also have a handful of Lamancha dairy goats that we inherited with some of the Boers that we purchased a few years ago. Lamanchas are an interesting breed of goat because they are some of the most gentle, even tempered goats you will ever meet. The drawback is that they are ugly as sin because they have no ears and they are not really a market animal (which is what we are in the business for). Well, this particular black and white Lamancha, Oreo, is such a sweetheart. Unfortunately, she had a hard time giving birth to her very first baby last weekend and ended up delivering a stillborn, that my husband had to help pull. Rather than her finding out that her kid didn’t make it, I quickly grabbed my little bottle baby, Buck, so that we could try to graft him onto her.

Little Buck couldn’t even stand up for over a week after he was born

Let me give you a little back story. Buck was born a little over a month ago and was the runt of a set of triplets. He was not able to stand up and his mother really didn’t tend to him. After trying throughout the day, unsuccessfully, to get her to tend to him and get him to stand up, we finally decided to get him inside and get him warmed up and fed. Since that time he has been my little bottle baby. He lived in a small water trough inside our house for about 3 weeks so that I could feed him (forcefully to begin with) and treat a nasty eye infection. Over time he healed and started standing, walking, running, and finally got well enough that we couldn’t even keep him in his little makeshift pen because he would just jump out. So we moved him to a little pen out in the barn with the other goats.

Buck in his new home in the barn when we moved him out of the house

My goal has always been to get him a real goat mom, but I was unsuccessful trying to get his actual mom to take him back. Goats are funny about that. Once they abandon a kid, they will not take them back. So I went along just feeding him several times a day. That all changed a week ago when I finally had a mom that needed a baby.

It has taken the full week but the picture at the top was the very first time she was letting him nurse without me having to be in there with her. It is an amazing feeling (even if it is a goat) to see an orphan gain a mom. And that got me to thinking about a few things.

I realized that every single person who calls themselves a Christian is also an orphan that has been grafted into a new family. “But some of these branches from Abraham’s tree—some of the people of Israel—have been broken off. And you Gentiles, who were branches from a wild olive tree, have been grafted in. So now you also receive the blessing God has promised Abraham and his children, sharing in the rich nourishment from the root of God’s special olive tree.” Romans 11:17 NLT

Grafting is an interesting process in the plant world. It is essentially taking part of one plant and putting it with another to make it grow as one. As time goes on in the process, the plant being grafted on (called the cutting or scion) takes on the characteristics of the one it is being grafted too (called the rootstock). Grafting is not a simple, or painless, process. As a matter of fact it involves cutting, bandaging, and a lot of time. This is often done when a plant has rooted poorly, or not all, and would die otherwise.

WOW! Isn’t that an analogy for us? Our process of grafting into the family of God is not necessarily a painless one. Sometimes there are things that need to be cut away and lots of time for healing past wounds. Nonetheless, we are called Sons and Daughters of God. We have been adopted, but we are chosen as heirs to the very kingdom of God. “And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.” Romans 8:17 NLT

Did you catch that last little part? Yes, we are His children, but we are also not immune to suffering on this earth. So, while you go through the pains and frustrations that can come with your own grafting process, I want to encourage you with this: as you heal and are fully grafted, you will also grow closer to the source of life and with that you will also start to take on the characteristics of the rootstock. So no matter what you are going though, push through the pain and remember that you are already grafted and accepted just as you are.

But also remember this: just because you are accepted exactly as you are, that doesn’t mean God is going to leave you that way!

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you.” Psalm 51:10-12 ESV

Tough Days

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment

Frazzled Mom Cartoon Clipart | Tired mom, Frazzled mom, Busy mom

We are living in a very strange time right now. I have to admit, I am a little bit of a hermit in my normal life (as much as is possible as a public school teacher surrounded by people all day). I cherish the moments I get alone with no one demanding of me, whether it is a high schooler needing help on a math problem, or my own 3 children. However, this is different. This “social distancing” isolation thing is not the same as me shutting my classroom door during the lunch period to get work done and have a few moments alone to listen to my podcasts. No, this world that we are in proves what God himself said in the very beginning, “It is not good (beneficial) for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper [one who balances him- a counterpart who is] suitable and complementary for him.” Genesis 2:18 AMP

As humans, we need each other. We thrive when we are together and able to interact. On the other hand, when we are alone we tend to struggle. That is when depression and discouragement take hold. We need others to build us up.

Today was one of those tough days for me. I am fortunately not alone in my “social distancing”, I have my husband and 3 girls who keep me on my toes. However, I do miss the “outside” world. I miss my rare date nights going out with my husband. I miss having coworkers to talk to and joke around with without staring at a computer screen to do it. I miss going to the grocery store without feeling like you are in a war zone because everyone around you is wearing masks.

Today was one of those days where I looked around the house that I have cleaned 3 or 4 times already this week that looks like an explosion of crumbs, toys, shoes, and dirty laundry…again. It was a day that I have already done two loads of dishes, and probably need to do another. Today was a day where I should have been at church hugging friends and instead, I was stuck in the messy house staring at a screen pretending like it is the same thing. We all know it isn’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am so thankful for the technology we do have to be able to interact virtually. As a matter of fact, I have loved getting to “attend” other churches in neighboring towns because of the fact that everyone is now live streaming their services. I have really enjoyed that. I also appreciate that I have the means to text or call someone. But like I said, it’s not the same.

So what’s the solution?

I have no idea. To be honest with you, I am only writing this because I felt like I am probably not the only one feeling the same way. I think that we all now realize how much we have taken human interaction for granted. I never valued the interruptions I had when I was trying to get work done at school like I do now. I also never valued how good it felt to go to a grocery store or restaurant without feeling like I may just be swimming in a sea of germs (even though we always have been, just never thought about it).

If nothing else, I hope that we all come out of this appreciating each other a little bit more. I know that even though my kiddos are messy, I do appreciate the fact that I get to experience more little moments with them, like today when my sweet 4 year old finally mastered pedalling a bike. I have also loved seeing them learn more about reptiles because of the lizard, horny toad, and frogs they have found while playing outside. There are definitely blessings coming out of this pandemic.

My prayer right now is for every lonely person whether they are surrounded by family or don’t have anyone else around. I pray for the depressed and the discouraged. Know that even in your loneliest moment, God is there.

“For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39

Not For The Faint Of Heart

/ bekoepke

I remember when I was a newlywed and I would see kids acting up in public or moms frazzled and stressed, I thought to myself that if I had kids it would be different. I mean I had babysat before, how hard could it really be?

Oh boy, have I been humbled.

I absolutely love my girls. They are so smart and seem to learn something new everyday. They never cease to amaze me with their unique personalities and creativity. That being said, this mom gig is the hardest job I have ever had in my life. Every time you start to get confident and feel like you have got this motherhood thing down, something changes.

These last two week have been quite the experience in my world. All of the fun started last Wednesday. My redneck girls love to play outside and are definitely not afraid to get dirty. For several days, these crazy girls had spent hours digging a hole in a dirt pile that we have looking for lizards. Mind you, it is too cold to find lizards, but that did not deter them. Unfortunately, my oldest was focused on her digging game and did not notice her sister was behind her, right in the path of the shovel. As expected, that encounter did not end well. My middle child got a tooth knocked out of place and a small chip off another tooth. Nothing in any parent book can prepare you for something like that!

Not really that big of a deal, you might be thinking to yourself. Lots of kids get teeth knocked out of place or chipped. Inconvenient, yes, earth shattering, no. Well, as Paul Harvey used to say, let me give you the “rest of the story”.

Over the next two days we juggled schedules (not an easy task this time of year) and got her to the dentist just to check everything out. Fortunately she is 5 1/2 years old, so we are probably within 12 months of losing those teeth anyway, so he said just to keep an eye on them, no special treatment (and no expensive dental procedures).

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Crisis averted! Well, for another day anyway. Sadly, the next crisis was only a day away. Saturday was a gorgeous day and we are within days of a good majority of our goats having babies (yay!!!). We worked all day long outside; moving goats, cleaning up, setting up a pen inside for them to kid, and moving cows and our billy goat to different pens. We had a lot to accomplish and got a ton done.

The girls were all outside helping when they could, and playing when they couldn’t. My oldest (once again) was tasked with moving a board and that is when crisis #2 happened. Without her realizing it, my youngest was right behind her and when she stepped back. She knocked both her sister and herself over. That’s when it happened. Head of oldest child hit, you guessed it, youngest child’s head. More specifically, youngest child’s teeth. As a matter of fact, it was the exact same tooth and knocked back in the exact same way as her older sister.

There is no category for something like that. Two children, the same tooth on each, in a 4 day span. Of course, it was on a Saturday so we just had to wait until Monday when I hauled the second child to the dentist for the exact same thing. I would be lying if I told you that I wasn’t afraid of CPS being called on me. However, the dentist laughed and decided to send us to a pediatric dentist because she is a lot younger. So, we wait for a verdict for my youngest child until we go see a specialist (always a cheap prospect).

There is nothing in this world that can prepare you for all the unique challenges of motherhood. You could read every motherhood book ever written and still be completely clueless because kids are not predictable. However, to all the other mommas out there in my same boat, know that you are not alone. We are in this together and will get to the other side.

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My crazy injured-tooth girls

This parenting thing is not for the faint of heart. We need to remember that. Show grace for the other moms out there. We are all doing our best, even if that doesn’t look the same for every person. Give yourself grace, it isn’t easy raising little humans. God is on our side and He is there when it gets stressful and seems impossible.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

John 16:33 NIV

Life Lessons of a Farm Kid

/ bekoepke / Leave a comment

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When you grow up around livestock, life lessons just come with the territory. Whether it’s the joy of seeing a brand new baby born or the sadness of seeing an animal die, farm kids just learn lessons at a younger age than most other kids. This is no more true for my girls than it was a couple of weeks ago.

The miracle of life will never cease to amaze me. Whether it is my own children (even if they do drive me crazy from time to time), or a newborn animal, it makes you realize how miraculous life really is.  What has been even more of a blessing than anything else is being able to see my girls experience all those things.

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I love watching my girls jump in and start to take responsibility for basic chores as they grow. My oldest daughter loves to check for eggs in the chicken coop (or in their playhouse, whichever the chickens choose to use on any given day). Her two little sisters almost always follow suit, sometimes resulting in a broken egg or two. All three love to help daddy whenever they can, right now it has been building fence. During the spring and summer, all three love to help check for vegetables in the garden, often resulting in some vegetables knocked off the vine or pulled before they are actually ripe.

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Over the last month we have had another new responsibility added, and have had to learn a hard life lesson. During an extreme cold snap last month, several of our boer goats chose to have their babies all within the span of about 36 hours. Through a series of different circumstances, 2 of those babies ended up orphaned and needing to be bottle fed. One was on the verge of dying and ended up living in our house for over a week. She, or Hope as we named her, became a part of the family and after being a house goat for as long as she was, my girls (and I) became quite attached. Once she pulled through we moved her out with the other little orphan into their own pen. She did really well, until one of those hard life lessons hit unexpectedly. Sadly, after being out and doing well for quite a while, I found Hope dead one morning. Although we don’t know for sure what happened to her, it really didn’t matter to 3 little girls (and their mom). We were all devastated at the loss. Whether it is an old dog, a kitten, or a baby goat, that conversation never gets easier. However, my girls showed some sweet resilience. Although it wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have to have, when I broke the news to my oldest we were able to talk about death and heaven. After a good, hard cry, she made a sweet card for Hope and spent some extra time with our other orphan baby, Oliver.

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As a mother, it’s so easy to want to shield our kids from hard things. But those hard things are exactly what builds resilience and can shape their character. This isn’t just the case with the the hard stuff like the death of a pet. It is also true with the daily routine of kids learning to do chores and learning the value of hard work. I am so proud of my girls when I see how they work for their dad. They love to do the little tasks that they are able to do, and my 7 year old is turning into quite the hand.

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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” James 1:2-4

This verse has always served true in my life, and I know that every hard thing my girls go through will also help them to develop the perseverance they need to reach maturity. My prayer is that their father and I will help them to learn those lessons well.