Happy Friday!

I am so glad the weekend is here. This week just seemed to drag a bit. One thing we (well, mostly Joey) did this week is paint our living room floor. We painted it red, and since we have had quite a few questions as to how that looks with our furniture, I took a pic with our chair in it.
As you can see, the colors compliment each other nicely. And, our ratty old wood floor looks nice and clean and new. YAY! (And, it cost us approximately $25.00). Our living room will soon be looking all put together, we are going to put up some moldings, and I am going to make some new curtains.
Next up, we have this lovely phothograph- "Moon over trees in winter" by Joseph Rebisz. Pretty neat, huh? It looks really nice blown up big- I have it as our wallpaper.

And here are some lovely Valentine socks. We got these in the mail on Valentine's Day from my mom. (Thanks mom!) Brilyn insisted that we put them right on, so we did! They made our feet happy.

Two more things before I go.

1. I have heard a lot lately about why God lets bad things happen to good people. This is a really big question, but God has given me a relatively small answer. It involves some heavy theology though, so if you are not in the mood, just scroll down to item two. I am going to assume that you agree with my premises. I don't want this post to take all day. Let me say two things to start. God does not punish people by sending them bad things, and he doesn't send us bad things to "teach us lessons" either. He doesn't send the bad things at all. Bad things are a result of the fact that we live in an imperfect world. In the beginning, God created the world, and it was good- perfect. However, God gave humans free will and they disobeyed God. This brought sin and suffering into the world. Not as a punishment per se, but as a natural consequence. When Adam and Eve sinned, they separated themselves from God. That is actually a merciful act by God, because his holiness would zap our imperfect selves dead on the spot. So, to keep us alive, God withdrew.

There is sucky stuff in the world because of sin. God doesn't send it or even "allow" it. That word still implies that God is responsible for it and he is not. Bad stuff happens to good people because the world is no longer perfect. And God knows that and it makes him sad. So, he came up with a plan to help us be rid of sin. Our sin creates a debt we cannot pay. God sent his son to us to pay for our sins, because we just couldn't afford it. He has set up a way for us to have hope of a life without pain and sorrow- aka Jesus.

And, on top of that, he uses the bad things in our lives for good. He doesn't send them, but because he loves us, he works it out so that we grow from the trials in our lives instead of sinking under them. He sends support in the form of fellow believers and The Comforter- aka the Holy Spirit. And then, when all is said and done, perceptive Christians can look back and be thankful to God for helping them through a hard time and bringing them through to the other side, not just alive, but stronger!

So, if you are in the midst of a trying time, ask God to show you the supports he has placed around you.

If you have come through a trying time, ask God to show you how you are stronger and who you might be able to come alongside to help through a storm.

2. Tillaboro. A number of people have asked me what this is. It is the name of our farm. It comes from the German "Dillenburgh" and roughly means farm town. It is also the name of the place where my ancestors, the Duesler's, settled in New York in 1752.

And all this time you thought the BD in Jocelyn BD Rebisz stood for Big Dog. (It is actually for Briana Duesler, in case any of you are scratching your heads.) Speaking of names, my Gramps lived on Tillaboro Road, and his CB handle was Tillaboro Tiger. That is now the name of the apple jack we brew right here at Tillaboro Orchard. Wondering why would name it that? Have some when you come to visit.
Tillaboro is also a historic site. It was raided by Indians back in the day. You can read about the Tillaboro Raid online. Notice that there is no mention of the Dueslers- we all lived! HAHAHA. Legend has it that all the kids hid in the potato bin. There are two ways to pronounce Tillaboro, neither one phonetic. You may choose (a) Till-burr-oh, or (b) Till-a-burr. I generally say it as shown in number (a). (That one is for you, John Keller.)This picture is of present day Tillaboro Road in my hometown of Ephratah, NY.

What do we grow here at Tillaboro Orchard? For now it's chickens, eggs, apples, grapes, various vegetables, and deer. And beer. And kids, ain't she cute? This pic is from last spring. SPRING! It's coming! I know it !

Well, TTFN!

XOXOX

~Joce