Yesterday the fog was so thick we couldn’t see more than a couple hundred feet, it was like we were high in the clouds.

Lots of rain, slow, steady rain that seeping deep into the ground and builds up the aquifers; fills up the reservoirs and allows us to have water for our crops this summer.

Today we are having a bit of respite – the sun is shining, reminding us that it still exists – before another front is to come in later tonight.  It is always nice to have a break, but it great to see that we are getting the much needed rain.

The mountains are receiving the snow that will provide even more moisture as it melts this summer.  The amount of moisture, thus far, in almost every area is well over 100% of average.

We still have more winter to go through, of course, and things can change, but forecast is for more moisture and that is what we need to build up the reserve.

I am sure we have many farmers and ranchers that are quite thankful for this blessing and looking forward to being able to plant and harvest their crops – they face multitudes of other problems, pests, wind, wrong time for more rain, frost, etc. but water is critical to their livelihood – and our ability to eat – so it is nice that we are getting some this year to make up for the last couple.

It is too bad our world and nation has drawn itself away from the honest labor of tilling the soil.  Too many have gathered in cities and have no idea of what it means to have a connection with the earth.  They go to the store to get their groceries and never think about how they got there and what was needed to provide sustenance for them.

We can do without a lot of professions, but the work of farmers is a necessity and too few people understand that.

Genesis 48:21 And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, I die: but God shall be with you, and bring you again unto the land of your fathers.

Through the thousands of years that God has dealt with man, He has always had those, that no matter how evil the world was, that continued to follow and obey Him.

There are times that those few who do so feel so isolated that they cannot believe that there are others who have also committed their lives to God. 

Believers are slain, their possessions taken and their families destroyed, yet God still moves; His Holy Spirit dwells within the hearts of those that love Him.

While our way of life may change in the physical sense, our spiritual life can continue to grow and because of God’s mercy and love we can accomplish things that we would have thought impossible.

God always has those that pass His mantle down to the next generation, some will disregard it and cast it aside as rubbish, but some will always cherish it and will pass it on to the next generation.

We, all too frequently, look at the state we are currently in and look at the past as a thing gone, remembering only the things we cherish and decry their destruction.  We become drawn within and lament over what we feel God has not done.

Yet, He continues to work in this world, men and women are saved and continue to obey and serve God.  He moves within the hearts of men no matter the circumstances that might destroy man’s spirit, if he lets them.

God is not going to let His people suffer forever.  But through that suffering we find Him using us in ways we would never had considered on our own.  We are lifted up to a higher plain where He can use our skills and talents, position in life and our love for Him to bring others to safety.

Joseph knew that, he had lived a life of captivity and he had been brought out of that captivity to a position that allowed him to safe his family – despite the fact that his brothers wanted him dead.

Genesis 50:18-20  And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants.

¹⁹ And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God?

²⁰ But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive.

Throughout his ordeal, no matter what became of him, physically, Joseph continued to believe in and love God.

While we may not be lifted to such heights in this world, we are placed in a position to share our faith and love of God with others.

Through our lives and our positions, no matter what the world around us is going through, we have the opportunity to bring others to God through Christ for their salvation.

May we always treat God’s mantle and His love with the deepest respect and pass it on to others that will do the same.

Later, Art :-)