Sarah Philpott - The Growing Season: A Year of Down-on-the-Farm Devotions

HARVEST HOUSE PUBLISHERS

EUGENE, OREGON

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The Growing Season

Copyright 2021 by Sarah Philpott

Published by Harvest House Publishers

Eugene, Oregon 97408

www.harvesthousepublishers.com

ISBN 978-0-7369-8278-8 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-0-7369-8279-5 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021935206

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To the best farm kids in the world:

Titus, Sophie, Beckham, and Stella.

I love you, my darlings. More than you shall ever imagine.

To the most wonderful farmer husband in the world: Perry.

Thank you for making family as much a priority as the land.

You build a heritage all around.

To my farm parents, Doug and Kim; my farm-in-loves, Dale and Ruthe; and my farm besties.

Thank you for all the down-on-the-farm love and support youve gifted me.

But above all, thank you to our Lord.

For everything is of You and because of You.

H i, friend. Its so nice to meet you. Im Sarahfarm gal, farm wife, and farm mom. I dont claim to be a real-deal farmer like my husband, but I do get to sit shotgun in his tractor and watch this world of Gods whirl.

I hope this book will take you down memory lane or give you a reflection of what life is like in your neck of the woods. Or perhaps farm life seems distant from your current life, but you are intrigued by a place where the sign of a good day is when your boots get a little muddy.

Whether or not your home looks like mine, I wrote this book for me and for you. To help us both stay focused on God and grow in Him. He is the ultimate farmer. To Him we owe everything.

I like to watch the happenings of the farm and relate it to what God says in the Bible. This devotional is a little year-long glimpse into our Tennessee farm life, designed to encourage you and draw you closer to Him as you learn about the land. Are all farms and ranches the same? No way! Our farm experience is vastly different from that of the dairy farm down the road, the chicken farm across the state, the corn farm out in the heartland, the ranch out west, and the pumpkin patch off the Pacific Coast Highway. Farms and ranches are unique and varied. Perhaps what unites us is our love of the land and our recognition that were part of the greater world.

As you read this book, youll see statements like, Its time for us to plow the land. Now, Im not out there driving the tractor for that plow. Im the one doing the farm philosophizing. I do love planting pumpkins, harvesting sweet corn, and helping catch baby calves, but I dont consider myself a true-blue farmer. Im learning as I go.

I designed this book so each week you can read a seasonal devotionsome humorous, some contemplative. Some include recipes, some include journal tasks, and some include tips from my husband, Farmer Perry. I hope they encourage you in your day, make you savor the simple, or at least give you a chuckle.

Each season begins with a welcome page where we plot our intentions. Seasonally we will reflect on what we can plant in our lives, what we can cultivate in our lives, what we can prune from our lives, and what scripture we can meditate upon.

Im elated you are here for this little adventure down on the farm! Thank you for coming out to the country. We are excited to have you visit.

To appreciate the beauty of a snowflake it is necessary to stand out in the cold.

ARISTOTLE

S mell the crispness of the air? See the gray skies heralding snow? Taste the hot cocoa? Hear the wind blowing through the trees? The weather is mighty cold, but there is beauty all around.

On the farm we have lots of winter tasks. Each day is different, but some of our farm goals for the season include