You ever feel like God is calling you for something weird?

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ArtsieSteph

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2014
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#1
So my first calling I will keep a secret for the most part since God knows what it is and it's pretty close to my heart. How he will have me for filled is calling I have always wondered and I imagined He would have me do this calling through some secondary occupation. When I was younger for some reason the first thought that came to my head when I thought about when I would be was oddly enough a bus driver. I quickly dismissed that because I am a horrible driver.

Then tonight I had a weird thing happened at our Bible conference. They were talking about sowing seed in the Christian sense and I sort of mused about it and also a cute little farming game that I enjoy. Then I had this weird sort of Thought and strong sense that, "I should be doing that, I should be a farmer." At first I automatically went yeah that's probably not going to happen but then knowing that God can do things in weird ways I went OK Lord if you want me to do this I can do this. The Holy Spirit was moving in the conference and I definitely kept feeling that I needed to do that which is really weird.

I'm obviously not going to pack up straightaway and be a farmer but I definitely would like some prayer about this. I mean I know that my pastor at my church had wanted to be an actual farmer before God called him to pastoring but this is an odd coincidence.

Please pray that God makes my calling clear or at least my occupational calling because I have no idea what he wants me to do and if he actually wants me to be a farmer that would not only be cool but hilarious. And I mean I know that God makes it so that the calling we are called at occupationally he will bless us if that's where he wants us to be in it seems like so far I haven't really found my occupational space yet.
 
H

Hellooo

Guest
#2
If you're genuinely interested in farming, a lot of farms take on apprentices so you can learn the trade, get experience, and you have your room and board covered
Just a thought!
 

T_Laurich

Senior Member
Mar 24, 2013
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#3
I have grown up raising cattle and sheep and rabbits for slaughter...

I must say, it is not an easy living, nor does it pay well... Most small farmers live by the skin of their teeth....


If you wish to farm crops, cool! But, I suggest to start small... Start a garden and grow it in size each year...


Lastly, I do not know how serious you and Blain are, but I would suggest if you are serious bring this by him... 1 person cannot farm, it takes at least 2 and most of the time, an entire family...


Drenching or branding a cow by yourself is nearly impossible... Even a lamb will knock you on your butt.... Even to tag a rabbits ear you need 2 people... It would not just be you farming, but your husband as well...


As far as eating your own food, honestly there is no better food in the world... Seriously, I cook my own steak and burgers every week, and whenever I go out to eat, I am always disappointed in the food no matter how fancy the restaurant was....



It is a honest living, but it does not pay well, and it takes up your entire free time... Very few people own small farms because they have too... Majority only do it because it is a passion like collecting stamps, snowboarding, or flying a plane....


But if you are talking about a small garden, a few horses, and a few goats, it will not take up your entire day, but it will be like a part time job... Farm animals are not like dogs or cats... You can't just feed them and walk away (even though Hollywood makes it seem that way).
And those who leave farm animals to them selves and only feed them, do not get good quality meat, and do not get good riding horses, or tame goats...
 
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T_Laurich

Senior Member
Mar 24, 2013
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#4
To give some perspective, I would raise a steer from November to August... 10 months... Feeding, Walking, Blowdrying, Brushing, Washing, etc....
At auction the best I brought in was 20,000, that was a steer named snowball who weighed 2400lbs at 10 months old... A record for my county fair... This might seem very lucrative until you realize...
1.) It was a 4-H kid selling a calf that the business who buys it gets a tax-write-off for...
2.) I had spent 14,000 feeding and taking care of that calf alone... (It was a show calf so this is far more expensive than what a cow costs)....

I was 12 years old, and made 6,000 in 10 months, and that 6 grand went into my next steers... I actually made 4 grand because my other steer sold for a loss....

When I stopped showing at age 16, I had exactly 0dollars from raising animals, but I have many many trophies and ribbons...
And tons of life experience.
 

ArtsieSteph

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2014
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#5
I'm guessing if God does want me to do this I'd start small, maybe just crops and some animals later. That's the one thing I wonder, does God really want me to do this if I have no experience? I can get it I know but....man...
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#6
I'm not sure how learning how to farm is a suitable pursuit for someone who recently graduated with a fine arts degree.
 

T_Laurich

Senior Member
Mar 24, 2013
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#7
Tourist has apoint, expectation is far different from reality....
Waking up at 4 or 5 and going to bed at 11 is the norm for a small farmer who as a job to make ends meet....

Edit, being mentally exhausted from college is a far cry from physically exhausted... a calf breaks your arm when its in a chute, u still have to feed it and care for it...
If you 10grand in debt, u still have to buy $1000 in feed that month...

My sister works at a feed store, and everyone who owns a small farm is a couple grand in debt to the store...
 
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M

Miri

Guest
#8
Maybe farming is symbolic of something else. Jesus said to Peter, feed my lambs etc.
 

ArtsieSteph

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2014
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#9
Yeah I been praying that if God is telling me just to farm spiritually then to make that clear, since I seem to be just focus on the literal kind.
 

Magenta

Senior Member
Jul 3, 2015
55,248
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#10
Be confident in this: that He Who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion... yes, this is a verse about salvation, and ongoing sanctification,
but can also be applied to whatever you lay your hand to to bring glory to His
Name, for surely He will bless you, and keep you, and guide you, no matter
what you decide to do, in sowing and tending and growing His Word in the world.

GodBeganGoodWorkInYou.jpg
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
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#11
Yeah I been praying that if God is telling me just to farm spiritually then to make that clear, since I seem to be just focus on the literal kind.
I have prayed that God provide you with a tremendous career opportunity that is commensurate with your talent.
 

Desertsrose

Senior Member
Oct 24, 2016
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#12
Hi Steph,

I would recommend subscribing to the Mother Earth magazine. Yeah, it sounds new
agie, but don't let that stop you. It has excellent articles on living off of the land. You can begin small or go big.

My DH and I had about an acre and raised our own chickens for eggs and raised a beef cow for ourselves. We made the mistake of naming him. :)

We had a couple of horses and planted a garden.

Dream big and allow God to lead you.
 

ArtsieSteph

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2014
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#13
Still praying about it, having my pastor pray about it too. It's super weird, I'm sort of embarrassed to mention it to family for fear of them calling it ridiculous.

Basically my prayer to God is, "Ok God you may mean spiritual farming, physical farming, both. I'm good with whatever you want, please just let me know what so I don't do something completely out of left field as this seems without You behind me."
 

Blain

The Word Weaver
Aug 28, 2012
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#14
Honestly babe I am almost certain it's spiritual farming, you have the gift of exhortation encouragement and you always show such wisdom you are full of compassion as well these are all traits that spiritual farming requires and believe me actual farming is physically and mentally exhausting you get sick a lot and you were tired at work a lot as well imagine having to wake up at 4 am to get the chores done before the sun rises grooming and taking care of the animals and plants constantly and making barely enough to live on.

on a farm you can't afford to get sick or else your crops and live stock are in danger but as I said if in fact you feel God is leading you to be an actual farmer I am right behind you and I believe in you :)
 

ArtsieSteph

Senior Member
Apr 1, 2014
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#15
I just looked up some tips for farming and man alive, if He wants me to do this I am sure as heck gonna need to study
 

T_Laurich

Senior Member
Mar 24, 2013
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#16
I just looked up some tips for farming and man alive, if He wants me to do this I am sure as heck gonna need to study
There is a huge misconception about farmers and many manual laborers....
people think they are simple minded, uneducated, or plain stupid...

I can tell you this: if you took all the PHD's in the world and told them to work manual labor jobs for 10 years.... Less than 1% would master their selected trade...



We manual laborers are not simple minded... Some of us are... But we all talk simple because that is the life style we live...
I can do math faster than 99% of the people I know... Ask me to multiply 15'x8' then divide by 5 and convert it from feet to inches I can do it in the time you say the words... Answer is 288...

I can tell 12.5 foot 2x4 apart from a 13foot 2x4 without measuring... Sounds easy until you have to pick it from a stack ranging from 12 foot to 14 foot...
I can take a piece of paper and mark down to the 1/8th without a ruler any inch in a foot you want... Try taking out a piece of paper and saying "5 inches" and marking 5 inches within an 1/8th.... Then measure... (use your hand if you have to, to help guess length)

But society has convinced us that manual labor is only for the stupid....
I can tell you, the stupid do not make money in manual labor, only the smart do...



Trust me, you are far behind, what is taught on youtube are basics... You will not learn all the tips and tricks of the trade... Those are only taught from experience... And when your father or mother is a farmer and brought you up in it, they teach you them and improve your learning curve...
 
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T_Laurich

Senior Member
Mar 24, 2013
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#17
Example of a tip/trick is my Uncle is a plumber... A line busted at his house... But we had no access to the shut off valve since it busted before the main shut off... I took a loaf of bread, scrunched it up into a ball, opened the line past the shut off, and put the loaf on bread where the water was coming out on the first break... It sealed the line for 30 minutes allowing me to fix the pipe and then the bread disolved and came out where I opened it up at...

You cannot learn that on youtube, what you can learn is "if a water line breaks turn off the water by the main shut off valve..." And once you learn you cannot do that, you call a plumber and pay him your whole weeks worth of pay to fix this problem...
And it cost me a can of Christies Red hot glue, and a loaf of bread...
 

Blain

The Word Weaver
Aug 28, 2012
19,177
2,539
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#18
There is a huge misconception about farmers and many manual laborers....
people think they are simple minded, uneducated, or plain stupid...

I can tell you this: if you took all the PHD's in the world and told them to work manual labor jobs for 10 years.... Less than 1% would master their selected trade...



We manual laborers are not simple minded... Some of us are... But we all talk simple because that is the life style we live...
I can do math faster than 99% of the people I know... Ask me to multiply 15'x8' then divide by 5 and convert it from feet to inches I can do it in the time you say the words... Answer is 288...

I can tell 12.5 foot 2x4 apart from a 13foot 2x4 without measuring... Sounds easy until you have to pick it from a stack ranging from 12 foot to 14 foot...
I can take a piece of paper and mark down to the 1/8th without a ruler any inch in a foot you want... Try taking out a piece of paper and saying "5 inches" and marking 5 inches within an 1/8th.... Then measure... (use your hand if you have to, to help guess length)

But society has convinced us that manual labor is only for the stupid....
I can tell you, the stupid do not make money in manual labor, only the smart do...



Trust me, you are far behind, what is taught on youtube are basics... You will not learn all the tips and tricks of the trade... Those are only taught from experience... And when your father or mother is a farmer and brought you up in it, they teach you them and improve your learning curve...
I think you would have to be pretty smart to be able to know how to work and run a farm it's not even close to being as simple as gardening honestly i couldn't do it
 

mar09

Senior Member
Sep 17, 2014
4,927
1,259
113
#20
There is a huge misconception about farmers and many manual laborers....
people think they are simple minded, uneducated, or plain stupid...

I can tell you this: if you took all the PHD's in the world and told them to work manual labor jobs for 10 years.... Less than 1% would master their selected trade...



We manual laborers are not simple minded... Some of us are... But we all talk simple because that is the life style we live...
I can do math faster than 99% of the people I know... Ask me to multiply 15'x8' then divide by 5 and convert it from feet to inches I can do it in the time you say the words... Answer is 288...

I can tell 12.5 foot 2x4 apart from a 13foot 2x4 without measuring... Sounds easy until you have to pick it from a stack ranging from 12 foot to 14 foot...
I can take a piece of paper and mark down to the 1/8th without a ruler any inch in a foot you want... Try taking out a piece of paper and saying "5 inches" and marking 5 inches within an 1/8th.... Then measure... (use your hand if you have to, to help guess length)

But society has convinced us that manual labor is only for the stupid....
I can tell you, the stupid do not make money in manual labor, only the smart do...



Trust me, you are far behind, what is taught on youtube are basics... You will not learn all the tips and tricks of the trade... Those are only taught from experience... And when your father or mother is a farmer and brought you up in it, they teach you them and improve your learning curve...
That is what hubby says. I am in the middle of soaking whites, and read some threads, but i had to log in or forget and miss to reply or like at least. Thanks for the share, laurich. I once wanted to mention abt a woman who helped us do laundry, but hope i can come back to this thread, artsie.