Medicinal Herb Course

I just received my copy of the Medicinal Herb Course offered by Cheri Shelnutt of Sweet Hollow Farm in Tennessee. It is full of information on growing and using herbs. I am pleased by the clarity of the presentation and the simplicity of the instructions. This is a valuable tool, and I recommend it to anyone interested in herbal remedies. There is so much to learn about God's creation, and the uses of various herbs is just one of the many delights He has waiting for us if we take the time to learn. If you want to try this course, contact Cheri at www.tnfarmgirl.christianagrarian.com

Since I live in Cyprus, I am adapting what I am learning in this course to our present location. Many of the basic culinary herbs are found growing naturally here in the Mediterranean area. It is easy to grow them here in their own habitat. We are also graced with many varieties of fruit and vegetables. The main challenge is the lack of year round water, so irrigation is a must. The medicinal herbs that Cheri teaches about can be grown here too. Some of the local medicinal herbs include ironwort (sideritis), hyssop, lavender, fennel, chamomile and dandelion. Of course the regular culinary herbs like basil, rosemary, chives, oregano and thyme are easy to grow here as well, and many of them have medicinal uses as well. When we think of all the side effects of many synthetic drugs, perhaps the gentle art of herbal medicine deserves to be revisited.

The climate and weather of Cyprus is similar to that of Israel, so many of the herbs mentioned in Scripture grow here as well as there. Hyssop, mallow, chicory, myrrh, wormwood, mint, dill, cumin, mustard, rue and coriander are other herbs well known in Cyprus and that grow well here.

Herbs are a fascinating branch of botany. It makes an interesting science study for home school, and the practical uses of herbs make them important in any home garden.

Summer Move

It is time to post again, now that summer has slowed down a bit for us. We started in May to look for a house near the coast. Our time in the mountains was coming to a close. Although we dearly love our friends and community in the mountains, it seemed that it was a wise move to get closer to my husband's director for the work in the Middle East. We looked for a for some months and we were just about to give up!

One day, driving around and seeing so many houses for sale, we pulled up in front of a likely one and in spite of the for sale sign we called and asked if the house might be for rent. It was not, we were informed, but the lady had another house in a village, would we like to see it? We spent a lovely afternoon in the village with her, hearing the whole story of a wonderful revival that took place in the 50's when her uncle went to the States and received the Lord Jesus and was filled with the Holy Spirit. He came back and preached to the village, and many responded positively to his message. It was the beginning of a denomination here on the island of Cyprus. We were excited that we had made a random phone call, and stumbled upon the history of the gospel in Cyprus.

She changed her mind a couple of weeks later and called us back, offering us the original house for rent. We told her our limitations, since we are on a missionary budget, and she graciously agreed to our price. So we moved in the hottest time of the year, right at the beginning of July.

It was hard to part with our mountain home and our friends, but we are near the airport and so expect to see many of them on their journeys into and out of the country. We enjoy a good sea breeze most days, although we are having to cope with high humidity. At least this house has air conditioners for those days when it's just not comfortable and sweat is pouring down our faces. Of course, there is the nearby beach where we can go soak in the water until sundown and cool off.

The back yard of our new home is completely unlandscaped. It brought to mind the Dervais' in Pasadena, California, and the way they transformed their back yard into a garden producing over 6,000 pounds of food in a year. Wow, can we do that here? To some extent perhaps. The house and lot are not ours, we are renting, so that is a limitation, but we have been told we can plant anything and landscape to our hearts' content. I am already envisioning lemon trees, bay laurel, palms, frangipane, and perennial herbs to name a few ideas.

Behind our house are fields. In the mornings, we can see a goatherd who comes to take his goats out for a walk in the cool dawn. There are irrigated fields and greenhouses, or polytunnels as some call them. We are right between two stone Orthodox churches so we hear bells frequently. It is quiet and breezy and we are sure we are right where we need to be for the time being.

We are still dreaming of our land in Missouri. That day will come. In the meantime, we continue to be faithful in all that the Lord has for us in this assignment.

Jeremiah's Property

Did it make any sense to buy land in the middle of a siege? This is what the prophet Jeremiah did. "And Jeremiah said, "The word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Behold, Hanamel the son of Shallum your uncle is coming to you, saying, "Buy for yourself my field which is at Anatoth, for you have the right of redemption to buy it." ' (Jeremiah 32:7) This did take place, just at the time that "the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard, which was in the house of the king of Judah" (32:2) Babylon was at that time the great world power in military might and economic strength. It would be the same as buying land in Baghdad when the US Army was moving in to take over. Things looked dark, and it was only going to get worse.

This is where faith comes in. Jeremiah believed the word of the Lord and acted upon it. He not only bought the land, he had the deed registered and then put in a secure place. What was God's reason for directing Jeremiah to do this? "For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Houses and fields and vineyards shall again be bought in this land." (32:15) There was a future filled with hope and restoration.

Jeremiah's example of obedience to the word of the LORD, in spite of how things were going at the time, should inspire us to obey the voice of the Lord now. In my heart there was a nagging thought that we really should invest in some land. I have talked with many Christians who have confided that deep down they feel the same way and they are so tired of the rat race, their boring job, etc. Could it be that the Lord is speaking, and we are so good at ignoring His voice because we are so filled with cultural and societal expectations? 

Jeremiah's cousin explained the reason why he was offering the parcel to him, "for you have the right of redemption to buy it." (32:7) In Leviticus, the rights of redemption of land are clearly stated in a systematic way. Every man was to hold on to his inheritance, and even if he rented it out or "sold" it, it came back to him through the right of redemption if he exercised that right. 

We have a God-given right to redeem the land. We are encouraged to consider that the creation is longing to be redeemed and to be brought into the sphere of hope in which we await the coming of the Lord. (Romans 8:19-23) If we follow that small, still voice that keeps urging us to "move to the country" or to "get back to the land", it could be because God has a plan!

It takes obedience and then careful planning to make this transition from an industrial based lifestyle to a rural independent lifestyle. It can be done. It all starts with the purchase of property, even in the time of economic woe.

Give Me Eyes

Lord, give me eyes for a new generation

Let me see their hopes and dreams,

Let me weep their tears, hear their cries, and shout their joys

 

And if their dreams are washed away by the rush of yesterday

I will sing a new song to ignite their hearts again

 

Awaken my eyes to primal things whose natures' never change

Awaken my ears to hear the words that never die

Awaken my heart to feel the love that is enough, and not enough,

 

And if my love is washed away by the rush of yesterday

I will sing a new song to ignite my heart again

 

Lord, make me thirst for unreached nations

Make me thirst for truth and justice

Make me thirst for Your holiness

 

And if my thirst is blown away by the rush of yesterday

I will sing a new song to ignite my thirst again

 

Lord, give us eyes for Your soon return

Let love-struck hearts with passion burn

Let us see Your eyes ablaze with fire

 

And if our awe is washed away by the rush of yesterday

We will sing a new song to ignite our wonder once again

Michael Hennen

Passover and the Lord's Supper

It is the time of year again to celebrate both the Passover and the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ the Messiah. If you haven't had a chance to attend a Passover Seder (meal), then it would be good to find a friend who knows how to have one, or to buy a Messianic Passover Haggadah to help you navigate this meaningful and traditional meal.

Passover commemorates the exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt. It is a story that has been remembered for thousands of years and that is celebrated each year in the spring by the Jewish people. Christians are often unaware that the Lord's Supper, or Communion, is defined by the context of the Passover. Jesus, or Yeshua as His name is in Hebrew, led His disciples in a Passover Seder which we now call the Last Supper. There is so much symbolism in the order of service for the Passover meal that I can't go into it here in this blog. There are many good books available on this subject.

I want to share with you a recipe for home made matzoh, the unleavened bread that is famous for being prepared hastily because the Israelites had no time to let their bread rise by the usual sourdough type method. In the book "Food At The Time Of The Bible" by Miriam Feinberg Vamosh, the author shares a recipe for home made matzoh. If you home school, cooking up this ancient bread recipe could be a good learning experience for your children.

On page 90 of her book, Ms. Vamosh gives us this recipe for "Israelite Unleavened Bread":

2 cup whole wheat flour (Durum wheat if possible)

3/4 cup cold water

2 tbsps. olive oil

1 tsp. salt

You can add any Biblical flavoring: hyssop, onion, garlic, sesame seed, sumac, etc.

Combine the flour, olive oil and salt with the water to form a dough and knead for 3 minutes. Add chosen flavorings. Divide into 8 balls. Flatten each into a thin round and prick all over with a fork. Cook individually on an inverted wok over a hot cooking stove, or bake on a greased cookie sheet for 10 minutes in a hot oven. (500F or 250C)

A Messianic Passover Haggadah, which is a book that leads you through the Passover meal explaining its symbolism regarding the Messiah, is available from the following sources:

"The Messianic Passover Haggadah" by Barry and Steffi Rubin

The Lederer Foundation

6204 Park Heights Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21215

Phone: (301) 358-6471

"The Feast of Passover Haggadah" by Lars Enarson

The Watchman International

PO BOx 3670 

Pensacola, FL 32516

Phone: (850) 453-2907

We celebrated Passover this year with the Gateways Training School here in Cyprus. About 100 people were gathered together to remember the Lord's great act of redemption for His covenant people Israel. In the same way, we remember on this Resurrection Day, that Jesus our Messiah, the perfect Lamb of God, took away our sins and rose in victory over death. We remember, and we look forward to His return, and to eternity with Him in His blessed presence.

Aimee Hennen

A Garden of Worship

Standing on the south ridge, looking northward over the rolling hills and the creek winding through the bottomland of our property, one consuming desire arises within my heart -- to make it a garden of praise to God -- a place in which every effort is worshipful. I have always believed that work could be worship, but never have I seen it so clearly as when I consider how to shape our land to reflect God's glory.

A garden is a heritage of worship to God that we pass on to the next generation. Long after we are gone, if it is planted and tended well, its life will praise His name. It declares our appreciation of all God's creation. It declares a commitment to pursue a godly heritage for our children. It rejoices in the fruit and the flowers and the grain. It humbly expresses our dependence on God's grace for our daily bread. And, as we worship God in the garden, our praise is not hidden. It can be seen and appreciated by every passerby.

Those with heaven-bound eyes will look on our garden and see an act of praise. Those with earth-bound eyes may only see it as the beautiful but obsessive preoccupation of reality-escape artists. But no matter how they view it, it will bless and inspire nearly everyone and, perhaps, feed more than a few during lean times.

A garden positions us in agreement with the stewardship responsibility God has placed on the human race. It recognizes that mankind was created suitable to this worshipful brand of labor -- to responsibly till the ground and cultivate its wildness. It recognizes both the limits of our temporal nature and the limitlessness of our generational duty. A garden bridges the span between today and tomorrow in a living way.

Cultivating life in a garden is more than a mission. It's a lifestyle birthed in reverence for God. Inseparable from the Divine genesis that first displayed nature's glory or from the redemption that restores it, the cultivation of life is a holy pursuit. Enjoined continuously by mankind from the beginning of time, cultivation is also likely to be part of our eternal destiny -- an eternity that forever celebrates life.

What better place and what better way to celebrate life than to engage as a family in the cultivation of a garden? In this occupation, we feed our children, strengthen their frames for useful labor, and teach them the essential principles of life that all creation shares. In this occupation, we discover together, as family, the wonders of nature and of nature's God. In this occupation, as we all pass through the seasons of life together, we learn to become neighbors willing to help neighbors in need. In this occupation, our genius is bent toward creating implements for the cultivation of life rather than instruments of war.

A garden is a good place from which to worship God and, perhaps, that is why God first placed mankind there (Genesis 2:8). It was in this garden that mankind said to God, 'Not Thy will but mine be done." (Genesis 3:1-6) It was from a garden that God chose to initiate redemption -- the Garden of Gethsemane -- where Jesus prayed, "not My will but Yours be done" (Luke 22:43) and where Jesus was betrayed into the hands of sinful men. And, finally, a garden is part of the consummate venue of God's redemptive plan. Perhaps, that is why much of our most inspiring eschatological Scripture points toward the liberation of creation from its man-engendered corruption (Isaiah 2:4, 35:1-10, 51:3, 55:12-13, 65:21-22, Jeremiah 31:10-14, Ezekiel 36:33-36, 47:6-12, Joel 2:18-27, Amos 9:13-15, Micah 4:1-4, Zechariah 3:10, Romans 8:18-22, Revelation 2:7, 22:1-3).

If there is a garden aspect in heaven, to which mankind is redeemed, I think I would prefer that occupation as the venue of my worship. I would thrill to be a co-laborer with God in the cultivation of life. My faltering contemporary steps toward a more agrarian lifestyle, as clumsy and childlike as they are, are a worshipful, anticipatory attempt to position my heart for that heavenly occupation.

I think a garden is and should be an act of worship toward God. I think a garden passes on a heritage of worship to our children. I think gardens can feed a world increasingly desperate for redemption. I think a garden is the ideal place for the heart of a man to reconnect to the heart of God.

Michael Hennen

Eat Seasonally, Eat Locally

God had a reason for creating food to ripen at certain times. It seems that the nutrients we need are supplied in the right season. Oranges and lemons in the winter, cherries in the spring, eggplant and peppers and zucchini in the summer, sounds Mediterranean to me. The foods we preserve keep us through the winter, but the remainder of the year, fresh seasonal food is the best choice. The picture you see above was taken after a shopping trip to my local grocery store - artichokes and citrus in season!

Most people today have a disconnected view of food. I heard an interview on TV a few years ago with people on the street in Maryland being asked if a certain law regarding farmers should be passed. One woman remarked, "Why do we need farmers? We have the supermarket." I was astounded. Just recently, a friend mentioned to me that it was too bad we couldn't grow certain vegetables out of season, "After all, they are in the supermarket, so why can't we grow them now?" Amazing. She apparently had no idea that these foods were imported from other lands where they were in season, picked too early, gassed and shipped many miles to this island so we could eat the things we want any time we want. This generation is deeply out of touch with the rhythm of life, the changing seasons, and the pace of nature.

I propose that we live more in tune with the seasonal changes of food production. I enjoy the changing vegetable options as the year progresses. On the corner near my house there is a small mom and pop grocery store. I talked to the owner and asked him about his produce. He said, "I buy the vegetables from the farmers here nearby. It is always fresher." I inquired about the rabbit meat and asked where the rabbit farm was. "It is not a farm for rabbits, it is a house where they keep rabbits." Hooray for local food production! It is not organic, but it is local. So I go with local whenever I can.

Our garden about 7 kilometers from our house is organic, but we do not sell the produce. Instead we use it to feed several missionary families that live in the area. We have avoided pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. One day we were out with everyone hoeing the healthy weeds out, when one person said to me, "Haven't you ever heard of herbicides?" I said, "Yes, first it poisons the weeds, then it poisons you." Another disconnect from the city-raised folks. There is no firewall between the pesticides and herbicides and your own body.

I am happy buying the seasonal vegetables from our corner store. In fact, when I go to the city supermarket to buy my monthly supplies, I skip most of the produce section and save my money for the local stuff closer to home. I would love it if the local farmers would not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides, but all the world has bought into the food production paradigm offered by modern industrial agriculture. I buy organic when I can, grow it when I cannot, and then buy locally to enjoy the seasonal variety of foods.

Aimee Hennen