Thursday, April 5, 2012

Solar Storage Units

Solar Storage Units

We were sitting beside the fire on one of the recent chilly evenings, discussing the book of Leviticus and the wood pile. (I'll admit that our conversations tend to take odd twists.) And then I commented on that beautiful stack of wood against the wall. What a blessing it is to have that wood available to us! Especially with the price of fuel going up and up (and up?) we are so grateful for our wooded acres.

Woodhenge

Kevin set those few pieces of wood next to the fire, where 'the sun can shine on them.' The stove transmits solar energy. Well, think about it: God gave us the sun, which is our source of energy, and we have twelve acres of 'solar collectors,' as Kevin likes to call them. He reminded me today that we spend about $5 per year on gasoline to heat our house...right -  gasoline for the chain saw.

For a woods to be sustainable, one should cut no more out of it than 1 cord of wood per acre of woods per year. We take between three and four cords per year to heat our house, and since we have twelve acres of woods, that's well within the guidelines of keeping it sustainable.

Isn't fire such a paradoxical thing! Beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. Like God - beautiful and terrifying all at the same time. God is holy and wonderful and amazing - and just. When we look deep within ourselves in our quiet moments, we see greed, selfishness, ulterior motives, etc. We don't like the idea of God being just. But He is. He demands justice. But for those who trust in Christ alone, we are spared from God's demand for justice - by His mercy, through the blood of Christ - because Jesus already suffered the just punishment for our sin.

 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.  Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God." John 3:16-18


Then he isn't safe? 'Of course he isn't safe,' as Mrs. Beaver would say about Aslan in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, 'but He is good!'

An article from the National Geographic provided a penetrating picture of God's wings. After a forest fire in Yellowstone National Park, forest rangers began their trek up a mountain to assess the inferno's damage. One ranger found a big bird literally petrified in the ashes and perched statuesquely on the ground at the base of a tree. Somewhat sickened by the eerie sight, he knocked the bird over with a stick. When he struck it, 3 tiny chicks scurried from under her wings. Instinctively knowing that the toxic smoke would rise, she could have flown to safety, but had refused to abandon her babies. When the blaze arrived the heat had singed her small body but the mother had remained steadfast. Because she had been willing to die, those under the cover of her wings would live. Doesn't this sound like the great love of our Father, who was willing to send His only begotten Son, that through His death, we might live! - from Cyberchurch.com


I encourage you to read Psalm 91.

Photobucket

15 comments:

Heide at ApronHistory said...

Great Post!
Sometimes those are the best conversations;the ones that start with the wood pile, go through the woods and garden, take in a stream or two, make a few sharp coners and somehow end up in Levitcus and God's Great Goodness!

Ruth Kelly said...

Amen. You have such a great way with words. I am less fortunate in that I don't have woods or a cheap way to heat my house.

Anonymous said...

Lovely post Judy :) you always put the words so right. The picture looks so warm and cosy.
Remember back home in Sweden, we had to heat up the house with wood. But it was so nice though, certainly worth all the hard work to fill the shed with wood for the winter. Can miss it from time to time, the simplicity of it - in a way.
Have a lovely day my friend - big hugs

Eva

laurie said...

Nice read!

Empty Nester said...

Wow Judy, this was a fabulous post! I think I would very much enjoy being a part of one of your conversations!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, I read Psalm 91. Amen and Amen!

SImple and Serene Living said...

Lovely post. How wonderful to have your fuel source in your backyard.

Yenta Mary said...

What a beautiful post! I love the ones that make me stop and think and contemplate and appreciate. God has so many different aspects that each of us should be able to find a way to approach Him and develop an intimate relationship. Have a lovely and blessed Easter, Judy!

Under Her Wings said...

Judy, thank you for such an encouraging compare/contrast. What a beautiful picture of our Lord and His justice and His mercy! He is perfect justice, never allowing sin to reign. He took care of that on the cross. And His perfect mercy withholds from us that which we so rightly deserves. (I, too, would love to sit down with you and just converse for hours on end.)

Unknown said...

Love this post, Judy! And although I am not a fan of the cold, I do love fires...we have an outdoor fire pit, but our wood pile is more twigs and branches than actual logs!! lol

Angie Vik said...

Well said. I love the eagle story. Wood heat is wonderful. We used to have a wood stove in our old house but don't have one where we live now.
Happy Easter.

Kristin Bridgman said...

So interesting about the wood. I can almost smell that wonderful smell. We have a fire pit at the back of our land and we have some of the best conversations around that fire, I love it!

(Visiting you from Denise's place)

Happy Easter!

debbie bailey said...

That's so sad about the mama bird but such a wonderful picture of how God protects us, his own chicks, with his outspread arms.

I'm so excited that today the temps only reached into the 60's, which means that tonight, I'll get to have a fire! Woo Hoo!

Mama Hen said...

This is a fabulous post! We are up in Vermont right now and were just talking to someone sho runs everything in his house on the wood he has on his property. They have never paid for electricity or oil. With the prices of both, we are paying a lot each month where we live. I love the picture of the wood. It is a blessing! Have a Happy Easter!

Mama Hen

Chatty Crone said...

So the wood is from your own land? and then it heats the whole house? Wow - you really are lucky! Love, sandie

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