In God We Trust

written by

Edwin Shank

posted on

March 7, 2022

Good morning Dear Family Cow Friends,

In these times of global wobbliness, have you noticed that one thing does seem constant? That thing is fear. It’s all around us, it’s everywhere we turn.

Fear of war, fear of inflation, fear of just basic uncertainty... even some lingering fear of COVID.

And all for good reason some may say. There is a lot to worry about! It fills our news, it fills our conversations and for many it seems to fill their hearts.

Maybe it is time to refresh our spirits with this bit of "wisdom that comes from above." Listen to these powerful words from II Timothy," God hath not given us the Spirit of Fear; but of Power, and of Love, and of a Sound Mind."

Fear is not from God! Power, Love and Sound minds are!

We cannot help but feel the fear. That much is true. Fear is a very basic human emotion. Refusing to acknowledge the niggling feeling we all recognize is denial at best, and false macho bravado at worst.

But still, we do not need to succumb to fear. We do not have to respond in 'the spirit of fear.'

Fear is real... but it dare not be our deciding factor.

Fear is normal... but it doesn’t need to master us.

Fear is around us… but it must not control us.

Here is another favorite verse our congregation recently has decided to make into wall art and place on the front wall of our church auditorium.

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee." ~ Isaiah 26:3

Trust, yes trust. "In God We Trust." So easy to say. Just four words. So easy to print. So easy to choose as a national or church or family motto. So hard to do. 

But so necessary for peace.

Think about it... and then just DO it! Trust! :)  

I hope you don’t mind that I share this. My own soul needs this advice so often too. May you be blessed and may God be glorified as you meditate on these thoughts.

Below is a short flash back to a message that I sent at the beginning of the COVID panic... in many ways it fits for today just as well.

Peace and Blessings, 

Your Farmer ~ Edwin

P.S. I'm also sharing a family favorite song, Never Be Afraid by the Martin Brothers of Pensacola, Florida. If you enjoy the inspiration you may access their full album here.

Fear Not Tomorrow

Written April 3, 2020

I'm not going to even pretend that life is normal. It's not. I'm 50 years old and I've never seen times like these. I've talked with some who are 80 and they've never seen times of uncertainty like this either.

So we are in new territory. None of us really know what is ahead of us. But I do have a feeling that the people and relationships in our lives are going to be more important and special to us than ever before.

And I also know this. We have a God who does know the future and He is in control. So even when our human panic wants to rise, if we instead choose Faith and Trust and Hope in Him, peace and calmness of soul is possible. Yes! Peace even in the middle of COVID's reign of fear.

Since we are in new territory, please allow me to share some food for the soul. Food for the body is good. But in times like these, it's food for the soul that we all really need.

So to each of you... may I suggest that wherever you are, sit back, relax and take seven slow, deep breaths. When you have finished, please take a moment to listen and meditate on the message of this song: Fear Not Tomorrow... God Is Already There

I hope it speaks peace to you.

I typed out the lyrics of the song below for better reflection. Read it and meditate while you listen and let the words sink in.

This song was Courtney's idea. Courtney Lehman is a friend from our church who has been a part of The Family Cow team for close to 4 years. She answers a lot of your email and phone questions, so if you have corresponded with our farm, it's likely that you've talked or emailed with her.

Anyway, I know Courtney loves music and likes to sing so I asked her if she had a special song that she thought fit these troublesome times. This is the one that she sent me. So if you like it also... thank Courtney! :)

Here is wishing Faith, Hope and Health to each of you.

As always, feel free to share these posts with others. Use this link.

Blessings,

Your farmer ~ Edwin 

Real Farmers. Real Caring. Real Foods.

Fear Not Tomorrow

In this age of uncertainty...

Questions come to my mind...

What is waiting ahead for me?

And the rest of mankind?

Fear not tomorrow!

God is already there!

He's charting the course you'll take.

He sees each hidden snare.

He's waiting to guide you

Through each burden and care.

Fear not tomorrow!

God is already there!

Are you troubled over things to come?

Is your future unsure?

Are you dreading the coming dawn?

A long day to endure?

Fear not tomorrow!

God is already there!

He's charting the course you'll take.

He sees each hidden snare.

He's waiting to guide you

Through each burden and care.

Fear NOT Tomorrow!

God. Is. ALREADY. There!


2019_Shank_Family_Picture_banner-or-header.jpg

Your farmers,

Edwin and Dawn Shank and Family

 

God Designed it... We Respect it... That Explains it!

More from the blog

17 years in "reefer' trailers: The wait is finally over... Welcome to our New Farm Store!

I have exciting news for you Family Cow tribe members! The temporary 'insulated reefer trailers' we've used as our Family Cow facilities since 2008 are now replaced by an actual building! We are thankful for how well our 'reefers' served us for the last 17 years, but it was past time for this improvement... It only took two or three families shopping at once to make that farm store trailer feel quite crowded! :)Our long-awaited NEW Family Cow farm store is ready to welcome you all.We opened for local folks a couple months ago to give us time to figure out the checkout flow and get our small farm café set up and going. Now we are ready to welcome you all whenever you are in Chambersburg, PA!We are now serving Organic Guatemalan Coffee, hot sandwiches with farm ingredients, sourdough soft pretzels, kombucha on tap, and much more alongside all of our other specialty farm foods available like usual. More café details coming in a future email... And of course we couldn't help but offer a few new items exclusively at the farm store now that we have plenty of space... Things like Sourdough Hotdog Buns, Chocolate Bark, Fiber Balls, Einkorn Bagels, and inspirational hand-lettered mottos by my Mom and water-color cards by my wife, Kaylita. More Than Just a Store This construction project was about more than just a beautiful space to welcome our community. A large part of it took care of the critical need to replace our 15 aging reefer trailers we had set up as our temporary facilities to keep us running since 2008.Now, we are finally able to operate in a proper building with a much more efficient layout. But this isn't just about our convenience... it's about securing your pastured food supply.What does this mean for you?- Expanded Freezer Space: We can now stock our freezer with more premium meat raised during the peak pasture season.- Year-Round Food Supply: Our goal is to keep summer specialties, like pastured chicken, in stock all winter long. You can eat nutritious protein year-round even if you don't have a chest freezer at home.- Serving the Community: Efficiency means we can welcome more of your friends and family who are ready to reclaim their health with clean, regenerative farm foods. The Family Cow Promise As we grow to serve the broader community, our 10 Core Principles remain unchanged. Our family continues to raise regenerative feed so our livestock are ensured to have a chemical-free diet while they live the best life with plenty of green grass, fresh air and sunshine.- A2/A2 Raw Milk: Our grass-fed milk is produced with extreme care and rigorous lab testing. We bring you the same high-quality dairy you’d expect if you had your own family cow in a private pasture.- Clean Meats: We respectfully harvest our livestock in our own USDA butcher shop, providing you with citric-acid free meats delivered directly from your family farmer.- The Best Diets: You are what you eat... or what your food eats. Our livestock thrive on soy-free & corn-free diets in the environment God designed for them. No Chemicals, No Antibiotics, No GMOs. We Need Your Help to Grow the Tribe Consumers everywhere are waking up and searching for clean, nutrient-dense, pastured foods to add in their diets. They just need help to find a trusted farm to supply these real foods.Our local farm community already has extra land converted to certified organic pastures. We are ready to step up and provide more people with the premium foods our ancestors enjoyed over many generations. We offer all the benefits of pastured farm food—without you having to do any of the hard farm work! :)The only thing we ask is that you help us spread the word.Share this post and link to Our Farm's 10 Core Differences. We are here to help any friends or family looking for a clean food source they can trust.The more people who choose our organic farm community over industrial "organic" grocery stores, the bigger the impact we can make. Your support allows us to expand our storage, secure pastured food supply, and offer mini-bundle savings year-round.You are the driving force behind the Regenerative Food Movement.It's our pleasure to treat you like friends and feed you like family.All the best of food and blessings!Your farmer,Wesley... for the Shank Family and farm team. P.S. Feel free to swing by and check out the new farm store & café.We are open Mon-Fri from 8:00 – 5:00 and on Saturday 8:00 – 4:00 so we’ll be very glad to serve you during those hours. More café details coming in a future post... Stay tuned! :)

Pork now CORN-FREE as well as free from all Soy, Chemicals, GMOs, Antibiotics, etc.

Good morning, Farm Family! This month feels like it has been a flurry of activity as I finally get to share the many long-awaited announcements we've been working on all throughout last year. Today brings this news: Our Pastured Pork is now CORN-FREE as well as Soy-Free! :) Soy-free has been our standard for years. Since we've had so many folks express appreciation for allergen-friendly pork, we decided to push even harder to reach the next level. Our family set a goal to bring you the Corn-Free status without raising pork prices. The task was daunting but the effort worth it. We are committed to raising our own grain to verify our livestock feed is always Chemical-Free & GMO-Free. It would be much easier and cheaper to buy organic grain on the open market but we believe there is too much risk of organic grain fraud considering that around 50% of the organic grain in USA has been imported. So now we not only had to face the hurdle of formulating a new Corn & Soy-Free diet but it also had to be ingredients that we could grow on our regenerative, organic farm in southern Pennsylvania. Thankfully I have two talented brothers, Winfred and Roland, who are dedicated to the difficult work of raising the specialty grains our chickens, turkeys, and pigs require. They also grow the hay to supply our grass-fed cattle during the winter. In a future post I'll share more of the grueling farm challenges they face so you can enjoy foods guaranteed chemical-free & GMO-free every time. After much experimentation to learn what does or does not work we finally settled on a feed blend we've proven over the last year.All our pork inventory is now officially Corn-Free & Soy-Free! As planned, your pork prices remain the same although it does cost us more on the farm... It's our pleasure to do this for you. Our freezer is now stocked with pork raised on lush fall pastures so we are prepared to fill all orders. In fact, February we plan to offer our best deals of the year for all who want clean, pastured pork. The new Corn-Free protocol is exciting, but of course, all our other top-notch standards are still in place as well. Our pastured pork is always Humanely Raised & Harvested, Chemical-Free, GMO-free, Antibiotic-Free, Soy-Free and now Corn-Free so your family can eat nutrient-dense pork with confidence. A picture is worth a thousand words. Because we also run our own butcher shop, this meat is NEVER exposed to Citric Acid, Nitrates or Nitrites, MSGs, preservatives or any kind of fillers! All of our bacon, sausages and ham uses super clean recipes and the butcher shop smokehouse uses real Hickory Wood and NEVER liquid smoke.Order now to enjoy clean, nutrient-dense Pastured Pork direct from our family farm to your family table.Your Farmer,Wesley ~5th generation on the farm God Designed it... We Respect it... That Explains it!   P.S. Grocery store Industrial Organic foods aren't truly pastured. And sadly, too many small pastured farms allow chemicals in the animal feed.Your family deserves chemical-free AND truly pastured foods so you can eat every meal with confidence.That's why our farm is dedicated to only high integrity foods... that taste amazing. We are committed to raising our Pastured Pigs with zero antibiotics or artificial growth hormones. Everything they eat is Chemical-Free, GMO-Free, Antibiotic-Free, Corn-Free, and Soy-Free. We even grow the grain to verify these high standards.It's our goal to treat you like friends and feed you like family.