What do you do when the temperatures plummet? When there are no eggs or cereal for breakfast. When the Oatmeal won't feed 6? When the dollar you need to stretch can't go any further? When the great niece is there at 6 a.m? You pull those farm memories to life. You close your eyes and think of warm bread baking. You remember the strong arms of your mother in law. The sweet grace baked into each bite. And the healing art of kneading bread. Moment by moment working the yeast through. Lessons learned while baking bread. So I ... View Post
What They Don’t Tell You When You Say, “I Do”
What they don't tell you when you say, "I do." In case you're wondering? Life isn't always a bed of roses after you're married. With in a year we had experienced the loss of our first child. We received much love and support. Grace. Words of encouragement and strength to journey on. There was much hard work and little time for anything else. We made it work. And then it happened. Finances. 6 kids. Sleep deprivation. Body changes. Job changes. All take their toll. Date nights; gone by the ... View Post
A Comfortable Quiet
The sun begins it's decline in the sky. The light casting shadows on the fields. The landscape ablaze in color. My favorite time of year. Harvest. Zucchini cooks for lasagna. I have made a chocolate pie for small group. The kids are outside playing and it is unusually quiet. A quiet that doesn't threaten. It feels peaceful. There is still chaos around in piles and clumps. Danger lurks when you walk. One must find their path through. Yet there is a peace that has settled. It wasn't ... View Post
I’m Celebrating Mother’s Day Today
Sunday was Mother's Day. I spent the day reeling from the loss of our son. Being mom to less. A forever change. Wrestling with moving on and wanting to be stuck. In the back of my mind haunting me was my mom. But I couldn't even think about her. There are some places that are too tender to venture. Your heart just can't take it. So you push it aside and deal with the grief in front of you. I am not speaking of stuffing or ignoring. It's like that delicious book you want to finish. You wait until the quiet, when you can savor the characters and the ending of such a terrific journey. It's like ... View Post
Falling In Love With My Farmer
About 23 years ago I fell in love with my farmer. His banjo playing, quiet ways, love for God and deep voice, was enough to make this city girl take a look at all she had thought would make her soul sing.The glitz and glam, nice cars, dinners out, fancy diamond studded jewelry (just kidding -but my birthstone is a diamond -lucky me) soon faded to what was real and what really mattered in this world. A look deep into God's word and the Truth that rests there is what makes a girl really want to take notice. Wedding bells gave way to the rhythm of farming and teaching. The loss ... View Post
Are You Able To Run The Race With Perseverance?
Miss you so much. Don't know if I can handle next year without you. #brother This was Clarissa's face book post on June 20, 2013. It's the picture of them on the first day of school; his Senior year. Elijah had gone on a trip the day after graduation. We all missed him. Boot camp was coming and we knew we weren't prepared. He rarely left home. His presence always here. He wasn't one for sleepovers; preferring his bed to others. Little did we know. Clarissa and Thomas have devotions for Youth Group. The topic; Perseverance. With the Olympics permeating much of our ... View Post
