Even before the day dawns much has been done. The farmer rises at 3 even through chemo and radiation. The cows need to be brought in, milking machines set up and milking started. Most of this happens while the rest of the world slumbers. Including me. It is not until 5 that I crawl out of bed. These cold mornings it is more of a leap. I grab coffee and the Word to begin my day. Always coffee. Always God's word. 15 years ago, when I was in the thick of working and book work for the farm; an 11 year old step daughter, 2 children and one on the way, I prayed. I asked God to help me find ... View Post
I Don’t Have A Typical To Do List
This day. It is new. There is laundry and dirt. There is an abundance of clutter, paper work and dishes. There is financial stress, farming chores and broken equipment. There is still cancer and the searing pain of the loss of a child. Today marks 3 years for another family and the loss of their son. A Classmate of Elijah's. A name read at Graduation. The emotion so overwhelming we clapped and cried, remembering. For a long time. A life cut short by his own hand. I remember the feeling. . . how can you lose a child? How ... View Post
This Is War
They know I am on to them. As bold as brass they run across the floor. With no care that I am there. Now, with traps set in strategic places they refuse to venture forth. We can not co exist. I draw the line. They are small and furry. They leave messes everywhere. They are almost like my children in some ways. But my children are allowed to stay. They are not. I am sure they would argue they have been here longer. It bears no weight. Even if some think they are cute and Walt has personified the image. I wait to hear a snap. I check to see if there ... View Post
I Can’t Grow A Garden, But I Can Plant My Feet Firmly On Solid Ground
My feet are planted firmly on the ground. It's about the only thing I plant. A farmer's wife that can not grow a garden. Can you believe it? It's true. It's the ugly truth. There is nothing green, or any other color, for that matter, that prospers under my thumb. I am more interested in cultivating souls. Cultivating ground that yields to our Savior. Soft earth willing to accept life in Christ. Or the hard packed earth, where trouble and pain have made joy almost obsolete. This is the ground in which I want to plant seeds. Seeds that sow eternal life, grace and peace for the ... View Post
Those Ancient Words. . . Aren’t Really So Ancient
We sit huddled at the farmhouse table. Each morning before we head off for the day those large farmer hands take the Ancient Words and breathe life into this family. It is not always holy. It is sometimes horror. With me dissolving into laughter over someones antics and receiving a glaring look from the farmer or the eldest son, now deep in the earth. But this morning we are huddled together because those carefree days seem like an eternity away. The eldest son called home. The farmer battling the wages of cancer. And we as a family ... View Post
The Only Way To Live When All Else Is Falling Apart Around You
Our first calf of the New Year is born on the coldest day. I don't understand the ways of this world. I never will. The calf survived, thanks to the quick thinking of our helpers. New life. Fresh starts. I have a cousin that is mourning the loss of her sweet unborn baby. Oh how my heart resonates. I too have lost what I did not know and have lost the prayed for child after that loss. New life. It's what God gives us when we surrender to him. When we lay it all down because we can't do it alone. It ... View Post
