Davis Farm and Guest House

Vermont Family Owned Dairy Farm | Country Farm Guest House | Family Recipes | Stories of Faith, Love, and Family

I Still Struggle, 30 Days of Thankfulness, Day #12

I still struggle with being Thankful. Even after 12 days of intentionally naming my gratitude I still default to complaining. It's been 5 years of posting 30 Days of Thankfulness and trying to practice gratitude and I still mess up. I feel the whirling, churning. I struggle. I get myself so wound up at times I miss the thankful;  I forget.  It's like I have soul amnesia. My focus becomes so narrow, I never see what might be right beside me. I'd like to think that I caught the whirling and churning earlier than I may have in the past. I stopped the thoughts. I turned to ... View Post

30 Days of Thankfulness, Day #2 This Practice

This practice forces me to name the gratitude- even when I don't feel it. I race through the house. A child to school, coffee with the farm boy, coffee with my farmer and coffee buddy, exchange student to the airport, me to an eye appointment. I am late to the eye appointment. 15 minutes late. I called. Left a message. I still went. I've waited for this appointment for months. It wasn't supposed to be until the week of Thanksgiving. They got me in early. And I get there and they tell me I'm too late. I had called. I wanted to yell at the lady. Do you know what I've been through ... View Post

My Friend, Years From Now

I  awoke early that morning. A content, exciting feeling washing over me. I was marrying my friend. It was a good thing too. Our journey would take us through many hills and valleys. Uncharted territory. Christ as our compass. Joined together. Friends. Just a month before he had proposed in a horse barn at the Tunbridge Fair. He asked if I would spend a life time being friends? We would taste bitterness and disappointment. Child birth and child death. 'Til death do you part passed beneath our doors. For richer has not knocked too often. . .  poorer has been a constant ... View Post

It’s So Dry

It's so dry. It rained last night. . . finally. . . and it's still so dry. Spots that are crunchy when you walk. Brown, where there should be green. Dry river banks where there should be water. And I can feel the fear trying to creep in. We're known as the "Green Mountain" State. Yet, in some areas, the green is hard to see. Today, as I walk this farm I am discouraged. Being without a barn all last winter caused us many difficult issues with the cows. Teat ends that froze, now oozing mastitis. Volatile Somatic Cell Counts, PI Counts. . . Heifers that are smaller than ... View Post

Expect the Unexpected.

Expect the Unexpected. That moment when  air seems to be lacking. Breathing is a chore. Hot, molten tears press hard. Chaos great. Those moments. The unexpected.  I try to reach out. I cry out to God. How did we get here? How? I try to focus on a breath. My chest heavy with grief, too much going on. I don't know how to sort it all out. Sometimes there seems to be no right answer. My heart is weighed down with the things of this earth. We can let life just pile on the pressure if we're not careful. The unexpected. Deadlines, kids, marriage, bills, haying, chores, heat; ... View Post

Breakdowns!

So many breakdowns! It seems like every time I turn around there is something broken, something not working, something in need of repair. It can get downright discouraging. My farmer and coffee buddy have the skills to fix almost all of these repairs. They're amazing. It's fascinating to sit and watch them. They talk back and forth. An idea. A thought. An angle. Always coming to a conclusion to solve the problem. I am in awe of this ability. It is almost holy. The ability to figure out how things work. How was it built? Often their limitations rest not in solving the problem, ... View Post