Fall Fresh
Crystal white fell softly after dark. Flakes by the millions, not one like another, accumulated on the flagstone path meandering through the perennial garden where plants are sleeping the winter away. Some kind of peace comes over me during a fresh falling . . . Next morning—all white—all pure, all untracked by human. Snow’s still […]
Beauty Marks
Give thanks. In all things. I’m spending much time these days confessing. I’m confessing that I haven’t been giving thanks—in all things—always. When I confess my failure, I am agreeing with God. And when I agree with God, change for the better can begin in me. That’s the whole point of confessing, I believe. Not to […]
Beautiful Dying
Here on the farm the dying has begun. And dying can be quite beautiful, actually. Brilliant dogwood flaming red, yellowing aspens and birch, sugar maples blazing orange—all stand center stage against blue sky backdrop. Because they’re dying. They’re bleeding out green, being replaced with orange, red, yellow. Those turning are not exactly more beautiful—just a […]
Harvesting Goodness
There were no cell towers—only a satellite phone on the arch of an island known as Harvester in Shelikof Strait, a thirty minute skiff ride from Kodiak’s Larsen Bay where our bush plane landed. The Fields family are the only human inhabitants on this bit of Alaskan wilderness. They spend every summer setting salmon nets, […]
The Joy of Serving
There is freedom in self-forgetfulness. Sometimes life pounds us hard, straight down into the ground and we feel like we’re stuck forever in the hard. Even in such times and in such places, there can be moments of relief when we allow God to move through us, right where we are. Our family is in […]
Unplugged
He and she and I went for a morning walk—a Sabbath on a Thursday. I need sabbatical on a daily basis—taking time to unplug, slow, open all my senses and soul to God’s magnificence displayed in His creation. I do believe we all need a daily dose of sabbath. We began on the northern trail […]
Singing in the Rain (and Fog)
Will it never end? We’ve been living in a fog for so long I’ve lost count of the days. The ground is so saturated from rains I squish my way to the barn, thinking my front lawn has now become a bog. I feel like I’m starting to mold! We’re staring down July 4 a week away […]
A Field Trip to Remember
I picked her up at 4 PM sharp, that precious daughter of ours. Through all these past tough weeks of trying to stabilize thoughts and emotions, she went to work cleaning up others’ messes and just the plain old dirt that accumulates in life. At least the messes she cleans CAN be cleaned up. Some […]
After the Storm
The day before was a perfect Wisconsin day—sunny, low eighties, completely still. I could hear the spring peepers still out in our ponds and the barn swallow hatchlings in their nests as mamas flew in with their meal. But weather often changes fast around here. It rolled in last night after dark. A low rumble […]
Greatest Expectations
My first memory from childhood was of myself in a seersucker jumpsuit my grandmother had sewn for me. I was four years old, laying on my stomach in our backyard, hunting for a four-leafed clover. My sister was ill. Very, very ill. I was looking for luck. Mom and Dad arranged for Dad’s mom to […]
Bleeding Heart
He and I walked the trails hand-in-hand with dew still sparkling on morning grass. Heavy hearts made for heavy feet where each step seemed a struggle. We have a long road ahead with one we love so. Bipolar illness isn’t something that’s healed, barring a divine touch. It’s something that’s managed and remission is fragile, […]
Plowed
I traipsed to the barn at 7:00 AM through three feet of drifted snow. The path was no longer visible, yet the storm had just begun. Dressed in two base layers, three middle layers, a down jacket, and wool hat, I was prepared for the weather. Still, 30 mile per hour southeast winds blew […]