A Place For All God’s Creatures in His Special Upside-Down Economy
Our traditional Sabbath day family connection is a hike somewhere—anywhere on a trail through nature. It’s our ritual. Our comfort. The holy tie that binds. This past Sunday was one of those near-fall afternoons where temperatures slipped. Long sleeves and sweatshirts replaced the T-shirts of summer for the first time since June. Breezes blew stiff. […]
On Our Knees—Together
What you are about to read is true. Names are changed. Broken has no bounds. Broken affects us in a small farming community. Broken affects us all. But so does God’s grace—even more. God wants to love us in our broken. Will we let Him? Will we be part of the healing process? Or will we […]
Good Friday—Our Hope
Reflecting on what Jesus did on this day brings me to a still, quiet place of awe and gratefulness. I can’t fathom His suffering, His love, His utter determination to not leave us as broken orphans in a broken world. He chose to heal us with his life—and death. His choice cost him everything. We […]
God’s Not Dead
It’s June. High school graduation parties are in full swing. It’s summer. We have four weddings in two months coming up—one right here on our farm on June 28 with horses in the background and wildflowers on the tables, tucked into vintage blue Mason jars. Pinterest perfection with a Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice ambience. […]
Taped
She picked a daffodil. As the farmer from down the road drove his tractor through our south field, she and I strolled through the front gardens together smelling spring flowers. The one she picked? Flower head drooped, stem bent close to the top. We can relate, these days. She raised the golden trumpet to her […]
Come to Bed with Us
My longest blog post EVER! It’s a serious start that gets hilarious. I think you’ll agree. Stick with me? Laughter is great soul food. Hard decisions. This med or that med? Lower meds or higher meds? A new diagnosis on top of all the others we’ve been living with for years has sent shock waves […]
An Uphill Climb
Think you’re not disabled? Think again . . . We went away together, my husband and I. We left our problems, our concerns, our constant stress that never seems to let up for long. Because when one is caring for three kids, now 22, 20, and 15—all with a myriad of permanent cognitive disabilities stemming […]
Two Arrows
Today is the day for red and pink and white hearts showered everywhere we look. Today is the day for red roses and confessions of true love. Today is the day of Cupid. But how many of us remember that Cupid carried two kinds of arrows? The one we see in today’s images is golden-tipped, […]
Dis-Abled
Our daughter has been in her new apartment for a month now. The transition has not been easy on her—or us. In fact, she has been mad as a hornet, trying everything she can think of to get us to give up—to give in—to let her move back home. She has tried her passive-aggressive tactics. […]
Kneel
She kneels down. Down on her knees she goes to the floor. And what she sees and smells, and what she does, all alone here? This petite woman-child daughter of mine, now 22, this one who colors Disney princess pages in her spare time—she gives thanks for this job. She works for her Lord and […]
God Thaws
Everything frozen is captivating me at the moment—the frozen roads and gravel drive ushering me to our home—frozen path leading me to our barn full of horses—frozen water drips hanging from benches and twigs. After leaving our 22 year old daughter for her first night’s stay in assisted living—her own apartment with a caregiver in […]
Our God Sees
Just recently, I learned of a hidden discipline going on in our home. Nick thought it up and has been implementing it daily for two months. He makes me laugh. Like me, Nick loves country music. We laugh when singers croon about trucks and tractors and beer. I break into my scolding Granny voice and wag […]