The Eve and Morn of Grace
We started the New Year with a bang! Not of pots and pans clanging as in years past or of firecrackers traditional. We were just five hours short of the midnight hour, to be exact. Zach backed out of the garage with Nick in the passenger seat on his way to a friend’s for an […]
Thanks Giving in Pain
Our farm has been dusted in powder sugar snow and flakes are flying as I write. I love the climate changes here in Wisconsin—the unique beauty of every season. The horses are now blanketed for the harsh northwest winds. The cats are snuggled in their polar-fleeced hay igloo in the barn. The tractor has been […]
True Friends, True Love, True Life
A true friend sent me a picture this morning on Facebook. A man and his horse in the background with these words in the foreground . . . Your greatest test is when you are able to bless someone else when you are going through your own storm. How do we bless others when we’re […]
Keeping It Real, Again
Well, I’m taking it easy today because we’ve had a long, hard week and my flesh is quite tired though my spirit is gaining strength. And I’m writing again today because it soothes me and teaches me. As I lean into God and listen for His words, He always comes shedding light and insight, refreshing […]
Legs and Muck
She stands in the drenched paddock after the thunderstorm, fork in hands, picking horse manure. We get a lot of production here on the farm. They say an average horse drops nine tons a year. Do the math. We have four average horses. We get lots of time to think while we’re mucking stalls and picking […]
Get Real, Get God
So how was YOUR weekend? Care to be real? I’d certainly love to hear someone in cyberspace admit if theirs was an emotional disaster like mine! Misery loves company. But I don’t want to start my week miserably so I’m looking for voices who speak beyond miserable, for eyes that see beyond failure and giving […]
Relatively Speaking
There are still five baby birds flying back and forth between front porch rail and nest glued to the corner, right above the swing, with bird spit and heaven knows what else. It’s just plain gross-looking. But it works—for them. And my husband steps out yesterday, coffee mug in hand, being bombarded by too many […]
The Muck and the Green
So yesterday’s post sent me spinning, whirling around like the cottonwood white I dodged while on my country road walk. “Nobody wants to hear from you,” came haunting from old mother-places left long ago. But when a new voice, the One who calls and your heart hears loud and clear what your ears can’t . […]
Steaming Real
Ever been steaming mad? I have. Ever been steaming mad at God? Me too! I’ve been so hot and steaming mad that I’ve screamed till my throat was raw. I’ve screamed inside my car. I’ve screamed while I’ve walked our 44 acres of trails. I’ve steamed, alright. And I’ve found that steaming screaming is purging. […]
It’s in the Blood
He tells me just as I crawl into bed and try to warm up in the flannel sheets. Talked to Bruce tonight. It’s in the blood—in the marrow. He has been training our lab puppy for the past year and watching him with her in the field hunting pheasants is nothing short of amazing. Probably […]
Mission Accomplished
Wonder what you have in common with the homeless? Our bus pulls curbside and stops. I see the red painted door on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. Nestled between posh brownstone buildings in one of the world’s wealthiest neighborhoods is the Bowery Mission for Women. It’s a rescue mission—rescuing the homeless and helpless—for Christ’s sake. Warm hands […]
Breaking Open
Tight closed I feel this morning not wanting any other to know my thoughts or feelings. But I will write. My heart breaks and I wonder why God does not heal. Why God, don’t you heal these three young brains damaged by alcohol before their tender lungs sucked their first breaths of earth air? Why […]