The Hike
There is a lot to be said for people who spend countless hours outdoors.
There is more to be said for those who hike for days on end over terrain I only want to see in pictures and videos.
Except this year, I was hiking in places I never dreamt I would go. The only thing I am sorry for is that we didn’t do more of it.
There are two places we visited on vacation that I can only describe as places of wonder.
One was Avalanche Lake in Glacier National Park. The hike was uphill to a mountain lake, and only a couple of miles out. But it was dense forest and at times unnervingly quiet. There was the anticipation of running into the wildlife that was much larger than you, and of course, it was physically exerting.
The hike wasn’t too steep or cliffside- we didn’t have to cross any water and there was a well-worn trail for us to follow. But, it was still out of my comfort zone.
The mental game in my head was really something I had to overcome. Unrealistic fears and not giving my body enough credit were continuous fights.
At one point I considered quitting. I thought- we could turn around and just be done. Who would know? Nobody on planet earth had any idea where we were or what we were doing.
But, I would. And I know my husband, (who plans these trips for an entire year), woud be mortally disappointed.
We have always said “Where you go, I go”. That includes vacation, serious life events, my mother-in-laws house and now mountain hikes.
Even after stepping out of my comfort zone, praying hard, fighting with my own insecurities and mental health and even a bit of tired exaustion, I never quit!
And my husband never quit on me, and that was the catalyst for me to keep moving my legs, climbing the trail and wandering deeper into the forest than I have ever been.
When we finally cleared the trees and the trail, I saw the most breathtaking scene. As hubs approached the water, I sat on a bench and started to cry.
It was not only breathtaking, but I made it, and that meant something.
I thanked God for allowing me to have the stamina, the endurance. I thanked him for giving me the strength to continue and finish what I started.
Sometimes we quit too soon- right before the finish line- and we miss out on the mountain lake that awaits us.
I hope you enjoy these pictures.
It was worth every second. It was absolutely stunning,
Xoxo,
Marriage Therapy: Building a Chicken Tractor
The chicken tractor is complete!
It took us a while, but we managed to buckle down and through a lot of research, looking at a lot of options, we designed and settled on this option.
Let’s take a tour.
The entire thing is wood framed. We used hardware cloth, not chicken wire. (Better security)
We already owned a set of vintage nesting boxes, so we used those as our guide for measuring the house part, raising it off the ground so the chickens will have space underneath.
We repurposed metal roofing from a building we tore down.
The food and water are now inside the tractor, but we are considering moving them outside because chickens are messy, and I am tired of cleaning off the lids.
The food and water containers are buckets, and each has unique dispensers, which I will link at the bottom of this post.
The wheels on the back are actually trailer jacks, and the front hitch is used to move the whole unit with a trailer dolly.
We crank it up and roll it around the yard every 5 days or so, ensuring we don’t leave it sit too long to create a bare spot in the grass.
We still let them out to free range when we are home, but when we are not here, its nice to know they are safe from predators and won’t get out on the road.
At the end of the day, we are happy with how this project turned out. We completed it before vacation and it made it much easier for our house-sitter to care for the animals.
LINKS:
Links may be affiliate links which means I earn a little.
Dry Bones
Whenever I hear a reference to the dry bones in Ezekiel, I turn my bible to the pages and read the story again.
The Valley of Dry Bones
37 The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. 2 He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. 3 He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?”
I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.”
4 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! 5 This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath[a] enter you, and you will come to life. 6 I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’”
7 So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. 8 I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them.
9 Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’” 10 So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army.
Ezekiel 37:1-10
It takes my breath away to have a full understanding of what this means. Dry bones are lifeless. They are dusty and dirty and dead. They are sometimes broken and splintered.
But God can revive even dry bones when we are obedient to his commands.
Do you hear that still small voice, whispering in your heart when you have prayed for guidance?
Do you feel the twinge, the feeling of guilt when you ignore the voice?
Do you push back that feeling when you know you are about to do something but you quit because of fear?
Do you understand the disappointment when the fear speaks louder than the voice and you allow it?
These are your dry bones, coming to life with the realization that the Holy Spirit indwells- it lives within us. It guides us when we ask and prompts us when we don’t. It is provided as a guide to make discernment understandable and obedience clear.
Only the Sovereign Lord can give us such a gift.
What will we do to receive it?
Listening and acting in obedience is no small task, but it does build spiritual wellness, and confidence and teaches us to be bold in our faith.
Tuning into our own still small voice is an important part of our faith journey. It is supported by an active prayer life, reading and learning scripture, and spending time in the quiet with God.
Working within the boundaries of obedient faith also makes our own dry bones story one of redemption that we cannot get anywhere else.
xoxo,
Marriage Therapy: Garden Greenhouse
When we had our windows replaced last fall, John was careful to tell them to please save the old windows.
The windows were stacked in the barn and I forgot about them. This spring, John started a rough drawing and together we built a small greenhouse for me to toodle around in.
My ultimate plan is to grow herbs and vegetable starts in this space each spring.
If you have never done a DIY project with your spouse, you should.
It is always a good time, a good arguement, and a good amount of growing for both of us.
We have done multiple projects together, so this one was not met with any surprises.
Measure twice, cut once.
Buy enough screws.
Windows from the early 1900’s are not all the same size.
Plug in the tools battery chargers. They work better that way.
Pace yourself and wear sunscreen.
This project was a lot of fun to work on together, cost way more than some free windows, and is an added asset to our little bit of acreage.
You Deserve to Be Still
We don’t teach self care and time management to our girls as we should. No one taught me.
All I saw as a young adult were women constantly in a state of movement. Doing things for others and never stopping.
The to do lists took precedent. The dinners, laundry, church and work responsibilities were endless.
I was drowning as well, in the overwhelming over commitments I had made to my family and others.
When we were younger, I noticed something. John would take a rare day of crashing on the couch. He would veg and watch tv or play with the kids for an extended amount of time. He recognized the need for downtime.
I didn’t have the luxury, or so I thought . I used to get so annoyed at him for just doing nothing. I quickly realized as the kids grew up, if I wanted a day like that, I’d have to take it like he did. Even if it looked like calling into work or skipping Sunday church (sorrynotsorry)
If I wanted to refresh myself I would have to be my own best advocate. I would have to make sure I got a break.
Once I figured out how to get the break and carve out the time, I didn’t know what to do with it. I spent most of it trying to decide.
It took me a long time to learn how to be still.
After years of practice I have set my own limits on my time. I have many options, especially now that we are empty nesters.
Early on, I had 3 options. Spend the time praying & reading, being creative, or writing. The being creative was based on my time and the weather. Sometimes that looked like being alone in the garden, sometimes it was writing or creating something.
Now, I still focus on those three things. But it’s different because I have more time. I have better resources. I have the ability to say “no” and protect the white space on my calendar.
People don’t like it when you say no, and sometimes they quit asking altogether. It’s unfortunate that other very busy people don’t recognize the need for being still. They don’t always value your “no for now” and translate it to “no forever”. They miss out on the best parts of you because they don’t understand rest.
I have learned that being still and self care are components of a healthy balance.
I’ve also learned that not everyone knows how to be still, and it sometimes interrupts my moments of peace. In those moments, I have to remember patience and grace.
When we look at everything in our life as a task, we don’t consider the actions and intentions behind it. We simply check it off the list. Think about it.
Birthday parties. Christmas cards. Helping a friend move. Assisting a neighbor with a project. Cooking dinner for a widow. Mowing the grass for an elderly person. Serving in the church nursery. Picking up your grandkids from school.
These are all things placed on our to do list that we get done, but are we intentional?
When we spend our time doing all the things to simply check them off and be done, we miss out on the best parts- the rest and being still together afterwards.We rush off to do the next thing. Always in a hurry and always just to finish.
What if we were more intentional with the things we are already doing?
What If we took some time at the end of each thing to simply be together?
What if we started today, with our next thing?
You don’t get your time back. Once spent, it’s gone forever.
Xoxo,
Refrigerator Status
As a young adult I liked to hang things on my fridge. Important papers, artwork from the kids but especially photos that were important to me.
The selfies of myself and a close friend I used as a reminder to pray for them. Let’s face it, we know stuff about our friends and that alone requires our attention in our prayer life.
Something I’ve realized recently, as the years have worn on, the photos of myself with a friend are all gone.
As people ghosted me and disappeared they’ve been removed. They became a hurtful reminder of something I lost along the way .
Relationship, friendship, connection and community have been a struggle. Some of these people left because I was too much for them, and some because I wasn’t enough. Some because I wouldn’t conform and a few because I stood my ground.
I’ve chosen a narrow path, and this is a repercussion.
I still have a photo collection on the fridge. It’s now my children, grandchildren and of course my BFF, husband. (We take a selfie everywhere we go so there is a record of my existence)
As I have spiritually matured and my prayer life has evolved, I find I don’t need those pictures to remind me who to pray for. All I need is to sit in a quiet place for a bit and start praying or journaling.
I also don’t need the photos to validate anything.
The representation of those on my fridge now are a joyful reminder of all God has gifted and blessed me with. I realize God has provided me with the most wonderful people to fill in the gaps of my heart where other relationships held space and left an empty hole.
That’s been so important for me to understand.
Healing completely will take some time. Even the oldest wounds are still painful scars on occasion.
Holding to the memories isn’t always healthy and removing the pictures have been a symbolic way for me to allow myself time to adjust to the losses.
By reprioritizing my fridge, I have been able to refocus.
I’m also comforted by Psalm 17:15
(English Standard Version)
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
Only Jesus can fill all the gaps.
Xoxo
Christmas Joy Unexpected
So many things at Christmas soak up our time.
Christmas parties, shopping, extra church events, special dinners and going to see lights.
We get so wrapped up in so many busy things, when do we take time to wonder in awe at the little things?
We took our youngest granddaughter to see the lights at Clifton Mill last week. We knew she would be delighted-she is 3.
What we didn’t count on was her epic encounter with Santa at the workshop.
I will never be able to do this story justice. She approached the window and Santa walked right up to her. She squealed with delight and screamed “Mimi! It’s Him! It’s Santa!”.
My heart jumped at her joy. I was in wonder.
My husband and I were completely stunned and for a moment suspended in time completely aware of the Joy of Christmas through the eyes of this child.
Her encounter was pure and sweet, and she was smiling so big with her eyes sparkling and clapping her hands.
And Santa! He was so amazing, and I hear her say “Awww, he is so kind!”
I have searched this year for a Christmas encounter like this one. I had given up to be honest.
When family is missing, and some live far away, and some are sick it makes it tough.
When friends are few and don’t include us anymore it feels lonely.
I feel like I am in a weird place in life where I go places and do all the things but I don’t really belong anywhere.
Then at an overpriced light display near my home that I’ve been to a million times I find a bit of Christmas Joy unexpectedly in the eyes of a child.
I hope this Christmas if you are feeling weary, worn and just done with all of it, that you will have a moment of Christmas that sparks Joy in your heart and puts a smile on your face like I did.
I hope you remember that this story doesn’t end today, it’s a cradle to cross story. We were built to celebrate both the birth and the death of our Savior during this time. And find Joy in doing it.
He has risen and saved us all.
Merry Christmas.
xoxo,
Early Advent Reflections
As Advent gets underway, I have had some time to reflect on this season of the “in-between”. I am discovering each day in my quiet time exactly what Advent means for me as a Daughter of the King, a wife, a mother, and a woman.
As I write this It occurs to me I have been trying hard to remain in an “Advent state of mind” this season and it is a pure struggle. My typical overwhelmed self has had plenty of time this year. I’ve taken the time to really dive into scripture and found myself looking forward to the slower pace of study that Advent brings to me. It has been a blessing.
Diving into the study “The Greatest Gift” by Ann Voskamp has been wonderful for me. Reading about the lineage of the baby Jesus in such a profound way and reflecting on my own life has been eye-opening. Including my husband in this study each evening has also been a blessing, as we grow spiritually through 30 years of marriage.
We sit each evening at the table, light the candles, hang the ornaments on the tree and read our devotional. I also have a journaling bible and I have been journaling this journey this year in it. I’m answering questions, getting creative on the pages, and attaching a printed copy of the ornament in my Bible for each day we study.
So far I am caught up in the wonder of it all. I feel suspended in time between the birth of Christ and the Second coming of the risen Savior.
I look at our decorated tree in wonder and awe. I walk out on the road in the dark and look at the lights on the house. I am distracted by the clear night sky.
Every single star, planet and galaxy was right in this very place when Jesus was born and again when he died. They are all right where God put them when He created them. They are still here for me to look at each night in wonder. They will be here long after I am gone.
The same sky I stand under, the same moon I stare at, the same constellations I seek out are the exact same as when Jesus walked and taught, loving, healing and ressurecting.
Isn’t it amazing, all the things I have to reflect on this Advent season?
Ands its just the beginning.
Bible Journal
I really hope your Advent season is wonderful. And if for whatever reason you are looking for that something special this season, it’s not too late to start your own Advent Journey.
XOXO,
My Own Heart-Abundance
“Decisive Givenness” is the title of the first devotion in the Ann Voskamp devotional, “The Way of Abundance”. The accompanying scripture hits me in a new way. “Walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2
The way of abundance has been a thought on my mind a lot lately.
How do we have a broken heart and a full heart at the same time?
To me, a broken heart = a full heart.
When my heart is broken, I am reminded of another scripture- 1 Corinthians 13 I love this scripture so much and it reminds me that even in my own brokenness, love never fails.
Most importantly, I don’t have to go looking for it anywhere. It’s right here and always has been.
It can’t be fully snuffed out from my heart. It cannot be obliterated or cast away. Love cannot be undone.
When we were created in Genesis 2, God breathed himself into man to give him life.
So, as scripture is God-breathed, man is literally God-breathed, and God is love, so man has had love breathed into him since the very first created man took his very first breath.
Think about that. “The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7 (KJV)
I like the KJV best because of that last omitted part in the other versions, “became a living soul.”
Only real unadulterated love can do that.
God breathed his own breath of life and of love into man, and it was enough power to turn his lifeless body made from the dust of the ground into a living being encapsulating a soul. Your soul is a love language gift from God, the creator of the Universe.
*Sometimes these things come out of my head and flow through this pen, and I am taken aback breathless in wonder because this is exactly what He is doing in me- breathing life into the words- allowing me a peek inside the Holy process of creation and how much love it took to make it all happen the way He wanted it to.
All I did was write a few inspired and prayed-over words. He created everything.
No mistakes.
No errors.
No second guessing.
Simply love compassion and joy in His creation.
Even after everything that has happened from Genesis to the present day, He still breathes life into us every moment until we are ready to be in His presence once again.
It’s a whole amazing and life-affirming moment to realize the God of the Universe who placed the stars has breathed his love -breath into me in one perfect moment, and at some point will take my breath away so I can spend eternity in his presence.
Xoxo,
