Busy, busy, busy, busy. I thought that as I became older and my children were grown that things would slow down. That I would learn to relax. And sleep more. I had this vision that I would pick up a novel and read it all of the way through without needing to begin it again six times because I'd forgotten who the characters were. I bought a beautiful straw hat at my favorite store with every intention of sitting at the edge of the ocean with my toes in the surf, reading a

Today is Memorial Day. A day set aside to remember those who gave their lives for my freedom. A memorial to them. Not so much for our veterans, or those serving now. They are implied, though, because I think of their willingness to do the same. But today, it's for the ones who gave it all, for me. And I do think of them, not just today, but often. Because I love my freedom and hold it very dear. People who I don't know paid for my freedom. And my heart is moved deepl

Wow! Prayer really is a hot button topic. Lots of comments. Lots of private messages. All sweet. Let me say that I am just muddling through this life the same as you. I don't have all the answers. The Bible says that here "we see through a glass, darkly", and that on earth we know only "in part". (1 Corinthians 13:12) We are just not going to understand or get everything until we stand in God's presence in Heaven. Romans 11:33 reminds us that His ways are "past findin

I've been thinking a lot about prayer recently. I probably should tell you right up front that structured prayer has always been the weakest area of my walk with the Lord. I have loved Jesus since I first gave my heart to Him at age eleven. I actually had very tender feelings for Him even before I got saved, and it was based on the love that I knew through my grandma. You can read that story here. She was a wonderful witness and seed planter to me, and she did that with v

A few weeks ago I was following a discussion taking place under a couple of photographs on a good friend's wall on Facebook. The photos are of a field about to be broken for spring planting on an Amish farm in our community. You were introduced to our local Amish just last week in 'Buttons and Straight Pins'. The photographs are beautiful, and could be made into postcards. They are a true depiction of life in our area. They make me smile, because the photos themselves are

I began writing about the Amish a week or two ago. I wound up writing about chickens. Let's see how it goes this time. When my children were small, our idea of a big vacation was to travel about an hour and a half north of our home to Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The heart of Amish country. There was a resort up there back in the day called Willow Valley, and we loved that place. They had a wonderful restaurant with all kinds of delicious homemade food, and several fabulous p

Once upon a time there lived a beautiful little girl born with a kind and tender heart. She was that rare kind of soul that loved and cared deeply about others, even when she was very young. She was so easy to raise. If she did something that her momma frowned upon, a raised eyebrow was enough to have her in tears; not so much for whatever she'd done, but because she'd made her mother sad. She gave her heart to Jesus at a young age and seemed to know Him and love Him beyo

It's time to do some spring gardening. For some reason all of the dead leaves from the entire neighborhood wind up in my butterfly garden. It serves as an extra layer of protection during the worst of the winter months. But this time of year, I need to go out and get rid of them. I can't move them with a garden rake, because somewhere underneath all of that deadness springs up the fresh new and tender growth of springtime. I'll spread an old towel, sit right down in fron

I've learned so many things about myself in the last year and a half. You'd think that would make writing easier. But this is a blog, not a book (as I'm sure some of you are thinking as you read through some of my longer posts, lol), and I sometimes struggle to separate a nugget of truth from the large conglomeration in my heart. I have begun writing so many times about fear. That word takes on a different meaning for me than it does for most others. You've probably figur

1. I once cut several inches off the trunk of a real cut Christmas tree with a butter knife. Why? Because I needed it to be shorter to fit in the house. Why a butter knife? Because that's all I had. How long did it take? Half of the night. I'm nothing if I'm not persistent. 2. I have my concealed carry license. I just learned to shoot recently. Turns out I love it! And I'm pretty good, too. So don't mess with this girl. I just might be packin' heat. :) 3. I ha