A Call to Quiet; The Future of This Space


It’s been brewing for quite sometime – it’s been overflowing in my mug. That tug at my heart strings calling me to a season of quiet- a season to learn, absorb knowledge, and pass it onto my kids. Can you relate?


With our upcoming move there will inevitably be a lot of change and a whole lot to learn. These changes don’t worry me any much but rather, bring about an exciting challenge. If there is one thing I have learned over the years it is God doesn’t do “comfort” but, God certainly does “rock the boat”. When we are challenged we grow and we seek Him more- we have to trust, and make the conscious decision to be present in our daily life.

With the noise of the outside world these days of being fully present in our lives has proven to be quite a challenge. Take a drive to a nearby restaurant – take note how many times you see someone having a conversation and now take note of how often that same individual glances at his/her phone during that conversation. Take note of how many ‘selfie picture’ takers you see sitting in the corner booth – or how many people you see whipping out their phone just to capture the perfect mouth watering plate of food picture. Then there is my personal favorite – take note of the child sitting in the high chair with a tablet in hand just to keep him/her ‘quiet’.

We have become a society of ‘quiet‘ not because we are learning and growing; but, simply because we are no longer talking. We have become quiet but, all the while we have become so very loud. 

We no longer only look to those around for acceptance we look to the world. We are constantly searching for the ‘pat on the back‘ saying “well done sister, that apple pie looks amazing”, “wow, you look gorgeous, “nice deal“, and on and on…

I say all of this not to shame you as I too am guilty of such behaviors. We all are!

Here is the thing, that constant tug of my heart and so much of our move to the country is far more than a ‘just’ a move – there is a purpose and a challenge being set before me (and, you!)

The purpose – I no longer want to be the one ‘just‘ sharing my “berry crisp” in picture form on the world wide web for all to see – I want to invite you to my home; open my door, sit, talk , laugh, cry, and yes, share it over berry crisp (by the way if you aren’t signed up for the “Homestead Happenings” you should be – I shared that recipe last week ;-). 

This upcoming journey is a call to be quiet over tea without the noise of the world and buzzing of electronics, a call to be present in each day, a call to open our door, learn, and grow together.

So what does that mean for this space – it means anytime I write in this space it will be from the heart, it will be a truth, a tug of the heart strings message, a story dug up from my well. This space will be reserved for family and friends to ‘gather around our table‘ without physically being there. It will be a place to continue to learn and grow together- without the burden of not feeling ‘good enough‘. It will be a place of raw truth, pain, and the journey that makes us who we are called to be. 

(Also for the latest in “Homestead Happenings” SIGN UP HERE (its free!) I promise I don’t spam your in box – no one has time to read 100 emails from me (ha, I don’t have time to write that many anyways) Its simply a way for me to connect to you better and bless you with “little inbox surprises” periodically from my homestead to yours….you know things like berry crisp 😉



Reflections of Grace

It is November my friends; can you believe it? I hope you all enjoyed the 31days of Food Intolerance’s series (even though I missed a few…oops). I would love to hear from you; do you have any questions or want to learn more, please let me know.

This month I will be putting my family to some real life challenges and you are going to be journeying with us. It is the month of “Giving -Thanks”. I am very excited to share with you on Monday just how we will be putting things in motion.

Since Friday is my day of “rest” in a sense. I will be linking up with Lisa-Jo Baker and some other friends (yes, they are real people…I officially met many of them in(RL) What a blessing it was to squeeze them and not have a screen between our words. Join me as we write for 5 minutes, unedited, on a given prompt. Today’s word; Grace

Go….

Being a Mom it can bring out the best in us and the worst. Our patience is tried in so many ways. We are pulled in every which direction between; meeting our families needs and seeing that our personal needs are met too.

We train.

We teach.

We learn.

We live.

We judge.

We fall short.

We stumble.

We fall.

But…we get back up. God is there with us always. He stands at the top of the mountain cheering for you when you might feel as though you don’t deserve it. His grace surrounds you and the door to forgiveness remains open for those times we are less that obedient. Keep true to yourself and who you were created to be. Know that there will be bumps in the road but there is always a hand on the other side waiting for you to reach out. 

A day of rest…

Its Sunday! “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” and “find rest”. Since life most days for me is a constant whirl wind of sleepless nights, changing diapers, laundry, cooking for our food intolerant family, cleaning, teaching, and training. I think in some ways I have thought for the past 7 years (since my first born) I was invincible. I can do it! I can do it without rest. I can do it on my own. I can do it! Whatever “it” has been I needed no one; and ‘rest’, what is that? Much to this stubborn mom’s surprise I began to feel exhausted, angry (more), beat down, and disorganized both physically and mentally. I began to ask myself what good is a wife, mother, daughter, or friend that has not filled her own soul? WOW?! Really?!? Did I really stop to think of myself? I’ve been so busy pouring into others I have completely forgotten about “ME”!!

This realization has not been easy to swallow. I still do not like asking for help and chances are if I swallow my pride and ask I must really need it. I have also had to do a lot of soul searching (still in progress). So I ask myself, what are my needs? What do I need in order to be all that God desires me to be?

I do not have all the answers (that is for sure) but what I do know is this. No one can do it alone! No one person can solve all the problems of the world (although I may try). We all need rest! We all need Jesus! We all need to be held accountable for our actions. We need to stick together.  We were not created to “do it alone”! We need community and fellowship.  We need to invest in ourselves in order to better invest in others. SOOOOO….

I have recently adopted some new ‘habits’ some new “ways” as a result of my starting to feel worn out. I get up earlier (yeah, I know rest?!?) this is for my own sanity! I NEED coffee, I NEED a shower before my kids awake, I have joined an online accountability bible study/work out group that I “check in” every morning with, I read something encouraging everyday,  I have been going out once a week or every other week with friends, and I have been ‘planning’ my future. I have also been intentional with those that myself and family choose to spend time with. I’ve been praying more, serving more, and planning more.

So you ask, if you are adding all of these extra’s to your life how is it then that you feel rested? You see it is less of me and more of Him! I am rested because I am choosing to live intentionally. It is so easy to be consumed by the ways of the world. It is so easy to listen to the ‘negative’ voices in our society. It is so easy to find ourselves desiring the things that were never intended for us to begin with. So as I choose to ‘rest’  I may answer my phone less, I may not respond to text messages as promptly, I may not come to ‘x-event’, and I may not always make you happy. 
However, that is OK!! I’m working on a path to ‘righteousness’. A path to see that my husband is loved and cared for. A path that my children feel safe, secure, loved, educated, and trained to go into the world armed with nothing but the best. A path that would make God proud. A path of contentment with that which I am given. Lastly, a path to ‘change’. Through encouragement, commitment, obedience, and love. 
I hope you will join me in making this Sunday a day of rest!