Barefoot Princess

It'll be 12 years in May that we've walked this rustic pigtrail we call a driveway. Yesterday, she obliged and walked with me to check the daffodils. She didn't have a golden auburn 'turkeybob' bouncing on top of her head and she wasn't wearing a tu-tu, or pilgrim apron, or cowboy boots with shorts. She wasn't singing at the top of her lungs or dancing with arms flailing in sweet abandon. But, she was barefoot. And the muddy puddles beckoned.  

She obliged them, too.

Lord, somehow use my weaknesses for your glory.....

A Writing Exercise

This is a 15-sentence, one-paragraph portrait, a popular writing exercise developed by the late Wendy Bishop. Think of a person you know, and this exercise will focus on them. First, for the title, pick either a color or emotion that represents this person to you. You won’t mention the person by name in this story. Begin your first sentence, with one of these phrases:


You stand there …
No one is here …
In this (memory, dream, photograph [choose any one]), you are . . .
I think sometimes..
Then, follow these rules for the next 14 sentences.
2: Write a sentence with a color in it.
3: Write a sentence with a part of the body in it.
4. Write a sentence with a simile.
5. Write a single sentence [no joining of two or more sentences by a semi-colon or by coordinating conjunctions] of exactly 25 words.
6. Write a sentence of exactly eight words.
7. Write a sentence with a piece of clothing in it.
8. Write a sentence with a wish in it.
9. Write a sentence with an animal in it.
10. Write a sentence in which three or more words of the same part of speech [nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs] alliterate.
11. Write a sentence with two and only two commas properly/normally used.
12. Write a sentence with a smell in it.
13. Write a sentence that could carry an exclamation point (!), a sentence that you might normally put an exclamation point in, but do not use the exclamation point.
14. Write a sentence that connects in some way to the first line.
15. Write a sentence to end this portrait that uses the exact word you chose for the title.

_________________________

You stand there in an empty darkness that you don't even realize. The deep cavern of hollowness makes me think of your soul as the color black. Your heart is deceived from real Truth. Like that of a hungry lion rushing to a snare filled with choice meat, you're so easily enticed by foolishness and folly. Though Wisdom patiently awaits, perhaps even nudges a time or two, your hardened heart is disconnected with no response to the life Light can bring. If you only knew that Light is life. The veil would be lifted and you would truly SEE! How I wish you knew this life-changing Light. The Light of the world is the true Lamb of God, his name is Jesus. Jesus is mighty and magnificent, yet merciful. His grace, freely given, is humbling. His friendship is refreshing like the smell of linens hung out to dry or clean mountain air. How He longs to know YOU. But sadly the darkness is too comfortable, the Light too good to be True. Yes, black is the color I think of when I think of you. 

A Day in the Life

Something's Always Broke

We're still considered visitors at the church we've been attending for several months so it's common for members to ask about who we are and what we do, where we live and how many children we have. Today was no different. A precious lady we sit behind, occasionally, lovingly went through the drill and discovered we live on a farm. Without skipping a beat, she said "Oh really, my father lives on a farm. Something's always broke."

And you know what? She's right. I needed to hear that today. In a twisted sort of way, it encouraged me. In our list of "things to do in town after church", another visit to Northern Tool was priority.  The Farmer and the hydraulics on the tractor are battling it out and the Farmer is determined to win. He's sorta like that. I've gotta hand it to him, he's hanging tough even though his wife continues to ask:

"Now, what's wrong with the tractor, again?"
"Why are we going to Northern Tool, again?"
"Can we get on with it; when can I start planting?"

I would've taken the thing to the tractor sale a long time ago.

But, it's the broken things (farm equipment, hearts, marriages, friendships, bodies, churches, etc.) that tend to teach us valuable life lessons we wouldn't learn otherwise because after all, who actually asks for suffering? Our human nature will never sign up for it. But, thankfully, God's deep love for us trumps our comfort and suffering prevails. We're left with a hollow space that needs something....or someone. Instead of filling the hollow spaces of your heart with the roots of bitterness, or impatience, or hatred, or revenge, or smite let me offer a suggestion. Jesus Christ offers love, patience, kindness, goodness, joy, peace, resolution, healing, and Truth. He's the only path through brokenness. Do you need Him?

Happy New Year

A new year is before me. I'm choosing to continue down the road less traveled. Conventional wisdom begs participation in the never-ending merri-go-'round leading nowhere. Not me.

* I'll persevere serving a mocked God.
* My marriage is a commitment.
* I'll continue to put family first.
* I'm guarding my home & my heart.

The Write Foundation

Since writing is one of my favorite subjects to teach, I was happy to be included in the TOS review list for The Write Foundation .
Here are my thoughts...


The curriculum consists of three levels; sentence, paragraph, and essay lessons. I chose to review the essay level as that's where both of my older children are in their writing progress. The author, Rebecca Celsor, is very thorough in the instruction phase of essay writing and includes vital grammar lessons along the way. Each day the student practices various concepts of writing/grammar/usage which build a strong foundation to essay writing. I'm impressed with the degree of detail included in this curriculum.

The only drawback, in my opinion, is the amount of time it takes to figure out how to teach this curriculum. If the author could condense teacher instructions to a simple format, I think more homeschooling moms would appreciate the time and attention she has put into her material.

For more information about the three levels offer by The Write Foundation go HERE.
For other Crew Reviews of this curriculum and others click HERE.

*I received a packet of complimentary lessons from The Write Foundation in exchange for my honest review of their product.

Rain

It's raining this November election day. It's the first day, this Fall, that whispers "Winter is just around the corner." We've gone most of the day without a fire, but it's getting chilly now and my trusty farmhand is working to get it started; not an easy task with wet kindling. Thankfully, he sees it as a challenge and all the ladies in the house, their cold feet included, praise him for his diligence.

In case you didn't know, farms don't survive too well without rain. The Spring held great promise for the farm when we planted about four acres of produce hoping to sell most of it at the local farmer's market. We worked the soil with new implements and even bought a nifty planter that hooks up to the toolbar on the tractor. Several hundred tomato plants were started in a greenhouse by some sweet friends of ours and they'd given us at least, uh..I don't know, 500 or so? We planted three or four types of greens, broccoli, lettuce, onions, two types of potatoes, zucchini & crookneck squash, butter beans, purple hull peas, sweet corn and.....well, pretty much anything you can think of, we planted it.

Then, we waited for the rain. It never came.

Our hopes dwindled so we focused on our livestock and various other projects while watching the entire pasture scorch from intense heat with no rain. The thought of planting a pumpkin patch crossed our minds several (hundred) times but, with no rain in sight, we decided against it. That decision proved to be wise because it would've been a complete loss. And now, past the prime planting time for winter grass (green food for livestock during the winter), it's raining. Guess we'll be buying hay for the winter and prepare to repeat the whole process over again, come January. Maybe. It certainly takes a large measure of Faith and a strong dose of fortitude to be land owners. My respect for the pioneers of the Westward Movement runs deep.

That said, I'm obviously thankful for rain when it finally comes. It's been raining for three days now. The driveway is washing out, yet again, but the animal poop is soaking into the soil and that's good for the farm. The leaves are turning and sporadically falling to the ground and rain helps them decompose into rich soil. Rain washes away the pollen and fills the pond with fresh aerated water. But, I'd have to say I'm probably even more thankful for the lack thereof. Why? ...Because it continues to remind me that I'm not in control. Yeah, we painstakingly make our plans. We plow, till, and toil. We hope, we pray, and some of us. . .beg. Man makes his plans...

But when comes to rain? 
It keeps me trusting in the Rainmaker.

A Month of Thankfulness

Over the years, I've participated in various blog challenges during the month of November. At first it was intimidating. Do I really have that much to say? I mean, thirty things for which to be thankful? C'mon, life isn't that good.

Well, if you've been with me for a while, you know I surprised myself and came up with over 100, way back when. I look back over that list from time to time. Most of it remains the same.....well, except that I'm not 40 anymore. I could probably add 100 more things by now. How? ....Because there is thankfulness in small things. It's easy to pass up the blessing of getting out of bed if you do it every day; or waking up with your spouse, until one day it doesn't happen anymore. These are a few of the very things that I've become keenly aware of as I watch dear friends travel extremely difficult roads.

So, here's the challenge. Whether you write it for the world to see, or hold it close to your heart - what are you thankful for? I'll be sharing mine here. Stay tuned...

Ranch Rodeo Benefit

Yesterday was another first for us. We had the privilege of setting up a booth at the first annual Ranch Rodeo benefiting Tyler Type One, an organization dear to our hearts. We were thrilled to see our banner the night before the event and it all kind of  "came together" in our hearts when we saw the name of our farm in big print. I wrestled with that logo for weeks, but it does look kinda cool on a banner.

The weather was absolutely beautiful. I'd never been to a ranch rodeo but it was interesting and I do believe I could compete in the sorting event. Okay, not really, but it was fun! If we could afford horses, I'd invest in at least five, one for each of us. They're smart animals. The concert by Dave's Highway was a real treat. The smell of the smoky grill whisping through the air was the proverbial icing on the cake. Providence Farm was at a "real" event! It was almost surreal.

Aside from the farm's involvement, however, we were all doing something bigger than ourselves as the purpose for the event went deeper than crisp October days in Texas, and the smell of leather and grilled hamburgers. Educating parents and their children who are affected by Type 1 diabetes was the primary goal of the event and I was moved by the stories Faith's Mom told of the journey they walk every single day to keep Faith alive. I was standing next to them when their faithful diabetes dog alerted Sarah that Faith's blood sugar was off. Sure enough, it was climbing even after an initial dose of insulin had been administered.

"It’s a war,

and if we don’t get up and fight it every day,

we’ll lose."

~ Sarah Wilson

Buckets-O-FUN!

 It's ooey and it's gooey, it's slimy and it's sticky. And, it's absolutely Buckets-O-FUN!

"MOM, please say this is AWESOME with a hundred exclamation marks!" And you know what? It really is. - We received a free sampling of products from Buckets-O-Fun for our honest review and they certainly have pegged the name of the company. The ooey-gooey mass of yuckiness is definitely fun! The cost for your own Bucket-O-Fun starts at $16 for one pound and there's a variety of gooey-ness to choose from, for example:

When Snowy is added to water, it actually transforms into a snow-like substance. No kidding!

And Sticky is just that - sticky! It's be cleanest snot you'll ever play with. :-)



There's also Chunky, which transforms into ice cube-like pieces within 24 hours, and Saucy which forms an applesauce consistency within minutes. It's truly all very fun and I highly recommend these specific Buckets-O-Fun products for your next party or event.

 

It's yucky FUN! 

Foundlings: The Peleg Chronicles Book I

We received a complimentary copy of Foundlings, Book I of the Peleg Chronicles from Zoe & Sozo Publishing  for our honest review of this adventurous work. In all honesty, it didn't interest me, personally, but my 13 yo. son was thrilled because he loves stories of dragons, knights, and adventure. The story starts fairly slow with big, complicated words and no real action to keep the reader interested. Eventually, the plot becomes more exciting and it's hard to stop with just one chapter. We will definitely purchase Book II to find out how the saga ends.

As a Mom, I appreciated the introduction, summary, and explanation of various Biblical aspects sent with the book. I found learning the heart of the author even more interesting than the book, itself. Thank you, Zoe & Sozo for your steadfast heart in promoting a Biblical worldview in your literature. It's extremely hard to find this caliber of reading at this age level (7th grade & up).

The book lists for $11.95

Form the website:

Foundlings, book one of The Peleg Chronicles

is Historical Fiction that takes place in the

time period of Peleg, soon after the tower of

Babel dispersion. In its pages we meet

dragons, giants, false priests, the death hunt,

an under-city of the Dwarven Brotherhood,

and many memorable characters.

The story begins with Lord McDougal and his

faithful shield-bearer, Fergus Leatherhead,

departing their lands with giants at their

backs, while before them lie in wait denizens of

the bog-land and forest.

Ever ready to protect and serve others, they

er in tow an assortment of displaced

adventurers and find themselves embroiled in

a mysterious search for the foundlings:

orphaned Thiery with his companion Horatio

the white wolf, and Suzie who has been

deceitfully retained by the thieves Elvodug and

Flemup.

Others also seek the foundlings, and their

purposes are most sinister - Dragon Priests

who practice cozen sacrifices, and their leader

Count Rosencross who is torn by his God given

conscience and his pursuit of personal glory.

Onward toward the city of Hradcanny they

travel, meeting with treachery, beast attacks,

camaraderie and psalms of praise with an eye

toward the gospel. Though their battles are at

times fierce and the outcomes uncertain, the

author maintains the integrity of these noble

characters, who through weakness are made

strong by Him in whom they trust.

Foundlings weaves together the Biblical

principles of chivalry, truth, courage, duty,

faith and love within the framework of Genesis,

and a bold adherence to its historicity. It's an

exciting page turner that leaves you wanting

more, but more importantly it leaves the

reader with Godly heroes to think on and

emulate, and a young earth creationist view of

history that conforms to the Word of God.

No Magic - No Evolution - No Humanism

Vocabulary Cartoons by New Monic Books

Before we even got up the driveway, the package was opened and my son was diving into this book. He could tell from the cover it was his kind of book. We have had so much fun flipping through Vocabulary Cartoons, learning new words, and laughing at the cartoons. New Monic Books is on to something with this type of learning, especially for pre-teen aged boys.

The idea with Vocabulary Cartoons is that students will learn SAT words with a memory technique called mnemonics, which is basically learning a new concept, in this case SAT words, by linking it to a familiar name, place, or event already embedded in your memory bank.

I highly recommend this valuable tool for 7th grade students and up. In my opinion, it's best to be used as a fun game or conversational piece rather than a formal curriculum. With over 300 pages of fun, leave it on the coffee table you'll see your students scanning the pages for a funny cartoon they haven't yet read. We'll be using this book for a very long time. Thank you, New Monic Books!  

Vocabulary Cartoons lists for $12.95 on their website.

*We received Vocabulary Cartoons free of charge in exchange for an honest & fair review of this product.

The Back 10 Saga (con't)

Now, where was I?


Disappointed is a gross understatement when I learned Mr. G (the giant) had leased the Back 10 to his friends. It only made sense that he would offer the land to us as the only access is through our property. However, I can honestly say this was my selfish pride, in the end. After all, it was his land. - which just happened to be land locked behind my back yard, but nevertheless, he had every right to do whatever he wanted. When I later realized his friends were drug dealers it was even harder to allow Providence its way. The traffic went to and fro all night and all day; visitors only staying less than 5 minutes. One evening, we'd invited some dear friends for dinner and I decided, since the weather was so nice, we'd set the table outside on the back porch. It was truly delightful - until the backyard band started playing and our dinner was serenaded by an old man screaming a poor rendition of.... Lynard Skynard, I think it was. Another vivid memory is when a scantily clothed female came over screaming she was being beaten, her male "friend" following close behind. Now that was interesting. She was so high, I could hardly decipher her words. She needed a phone and a ride. Thankfully, my Mom & Phillip were both here that day so Mom took the kids inside and when Phillip heard the commotion, he came to rescue those poor souls from his wife's wrath for crossing the property line. Looking back, I'm sooo very thankful I didn't get shot that day.

God's amazing hand has covered me and my children through countless (lonely) nights here on the farm. Several nights I wondered if people were roaming the backyard/woods. The dogs would bark and I would sink deeper under the covers wondering if I really even knew how to load a gun. Phillip had taught me, and I knew Douglas knew but could we perform under pressure? New readers who do not know our family history should know that most of the time we've been here on the farm, my husband has traveled with his job. Many months, during this time period with these particular neighbors, I was alone. Hence the reason I say it was my battle to fight. Alone. God was completely faithful and it was I who changed, not my neighbors. I clung to the Lord and went toe to toe with the devil, himself. It wasn't pretty. Several times I allowed him to have the upper hand. Many times I cried out to the Lord, "Deliver me!!". So many times I felt I could not face another day. As I look back now, I can only praise the Lord for His steadfast faithfulness through those years. He had faith in me when I didn't.

NetFlix

About a month ago, we succumbed to the pleading and joined NetFlix. The relief from late fees sold me, initially, and the ease of the whole process keeps me. We've already lost a return envelope but Douglas addressed the DVD in a plain envelope to California and, within a few days, we got a notification it had been received. We're getting the hang of calculating the timing so that we have a movie every Friday night, which is generally movie & pizza night around here. This weekend was our (mine & Phillip's) turn to pick so we chose The Blind Side as we occasionally have "date night" here at home. We've been too tired to watch it but that's the nice thing about NetFlix. We'll keep the movie until we do, which may be this evening. There are over 200 movies in our queue and they can be rearranged at any time.

Unfortunately, there's a downfall but it's not with NetFlix. We are surprised and a little naive, to be honest, to discover all the filth that falls under the PG13 rating. A friend put it bluntly, "what a joke!". I have to agree. We've asked the kids to remove all of the PG13 movies from the queue. When they have a request, Phillip and I will then review it ourselves on PluggedIn Online and possibly watch it first before it's approved for the family. Are we too strict? I don't think so. Everyone's family dynamic is different so I can only speak for my family but we have an eight year old watching our family night movies. What is appropriate for our teenagers isn't always appropriate for her. I just think it's wise to make better choices.

And, with NetFlix? There's definitely a plethora of great alternatives to paying for filth.

Heaven

"Momma, I can't wait til we see Heaven. I see houses, like a neighborhood, with gold streets. We won't ever cry; we'll be happy all the time. And, we'll be able to just ask God a question whenever we need to..."

Good Morning!

One of the things that hinders my writing is the design of the blog template itself. Silly, I know. I've been working on it for two days and still can't seem to be content. I'm settling on the wood planks for now, but I'm not satisfied with the color choices. Truth is, I like all sorts of designs. I love flowers, barns, art, fields, the sky, sunsets, oceans, mountains, and .......music. Where is the template that meshes all that together? Hopefully, eventually, it'll be a cozy place to display my heart. Until then, hang in here with me. Blog design has never been my strong suit. If I could afford it, I'd pay somebody to do it for me. I dislike it that much. I'm creative in other ways, I suppose.  

So, I'm trying to step back into writing. It's good therapy for me. Sorry, if you thought it was for you. ;)
My heart seems to overflow with emotion and, quite frankly, there's not enough ears (or time) around here to listen to all my thoughts. I'm usually on the listening side in my real life, anyway. Three creative kids have LOTS of thoughts and we allll want to express ourselves. All. the. time. I only hope the good Lord uses us for His glory; even with all our quirks.

What else? Our community (all of East Texas) lost a dear man of God, yesterday. He was a physician in Tyler, devoted husband, dedicated father, solid friend, and steadfast in his walk with his saviour, Jesus Christ. He was a true example of godliness. He is now sitting at the feet of Jesus, worshipping. Praising. We mourn his loss, but he has gained everything. In this we rejoice!

Live Today

We aren't promised tomorrow



Live every single moment.
Wherever you are, be ALL there.

Late Pears

I was talking with a friend several days ago about the difference between early pears and late pears. I had no idea there was such, so it forced me to go next door to check the fruit trees to which we've been given free reign. Lo and behold, the pear tree was loaded with, what I assume to be, late pears! I don't think they're ripe yet, most were pretty small, so I'm waiting til the weekend to go check them again.

Leave a comment if you've ever made pear butter. I'd like to collect some recipes.

Friendship

Make new friends. . .

but keep the old; forever.