The Spiritual Hospital

Some stood with their arms raised, some laid out on the chairs like they were soaking in the sunlight, one painted at the back of the room, one put her forehead to the ground.

“Jesus” “Jesus” I hear in the breath of others.
“Blessing, honor, power, glory.”

What’s In a Name?

We spent the day on “the farm” this past weekend. I say, “the farm” because there’s some debate about what we should name it.

Several weeks ago we drove my parents and niece to the 18 acres we purchased in April. We walked all over and snapped some really beautiful photos and as we rested at the peak of the property overlooking another 100 acres, Mom said, “Cedar Ridge.”

Cedar Ridge Acres

Wanted to share some photos of Cedar Ridge Acres (I think that’s what we’ll name it) we just bought and how we are enjoying it thus far. Every time we walk the property we find something new – a deer trail leading to the creek at the bottom of the ridge, a rake stuck in a tree when just before we arrived we said we wished we had brought a rake…a feral white cat with brown spots ducking in the tall green grass who lives in the junk pile in the woods we still need to clean out ( I managed to snap a picture, but you have to squint to see her! ).Another thorn tree. A new ant hill – there are dozens and they’re HUGE!

Chaos vs Order – Survival vs Sacrifice

About a year ago I took an Astronomy class to satisfy one of the science requirements for an Associates degree. I watched The Privileged Planet in hopes that it would help me with my Astronomy test. Myke and I had an interesting conversation to follow – chaos vs order.

Offer on 18 Acres Accepted!

From this moment on and God willing, our transition from suburban to rural living will occur in the following steps over the next 1-2 years:

1. Buy an affordable tractor
2. Put up a metal building or pole barn
3. Consider our options for temporary housing on the land until we can build a permanent home or just go all in – get our house on the market and then start building
4. Familiarize ourselves with a book 4allseasons suggested: Encylopedia of Country Living by C Emery.
5. Start thinking about a second child
6. Rack our brains on how we can earn some income from home – me, especially

Evolution I Can Believe In

The following set of pictures is evidence of changes that have occured in one human being over a period of several years…

From this…

To this…

To this…

I captured this particular evolution in mid-moment – notice the specimen in the reflection…magnificent!

Jesus Lives!

Early hasten to the tomb
Where they laid His breathless clay;
All is solitude and gloom,
Who has taken Him away?
Christ is Risen! He meets our eyes;
Savior, teach us so to rise.

last stanza: Go to Dark Gethsemene, by James Montgomery

Have a blessed Easter!

The Formal Offer

Myke and I meet the agent on Saturday to write up the formal offer on 18 acres of beautiful country. We had been negotiating casually through email and now, we are ready to make the offer official.

From Urban to Rural, What Should We Expect?

My husband and I are steps away, God willing, from owning our own plot of land to do the things we’ve dreamed of doing for the past several years. Eighteen acres featuring a cleared area for a future home surrounded by panoramic views of rolling hills lightly speckled with neighboring homes, a creek, a pond, a barn and some wooded places and finally an old cemetery smack dab in the center, already fenced and tended by the local church.

Personally, I find the cemetery an intriguing feature and I don’t mind spending our days with a little history in our back yard, nor am I superstitious.

I’ll be searching wordpress for blogs on first time farmers/land owners for information on what we might expect.

As a means of earning extra income, we hope to have chickens, goats and a garden yielding produce for the local farmer’s markets. I would be responsible for those things and am pretty excited about it. I see it as an adventure I never would have imagined myself taking 10 years ago.

I would love to hear from folks about their own land owning, crop producing, animal tending, tractor driving adventures, especially those of you who went from urban to rural settings.

So far, I know to expect the following:

– 30 minute drives to the grocery store and everywhere else for that matter
– Fire ants (which seems weird for that area and in the colder weather)
– An entirely new and tangible understanding of the character of God in the process of gardening
– An improvement in my own character and ability through the process of tending all things on the home-front
– And finally, everything else I never expected

Come, Hear, Do…A Response

Mixed media by Tatum Hart

Rarely do I act on my desire to thank those who have invested in me – especially the women.