The Afterglow

This last week has been an emotional journey for me, for many reasons.

It began with our two horses leaving for their new homes.  

Traveler and Buck.

And two back-to-back trips to the Amish, with my friend Ellen.

More, much more, on that later...

And smack in the middle was a visit from my youngest son, Mark.

Mark usually visits every summer, 

flying from Richmond (Northern) California, 

back home to see family.

(We all grew up on Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey, Michigan...

Home of the Million Dollar Sunset.)

Mark is proudly referred to as "my golfer son". 

I love it when he comes home.

You can take the kid out of the country, 

but you can't take the country out of the kid.

And yes, the ball made it to the woods... 300+ yards away...with ease.

He always spends a day at our place.

To relax and connect with the critters.

And help Russ around the farm with chores and such.

And we always head up to Petoskey, for the rest of the family time.

My Mother, Jackie, hosted a dinner at her lovely home, much to our delight.

Catching up and relaxing.  That is what vacations are for...

And reliving the good ole' days, through stories and laughter.

And a time to even ponder the future...

But alas, once Mark leaves, I'm left with a heavy heart...

wishing for a lifetime of days with my son.

But for now, I'll settle back in.  

Dreaming of an even simpler life mirroring the Amish, as we move forward in our own dream. 

One of farm, family, and simplicity.  

The simplicity of being God-sufficient, and abiding in Him.

Until tomorrow, God willing.

Less is More - Tiny House Movement

This past weekend, we said farewell to two of our four horses.

Traveler

and 

Buck

Now, we are down to two.  

Two humans.  Two horses.

Makes perfect sense.

And then there were two...

Raz and Nauish (pronounced Now-eesh).

The timing of this leads into our final months of our first year of 1/3 Living.

 It has been a wonderful year of growth and reflection.  

 And abiding in Christ.

And even for us, living in a 300 sq. feet "main cabin",

the desire continues to be to "pare down" and go small.

Sure, we have our Wee House.

And we have our Bear's Den.

But there's a hunger that lies within to produce yet another "Tiny House"...

We love being a part of the Tiny House Movement.

We'll see what next spring has in store for us, God willing.

Do YOU have that desire?  Could you do it too?  

There is no doubt you could...if you would take that first step.

Follow this delightful teenager, 

16-year old Austin Hay, 

as he describes not only his housing project, 

but his outlook on life, 

complete with Santa Claus.

Prepare to be impressed...

Please turn off soothing music so you can hear every word spoken by Austin, located to the right.

This young man could plug into our electric any day.

Until tomorrow, God willing.

To Him be the Glory

I love finding new sources of Godly inspiration.

Especially when they are such a visual.  

A true feast of delight, 

for eyes and ears.

Such is Ann Voskamp.

You will need to turn off the soothing music I have provided on Playlist, to your right.

Ann is a farmer's wife, 

which makes her a farmer too, 

because we farmers know, 

it takes a family to make it happen.

Her husband, whom she married at age 16, farms 600+ hogs on Ontario land.  

We farm 2...

Ann is busy with homeschooling six children.

And writing an incredible Blog that will take you on a daily journey of grace.

Grab a cup of your favorite soothing drink, and find out more about Ann (without an e).

In addition to my new stop at "Ann's place", 

my daily journey takes me to one of my favorite Blogs, 

written by a kindred spirit,

Terri.

Terri is also a farmer, married to a cheesemaker, in the dairy state of Wisconsin.

She, too, homeschools her dear, sweet children.  

Their family is full and bustling with horses, pigs, goats, cows, chickens...and more.

The children...

Alexis, Cole, Grace and Micah.

And Trent, who has gone to be with the Lord.

The loss of a 12-year old boy, who loved life, is teaching others what it is to gain.

To gain a loving, trusting, all-encompassing relationship with Christ Jesus.

Terri tells us the story, giving Him the glory.

But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. 

Amen. 

2 Peter 3:18

Until tomorrow, God willing.