This piece was written for the April issue of the Lee Creek Baptist Church newsletter. Across from the church where I grew up, there was a cemetery on the corner. I remember passing it one Easter Sunday on our way to service--on one of those sharp, spring mornings when the light is strong. The tombstones … Continue reading My Flesh Will Dwell in Hope
"I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord;I have no good apart from you...'The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;you hold my lot.The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance." ~ Psalm 16:2, 5-6 March goodness (and a little Madness): Sweet Sunday mornings at church Jared's grandmother's roommate at the nursing home who always announces him as "the preacher" A gentle rain and finishing Hannah Coulter Jared's new bird book Planting a line of potatoes and onions in the big garden Jared's parents out … Continue reading Seedlings, Siegfried, & Spring Mountain
Our wedding came just two days after spring began, when the trees were still a tangle of bones against the butter-gold forsythia down by Papa's pond. So Jared and I came into the gardening season as stragglers. By the time we returned from our honeymoon, the daffodils were already blooming along our fence, and the … Continue reading The First Year
"Hold us in quiet through the age-long minuteWhile Thou art silent, and the wind is shrill;Can the boat sink while Thou, dear Lord, art in it?Can the heart faint that waiteth on Thy will?~ Amy Carmicheal Things that brought me joy in May: The afternoon the storms swept in from Oklahoma; rain and homemade lattes … Continue reading Visiting, Fishing, Watching the Storm
"I hope when we find our 'house of dreams,' dearest, that there will be winds around it. I wonder where it is... that unknown house. That home of the future where we will have love and friendship and work... and a few funny adventures to bring laughter into our old age." ~ L.M. Montgomery, Anne … Continue reading Our Spring Wedding & Winds of Change
A month or so before we started dating, Jared offered to send me seeds in the mail. This surprised me, because I didn’t know many guys who planted gardens. I knew fewer who had an abundance of heirloom seeds on hand. When I thought about it, Jared was the only guy I’d ever talked to … Continue reading Seeds in the Mail
This may sound strange, but these days, I pray often for honeybees. Jared is a beekeeper and a businessman, so much of his success lies in the hives tucked in the corner of his property—in their brood, their comb, and the flow of their nectar in spring. When I said “yes” to dating him, I … Continue reading Bless These Hives
"Let us labor for the Master from the dawn till setting sun;Let us talk of all his wondrous love and care.Then when all of life is over and our work on earth is done,And the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there." ~ James M. Black, "When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder" Good … Continue reading Bluegrass, Hymns, & Bluegill Bait
The cicadas have come, like a thousand sirens in the trees. I was ten last time they emerged from the ground en masse, littering the grass and molting on every tree. I was still wearing my brothers’ basketball shorts and running around sticking the bug shells on peoples’ shirts after church. I remember how we … Continue reading Year of the Locust
"For as the rain and the snow come down from heavenand do not return there but water the earth,making it bring forth and sprout,giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;it shall not return to me empty,but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." ~ Isaiah 55:10-11 Things that made me happy in April: Dogwood Getting barbeque with Brian & Taylor, watching a wild storm blow in Morning sun falling across the quilt Ann made High winds and Chai tea and a walk through a campus Jared's coin Pepsi bottle of savings The Pasta Grille downtown and the … Continue reading Overalls, Seeds, & the Startling Effects of Sunlight
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