Category Archives: Spiritual

Is This The Season For You?

We are amping up for the season.   What season?

Spike, the Norway Spruce

Oh.  This season.  This season meaning the holidays?  Or this season meaning the winter season?

How can we use this winter season to prepare us for this holiday season?

It snowed here yesterday for the first time this season.  For about 20 minutes.  It was quiet.  When I look at snow,  it gets quiet in my soul.

I have been watching nature get ready for the winter season.  I think the snakes might be sleeping now.  Shh.   The plants have died back.  The trees have gone to sleep.   The air is quiet.  The nights are wonderfully crisp on my walks to and from the barn.  Peace.   The skies are twinkly and dark and wintery.  We welcome all of this cause it spells rest.

This morning’s walk to cows

God gave us time to rest.  He gave us  a rest period daily.  He created a day of rest for us within our week.  And winter was created to give both nature and humans rest.   It is a time to rejuvenate our very tired bodies, souls and minds from 9 months of go.  Did you know there are even cold season vegetables  ( potatoes, some varieties of squash, root vegetables, brussels sprouts) and warm season vegetables ( lettuce and other green leafy vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers)?  Winter season is for us to warm our insides, hunker down and cozy up.

I am glad that Jesus’ birth is in the dead of winter.  It is a perfect kind of time where we can turn our focus on Him.   I like to imagine Mary and Joseph traveling in the quiet of night to the barn.  Snowy and still.  I don’t even know if it snows where they lived.  But it snows in my mind.

So,  how can we take all this quiet, stillness and restfulness of our winter season and channel it into our holiday season?  It is quite easy to allow the over stimulated media and commercial world to seep into our pores.  But we have a choice,  as in all actions we take.  I am talkin’ to myself here too, don’t you know.

I use to abhor the holiday season.  I resented the fact that materialism overshadowed the real meaning of Christmas.  I have little energy as it is, let alone throw in a curve ball that includes taking all of your home decorations down and put up  stuff  for two weeks, then take it all down again.   And shop more in a three-week period than the whole rest of the year combined.  What is so glorious about that?  Rejoice?

Last time I looked,  Christmas was a time to celebrate the birth of our Lord.  Why are we celebrating if it isn’t about Him anymore?  Why are we celebrating when we don’t believe in Him anymore?

I don’t abhor it anymore.  I made the decision not to.  I don’t have to play follow the commercial leader if I don’t want to.  I will follow my own Leader.   I decided to enjoy the season.  I decided to use the winter season to prepare me for the birth of Christ, er, I mean, the holiday season.

These are the actions that  I plan to implement this season:

1.  Make  a list that is short enough that is attainable.  Daily.  Dont bite off more than you can chew.

2.  Take in the quiet moments that winter treats us to.  Daily.

3.  Make sure that while I am doing the shopping thing,  I enjoy time with friends.  Like lunch with a friend.

4.  Be honest with myself.  Say no when I don’t want to do something.

5.  Go to bed early.

6.  Shop less.  Give less things.   Celebrate time with others instead.  Who can afford all that stuff anyway.

7.  GRATITUDE LIST.  It will make you smile more minutes everyday.

8.  What e’er else.  Take it slooowwwww and easy.

9. Think about someone else.  Make some else’s day.

10.  Drink water.

11.  The most important …… enjoy my time in prayer with our Creator.

Sunday, we cooked our turkey that we raised and butchered ourselves.    And believe ir or not, it was yummy.  Kinda.

God bless your soul,

Karen

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Helloooo Mr. President

I did not shoot this photo

I went to bed last night way before all the votes were in and woke up about 3 am.   I wanted to know but then I didn’t want to know.   Anticipation and curiosity got the best of me,  so I peeked.   Now I know.  What will I do with that information that I now have?

I will get to that momentarily.

We vote for  people who can offer us the most,  depending on what our experiences have been and are.  A small business owner is not going to feel the same as an elder who is being threatened with the possibility of their medicare being stripped.  Just as a person unemployed is going to be in a different place than a person who has a strong pro-life stance.  And of course, we are always interested in more than one issue because our lives are multidimensional.  But the point is, we feel strongly about things that have touched us in one way or another.  Or because we were raised one way or another. Or because of where we stand with our needs today.

My question is this…Can I  judge you because your experiences have been different from mine?  I really need to ask this question again.  CAN I JUDGE  YOU BECAUSE YOUR EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT THAN MINE?   Should I verbally bash and bully the running mate  that passionately fights for the issues that might lessen your burden?  The burden that defines you because of your past and present experiences?

Whew.

We are all made so beautifully different.  Thank you, God, for that.

We are acting like people who don’t care to look at the perspective of the guy across the street.   Just feed me.  Meet my needs.

Shame on us.

So back to what I will do with the information that I retrieved from my handy-dandy iPhone at that dark, quiet hour in the night.  It really bothers me that I wake up at that hour.

No matter WHO sits in that chair:

I did not shoot this photo either.

I will respect the person in that great office no matter what, even if I don’t share the same beliefs.

I will NEVER,  EVER  bad mouth him/her to anyone.  

I will have great expectations that he will do the best he can even if he is not the man I voted for. 

I will do the best that I can by  living my life with integrity, high values and good morals. 

The president is such a tiny part of this equation.  We have SO much responsibility.   We  have to support each other no matter our past and present experiences.  We have to be satisfied (and thankful)  that if my burden is not lessened this term, than someone else’s burden is lessened.

If I am looking to someone else to lessen my anger, I am searching in the wrong place.  No president of the United States of America can lessen the anger that rages in my heart.  Sometimes I witness such a fervor and passion and desperation that the “right” president is going to save us from ourselves.   No human being can ever do that.

I pray.

God bless,

Karen

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The Eyes are Closed.

The ears are covered.

What is it like?  I know,  it can be quite welcoming for a while, can’t it?  It can be quieting. But for how long?  What are we missing by not being able to see or hear?  There are many things we could go the rest of our lives without needing or wanting to see or hear again, but there would be much  we would miss terribly.

Take a moment to think about what is taken away from your site.  Many beautiful and not so beautiful things that take up our views each moment of the day.  Graphics in the media, magazines, internet websites,  and on tv, symbols on the streets, ,  photographs,  paintings or prints in offices or in our houses,  merchant signs,  book  covers, company logos, architecture, packaging.  Literally, every where you look there are things to look at.  Visuals that stir or stimulate us.

I could go on and on with the images.   It fills our lives and we are not  aware of it most of the time.

It is the same with music.  We hear music on the radio, ipods, in elevators, in stores.  Music notes  are created to alert us of events.  We enjoy music in the foreground and background in movies and television shows, commercials.  Church.  It is a rare occasion that life is without sound that was created by someone.

God created us to use our senses.  It is a critical and necessary part of life and music and art have been part of civilization from the very beginning.  We need it.  I don’t believe it is even a matter of whether we want it or not.  He created the world with beautiful visuals and sounds  for our enjoyment and I  also believe,  to set  an example.

They are trying to encourage less music and art in our schools and have dropped the programs from many school systems.  Education is very important but music and art are fundamental to our existence.  Everything we see out there outside of the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees was created by people who were exposed and encouraged at some time in their development.  Even the guy who created the tiny jingles that we have all grown accustom to when our computers kick on.

Can we live without art and music?  Try to imagine the world that is void of visual images and audible sounds.  Oh my goodness.

It is not just the fine art lover and music fan that are impacted by art and music.  It is all of us.  I pray that we don’t neglect  the importance of art and music in our lives and decide it is not vital for our children and their children.  They will starve to death.

Our children must be exposed in every way they can.

God bless,

Karen

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Was It Really All That Black?

No, it really wasn’t all that black.  The weather,  however,  sure added to the drama.

Buster Brown, the nasty billy-goat,  went bye-bye.  I think the only thing that is dark about that is  he was keeping our beloved Great Pyrenees company while she guards the chickens.   She may be suffering from loneliness a little bit but we plan to supply her with another playmate soon.  She like to lick the chickens to death if she doesn’t have anything else to think about.

The butchering of the turkey was pretty uneventful as well.

This is what you will be having for dinner.

This is what we’re having.  You wanna come for dinner?

  I hope my family doesn’t mind getting feathers stuck between their teeth as they chew the  stringy,  tough turkey.   She only weighed out at 7.8 lbs.  She’s been running around here for the past 5 months so we are pretty confident the meat wont be too succulent.

Pops and I decided that we will leave the meat chickens to the Amish for processing.  They can do 150 chickens an hour.  We did 1 turkey in the same time.

Ugly? yes.  But we know exactly where that turkey came from.  We know what it has eaten.  We know the kind of life it lived.  She was queen of the guineas.  She ruled.  Please  make an effort to know where your turkey came from.

ART SHOW

I am participating in an art show in a few weeks.  If you are in the area, please stop by. The opening reception should be a grand time.  Can you guess which painting on the invite is mine?

It would be the second one in from the left.   The tree.

Gathering Humility

Ferns in Christian art symbolize humility.  I like that.

I pray that your week is a good one.  I pray for healing for all those that need healing.  I pray for safety, courage and strength for our service men and women.

God bless,

Karen

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Does it get better…?

Than this?

Yep.  It sure does….

There you go.. and you know what?  It even gets better…

and..

and

and college football…..

and 80 or so visitors….

and you got yerself one perfect fall weekend.

Thank you,  God,  for everything.

This is my 50th post which is mind boggling.

The blog people sent me this quote today:

The art of writing is the art of discovering what you believe.  

I believe that wholeheartedly.

Have a super week!

God bless,

Karen

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Is Change Good?

I am reading a novel, Time and Again by Jack Finney, where a guy goes back into time to 1882.  I have always thought that would be the time I would like to live.  It is discussed in the book how from day-to-day things change so minutely that most often we  notice no change at all.    We are able to slide through our days without feeling the “ping” or “pang” of change.   But then when we look back over a year or two or ten, we can see that a building was erected or illness set in somewhere,  or a baby that wasn’t born a year ago is now 1.

The bigger the change the bigger the ping.  9/11 was the biggest change we have seen in our life thus far.  In one day, all of our lives changed and we could feel the pang throughout our bodies and souls.  Really physically.

Change is  SO painful for we folks.

Since we moved here to this paradise, change happens often and fast.  One day here.  Tomorrow gone.

Last week we had a dog named Simon and a goat named Ruthie.   Today,  we do not. (Yes, we had to put down our beloved Simon and Ruthie went to live with some wonderful people who needed a companion for their goat baby.)  Last week we had 6 guineas running around town.  Today,  we have one of them sitting on 7 eggs in the brush thinking they will hatch.  Not sure, but I think most birds lay on their eggs out in nature in the Spring.   Its only been 32 degrees in the morning this week.  I will be VERY surprised if these things hatch.

Can you see little miss guinea in there? Look closely.

In two weeks we anticipate Black Friday which the resident turkey and buck will take leave.  The two thorns in everyone’s side.  Ping. Pang.

Buster Brown going to auction soon.  Ping.

Turkey lady going to oven soon.  Pang.

Everyday we see a different landscape around here in terms of what is moving about on the farm and, of course, the “real” landscape in nature.  Way more noticeable than when we lived in the suburbs.  I am outside bearing witness  80 percent of the time as opposed to 20 percent of the time.

Today I feel it.  And I do feel it.  Every time something changes around here I feel this ping like sound or feeling, like  a  flip of a finger onto a metal disc inside my heart.

Pops said a couple of months ago, “Man, things move and change around here fast.  Nothing is ever the same.”  Moving baby chicks to new homes.  Moving goats to new stalls.  Letting certain animals go.   Farm management.

Every time I say we live on a “farm”,  I have to giggle.  That word should be reserved for those people who work harder than anyone I know.  Those people who suffered greatly this year because of the drought and whose livelihood will be greatly affected.  We are just pretending here.  I wonder what farm means in the dictionary.

farm |färm|
noun
an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals, typically under the control of one owner or manager.
• the main dwelling place on such a site; a farmhouse : a half-timbered farm.
• [with adj. ] a place for breeding a particular type of animal or producing a specified crop : a fish farm.
• [with adj. ] an establishment at which something is produced or processed : an energy farm.
verb

Ok, maybe I CAN  call it a farm.  We have a main dwelling on a such site.

Back to my thought…IS CHANGE GOOD?

Many people don’t want to be the victims of change.  They want the stability and quiet and status quo.    I like stability and quiet.  But can stability and quiet sometimes translate into being stagnant?   Are we challenging ourselves when we desire no change?  Are we growing?  CAN we grow without change?

I have grown a lot in the past couple of years with this  change that we have made.  But it has been hard and painful.  And I have learned a ton through the trial and error of this whole thing.  Walking into the unknown.  Willing to take a risk.   Somethings have worked and somethings haven’t.

I don’t want to walk out my door asking for my world to change in a dramatic way,  but I want to open my self up daily to new experiences that  somehow result in change/growth.  That change being  Karen growing in someway.    Learning.  Understanding.  Feeling emotions.  Pinging.  Panging.

The cause of change is not always good or pleasant.  LIke 9/11.  Or the death of a loved one.  But in all cases of change, we can learn and try to understand new things and it can ALWAYS bring us into a closer relationship with God.

I learned this AWESOME prayer a while ago……

Set Aside Prayer

Lord, help me to set aside what I think I know,

so that I may  open myself  to a new experience.

I  like that.  I have SO much to learn.  And really, those of us who think we know it all, will never experience change, right?

I like change.  Change is good.

A very joyful time of change.

God bless,

Karen

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Diagnosis: Nuts

Picasso,  Science and Charity, 1897.

One note… this was Picasso’s painting when he was 16 years old. And before I go on with the subject at hand (which is why I chose the above painting in the first place),  this next painting was when he was 15 years old.  He had nowhere else to go but …well…Picasso.

Picasso, First Communion, 1895

I was diagnosed with an ailment last week that has me a bit concerned.  It actually is a disorder, that if not treated it will continue to get worse and ultimately attack my total health, both mentally and physically,  they said.  The doctors  prescribed several different medicines that will make me healthy again.  The thing is, I don’t like, or I haven’t heard wonderful things about these particular meds.   But I did find a medicine that I think I like better.  It doesn’t do the things the ones prescribed do but I think if I take the ones I like, I will get along.    I called the dr. and told him that I found ones that I liked better.   He said ,  under any circumstances, they would not work.   I don’t buy it.   So, I think I’ll stick with my own treatment.

You are probably thinking at this point – “has she totally fallen off her tractor!”

I really wasn’t diagnosed with anything last week.   But wouldn’t you think I was bonkerly crazy if I had said that and meant it?

Ok….Let me reword the above statement.

I was diagnosed with an ailment last week that has me a bit concerned (anything chronic).  It actually is a disorder, that if not treated it will continue to get worse and ultimately attack my total health, both mentally and physically,  they said.  The doctors  prescribed the  foods that will make me healthy again.  The thing is, I don’t like, or I haven’t heard wonderful things about these foods (fresh veggies, protein, fruit and whole grains) that are good for me.  They are boring and don’t taste yummy.   But I DID find foods  that I think I like better (sugar, processed foods, colas).  My food wont  heal me like the ones prescribed will,  but I think if I take the ones I like, I will get along.    I called the dr. and told him that I found foods that I like better.  He said those,  under any circumstances,  they would not work.   I don’t buy it.    So, I think I’ll stick with my own treatment.  Which is called (for lack of a more effective word)  poison.

The cycle of chronic illness continues to go ’round and ’round.

Really?  Do we really sound and act that nuts?   It is our health for goodness sake.  It is our mind.  It is our body.  Let me take this one step further….It is our ONE mind.  It is our ONE body.

NUTS

I think we all have these nutty marbles rollin’ around in our heads.  Don’t you?

Can we, maybe,  try to think of our food as the medicine needed to stay far, far away from chemical manufactured medicine?   SOOOOOOOOOOOO many illnesses can be relieved and avoided if we would only take the best “medicine”.    Try thinking about it from another perspective and see if it has an impact.   It is hard,  HARD.  But with practice,  it can have huge benefits.

I seriously pray  that God will give me the wisdom to know better and give me the strength to resist temptation and give me the patience to do what it takes to eat properly.  For my health and those that are dear to me.

I hope that you don’t think this preachy….I am as guilty as the next guy.   It just is really serious business.  And I am really  concerned about my own health, my children’s and their children’s.  Our food, and therefore,  our health,  is in dire jeopardy.

God bless,

Karen

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Rebellious Or Boring? Or Both?

Or maybe I am a hermit.  Or anti-social.  No, I like people.   Or counter cultural.

I think (no, I know) that I was born in the wrong century.  1880’ish is when I would have liked to have been born.  People say, oh,  no you wouldn’t, it is too hard.  Lots of work.  I know.  We’re talking to someone who just built a house and chose not to get a dish washer.  I don’t think, however, I would like to wash clothes by hand.  Can you imagine washing by hand a pair of overalls of all things?  Holy cow, how would you wring them out?   I went to visit the Biltmore Estate in North Carolina.  They invited me.   My favorite part was the basement where the servants lived and worked.  Where does that come from,  I wonder?

The reason I talk about this is we went to a professional golf tournament this weekend.  All the big guys were there. Tiger.  Phil.  Rory.  That 23 year old is no. 1 in the world.  Bubba.

My illegal photo of Bubba Watson

It surprises me that I went because I am not a sports fan in the least.  Sometimes I wish I was just so I could feel normal or a part.  But I do enjoy watching golf.  It is peaceful.  There isn’t a roaring rumble goin’ on all the time in the back ground.  It is a nice thing to watch when taking a nap.  Ah.  I texted my college son while I was there to tell him that I, his mother, was at a sporting event.  He is my artsy son who feels the same way about sports as I do.  He wanted to know where I was going to nap there. I laughed out loud.  Funny.

EVERYONE wanted to follow Tiger.  Thousands upon thousand wanted to trip over each other to get a glimpse.  That is where the question comes in.  Am I boring because I really don’t want to.  Am I rebellious because everyone wants to SO I don’t.  Am I a hermit because I would rather be in the country far far from anyone.  Where solitude is abundant.    Really,  I don’t know the answer.   Again I don’t think I am anti-social.  I very much enjoy being with others.

As everyone oohed and ahhed over their shots I kept saying to Pops,  “look at the clouds”.  What am I, a  toddler?  Can I not realize a very important event is taking place?

But LOOK AT THE CLOUDS.

I fully expected Pops to  finally say, ” If you have said clouds once you have said it a hundred times.  Enough about the clouds, will ya?  There is serious golf being played here.”     Of course, he would never say that.    The clouds Sunday and Saturday were nothing short of stunning.  And that is as simple as it goes.   Let me set on my tuffet and watch the heavens roll by.   I saw colors in the sky yesterday and last night that I have never seen.  At dusk  there was an aqua color on the horizon that was almost flourescent.   I know that these eyes have never seen that color up there before.  What God presents to me outside my door is about as exciting of a thing that I can imagine.

We witnessed a  spectacular show yesterday.  Pops was so gracious to take me.  I love him for doing so.  Oh, and the golf tournament was pretty cool too.

I may never know why I am the way I am.   Most of the time,  I feel I am on the outside looking in this world.   But in the spiritual realm,   I am right at home.  God makes it wonderful for each one of us, huh?  If we choose.

Have a super day.  Look up.   It’s beautiful up there.

God bless,

Karen

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What In The World Is Grace?

Grace has got to be one of the most abstract words that I know of.

Oh my….I just looked the word up on my Mac.  There are tons of definitions for “grace”.

Like:

n. light-footedness.

Like these little guys?

Sure.

v. decorate

Like that?

Yep.

I often say, “Thanks for gracing me with your presence.”

Grace is a pretty word.  I went to grade school with a girl maned Grace.

We said (and still do)  “Grace” before meals when I was growing up.  “Bless us O’ Lord, and these thy gifts which we are about to receive, from thy bounty through Christ our Lord. Amen.”   If you grew up Catholic,  you know that prayer.  It’s really cool to be in a large group of people and grace is said and everyone knows it.

My aunt Virginia was so graceful.  What is that?  She was tall and willowy and “elegant”.

When someone says,  “by the grace of God…”  What does that mean?

Or what does it mean when you hear, “you are filled with God’s grace.”

I think it means that He bestows on  us His favor when it is unmerited and/or we don’t deserve it.  It’s like our parents still loving us even when we are total horrible creatures to them or others.

I think grace is all the gifts He gives us whether we are worthy or not.

I have a way of thinking that I deserved everything coming my way.   That, after all, I am entitled, right?  Where did I get that idea?   Did my parents tell me that??   When I really think about that question, it does really boggle my mind.  Where did I get the idea that I was the be all to end all?   And where did I get the idea, that I might deserve something over someone else?  Or that only I know the best way or the right way?

I want Him to fill ME with grace, but maybe not the next guy who did me wrong.  Really?  How did I get to the front of the line?

When you think about it, none of us are really a big deal.  Why do I think I am so much more than that?  We only are a mere  breath here on earth.  Boy, is that a humbling thought.   I guess that legacy thing might be an important thing after all.   I kinda want my  aroma  to stick around a while.

I love this word, grace,  in this context.  I love that God has given me all the gifts that I have in my life because He loves me.  Lord knows I have done enough on this earth that doesn’t warrant rewards but He gives anyway.  That’s grace, baby.  That is grace.  And that is why I don’t understand sometimes.

God bless,

Karen

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Seasons are-a changin’

Raise your hand if you are weary of this here present season.  I.  Usually I don’t think too much about what the weather is doing.  Living in the midwest doesn’t stick us with too much of anything really to get all shaken up about.  But goodness gracious, this has been a doozy.   For one, this has been the first year of real farm life and it has taken me outside more than any time in my life in the summer months.   I really am not a fan of  hot weather.  For two, I am at an age that sends me into smokin’ hot mode.   Almost on an hourly basis.  Actually Pops and I are realizing that stress and anxiety are triggers for those old hot flashes.  So every time I engage in a conversation with anyone that has any substance at all,  it sends me flashing.  I have decided it is not worth talking any more.  Oh yeah, this blog entry is about the weather.  I could write a whole chapter on that other subject.  Can I just ask, DOES IT GO AWAY?  ANYONE??  DOES IT?

What is your favorite season?  Why?  How does it nourish you?  What does it bring to your life?

Spring?

Summer?

Fall?

Winter?

As I said, seasons don’t last too long around here.   I never really get a chance to tire of it before a new one comes along.  And with the arrival of a new season there is a feeling of romance.  New sensations.  Breezes.  Sun.  Clouds.  Snow.  Rainstorms.  New growth.  Hibernation.  Rest.  They all bring a coziness in their own way.

Winter is my favorite season.  All the other seasons are nothing short of spectacular but, for me,  none like the solitude of winter.  If you have spent any time with me here,  you may have guessed by now that I love and cherish solitude.  The silence of winter.  All the critters sleeping.  The trees standing quiet and humble in their bare nakedness.  I could stand to learn a thing or two from the trees.  Many people don’t like winter.  Too long.  Too cold.  Dark.

Our seasons can be compared to a day in our life and we can see how important “winter” is.

Morning…we are coming alive after a long nap greatly needed for rejuvenation.  Spring.

Day… life is busy and a buzz.  All engines are ignited and we are in full motion.  Summer.

Evening… life is winding down.  We prepare ourselves for quiet time.  Autumn.

Night… quiet and packed away.  Silent and dark.  Hibernating.  Winter.

We spend as much time (or we should) in the night hours as we do the day hours.

Winter is a time for renewal.  For rest.  Our bodies desperately need this time for slowing and regeneration. And to do this, we need quiet.  God gives us quiet.  Sometimes when I go outside in the winter it is deafening,  beautiful,   silent and still.  It is a time for listening.

Take time to rest every night.  Take time to rest every winter.  Take time to listen to what silence says to us.

God bless,

Karen

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