gardening + spirituality + homesteading + creation care
I’ve put the gardens to bed and shored up the chicken coop. I’ve stored the tools and stacked the pots behind the shed. I’ve left the last of the coneflower dead heads reaching toward the sky, in case finch and chickadee grow tired of… Continue Reading “wintering”
I’ve put the gardens to bed and shored up the chicken coop. I’ve stored the tools and stacked the pots behind the shed. I’ve left the last of the coneflower dead heads reaching toward the sky, in case finch and chickadee grow tired of… Continue Reading “wintering”
The sun hears the fields talking about effort and the sun smiles, and whispers to me, “Why don’t the fields just rest, for I am willing to do everything to help them grow?” Rest my dears, in prayer.
This is the first opportunity I’ve made to sit and write for awhile. It’s like coming home to an old friend, actually. I’ve been missing her but have befriended some new practices that I have been hanging out with recently. Sometimes, I find myself… Continue Reading “Tagore’s A Moment’s Indulgence”
I wrote this one several years ago, and as I sit here this morning engaged in some time of self care, I thought I would re-read it. The one piece I would lift up from this post is the commitment to being proactive rather… Continue Reading “lessons learned: take rest”
There is a winter in all of our lives, a chill and darkness that makes us yearn for days that have gone or put our hope in days yet to be. Father God, you created seasons for a purpose. Spring is full of expectation… Continue Reading “John Birch’s prayer for winter”
Some days we just need a gentle reminder to invite in the silence and see what unfolds. May you take a moment to breathe, pray, or rest in quiet during this season of preparation.
Prayer has been an integral spiritual practice in my life for the past several years. I have spent many hours out in nature, on my couch, in my bathtub or in a sanctuary lifting up thoughts, asking questions, and listening for guidance. But honestly,… Continue Reading “lessons learned: creation care and body prayer”
Sometimes, the Creator has a way of speaking to me through others, and it seems that last week, the Creator had a lot to say! Fortunately, most of the advice came in the form of nature metaphors, like the one I shared on caring… Continue Reading “lessons learned: living into the stillness”
The last couple of months, I’ve been very mindful of this practice, and I’m starting to experience the peace that comes with it. I thought I would repost this one as a reminder to us all. I rest as a spiritual act. ~Anne Lamott… Continue Reading “resting as a spiritual act”
Last night while we ate dinner in the kitchen with the windows open, a giant bee flew in and began buzzing around. My daughter exclaimed, “Kill it!” I looked at her with eyebrows raised, and she knew that her “hippie” mom would be doing… Continue Reading ““do bee” or “just be””
Enter, Quiet, enter into this place. Wrap your arms around me like an old friend who reaches out and smiles and says, “I’m happy to see you.” Enter, Quiet, come and sit beside me as I ponder what it means to rest in your… Continue Reading “enter, quiet”
Guardian of my Deepest Self, I need to be still, to listen not only to falling leaves and the gentle wind; I need to listen to my soul, too long neglected. . . Let me be still amid the beauty of the earth. Let… Continue Reading “from Joyce Rupp’s prayer, Listening to My Soul”
Be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. ~Max Ehrmann One of my greatest pleasures is the first day I plant seeds in their jars. It… Continue Reading “lessons learned: planting seeds and permission granted”
Reposting a simple reminder for us all as we journey on through the holiday season. I pray we remember that the journey is about more than things, stuff, and stress–it’s about hope, peace and promise. This weekend, I am taking a bit of a… Continue Reading ““homesteading” the homesteader”
This morning, I am sitting in front of my computer screen less like a writer and more like a zombie. With my daughter’s first high school play in the works, late night rehearsals and post-play studying have kept us up past our normal bedtimes. … Continue Reading “resting as a spiritual act”
28 “Come to me, all of you who are tired from carrying heavy loads, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke and put it on you, and learn from me, because I am gentle and humble in spirit; and you will find rest.… Continue Reading “lessons learned: Farmer Boy and resting in the Spirit”
There is something about cloudy, cool weather in the Spring that puts my soul at ease. While others mourn the loss of the sunshine and the lower temps, I walk outside and feel Nature at rest. I imagine it can be tiring being Spring,… Continue Reading “Spring at rest”
Recently a colleague noted to me with a bit of bravado that he never sleeps, implying that innovative, creative thinkers don’t have time for rest. I looked at him with lovingkindness and smiled but wondered how long he would be innovative and creative on… Continue Reading “lessons learned: garlic and pacing ourselves”
Generous Quietude Carry a little quiet inside you while the world continues in rush and rage fighting and frenzy. Carry a little quiet inside you so that the worry and war trouble and tumult do not capture you in their grip. Tarry in the… Continue Reading “generous quietude”
It’s only a week after Spring Break, and I’m already dreaming of the sunny Saturday and Sunday that we are promised this weekend. I went back and re-read this post to remind myself that I don’t have to wait for Spring Break to have… Continue Reading “taking a garden stroll: relaxation for the homesteader”
Morning is an important time of day, because how you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have. ~Lemony Snicket, The Blank Book When you have a tween or teen with extracurricular activities, rarely do you… Continue Reading “quiet saturday mornings”
A quiet secluded life in the country, with the possibility of being useful to people to whom it is easy to do good, and who are not accustomed to have it done to them; then work which one hopes may be of some use;… Continue Reading “rest, nature, books, music, love for one’s neighbor”
I rest as a spiritual act. ~Anne Lamott For a night owl, it can be difficult to settle in early and rise with the sun, but in the past couple of weeks, I’ve done just that. Weekends have been filled with early morning chores… Continue Reading “resting as a spiritual act”
Let the quiet in, do not be afraid of it. Let it ease into your soul as your body would ease into a comfortable chair– slowly, gratefully with full release. Then sit in that moment and just be, giving thanks for your rested spirit.… Continue Reading “let the quiet in”
As I prepare to go about my work today, may my intention to live life in your present moment be the pattern for this day and my life. With your help, may I forever do only one thing at a time– always in communion… Continue Reading “a piece of peace”
There is only one moment in time when it is essential to awaken. That moment is now. ~The Buddha (c.563-483BCE) When I go walking, my preference is to head out to a country road rather than a park or neighborhood. It is more peaceful… Continue Reading “lessons learned: waiting on the cows”
In the spirit of preparing for the “busy”ness of holiday seasons, I am reposting this one. Take rest; a field that has rested gives a bountiful crop. ~Ovid Last night, I was reading an article on biodynamic farming (I know–light reading on a Friday… Continue Reading “just rest: our bodies as fallow fields”
You made me for yourself, and my heart is restless until it finds rest in you. ~St. Augustine of Hippo (354-430)
Tension is who you think you should be. Relaxation is who you are. ~Chinese Proverb This morning, after I fed the chickens, I was attaching their netting cover to the side of the fence. I do it every morning and night, but today, it… Continue Reading “lessons learned: what bird netting can teach us about relaxation”
The sun has set. I sit and rest my weary body, and think of you. Give my body peace. Let my legs and arms stop aching. Let my head stop thinking. Let me sleep in your arms. ~Adapted from a Dinka prayer, Sudan This… Continue Reading “lessons learned: what restless three-year-olds can teach us about slowing down”