The Heart of Her Husband

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• The heart of her husband doeth safely trust in her, and he hath no need for spoil
• She openeth her mouth with wisdom...

As I write this, I know that bright and early in the morning I'll be headed out, driving back home to Louisiana after spending the weekend in Texas with my husband. He's been here since right after we left Georgia in September, and hasn't been able to come home, even for a weekend, in over a month now.

It's hard holding down the home front while he's away, and I have a tendency to think sometimes that I have the worst end of the deal. This weekend reminds me, though that I have so much more to be thankful about than I ever give credit for. It's hard being alone in a town where you don't know anyone else. He is a much worse homebody than I am, and would like nothing better than to be home, working some where local, mowing the grass on the weekends and changing the oil in the trucks. Home is where his heart is, and if he had his way, that's where he would be. Instead, he works a job that keeps him on the road 95% of the time, all to be able to make a decent living and take care of the needs and wants of his family.

I leave here with a renewed resolution to do whatever it takes to make it easier on him. No more complaining. No more gripe sessions. No more pity parties. It's time to step up and be a virtuous woman--a chayil woman--a woman of strength and valour.

Not that I have it in me to be those things--but I was thinking again about the verse in II Corinthians 12:9, And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (emphasis added).

I can't do it in myself--be those things. Strong. Full of valour. Virtuous. But when I give God my weakness, His strength is make perfect in weakness.

I can't. But He can.

And then the heart of my husband can safely trust in me.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Making My Home Sing Monday at Mom's the Word

Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Do you know what this is?

Some of you country girls may recognize it...

Can you tell now?

It's a barn full of hay bales, but it's so much more.

That's my Daddy there on the tractor...


heading back to unload another bale.


And you can't see her, but that's my Momma driving the truck.



Daddy has always kept a few cows, at least ever since we moved to the country when I was a girl.


They built a house next door to my Nanny and Papa, and I became a country girl for the first time in my young life.



Last year he sold off a lot of his herd, it's just getting to be too much to keep up with these days.


But he still keeps a few, just because he loves doing it.




It's a lot of work, that's for sure.


But I think he secretly enjoys it.



Momma helps, too--driving the truck, or getting out and opening and closing the gates for Daddy when he drives.



It takes a lot of trips back and forth to the hay meadow to haul in enough hay for the winter months.

Even their Lady girl likes to go along.

I saw them last week, making trip after trip out to the hay meadow and back again...

and then Daddy made trip after trip between the truck and trailer and the barn.

Momma and I were standing in the shade while Daddy finished up.

I love my Mom and Dad, and they love me, too.

I thought about that last night, when I took a piece of good lean home raised beef out of the freezer and cooked it for my supper.

Beef Love. It's what's for dinner.

Thanks, Mom and Dad.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Just for the Joy of It at Good, True, and Beautiful

Show and Tell Friday at My Romantic Home

Finer Things Friday at The Finer Things in Life

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Three or More Tuesday at the Gypsy's Corner

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

T.I.M.E.--In the Garden

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She considereth a field...with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard

I've been in a bit of funk lately--trying to get settled in to life back at home in my rural small town. My house is a mess--housekeeping is not my forte' to start with, and with all of the extra stuff we acquired while living in other places just dumped back into our small space--I'm overwhelmed and at somewhat of a loss as to what to do with all of it.

I'm having deja-vu, and not in a good way, of what life was like when my husband and son were both gone and I was home alone for weeks and months at a time. I remember thinking then that I may as well get used to it, this was going to be my life from then on. I felt like I was in a rut of going to work and coming home, going to church and coming home, same old routine day after day, week after week, month after month. I didn't think anything would ever change, and I couldn't see any signs of growth or change in myself.

It was depressing, to say the least.

But little did I know, that by the next year, I would quit my job, and travel halfway across a continent (from Louisiana to Alaska) and back again. I ended up spending time in Alaska, Colorado, and Georgia before coming back home to stay, four years later.

And while I'm always glad to be at home among my own things and close to family, I do start to feel somewhat of a let down, just ever-do-slightly. Well, not-so-slightly. I've learned from my years "on the road" that it's not nearly as exciting as it seems, but being the one left behind to hold down the home front isn't a walk in the park, either.

Last week seemed especially bad--unless I think about the week before. But little by little, I'm finding myself starting to enjoy my time "home alone".

Getting my routine going.

Making a schedule to clean and sort, little by little, so that I don't get overwhelmed.

Getting back involved in my home church.

Spending time with extended family.

Finding who I am again as I inhabit a new/old life.

Last time, change came suddenly--like hurricane(!)--this time, more slowly, like watching my garden grow.

These are the squash plants as I watered them last week...

...and this is what they looked like this morning.


Carrots then...

...and now.

My bibb lettuce last week...

...and this week.

Swiss chard before...

...and after.

When I water or even just sit outside or look out the window every day, I don't always notice the changes...

...but they add up, little by little.

My meditation today is on a verse in II Corinthians, 3:18, that states that "We all, with unveiled faces, are reflecting the glory of the Lord, and are being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory..."

My intercession is that the Lord would continue to change me--from glory to glory, little by little or by leaps and bounds--into His image.

And my expectation--to see the fruit of those changes.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Works for Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family

It's Not a Vineyard...

• Who can find a virtuous woman? her price is far above rubies
• She considereth a field...with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard

One of the things I was looking forward to doing when I found I was going to be moving home and actually living in our house full-time, was having a garden, however small, and maybe a few flowers. We've had an extremely hot and dry summer and fall, can you tell? The grass has been dead for weeks, and even the trees are gasping for water these days. And even though it was too hot, too dry, and too late, I decided I wanted to try, anyway. I needed something on a small scale that I could take care of myself, since I'd be "home alone" most of the time.

And even though I've never done raised bed gardening, or even knew anyone who did raised bed gardening, I decided that a raised bed would be just the thing. While they were home, hubby bolted together the boards for me, and my son helped me fill it with dirt, and voila', a raised bed garden was born!

These are my carrots--planted last of the seeds, they're only 3-4 weeks old. They need thinning soon, but I can't bring myself to do it yet--I love the fuzzy green tops, and I don't want to pull any out yet!

This is bibb lettuce, the only thing planted from actually plants instead of seeds. It's coming along slowly but surely.


Swiss chard--I loved the way you could see the red stems even on the tiny little shoots that pushed through the dirt. This is another first timer for me--I love the colors!

These are yellow squash, seeds from my dad that he had left from his summer garden--they are the stars of the garden, planted 4-5 weeks ago, they came up first and are taking over their little square.

And can you see the little onion tops? They are another slow-but-sure one. I have a couple of bare dirt squares where I planted chamomile and rosemary, but they failed to germinate, I guess, because I got a big fat nothin' from them!

I'm not sure if I'll get a harvest or not--depending on the weather--so far we've had a only a couple of days of cool weather, most of the time day time temps are still in the 80's. Last year was a really cold one for this area, but some years we barely get a frost, much less a freeze, so I'm holding out hope that I might at least get a salad out of it! Meantime, I'm enjoying watching it grow, and hoping to be ready for something bigger in the spring.

This post is linked to:

Tuesday Garden Party at An Oregon Cottage

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer

Works for Me Wednesday at We are THAT Family

Until next time...

Book Review--Chicken Soup for the Runner's Soul

I recently had the chance to review another book from the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Runners: 101 Inspirational Stories of Energy, Endurance, and Endorphins, by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark, and ultramarathoner Dean Karanazes. It's comprised of 101 brief stories from a runners of all levels.

I was a bit concerned about reviewing this one when I first received it, since I'm not even an exerciser, much less a runner, but the first story I opened up to was by female amputee runner expressing her emotion when she ran the New York Marathon after 9/11. After thumbing through several other stories, I realized that the Chicken Soup folks have hit another one out the ballpark. As always, these stories are loosely grouped and can be read all together or just one or two at a time.

I would definitely considered this a good choice for a runner in your life, whether they're a jogger just trying to make it around the neighborhood, or an experienced marathoner.

Until next time...

(Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for review purposes only. The opinion stated is that of my own. If you click any of the links provided and purchase this book from Amazon.com, I will make a few pennies of commission, one day in the far-distant future when I reach the pay-out threshold.)

Road Side Serendipity--and Serenity Farm Bread

This weekend I got to make quick road trip through Arkansas to southern Missouri--a part of the world I saw frequently when my son was in college two states away, but haven't had a chance to visit in a while.


One of my favorite places to stop is Serenity Farms Bread, located just outside of Leslie, Arkansas. The actual bakery is located off the highway in the historic downtown of this tiny town, but this lovely store is right off the highway, overlooking the river, for the convenience of passersby.

Inside, you can choose from brick oven baked artisan breads and delicious pastries, as well as a variety of organic products. There's a small dining room where you can enjoy soup and the sandwich of the day, too.

My favorite view is of the gazebo outside, overlooking the river.

You never know what you might spy, from a birdbath hidden in the tangle of shrubs and vines...

...to one of the local residents, out for an afternoon stroll...

...or this bird condo, made from old coca-cola crates.

My favorite treat at Serenity Farms bread is still the cheese danish, but they make a mean carrot cake with cream cheese frosting, too.

If you ever find yourself winding through northern Arkansas on highway 65, about midway between Conway and Branson, you really don't want to miss this lovely stop along the way.

Until next time...

This post is linked to:

Outdoor Wednesday at A Southern Daydreamer