What the Trees Have Seen
There is a white oak tree near my house that is older than these United States. Much older. Lately, I have needed the long perspective this tree provides. I have needed to remember that there are still living witnesses to years far beyond every one of our forty five presidents. This one tree has outlived all the great divisions that...
Fire, Wind, and Water (One Year Later)
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful servants" (Psalm 116:15). It is precious as a rainbow above green velvet cliffs. It is precious as the full moon on that warm night when we gathered to cry for him and laughed remembering him. It is as precious as a Hawaiian lei. We cut the thread, we scattered the flowers,...
Life Right Now: New Year, New Month, New Season
(the following post contains affiliate links) Is misty and mild and not like January at all. This is our fifth winter at Maplehurst, and we've never waited so long for real snow. But it's cold enough. The woodstove in the kitchen is pouring out heat while I study my stack of seed catalogs. I am often asked about my favorites. This year,...
For These Last Advent Days (A Guest Post)
We are rounding the bend. We are nearing the end. These sacred days will soon reach their fulfillment. With Christmas on the near horizon, I am so pleased to offer you this Advent story from my friend and fellow writer, Bonnie O'Neil. The memories come flooding back to me, as they do on many a cold, dark December night. Flashes...
Glad Days Will Come
Recently, I found myself digging around in the archives of this blog. I was looking for something particular - I no longer remember what - but I stumbled on this post from last December. I wrote it for Solstice, the longest night of the year. It would be one of the last posts I would write before Shawn's death in January. I have lately been...
These Farmhouse Bookshelves: All New Favorites for Advent and Christmas
(the following post contains affiliate links) If you know me, then you'll have guessed that the "all new" in the title of this post does not, in fact, refer to newly released books. In fact, once I went looking for links online, I realized that almost every single book I wanted to tell you about is out of print. But don't let that deter...
