Rural Simplicity

Drip drop, drizzle... I love a rainy day! There are two ways to spend a good rainy day, and sometimes the day is just long enough to do a little of both! Rainy days give me energy, lots of energy. I wake up on the "right" side of bed when I hear rain outside my window. I smile through my morning breath and jump out of bed. Dark days call for lots of light and beautiful music. So I turn on every half way needed light and set some peppy classical or sing- a-long Christian music to playing. My mood is set, I'm as happy as a lark. Energy requires tasks to use it up, right? so I clean the house, and make all sorts of yummy foods, some for dinner, some for dessert and maybe even some for lunch or breakfast for tomorrow. If I find my energy running low, I take a quick spin outside to check the mail, go for a short walk, or do a small outdoor chore. The fresh cool air and rain bring my energy level back up and it's back to the kitchen I go. Another way to use a rainy da...

Diaries and journals are not just for little girls to lock up their thoughts in or high school girls with crushes; although I did both of those in my early years. I have successfully kept a journal for 4 years sharing my ups and downs, daily adventures, and my relationship with my boyfriend and fiancé. I call my journals The Growlery, taking the name from Charles Dickens' "Bleak House". One of the main characters of this story called his study The Growlery because that is where he would go to put his thoughts in order. I have The Growlery I and The Growlery II, both filled with very interesting facts that help me to remember, and discern how I have grown over the years. I just finished reading back through each journal, and realized how much I've missed writing in them. I have thought about picking it back up to keep memories fresh, especially because the baby will be here soon. My journal doesn't need to be a secret, more of a scrapbook without the pictures. ...

I was speaking with a new acquaintance yesterday and she was sharing with me how so many people can allow little things in their lives to grow into monsterous problems.  Little things we overhear or tell ourselves, little things we imagine and some that we are told right out by others. Those little things are a seed that we take hold of and think we should believe. A little seed that we give over to the devil to plant in our hearts to grow into a huge problem.   Anytime we allow something to pass through our thoughts, we also are making a choice whether or not to believe that thought. But can I suggest that we take it a step farther and ask God if we should believe that thought or not. It's not worth letting something slip, allowing yourself to believe something about yourself that isn't true, to grow a tree of mistrust within yourself. Because as these little lies start to grow, and there are probably more than one they will turn into a forest of lies that block out the ...

There are some days that my attitude and emotions feel like they are in the same disease category as arthritis. When the weather changes and a new season is coming in I am reminded of old memories: the smell of fresh cut grass in the spring, and wood smoke of fall bonfires, a warm breeze after a long winter...it all brings back a flood of memories that won't go away. You say...what's wrong with memories? Nothing, unless you let them control your thoughts. I've lived in the country with all of these smells and hundreds more for 22 years of my life only to be uprooted and taken to a stinky, smoggy, dark city.  As fall comes around so does my "arthritis" of memories.  As the holidays approach I wonder what traditions I will have to give up and what new ones I will be asked to embrace? Memories are one of the sweetest things about life.  Some people only remember the good and others only the bad. Memories are all about the time you've spent doing the things you...

How many times do I think during a day, I can't wait for... whatever the next big event is... going camping, bonfire at Mom and Dad's, family vacation, or even the next big holiday. It consumes my mind sometimes until I've forgotten about today and all of the joys and sweet moments I'm missing, ruining my day and most likely anyone in connection with my day...aka. my husband's, my children, the cashier at the grocery store, etc. What's so incredibly awesome about tomorrow, or the weekend that today can't possess? Why is cooking dinner such a bore, but Thanksgiving dinner is what you look forward to making every year? What's the difference? Shouldn't tonight's dinner be more enjoyable...there is a deal less to make for my little family's normal dinner than for feast day with the family. Finding fun, sweet, and happy moments about my day make all the difference in how it is viewed at the end of the day. When the question is asked...how w...