A sanctuary in the in-between.
Poison ivy has a way of showing up right when life is busiest — when you’re clearing a fence line, gathering firewood, or tending the garden after a summer rain. Living close to the land means living close to the plants that help us, too, and jewelweed is one of the most dependable remedies nature…
There is a moment in early summer when the garden shifts. It stops feeling like a checklist of tasks and begins to feel like a living conversation — one spoken in green, in warmth, in the soft hum of things quietly unfolding. Out here on the homestead, that moment always catches me off guard. One…
Sometimes I wonder how much heartbreak a heart can take. I recently shared about the birth of our twin boy goats, Arlo and Apollo. Apollo was rejected by his mother, so I brought him inside to care for him. We knew from the beginning that he wasn’t doing well. He struggled to learn how to…
Introduction: Living by God’s Seasons The world moves fast, but creation still keeps its pace. Spring doesn’t rush. Summer doesn’t apologize. Autumn doesn’t cling. Winter doesn’t resist rest. Each season carries a rhythm — a divine cadence that reminds us life is meant to ebb and flow. Christian living, like homesteading, thrives when we learn to…
Introduction: Home as Holy Ground A sanctuary isn’t built by accident. It’s shaped slowly—by intention, by prayer, by the quiet choices that turn ordinary rooms into places of peace. A sanctuary home is not about perfection; it’s about presence. It’s where the Spirit feels welcome, where the pace slows, and where the heart remembers that God…
Introduction: The Courage to Learn Anyway There’s a moment every woman who works close to the land knows well—the pause before trying something new. The chainsaw hums, the dough refuses to rise, the fence line stretches farther than you thought. You feel the weight of not knowing, and the whisper of doubt says, you can’t….
Introduction: The Quiet Strength of God‑Sufficiency There’s a kind of strength the world doesn’t recognize. It isn’t loud. It isn’t flashy. It doesn’t demand attention. It’s the strength that grows in the quiet places — in the early‑morning stillness before the house wakes, in the soft glow of a woodstove fire, in the steady rhythm…
I tend to pride myself on my ability to learn quickly and do things on my own. For example, a couple of weeks ago it was still cold enough that we needed to use the woodstove — but we were out of wood. Last year, my husband taught me how to use his chainsaw. So…
“Somewhere between where I am and where I dream of being, I’m learning to build a sanctuary.” The sun is beginning to rise now. I always watch as it rises. I get up early in the morning for some quiet time before the kids wake. My husband has already gone off to work; all is…
There is a kind of quiet that doesn’t come from silence, but from surrender. A quiet that settles over the heart when we stop striving, stop rushing, and simply let ourselves be held. It’s the quiet I’ve been learning to return to — the place where God meets us not with noise or urgency, but…