And Still, I Am Thankful

This is a little bit of a different Thanksgiving video. No cooking this year. I had wanted to use the outdoor bake oven for my pies, but it has been snowing and raining here in Vermont. Sigh. Perhaps I will fire up the oven for Stir Up Sunday — the Sunday before the start of Advent in which it’s a tradition to make your Christmas fruitcakes.

But for now I share with you a very raw and honest video which began when I got reacquainted with the song, “Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother’s house we go…” Something about this 1844 poem, later set to music, which was originally written for Thanksgiving, not Christmas, tugged at my heart.

I began wondering, what if grandmother’s house is no longer? What if “home” has changed for you, or is changing? I am going through a trying time, but no matter what, on this day, I can say, “and still, I am thankful.”

Where do you see blessings among trials? And I need to know, which Thanksgiving pie do you prefer: pumpkin or apple?

It’s a blessing having you part of the Old Stone Well Farm family! Click on the video below, pass it along to friends, like and share on YouTube.

I’m Starting Advent Early with a Saint!

It’s St. Martin’s Day (Nov. 11) here at Old Stone Well Farm, and it is the start of early Advent. No, I’m not talking about Celtic Advent which begins Nov. 15. Rather, in the early church, Advent would begin on Nov. 12 with that was known as St. Martin’s Lent — 40 days of showing acts of kindness and compassion just like St. Martin did in the 4th century. And so, I share my little cape (where we get the word chaplain and chapel from) and invite you to join me these 40 days leading to Christmas by showing our love to others in need. Join me and learn more about St. Martin and make your own St. Martin Advent lantern! Click below and join me. And send me pictures of your St. Martin Advent lantern. Email them to oldstonewellmedia@gmail.com.

Blessings!

Halloween at the Farm: This’s Year’s Pumpkin Message Revealed!

What does an old hymn — reputed to be set to a beer drinking tune and sung by martyrs being led to their death — have to do with Halloween here at Old Stone Well Farm? Well, it inspired the message in this year’s pumpkins.

Yes, the tradition of carving a message in the pumpkins is back, but this time, rather than lighting them on Sofie’s Hill, we go to the back woods for a little old time spooky leaf crunching.

But do not fear, there is nothing spooky here…just an important message of how to live in a world filled with fears and frets.

Come, join me! Click below and transport your self to rural Vermont. What would your inspirational message be if you were to carve one out of pumpkins? Leave a comment. And invite your friends to come to Old Stone Well Farm! There’s plenty of room around the farm table! Blessings!

Have you ever heard of a witch window? I just discovered this Vermont architectural anomaly and the fun folklore behind it. (You can click on the image below and fast forward to the video to the 4:44 mark to get a preview of it)!

But such a window got me thinking about the things we do to “protect” ourselves from harm. The world we live in seems so unsafe at times, but there is what I call an ancient security system that we have forgotten about and it involves God.

In this season of harvest, as our Jewish friends just finished their celebration of Sukkot (or Festival of Booths), I turn to the Hebrew Scriptures — the Psalms and the Book of Deuteronomy — to remember the promises of God to not only provide for us manna from heaven and water from a rock, but to protect our loved ones — to send “an angel of the Lord to encamp” around us.

Drop me a note and let me know your thoughts! What do you think of the witch window? And what can you do in your household to remember always the goodness of God in this world that is so full of darkness and so broken?

A Season of the Soul

Is it autumn or fall? Whatever you call this apple picking, pumpkin carving, cider drinking time of year that we are in, let’s not forget that it is also a season of the soul — a time to reflect, ponder and celebrate life’s uncertainties.

Friedrich Nietzsche once wrote, “Notice that autumn is more the season of the soul than of nature.” I couldn’t agree more.

With the leaves falling and the garden breathing its last breath before a time of slumbering, I, too, find myself reaching deep into my soul, eager to hear what my life is saying in the uncertainties that are on my path. I have decided this time around, though, to celebrate those uncertainties.

Yes, celebrate uncertainties, for I do believe they are God’s way of inviting us to really listen and not be afraid of our authentic selves.

And so, pull up a chair here in my 18th-century Vermont home, and bring a friend as there is always room for more. Share with me what you like about this season, and how you face life’s uncertainties. Click below to start our time together. (And, as promised, here’s the link to the song I reference by Nichole Nordeman: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KbIv–NSe5c)

Blessings!

Learning to Unlearn

School is in session and I invite you to learn with me this year how to unlearn. You read that correctly. I am going to concentrate more this year on unlearning things that I once thought were right and question all those assumptions and expectations that just might be holding me back in life.

Richard Rohr, a Franciscan monk and author, once wrote that “transformation is more about unlearning than learning.” I am starting to see how true that is.

Join me as I explain more — and explore one of Vermont’s oldest one-room schoolhouses.

Click the video below, and let me know: What is it that you have to unlearn this year?

Labor Day Thoughts on Work/Life Balance

Summer is winding down and already my schedule for September is filling up. I realize I need to have a healthier work/life balance, but I am failing at it. My first step in better boundaries is realizing who I really labor for…God, not man…and that is where my sense of worth will come from. And so, welcome to Old Stone Well Farm on this Labor Day weekend. Pull up a chair and let’s spend time together. I would love to know how you find balance in your life! And, as always, I can’t thank you enough for stopping by…and liking, commenting, sharing and, if you haven’t already, hop over to YouTube and subscribe @oldstonewellfarm. (Finally, apologies for not being 100% in this video. I have been struggling with a wicked sinus infection all week. Slowly getting back on my feet!) Blessings!