Harvest season is in full swing and as I husk the abundance of corn my neighbor gave me today, I think about the old time husking bees and how communities came together to help one another. What does it take to live peacefully with others? It takes an abundance of forgiveness, which isn’t always easy, but something we are called to do. So gather with me here in Vermont and let’s talk about ushering in a new day where forgiveness culture rules. Blessings to you! Donna
St. Benedict once said that “always, we begin again.” I have been embracing that a lot these days, realizing that more, now than ever, we need God’s divine hand to wipe the slate clean of our mistakes and failures, and of our anger and hate.
In this new episode of Old Stone Well Farm, I share with you my thoughts on clean slates. I also share a recent event that opened my eyes of faith and in which renewed my heart that has been lagging and heavy for far too long.
It was also an event that reminded me that no matter what the situation is, God is there moving among us. (I also reveal a little tidbit about myself that I have often kept quiet for many, many years.)
So pull up a chair and join me! Make sure to share with others!
I recently had a week to myself. I didn’t travel to any place exotic. Instead, I putzed around my own backyard, exploring places that I often take for granted. I found myself exploring cottages and cabins from a timber framing company, hoping to find inspiration for my prayer chapel. They were too pricy and the waitlist was long.
I then explored an old school house from 1852. It was at that school house that I remembered how we need to learn (or in my case, relearn) that in a bad news world we need to seek the good — the Good News found in God’s Word.
So if you have been feeling like there is just too much heartbreaking news weighing you down, then come and join me here in Vermont for a mini escape from it all!
Pull up a chair, sit with me as I share some wisdom from the Good News and how that school house visit reminded me of America’s pioneer girl, Laura Ingalls Wilders, and how she had once created a go-to list of Scripture verses to go-to in her time of need. I will share some of her favorite verses, along with my own.
I look forward to our visit together, and share with me what verses would be on your list. Then share them with a friend. Better yet, invite them to Old Stone Well Farm, too, for there is always room for one more here in my 18th century home.
Now more than ever we need to join our hearts together in prayer for the world we are living in.
Tasha Tudor once said that when the shadows of gloom are in the world, it is then we need to “take” joy.
I have had one heck of summer dealing with a rude and hateful world. Okay. Maybe I am being dramatic here, but I am so eager to begin a new fall season, one that always brings me joy.
Just the other day, I realized how the simple task of picking pumpkins put a smile on my face.
St. Francis used to say that simple joys were holy. He is right.
So join me my friends for this episode where we revisit our joy jars (I introduced this to you in January) and talk about how seizing joy each day can indeed help us cope with a world that is getting ruder by the minute.
If you don’t have a joy jar and would like me to share a joy with you from mine, leave a comment or email me at accidentalcountrypastor@gmail.com.
Welcome to another midweek gathering at the Old Stone Well, a time for us to come together and find solace and strength amid our busy and trying days.
I am on a tight writing deadline, but didn’t want to miss being with you and so enjoy this minute or two meditation. I will be back with traditional episodes of Old Stone Well Farm.
Till then, leave a comment, like and share. And let me know what seasons are changing in your life and how we can lift those changes to God in prayer together.
I have always wanted to gather you, dear friends, at my old stone well for a minute or two to find escape from the world and find our strength again in the beauty God has created.
And so I am bringing you midweek meditations called “Gathering at the Old Stone Well.”
Our time together is meant to be a minute or two for that quick pick me up we need during our days. I often take these well breaks where during long bouts of writing or editing, I sit on the well to listen to the stillness and to pray.
It was at the well where the woman had the encounter with Jesus, who told her that he could give her water where she would never thirst again.
In a way, I would like to think that my old stone well will be a place where your thirsts in life are quenched….or perhaps your parched soul is watered.
Regular episodes of Old Stone Well Farm will continue. So stay tuned!
Let me know what you think of your new midweek opportunity to spend some time with me here in Vermont. And if you have a prayer request or a joy to share, leave a comment so that this Gathering at the Old Stone Well will be our time together to pray for one another.
August is here — a new month to hope and dream and capture the joy in life that is all around.
August also begins with the celebration of Swiss National Day, a big holiday in my household. But this year as I take to the hills of Vermont, I am reminded of a classic Swiss story — no, not Heidi — but one of a little Swiss boy who discovered that sometimes we need to step away in order to truly see the beauty in front of us.
And that sometimes, you can indeed return home — and appreciate what you once took for granted.
So, pull up a chair and celebrate with me! Invite a friend. Like and make sure to leave a comment.
The dog days of summer are here in Vermont, with many hazy, lazy days. But as I continue to seek a slower and simpler life, well, life continues to surprise me.
What started out as a typical quiet day turned into a lesson of the power of caring for those in need. Three little birds fell out of their nest and I had to figure out how to do my best to save them.
The story has a happy ending, but it led to a larger narrative that I began to explore as I wondered who would be there to catch me when I fall?
I soon realized that was the wrong question to ask. Helping hands are all around and often it is when we step out of our own needs and worries to ease the situation of another, well, that is when we find peace and wholeness.
In today’s world, what would it look like if we all committed to do our best to reach out and help another?
Lots to ponder.
So pull up a chair and join me at Old Stone Well Farm, where the welcome mat to my 18th century homestead is always out! And let me know your thoughts?
When was the last time you looked at your hands and realized they are not small at all, but have the ability to amazing acts of kindness and compassion?
Recent news headlines have been weighing heavily on me and so I’ve decided to turn my back on the world for a moment to do something that fills my heart with joy: I stepped back in time, wearing my new English round gown that I got for my birthday that I celebrated June 27.
I couldn’t think of a better way to start July than by embracing quiet summer afternoons and reflecting on the wisdom of days gone by. Mostly the wisdom from Benjamin Franklin whose thoughts on life and how to live it, reshaped how I intend to spend my days.
So come and join me for this episode of Old Stone Well Farm, where I invite you to step back from everything that is happening right now and find a moment of peace, of joy, of healing and of hope. It is a blessing to have you here with me! Like and leave a comment. And make sure to invite a friend as there is always room at the farm table…or as in this episode, there is always room around the old tea table. (You’ll have to watch more to see what I am talking about!)
Summer is in full swing for me as I just came back from an 18th-century upholstery class at my favorite place known as East Field Village — a community that teaches Colonial skills.
The class, though, created some stress for me as I came home with my project — a bench — and realized I had no room in my house for it. It just doesn’t seem to fit anywhere. That got me thinking about the things we accumulate in our homes and how it is so true that we can’t take it with us when all is said and done. And yet we are so attached to our things.
As I asked (and struggled) with the question, “What would be the one thing I would take with me if I could only take one thing?” I realized that true treasures are found in our hearts and that our true homes are not the ones we seek to furnish with things.
As C.S. Lewis writes, “Our true home is not a place, but a state of being.” So come, join me for a visit now on the old porch on a hot summer day here in Vermont and let’s discuss this concept of home, our possessions and what would the one thing you would take with you?
I would love to know what it would be. Comment, like and share with friends!
accidental country pastor 