Preparing for Lent
I am making hay while the sun shines. Well, more like burning last year’s palm branches outdoors to make ashes for Ash Wednesday, March 2, before a foot of snow falls down on me here at Old Stone Well Farm as the weather forecasters are predicting. So I am enjoying the sun and preparing for next week as we enter into Lent. As I do, I invite you to join me in not just burning the palms, but thinking more deeply how you will enter into this holy season.
Blessed Are …
A drive around my rural haven revealed a lot more than lost mittens and tossed away cans along the side of the road that are peeking through the melting snow.
What I saw was the tiredness and brokenness of a people, of God’s creation. Were all those falling down barns on my drive really the perfect illustration for life in this moment? (Watch toward the end of the video below and find out the more perfect illustration I stumbled upon. It is one that had me saying repeatedly with joy in my heart, “God is good.”)
Jesus, in what is known as his “Sermon on the Mount,” once told a crowd of folks, whose barns were probably caving in too, “blessed are you.” Blessed are you no matter what life brings you. Blessed are the poor, blessed are the hungry, blessed are the persecuted, blessed are the grieving…blessed are we this day in all of life’s circumstances, because God is with us.
So join me here at Old Stone Well Farm in Vermont as my life being an accidental country pastor leads me down dirt roads and back pastures — all in search of those beautiful God moments. And may you discover how blessed you are this day.
As always, thank you for coming to the farm. If you like this ministry, consider subscribing to the YouTube channel, share with a friend, let us all spread more good news out into the world.
Tea, Soup…And a Short Reflection
It’s been a week of sore throats and sniffles. As I heat up the soup and make another cup of ginger tea with honey, I invite you to the farm to think about how confident are you that God is doing a good work in your life. God is always working, and that good work comes with revisions. Do you trust God? Are you flexible when it comes to embracing change? I share a video that I recently made for the opening devotion of a meeting with my ministry colleagues in the Presbyterian Church U.S.A. I hope you find it a blessing. And remember, take care of yourselves. Rest. Relax. Find those moments of quiet solitude, of grace. Being under the weather has reminded how important it is to slow down.
Bright Light, New Path
I’ve always embraced January as a month to challenge myself to step out from what I am comfortable with and dare to step onto a new path. And so, step with me!
Step out of the cold and the snow (if that is where you happen to be either physically or emotionally), and come share the warmth of my 18th-century home, Old Stone Well Farm, as we learn how to trust and be guided by the bright Epiphany light. Share with your friends. Watch with a cup a herbal tea. Take these minutes to watch the video. Think of it as my gift to you. A gift to enter into my 18th-century Vermont life.
Blessings! Donna
A Christmastide Thank You
I will be taking some downtime during these 12 days of Christmas, but before I dim the glow of Facebook and hush the alerts on my email, I want to thank you for making Old Stone Well Farm such a blessing in 2021. May you, too, take this time in Christmas to hush the noise of the world so that you can keep hearing the angels sing that beautiful melody in your lives: Glory to God in the highest!!!
See you at the farm in 2022.
Blessings,
Donna
Christmas Eve 2021: A Very Holy Night
An early Christmas treat. I’ve decided to share Old Stone Well Farm’s Christmas Eve’s video a day earlier, as I know December 24 and 25 can be quite busy with last-minute preparations.
I wanted to share this holy night with you, inviting you into my home and onto the snowy paths in Vermont to explore the Christmas story once again. And get a candle ready to light as we will be singing “Silent Night” in the snowy back pasture of the farm together. Old Stone Well Farm will return in 2022, as I will be taking some downtime during the Christmas season.
Till then, wishing you all a very Merry Christmas. I can’t thank you enough for making Old Stone Well Farm Media & Ministry what it is today.
Remember to like on YouTube, subscribe and share with those who might be blessed by a Vermont Christmas.
Living the Christmas Story
It’s a snowy fourth Sunday of Advent here in Vermont at Old Stone Well Farm, and as I get the manger out in preparation of Christmas Eve, I share how nativities came to be part of our Christmas decorations and how the first living nativity was the brainchild of a certain saint who loved not only animals, but the Babe of Bethlehem. (Can you guess who that is?)
So how about doing something special today as you take time to sit back and enjoy our time at the farm together. Why not mull some cider? Or perhaps add a cinnamon stick to your steaming cup of coffee? Or if you are feeling really decedent, whip up some homemade hot coco and don’t hold back on the whip cream.
Treat both your tastebuds and your soul. And share the special message of striving to live Christmas with all you know and love.
Blessings!
Donna
The Holiness of the First Snow
A midweek time to breathe and recenter so that you can truly have a holier holiday season this year. I would love for more people to enter into Christ’s birth with peace, not stress; with hope, not discouragement; and with the beauty of realizing joy is not bought…we really do have all we need already around us. Enjoy!
Pastor Donna
Having a Holier Holiday Season
On this Thanksgiving weekend…an invite to have a holier holiday season. And yes, the snow is falling hard here in Rupert, Vermont.
Blessings,
Pastor Donna
Join me for a snowy Holy Week here at Old Stone Well Farm in Vermont. This time together is a simple gathering based on a Tenebrae service. There will be time to listen to Scripture, reflect and, as the story progresses, candles are removed, representing the growing darkness of betrayal and abandonment as the cross draws closer.
Before watching, create a sacred space for yourself. Find a comfy chair. Have a mug of soothing tea. Light your own candles and extinguish them along with the video. However you might watch, though, be ever mindful of the love God has for you — a love that went all the way to the cross, and a love that we will see never dies.
Yes, it’s Good Friday. But Easter is coming! If you enjoyed this time of worship, please share on YouTube and subscribe so that you never miss visiting Old Stone Well Farm!
Blessings, Pastor Donna
accidental country pastor 