Are you a birthday person? I admit, I am not. But recently I have been thinking about birthday celebrations as a spiritual practice — not a day to groan about being one year older, but a day to remember the beautiful person God created us to be.
And so, join me today at Old Stone Well Farm, my 18th-century home here in Vermont as I surprise my mom with a cake baked from scratch and reflect on ways I can get better at embracing birthdays.
As you watch the video, think about your birthday attitude and ask, “Does it need adjusting?”
It’s Valentine’s Day at Old Stone Well Farm in Vermont. While I am dealing with a broody hen, I think about the broodiness in this world where our words and actions often don’t reflect the love of God. Our lives are filled with so much chatter…but are we speaking words of love or just making noise?
How will you speak words of love this day and in all your days to come?
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.
Well, we had another snowstorm here in Vermont, which means more snow angels to make and more snowflakes to marvel at. While I yearn for warmer weather, there are lessons to learn in winter’s “slow down” mode. Lessons such as before jumping into saying saying “yes” to everything, discern the time and energy you have to give. Discern if what you are signing up for fuels your passion.
Even with that beautiful “Here I am” we wish to say to God, listen first for what is really being asked of you. So, sit back and enjoy what I call a “mini-retreat.”
Yes, these videos are your time to enjoy country living in Vermont with me. So enjoy Old Stone Well Farm — my little 18th-century home in a Vermont valley which is known by the locals as “the oldest house in Rupert.”
Invite your friends to come along and visit the farm as well. There’s always room at the old farm table. So like, comment and share Old Stone Well Farm Media & Ministry with friends and invite them to subscribe to the YouTube channel to get the latest news and reflections. This fledgling ministry is getting some attention. I am still not sure where God is leading me with it, but I have said “here I am” and I am excited and curious to what tomorrow will bring. So join me in praying for direction and wisdom.
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.
Nugget, my miniature Easter Egger Bantam, lays the cutest little sage colored eggs. But I wondered what to do with such little eggs?
Then I remembered a wonderful 18th-century recipe I learned at my open-hearth cooking class. I could make Scotch Eggs! (Learn more about these delicious treats in the video.)
As I worked in the kitchen, Nugget’s tiny contribution to the farm made me smile. It also reminded me that we all have a gift to bless this world with.
We all have something wonderful that can bring a smile to others. With so much negativity in the world and so many people clamoring for attention and jockeying for position, I was reminded that everyone and everything has value.
Now if only we can live seeing the value in all things — even the smallest of eggs here at Old Stone Well Farm. I hope you find your time here in Vermont a blessing. Think of it as a mini-vacation, a step back in time and to a quieter place. As always, I love having you come to the farm with me.
Share the news of Old Stone Well Farm with friends and family.
Blessings! Donna
(P.S. There’s currently no water here in this old house due to the joy of rural living and well issues. And so, pardon my unwashed hair today!)
Winter was the season to slumber, to hibernate, to retreat. In Native American traditions, winter was a time of gathering around the fire and tell stories. But we don’t allow ourselves to do that, do we? We just go, go, go.
On this below-zero day, I invite you to think about embracing winter’s rest — to allow your tired souls to find renewal in a nap, a good book, a walk in nature, and to hear a story or two. So join me as I pour a glass of Madeira wine, the wine of 18th-century America, and share a story about miracles and new wine.
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.
It’s Twelfth Night here at Old Stone Well Farm. I invite you to join me as I prepare to say good-bye to Christmas and welcome in the season of Epiphany. Step away from the busyness of this day. Slow down. Recenter. Refocus. Connect with the divine. Blessings!
2022 is here but Christmastide is still being observed here in Vermont. Join me today at Old Stone Well Farm as I share with you some of the gifts of Christmas and ponder what the “word made flesh” means for you and me.
Join me, too, as we start the New Year by breaking bread together. This is a special day for me as I begin my ministry as a “free range pastor,” seeing where God leads me here at the farm.
If you enjoy this time together, please take a moment to leave a comment on YouTube, like on YouTube, and subscribe.
Well, I have to get going. The sun is coming up and the chickens need to be fed.
accidental country pastor 