Beginnings
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Ah!! I Remember . . .
Fifty years of God’s faithfulness in our marriage brings a reflection on Trust. A particular hymn we occasionally sing in church never fails to stir my heart with memories of gratefulness, joy, and amazement. At Philadelphia College of Bible we sang “Great is Thy Faithfulness”at every chapel meeting. I remember hurrying from my room, down five flights of stairs to the old chapel. Yes, my bed was made, everything picked up and neat. This was the time the dorm mom would visit every room for a room- check. Your bed better be made, and you had best be out of the room and down in chapel, or you would receive…
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A Wedding in the Walnut Grove
A wedding! The third grandchild ( third child of Dan and Nancy) is now creating a new limb to our family tree. Lillian and Shiloh’s story goes back ten or eleven years ago when the Brock and Swihart family first met. Even then, it seems, there were sparks. But little did they express that interest until just a few months ago. What joy it was to celebrate their wedding with them. Lillian carried flowers that she had grown in her garden; we shared cherry pie that she and her friends had baked; and the couple drove off in a vehicle that Shiloh and his friends had “constructed.” Creativity abounds in this…
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I AM . . .
I . . . AM . . . ME!!! Staring out the window, I let the idea slowly sink into my four-year-old brain. This idea was an incredible revelation. I am ME!!! I have been talking to ME my whole life. That voice in my head is ME. The feeling that flowed through my body felt familiar to this little farm girl: precisely like touching the wire of an electric fence. “Well, hello ME.” I am sure everyone comes to that realization at some point in their early lives. The recognition that when we think good thoughts, when we think bad thoughts, all that stuff that comes from inside our…
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Just in: Pictures of Emmaline and Sam
So, this granddaughter is the first born grandchild, a surrogate mother and official right hand to her mom. The gal who always seemed to have a mature relationship with the Lord. For example, when she was nine years old, as we were leaving the grocery store, she turned to me and asked, “So how are you doing spiritually, Oma?” Shocked, I stumbled around saying, “Uh, I am very comfortable with my relationship with Jesus, Emmaline. How are you doing?” “Well,” she replied, “i am working on my judgmental spirit right now. I have asked Jesus to help me with this.” That was and is Emmaline. She was the last…
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A Dog, A Donkey, and A Soul
As Dakota and I crossed the brome field and headed toward the farm, I glanced over my shoulder. The picture of an upset donkey caused me to hesitate. Don Quixote (Donk) was stomping, throwing his head over the top of the fence, and getting ready for a loud, obnoxious bray. Dakota, the black lab, and Donk have forged an unusual friendship during her short stay with her “grandparents.” It is no secret that I am a soft-touch when it comes to animals. Doubling back, I grabbed Donk’s lead rope and opened the gate. Satisfied that he had been understood, he offered me his chin, and I fastened the rope to his halter.…
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Fire in Them Thar Hills
A group of thirty to forty of us had gathered in and around the prayer chapel after making our way from the barn, across the pasture, and down into the ravine. Listening to the prayers of thanksgiving and dedication, my mind was drawn back to that fateful day the previous fall. Derrick and I had headed down Anderson on our way home from Kansas State University. The four mile trip home past farms and fields was always refreshing and restorative. Oblivious of the drama going on at the farm, we were enjoying the spectacular fall colors. I had never appreciated the grassy fields and roadsides in the fall before we moved…
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Crazy or Inspired?
Recently, Teri, my writing partner, and I spent one of our writing sessions walking around the farm and visiting some of the buildings that have been a big part of the ministry of Wellspring. One of those spots was in the secluded hard wood forests north-west of the farm-house. Visiting that spot brought back warm memories of past years. I could almost see the faces and hear the voices of those young men so many years ago as they erected this unusual building dubbed “The Prayer Chapel.” Although it is in dire need of repair today, through the years it has been a place of dedication, tears, lamentations, heart-cries to…
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Painting by the Number (continued)
One evening we gathered in the living room of our little home with people seated on chairs, couch and floor. We had worked together and eaten together. Now we were relaxed and spending some time in worship, song, and sharing. Dennis led us, playing a few of our favorite choruses. Judd and John co-led as we jumped into one of our favorite topics. The discussion was one that had become familiar, but this time Kathy recorded what we said. What was the next step? Better yet, what was the big picture that God was painting? Jane began the discussion in her calm, level voice. “Perhaps, when you look at the gifts…
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Painting by the Number
Whenever God rejects a “wish dream” it is not out of His disdain for our wishes, but it is always that He has something better. In rejecting my wish dreams, God did not hold back His blessing from the farm, its ministry, and its supporters. He had a better plan. Looking back now I can see that what happened over the years was God’s plan painted in pictures that we could only uncover as we lived under His leadership. His plan was like the old-fashioned paint-by-the number pictures I had done in my childhood. The pictures came to life when I followed the numbers carefully, choosing the right colors to fill…
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Visions and “Wish Dreams” (continued)
Now I was facing a dilemma. My faith was being tested. My vision, my dream, was deteriorating. I knew that God had the power to change Judd’s mind, and He had not. And I knew that since He owned the cattle on a thousand hill, He could have provided the financial resources we needed. I also knew that I needed to support my husband and submit to something that he felt was right. Now it was time to step out in faith, believing that God is sovereign and I must walk a path that seemed so wrong to me. So I began to look for jobs. I had been…