- Bethlehem Revisited, Life on the Farm, The Gift of Community, The Gift of People, The Gift of Vision, The Presence of God
Bethlehem Revisited
Ah, life feels more typical these days! Last Sunday, a menagerie of people from young to elderly filled our living /dining area. All of them with vital roles in the planning and execution of Bethlehem Revisited. Shut down for a year; once again, we are planning our annual Christmas event. Bethlehem Revisited is central to much that goes on here at the farm. Our grandchildren have grown up living through all of the stages: planning meetings, workdays, the days of the event, which usually begin early in the day with preparation for that day and into the late hours of closing down for each day, and the final clean-up afterward.…
- Bethlehem Revisited, gifts,giving,thankful,, Life on the Farm, Prayer Walk, The Gift of Community, Uncategorized
“Wokeness” on Kitten Creek
The weather in Kansas can be fickle. Countless times this year, we have watched the threatening clouds bear down on Kitten Creek and then watch in amazement as the storm circles left or to the right and totally misses us. Sooner or later, though, we get the storms. So we prepare. Presently, we are watching the threatening thunderstorms forming in our larger, cultural surroundings. We are not naive. Inevitable cultural pressure is coming (and presently seeping) into the area that surrounds our community. We are preparing. One of the storms forming around us is a “woke” culture, filled with judgment for anyone who is not “woke.” What does a “woke…
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A Surprise Visitor
The wind howled outside, and icy snow pelted our double glass door. Judd and I sank a little deeper into our matching brown recliners and enjoyed the warmth of the wood stove. I had decided earlier not to go out in the snowstorm to check on the barnyard menagerie. I could see from the dining room window that the chickens (my two new red hens) had already disappeared into the coop; the absence of Donqui and Goatie at the gate was evidence they were already settled snug in their stalls. All was well and there was no need for my mothering. Yes, I could have shut the door to the coop, but who…
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One Hundred Years!!
I think it was the stately old barn that convinced us to buy the farm. Its age held a nostalgic appeal to Judd and me Though its old red paint had faded to gray, the barn stood steady and strong under the weight of hundreds of sweet-smelling hay piled on its top floor. As the local farmers came to reclaim the hay they had bought, the walls began to reveal not just cobwebs and dust, but memories: old harnesses, tools, and memorabilia. Painted on the south-east wall was a number: (1918). The significance of the number was a mystery, until Judd visited one day with old Chappy. Chapman’s Gas …
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TRANSFORMATIONS by Kay Bascom
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Rain and Reign
RAIN! In the midst of a drought, we cherish the soft slapping of rain hitting the windows and the smell of the musty, damp earth after the rain. This morning during a rare thunder storm, we watched as Caleb and Josh, bare-headed and coat-less, walked down the drive to check out what has been a dry creek bed all summer. On their way back, they stopped by the house, drenched to the skin. Dramatically pulling off their rain boots and dumping pints of water on the concrete porch, they gave us an extended “creek report.” Yes, there was water running over the bridge and the creek that had been bone-dry…
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It’s the Thought That Counts by Jan Coles
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Re-Collecting in the Pasture
Today I needed to walk the old familiar trail in the pasture again.The thoughts and feelings swirling in my mind and heart were and are disconcerting. Thirty-eight years ago, this pasture was new to me. My body was younger. I was filled with anticipation of what could be, Things in the world were . . . just different. Yes, we were on a down-swing in our culture, but there was hope of changing it. Yesterday we were young, God was with us, we could carry out the vision under God’s direction. We were a community with one heart. Today, we are not so young. Our community living here is of…
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New Updates From the Farm
Woo hoo!!! Three new babies in the Swihart family as of today. In the last nine weeks we have received these little answers to prayer: one grand child and two great-grands! I had to search to find a picture that would illustrate these three, since they have not been together, yet. The black-haired baby is the one we are waiting for at this moment. This is just a guess, but I am SURE he/she will have a head of black hair like her/his momma and daddy did. The other two babies, Sophie (Derrick and Carrie), and Lydia (Jena and EJ) have light brown hair. Thus, the pic. And if that…
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Our Life in the Country
According to the resident expert this is a lavender Australorp (ROOSTER!!!). Sometimes life in the country takes “true grit.” My new replacement hen crowed today. OOps. He was guaranteed to be a hen. Now, my granddaughter, Lillian, tells me the other “hen” is a rooster, also. And why do I have a replacement in the first place? This is the sad part. According to the trail cam we also have a mother fox with three kits. This mom decided she needed to feed her babes, and my wonderful, dear old hens were the dinner. The night before a raccoon had decimated my friendly ducks. I became an “empty nester” in just a…
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Miracles
“Angel lived!” Susie, the market place supervisor and owner of the little lamb, Angel, was ecstatic when she called last evening. The last I had heard down at the “prayer house” on Sunday evening was, “There is a bottle lamb up in the market that is dying.” As I grabbed some medication to send with Anya, the message-bearer, she explained that the lamb was very sick: its tongue was cold, and its breathing was shallow and slow. It was dying. The children in the market place who had carried the lamb for two previous evenings and the adults who had watched and loved the baby lamb were saddened. There is…
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Anticipation Abounds!
Christmas comes early on the farm! Everyone here is knee-deep and prayer-deep in preparing for the thirty-first year of what has become Bethlehem Revisited. Anticipation fills our hearts as we grandparents along with our children and grandchildren are joined by our large community to worship and work together in bringing this narrative to life once again. Costumes hang in the barn separated into categories: Angels, market-place, shepherds, guides, children, Marys, Josephs. We have covered the paths with wood chips ready for hundreds of people to trudge up and down the hills. The tickets that sat in Judd’s office have been distributed to various outlets. Stock pens for all the animals…
