The hills of Bagley, WI
Lamentations 3:22-23
It has been many weeks since I have been able to post a few words upon "Becky's Blog". Dear readers, since April the blessings have been flowing non-stop and I just cannot seem to wrap my head around them all!
Being that today is Monday, wash day, I am thankful for the fresh linens on the line as I look down the valley of our backyard. Our backyard displays views that one would find on a postcard or maybe a portrait; colors of bright red, orange, yellow, and even distinguished browns tease the eye and create warmth within the soul. Fresh apples picked just yesterday mingled with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg baked into a breakfast strudel makes our mouths water as we anxiously wait for the final appearance of a toasted topside in the oven. Coffee warm, earthy, and hearty slowly brews in the antique peculator coffee pot just the way Mr. Flanagan and I like it. As we behold the landscape where God has placed us even the views could fool the eye into thinking we could be just about anywhere in the hills of Tennessee or Kentucky. We watch in wonderment the horses frolic in what is called Hidden Valley Hollow laced with fresh hay and clover. The chickens and our rooster provide jovial entertainment as they dash about eating up box-elder bugs and greens. We giggle as we watch them peck away; the mighty rooster Sir Acton Scott, and his ladies: Ruth, Mrs. Potts, Cora, and Loony Lucy (because she is the most comical of the hens!)
Yesterday was our day of rest. Aside from daily chores concerning the animals it is the one day we do not cut firewood, harvest, or invest in intensive labor. It is also the day we set aside for church and visiting. The pastor of the church we have been attending invited us over for a lovely dinner. His wife Deborah is an excellent cook, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. As we visited, I pondered all we were able to tell them as we discussed "how we got here to this area." Again I think of how blessed we are to have escaped the city of Milwaukee to live in the hills of the Drift-less Region of Southwestern Wisconsin. You see it was not that long ago that Mr. Flanagan and I set forth looking for ways to live in a rural setting. We began that endeavor with prayer. We prayed for much more than our desires...so many folks are in need of prayer. When we did pray for our heart's desires we would pray "Lord...we just ask for a little piece of land to steward while we are here. Please send us somewhere in the country where we can be used, and at the same time where we can tend to your creation." It isn't hard for us and others to see the Lord answered those prayers.
"His Compassions Never Fail. They are New Every Morning. Great is Thy Faithfulness" One of my favorite verses and a favorite old hymn. As I look back upon my life and what my children and I have gone through, good and bad, I can stand up and say that no matter what...He has been faithful and has cared for me. He has blessed us not 10..but 20 fold and more as we survey the 725 acres of land we are to "steward". My Mother always says "Everything happens for a reason" I would add to that "Nothing happens by coincidence" God is in control and if you are His child and a slave to righteousness, the blessings will be that much more evident to you.
So begins our "homesteader" lifestyle as we enter into the country and rural life. Folks just seem to take things a bit slower around here, they visit a bit longer, they like to have coffee and cake and tell about the good old days. I have entered a "Mayberry" world of homespun tales, calico kittens, horses, and garden preserves. If this is near what heaven is like, I cannot wait to enter those gates; until then I will enjoy being a farmstead wife whom is blessed beyond compare and is living answered prayer.
It has been many weeks since I have been able to post a few words upon "Becky's Blog". Dear readers, since April the blessings have been flowing non-stop and I just cannot seem to wrap my head around them all!
Being that today is Monday, wash day, I am thankful for the fresh linens on the line as I look down the valley of our backyard. Our backyard displays views that one would find on a postcard or maybe a portrait; colors of bright red, orange, yellow, and even distinguished browns tease the eye and create warmth within the soul. Fresh apples picked just yesterday mingled with ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg baked into a breakfast strudel makes our mouths water as we anxiously wait for the final appearance of a toasted topside in the oven. Coffee warm, earthy, and hearty slowly brews in the antique peculator coffee pot just the way Mr. Flanagan and I like it. As we behold the landscape where God has placed us even the views could fool the eye into thinking we could be just about anywhere in the hills of Tennessee or Kentucky. We watch in wonderment the horses frolic in what is called Hidden Valley Hollow laced with fresh hay and clover. The chickens and our rooster provide jovial entertainment as they dash about eating up box-elder bugs and greens. We giggle as we watch them peck away; the mighty rooster Sir Acton Scott, and his ladies: Ruth, Mrs. Potts, Cora, and Loony Lucy (because she is the most comical of the hens!)
Yesterday was our day of rest. Aside from daily chores concerning the animals it is the one day we do not cut firewood, harvest, or invest in intensive labor. It is also the day we set aside for church and visiting. The pastor of the church we have been attending invited us over for a lovely dinner. His wife Deborah is an excellent cook, and we thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. As we visited, I pondered all we were able to tell them as we discussed "how we got here to this area." Again I think of how blessed we are to have escaped the city of Milwaukee to live in the hills of the Drift-less Region of Southwestern Wisconsin. You see it was not that long ago that Mr. Flanagan and I set forth looking for ways to live in a rural setting. We began that endeavor with prayer. We prayed for much more than our desires...so many folks are in need of prayer. When we did pray for our heart's desires we would pray "Lord...we just ask for a little piece of land to steward while we are here. Please send us somewhere in the country where we can be used, and at the same time where we can tend to your creation." It isn't hard for us and others to see the Lord answered those prayers.
"His Compassions Never Fail. They are New Every Morning. Great is Thy Faithfulness" One of my favorite verses and a favorite old hymn. As I look back upon my life and what my children and I have gone through, good and bad, I can stand up and say that no matter what...He has been faithful and has cared for me. He has blessed us not 10..but 20 fold and more as we survey the 725 acres of land we are to "steward". My Mother always says "Everything happens for a reason" I would add to that "Nothing happens by coincidence" God is in control and if you are His child and a slave to righteousness, the blessings will be that much more evident to you.
So begins our "homesteader" lifestyle as we enter into the country and rural life. Folks just seem to take things a bit slower around here, they visit a bit longer, they like to have coffee and cake and tell about the good old days. I have entered a "Mayberry" world of homespun tales, calico kittens, horses, and garden preserves. If this is near what heaven is like, I cannot wait to enter those gates; until then I will enjoy being a farmstead wife whom is blessed beyond compare and is living answered prayer.
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