Stone Hill Homestead

Being Thankful

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Lisl

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Being Thankful

I spent two hours on the phone Monday with my mom. I asked her, how do you know when  something is a non-negotiable you need to factor into a decision making process, or when that thing is something you just give up to the Lord with open hands? How does one deal with the reality of what you know about yourself in the face of making a decision that you aren’t sure is going to accommodate your own sanity?

Rian’s pigs had piglets this past fall. It was a new experience and we learned a lot and enjoyed the process.

She said the answer is to petition with thanksgiving. “God, thank you for making me this way and allowing me to live in such a way that I can use these gifts and enjoy life in this season.” And then lay it before him. Cut it to him straight as well. He can handle it. But be thankful.

My Freyja cow got a nice new patio of her own before snow flew. I’m so excited to see how well it helps with the mud control next spring. And she’s due to calve the beginning of April. I’m really excited to have a calf on the farm again!

So I did those things, and peace came flooding back like I haven’t had for a while. Because it’s in his hands now and I can stop turmoiling about the decisions at hand. God doesn’t seem to be opening doors right now so I may as well stop fretting next steps and live in the now. “Be where my feet are.” Like Porters Gate people sing. And be thankful.

I tell Dru about what nice kids we have so often. Man! I love them! They are the best thing that ever happened to us.

I am thankful. We’ve had our share of hard. But man! We have had a load of happy here on our 4 acres of StoneHill.

The Admiral is the soul of the kitchen… actually maybe the house this winter. She keeps us warm and does at least some of the cooking. In my mind she is a she and her name is “The Admiral.” I’m done fighting this. Not everything has to sound right. She is an Admiral Windsor. I am ever so thankful for her services.

This is where my feet are today. On my farm, in my home, with my family. I am thankful for everything about it and will live it full and happy. Thank you Jesus. Maybe there wasn’t so much that needed fixing after all?

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Hello,

I’m Lisl

Herein lie the events, ponderings, people, and animals that make up the cacophony of our life.

Pictures of farm and family

There are strange things happening over on the blog. It's such a strange summer. Closing a chapter of our lives. Wondering what living gracefully between chapters means. One moment feeling excitement for the next thing, another moment grieving what has come to a close. A quick photo dump of our lives yesterday. Church on the patio. Here we are waiting for the livestream to start. We got to church and it was so packed out that we left, opting to watch church with my dad who was home with a bad ear infection, rather than watch church on a screen in an overflow area at church. Then we stayed for lunch and the guys played Monopoly. There. I took pictures today. Bag balm and the moth. The only picture I took today. I'm struggling to make the pictures happen and it bothers me. One never knows where they will find their teenager. The kids are asking about Bible translations. They have the right man for a dad. They won't go out into the world without an understanding of how we got our Bible and how different translations happened. Chickens in the morning, waiting to be let out. My mom took this lovely picture of my house in spring. And my family came over to help us use up the compost pile. There's more, by the way, if any of you locals need it for your gardens.