Christmas Letter 2023

 

A picture of this beautiful church taken this past summer

Christmas 2023

In the early morning hours, words started swirling about to write a Christmas letter.  As I crept down the stairs the house is quiet, a good time to reflect on this past year.  With a freshly brewed cup of coffee,  a cozy spot by the fire, I wish each and every one of you a very blessed Christmas. 

If you have ever watched the movie “The Way” (which I recommend wholeheartedly) it’s about a man walking a path towards a very specific journey's end.   And I realized that everyone’s life is a lot like that movie.  In that each of us is walking on their own path with the end goal to a specific destination.  We walk along with others, some for a time, sometimes alone.  The people we meet along the way help shape us in ways that teach us lessons about life, love and hope.  Sometimes the lessons are brutal and harsh and sometimes they are pure beauty. For me, it’s fair to say that overall, the most significant experiences were the hard ones, but that they resulted in learning about faith, hope and love.  I don’t know about you, but my pathway on my personal journey has been filled with many people, many lessons to be learned (usually the hard way), but nonetheless, each has had an impact on me that helped shape who I am and where I am going.  My end goal is eternal life with God. I am filled with the knowledge that our God is a great one.  This year for the first time, I’ve been reading a chapter a day in the book of Luke.  As I go about my days in this Advent season, it’s so easy to get side-tracked by all the hustle and bustle and forget the “Reason for the Season”  the birth of  Jesus.  Maybe you are like me getting so busy that all I see are the "to do lists"....and then in the quiet hours of early dawn, I realize what a magnificent gift has been bestowed to each and every one of us.  All we have to do is accept that gift of God’s love. It’s free.  He shows up for us.  Each day is a new one to get up and try our humanly best to live it in ways that honor our Savior. 

On a personal note, this year has been filled with so many blessings.  Rod & I did a commitment ceremony with his good friend and pastor performing the ceremony and attended by our immediate family.  For us it represents our commitment to each other before God.

This past year has been filled with many wonderful family gatherings and adventures, some close to home and some afar.  And regardless of where we were location wise, it was all about being connected to each other. We laughed, ate, drank and yes sometimes cried together - bonds formed of what makes up a family.  Is our life perfect? No, but each day we get to try to be the best we can… for me that is where “grace” is either given or received when I stumble and falter. 

I find as the years go by, filling my days with quality people that include family and friends, is where a person sees true beauty in life. We have also found a wonderful church and are forming a lovely church family there.  Words sometimes fail to convey the beauty of connectedness.  But it’s real and I can say both Rod & I feel it.

And with that, I wish for each and every one of you that as you walk down the path of your personal journey, that you find those good people who make your life beautiful, the ones who help hold you up when life knocks you down. And I hope you will take a moment to reflect on all the blessings in your life and give credit to God. My hope is that as you walk on this road that we call life, that one of your goals is to ask God to be your walking partner as we go up & down the hills towards our final journey’s end.  

Merry Christmas,

Gayle

Our family....not a blended family... A BLESSED FAMILY 

I Love America and My Freedom, How about You?

So how are you?  I mean really?  I saw something recently posted by a cousin on social media that had said “ It feels like Americans are in divorce court and just waiting to see who gets custody of us”. It hit the nail on the head.  Whatever side you were hoping to win may have you now feeling elated or feeling just the opposite with yesterday’s announcement.   For the most part, I see as a nation that we are weary from COVID, racial issues and a contentious presidential race.  Our emotions are upfront and center and for many, they are very vocal about where they stand.  I get it. There are so many factors out of our control but yet they affect us. I imagine there are many things in play that we may and may not know about and I for one feel a bit over-whelmed with so much emotion swirling all around. 

Either way, there were things I liked and didn’t like about each of the presidential candidates and their respective parties.   I’ve listened to conversations from some that worry about American becoming the next “socialized nation” and I have to admit that scares the you know what out of me and is there someplace else better than America to live in?  I ponder for a few minutes and think, no there isn’t anyplace else like the U.S.A.   I love my freedom and all that comes with this amazing  privilege that I think so many take for granted.  Or at least I have.  It comes down to the fact that there isn’t anywhere else I would rather live than in America.  I am going to put my trust in something bigger than who is our next president.  Tonight, as always, I will get down on my knees and spill my soul to our Creator and then ask for divine guidance for you, me and all of America.

As I write this, it is basically a snow globe outside my window and it beckons for comfort both physically and spiritually.  

Sharing a beautiful winter sunrise from my farmette

Today I will be do the things that help calm my soul, for one – it helps me when I write to you, next I will bundle up and take a long walk outside which is another place to talk to God.  Then later on I will be baking Oatmeal Cranberry cookies that have been dipped in chocolate. Recipe is here. I will save a few for my Mr. Right when he gets off work, but the majority will be taken to my fav law enforcement office with sincere thanks for all they do.  Giving helps me and it feeds my soul.

And as you navigate through your day, I wish you well, truly and sincerely.  My hope for you, me and the rest of America is to move forward as we work towards keeping our freedom and realizing how fortunate we are. There will always be differences and I hope we all realize we can’t change anyone but ourselves.  We can choose how to navigate our everyday life and it is up to us.  And my choice will be to follow our Creator’s words of wisdom as best I can.  I am human, I fail and then I get back up and try again to do better.  This quote says it perfectly to me…..

Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.  

Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you

2 Chronicles 20.17 

Wishing you and your family all the best.  As always, thank you for stopping by and sharing part of your day with me. As always, feel free to post a comment and by all means share the post if you so feel inclined.   All my best, Gayle

Remembering the Good

Hi Friends,

It’s funny what a person will remember about someone after they leave this earth.  It’s been slightly over one week since my sis-in-law, Denise had of change of address from here on earth to heaven.

It seems almost like a lifetime since last Tuesday and then I realize it’s only been 9 days but I feel like my heart and soul has traveled hundreds of miles and saw and felt so much.

Christmas Letter 2019

Dear Friends,

As I write a Christmas/New Year letter, it’s been a good year.  As I look out the window, it is snowing…..finally.  With that coat of fluffy white stuff, it just makes this girl’s world a bit more magical.  

Seth and Maddie's Wedding - Life Lessons

Seth and Maddie's Wedding

The groom's side - LtoR, Brandon+Sarah, Bridgette+Bill, my brother Doug + Edie, Seth+Maddie, Kyle+Kayla. A beautiful crew I must say!

At a family wedding last week-end two very important life lessons were once again and wonderfully demonstrated.  The first one was sometimes life doesn’t go as planned, to have faith that it will work out in the end.  The second was try to live your life through the eyes of a child – embrace fun!

Last Saturday, it was a beautiful warm day and the forecast was perfect – balmy 70’s and no rain forecast.  A postcard event awaiting!    I texted my sister-in-law the same thoughts, saying so glad the weather had gotten the crazy rain storm out of the way on Thursday and Saturday looks like a gorgeous day for a wedding!  And as the four o’clock hour drew near, the guests were seated for the outdoor wedding ceremony amidst the backdrop of a beautiful barn in the countryside.  And within minutes the clouds rolled in, thunder exploded and huge raindrops started falling.  Everyone ran inside the barn, then in true celebration of the moment, we enjoyed an impromptu cocktail hour as we listened to the roar of the rainstorm which had then turned into a semi flash flood.  Ugh. 

Unexpected Lovely Start to 2019

Some serious bliss and indulgence

Greetings and blessings to you on the first day of 2019

Sometimes unexpected quiet days are truly a treasure to cherish and indulge.  For some reason the unplanned day to spend in pj's by the fire just evolved and it feels like a guilty pleasure of pure bliss.  The snow-covered ground with its bone chilling temperatures make me feel grateful to be able to snuggle in the warmth of the sunroom and fireplace.

True Colors and Courage

Again it’s been another rainy week-end and I’ve loved having the stormy weather as it seemed to be Mother Natures’ way of saying, “hey girl – you need to cocoon and take some needed down time”.  So that is exactly what I did, I enjoyed hearing the steady stream of rain outside my window and the cool temps made me go find my favorite fleece jacket.  

 The gray day seems  to make the surrounding colors outside seem brighter and more vibrant

After last week’s post, I had the most touching and personal emails from two of my readers, both of whom I have the privilege of calling good friends.  Both women live hundreds of miles from me, but when we do have the opportunity to see each other, it’s like we just pick up where we left off. They said my candor inspired them to reveal and share very private aspects of their lives.  I learned one had the courage to disclose she was gay and had gotten married to a very special woman in her life not long ago.  Her career is in a fairly conservative industry, so when I asked how her boss and co-workers took this news, she was happy to say they were very supportive.   She is a known public figure and one very accomplished woman – and the raw courage to show your true self was nothing short of being one of the bravest souls I know.

The other friend told me about hitting rock bottom in her personal life and the journey of reaching deep down and figuring out she was a wonderful and strong woman who could do anything she wanted in life.  She decided to forge a new career path and put herself through college while in her 30s, and in the process found a man that she chose to share her life with. She's happy in her personal life and work life.   Both heartfelt stories were inspirational and they reaffirmed my commitment to always being real, staying true to what feeds my heart and soul and sharing my journey with you, in hopes it helps you in some small way.

Life’s ups and downs have a way of making people show their real colors, and like my two girlfriends. Each rose to the challenges in their lives and are inspirations in their own right.  Their true colors are courage, guts and doing what they felt was right.

“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”~– Anais Nin

I can understand some of their journey of standing tall and doing what you need to do – for the good of you.   This past week I also learned sometimes a when a person shows their true colors that it is not always a positive thing and that a hidden side of a personality is suddenly exposed.   Unfortunately, this was the case with Randy.  And without going into gory details, all I’ll say is that it was an unpleasant surprise and a very disappointing display of actions on his part both before the break-up and after.    But the really weird thing is after I found out about everything, it was like I turned the corner, closed that chapter in my life for good, and I felt free, not even bad, just free.

I had planned on sharing a Peanut Butter Cake recipe, but the results were lack luster.  And like anything in life, you have to test it out to see if it’s a keeper or not. 

Before I close, in speaking about raw courage and true colors, a very heartfelt thank you to all who serve our nation to protect us both  on our home land and far away.  My heroes are those who risk their lives every day to protect our world and make it a better place--police, firefighters, and members of our armed forces.

And with that, I hope you have a wonderful week, I’ll talk to you after Memorial Day Week-end.  

As always, thank you for stopping by and feel free to email me at swheatfarmlife@gmail.com .  All my best, Gayle