A joyful heart is good medicine,
but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Lord, give me the joy of your salvation, that it might spill over and trickle into the lives of those around me as a steady drip or even a rushing stream!

Psalm 100
Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! 
Serve the Lord with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing! 
Know that the Lord, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. 
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name! 
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

“All around me as I write is a noise of Nature drinking: and Nature makes a noise when she is drinking, being by no means refined. If I count it Christian mercy to give a cup of cold water to a sufferer, shall I complain of these multitudinous cups of cold water handed round to all living things; a cup of water for every shrub; a cup of water for every weed? I would be ashamed to grumble at it…. And indeed this is the last if not the least gracious of the casual works of magic wrought by rain: that while it decreases light, yet it doubles it. If it dims the sky, it brightens the earth.”

– G.K. Chesterton from “The Romantic in the Rain”

“If we think we can do life on our own, we will not take prayer seriously. Our failure to pray will always feel like something else-a lack of discipline, or too many obligations, but when something is important to us, we make room for it.”

– Paul Miller in A Praying Life

Have you walked through an intensely difficult time in your life, when your position, your reputation, your identity was torn away? Have you been rejected and devastated?
Steve and I were talking today about a time in my life like that. It’s been many years, but it is still hard to talk about, even with him. The wounds from it are deep and tender. 
It’s funny how a stretch of frigid days when our routine is derailed can give us room to slow down for good, deep, hard conversations. It’s a mini-picture of the greater truth: God knows exactly what we need, when we need it. 
I’m thankful for a man who’s willing to pull me into discussions I resist, to challenge me to think deep thoughts about seasons I’d rather leave in the past. He loves me enough to gently probe the uncomfortable and help me on this impossibly long road of healing, to point me to God’s truth so I can have real perspective. He loves me enough to have hauled me out of self-pity many times over the years, pointing me to reality. 
I’m at the point where I can look back and see many good things that have come out of that season of my life, but by far, the one we talked about today is the most precious. Through that time, I slowly, painfully began learning heart-lessons about finding my identity in Christ, not in serving others or in pleasing people I love, not in reputation or secure circumstances. 
I am learning the truth that devastating circumstances are sometimes necessary for real transformation.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 🌿 John 1:1-4

I love this sign. It hangs on the door to the old “milk house” that was here wayyy before we were at the farm, and I like that it reminds me to not hold back, to go all out and embrace the life that’s mine to live!

But lately (maybe it was the 0° windchill or the snow currently dusting the sign😅), I’ve been remembering that all of life isn’t blooming. Sometimes it’s also resting and waiting. Sometimes it’s the slow green growth time that precedes the bud, which precedes the bloom.

Not every season blooms, and that’s as it should be.

This frosty #pnw morning I am so happy to be curled by the fire, continuing on in @gracelaced’s #bb32days readings challenge. It’s my second read through _Beholding and Becoming_, and this Scripture-filled, lushly illustrated book is inspiring and convicting me even more this time around. We’re going through an powerful period of assessment at the farm right now. January is generally the month when we crunch numbers, weigh profitability, and make final plans for the coming season, but this year is especially intense because we’ve intentionally added a new goal-setting dimension: we’re also carefully considering our strengths, our personality-bents, our heart’s desires and our dreams for how to generously welcome others to a restorative place of rest here at @triplewrenfarms. We’re gathering data to be sure, but we’re also approaching this project with a big measure of faith.
Today’s reading in @ruthchousimons’ book speaks to knowing God’s will, and to say it met my heart’s need today is a huge understatement. It reminded me that’s Gods will for me is clear in so many situations. Sanctification is God’s will. Rejoicing is God’s will. Being thankful is God’s will. I know that believing in Jesus is God’s will (John 6). And Ruth pulls it all together so well when she writes, “If a follower of Jesus pursues such a definition [obeying these specific commands about what God wants/wills] of God’s will for her life, all the other decisions will fall into place. 
I know these truths, but remembering them today as we’re in the throes of 2020 vision-setting, was priceless. We all need regular reminding of the deep truths of God’s word, and I’m so thankful for such a beautiful way to refresh them today!