Knolltop Farm Wife

I was texting a friend early this morning as we were discussing a situation about a young man she was concerned about. She explained the situation and the rock and the hard place she seemed to be up against. She wanted to help this young man be successful in his next season of life but felt like it wasn't her place to step in.  I gave her a few quick thoughts but then turned away for a while to work at my desk. Right on time, the daily devotion from Proverbs 31 Ministries came in my email.  I had just recently found this ministry and signed up for their daily devotionals.  The devotion was based on Matthew 25:40  "And the King will say, 'I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!'" Although I had read this passage over and over again, the context was different this morning. It was about how sometimes moms need to step in and protect not only their own children but those ch...

Do you remember as a child when you made a wrong choice and were so convicted you knew you had to confess the truth? Or when you were caught in a lie and were forced to tell the truth? It's one of the toughest moments in life when you're so convicted you could choke and yet fear keeps your mouth shut. Fear of disappointing someone or fear of the consequences. No matter what the fear it's powerful and paralyzing. When you finally do cross that great divide between fear and confession, once those truth-telling words are out of your mouth, relief washes over you and the strength that fear was trying to harness is suddenly unleashed and you feel like you could do anything. This has happened time and time again with me, from when I was a young child on into adulthood.  Fear can paralyze me beyond belief. Do you realize with God, none of this takes place. There is no fear. There are no worries. There's just an all knowing God who knows how you feel, what you're th...

I've been called crazy, weak minded, silly, self-righteous, naive and stupid for believing in the one true God. But my belief has never swayed and what happened yesterday just cemented my faith in just exactly who the Great Provider is. I had to cover an event in Wauseon, Ohio, about 50 miles southeast of the farm. I headed out and was low on gas but decided to wait to fill up until I got to Ohio, where gas is usually cheaper. I went to the event, enjoyed the company of farmers, tried to figure out what the professor from Ohio State University was talking about with drop size, air assist, canopies and drift and then I finally headed home. Knowing I needed to get gas, I stopped at the cheapest place I found, a Marathon station just south of the Fulton County Fairgrounds. I hopped out, saw that you couldn't pay at the pump and decided I was too hot and too lazy to walk 20 steps into the gas station so I left and looked for the next place to get gas. I found the next station...

Jake sat at the dining room table while I was cooking dinner and asked me if I still had a picture of him in his body cast from the accident.  I said, "Yes, it's around here somewhere," as I pointed to the refrigerator full of pictures and schedules. He told me we needed to keep that around and of course I agreed. Then he explained why, saying that if he ever does something great, like play basketball in college or something cool like that it would be a great story. Ya know, I get run over by my dad in a skid steer, broken leg....body cast.....had to learn to walk again...all that...ya know? I smiled and said, yes Jake you're right, it would make a great story and I turned around and began to dice the mushrooms. And then I thought about it a little more and realized I had stopped telling him. In 1999, when God performed the miracle of saving Jake from an accident that should have killed him, I was convinced he was saved for a reason. There's no way any two ...

Running through the thick of all the graduating senior activities that are coming fast and furious, last evening was no different as we sat in the gym and listened to each senior in Luke's class give a thank you speech. I remember JW's Senior Spotlight and it was a real blessing to listen to the kids pour their hearts out to their families and friends.  So I was really looking forward to this night. Shaun, Luke, Brad and Tom Luke was the second one to give his speech and in quintessential Luke form, it was short, to the point, no tears and no flash....just Luke saying thank you.  Many of the other seniors were similar to Luke while others were fighting back the tears saying thank you to their families.  And then there were those who were totally surprising in their humor, delivery and sincerity. The speeches were nearly finished when one young man got up to give his, Tom. He admitted he wasn't a public speaker, mostly because he ...

The pastor had begun preaching his message on evangelism when all of a sudden there was a loud thud and all eyes went to the opposite side of the worship center on a man who had hit the wall and then went down. Immediately people with medical experience rushed to him, including JW. It was a chance for him to use what he had been learning in EMT training! He had practiced on the entire family at home, but now he had a real live person to ask all those questions! JW got up and ran across the front of the worship center to help out with this man who went down.  After a few minutes the paramedics showed up and took care of this man who was apparently a diabetic. The pastor resumed his sermon on our responsibility to share Jesus with those around us. As I sat and listened to all the excuses we give for not telling our friends and co-workers about Jesus I began to think about it.  Telling others about salvation is the most important thing we can do as Christians. We have su...

Recently, our pastor, Dr. James Walling, has been emphasizing the ripple effect.  Simply meaning that what we do as Christians should make a ripple like a rock thrown into a pond of water, it ripples.  Our intentional actions for the glory of God should not only effect those directly involved but they should be felt or observed beyond our physical reach...they should ripple! I have felt the ripple and I want to make it go just a little further across the pond.... A week ago something in my back went haywire and I've been pretty immobile since. I spend a lot of time on my bed with ice on my back and a laptop in my lap. I'm getting better day by day, thanks to a great chiropractor and God answering the prayers of a few prayer warriors. While my kids have been great at taking up the slack with the house work and the farm, my washing machine decided to quit thus creating a mountain of laundry that would make the most fearless mountain climber tremble. Never fear my sm...

They sit in a row, beautiful all in their own way. They are there faithfully every week. Never missing. Their hair is perfect, make up just right and they have learned to dress in colors that flatter their aging complexion and graying hair. Their warm smiles welcome you in, their hugs and handshakes reassure you the sun still comes up, the world still goes around and God still loves you. They ask about your family, tell you how beautiful your children are and ask, genuinely wanting to know, how you are this week. If you shared your troubles they would listen intently and pray specifically. Then they would send you on your way with a hug, a smile and that calmness that only those life warriors know and can pass on to you. You can't help but be encouraged by these pillars of strength, these women who have been through all of life's trials, the ups, the downs and those day to day afflictions. They've learned through the fire that when we are tested we shall come forth as...

Today is a first for Luke and Sarah and I won't be there to see it.  Their first step, the first time they rolled over, the first time they drank from a sippy cup, I was there for all of those firsts in their life. But today, I'm really, really, really bummed because I won't be there the first time they try out downhill skiing. The entire high school is going skiing today. One hundred and one teenagers will load up this morning and head to the hill and for most of them, this will be their first time. It seems so odd to me that my kids have never been skiing.  Back in the day, skiing was very popular. There were a few kids who frequented the slopes and you could tell how many times they had gone by the number of lift tickets on still attached to the zipper of their jacket. But for some reason, it has never occurred to me to take my kids skiing...probably because I was such a failure at it....but we won't go down that mountain today. Luke and Sarah asked what they ...

I've been wanting to write this for two weeks but haven't had the time to put it down in words. I really don't have the time now, but the house is quiet and I want to write! JW left early that morning for his MMA fight in Taylor. JW, Luke and I prayed together for God's protection before he walked out the door and I continued to pray all day long. While I don't pretend to know God's path for JW and his desire to pursue MMA fighting, I did see Him at work on that Saturday in January. I was enjoying a cup of coffee that afternoon before leaving for the fight when a text came in...it was JW.  He asked if someone could read the story of David and Goliath from the Bible to him.  Overjoyed at the fact that my son wanted to hear scripture....I said, SURE!  With Bible in hand, I loaded up three teenagers and we headed to the fight. About half way there, JW called and said, "Ok, can someone read it to me now?" Because I was driving and I didn't feel t...

Fourteen months ago, JW's girlfriend, Leah Ward was taken from this earth in an unfortunate car accident. Although we miss Leah greatly and her death was so tragic at the time, we know that she is spending her boundless time in a mansion built just for her in heaven. Wanting to make things just a little easier for Leah's mom, JW decided he would make a quilt out of Leah's t-shirts. This was a big undertaking, especially for a 19 year old who had barely cut a piece of fabric, much less any other kind of sewing. JW enlisted the help of his brave grandma, who also had never really made a whole quilt from start to finish and his great Aunt Sande who was proficient in quilt making. They put the top together and then it was time for JW to quilt it. JW brought it home and I couldn't wait to see it. He unfolded it and as he spread it out on the floor, my reaction suprised me; I began to cry. You see, I saw Leah in those shirts. It was as if she had somehow come to lif...