Every Friday my husband would return to his hometown to thoughtfully wander in solitude, a piece of property in the wooded, rolling hills on the outskirts of Silverton, Oregon— land owned by generations of his people. This quiet ritual refreshed him mentally and renewed him emotionally. In the spring he'd come home and tell me about the smell of the good earth awakening as it comes back to life, the emerging wildlife, and the first baby sprouts of grass seed that would mature to be harvested come summer.

Just as all this green began sprouting, more and more birds were singing in the morning, and that lovely sound of the little frogs at night commenced, and a sunny day here and there warmed our faces,  this gem showed up in a deep study we were having in the book of Ezekiel,  the scripture says "Cast away from you all your transgressions which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! ...declares the Lord GOD... repent and live." 

I wonder if, perhaps, seasons were created as an object lesson to teach us this very message: When all looks dry, dead and lost, God can create life yet again. Jesus said, "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

When I was growing up in the suburbs of south Salem, Oregon, occasionally my sister’s horses would escape the fence and go running toward busy Cunningham Street wide eyed, ears straight up, bucking for the joy they could not hold inside until they were exhausted. People, horses or cars were ever hurt, but it was a job and a half to convince them to come close enough to my sister so she could again put a halter on them to guide them back, worn out, to their pasture.

Nothing puts that same feeling in me more than freedom. I get it. Especially spiritual freedom. Truly “...if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed” John 8:36. My soul frolics in that daily. I wish everybody would break free from spiritual slavery and bask in the light of the blessings of spiritual emancipation. There are so many chains from which He has loosed us. This podcast shares just a few.

Thank heaven for all the life - beautifying things that only God is both willing and able to do.

It's around early February 1982. I'm 19 and Mark is 23. We've been married around 2 1/2 years and I'm getting a little bored and looking for "a little something new to do".  We're sitting across from each other at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Chiles in Keizer, Oregon. And I say to him, "You know we talked about waiting 5 years before starting our family? Maybe since it takes sometimes years to conceive, if we started now then in maybe in about 3 years I might be pregnant .... and Ashley's life started about two weeks later. She's our only surviving biological child and is creative, funny, smart,  interesting, loves God and hungers for His smile upon her life. She's been happily married since age 19 to her college sweetheart who loves her well. They live in Rhode Island where they're raising their three gorgeous (above average) :D  children  with lovely, slow moving river in the backyard of the home they call "River House".  She is a fiber artist and the author of Spinning and Dyeing Yarn. You can find her free spinning video series on her website How to Spin Yarn. She is also a dealer in the Boston / Providence area for SpinOlution spinning wheels, and engineers SpinOlution’s marketing, graphic design, social media, Spin Her Free fundraiser, dealership program, and website. Her husband Brian works in a lab at Harvard medical in Boston. 

Enjoy this little mother/ daughter conversation around things that delight Ashley, with some interesting little stories in-between. 

(You may hear 2 year old "Nub" faintly in the background from time to time. He was hanging out with the rest of the family for awhile where, apparently, he had some preferences he needed to voice).

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that the Messiah would be “A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief”. Sooner or later, we will ALL become acquainted with grief.  

Why were we all created with the ability to experience the agony of grief, the deep pain of depression, or the sadness that accompanies discouragement? In this podcast we  explore what our Creator has to say about that question and His wisdom around where we can find our joy again, and 12 practical ideas that when implemented, can move you that direction.

“I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13). 

ALL things is ALL things. --- Even overcoming our own discouraging mindsets. 

Hang tough. God's people are MORE than conquerors (Romans 8:37) and so very much loved (1 John 4:16).

We love life and in this podcast we share a few of our big and little reasons why.

Let's ponder together today, your most precious commodity.

"Dost thou love Life? Then do not squander Time; for that's the Stuff Life is made of."   ~ Benjamin Franklin

"Beware of the barrenness of a busy life." Corrie Yen Boom

As if you could kill time without injuring eternity. Henry David Thoreau

"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein." ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

This story from The Book of Virtues, is a memorable tale that serves to remind us that as sweet as it is to anticipate the blessings of the future,  we do best to find reason to treasure the present as best we can, and make the very best use of it, no matter the challenge. The wise protect their happiness by not allowing their hearts to wish they could  "pull the thread". 

Here's how God helps...

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.  The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly...  Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.  I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.  I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Philippians 4:4-13