When The Wind Blows And The House Shakes. . . Day #19 of Thankfulness

Some nights I think the wind will blow this old farmhouse right to the ground. 

With every gust the shutters rattle; windows shiver.

There are stress lines in rooms without wallpaper that show the give and take. 

The history this home has seen. 

Love, worn deep into the banister from hands through the years.

Grooves in the wood floor, from the farmers path every morning and evening, over decades. 

Love worn right through the couches and most everything in this home. 

The door to this home, wide open, for generations.
And the night of the wake for our son, those doors were open.
We flung them wide.
And through those doors walked generations of love.
Through those doors came the lost, and broken, the hurting.

A continuous welcome. 

There are no strangers here.

It is grace and love, sprinkled with joy. 

It is what drew my heart to this place. 

The sense of belonging, the tug of simplicity yet, layers of complexity. 

And the foundation of this house is solid rock

(really, it's a stone foundation)

It's strong and built to last.

It is the way of our faith.

It is rooted.
And though the wind blows, the shutters rattle, windows shiver;
the house will stand.

Luke 6:48
They are like a man building a house, 
who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. 
When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it,
 because it was well built.

Day #19 of Thankfulness

I am Thankful for:

A home filled with love

Oh there's fighting too, I just think it's a different kind of love

History that leaves a legacy of Godly men and woman 

News, as my husband drifts off to sleep, that his scans were clear

Children that giggle and play

stories

The legacy of family

love that runs deep and faith even deeper

Hope that the struggle will end

Snoring, may I never grow tired of the sound

Sunshine streaming through dirt laden windows

Time at the desk to dig through the layers

brothers who don't mind listening 

A cousin who is the sister I never had

SIL's who love their brother so very much
BIL's who spends time helping

Offers of help around the farm

this season of intentionally being thankful, I so often forget
That even though my heart is breaking, God will see us through
that even though I feel so overwhelmed and hard pressed;
there are folks who are helping to carry our burdens
The wind reminding us of the only solid foundation


When my world falls apart and the light turns to dark,
when the clouds gather round and the storms overwhelm
When my heart breaks in half and my strength cannot last
When I am lost in this land and I can't see your plan
I'll stand
On Christ the solid rock. . .all other ground is sinking sand!
Through every high and stormy gale
My Anchor holds within the veil!