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Farm Girl Faith, 5169 6th Street SE, Sykeston, ND (2026)

10/06/2026

These are still amazing fall leaves!

10/03/2026

If In Doubt, Help Out

I am a very infrequent flyer, but I flew from our little Jamestown, North Dakota to the massive Denver International Airport this summer to hike on Pike's Peak.

I spent an evening acclimating to the high elevation (not long enough!), spent a day hiking the lower elevations of Pike's Peak (darn altitude sickness!), and a day exploring the area with my sister and her family.

The last morning, they dropped me at the airport with my backpack and my walking stick. I waved goodbye, finished off my hot tea (those darn rules about liquids at TSA!), and headed inside.

The line to get through security was long! The people were lined up outside the screening room, around the corner, and through several of those zigzag rope sections. Queues, right?

Anyway, I was just about ready to get in the really long line line when a uniformed agent pointed to me and said, "Come this way."

Oh crap, I thought. What did I do wrong? My bottle of hot tea is empty. I'm not carrying anything that looks suspicious. What's going on?

They opened a side door and very politely inserted me into line just a few feet behind a TSA agent, and had me cut in there. "Here you go, ma'am. Have a nice day!"

Wow! What is this unexpected kindness? Is Denver trying their version of North Dakota Nice?

Later, as I walked down the concourse toward my gate, a young airport employee pushing an empty wheelchair came alongside me and matched my pace. I chatted with him for a bit before arriving at my gate. He waved as we parted ways.

Huh, that sure was a nice kid. This airport seems to be full of really helpful staff members.

As I shrugged off my backpack, I shifted my walking stick to my other hand, and then it hit me.

These staff members are trained to watch for people with potential disabilities and to help these people the best way they can. I was carrying my walking stick simply because I had no place to stow it in my teeny tiny backpack. And as long as I'm holding it, I might as well use it, right? After all, I had just hiked 11 miles exploring the lower regions of Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods and other areas, and my quads were still sore from all the uphill and downhill climbing! I could speed-walk the concourse with the best of them, but stairs still burned my muscles!

Anyway, back on track here. The airport workers were trained to spot potential disabilities and to help. I wasn't asked if I was disabled. I was just given the benefit of the doubt and was helped.

I think their policy speaks volumes to how we can treat those around us. We don't know what's really going on in people's lives, and we don't need to verify their suffering before showing kindness. It costs me nothing to choose kindness over judgment, bitterness, rage, or (worst of all) indifference.

Maybe that person didn't need your smile. But maybe they did.

So offer what you can, when you can. You just never know!

Matthew 25:37-40:
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

(Picture of me with my little backpack and my walking stick horsing around at the top of Manitou Incline which connects to Pike's Peak.)

09/26/2026

Roots

On my way to explore the Story Walk storyboards in Carrington and not really paying attention, my right foot dropped down several inches, and then my left foot stepped on a topsy turvy portion of the tarred asphalt sidewalk.

I stopped immediately.

Looking down, I could see long snaking fingers of heaved sidewalk stretching across the path.

As I followed the raised lines to the right, they converged at the base of a very tall cottonwood tree.

Aha! These are live roots under the sidewalk, still actively growing and supporting the life of this very tall tree.

According to Platinum Paving New Jersey's website, blacktop aka asphalt surfaces can withstand up to 3,000 pounds per square inch of pressure.

3,000 pounds of pressure.

Imagine how much upward pressure is in the life-giving roots of this tree!

Immediately, the closing phrase of a hymn came to mind: "Like a tree that's planted by the waters, I shall not be moved!"

This tree is not planted by open waters, but I would guess that deep beneath the surface lie abundant life-giving stores of water that continue to feed this tree.

Man may make his plans (to put in a man-made sidewalk and oppress everything beneath it), but it is God who determines the path (to break free from oppression and the ties that bind). Proverbs 16:9 says it like this: "a person may plan his path, but Adonai directs his steps."

Two scriptures directly reference the strength of a tree lying within its roots. I will leave you with those, to ponder for yourself as you think about having strong roots fed by the life-giving water of Christ.

Psalm 1:3 (God's Word Translation)
He is like a tree planted beside streams—
a tree that produces fruit in season
and whose leaves do not wither.
He succeeds in everything he does.

Jeremiah 17:8 (New King James Version):

For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,

Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;

But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious
in the year of drought,

Nor will cease from yielding fruit.

09/25/2026

Aggregation

The bright red caught my eye as I walked Oswald into the trees to do his business. I thought they were boxelder bugs, but on closer inspection discovered they're actually ladybugs!

Ladybugs aggregate like this for a few specific reasons:
* one ladybug alone is vulnerable; many ladybugs provide an impressive mass of solidarity.
* it sure is easier to find a mate when you're all hanging out together!
* It's maybe egg-laying time, and aphids are nearby to provide the little ladies something to eat when they hatch. Ladybugs do whatever they can to provide their little ones the best opportunities to survive and thrive.
* Winter is coming. It is! They instinctively know to gather together in large groups to share warmth and the best nooks and crannies of tree bark to tuck into. In fact, if a good tree is found, they release pheromones to tell all their ladybug friends to come and see and join in the preparations for winter in the bark of this tree.

Cool.

How awesome is that? I think we ladies can learn so much from tiny ladybugs and their propensity to gather in large groups sometimes.

I think of the verse in Hebrews 10:25 that says, "25 You should not stay away from gathering together, as some are doing, but you should meet together and encourage each other. Do this even more as you see the day coming."

I "aggreggated" with other women last weekend at my denomination's women's retreat. I have to tell you, there really is something to the act of gathering together to worship, to learn, and to connect. I can only speak of my own experience, but I drove away from that weekend back to my farmstead with a full heart and more confidence in continuing to live and worship and plug into my family and community in ways old and new. New songs, too! The retreat gave me extra strength, new friends, and a rekindling of old connections.

So...remember to be like ladybugs and aggregate sometimes. What's good for the ladybug is good for the full-grown human, too.

09/23/2026

I'll just "leaf you" with these other leaves I marveled at yesterday. All kinds!

They are so varied and unique! I cannot deny the existence of a brilliant and creative God behind all of this precision and variety. Ain't no Big Bang gonna make leaves as amazing as these. Chance did not play a part in these molecules and pigments and bits of DNA all over my world.

09/23/2026

We Have This Moment Today

Today felt like such a hectic day at work!

But even so, when I passed under this (maple?) tree on my way to the post office, outlines of red caught my eye.

Hurried as I was, those bits of red deserved a second look!

I don't know if I have ever seen a tree in this early stage of fall foliage with fully green leaves except for a thin red outline around the edges of each serration. What makes this tree turn colors from the outside in?

Truth be told, I haven't looked at fall foliage in like, years! And never with any sort of curiosity. I've always been like, "huh, that tree has yellow blobs, and that tree has red blobs. Pretty. Okay, let's keep driving- I came, I saw, now let's go have supper."

My other leafy memories involve my stint as a town girl, and we raked our leaves and dumped them into the pickup to take to my father-in-law's grass pile behind his house.

My favorite leaf job as a town gal was "pile manager." After every dump of leaves into the pickup, I crawled up into the pickup bed and plopped into the leaf pile to crunch up the leaves and compress the pile, because then we could fit even more leaves into the pickup and make less trips across town to Dad's.

But I digress.

Those pretty leaves in Harvey between my office and the post office.

That red? Comes from anthocyanins, the same pigment that reddens my plums. Interesting!

I still don't fully understand the science of it, but the longer, cool nights and the warm, sunny days of this dry autumn trap sugars in the leaves, and it is this sugary sweetness that somehow makes those red colors so vibrant.

Isn't it nifty that after darkness and experiencing coolness, the first thing the sun does is use sugars to make leaves vibrant?

I don't want to feed you platitudes, but wow, doesn't this make you think of the sweet, vibrant life we get to live when we feel the Son's light shining on our skin after enduring times of darkness?

I know, I know, that whole thought is incomplete. Maple leaves burn bright red for a short time and then they flame out and fall off the tree, making room for new buds and full green leaves next spring to capture sunlight and help nourish the tree.

But wow. Way cool leaves. And I got to witness the very first signs of change!

Which also makes me think not to hold things too tightly, and to stop for a minute and see what's right here in front of my face. Beauty and difficulties alike shall pass. Enjoy the view today for what is right here in front of me!

But don't take my word for it. Go out and see it with your own eyes. Pictures don't do it justice. Behold and see!

09/15/2026

Peace, Peace

I like to sleep with my windows open. Burrowed under a wool blanket and all of my covers with only my nose sticking out, I get the benefits of crisp autumn air and cozy warmth.

Last night, the autumn breezes took on extra gusto, enough that my front deck welcome mat flipped over and the cat's food dish skittered across the lawn.

I heard the wind whooshing through the trees from my safe place burrowed under covers. Some people would think about the bogey man and rush to close and latch the windows before something sinister happens.

Not me! I felt so much peace lying there, listening to the wind ebb and flow. It was almost like the wind had breath in its waves. I thanked God for the gift of North Dakota winds.

And then in the next breath of wind, God whispered a snippet of hymn lyrics into my ear: "...in fathomless billows of love." I hummed some of the tune in my mind, and it brought me to the beginning of that refrain. "Peace, peace, wonderful peace."

That's exactly what I was feeling as the billows blew through the crispy autumn leaves.

All through the night, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit, and I felt that wonderful peace billowing into my Son-warmed soul.

..from Wonderful Peace, by W.D. Cornell
( #466 in the Seventh-Day Adventist Hymnal)

Refrain:
Peace! peace! wonderful peace,
Coming down from the Father above;
Sweep over my spirit forever, I pray
In fathomless billows of love.

09/13/2026

Anthocyanins

That's what makes plum skins so red and is also what makes this superfruit good for fighting inflammation and disease.

I highly doubt I will be able to remember the scientific terminology, but I know I like plums and these plum preserves!

Yum yum!

09/11/2026

Keep Your Focus

I was surprised and dismayed when I dumped my 2nd boxful of weeds into the trees and a deep purple pansy tumbled out.

Oh no! In my zeal to yank out all the ornery weeds, I lost sight of my mission of giving these beautiful flowers a chance to breathe and shine. I had torn at those weeds with such vehemence! That poor pansy got caught up in my grasp of the thistles, grass, and weeds growing thick in the flower bed and was snuffed out.

Shoot.

I went back to the flower bed and immediately focused in on the remaining flowers I could see. I needed to be so careful with those pretty flowers! This time, I kept an eye and a gentle finger on the flower and carefully weeded around it . One by one, I gave each flower a wide berth of bare soil free from weeds.

Finally, after having fully protected the flowers by making them more visible, I was able to unleash my weed-pulling frenzy on the rest of the weeds.

This got me thinking more about how I go about refining my character. More often than not, I get hyper-focused, perhaps even obsessive, about that thing I'm trying to eradicate.

And sometimes, in my zest to squeeze out the "bad," those things about me that are beautiful and lovely and completely worthy of being a part of my identity, get thrown out, too.

Oopsie.

Something like throwing out the baby with the bath water, right?

Let's try to remember, as is written in Philippians 4:8, to keep our eye on "whatever is good, whatever is lovely, whatever is honorable, whatever is of good report," (notice there is not even one mention of weeds here??) and by holding these things in sight of the God who loves you, who created you to love the color purple, who wants your unique beauty to shine, those other things will clear without destroying the essence of who you are.

Focus on the flowers. Protect the delicate and the beautiful by keeping the good in sight at all times.

09/10/2026

Everlasting

I can proudly say I have never participated in the Millenial duck lips selfie or the Gen Z platypus pout, other than to show you in this post what happens when a Gen X with very little upper lip puckers up. Ew!

I also cringe when photographers urge those of us short folks in the front row to bear down in a pooping position and smile. People are gonna laugh at that a decade from now- all those squatters in the group!

I'm not immune from getting swept up in fads, though. Case in point is my 9th grade school picture, with my 4-inch high mall bangs. I worked so hard on those bangs! Hair spray, curling iron, more hair spray, ratting with a fine-tooth comb, followed by one more dousing of hair spray for good measure.

The early 1990s saw tightly tucked and rolled jean cuffs, which I dutifully learned in an effort to fit in at my boarding school.

I remember when a classmate showed up in the lunch line a year or so later wearing "hammer pants" (google that sometime!), and being jealous of her super baggy, stylish brown sweatpants.

Fads come and go like the North Dakota seasons, but the word of God is unchanging, steady, and secure.

It may not have mall bangs or duck lips, but it holds something much deeper, something everlasting.

I don't know about you, but that sounds so much better than the latest trends!

P.S. Do you think mall bangs will make a comeback? Asking for a friend...

Farm Girl Faith

10/06/2026

10/03/2026

09/26/2026

09/25/2026

09/23/2026

09/23/2026

09/15/2026

09/13/2026

09/11/2026

09/10/2026

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