Oh my! What a beautiful difference a year can make!
Last summer, I was struggling a lot. I’ve written more about that in our Monday emails (which is my favorite part of writing these days, and it’s never too late to subscribe. 🙂 ) But let me just tell you, this summer has been all about singing and finding what it means to become a life-song for God. My soul has been spilling over with joy to realize all the wonderful works God is doing in my soul, through the ages, for His glory.
Life is not perfect. In any way. I have stretches of discouragement and those punched-in-the-gut feelings, but God reminds me of truth and He reminds me of life.
So there I go living again.
He is so good!
The summer has been full of new experiences for me and adding goats to the mix has been the best (totally done on a whim) adventure!
Hattie-girl is our people lover. She loves attention and usually wants to be near the closest human. She’s also clumsy and a bit of a slow-learner. It’s honestly like watching me in goat form, so quite enlightening! 🙂 She’s getting to be quite independent and it’s been fun to watch her begin trying things on her own. 🙂
Miss Margie, on the other hand, is brave and daring. She also might be a pig disguised as a goat, because she just loves food that much. The longer she’s part of our family, the more she wants all our love. She’s become quite attached to me and will run to greet me when I visit. I love her spirit. She just loves being a goat. And I think there’s a pretty good lesson in that. 🙂
They act just like sisters. They do everything together, and I do mean everything. 😉 I love watching them become more and more comfortable with their new home. It’s hard to imagine we never owned them before this summer! Our dog, Franklie Tom, loves his goats. He’s always every excited to see them in the morning. By the end of the year, they’ll all be best friends…or at least friends. 😉
In June, I had the opportunity to speak for an all-girls horsemanship group here at Wolf Mountain Christian camp. I had so much fun. I was able to use some of my notes from the Women’s Retreat I spoke for in May, and it was such a joy to share the truth and freedom of God! We laughed a lot, rode horses, and told embarrassing stories about ourselves.
It had been awhile since my horsemanship days, so I was definitely sore, but it was fun! Big decisions were made in the lives of these girls and hearing them talk about God’s purpose and precious thoughts for them made every bit of the week worthwhile. Working alongside this team of women was such a privilege.
My porch garden is spilling out of the flower pots! We planted the avocados in soil and the marigolds are thriving. Our raspberry bush has made beautiful progress and the snapdragons know how to bask in their glory days! So much life!
I’ve had quite a few migraines this summer. I rarely talk about my chronic pain here on my blog anymore, but it’s still a part of my life. I haven’t written about it for awhile, because I am not living in the shadows of it anymore. I’ve experienced much victory over fear and discouragement, but with that being said, chronic pain is still a battle! I’m still learning about my body, learning about my triggers, learning how to say no, learning to stay in my limitations and yet fully LIVE within those limitations.
I believe this summer has brought me a little closer to answers, but I think I’ll be saying that for the rest of my life! Chronic pain is long, exhausting journey, so keep flowers in the house! They cheer up the heart when all the body can feel is pain.
Also it helps to have a husband who picks you surprise wildflowers on a regular basis. 🙂
We had a lovely 4th of July with my sister and her husband. We played fireworks on Youtube (21st century, right?!) while we ate grilled hot dogs and mac n cheese, finishing off the night with the Lego movie and apple pie + ice-cream for those who weren’t too full. All of us were half-asleep partway through the movie, because we’re old and we don’t know how to party anymore. 🙂
Here’s the happiest ole family picture from the day! Ben keeps us laughing. Smile lines forever! We’re gonna have a lot of wrinkles when we are old and gray. Each one is worth a million bucks, I think.
So that’s life at the blue house for now. Goats and gardens, and wildflowers, and the happiest dog in the world. We just keep learning to live fully in the beauty God gives us and to be filled with thanksgiving both for the tangible and spiritual blessings set before us. It’s really a lifestyle to learn, but it makes for the loveliest kind of life.
This home we’ve built is far from perfect, but it’s home and life is so much more than we could have ever dreamed or ever deserved. And that’s truly because God crowns us with His steadfast love and daily blesses us with His nearness, calling us to His way, offering us the Satisfaction that can only be found in Himself.
Here is joy!
Here is life!
This is summer 2018.
Sierra V. Fedorko 
AWWW! The goats are so stinkin’ cute! I just went to a petting zoo a few weeks back with a few of my little cousins and we all loved the goats there. I had no idea how friendly they could be! Your flowers are looking awesome and I am happy you are still looking on the bright side when the migraines pop up. Good to see you are doing well!
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