Every Sunday in December, we add another candle to our Advent wreath. By Christmas Day, five bright candles light up the table. So, we open up the children’s Bibles to the nativity and let the kids tell us the Christmas story. Then we reimagine the Advent candles as birthday candles and read Matthew 25:35-39 aloud:…
Like a muddy bird in a sudden sunbeam, For a moment, she believes she may fly, But the moment passes and She settles back down into the gray mud . Sing muddy bird! Sing with all your might! Let your whole self burst forth into song! . Someday. Someday, I will quit this place. My…
Longing is a ribbon full of knots. It goes on and on. I cannot see its start. Will I ever find its end? If longing goes on forever, how can I be hemmed in? You stand at the door and knock. And I sit despondent leaning against it. I’ll open it tomorrow. The light…
This piece first appeared as a daily devotional for [in]courage ministry by Dayspring. Incourage created the accompanying image. For years, I’d confess and re-confess past sins in prayer. I felt lonely with old secrets, my pillow haunted by foolish things I did or said ten years prior. I reviewed my failures like a rolodex while…
A glow in your gut Hidden somewhere under your ribcage Dim, like poisoned Tinkerbell. You want to believe! You want to believe! So, reach down and wrench it out for Christ’s sake. Pull it up and kindle it in your hands. Peer through cupped fingers in wonder And blow. It flickers like a cough and…
Many Christians settle for salvation, then wait for heaven. We read about the freedom and wholeness Jesus proclaims, and we dream about the peace and joy that scripture promises. But we experience little of it. We wonder silently, Is Jesus strong enough? Does God even see me? Am I the problem? In our uncertainty, we…
I often use my journal to pry into my own subconscious thoughts. When I am tense and don’t know why, I ask myself questions and follow the thought-train it releases: Many of these issues are buried under layers of consciousness. People are like onions- we are complex. But God sees our hearts, even the parts…
I like to think of time in solitude as breathing in and breathing out. In solitude, BREATHE IN scripture. Expect God to speak to you personally as you read. Sometimes, a concept or phrase in the Bible will stand out- that’s the Holy Spirit preparing to reveal something wonderful to you. So, stop and copy…
We expect lambs in May! Our “sheep guy” loans rams in exchange for one lamb come spring. When he delivered our loaner today, he had young ewes in tow… and one ewe was just too pretty. So, I asked Chris to buy her for me and he did. The ram stays for two months. Our…
You may already know about the 2023 revival at Asbury University. A weekly chapel gathering lasted for weeks. We drove to Kentucky to experience it ourselves. We arrived at midnight to find students sleeping on the floor because they simply did not want to leave the auditorium. In the days that followed, the crowd overflowed…
Many of the journaling guides I have shared integrate scripture reading, but none tell how to simply use your journal in your personal Bible study. So here begins a five-part series on how to journal any scripture passage using a few Bible translations, a basic concordance, your imagination and two pens. HOW TO JOURNAL SCRIPTURE…
Exhort means “to spur on, build up and encourage… to reprove, rebuke and correct.” Some of us have trouble letting God encourage us, while some of us have trouble letting God correct us. Both are essential. Here is a Scripture Journaling Prompt I developed for Journaling Workshops. You’ll need two pens: a black one to…
The Bible is full of promises, precepts and descriptors. When you read one, stop and journal it. JOURNALING SCRIPTURE’S PROMISES When I read something in the Bible that I do not believe, it’s like stepping in a spiritual pothole. My knee buckles under me. Sure, I can read on like I didn’t trip, but how…
Try personalizing stories from scripture by putting yourself in the shoes of Bible characters. Whether it’s Gideon in a winepress or Mary Magdalene at the empty tomb or a leper on the roadside, you can use your journal to ask good questions and apply characters’ experiences to your own life. For instance, I remember journaling…
God, do you see me, laying here petting the cat with my eyes closed- accomplishing nothing? Is this what L’Engle meant, “Take time to just be”? PinterestFacebookTwitterEmail
Today, the kids hung hammocks between the oaks. They built rock castles at the creek and picked blackberries in the fence line, followed by nosy sheep. They hunted worms and bugs to feed their animals: tadpoles in a creek-side rubber bin, a turtle in an empty raised bed and salamanders in a porch terrarium. And…
Poppies have given way to zinnias and the meadow is bright with black-eyed susans. The bees like the white clover best. Our beekeeper, Brian Bailey, has a goal of setting up 20 hives around Northwest Arkansas. Our hive was thriving, so he split the colony this week. If the second hive brings up a queen…
It has been an eventful few weeks on our three Ozark acres. This spring, we bought three Kathadin sheep! They will mow the pasture for us and give us lambs to sell. Plus they are darling. We named them for old musical heroines: Maria von Trapp, Dorothy Gale and Milly Pontipee. We moved our three…
“Cast all your cares on Him. For He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:7 An Invitation to Rest Once your Bible and journal are open, you are in a sacred space. Prepare yourself to delight in God, knowing that He delights in you. If you already keep a regular quiet time, you know the gift…
I often use my journal to pry into my own subconscious thoughts. When I am tense with worry or am nervous about a decision, I ask myself a few simple questions. The Holy Spirit is always ready to help me understand myself and gently correct my misconceptions. Through this process, I whittle down my doubt…
The night before Jesus died, he told the disciples that the Holy Spirit would “teach [them] all things and bring to remembrance all that He had said to [them].” Days later, when the bewildered women came to his empty tomb, two angels exhorted them saying, “‘He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he…
As I read the gospel accounts of Easter week and studied a Bible commentary, Mary Magdalene stood out to me. I imagined her experience and felt her emotions along with her from despair to elation. As I journaled, God spoke personally and powerfully to me in a transformative way. Here, I have written out the…
PEOPLE OF NEW HEIGHTS | Heather Hunt Healing Through Fasting . I have always been dependent on food. As a child, I was hospitalized nine times because my pancreas would over-dump insulin into my system at the wrong time, thus launching me into ketoacidosis. As an adult, I became ill every time I missed a…
Our 11-year-old son sells rabbits at $25 each. His does, Annie and Beatrix, are standard-sized Rex rabbits. His buck, Moses, is part Rex and part New Zealand. Rex rabbits are known for being docile and very soft. STATUS: Sold Out . . YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: PinterestFacebookTwitterEmail
Buy pork locally from Sparrow Springs Family Farm! Our meat is USDA inspected, frozen, vacuum sealed and raised in the fresh air right here in Tontitown, Arkansas. STATUS: Not Available MENU Bacon $12/lb Pork Chops $11/lb Pork Butt $10/lb Picnic Shoulder $10/lb Bratwursts $8/lb Spare Ribs $8/lb Ground sausage (original or spicy) $7/lb PinterestFacebookTwitterEmail
Hello from the Hunts! In 2019, we decided to work remotely and homeschool in the Ozark foothills. Four years later, a lot is happening on our three hillside acres. We raise pigs, sheep, rabbits, chickens, ducks and bees. We planted a native wildflower meadow in the yard and a young woodland by the creek, making…
Every semester, I revise my kids’ weekly to-do lists. I slide the sheets into a plastic sleeve for them to check off with a wet erase marker. Twice a day, I say, “Show me your lists!” Since 2017, we have successfully instilled a habit of responsibility in our home. Read how we got started here: Six…
This encouragement was written for Ozark Worship Night in Fayetteville, AR in December 2022. When we bring our cares to the Lord, there are some cares that He takes gently and holds close because they are important to Him. But there are other cares that He tosses aside to set us free from them. God…
Children are a wonder. Their hearts are already inclined to drink deeply of knowledge and beauty and their hands are ready to take on new challenges. So, developing their curiosity and creativity is less like building from the ground up and more like nourishing what is already inside them. In 2015, I made a long…
In 2017, I started delegating little chores to my young children. I wanted to cultivate a habit of responsibility and an eye for service, so I taught them to tidy up and prepare simple foods (more here). Every year, I have taken their responsibilities up a notch. Four years in, my elementary-age kids were doing…