Hey, My Darling Siestas! How’s your weekend been? You guys that keep up pretty well know that I blogged last on Wednesday while we were on our way six hours northwest to our acreage in the middle of nowhere. We are now heading back to Houston so once again I’m writing you from Keith’s truck. My man of 31 years is driving next to me, singing to 60’s music and our two dogs are snoozing in the back seat. (He just stopped me and held my hand for a minute because the song was so sweet that he felt romantic.) We got to be away for four nights. The perfect amount of time! I wish I could say it was vacation but I had to take a ton of work with me. That’s ok. At least it was from a different venue and that can help a lot.
(I just got a text from Travis with a picture on it of his youngest son who just lost two teeth. Just living a little life here. Had to stop and text back and tell Levi how cool he looks.)
My heart is full where you are concerned and full with the last four days of life out in the country with Keith. And that’s why I’m going to share a little of it with you: because I love you and love how we can share so many parts of our lives with one another. This is going to be one of those posts when the girls (Amanda or Melissa) might say, “Are you sure you want to share that? You might get hit by somebody for that.” We, the girls and I, provide checks and balances for one another. If we’ve written anything at all besides your garden variety kind of post, we usually run it by one another. Sometimes we talk each other out of an entire post because we’re afraid someone will get offended or out of sorts or just take the opportunity to be ugly or critical. It happens in the blog world which many of you know from your own blogs.
Other times we just talk each other out of a few sentences or a paragraph or two. Most of you should wish you’d seen Melissa’s original Song of Songs Valentine post before I talked her out of a whole chunk. (Yes, we did have a few little words over it. Not a fuss. Just a good, healthy discussion. All four of us are strong willed and opinionated. We just speak our minds back and forth, work through our differences, and, a whole lot of the time, end up making a private family joke out of it.) Those who wouldn’t have wished to see Melissa’s original post are the reason none of you did. (Laughing and with much love.) There was nothing wrong with it. It was just extra colorful – kind of PG13 – because the Scripts happen to be extra colorful – kind of PG14 – in that particular book.
I’m not complaining one iota. To tell you the truth, we get so little ugliness from our commenters. You guys really are so loving and encouraging and patient and understanding and leave ample room for several generations to express themselves here in very different ways. We think we have the most amazing community in bloggerville but we’re not immune, of course. Sometimes we just flat out ask for it and don’t even realize it. Other times we expect somebody may take exception but we just decide it’s worth the risk.
This is one of those times. I’m about to show you guys some pictures – poor quality ones just off my i-phone – to give you a small taste of Moore life out at the acreage our family has. I know in advance that I’m setting myself up for someone to say sarcastically “Must be nice” but I’ll just sigh when I get it and, if it doesn’t get too ugly from there, post the comment anyway and wish she hadn’t misunderstood. The thing is, I love biographies. Glimpses of people’s real lives. Parts of their stories. For instance, every time I talk to Georgia Jan, I wish I could see her surroundings so I could picture her better. Know her in her own world. Every time Mom of Eleven (actually has 12 now, we learned at the SSMT celebration) comments I wish I could see a picture of all of them. It’s one way we, scattered all over the place, take a virtual stroll through a mile or two of one another’s worlds.
Actually, the world I’m about to share with you really isn’t my world. It’s my man’s. But once a couple has been married over 25 years, you really can’t know the one without knowing the other. You can no longer tell for sure where one stops and the other starts. This isn’t land I would have chosen in a thousand years but it’s what my man chose and I chose him. SO, when I talk about us heading to what I call our cactus land, this is the kind of place I’m talking about. I’ll describe it a tad first then I’ll stroll with you through some shots.
It’s a place where your cell phone won’t work and your land line is likely not to.
It’s the kind of place where Keith and I use (or misuse) English in a way we’d never do it at home. We don’t do it to make fun. We, for those few days, say it like we mean it. Like that’s who we are. Like, for instance, just this morning on an early ride with Keith in the old jeep, I heard myself say, “We ain’t seen deer one.”
It’s a place where men are not limited to inside facilities…but I’ll not elaborate on that.
It’s a place where our favorite show is “The Duck Commander.” We laugh our heads off…and, perhaps most worrisome to some of you, totally get it.
It’s the kind of place with a VERY small town nearby that I have fallen head over heels in love with. It has one real grocery story, a “Super S,” and just yesterday while I was picking up a few items, as I live and breathe and without one hint of exaggeration, the woman at check-out got on the microphone for the store and said over the loud speaker, “Mr. Brown, your wife called and wants you to pick up a bag of potatoes.” Ain’t no doubt in my mind he got some. I was so happy I nearly got some, too.
It’s a place with a LOT of these, hence the name:
It’s a place where a woman (even a non-hunter like yours truly) sometimes dresses like this on an early morning ice-cold jeep ride (with no windows in it) with no make-up on:
It’s a place where, if the temperature’s right, a woman would be wise to wear snake boots like mine:
It’s a place where your man’s taller than usual and where manliness can sometimes be gaged by how old and beat up your vehicle is: (For those of you who can’t fathom it, that’s a corn feeder on the front of the jeep for feeding wild life. You guys just have no idea what my life is like at times. Or his, because of mine.)
It’s a place where your man’s favorite hot rod looks like this:
It’s a place where the gate might latch with a horse shoe:
It’s a place where that tiny one hundred year-old German farm house that I told you about in So Long Insecurity resides. My man went to great pains to restore this thing back to its original look. Every window and door in it is a century old.
It’s a place where the sunrise this morning from my little porch looked like this and this one’s not even an especially good one:
It’s a place with, I reckon, my favorite place of all tucked right in it. I swing here and think about all sorts of things and sing hymns and pet Star:
It’s a place where a woman can take her spirals and practice them loud without a single soul hearing or caring:
It’s a place I wish all of you who wish you had one, did. Maybe one day, when you’re older like Keith and me, you will. It’s a place others of you might be bored out of your mind. Maybe your wish list would be a tiny little bay house instead. It’s just all a matter of taste. Sometimes not your own.
It’s a place where my man seems to love me a lot.
So it’s a place I love to go.
Anonymous 
Beth,
I completely understand everything you posted. We have a 400 acre ranch in Halletsville, TX. About and 1 hr away from Katy. It's where my man says he "Meets the Lord"!
I first heard you speak in Mobile, AL several years ago (we lived there for a stint) and I felt such a connection as you talked about running the dogs at the ranch. I was at that time missing home and God brought you to bring back some great memories!
Anyhow, here we are back in the great state of Texas and get to visit our ranch often. Oh, how I love feeding our cows and watching in amazement at God's beauty in what others would like was dirty, nasty, woodys stuff. But I love it!
And as for the tractor! It makes my man look soooo sexy!! LOL!
Love ya and thanks for the post!
Thank you for sharing your pics!! Loved it! My husband and I will be celebrating our "14th" next week and I hope one day we will have our own little getaway…maybe a little log cabin with a lake nearby or who knows but I know it is great to getaway with nobody but you and your man! My husband & I went to Eureka Springs, AR (one of our favorite little getaways) and we stayed a real "treehouse cabin", up 20ft in the air and gorgeous! We walked in and I just wanted to stay there with him forever. 🙂
Love ya tons! God is so good!
Lori in SWMO…soon to be Dallas, TX area!!!!
Thanks so much for giving us a glimpse of your get away. We also have a place in S. Texas that my husband absolutely loves. He is there now hoping to get us some hog meat for the freezer. I was on my way there over the weekend to meet him and was flipping through the stations looking for something good to listen to and heard your sweet voice on a radio show and you were talking of being on the landline phone from your cactus ranch. Made my ride much easier to get to listen to your discussion on So Long Insecurity. Can't wait for the simulcast on this awesome subject. Thanks for you & your families willingness to let us have glimpses of your lives. We love you guys so much.
The scarf is a gorgeous touch to the camo. The brown hues accent each other quite nicely haha. Seriously though, I love it and I love that the Lord has given you a special place to be still and connect with Him.
Thanks for not letting anyone talk you out of posting this. I love "peeking" into people's lives. It is easy to see why you love the place. I understand completely…any place I can be alone and relax with my sweetie is my favorite place to be.
Thank you for sharing this part of yourself with us. I love the way the house looks!!
-Janelle
I was so thrilled to get this little glimpse into your life. I'm picturing you down the road from my best friend's tiny one stop light town where you get your pizza from the gas station. 🙂 Our family loves to spend time with them and take the entire town tour on a golf cart. Saw a (thankfully) dead rattlesnake the last time we did that.
You will think I am crazy, but I am sitting at my computer in tears. I just spent some time reading the section of your book where you describe this place, wishing that I could get a real picture of what it looked like, log on to the blog, and here it is! Thank you so much for sharing with us. It helps me get a visual when you write about it. Loving the book… needed the book.
Thanks again,
Regina
I can't sleep so here I am checking out my favorite blog. I like those boots. I am a boot girl 😉 I love the scripture spiral picture…my life has changed you know, since, "spiraling" my scriptures and putting them to memory. I found your blog Sept. O9 started memorizing scripture and was diagnosed with Breast cancer Nov. 6th, If I hadn't had those scriptures Beth…He is so near, thanks.
Beth,
I loved this post! Especially the picture of you being swallowed whole in hunting gear with no makeup. Somehow knowing that you dont wake up Pert-i-fied and pristine makes this insecure rarely pert-i-fied housewife feel alright.
PS My favorite post ever was when Keith asked you if your dress was your makeup smock..
God Bless!
Melissa,
AMEN!
I live on an island in SE Alaska. We are a town of about 2000. I work in a small bank. We often get calls similar to the story of the grocery store. Is "John" there…if not he will be and tell him he needs to call me or do this or go to the store and pick up onions. It's fun!! Thanks for sharing your wonderful get away.
Loretta
59
married
SE AK
Dear Beth,
I just want to say thank you so much for being so transparent & sharing your life with us all!
You have shared so much of your inner struggles in your ‘writings’ and 'teachings', that it is good to see you just have some sweet lovin' down time!!!
I love how open & honest you are, so 'un-condemning' – pointing our eyes UP instead of whipping us, because you are 'one of us'. That is what continually draws me to your ministering spirit!!!!!
It's awesome to see you so happy!!!!! I can see why Keith loves being there with you – you look so relaxed & cute in your morning jeep riding outfit!!! Thank you for being REAL!!!
Sweet.
Thanks so much for letting us see your world and feeling like we know you a little better.
I wish I could come and spend some time together with you. I would love to get to know you better. You have been such an inspiration in my life; more than words could ever say.
I thank you for sharing like you do because it helps us see you as one of us. In my family, you are just "Beth", not "Beth Moore" because you make us feel like we know you personally. That is such a tremendous blessing when you lead us through studies.
I love your cactus land! It reminds me of my hometown in TX where the cactus is plentiful and the mesquite grows short and thick.
Love it. And love you for letting us "visit" your special place. 🙂
Thank you, thank you Beth for sharing! It's funny how the Lord sees fit to bring me to your blog just now when I have a heavy heart. You see, my 'man' and I have a place similar to yours! I used to tease him about buying up all "his" land so we could retire and he could hunt all the time! Well, fast forward 15 years and we are "here" and we built a house; not a big house but just right for the two of us. It is like your land; not everyone would like it but my 'man' loves it and now, I do too! I shouldn't be sad but when we were building last year during the downward spiral of the stock market (and our 401K); we decided to finish paying off our little house because we were scared what might happen with the economy. Well, we went to our new tax preparer today and we are going to be hit with huge taxes!! It will be ok, I know God is teaching us something but I can't help but wonder why we are being penalized for getting rid of debt??? So thanks for the reminder that we have a "little piece of heaven on earth" especially for our 'men' to love and to love us there!!
Love and God's Blessings, Eileen
Thank you for sharing a piece of your world! I am mentoring 4 college girls that will think this is wonderful. They dream cowboys in the sunset with tractors! Aggieland can do that to a girl! :)But the fact that you put it in real terms- longgevity terms, true to the heart terms for them-I'm hoping, as I pass this along to them, it will pierce their hearts. I so much want for them to have the love God has given me in my husband (I call it my True triangle) but they are a little more wild and shall I say backwards from how I was taught.And they are in college. They are precious young women and my heart pours out for them to my Father above daily. I hope by forwarding this post from your blog it will awaken something new in them. Thank you for sharing. I am sweetly blessed to have been able to share in this piece of your life. I hope they will be too.
Well this is the first time I have done this sort of thing (blogging I mean). So here goes…. I have been looking at your blog for awhile now and thank you for it! I sit here this morning with tears in my eyes and wanted to thank you for letting us see inside your time away. I love your place it's beautiful! My man and I live an a small place in the country and have been married guess what 31 years in May. I can relate to you and your guy so much. So thanks for sharing. I hope I didn't get too wordy I told you I have never done this so I don't know the rules.
You make me miss Texas more than anything. Thank you for sharing.
I love your place! We have a place like that in Nueces Canyon close to Camp Wood, TX…no cell service, jeep, rattlesnakes and all! I even dress just like that when I am there! It is a place of refuge. Thanks for sharing your special place with us. It sounds perfect! God bless you!
Thank YOU for sharing your life, your heart, and your very special cactus ranch! We understand. I love the verse on your spiral. Today in my One Year Bible, taken from Mark 10:32-52 – Jesus asks twice, "What do you want me to do for you?" I pictured Him drawing near, sitting across from me and asking me … oh, we have so many requests don't we? – but I thought your spiral really summed up my request … Come Lord Jesus – do Your thing – and fulfill Your purpose for me.
Love you so much! Looking forward to seeing you in Toronto, and praying for you.
Smiles,
Beth,
Ontario
Beautiful!! I love that you shared your world with us. I hate that you had to defend it before you shared it, but I understand it…. just makes me a little sad. Thanks for who you are and all you do for us.
I love seeing the "naked" side of yall with no make-up or heels, etc. You are just as beautiful in that camo and snake boots as on stage with the glitz and glam! I hope one day to have a little piece of heaven on earth like your cactus country! Take care!
loved this, beth!
love the texas sky, love that you got a few days away & love that even there, you still have the hair pouf. 🙂
my husband's favorite place is their family's deer camp which is on an island formed where the arkansas, white & mississippi rivers meet in southeast arkansas. the last-stop store before you get onto the island is called "the wild goose." it's exactly how you would picture it – store on one side, fried everything cafe on the other & the restroom has camouflage wallpaper. 🙂 but he loves it so much that if they had a pink "wild goose" tshirt, i would buy one.
How Gorgeous! I just prayed the prayer in Ch. 9 of "So Long, Insecurity," and now it feels as if I need a big, open ranch (to get lost and found with the Lord).
The horseshoe fence is too cool.
Thanks for sharing, Beth.
Fantastic!
Thank you so much for sharing this with your siestas! And thank you for including me in it, sight unseen.
Praying for you today.
For the life of me I can I can't imagine who in the world would take offense by this post. And I like it that way, thank you.
And thanks for the glimpse into your (sort of) downtime. Don't we all need a recharge?
See that's what it's all about yessirree (did I just use that word?!)… I LOVE that you put out there that you did something for your man even though like you said, it's not what you would've picked. Boy we need more examples like that out there. If we could only see what we get in reward & blessing instead of focusing on what we're giving up or sacrificing.
Getting a kick out of the face that just this morning I read the part in your book about the old house and now I come here and see the pic. Cool.
Love dear Beth. XOXO
I think that is a lovely place. Enjoy it every chance you get. Thank you for sharing!!
I was just reading the part in "so long, insecurity" yesterday about the Old German farmhouse and the glorious sunrises/sunsets you wrote about. I kept trying to imagine it all in my head…What a treasure to wake up this morning and see the pictures of them both! Thank you for sharing!!
thank you so much for sharing! I just love that you do that. I love the feeling of getting to "know you better" even though we've never actually met!
It's awesome! God bless you and thank you again for sharing!
Beth,
How beautiful!! I wish everyone had a place to go where they feel the simple pleasure of love. Ours is off the coast of southern North Carolina.
I do have another question that may be a subject for another blog. I am almost through So Long Insecurity. You have me pegged and I can no longer deny it. BUT how do you make your heart believe what your head knows?
Please help.
love,
kim
Thank you for sharing! I just finished reading about your place in the book and I'm so glad I got to see pictures. So happy you have a place like that to go to!
Oh I LOVE it! It reminds me of where I live now!! From the city to the country and loving ever farm minute. The wide, open, quiet spaces. And also here the sunrises and sunsets are outta this world too. Love, love, the pictures.
Beth,
I've often wondered what it looked like. Just wonderful!!! I can imagine that this is a beautiful place to breathe in our God and the beautiful world He created for us. Jesus shines through you dear one!!
Love and huggies,
Petrii
Beth-You will not believe this, but the day I read this post, my husband came home and asked what I would think about buying a small piece of property in Oklahoma. He sells a lot of our hay to farmers there. So he spends a lot of time there. I would love a small get-away place of our own. Just to get some quiet time with each other and with God.
Thanks for being so faithful to God's leading in your life and sharing it with us.
Love to you and your precious family, Mary Jane
Thanks again Mama Beth for opening up your "personal" life and letting us get a glimpse of the "ranch". Not having a phone connection "ain't" all bad….if you go there to get away….then get away you shall. I'm not sure I would like it…..it has snakes!! Apparently lots of them from you last description when you visited. I love the outfit.
Blessings,
Bible Bunny in NO MI
Beth, thanks for letting us into this part of your life as well! May you and Keith continue to be blessed and refreshed in the beautiful piece of Heaven that the Lord has granted you so that you may continue to be used by Him to bless and teach us!
I enjoyed visiting your cactus ranch! We are dreaming of a place where we can have a tractor, big sky, porch swings and the slow pace of country life (no snakes, Beth, that is true love, both for your man and for the ranch!).
Beth, thank you for always seeing the humor and the best in everything! You always make me laugh, and look at things from a fresh perspective. And, I love how honest, real and appreciative you are about your relationship with your husband. As someone about your age, without a "man," around, I've really learned to appreciate the species for who they are… even when they do the silly things you mention.
I loved the picture of you in your camoflauge (sp?) You are a riot! And, hey, you won't believe this, but some of us girls are going down to Tucson to see you at the end of the month and I actually had a few dreams about it last night! 🙂 Can't wait to see you, Siesta Mama!
Thank you for your post! I am an Iowa girl, born and raised. And as tired as I am of the snow and cold, I do not wish to leave this beautiful land. Thank you for giving me an image of the land you refer to in your book. I needed help picturing it. 🙂
I love how you talk about it being the land you would not have necessarily chosen but you chose your man. That reminded me of helping my husband last weekend on some construction/remodel work in our basement last weekend. Not exactly my "cup of tea" but both of us agreed last weekend we felt so good being together, working together to accomplish this goal together! (Even though some moments would have lent themselves to DIY's "Renovation Realities").
I appreciate you! And I appreciate our loving Father knowing how to put two different people together for His glory and purpose and calling it a marriage!
Cara
I'm so glad you posted pictures! I've wondered what your ranch looked like when you talk about it, so it was fun to see it!
you two returning home with such overflowing joyful hearts remind me of Caleb and Joshua bringing back the good news!!! They just needed your truck with 60's music and the bed behind for the abundant produce!!!! just picture the 2 of them, the radio blaring,cruising back to Moses!!! Keep sharing! God has given us our own living Mitford series on this blog!!See you tonight!
your place in the wilderness prepared of God!
Loved the pictures! I never thought cactus could look quaint, but they did in your pictures. That's good news for me since we're moving to Tucson, AZ, this summer (just a few months too late to see you speak in March though).
My husband and I are headed to a George Strait concert this weekend. There's nothing like sitting next to a man who grew up in a farming family and listening to old country music.
Beautiful! I loved your post but it made me homesick! I was born in West Texas, but now live in the Northwest. Boy do I miss it. The sky is just bigger in Texas! Thanks so much for sharing your little piece of it! 🙂
Tell Keith I'll be his neighbor!! (No matter how far down the road that is!) Being a man, I absolutely adore this little hidden place, and I completely understand it. I am 27 and recently told my sweetheart that I think I would like to buy a little cabin "off somewhere" before we even purchase a "regular house" 🙂 My sweetheart smiled and just petted my back. Because of our young age and some decisions we are sure to have to make, career-wise, we are sure to not live in our hometown (where we currently are) in the next several years. I told her that no matter where we live or how transient we are, I would love to have a little place in the country that can always be "home" for our little (or large) family. Good job Keith! You picked a winning piece of property (and wife).
that is my man's dream (although he and I debate little farmhouse -me- or bale house -him-)!!! I am so blessed to know that the two of you have a place like this to retreat to.
Enjoy it for those of us who are still dreaming!!!