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.
Li'l Rae 
Dearest Kathy from the Ozarks, I am so sorry about your shoulder. I know exactly what you're feeling. I have had this herniated disk for almost a year and it has been so discouraging at times. It feels like I'll never be without it again. The truth is, it's getting better little by little. I stopped and prayed for you because I empathize with you so strongly. Hang in there!
Thank you Beth for sharing a little piece of your life with us. I now feel a little more normal knowing that you too watch "Duck Commander".
Living with a husband and son in SW Louisiana that live and breath to go the the duck/fish camp every chance they get, you have to sit down and enjoy those crazy duck hunter shows with them. Helps me to be in "their" world sometimes.
I'd love to go and sit on your swing and drink coffee with you. Looks like a lovely peaceful place to be. So proud for you and Keith to have such a spot of Gods green/brown earth.
I laughed at the comment about the old truck. I FINALLY talked my husband into selling his what seemed like 100 yr truck. Thought he was gonna cry. But he's better now in his 2006 model 4-wheel drive. My son still hasn't stopped grinning.
Thanks again for ministering to us women, for being so real, honest & sharing a little of your life with us. Love ya!!
It is so good to know that you have such a place to go and rest. Thank you for giving us a bird's eye view! I want to read Melissa's original post (unedited!) Ha! Maybe she should write a marriage manual from the Song of Songs -from the perspective of a newlywed. That would inspire some of us not-so-newlyweds!!
Beth, I am more of a lurker than a siesta who comments, but I wanted you to know that this post made me happy & sad all at the same time. Your man's happy place reminds me a lot of where I grew up….we only had a mom & pop grocery store, a post office, a school, and a gas station in our little town. Our school district covered over 300 square miles with only about 300 kids in the whole school! Sometimes, your closest neighbor was several miles away. If you wanted to go to "town" you drove 40 miles; if you wanted to go to the "big city" you drove about 100 miles. Then if you wanted to go to someplace like Houston….well, that was several hundred miles!! Thanks for sharing a slice of your life that brought back some great memories of my growing up years!
God's creation is so beautiful! All I could think of while reading this blog was Psalm 104:24 "O LORD, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches."
I live in New England and it's too cold and snowy too really enjoy the outsdoors, I'm jealous!!! 🙂
Thanks for sharing! And I will tell you that my man would approve of your man because his tractor is the right color!! 🙂 My man is a JD tractor tech so anytime you need to have that thing fixed just give us a call and we can drive that 1000 miles down to fix it!! 🙂
Love seeing your place! I have always pictured it in my mind, but the pictures you shared are even better! We used to live in West Texas. We miss the beautiful sunrises and sunsets!
Well, Ms. Beth, you just go there and ENJOY! I think the house is GRAND and what a great job Keith did restoring it. I was just wondering yesterday if you would ever share pictures of your home away from home and here it is! What fun. Thanks for sharing.
Love you
Pat from Kansas
That was so fun to see those pictures, thank you for sharing the special place. I can imagine the sunrises are amazing! Best time of the day as far as I'm concerned. Glad you and Keith had some time together. Much needed time away even with the work you had to take. Have a blessed week. In Jesus' Love Kathy Knoblock
Beth, thanks for sharing Keith's little piece of "Heaven on earth" with us! I have a swing outside too where I retreat to enjoy God's presence.
Love you,
Kim
Doswell, VA
The perfect getaway for you two! It would definitely fit us, too. Thanks for sharing the pictures-I love the camo look-the earmuffs are a special touch! Your snake boots have intrigued me since you talked about them before, thanks for adding them to the mix!
My man would have to agree with Keith on the John Deere! He was sitting next to me reading this and began turning a little green himself. He's just got a JD riding mower 🙂
I love your little German house and the fence that protects it, but really LOVE the swing–there's just something about a mighty oak! There's such a strength and dignity there!! (Can you tell what I've been reading-and finished!) It really reminds me of the sitting area Wayne made me for Mother's Day last year in our 'back 40' (feet, that is!) with a garden bench and lanterns hanging from the giant oak! Can't wait for some drier weather to enjoy it.
Now we can invision where you go to refocus on your busy life! Blessings, Bobbie
I LOVE that you posted this!! I wish I could picture the inside of it too. I adore restored homes. There is just something almost magical about standing where others have stood and trying to imagine the lives they lived! I love it.
I'm sorry you get ugly mail sometimes. I have been fortunate not to get anything hurtful on my blog before, but I know many sisters who have! I guess it kind of comes with the territory.
Thanks for sharing a little slice of your world with us! We just adore you. 🙂
Blessings,
Sasha
Beth, I have enjoyed your studies for years, but am new to your blog. I just want to say that I consider it a privilege that you and your girls risk such transparency and allow me to share in your lives. To God be the glory for the blessing you all are to me. Thank you. <3
Thank you for the pictures and THANK YOU for not showing us any with snakes in them!!! I have an unhealthy fear of those slithery creatures and have been known to scream at just a picture of one! (And known to have nightmares after reading about shooting them in a certain person's new book!)
On a happier note, the verse on your spiral may just have to be my next one. I need to find out its address!
Love and prayers to all,
Kelli
Thank you so much for such a sweet post. Your cactus ranch is truly a beautiful place. You have, however, inadvertantly issued me a challenge-I am a city girl married to a country boy for 24 years. I wonder what I have missed out on by not taking some time to hunt or fish with him, I probably do not want to know, but you can bet, I won't decline the next time! Your final statements touched me in a profound way. So glad to hear you had a wonderful time and I pray you return fully refreshed and renewed for the coming week.
Beth, thanks for sharing that. Living in San Antonio and having lived in Uvalde & Canyon Lake, and mother-in-law at Lake LBJ, your special place looks like this neck of the woods in Texas. I love the little house. So like some of the originals in New Braunfels that are so sweet. I think the longer we are married the more we understand, or at least accept, what makes our men happy. My dh would have that place, but with a well worn motorcycle track. Heck, he'd just take off & ride the hill country roads really fast, and I'd not want to hear about it later. He'd want a lake to go with it. But the all alone with only a Super S, he'd like that. At least until he wanted to rent a movie or get a new computer part. Then his city boy side might pop out.
Thanks for sharing a piece of your life with us.
Looks like a slice of heaven. Perfect place to write & retreat.
Loved this post…Sweet as ever!!
Longmeadow Mama, it's Psalm 57:2 NIV. Isn't it fantastic?
Thank you, Beth for taking the risk and sharing something so special to you with us. It's a beautiful place…you have touched my heart today!
I collect pictures of 'smiley' faces in familiar places…something that the American Express commercials have used. I think that your house picture is a great one…so I am going to add it to my file on Facebook…I live in the country and can identify with all the comments…I love being there full time, although I haven't tried using 'rural' English…xo
awwww. How sweet. THANK YOU for sharing. I often try to picture this place when you describe it, but my mind's eye did not do it justice. I think the land is beautiful. The house is so cute and looks like the perfect place to snuggle up for a few days. (Great job kieth!). And don't you love a place you can wear whatever you want and no make up! The best. Thanks for sharing another special piece of your life. I too am curious about people's autobiographies.
Oh thank you for sharing. I love picturing people in their "spot" too. What a great place for refreshment. I am happy you both have such a perfect place.
Oh Beth – I live more in Keith's position. We live in a place my man loves (it's in NM) and I…well, let's say I don't. But godliness with CONTENTMENT is great gain and I loved your phrase that you love it cause he does. I long for pavement and green and clean and shopping and restaurants – well, maybe long is a strong word but I enjoy city life when I get to…sans tractors, guns, dirt, cactus…you get the idea. Give Keith a hug for me – I know how he feels.
Dianne, NM
Oh I LOVED Melissa's post! I'm glad y'all finally got to a good agreement on what to post. I liked it a lot!
Brrr, Beth, you look so cold! My husband used to have a Jeep too and his favorite way to drive it was with the top off… especially in the winter.
The old farmhouse is so cool! I'm so glad you're restoring it, instead of updating it. How lovely. Thanks for including a picture- when reading So Long Security, I was curious about what it looked like.
Don't you just love the Texas hill country? My parents live out there. It's home to me. 🙂
Beth, Amanda and Melissa,
Thanks for sharing yourselves. Sometimes I truly don't know if I can do this. You make me believe that, through the strength of our Lord Jesus Christ, I can. Simple posts like this – I can't express how much they mean. Siestas isn't a strong enough word – you guys are straight up sisters. Thanks <3
That looks like Montana.
Or Wyoming. I grew up in one, and live in the other.
I went a big city yesterday in CO with my hubby. That was MY retreat. And although my hubby is NOT a shopper, he made the best of it as we wandered the aisles of Target (we forgot the list).
We live every day in the wild, but in my heart I'm a big city girl.
I'm pretty sure I wouldn't look at good in camouflage, but I'll check my local Wal-Mart for my size. You make a fashion statement with it, and you'll be glad to know that you'd walk in good company around here with them on!
peace~elaine
beth, that was awesome, you sharing your life in pictures with us.
tommy and i live in the middle of nowhere….just like that….we love it.
oh by the way, saw priscilla this past wkend in mclean, va. awesome.
can't wait until april 24th….thank you for all you do for Jesus……God bless you.
I felt God there! Well not actually there but a place very much like it. When my cousin first got married, her husband ran a 20,000 acre ranch in the middle of a 40,000 acre ranch in south Texas right on the Rio Grand. It was 26 miles from town, 17 of which were down a dirt road and through 3 gates. It was a privately owned hunting ranch for a family named the Chupa Dero. It required snake boots, deer feeders and had no respect for cell phones. While riding around in a top drive one day before deer went into rut, we shall a huge heard of about 50 deer just running wild and free. I saw God that day. It is one of the two places where the beauty of what God has created overwhelmed me to the point that I was overcome with His presence. The other being Denali National Park in Alaska. Both so different yet overwhelming in their beauty. Every time I need to remember what it's like to feel God, I think of that ranch. Many people don't get it but I'm positive you do. Enjoy your place of rest and thanks for sharing and making me think of the Chup!
Thank you so much for sharing your life with us! I too love autobiographies, so this piece of your life that you shared is such a gift to my day, especially because I treasure you!! Thank you for showing us girls how to love our husbands!!
I absolutely love your place…and maybe one day my husband (who I love like crazy) and I will have something just like it….because he would LOVE it and so would I!
Love you Beth…..thank you!!!
Kelly
Amybhill, you darling thing, that's about the sweetest thing I've ever heard. We all have times when we wonder if we can do this. In the power of Christ, we can indeed. We can do it together. Hang tight with others who are determined to follow hard after Jesus. Hang with victors. They're out there!
Beth,
I pray that my man can have a place like that real soon. He needs it. You are an eye opener to me. After 31 years of marriage, I want to have a place, no matter where, that my husband can feel that he can let it all go and I can be there to see it.
Thanks for taking the time to share.
I love this! That sunset is gorgeous!!! I love posts like this that "show life" like you were saying…love to read them and love to post them on my blog to share with others. I hate that we even have to think about the possible criticism. But I am glad you braved it to show us…because I loved it!
Oh Miss Beth! Thanks for showing us that! I just read that chapter in the book and wished I knew what the house looked like. Being from Louisiana, where there are many old houses that have been redone, I'm all about a restoration! I'm keeping this short because the USA just tied Canada in the gold medal hockey game. I never watch hockey, but I am an Olympics nerd!
Please tell me that Keith sings "Big Green Tractor" by Jason Aldean to you!
Thanks for sharing and being real–no makeup kind of real. Have a glorious week, Jill
Oh YAY!!! I'm so glad you posted pictures of this place you talk about so often! I don't blame you for wanting to get away every now and then; I do too. That bench swing looks so cozy and I think I'd be spending a lot of time there too. I'm glad you had a good time.
Jessica
Greensboro, NC
Awww that was awesome!! My fellas would just love to jeep in that area. Our jeep is older and rougher and has been rolled by our son. ( Praise the Lord he wasn't hurt more than a scratch and his pride) but they straightened her out welded bolts in front of the doors and called her "Franken Jeep" She AIN'T Purty but she's ours! Our son built a wrecked jeep and calls it Franken Jeep Jr. complete with personalized lisc. plates! Grin! My son hunts and shoots and is hoping to become a gun smith. So I LOVED seeing your post and your pictures! What a cute cabin. Thanks for sharing your life with us and allowing us to share ours with you.
Sweet Miss Beth-
I always read, never comment, but just as you didn't stop yourself on the post, won't stop myself this time.
SO happy for you and your man to have this place and know in those of my senses that have been sanctified that it is this sense of care coupled with the love motivated transparency that wrote this post that is also what the Lord has cultivated and used all these years.
May He keep on at just that and may He also keep cultivating that space and time that leaves you in the quiet with just Him and your man.
Joy-filled for you!
(even though I have to admit that I am definitely one who wants to read M's PG13 version of the post)
I love it!!!! You are truly blessed and most certainly deserve it!!!! Thank you for sharing it with us!
While it "would be nice" I won't begrudge you some peace and quiet. I'm sure there is not enough of that in your life. Thanks for letting us peek in your windows.
This was so nice to hear about…i loved the pictures, as well as your story behind it. I feel alot like this at times, when I get to house-sit for my parents up north in MN. Its in the country, animals(both tame and wild) and no one else around. Just me and God. Its always a special time.There are no cactus, but many 100+ yr old pines. Again, thanks for sharing. 🙂 Lisa from Madison, WI.
Thanks so much for sharing that little piece of your life with us. Wonder if you would someday consider sharing about how you spend your quiet time with the Lord – how to nurture that daily communion so it is intimate and authentic. Thank you, Beth.
Thank you for sharing your words and pics. I like being able to place people in their "natural habitats". What has impressed most deeply in me is that you give so much of yourself by the nature of your ministry – it's such a blessing that you truly have a place to get away completely and be with your family and Creator. Sweeter than honey, ain't it though?
So glad you feel free to share with your sisters. I dislike that the anonymity of the Internet can compel us to be extra guarded instead of built up by one another who choose to gather in special online communities. Wouldn't it be great if the entire world community, both online and F2F was a No Intimidation Zone? 😀
Many blessings to y'all,
Lynnette in Houston
That farm house is SOOOO cute! I didn't imagine it looking that cute from your description in the book!
You picture made you so much more like the rest of us.
Thank you! You made my day!
Thank you Beth for allowing us into this part of your life! I am so glad you and your man have a place you can escape to!
Blessings TEN-FOLD on you! Love you.
Look. I've just got to tell you I am so glad you have a place like that! Even though it's a little ruff around the edges, I know it's a place of serenity and peace. We all need that every once in a while.
Love the part about the wife message at the "store." So funny!
I browsed today in a large, indoor flea market in Tennille, Ga. Found some things to use to decorate around my house for Easter.
1. A Beatrix Potter planter with Peter Rabbit on the side.
2. A cute, pink baby outfit with a bunny and a rose embroidered on the front (I'm putting it on a teddy bear).
3. A very old doily with pansies crocheted as the edging.
4. A canister with a picture of a French-type floral arangement. It's see-through and I'm putting Easter candy in it…maybe Chocolate…maybe jelly beans. Not sure yet.
5. Some books – three of Jan Karon's Mitford series. Read them before but love giving them away.
And a really neat book from Zondervan. You start reading it from one way and then you can flip it over and read the other way. What's it about? One way…The Most Important Year In A Man's Life. The other way…The Most Important Year In a Woman's Life and it's by Susan Devries and Bobbie Wolgemuth. I paid a whole $1.50 for it!
6. And the best thing I picked out really fast as I was about to check out. It was a ceramic figurine of two bunnies, one holding a tiny blue flower and the other hugging the one with the flower. I didn't really notice that, I just liked the color of the rabbits and grabbed them quickly. After I got home I read on the bottom of the bunnies the name of the figurine…"He Loves Me." I almost cried! I've had a lot of complicated things going on in my marriage. I'm not sure why, but the "He Loves Me" was a message from God to encourage my day.
So, I'm passing it on to you and all my siestas today…"He Loves You."
It was so much fun reading about your days away and seeing the pictures. Thought you might enjoy some of my details.
We are blessed.
I totally get it. Not even a little bit…but TOTALLY. We have this place, too. It is only about 45 minutes from our home, but it feels as if it's a million miles away…which is just the way I like it. It's a place where you can sit on the deck and "spit in the river" if you so choose (MY man's words). It's a place where getting on those "hot rods" you talk about is not work, but play…even if it IS work;-) It's a place where, if I do nothing but sit on the couch all day I don't feel guilty because I'm not doing something constructive.
We cherish our place. We own and operate a log home company, with our office being in our home so home often feels like work. Sometimes I feel like God blessed us with a place like this so we remember to take the opportunity to slow down and ENJOY LIFE, ENJOY EACH OTHER, AND BE STILL.
We just got home this morning from "the cabin" as we call it. We came back home so we could go to church this morning. We had the most amazing weekend with friends, and if you get a chance to hop on over to my blog and check out the Survivor-style beach hut the kids spent making yesterday…it will make you smile for sure:-) But it's the kind of fun we have there. And I'm so glad you shared your special place with us. God bless.
LOVE IT! We have a place we moved to permanently where my kids can run and be kids and get dirty and grow. I can walk as far as I want and never see another person–just God and me.
Thank you for sharing your special place and yet another piece of your heart and life. You make such a difference in my life. May God bless you in such abundance you overflow!
Kayleen
Between Heber & Holbrook AZ
44
married for 25 years
Oh my gosh! I love it! Thanks so much for sharing yor world!!