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.
sweet pea mom 
I feel the same way. I often want to see the things that surround the people I only know by reading the words they write. Sometimes far away family too. Thanks for that!
I grew up half time on a farm in the south and often wish my children were now. It is a great way of life. In Wyoming now and loving it. Couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Wide open spaces. More sagebrush than cactus but we need those snake boots too.
Thanks for sharing!
That was a great post! Thanks to you and your girls for treating us like REAL friends, even if we've never met. For opening up your lives and being vulnerable at times and loving always.
I've been trying to picture your land since the Breaking Free bible study session when you mentioned taking out your gun on your walks. (btw, my man thinks you're waaayyyy cool.) So this post is so appreciated, on top of making me feel so loved by you and Jesus.
It truly brings tears to my eyes. I'm living really far away from home (think continents away) and I miss my family so much. Your life and the studies you've written, being so real with Jesus, have boosted my spirit many a times. Praise God for you MamaBeth.
I love to get glimpses into the lives of others as well. I am a people-watcher if you've ever met one. Thanks for allowing us a glimpse into your special place with your man. Our kiddos are still little (3 and 7) but my hubby and I dream of having a cabin on a lake in Minnesota some day. I love the way God landscaped this world! What an artist!
God is good! Thanks for sharing your pics…they are precious. Loved it!
I just recieved So Long Insecurity in the mail. I have never been so excited to open a cold, brown enevelope! Is it too late to join in on the online study? I am on chapter 4 and trying to catch up.
Beth, Thank you for sharing a glimps of your world. Being married to a deer hunter/outdoorsy manly man, who would rather use the facilites of the great outdoors than the luxury of the one inside, of my own I can soooooo relate, siesta!!!! It is wonderful that you have a great retreat to reflect on all the beauty God has given us enjoy. This blog confirms the down to earth kind of real person you are. I have no doubt of the love you have for us to know the truth of God's love for us as well. Your generousity and gunuine spirit reflects in all you do.
thanks for sharing, I pray over all your families safety and His loving watchcare for you all! Now I know,,,and you're right its good to be able to picture it! loves to the family!
Oh Beth! I treasured every bit of your post!
Made my heart soar! : ) I love to be able to picture someone where they love to be… there is something so special about that! Now I can! Makes me smile!
You made my evening! Thanks- Emmy : )
***If you click on Wendy, Mom of Eleven's, blog there is a great picture of them… and in Georgia Jan's last post she has some great pics of her place and her husbands same tractor : ) ***
Thanks for sharing the pictures. How I love the Hill country!!! Our men are two of a kind.
Beth, thanks so much for sharing! Just today I read that section in So Long Insecurity where you describe the ranch land, and I did so wish I could picture it! As a beach girl from the Carolinas, I wasn't quite sure how to picture this cactus land you wrote about. Even though my dad grew up on a farm, it's more of the lowcountry Carolina variety as opposed to the Texas ranch kind. So, thanks for the glimpse of your home away from home! I'm going to thank God right now that you were able to get away & get some rest w/ your hubby. Love you!
P.S. I love the picture of you in your coveralls! I too have chamo coveralls & mud boots. Never in a million years thought I would have them!
LOL at practicing your spirals loud! I love practicing my memory Scripture a lot.
I loved the post! It seems like a really special place to get away to.
Thanks so much for sharing your life w/ us! Love the pictures. The little farm house is adorable – read about it in the book and wished there was a picture:) My husband and I LOVE old houses and antiques. So HAPPY you and you man (I love that you call him that) have a place to get away to w/ your crazy schedule!
Dear Beth, may I call you Beth? I am sorry, I have posted before and just used Beth — but, my mom did teach me manners — sorry — but even though we have never spoken, you see like a best friend.
Therefore I start, Dear Beth,
I just got 'beat up' reading chapter 5 of So Long I — tears just flowed — whoa. I am just saying — I couldn't go on to read the next chapter. I need to soak that in and let the healing begin.
So, when I logged on and saw this – this refreshment, this insight of your life with your man.
It just made me smile.
Thank you.
Michelle
Okeechobee, FL
Your place out in the wilds of Texas looks like the perfect place to refresh and regroup. I'm sure you need that in your life. I felt bad that you started your post with what sounded to me like guilt or a sense of non entitlement to enjoy such a place of peace, quiet and joy. You are the last person who should feel that way. You give so much back to your followers and you deserve all the blessings you receive.
Oh Beth, I love your little place, thank you for sharing!! My husband is a lot like yours, and I get what you say…"where your man loves you a lot" I think my sweet man would flourish in an area like that, I am blessed for you!
You are greatly loved!
Tiffany
Beth, I loved this post. I could just imagine sitting with you on the swing and sharing the amazing things God is revealing to us. That's how you make us feel. As if we could just hang with you. Well if we don't get a chance on this earth, we will have our time in heaven. I can't wait.
You are prayed for, loved, and appreciated.
Thanks for sharing, MamaBeth. I am very happy for you that you have a place to get away and rest. You deserve it.
The remoteness of your place reminds me of my place. My place doesn’t look much like your place. It’s a modest house in the suburbs of Syracuse, NY. I call my place Camp Allbymyself. It’s a place of much solitude because I live alone and have been unemployed 18 months. It’s a place where I take care of my sweet old dog. It’s also a place where I battle vicious spiritual attacks and paralyzing depression.
The main difference is that you love your place because it is filled with the love that you share with God and Keith. While I am thankful for my place, I am at the same time tormented by isolation and loneliness, amplified recently by being disconnected from all the people I loved most dearly. One died just last week. I have a hard time embracing God’s love and don’t have a person to share love with.
That is why when I look at your cool pictures, the seclusion reminds me of the painful isolation at my place. Even tonight, I should be working on an exegesis of Eph 3 and a presentation on Is 43 (which I chose specifically because they address love), but I am preoccupied by the fact that the person who used to be my best friend is avoiding me.
Maybe someday my place will be more like your place. Filled with love. And warmer, yes much warmer, I hope.
And Mama, only you could make a camo outfit look good.
So, so fun to see pictures of cacti land. Having grown up in El Paso, I've come to love the beauty of the desert. It's hidden sometimes, and not found in snakes :), but still, it can be lovely. I'm so glad you had a great time with your man.
Thank you, dear Beth and your dear daughters and staff, for loving us so well. I absolutely delight in walking this journey out with ya'll!
Sweet. I loved the little glimpse of life in the land of cacti!
I feel like a real siesta now that I have seen you without makeup!
love it. love the post.
jackie
Thanks for keepin it real I love that about you. Can't wait to see you in TORONTO! I might be just a tad excited.
This is so sweet Beth. I have to tell you I must burn your stories in my mind, I think because I enjoy them so much. I will tell you why I think this. I think about you randomly, like when I am at the grocery store and I see "Fruit by the Foot"!. I smile in the store and think of you and Jackson. I also think of you when I pause my DVR and the person on the screen has a funny face. I think about Keith and how he does this on purpose!! Now, I know when I am in a store(even if it is not a country one) I will think about you being happy about the simple things of life just because of an announcement over the PA!! I love you and you can write anything you want as far as I am concerned because ain't we all just humans(don't you like me using "ain't") 😉
Loved this post and the peek into your world……one of my favorite posts….Thanks fos sharing
Thanks for sharing! I know my husband has a place like that in his dreams…but he wants to live there full time! (a few too many slithery and skittery things living out there for me!) 🙂
Dear Beth, Thank you so much for this post and again for all you do for us.
I am so glad that you and Keith had this time.
Just have to tell you that our college age female youth intern just received the audio set to So Long, Insecurity from another woman who is mentoring her. She and I have been talking about it. She came into Sunday school this morning, and said to me,
"I am LOVVVVVING the So Long, Insecurity cds!!!!"
My daughter hasn't started reading it, yet, but is doing one of your studies that she borrowed from me.
Sorry, didn't mean to make this so long!
I love you! Thank you, again!
Love it! My darling man made me fall in love with the beach about 10 years ago. IT was his thing and I loved him so it became mine…and now I just love it. There is nothing like watching our babies in the surf getting more grown up every summer.
Thanks for the "being real" of it all. It's why you are loved by so many. We know you are our sister and while many of us will never meet here, dirt side, can't you just imagine us all in Glory! LOL! I think our Abba will get such a kick out of us all jabbering at once and hugging each other's necks!
Oh, that tiny town with one grocery store and the snake boots and the "Aint seen one deer yet" sounds like my everyday life! Aint it grand?!
Such a sweet post:)
Thank you for letting me read this. I am gearing up to work 56 hours this week as an ER nurse, and my mind needed this little 5-minute trip to this very special place in the country.
Oh, and I think this picture of you in the camo woud have made a lovely cover for your new book. So Long Insecurity, indeed. Love it.
thanks for sharing!!! it is absolutely beautiful. My parents renovated a 125+ year old house a few years back and we had a blast digging into the history of it. It's our hunting camp and I love going up there (not as much as the beach but…) it is so peaceful and relaxing. It's our little escape in the middle of the woods.
Thanks for the glimpse! Makes me so thankful that you and Keith have a private place to go and recharge…I have no doubt that your swing has produced some thoughts that this Siesta's been the beneficiary of. Laughed so hard about the PA system at the grocery…we go to such a remote area of Maine in the summer that the pastor is also the postman. Word on Sunday, mail on Monday.
I so love how sweet you and Keith are for each other. I love my husband so much it hurts sometimes. I pray that never goes away.
My favorite picture is of your handwriting. Makes me feel a little closer to you in some weird way. You can read someone's type in a million words and never feel the sentiment you do with just two written.
May your week be blessed, Mama Beth!
Beth,
Thank you so much for being willing to share your life with us…we are privledged that you are willing to be so gracious to share things that you could understandably keep private.
There was a time in my 20's when I would have said "it must be nice" but the older I get, and the closer to God I get, and the more secure I get, I can now be glad for you that you have somewhere so wonderful to go with someone so wonderful. My husband is just as wonderful and loving…we would love a piece of land to go away to, but if we never get it, it will be okay because my man is the most important thing to me and each day I realize a little more how important it is to be content where you are.
You are very lucky to have such a wonderful man…and we are very lucky to have you!
Your place is wonderful. The house is darling. I am so happy you and Keith have a special place to get away. Thank you for giving us girls this special glimpse into your life.
Ahhhhhhhh!!!! Blessings to you!
Christina
Thank you for the pictures! Since you included some details in "So Long Insecurity" I don't have to imagine. That is a good thing because it was dark and brown in my mind – yuck!
We love to escape to the mountains any chance we get. It is usually twice per year with our three young girls. He gives us great times of family bonding during those days. I treasure his creation!
What a blessing you have to share together. My husband and I dream of having such a retreat on the coast someday. Thank you for sharring this piece of your life with us. I like to see the places described too. Which is why I love seeing the movie to a book I've read.
It is absolutely beautiful! I'm so glad you and your man have that special place where you can go and just be. There is something so therapeutic about getting away from the city and back to some simpler ways, even with a lot of work to do. Thank you for sharing parts of your life with us. I consider it a privilege and am so grateful that you do.
Blessings to you,
Gretchen
Thousand Oaks, CA
I love spending time in the middle of nowhere (which is good b/c I currently live there! ha!), and I love old, restored houses. But honestly, all I ask for out of life is a swing. I could swing for hours listening to music and daydreaming. So glad you have such a special place! Thanks for sharing!
Girlfriend…you are awesome.
I feel like you're a close friend of mine. I have been studying with you for 15 weeks(Esther and Living Beyond Yourself). You share such wonderful stories that just seems to hit the right spot in my life. I can't wait to see you in Atlanta. I know I'm going to be in for a treat. I love what God is doing in your life. You have inspired me to Live Beyond Myself….
Thanks so much for a glimpse into your life!
I left my North Dakota farm home and moved to Oklahoma 4 years ago. We go back for 2 months in the summer and it is always our little piece of heaven!
Bless you and yours:)
Beth, we are so happy for both of you that you have this little Eden to retreat and renew yourselves.
Thank you for sharing.
Oh my stars, thanks for sharing. It's so cool that we get to know you and your family here in Siestaville.
Looking forward to seeing you in April!!
Much love to all of you!
Thanks Siesta Mama for inviting us to "the acreage" for a visit, it was a pleasure to share some time there with you…..and your sweet man.
My man and I are on the road a lot for our job and one of my favorite times on the road is sunrise or sunset. Daddy God makes the most beautiful sky's doesn't He?
I love your sharing with us. I would love to sit on that swing beside my friend Beth and tell you how awesome God is and how He has used you to teach me so much about Him. Just this weekend our ladies at FBC Clarksville had a wonderful retreat and we used the "Loving Well" material. I ordered the kit as I am a secretary at FBC Clarksville for cryin' out loud! Guess what? I didn't know until we started watching that it was in Knoxville! My daughter who had just left home for college and I were there! It was our first weekend together after she left home for college. It was so cool to hear the lesson again and share with the ladies how God has changed my life in the five years since Knoxville! I am turning 50 in June and looking forward to it. The retreat was wonderful and today I am watching one of the Esther sessions (second time I've done the study) and it was on courage. My goodness my life has changed because of God giving me courage. I could go on and on and hope this makes some sort of sense. Just wanted to say AGAIN thanks Beth for letting God use you to teach me. God Bless, Dana in Clarksville, TN
My children would LOVE to live in a place like that. I really mean LOVE. And I think it is wonderful you will share those so called ugliness with your man. It makes the marriage all so much better.
Mommy to 7. 9 and under.
Thank you for sharing! Those pictures are precious. I have a place like that in the mountains of East Tennessee. Right now it belongs to my grandmother, but one day it will pass to my mom and then to me. Right by the creek is my favorite place in the whole world.
Anonymous, on Feb.28th @7:23PM.
My heart goes out to you! I pray God will fill you to overflowing with His love right now where you are empty. Lord restore the passion in this marriage. In Jesus Name.
Thank you Beth for sharing. I hope this is OK to write. I could just feel her pain and could not leave the blog till I prayed for her.
Blessings,
Pam
In Lakeland, Fl
Beth,
You are awesome. Thank you for letting us see this part of you. It makes me love you more (if that were possible). And don't worry, I'm not a stalker. Just a mother of three little ones and a wife trying to glorify Jesus. I absolutely loved this post.
Jenny from VA
P.S. I wouldn't have minded Melissa's PG 13 post. That's probably because I'm 34. Just so she knows…:)