Karmen Smith

  • About
  • Retreat
  • Journal
  • Speaking
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Subscribe to my blog posts

Privacy Policy

An Update & Answers to Frequently Asked Questions

by Karmen |

“The distraction.  We live in a distracted culture….Multitasking is our new moral imperative.”Yes, and thank you IF: Equip writers for the morning reminder!    And yet, I fear (for me but maybe you too?) many of us dabble in many things and are disciplined at nothing.

 

Where should we begin?  Maybe with the trendy hashtag #thestruggleisreal.

 

The struggle to write.  The struggle to keep up or get ahead.  The struggle to be content.  The struggle to lose weight.  The struggle to write.  The struggle to focus.  The struggle to simplify.  Did I mention the struggle to write?

 

Today is a new day.   Thank God for His new mercies that are new every morning! It’s Monday, warm enough to open the doors and listen to the birds so, let’s get caught up.

 

We’ll start with some of your most recent or frequently asked questions:

 

“Is your farm for sale?”  Yes.  If you are looking to buy a 33-acre farm with a pond, two barns and a house that is move-in ready, please feel free to view the farm on Zillow dot come or email for more details.

 

“Why are you selling?”  We have prayerfully considered selling the farm since I left teaching almost five years ago.  We have a sign in the yard, and we are we surrendered; to, however, the Lord wants this to play out.  We truly are content to go or stay.

 

Are we leaving the farm for the foreign mission field?  No, not right now.

 

Are we still fostering?  Yes.  Recently over a 10-day period, we had seven children in and out of our home.  The needs are great. Overwhelming at times.  I pray as you read this if you sense the Holy Spirit prompting you to get involved that you will be obedient.  Everyone can do something. I praise the Lord for the many of you who have come alongside us to love those whom Jesus loves.

 

Am I still writing a book?  Yes.  I am going back to She Speaks (writers/speakers conference sponsored by Proverbs 31 Ministries)  in July.  My hope is to meet with publishers who would be willing to publish our story.  We covet your prayers.

 

What is The Summit and how can you help?   It is a 12-month faith-based recovery program for women struggling with life controlling issues.  If you or a loved one needs help or wants to volunteer you can learn more by clicking HERE.

In other news~

Ladies, YOU REALLY know how to throw events!!  Seriously.  What a joy and sheer delight it has been over the last few weeks to come and speak to your conference and ladies groups meetings.  I love hearing your hearts and sharing burdens.  God has used many of you to answer my prayers.  From the bottom of my heart to the top of my curly head THANK YOU for allowing us to come and for sharing #PrayBig with your people!

The boys and the cowboy (who had a birthday this month!) are doing their part to keep things interesting on the farm.

Are you following our family circus on Instagram?  If not, come on over and join the party @blessingsbrnyrd.  Last week in an Insta-story we shared where one of our cows got her horn hooked on a limb just before a thunderstorm.  The debacle involved a chainsaw, the cowboy and ended without bloodshed.  And all of the people shouted HALLELUYAH!

http://www.karmensmith.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/17363783_364647447262073_3138679670904455168_n.mp4

Friday we adopted a mustang yearling from the BLM.  We named him Nevada because that’s where he came from and I feel confident he will be the new fav in the #adventuresoftuckandjake on Facebook.  Today we loaded and said farewell to our nearly 500-pound boar because we are expecting a litter of piglets any day now.  A sidenote: our ducks think they are chickens and our turkeys are bullies.

Come follow along!  There’s always something new to see.

From here, we could discuss a couple of random conversations I’ve shared with one or both of our boys over the last few weeks on topics such as the short name for a man named Richard and where and when that word is appropriate or not

OR what kind of milk they drank as babies before they drank cows milk and where it came from OR what the middle finger means BECAUSE ADOLESCENT BOY CONVERSATIONS ARE NOT FOR THE FAINT AT HEART!

Next, at Fort Payne Feed & Garden we are getting cranked up, and are R-E-A-D-Y for spring if we could get Alabama weather to cooperate.  We got word last week that the Duck Dynasty crew has named VICTOR dog food “The Official Dog Food of DUCK COMMANDER.”

 

 

Did you know we are the only store in our town who carries VICTOR dog food??  Our little fat dog, Shiloh and our customers’ dogs LOVE it!  Drop by for a free sample if you’re in our neck of the woods.

Annnnd if you are one of the millions of people who LOVE Chip and Joanna Gaines and their authentic, wholesome HGTV show, Fixer Upper, you may have noticed her obsession with fiddle leaf figs.  She stages one in every episode, and we carry them at our store.  They are low-maintenance house plants and great if you want to add life to a room.

 

If you missed our herb class at the store a couple of weeks ago-NO WORRIES, you can take a sneak peek HERE and make a note now that we have another class APRIL 15th!  Gardening 101 will be at Fort Payne Feed & Garden @10 in “Karmen’s Korner.”  (My newest classroom! It is where we will be hosting a variety of classes and this classroom just-so-happens to be staged with antiques that are for sale!)  We are thrilled to have another master gardener coming to present Gardening 101.  He will be discussing the different ways to plant and care for your basic garden veggies because you don’t have to have a tractor or 40 acres to grow a garden.  Our dear friend Alice, from Alice Circle, will also be there to help you with lettering and labeling your garden goodies.  Stay tuned to our FPFG’s Facebook page for more details.  Your support of mom and pop shops like ours matters!!  When you #shoplocal, you are helping sustain local communities & WE ARE GRATEFUL!

Finally, saving the best news for last.  These two little darlings are my youngest nieces.

They have asked Christ to forgive them of sin, confessed Him as Lord and surrendered their lives to Him. Yesterday they followed Christ’s example in believer’s baptism.  It was a glorious day to be with family to celebrate new life in Christ.

Until next time dear friends may you, and yours be found more faithful than fearful!

Much love,

 

 

P.S. Share in comments a praise in your life or how we can #PrayBig for you

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr
  • Skype

Filed Under: Life ~in our neck of the woods, store, the cowboy, Uncategorized Tagged With: #PrayBig, farm update, the feed store, The Summit

3 Truths About Love & Life with a Cowboy

by Karmen |

There were no flowers, no bells, no whistles. The day came and went, as many do, without a big shebang.  It was a good, ordinary day.   Our 6,897th day since we said, “I do.”

 

It’s a bit ironic, the quiet man who cares the least about being seen or heard is the one I am asked about most often.  This man has endured such cheesy escapades as  reading the love chapter from the Bible every night for a month after we were first married because I didn’t want us to fall out of love.   Deserving of wearing a best-hub-badge or something except that he.would.never.ever.

 

********This is a good place for a DISCLAIMER.  This post is not for everyone.  If you are cheese intolerant, you’ve read far enough.  If you love cheese and real life marriage stories, this post is for you.  If you are unsure, read on and decide later.*****

 

Jason, whom I often refer to as J, and lots of days, the cowboy, has granted this forgetful, unpredictable, irresponsible, phone-losing, over-sharing spaz more grace, more love than I’d ever in a million years deserve.  He is the epitome of patient, more responsible than the most responsible human on the planet, and steadfast in every imaginable way.

 

In our years together, he has taught me many things about self-regulating, the vitality of strong, black coffee, how to love and savor the simplicity of life. His ritualistic routines and quiet ways have calmed my anxious heart countless times throughout our years. It is because of his persistent persuasion for me to rest, say no, take a break, that I am still breathing air. Because I love this cowboy, am forever grateful for the truths we have fought hard to learn, and lastly-mostly because I love encouraging your soul with real life, here are a few truths concerning faith, money and movies from  love and life with a cowboy:

 

God + J + me =3

We need not go further if it were not for Christ. This marriage would be no more. I am not nice without Jesus. J is not patient or kind without Jesus. These things are true and if not, I would have told you. We are by no means perfect (just ask our kids) nor are we even near have arrived (not even close), but we are committed first and foremost to Christ and each other. It is because Christ first loved us that we can even like each other in the flesh. We snap at each other too much. We lose it lots of days. We scream and holler and then, we apologize. We sincerely ask for the other’s forgiveness, we forgive the other and mean it. Repeating as needed.

IMG_3206

 

Feast or famine

Money. Whether you have little or you have much, for many couples, it is the greatest source of stress in their marriage. We are no different. We’ve yo-yoed back and forth: feast to famine, feast to famine since we two became one. Through the years, our financial situation if drawn on a piece of paper would look a lot like your favorite roller coaster. Roller coasters make me want to throw up- as have many of my financial debacles. I say, “my financial debacles” because I am to blame for most of our money messes. For way too long I was obsessed with stuff. On the days I was sure we were doomed without hope, J would calmly assure me, “We’ll be fine, babe. It’ll work out.” He has challenged me more days than I care to admit with his unwavering faith. To trust in The Lord to provide for us. And he has, ever-so-faithfully; providing one horseshoeing appointment at a time for almost twenty years. As a self-employed farrier (one who shoes horses), J has brought home checks left for him under rocks, in feed bins, or in between bales of hay for a couple of decades now because that’s the cowboy way.

 

On the set

Poets write about them, musicians sing about them, artists paint pictures of them, and we watch them in movies. Lots of days I feel like I’m on the set of, “Guess THAT western” as he quotes more cowboy lines from his favorite wild west show than he does his own dialogue.  I’m not sure if it’s more the nostalgia, their quiet mannerisms or their confidence. Maybe it’s all of the above.  Truth be told, I’m still trying to figure him out.

 

One proclamation I made sure to note.  A question-answer exchange I’ve reflected on umpteen times.

 

In our earliest days of dating, we rode horses a lot.  One particularly dreamy evening upon returning to the barn, lost in a love trance as he reached to take the saddle from the back of my horse I felt compelled to pitch a hypothetical.  Feeling sure of where we were in our relationship and positive of where we going.

 

“If I asked you to choose between your horses or me, which would you choose?”

 

When what to my deceiving ears did I hear but a calm,  cool sobering reply,

 

“Don’t ever ask me to do that.”

 

Noting his certainty, I made a mental note to heed his word and let that idea go.

 

Horses are a part of his world. I knew it then, know it still and love him all the more.

 

sunsetd

 

The cowboy’s love for horses and all that entails has allowed me to see and savor things (much like the movies)  I most assuredly would have missed…

 

Like the hush of an old barn,

 

SONY DSC

 

The value of a fair trade,

 

Cherished conversations with men who are as good as their word,

 

IMG_3421

 

Life with the cowboy has taught me patience with spring and summer as to-do list are pushed aside until fall and winter when his calendar is less full and his back is more rested,

 

IMG_2949

 

He reminds me to rest and be okay with a no-plans-day,

 

SONY DSC

 

To stop and notice the blessing of each sunset as it rests beyond the barnyard,

 

IMG_3255

 

and to appreciating the clear crisp, ring of the hammer on a horseshoe being shaped around the anvil..recognizing it as the sound of hard, honest work.

 

IMG_1185

 

He has shown me how refreshing an afternoon ride can be for the soul.

 

IMG_3172

 

Lastly, he’s given me these little dudes who I will love forever and ever plus infinity.

 

View More: http://findingmuchnessfilms.pass.us/smithfamily

 

Surely if J and I wrote a letter to you young pups just saying “I do” we would write to you and say,

 

Dear precious lovebirds, 

     Step away from your gadgets

     Go outside

     Sit on the porch

     Savor a sunset

     Embrace ordinary

 Look dreamy into each others eyes often (and say, “let’s look dreamy into each other’s          eyes”)

     Say, “I love you”

     Be honest, always

     and laugh, because a lot of life is funny.

Lots of  love and cheesy wishes,

The Smith’s

🙂

 

PS- If you are single and aching for Mr. Love, know this….YOU ARE LOVED!  know that I have whispered a prayer for you…for God to comfort you as only, He can.  Know this: God is always at work in the wait and He loves you more than you ever dreamed.

 

PS, again- We are not marriage experts nor do we play one on the internet.  These marital truths have worked for us.  We share them with the hope you will be encouraged where you are.  Because I love cheese and believe this to be true…

once-in-awhile-right-in-the-middle-of-an-ordinary-life-love-gives-us-a-fairy-tale-quotes-saying-pictures

 

 

 

 

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr
  • Skype

Filed Under: #iheart, Everything Else, Life ~in our neck of the woods, marriage, the cowboy Tagged With: lesson learned, letter to young married, marital advice

3 Truths About Love & Life with a Cowboy

by Karmen |

There were no flowers, no bells, no whistles. The day came and went, as many do, without a big shebang.  It was a good, ordinary day.   Our 6,897th day since we said, “I do.”

 

It’s a bit ironic, the quiet man who cares the least about being seen or heard is the one I am asked about most often.  This man has endured such cheesy escapades as  reading the love chapter from the Bible every night for a month after we were first married because I didn’t want us to fall out of love.   Deserving of wearing a best-hub-badge or something except that he.would.never.ever.

 

********This is a good place for a DISCLAIMER.  This post is not for everyone.  If you are cheese intolerant, you’ve read far enough.  If you love cheese and real life marriage stories, this post is for you.  If you are unsure, read on and decide later.*****

 

Jason, whom I often refer to as J, and lots of days, the cowboy, has granted this forgetful, unpredictable, irresponsible, phone-losing, over-sharing spaz more grace, more love than I’d ever in a million years deserve.  He is the epitome of patient, more responsible than the most responsible human on the planet, and steadfast in every imaginable way.

 

In our years together, he has taught me many things about self-regulating, the vitality of strong, black coffee, how to love and savor the simplicity of life. His ritualistic routines and quiet ways have calmed my anxious heart countless times throughout our years. It is because of his persistent persuasion for me to rest, say no, take a break, that I am still breathing air. Because I love this cowboy, am forever grateful for the truths we have fought hard to learn, and lastly-mostly because I love encouraging your soul with real life, here are a few truths concerning faith, money and movies from  love and life with a cowboy:

 

God + J + me =3

We need not go further if it were not for Christ. This marriage would be no more. I am not nice without Jesus. J is not patient or kind without Jesus. These things are true and if not, I would have told you. We are by no means perfect (just ask our kids) nor are we even near have arrived (not even close), but we are committed first and foremost to Christ and each other. It is because Christ first loved us that we can even like each other in the flesh. We snap at each other too much. We lose it lots of days. We scream and holler and then, we apologize. We sincerely ask for the other’s forgiveness, we forgive the other and mean it. Repeating as needed.

IMG_3206

 

Feast or famine

Money. Whether you have little or you have much, for many couples, it is the greatest source of stress in their marriage. We are no different. We’ve yo-yoed back and forth: feast to famine, feast to famine since we two became one. Through the years, our financial situation if drawn on a piece of paper would look a lot like your favorite roller coaster. Roller coasters make me want to throw up- as have many of my financial debacles. I say, “my financial debacles” because I am to blame for most of our money messes. For way too long I was obsessed with stuff. On the days I was sure we were doomed without hope, J would calmly assure me, “We’ll be fine, babe. It’ll work out.” He has challenged me more days than I care to admit with his unwavering faith. To trust in The Lord to provide for us. And he has, ever-so-faithfully; providing one horseshoeing appointment at a time for almost twenty years. As a self-employed farrier (one who shoes horses), J has brought home checks left for him under rocks, in feed bins, or in between bales of hay for a couple of decades now because that’s the cowboy way.

 

On the set

Poets write about them, musicians sing about them, artists paint pictures of them, and we watch them in movies. Lots of days I feel like I’m on the set of, “Guess THAT western” as he quotes more cowboy lines from his favorite wild west show than he does his own dialogue.  I’m not sure if it’s more the nostalgia, their quiet mannerisms or their confidence. Maybe it’s all of the above.  Truth be told, I’m still trying to figure him out.

 

One proclamation I made sure to note.  A question-answer exchange I’ve reflected on umpteen times.

 

In our earliest days of dating, we rode horses a lot.  One particularly dreamy evening upon returning to the barn, lost in a love trance as he reached to take the saddle from the back of my horse I felt compelled to pitch a hypothetical.  Feeling sure of where we were in our relationship and positive of where we going.

 

“If I asked you to choose between your horses or me, which would you choose?”

 

When what to my deceiving ears did I hear but a calm,  cool sobering reply,

 

“Don’t ever ask me to do that.”

 

Noting his certainty, I made a mental note to heed his word and let that idea go.

 

Horses are a part of his world. I knew it then, know it still and love him all the more.

 

sunsetd

 

The cowboy’s love for horses and all that entails has allowed me to see and savor things (much like the movies)  I most assuredly would have missed…

 

Like the hush of an old barn,

 

SONY DSC

 

The value of a fair trade,

 

Cherished conversations with men who are as good as their word,

 

IMG_3421

 

Life with the cowboy has taught me patience with spring and summer as to-do list are pushed aside until fall and winter when his calendar is less full and his back is more rested,

 

IMG_2949

 

He reminds me to rest and be okay with a no-plans-day,

 

SONY DSC

 

To stop and notice the blessing of each sunset as it rests beyond the barnyard,

 

IMG_3255

 

and to appreciating the clear crisp, ring of the hammer on a horseshoe being shaped around the anvil..recognizing it as the sound of hard, honest work.

 

IMG_1185

 

He has shown me how refreshing an afternoon ride can be for the soul.

 

IMG_3172

 

Lastly, he’s given me these little dudes who I will love forever and ever plus infinity.

 

View More: http://findingmuchnessfilms.pass.us/smithfamily

 

Surely if J and I wrote a letter to you young pups just saying “I do” we would write to you and say,

 

Dear precious lovebirds, 

     Step away from your gadgets

     Go outside

     Sit on the porch

     Savor a sunset

     Embrace ordinary

 Look dreamy into each others eyes often (and say, “let’s look dreamy into each other’s          eyes”)

     Say, “I love you”

     Be honest, always

     and laugh, because a lot of life is funny.

Lots of  love and cheesy wishes,

The Smith’s

🙂

 

PS- If you are single and aching for Mr. Love, know this….YOU ARE LOVED!  know that I have whispered a prayer for you…for God to comfort you as only, He can.  Know this: God is always at work in the wait and He loves you more than you ever dreamed.

 

PS, again- We are not marriage experts nor do we play one on the internet.  These marital truths have worked for us.  We share them with the hope you will be encouraged where you are.  Because I love cheese and believe this to be true…

once-in-awhile-right-in-the-middle-of-an-ordinary-life-love-gives-us-a-fairy-tale-quotes-saying-pictures

 

 

 

 

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr
  • Skype

Filed Under: #iheart, Everything Else, Life ~in our neck of the woods, marriage, the cowboy Tagged With: lesson learned, letter to young married, marital advice

A Dot-to-Dot Story

by Karmen |

Back in the day of ditto sheets and textbooks, and the little girl in class that tailed the teacher, brown-nosing every chance she got?  Always eager to assist and more than willing to take any teaching materials the teacher was willing to cast aside. That was me.

 

Dot-to-dots were my ABSOLUTE favorite teacher discard.  ABC, dot-to-dots, 123, dot-to-dots.. Good golly, I just loved them!  So much love for the dots!!   One to ten or one to one hundred, the more dots there were, the giddier I got.

 

Over the last three years, I feel like I have been living a dot-to-dot story.

 

Each scary step=a dot.

 

Each new face, new friendship=a dot.

 

New opportunity= a dot.

 

Forrest Gump said it best, “Life is like a box of chocolates.  You never know what you’re going to get.”

 

So, what IF we began viewing the scary, disappointing, unexpected turns in life as dots?  Dots that are part of a grander plan?

 

What IF we began to look for the activity of God in the small dots and the BIG dots?

 

What IF we lived as though we REALLY believed verses like this:

 

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:10 (ESV)

 

How would holding fast to God’s Word shift the way you live day-to-day? (#ifgathering)

 

What IF we diligently prayed, “God give me one pure & holy passion…to know and follow hard after you..”

 

The ‘START HERE’ in my dot-to-dot, began in our living room just over three years ago, when I emptied my heart full of questions for God onto a scratch sheet of paper, in the wee hours of the morning.The prayer in our living room that closed the door on my career in the public classroom, that led me home to home school our boys-which ultimately made me available for a summer mission trip to Indiana-that led to a women’s’ conference in Indianapolis- to pray a prayer that led us to purchase a feed store -on to North Carolina to pitch a book, to serve at a conference in Texas….

 

All dots.

 

One, uncertain-how-this-is-going-to-play-out dot at a time.

 

Our dots look different, yet each tiny dot, for you and for me-significant.

 

My next dot is a mission trip to Honduras.

 

One more wake up before I leave the woman tapping these keys behind and embrace all that God has for me in the next step.

 

And even though the struggle for a desire to see the dots connected …for a sneak peek at picture God is working in and through each step–I want Him.  Just Him and exactly what he wants for me.

 

Friend, do you want what God wants? 

 

Nothing more, nothing less.

 

I WANT IT FOR YOU.

 

I invite you to live FREELY in the uncertainties of this life.

 

Precious ones, to be okay with not knowing how it’s all going to play out or what it will look like when we’re done.

 

To believe that God has a plan and a purpose for each dot.

 

I’m COMPELLING you to get alone with God and ask Him:

 

Father, more than anything I want what you want for my life.  Show me the who, what, where, when is my next dot? Give me eyes to see, ears to hear, and a heart soft enough to respond to your call. Amen.

 

Dears, do you have any idea how much you are loved?  I don’t say that to blow wind up your skirt.  It’s true.

 

The creative Creator of the Universe loves you and I adore you.  I pray for your hearts as you visit this space. I pray for your people, your prodigals, your sick loved ones.

 

We are in this together. And now, more than ever, I believe

journey

 

So much love to you while I’m away & always,

karmen

 

 

PS- Tomorrow marks 23 years ago the cowboy and I had our first smooch  our first date.  I have a gushy post I’m working on about things I’ve learned from life with a cowboy.  So be a jewel and SIGN UP to receive your Blessings Beyond the Barnyard email (just under my dorky picture in the right side-bar)  because it’s going to be cheesy and everybody likes cheese.

 

 

 

 

 

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • More
  • Email
  • Print
  • Reddit
  • Pocket
  • Tumblr
  • Skype

Filed Under: #iheart, Everything Else, faith, Inspire, the cowboy Tagged With: mission trip, what IF

Next Page »

Order Karmen's 6-Week Prayer Journal "When You Pray, Big Things Happen"

Join the Conversation

Join the Conversation

Recent Posts

  • sweet & salty: an adoption story
  • Whew! What a YEAR!
  • Court & Why I Won’t Stop Crying

Instagram

Follow on Instagram

Brave Moms, Brave Kids Blog Tour

Categories

Archives

  • About
  • Retreat
  • Journal
  • Speaking
  • Blog
  • Shop
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

© 2023 Karmen Smith | Design by The Design Diva | Development by MRM | Privacy
Photos Courtesy of Rachel Clarke Photography

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.