My alarm clock goes off at 4:45am and I surprise myself every time I get out of bed.  I’m not up because of the rooster’s crow or any other farm fantasy you might imagine.  I’m up because I’m not loving the mirror, tired of not having energy and because the Lord answers prayer.  

In college I visited the gym for a few weeks before conceding I didn’t even weigh 100lbs.  I adopted ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ and quit working out.  Sometime around my 30th birthday; IT DONE BROKE.   So, this year when Robert and I did our goal setting I had 3 personal goals; connect with friends, grow closer to the Lord, and exercise regularly.

Just a few weeks later, I delivered eggs to a new client who invited me to join a group of girls that work out together. She said FiA is peer lead, the girls pray together before they leave, and it’s free.  So…it’s a group of girls, consistent exercise, and Christian fellowship…I was in.  She said 5:30am and I was still in.  It was 12 degrees that week…still in.

When I told Robert I was going to work out at 5:30am in the freezing cold I’m pretty sure he had doubts {btw, my sweet husband has woken up at 5am each morning purely to support me}.  I explained that I asked the Lord for friends, fellowship and exercise…he gave me all three in one shot…was I really going to turn it down?  {Oh, 5:30am? Just kidding Lord, thanks anyway…and then keep complaining about my 2nd chin.}
 
This is generally how the Lord works in my life…90/10.  It reminds me of the movie Hitch when Hitch is trying to teach Albert how to kiss a girl saying,

I think when we pray we hope {even expect} the Lord to come through 100%.  But really…isn’t it more intimate if we have a part in it?  If Jesus is going to offer me everything I ask for I’ll be up at 4:45am to accept it.  I mean, it’s only 10% right?  And I have to admit; I haven’t missed my extra sleep {or extra chin} since I began. 

So…what are you hesitant to go the 10% on? 


Ladies, find out more about FiA here.
and guys, find out about F3 Nation here. 

I feel like I should dispel a false notion I may have implied.  I tend to say things like “we’re farmers” when referring to our business & family.  What I really mean is Robert’s a farmer and I was lucky enough to marry one.  I was a VP at Merrill Lynch when I met Robert, I grew up in the suburbs- on a lake nonetheless.  While I’m excited to raise animals and learn more about this life I by no means meant to imply that I know the first thing about farming. 

The day Robert and I got married we owned and lived in separate houses.  He lived on the backside of the farm; I lived in a subdivision with an HOA & a pool. With little to no transition we said “I do” and I became a wife & student of all things farming. 

In this first year I managed to cook fajitas in an unseasoned iron skillet {we ate Totino's pizzas that night}, I mistook key lime juice for chicken stock and used it to make chicken & rice {did I mention I also married a chef?}, I killed 3 house plants {2 of which were cacti}, and I sucked up a baby chick with a shop vac {thank God she lived}! These are not things a farmer does.  These are not things most people do…but then things happen to me that don’t happen to normal people.  Like catching the eye of the only cute farmer in a beekeeping class…and catching myself on fire while cooking dinner {yep, that was just about a week ago}. 

I hope you’ll enjoy sharing in this adventure and give me grace as I try to grasp what is going on around me.  Hopefully the steep slope of my learning curve will provide for some good humor and perspective on the farm life fantasy.  

Know that you can ask me anything, that no question is a dumb question because if I know the answer it means I already had to ask either Robert or Google.  If I don’t know the answer I will find it and we will both be better for it.

I’m working on a FAQ for our site; hoping to have it up soon, until then…ask away!