How Can You Not?

Good morning to you all! Happiest of Mondays to you! I can't even begin to believe that it is already August 11th!! Wowzers! Time truly waits for no one! It's just seeming to whiz right by! Don't you think?? 

Toward the end of last month (July) we had the pleasure of attending our first Hillfest Christian Music Festival. The featured artist was Jeremy Camp who we absolutely LOVE! He was amazing. If you haven't, you should totally watch his movie: "I Still Believe". Get loads of tissues. It's an incredible story. 

At Hillfest we were able to spend time with some of our dearest friends, the Lowman Family. That was super special to us. 

One of the performers there was an artist I wasn't really familiar with named Leanna Crawford. Her music and lyrics have been a balm to my soul since then. I want to share a couple of her songs with you here. The first one is Still Waters (Psalm 23). The song was inspired by Leanna's great Aunt Maurine who at the age of 40 was beginning to go blind and so she purposed to memorize the Bible and write God's word on her heart. 

Lyrics:

Great Aunt Maurine said at a hundred and three
Write scripture on your heart for when you need it
'Cause anxiety hates Psalm 23
So just say it to yourself 'til you believe it
And I'm feeling like I'm needing it right now

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Lord, I believe You can set me at ease
Turn this broken piece in me to peace and quiet
I know there's power in Your word
So I'll say it over and over 'til my soul's reminded

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters, I'm safe

Still waters run through any valley I could find
I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe still waters run through any valley I could find
I'm laying fear down here at Heaven's riverside
Your word has been true in every season of my life
I believe, yes, I believe

Oh, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He leads me by still waters 'til my fears are gone
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
Oh, I know You are with me, my Father, my friend
Your goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days
I know by Your still waters I'm safe.

Take a moment and listen to it and watch it :  HERE

Another of her songs I've had on repeat this past week is this one. "How Can You Not?"

Lyrics: 

I see the sun rise in the morning
And a million stars at night
I hear the birds, they can't stop singing hallelujah
I see His goodness when I fall down
And it's grace that picks me up
Every day, I can't stop singing hallelujah

How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
'Cause He's in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

I see the sunset and I wonder
If He paints it just for me
Nobody else could make a world so beautiful
How could I question His love when it's everywhere I go
Wherever I look, I find another miracle

How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
'Cause He's in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

Everything is evidence (ooh-ooh)
Showing me that You exist (oh-oh)
All creation singing hallelujah
Everything is evidence (oh, everything)
Showing me that You exist (He's God)
All creation singing hallelujah

How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved? Hmm-mm
'Cause He's in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

Oh, how can you not see God (everything is evidence)
In every little thing, in every little moment? (Showing me that You exist)
How can you not feel loved? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not? (Hallelujah)
'Cause He's in the middle of (everything is evidence)
Every little thing and every little moment (showing me that You exist)
How can you not see God? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not?

Take a listen to it and watch it:  HERE

The past few weeks have been both beautiful and rough in many ways. The 6 -year anniversary of our precious JoyAnna going to heaven, attending the annual A Mother's Rest Bereavement Retreat in Maryland and sharing our joys and grief with one another, and the 13th year anniversary of my own precious mama going to heaven. To say I've been a bit of a hot mess on an emotional rollercoaster would be completely accurate. 

I'm so very thankful for the reminder that God is in this story, God is in every detail. To be reminded that His goodness and mercy will follow me all of my days, and that by His still waters I am safe. That God will turn these broken pieces in me to peace and quiet, and that there is great power in His word. That His word has been true in EVERY season of my life. No matter how devastating or how hard. Even when I am feeling all alone here in this world. 

I was reminded even this very day as I sit and compose this blog post that I need to see God in every little thing and every little moment. I need to feel loved, because He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me. This promise, this is what I'm clinging to right now. 

As you all probably already know, I LOVE pictures. They truly are worth 1,000 plus words. So here are some from the last few weeks. 

Praying for you all and I thank you for your prayers and encouragement for us as a family. 

This week we are preparing to attend our beloved Joni & Friends Family retreat. I promise to keep you in the loop for that wonderful slice of heaven! 

Precious JoyAnna and Zoey

Some of my favorite ladies right here. AMR bereavement retreat 2025. 

O

Dear Martha, I love you so very much. You are like a Mother to me. I'm so very thankful for you. 

I LOVE spending time with my Dad and family on a Saturday night. 

My precious nephew Gabe. What a blessing to be able to see you this summer!

My beloved garden produce. This is "The Table @ Grace Abounding Farm"

The 2025 Swan/Smith Family Reunion

Hillfest 2025

My beautiful Mama. I miss her so very much each and every day!

My family. A true gift from God above! 

NH 4H State Horse Show!

Take a peek at our weekend at Rosie's 4H State Horse Show! It was awesome!!!

Rosie's State Horse Show

Enjoy!!! 

My Journey to Better Health With a Side Effect of Weight Loss

Howdy you all! Wow, 2 blog posts in one day!! Yup...that's the truth!! 😀

Anyway, I wanted to take a few minutes to share with you the health journey I entered on Mother's Day, May 11, 2025.

But first....a bit of backstory for you. My beloved maternal cousin Deb put a before and now picture of herself on her facebook page a few months ago. I knew that she had been working hard on her health in the last year and was looking amazing. I also knew that she was doing an intermittent fasting lifestyle. When I saw her most recent picture on fb, I ask her a quick question in her comments..."are you still doing IF?" She told me she was. I immediately sent her a private message and told her..."Okay, I want to know everything. I feel like this is something God is leading me to do!" 

That began my messaging back and forth with her. She shared what IF looked like for her and then she recommended a book to me. Delay Don't Deny (2nd edition) by: Gin Stephens. 

See below: 👇

I sent away immediately for the book. You can get it on amazon. It's super simple to read and it's like Gin is sitting in my living room chatting with me!! 

Deb also told me about Gin's podcasts, too. I ordered the book that day, and began listening to one of the podcasts called:  Intermittent Fasting Stories: Gin Stephens.  I listen on Spotify, but you can catch it wherever you listen to podcasts. This has been truly inspirational. I just LOVE each and every individual story that is shared on the podcast. They record a new one each week. I started at number 1, and am now on 134. It's been such an encouragement to me. I'm sure you will love it, too!! (See below) 👇

Deb let me know that the most important thing was embracing a clean fast. What does that mean?? It's pretty simple. During the fasting window consuming only water, black coffee, or black tea. Um....whaaat????? Black coffee?? What about stevia, or my beloved creamer with allulose?? NOPE. NADA....only black.  You see, I had dabbled with fasting last year and thought I was doing great with it. BUT....I was drinking my collagen fatty coffee with stevia and my creamer during my fast, and also having fasting snacks, too. 

Okay...okay...okay....I can do this. I had my first cup of black coffee, #didIdie ?? #noIdidnotdie !! Now it's second nature. Truly. 

Deb has been such a blessing to me. Checking in with me each week, and that has been awesome! 

So, this Sunday will complete my 8th week of doing IF and embracing the clean fast. Things have been going really well for me. I began with doing an 18-hour clean fast with a 6-hour eating window. Then for the next few weeks I did a 19-hour clean fast with a 5-hour eating window. Within those eating windows I usually have a nice hearty snack to break my fast and then a full meal with my family to close out my window. It's gone really well.  When you are fasting clean, and giving your body a break from digestion and allowing it to rest and heal, a really awesome thing called "body recomposition" occurs. I liken it to sculpting. It's slow and precise. Also, a 17 hour or more fast allows autophagy to occur in the body. This is an amazing phenomenon. Here is some info about it:

Autophagy is a natural cellular mechanism by which the cells in our body degrade unnecessary or damaged components within the cell. The process of autophagy helps maintain normal functioning (homeostasis) in the cell. The term “autophagy” literally means “self-eating.”

Though autophagy sounds like self-destruction, the process actually helps clean up harmful material inside the cells and rejuvenates them. Autophagy may completely destroy damaged molecules, or recycle them into new components which can be used for cellular repair. This can be accomplished during fasting. 

Here are the stats so far: 

Scale: Down a mere 3.9 lbs (This my dear friends is why the scale should NOT be the only measure of results!! I weigh myself once per week)

Picture below 👇. Left is May 11, 2025 (Mother's Day) and the right is Sunday June 22. 

*Let me just say, this is a bit humbling to put this picture on here, BUT....this is me, and my health journey. I'm praying it's encouraging to you all! A picture truly is worth 1,000 words!!! 

Measurements: 

This can be hard to do manually on my own! Can you relate?? Truly....a tape measure, and what spot did I put it here or there last time?? Did I cinch it up too much?? Etc, etc. So....I downloaded a free version of the app Me 360. I did a scan on May 31st, and then I did a 2nd scan today. I plan to do it monthly. This app allows you to do a comparison and it does the math for you. 

Stats:

Body fat:  -3,2 %!!!!

Inches lost:  6.3!!!!

Body surface area lost: .2 square feet

And...last but NOT least....drum roll please....Lean body mass increased by:  5.6 pounds!!!!  Y'all, this is HUGE!!!! Truly!!!

So...I'd love to share my journey with you!! You have a front row seat!! This is what I LOVE about IF. 

*IT'S FREE OF CHARGE!!! Truly....from someone who has spent a BOATLOAD of money on this plan, that plan and the other plan, this is such a blessing! 

*I am a study of one! I get to decide what works best for me and adjust accordingly! This has been so wonderful!

*I have a giant increase of energy! My mental focus is on point, too! I LOVE being in the fasted state!!

*There are truly so many health benefits, and the weight loss, is just that. A lovely side effect! 

Please let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to come along side of you and encourage you! 

I promise to keep you posted! I truly do!!

💕💕

M

A girl and her love of horses!!

Okay beloved blog readers. I am finally back and committed to keeping you updated on our life here at Grace Abounding Farm. 

Rosie loves horses, and always has. She is not alone. Truth be told, I have always loved horses. ALWAYS, and I dreamed of having a horse of my own, too. Growing up in Candia, NH, we lived in the PERFECT location to have a horse. We had a barn, and plenty of land. But it wasn't to be. Then when I was 10, my Dad moved us to Strafford, NH. It told me, "Mary, I promise you that in our new home, I will get you a horse." I clung to that promise, but alas, it did NOT happen. 

Fast forward 50 years and here we are. Rosie has been taking riding lessons with our dear friend Kate for a couple of years now. Rosie has become best friends with Kate's youngest, Mackenzie. They have so much in common, especially their love of horses and riding. And can I just tell you that their friendship is a gift straight from God, truly. 

On Saturday, the girls represented Belknap county at the 4-H qualifying horse show. They both did amazing!! I'm so proud of both of them! They will be representing Belknap County at the 4-H state horse show July 11-13 at the Deerfield fairgrounds. 

We will be taking our camper over, and Kate and the girls and I will be staying there for the weekend! We'd LOVE to see you there! Most of the events will be on Saturday. I will keep you posted!!