Please Don't Let My Dreams Run Dry

My husband told me once

that this was the song he listened to while he was haying,

taking his swather for another round of cutting,

and his tractor another round for baling.

He and the lifestyle he has given us

are often inspiration for my art and photography.

You can listen to my man's song in another tab here: Amarillo Sky by Jason Aldean

as I give you a sneak peek at this piece I've been working on for the past month.

This ranch where we live and work

has been in his family for over 100 years.

His great grandfather came from Ireland

and homesteaded here on the prairie of western South Dakota.

It was a leap of faith for his great-grandfather

to come to America for a new life.

And a walk of faith for 

the next three generations.

Our kids will be the fourth generation.

A 

walk of faith

and

a

way of

life.

A way of life.

Feeding the world.

To

feed

our

kids.

Layered into this piece

is an anonymous poem from a book

from the late 1800's

about a husband

working and waiting 

on the land

weary,

facing

doubts and fear,

and

drought

and

who cries out 

to 

God.

It could be the prayer of 

my husband,

his dad,

his brother,

his granddad,

my dad,

my Grandpa Tommy,

my brother,

my son Tommy 

in his future.

It is much like the Amarillo Sky prayer,

Please let my crops and children grow.

Lord, I never complain, I never ask "why",

Please don't let my dreams run dry . . . 

Today, as I work on this piece to honor our

walk

of 

faith

and

way

of 

life,

it

is

raining.

And the answer to the prayer

seems to come

in the words of Psalm 65:

You visit the earth and water it,

You greatly enrich it;

The river of God is full of water;

You provide their grain,

For so You have prepared it.

You water its ridges abundantly,

You settle its furrows;

You make it soft with showers,

You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your goodness,

And Your paths drip with abundance.

Psalm 65:9-11

Grateful

for our way of life.

And for God.

Who is Faithful and True.

No matter what seasons and circumstances come upon us.

Additional inspiration this week came from

these links:

{Wonderful photography/art/message in these links}

Ranch House Designs, Inc

~ We are grateful here at Shaw Ranch, Inc. for the opportunity 

that our kids have to work on our ranch. ~

~ They learn skills and work ethic and responsibility for life and for family. ~

Farmers Feeding the World

This is the statistic that they shared:

97.2% of America's young farmers and ranchers

plan to farm and ranch for life.

90 % would like their children

to follow in their footsteps.

More Jason Aldean songs:  Fast and Fly Over States

When I first heard the lyrics to Fast,

I thought about how the thought of saying goodbye to the hardships

would be like saying goodbye to family . . . to our life.

And from Ann Voskamp, author of One Thousand Gifts

here is her Canadian heartfelt blog fitting this post's inspiration:

When You Want A Great Life Plan

And last, but not least,

joining these bloggers

for sneak peeks into their inspirational spaces: