Ready! Set! Go!
By Susan Shanklin You may read this article about two or three weeks after it is written. My calendar says the last week in March, but I have it flipped over into April, trying to hurry the season, I guess. … Read more>>>
Category Archives: By Susan Shanklin
A Trip to the YMCA: It All Has a Purpose
By Susan Shanklin I was out the door at 9:30 this morning with my rather cute vintage looking gym bag-slash-extra large purse to go to my water aerobic class at the YMCA. I like to go a few minutes early … Read more>>>
Are You Watching the Forecast?
By Susan Shanklin Finally! Finally we had a good old fashion snow storm yesterday. Storm warnings went out and you’re not sure if you believe them or not. It seems like the weather forecasters are always crying wolf when it … Read more>>>
Ah. . .Birthday Cake!
By Susan Shanklin Ahhh…birthday cake. Don’t you just love birthday cake? Oh, it’s just not another day. It’s your day! There is no other day like the day you were born. It’s a special day and we here make birthdays … Read more>>>
Taking Care of Your Temple [Audio]
This message preached by Tom and Susan Shanklin deals with the subject of caring for your body. We know that the spirit is of primary importance, but according to the Scripture, the body is also holy and set apart to God. … Read more>>>
Bring it on, Patch!
By Susan Shanklin Tom was hoeing the carrots next to the strawberry patch that I was laboring in and he says, “You sure grunt a lot.” You know, that’s really not what I wanted to hear as I was straddling … Read more>>>
Lord, Give Me Your Peace!
Editor’s Note: This month Susan has been very busy with her grandmother ministry, due to the birth of our new grandson, Everett Fitzgerald Jackson, and our subsequent baby sitting of his older sister, Emmeline. We thought you might enjoy this … Read more>>>
I Guess You are Looking for the Spring Report
By Susan Shanklin Oh, I thought spring would never come! For us here in the upper Midwest, winter wasn’t too snowy, but rather cold and gray. Everything stays brown and gray for so long. I started tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, cabbage, … Read more>>>
Click Away!
By Susan Shanklin I’ve come into the modern age. I am the very proud owner of a smart phone! To be more exact, a proud owner of an Apple iPhone. The phone is pink but looks more like tangerine with … Read more>>>
We’re Glad You’re Here!
By Susan Shanklin Every Tuesday, well, almost every Tuesday, I attend a meeting of about 40 women and one guy weight-loss group. Some of us have lost weight and try to keep it off and the other half are trying … Read more>>>
Man, We Make an Excellent Team!
By Susan Shanklin Eve, our five-year-old Minneapolis granddaughter, came to the farm to stay the weekend recently and we built our first-ever snowman on the Shanklin’s 3.3 acres. Why no snowman was ever built before puzzles even me. Anyway, we … Read more>>>
The Harvest is Ripe, but the Laborer is Tired
By Susan Shanklin The edges of the trees are being kissed with orange, yellow, and red hues. The lettuce has bolted and flowered in the garden. Cabbages are soooooo swollen with life they are begging to be picked and the … Read more>>>
Oh, Poor Ella!
By Susan Shanklin Oh, poor Ella! The world came crashing down on Ella the other day. The world that she trusted and felt so sure about came to a shocking end. Ella is our 70-pound yellow lab dog that we … Read more>>>
Have a Berry Good Life!
By Susan Shanklin It’s so close to August I can almost touch it and the garden is increasing to the point that I don’t know which vegetables to eat at each meal! Tom’s ever favorite vegetable to eat at breakfast … Read more>>>
Let’s Go Fishing!
By Susan Shanklin Do you have desire for something? A longing for something out of the ordinary? Just something special you want? Oh, you don’t talk about it much for you might think people think it silly or not necessary? … Read more>>>
When You Can’t Get What You Want
By Susan Shanklin Have you ever imagined in your mind an event or plan? Had it all scoped out in your mind in detail, with color and sound? You are thinking that this is how it is going to go … Read more>>>
Susan Asks, “Is There Not a Cause?”
By Susan Shanklin Most late mornings or early afternoons you will find Tom and me walking in an older style mall which used to house Pennys and Sears and other shops. The big name box stores are long gone and … Read more>>>
I’m Ready for the Harvest!
By Susan Shanklin I’m charged. I’m ready! Ready for what? Harvest! Oh, I can say with a certainty it seemed to come oh so fast. Spring was wet and cold and early August felt like spring, but it doesn’t matter … Read more>>>
My Little Bag of Beans
By Susan Shanklin When Tom returns from his domestic travels he sometimes brings home items given to him for me or us to use, try, and enjoy. His recent trip to North Dakota produced not deer meat nor honey nor … Read more>>>
Don’t Just Get Out of the Box, Crush the Box!
By Susan Shanklin I baked a couple of Butternut squashes up today and sorted through Haroldson apples for ones that wouldn’t keep any longer. I ended up with two quarts of applesauce, canned and two quarts of yummy bright orange … Read more>>>