The Country in the Girl

I was thinking the other day about the well-known saying, "You can take the girl out of the country but you can't take the country out of the girl." Such a true phrase! It's been a while since I left the farm and yet, I continually use the lessons and paradigms I learned while growing up in the country.

Frog Lake, Idaho

1. God - Family - Country.

• God and the gospel of Jesus Christ make up the foundation of our country life. Everything we do fits into the paradigm of the gospel.
• Family is crucial. In work and play, tough times and happy times - it's the ones we love that will be right there with us.
• We're grateful to live where we live and have learned to appreciate and see the simple beauty that is all around us.

Enjoying the simple beauties - baby calves

2. Hard work is the answer - 98% of the time.

• If you're sick, work it off. You're tired, get up and work. You're bored, you best get up and work. You're sad, take you're mind off it by working. You're hungry, work faster and you can eat. You're cold, working will warm you up. You don't know how - work and you'll figure it out. You're too young - what??!? Is there such a thing? 

Daddy: The man himself

• In all seriousness, there's so much satisfaction that comes from a job well done. Work hard with the ones around you and you'll reap what you sow.
• And then...play hard!

Careful...some of them throw elbows!

3. You can do anything you need to do.

• If you need to drive that semi and you're 12 years old - you can do it. If you need to get back up on that horse after getting bucked off - you can. 
• My dad had the confidence in me that I could do anything I needed to do. I've used experiences and growth to remind myself that I can do challenging things. I remind myself things like "If I can drive a tractor, I can certainly move to Manhattan or Africa or Israel. 

Wheat Harvest

There's hundreds of other lessons that I learned on the farm that I use in my daily life. I'm grateful for the country in the girl and look forward to the adventures ahead!