So glad you are here!

As I sit here on my screened porch, birdsong fills the air and geese honk from the pond just a few yards away. A hummingbird just visited the morning glories that are sprawling across the black farm fence while a bluebird darted to a lower branch of the grand old ash tree from near the blackberry bush whose vines are sagging under all the sweet weight of its juicy gems.

Every day I am greeted with something new on the farm. Beauty is all around, but so is suffering. Despite what you might see on social media, life is hard for everyone no matter who they are or where they live. Farm life can be a brutal reminder of that reality.

Just last week I lost a chicken to a hungry owl, and only a few weeks ago I held my beloved goat, Hank, as he suffered and died. More loss has ensued locally, nationally, and worldwide as the earth groans and longs for relief. Joy is always near but grief is, too. The tension is building. We all feel it. We all seek answers…and reassurance.

Why I write…

As a writer, I work hard to tell the truth and remind you (and me) that God is present with us and is good even in the midst of our hardest days. The stories I tell stem from my life on the farm and my decades of experience with women and young adults. I have raised five kids and I know, all too well, that the world they must navigate is very, very different than the one I knew when I was in my teens and twenties.

I write to encourage and I write to challenge. I write to remind you it is ok to doubt and ask questions. I write to help you realize you are not alone, no matter what you have been through or what you have done. Whether you are young or “leveled up,” insecure or “killin’ it” in life, religious or mad at the whole system, I think you will enjoy reading what I write.

Where you can find me…

Links to my socials are on the home page! My nonfiction essays can be found at jeaninejoyner.substack.com. I will also share many of them here on WordPress. My fiction? Well, my first book was published in 2019 and my second is in progress. I can hardly wait to get it in your hands! Until then, if you haven’t already, check out Paper Dolls: Trust Your Instincts on Amazon. It will open your eyes to a very real problem we face here in the United States.

That’s all for now! Until next time, here are some photos of my beloved animals. With this menagerie of cats, dog, goats, and chickens life is never dull! Just tap each picture to enlarge it.

I’m so glad you stopped by.

More soon!

~Jeanine