What are some of your most vivid memories? The good ones? The ones that play out in your head like an old VHS or home video when you close your eyes. You recall the low-resolution memory, and you can hear the familiar voices, see the smiling faces, and feel the joy of the moment, and…
Author: Brentlee Smith
The Wax On the Wall
“Please pray with me. I can’t keep this up. I have to realize that I can’t make it perfect, and honestly, I don’t even want to even if I could. I’m tired of this.” That was the exact line I said to my husband, Michael, about ten minutes before God would give me just such…
When It Feels Like Your Plates Are Spinning Out of Control: Grab a Tray
“I’m trying so hard, but I just can’t win.” That’s what poured out of my mouth as I looked over at my husband in defeat. The tears started to well up while I was elbow deep in dishes, and once they finally squeezed past my eyelids, they didn’t plan on stopping. I was four weeks…
Permission to Buy the Flowers: To the Girl Who Won’t Let Herself 🌷
“They’re just going to die anyway.” “That’s just waste of money.” “You’re being selfish- that money could be used for something or someone else.” Sound familiar to you? It does to me, and it’s a narrative that played out in my head every time I’d pass by bouquets of flowers, or even words that would…
Blister Beetles: An Invitation to Surrender, Day by Day
I’m sure my Oklahoma friends will recall the historic drought that covered our state a few years back in 2022. That’s the setting for this short little chapter of my life that I’ve always thought of as “Blister Beetles.” And though it may be short, it probably (more like definitely) has been the most impactful…
A Girl’s Guide to Gallivanting Across Osage County: Hiking the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve and the Best Timeline for a Girl’s Day in Pawhuska
The rolling hills and plains of Osage County force me to both take a breath of fresh air and to linger in each said breath, as I can only attempt to soak in all the beauty that surrounds me. It’s here where I find myself craving to return to when my mind needs settling, my…
The Year I Let Go of the Pen
It’s the last day of the year 2025. I don’t know what kind of person you are at the end of the year…maybe you make resolutions, recluse in quiet to reflect on the past twelve months, or maybe you have no clue what the date is because that week after Christmas is kind of like…
Classic Christmas Sugar Cookies
I can officially say I’ve been using this classic sugar cookie recipe for a decade now. I began making these simple and sweet cookies on my first Christmas as a young bride, and here we are, ten years later, with several little hands helping us bake them. Grab some helpers and some cute Christmas cookie…
Virinda Taylor Longmire: A Woman Who Lived Life Well
Three boys run around this cozy house we call home, so as I’m sure you can imagine, I never lack for dirty dishes, laundry, and floors to clean. Today I was working on cleaning the smudge prints off all the windows and glass in the house when I stopped to clean the glass of the…
To Never Despise a Humble Beginning
In a little less than a month I’ll turn thirty. Three decades of humble beginnings that I can look back and smile on. It’s the start of so many stories that I get to share here with you. I wrote one of those stories here: From Blog to Purpose: The Heart of the Homeland Story,…