About Therese
Hello. I was born and raised in Kansas. Lived here all my life. Growing up, I never really gave that much thought. It was not until I went to the Bioneers conference in Eugene, Oregon a few years ago that I decided that I really missed Kansas. Oregon is beautiful and I loved the people I met there but the land of Kansas speaks to me.
For this reason, I decided to spend lots of time out in nature. Somewhere around 2002 I went to live in a prayer community in North East Kansas. The house of prayer is owned by the archdiocese of Kansas City, Kansas. They offer Catholic prayers services but also incorporate prayers from many other spiritual traditions. This experience gave me a good spiritual background and taught me lots about tolerance and honoring personal differences. On staff I was the vegetarian chef and kitchen coordinator. I lived in a small cabin in the woods.
While at the house of prayer, I met my good friend Grace. After my first dog Shilo went off into the wild, Gracie appeared not more than 2 weeks later. The unusual thing about Gracies appearance is that they are the same breed of dog-husky/wolf mix both with ice blue eyes and beautiful smiles. Grace always had a much more wild streak than Shilo though. I believe that Gracie was at least partially responsible for the next turn of events in my life.
In 2004 I moved in with my parents and began to pay down my debt and save money. I think I was there for about one year planning and saving for the greatest trip of my life. I wanted to get some experience living on the land to determine what I would need to build an all natural house. I studied cob and strawbale house building while making my plans for living on the land.
In April of 2005 I moved to my family's farm in Central Kansas. The farm is an 80 acre tract of land leased for farming. It is where my dad grew up but no one has lived there for a very long time. In the early 90's I lived near the farm for a few years in a nearby house so I felt a very strong connection to the land. I knew that it was very wild and that is exactly what drew me. Gracie loved it there too.
So In April 2005 I began my year long journey of living in a large tent. I gave myself the goal of one year so that I could see the seasons of the Earth and of my heart. So glad that I gave myself that long. Each season brought its own beauty and challenge. I watched my relationship with prayer change. I witnessed the patterns of animal behavior change. I acknowledged the fact that I would never be able to build a house on my own! I am an extrememly organized well planned person but my carpentry skills are seriously lacking.
In October of 2005 I purchased a 20' tipi from Warren, a 96 year old Blackfoot Indian living in the Kansas City area. It took 4 of us a few hours to set up. I applied the knowledge I gained from my strawbale studies to put in a dirt floor. It turned out to be a great decision. I was able to sweep and put down rugs. When I showed the interior pictures to Warren, he laughed. I had a futon, donated by my long time friend Kathleen, a kitchen set up with wire shelves, a sink made of plastic buckets, a small wood burning stove, a plastic folding table for a desk, a small wood pile, a composting toilet, and eventually I even had a bath tub in there!
I have been working on a scrapbook of the experience and will begin compiling short stories and picture books soon. I hope to release a new one for each season, so check back frequently! Click here to receive updates from Harvest Of Peace. Click here to post a question to the blog.
Then in May 2006 one of my prayers was answered. I was house sitting for a friend when my sister called. She wanted to set me up on a blind date. Initially, my inclination was to say no. But as we talked, I though why not? So a date was set, we would go see a band together the day before my birthday.
That date changed my life. Two years later, May 2008, we were married. We had a sun rise sweat lodge ceremony at our house, a big breakfast, a nap, and then drove to Lincoln NE to see EOTO. It was perfect!
Since living in the big city, I have struggled with where I fit in. How do I keep up my dedication to spirit? I don't hear her speaking as loudly as I once did. There is too much noise. The wild is...well, not so wild now.
One way I keep up my dedication is to sew and create. I learned to sew in high school. During my senior year I won the grand award at our districts Research and Development Forum for a dress I made. I kept up with sewing through college as I pursued a career in costume design.
While at the farm I learned how to do Native American beadwork, I carved a peace pipe, and learned to sing in the native Sioux language. It was this experience that really taught me the meaning and power of prayer.
And my garden teaches me to connect through the power of the Earth. The past few years have seen an expansion of my flower beds and now in 2009 I will expand the veggie garden. This will mean tilling and lots more planning. I have been doing home canning for years and hope to put up many jars of tomatoes.
But most importantly I stay connected by remembering the experience and honoring the promises I made. Answered prayers do not come with out some amount of sacrifice and action. For me, the sacrifice is living in the city but the action, well, that has been pure pleasure. I love teaching others about essential oils. I love knowing that I am educating others about how to care for the Earth and their bodies. And every now and then, when I am paying attention, she comes to me in a dream, with a feather, with a bird song, or just a 'feeling'. Always she says, Remember Me.
