Hello, I'm Mary

I'd love to sit across the table from you with a cup of coffee and let you tell me all about your life, your family, and whatever's been weighing on your heart lately. Since we can't do that just yet, I hope this page feels like the next best thing, a quiet visit at the kitchen table.

I've been married to my husband for 28 years, and we're still right here on our family's dairy farm, raising crops and cattle and two grown sons who have become men I'm proud to call mine. I spent years as an elementary teacher, and later as a homeschool mom, and both of those seasons taught me more about patience and grace than I ever expected.

Right now, I'm walking through a season of caring for my mother, and it's changed me in quiet ways. It's taught me that stewardship isn't just something we talk about, it's something we live out, one ordinary day at a time, even when it's hard. I'm learning to write about that more openly these days, because I know I'm not the only one carrying it.

The Encouraging Home started back in 2011 as a place to encourage young moms. Over the years, it's grown right alongside me, into something broader now, a place for women in every season, faith, health, marriage, family, finances, calling, and legacy, to find practical help and an honest, steady voice.