Not A Wayward Goat, Too

By Shanna Kelley

Not a Wayward Goat Too is a continuation of book one, The Wayward Pig and Other Farm Stories. It shares more stories of The wayward farm animals and how they are getting by after the hard year of 2020. It continues to share funny times and can help those who need some healing with laughter. Twenty twenty was a hard year for everyone. This book goes through the year 2020 with the farm animals and all the things they went through. This book will shock you and make you laugh at the same time. Read Not a Wayward Goat Too to learn about the new animals on the farm and to check in on your favorites from The Wayward Pig and Other Farm Stories.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Release date: Sep 30, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638851547

Book preview

A Note from Ashlea

Have you ever heard the old saying A redbird is a sign from heaven? I always heard that saying growing up, but I rarely saw redbirds where I live.

After losing my brother to suicide on February 1, 2019, I longed for a sign, like most do after a loved one has passed. I knew in my heart Matthew was at peace but found myself longing for a sign, any sign.

One morning in October 2020, while I was in my living room, I heard something in my bedroom but could not figure out what it was. I did not think too much of it until I heard it again but still had no clue what it could be.

The next few days, I heard the noise as well, but it was not until I was lying in bed and heard the noise on my window. I got up to investigate to see what that noise could be. I went to the window to see the prettiest cardinal—brown with a hint of red, beautiful orange beak—sitting in the tree right outside my window. At that time, I did not think much of it until the bird started coming back each day. After the third or fourth day, I started talking to the bird, which to this day, I call my Matty bird. The bird would come to my window every single day, and I would always talk to him, and then he would be gone until the next day. This went on for months.

One morning while still lying in bed, my Matty bird started knocking on the window, and I ignored it at first. My husband finally said, Go talk to that dang bird, so I did. I reluctantly got out of bed and went over to the window and pulled open the blinds. I saw not only my Matty bird but the most gorgeous redbird I have ever seen sitting right next to her on the branch outside my window. I immediately got chills. In that exact moment, I saw both birds sitting there, I knew it was a sign from heaven.

God shows us exactly what we need at the exact right time. The redbird does not stop by near as often, but when he does, it brings me peace. My Matty bird still, to this day, stops by for me to talk to her.

The funny part is that I had no idea that the female cardinal was brown with a touch of red, and the male is the solid red. It was not until I shared this special story with Shanna and showed her the pictures that she informed me the bird was a female cardinal. I was in complete awe. So my Matty bird is a female bird, but she visits me daily and brings me joy.

I am so thankful for God’s promise that we will see our loved ones again one day. But until that day, I will enjoy my Matty bird.

—Ashlea Duggar

He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things have passed away.

—Revelation 21:4 NIV

A Note from Regina

God promises to bring something good out of the storms that bring devastation to your life.

—Romans 8:28

For this child I prayed, and the Lord granted the desires of my heart.

—1 Samuel 1:27

After I lost my son, Matthew, I was completely devastated. One evening, not long after Matthew passed away, while sitting at dinner with a friend, I just started to cry. He asked me why I was crying, and all I could say was, I want a baby. Someone has to have a baby. I had always longed for Matthew to give me a granddaughter someday.

It was not long after that, I received a message on social media from a sweet young lady stating she needed to talk to me. Honestly, I somewhat pushed her off for a few weeks. I was so heartbroken at that point; I just could not talk to her. I knew she had to have been a friend of Matthew’s that wanted to share stories of him with me, which I welcomed, but it was all still so raw at that time.

One day, after I commented on a photo, this same young lady had posted on social media of her beautiful baby girl. She called me. She told me that she had to tell me something; and little did I know that in that exact moment, my life was fixing to change again. She told me that her baby was Matthew’s little girl.

I cannot begin to describe how elated I was. I was over the moon, filled with joy. She is truly the most beautiful little girl ever.

While I miss my Matthew so much every single day, God is so faithful in his promises.

Drew, my granddaughter, is the light out of this darkness.

—Regina Taylor, Matthew’s momma

Prologue

Twenty twenty has been a different year. This year has not exactly been a good year for most people. This year has had so many up and downs, twist and turns. This year has made history and mostly not in a good way. I do not know everyone’s story, but I can tell you a bit about my year.

If you read my first book, you know I was having fun running our little hobby farm, and I was working for a nonprofit. Well once COVID-19 hit, the nonprofit tried to keep things going. But with so many people being without jobs and the uncertainty of the world, the nonprofit closed after twenty-three years. It was a sad day.

There was a girl in the nonprofit who did not have a place to go with the closing of the nonprofit, so she came home with me and Ronnie. She lived with us, helped us with the farm and the garden for about six months. She and I both learned a lot during this time.

After the closing of the nonprofit, I was unemployed for the first time in my life for a couple of months. I focused on Mya, finishing school, and the farm. There was so much that happened during that short time. I finished my bachelor of psychology degree. I also published my first book, and it seems to be doing okay. Mya and I also did some children’s books, which will be published soon. Mya did the illustrations, and I wrote the books. They are about the farm animals here also. I am excited about them.

After I lost my job, my husband and I discussed the possibility of us needing to move to another state for his job. For the first time, I decided that was an amazing opportunity, and it was worth looking in to. I was nervous and scared at the possibility of leaving everything I knew.

A few days later, we got a call from one of the kids, and she told us we were going to be grandparents. That phone call sealed the deal, and we decided to move to Texas. I will talk more about that later in this book. God did some awesome things during that time.

We had several new animal rescues in 2020, which I will talk about at length during this book. We had several new learning moments with these animals as well. Some of these learning moments will make you laugh, at least I hope they do. The animals sure make me laugh all the time.

I know 2020 has been such a hard year, but I learned so much in 2020. I think God used the pandemic going on to teach us all about what is important in life. For me and my family, we have grown closer together and closer to God. God has blessed us with so much, even with all that is going on in the world today. I am grateful for all the wonderful things we have been blessed with and all the wonderful things we have seen this year.

I do want to remind everyone of why Ronnie and I started this farm and why I started writing. In 2019, my best friend lost her brother, Matthew, to suicide. Depression is so real to all of us, some people decide it is too much and do the unthinkable. With the pandemic going on, I know of two others that have died from suicide. I feel God wants me to help in some way for those who are dealing with depression and those who are thinking of suicide. I also want to help the families of those who are left behind after a loved one has taken their own life.

We may not know what someone is dealing with, but we can all to do something to help. This world is full of ugliness. Give someone a smile, buy someone a cup of coffee, give someone a kind word. These things can help someone fighting depression more than any of us could possibly imagine. If you know someone struggling, please get them some help.

This farm was started to bring people out and let them see unconditional love from an animal. The garden is also here to show there is a purpose in everyone’s life. God put us all here for a reason; sometimes we might lose our way and need to be reminded of that. Hopefully, I can get things going soon. We moved to a new state in the middle of November 2020, so I am researching the nonprofit laws here and working on the paperwork to get it all set up. I am also working a full-time job and working on three books at one time.

I am the Lord, and there is no other; apart from Me, there is no God. I will strengthen you, though you have not acknowledged Me, so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting, people may know there is none besides Me. I am the Lord, and there is no other. I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things.

—Isaiah 45:5–7 NIV

Chapter 1

How the Farm Is Going

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and He will establish your plans.

—Proverbs 16:3 NIV

The farm has been going better than I ever thought it would. As I have been reflecting on the last year, I realize how much I have learned about animals and what it takes to run a farm, and I only have a small hobby