in which there is good news and bad news

The good news first, I suppose.
It will be evident to all that things look different around here. I updated the look of my blog!! I just love the background I found and the photo (which is not mine, but found in a Google search and shamelessly stolen). Feel free to tell me if you like the change. I probably won't pay any attention to naysayers, though. heh. :)

Tragedy has struck the veggie patch at the demo garden. 2 weeks ago it was discovered that the artichoke had an enemy. When I planted it it had four large, beautiful, silver-green leaves. It's such a dramatic plant! I was really looking forward to watching it thrive. I returned the next week to find only two leaves on the plant. Well, there had been some windy weather so I thought maybe that was the culprit and it still looked healthy, so I figured it would be fine. Not so. The next time I went to tend the patch, the other two leaves had been torn off!! And the kicker was that the culprit had not even had the decency to eat the leaves he mangled! He just left them lying there next to the plant to taunt me. Curse his hide! Audrey and Dianne and the rest of the gardeners examined the carnage and gathered other clues:

1. little holes dug here and there in the bed
2. peanut shells found near the scene of the crime
3. one of the present gahtering stated that the local squirrel population had been observed burying their stash in the garden last fall

We came to the conclusion that the guilty party must have been a squirrel. Why a squirrel would want to bother my artichoke is completely beyond me! I guess I just don't think of them as being garden pests. Bunnies, maybe - I deal with bunnies at my garden at home - but I haven't ever seen bunnies at the demo garden. Also, I would think a bunny would have, like I said before, the good decency to eat at least part of the leaf instead of being so wasteful.

The poor 'choke was well and truly shorn, but not completely beyond hope. Small new leaves were present that would quickly replace those that were lost if given half a chance. So we came up with a plan to foil further destructive attacks from our unthrify assailant. A protective cage was constructed out of wooden stakes and plastic caging held together with twine. Not beautiful, but functional. For 2 weeks there was no further damage. I stopped worrying about the artichoke and bent my efforts to eliminating slugs from the cabbages. The cage was doing it's job and the plant was thriving.

Or so I thought. Until today.

Today I went to water and found ... nothing. Nothing!! There was a hole chewed through the netting on one side of the cage and the artichoke was no more. Chewed down to a dirty nub. Gone.

So this evening we mourn the loss of a beloved vegetable. Cut down before he had a chance to really live. His passing leaves a gaping hole in our hearts matched only by the hole in the northeast corner of the vegetable patch. He will be sorely missed.

Fin.

in which war is waged

Gosh it's been a busy week! Lets see if I can remember it all...

Most of this week has been spent at work. Blegh! Normally I love going to work, but since the weather has warmed up I have gotten really very sick with garden fever. I pine all day at work looking out the window at the sunshine and thinking of all the things I could be doing. Wondering if my little baby pea plants are needing water or if the cursed slugs have been continuing their feast of cabbage and broccoli.
I work a really lousy shift for gardening. 10 hours, either 10:30-9:00 or 9:30-8:00. This is killing me because it is too dark to do anything when I get home and, no matter how good my intentions are I am just not an early bird. I putter around with my best friend Joe for quite awhile in the mornings before I am actually awake enough to be useful and by then it is time to shower and get ready for work.
But I did have a couple of days off to be productive in. Friday was the last frost date, so Saturday my bush beans went in the ground. The peas, onions, and carrots are showing their little green faces and the lettuce I started in peat pots went into their wheelbarrow. This is a new strategy for this year. The thought process behind it is that I will be able to keep the lettuces out of the direct sun during the heat of the day, thus staying a little sweeter. It may be silly, but they look so cute in their little red home! And it frees up space in the main garden for extra rows of other things.
The other Very Important Thing I got done this week was declaring war on the hornets and wasps. I swear there are more of them at my house than any where else! And where do they like to hang out? On my deck. They buzz around and crawl over everything until you are afraid to even go out the back door. Well I have finally had enough! I refuse to concede territory to the little devils. I want to be able to enjoy my back yard thank you very much. So on Monday morning, while it was still cold and drippying from the thunderstorm on Sunday night, I launched an all out chemical attack. I took out 7 nests, 2 on the Southeast corner of the house, 2 in the grill (knew to look there because I found one there last year when I went to use it for the first time), and the great big one in the bathroom window frame - the one they watch me from every time I go out to water the garden. I also sprayed a bunch of the knot-holes and cracks in the siding where I've seen them crawling in and out. I haven't been home to see if this has been a successful battle, but I can't imagine it didn't help a bit. I need to have Henry crawl under the porch and look for nests there as well, but not until there's another cool morning.
I am really looking forward to next week when I have 12 days off to get all my spring cleaning and yardwork done.

Happier Thoughts

"Happier thoughts lead to essentially a happier biochemistry
and a happier, healthier body.
Negative thoughts and stress have been shown
to seriously degrade the body and the functioning of the brain,
because it's our thoughts and emotions that are continuously
reassembling, reoganising, re-creating our body."
Dr. John Hagelin (a teacher featured in "The Secret")


This was written by someone (I don't recognise the handwriting) on the whiteboard in our break-room this week.

It's a very thought provoking quote, actually. It begs several questions:

Happier thoughts? Happier than what? Where do these happier thoughts come from? How do I get them? Especially when I am going through hell. My life is falling to pieces around me and there is no hope that it will get better anytime soon, if ever. I want happier thoughts. I want health and peace. Where do I go to get it? Do I fake it? I smile hard enough so I won't cry. I create the illusion of peace and happiness to the outside observer, willing it to seep through to the chaos beneath. That only creates more stress in my life!

I know the answer, of course. This Joy (happinessthat lasts and is independant of my situation) and Peace I am looking for is only found in one Person: Jesus Christ.

The Psalms are full of this truth about God. A few of my favorite examples are:

Psalm 16:8-11
I have set the LORD always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest secure,
because you will not abandon me to the grave,
nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

Psalm 46:1-3
God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way
and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with their surging.
Selah

The New Testament also. Manytimes God is refered to as the God of Peace. Paul sandwiches his letters with Grace and Peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. In Philippians he tells us that God's peace transcends all understanding and guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace that is beyond your comprehension. Peace that is a safeguard against fear and worry. Peace even when the "mountains" in your life are crumbling and falling. Peace and Joy.

I have it. Do you?

in which a second season is begun

Well, it's garden-planting time again. I am really trying to get better at growing my own food. A useful skill. I am learning that it takes a lot more than I thought to get a garden off the ground. Last year I had to build the bed and I thought that this year, without that added task, the going would be easier.

ha. ha. ha.

Well, part of that is the weather. It is still darn cold here in N. Idaho. We had snow coming down yesterday (wet snow that didn't last til noon, but snow nevertheless). But mostly it is my lack of knowledge and lack of the appropriate amounts of time! Mom has been a wealth of knowledge and very patient; it has been really really nice knowing that I can call her and ask questionswithout feeling like a complete idiot. She's amazing. I swear she knows everything. She has some really genius ideas for this year. Last year I helped her take care of the vegetable plot at the demo garden and this year she talked the garden club into letting me take care of it on my own(under her guidance, of course). They must have been pretty desperate for workers! :)
So that right there has doubled the space I have to play around in - and doubled the workload, too, but I don't mind. If I am ever to have a green thumb it's going to take lots of practice.

I started some flower seeds inside for the first time this year. I have little tiny zinnias growing merrily in my windowsill. It amazes me how quickly they spring up! I think it took them two and a half days. There are lettuce and kale and chard growing in little plugs on the lower sill. I finally have a few days together off from work, so I will be able to get some peas and carrots in the ground this week. I can't wait!

aaaahhhh......

Fresh cherry tomatoes are like the healthy version of crack.

I had a whole bowlfull of them here a few minutes ago and now... well, now there are only about half a dozen rattling around in there. A quarter cup of spidery stems are all that remains of the rest of their brothers and sisters. Each one was a small orange globe bursting with tart, sweet, juicy perfection. La!

Summer Again

I'm watching the green give into gold

As summer becomes October's cold

Gravity begs

For one final kiss

She drops it to him as she gives in

Traces of light linger around

As laces of white fall to the ground

The softest of sounds for the heaviest things

And the pain that it brings

As she falls I try to catch her

For one last touch of warmth from summer

As one thing leaves to becomes another again

I remember when

Don't remember the day she started to fade

The ground felt a chill as she gave it away

A whisper, a sigh for the time that she passed

But this winter won't last

As she falls I try to catch her

For one last touch of warmth from summer

As one thing leaves to becomes another again

I remember when

Oh, to be with summer again

The days were warm and we wore them like skin

Now I feel the effects of October again

As she falls I try to catch her

For one last touch of warmth from summer

As one thing leaves to becomes another again

I remember when

Oh, to be with summer again

I'm watching the green give in to gold

As summer becomes October's

cold

-The Afters

Straight Lines, or, When You Give a Perfectionist a Garden

The garden is planted. Well, half of it. I got in the stuff that can stand the cold: peas, carrots, spinach lettuce, and onions. I really hope that everything comes up. I got mocked by a little old man walking his dog. He stopped at the end of my driveway:
“You tryin’ to grow something?”
“Yes. Vegetables.”
“Pretty damn cold.”
“Oh, well, I’m only planting like my carrots and onions right now.”
“They might come up.”
I certainly hope so. It has been really freakishly cold this spring. Just a couple weeks ago it finally stopped snowing and this week it has started to warm up a bit. The grass everywhere turned green overnight and the magnolias and cherries are blooming. Spring always makes me really excited and happy. But it is still pretty cold. Being my first garden experience, this makes me a bit nervous, but Mom assured me that I am actually about a week behind and she knows her stuff.
So. Planting is not so bad but I had to resist the urge to use my ruler for everything. I have actually had rulers taken away from me because I am too much of a perfectionist. I satisfied myself by marking on the sides of the garden with Sharpie every foot and then following the plan Mom and I came up with yesterday (2 feet of peas, 2 feet of carrots/spinach, 1 foot of onions, etc.) I did, however, lay a yardstick across to make sure my rows were straight. :P And I just have to say, I LOVE the pelleted seeds. I remember planting carrots and lettuce when I was a kid: you just sort of sprinkled the teeny tiny seeds out there and had to go back and thin out hundreds of tiny plantlets later. These things almost feel like cheating! I’m not sure who came up with this, but whoever he is, he gets a point! :)
After I was done I laid chicken wire over the whole bed. This is to keep the neighborhood dogs from romping in it. Also to (hopefully) deter the local rabbit population: Back and Forth, To and Fro, and Hither and Thither and Yon.
Finally, I gave it a light watering and took a couple snapshots for posterity. My work is done - for now. :)

Appalachian melodies

This has always been one of my favorite songs, and particularly fitting for this time of the year. I love October. The music is beautiful as well; if you are able, find the song and listen to it, too. But the words are beautiful by themselves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Appalachian melody drifting softly down
Instruments of gold and red and brown
Do not need no dulcimer or banjo-fiddle sound
For right now I'll watch these leaves come down

How peculiar liking old dead leaves against the sky
There is something more than meets the eye
Funny how I sit and watch these leaves come down from high
But these things are music to my eyes

Such a pretty song I see, have I been beguiled
This day is not imagination's child
Every time the leaves come down I've just got to smile
For they sing a melody so mild

How peculiar liking old dead leaves against the sky
There is something more than meets the eye
Funny how I sit and watch these leaves come down from high
But these things are music to my eyes

But these things are music to my eyes

-Mark Heard

not mine, but worth sharing

This is from the Truth For Life daily devotional site.


YOU, O LORD, HAVE MADE ME GLAD BY YOUR WORK.
Psalm 92:4

Do you believe that your sins are forgiven and that Christ has made a full atonement for them? Then what a joyful Christian you ought to be! How you should live above the common trials and troubles of the world! Since sin is forgiven, can it matter what happens to you now? Luther said, "Smite, Lord, smite, for my sin is forgiven; if You have forgiven me, smite as hard as You will." And in a similar spirit you may say, "Send sickness, poverty, losses, crosses, persecution, what You will. You have forgiven me, and my soul is glad." Christian, if you are thus saved, while you are glad, be grateful and loving. Cling to that cross that took your sin away; serve Him who served you. "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship."1 Do not let your zeal evaporate in some little exuberant song. Show your love in meaningful ways. Love the brethren of Him who loved you. If there is a Mephibosheth anywhere who is disabled, help him for Jonathan's sake. If there is a poor tried believer, weep with him, and bear his cross for the sake of Him who wept for you and carried your sins. Since you are forgiven freely for Christ's sake, go and tell others the joyful news of pardoning mercy. Do not be contented with this unspeakable blessing for yourself alone, but publish widely the story of the cross. Holy gladness and holy boldness will make you a good preacher, and all the world will be a pulpit for you to preach in. Cheerful holiness is the most forcible of sermons, but the Lord must give it to you. Seek it this morning before you go into the world. When it is the Lord's work in which we rejoice, we need not be afraid of being too glad.

1Romans 12:1

Please note: Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright (c) 2003, Good News Publishers and used by Truth for Life with written permission. Scripture quotations are taken from Holy Bible: English Standard Version, copyright (c) 2001, Good News Publishers.

keepin' it simple

I really like the Southern Baptist "end times" view:

God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its
appropriate end. According to His promise, Jesus Christ will return personally
and visibly in glory to the earth; the dead will be raised; and Christ will
judge all men in righteousness. The unrighteous will be consigned to Hell, the
place of everlasting punishment. The righteous in their resurrected and
glorified bodies will receive their reward and will dwell forever in Heaven with
the Lord.

I know next to nothing about eschatology and I really don't care very much. Maybe it is just because I am too lazy to do the research into it all. I guess I have always thought that my energy was better spent on other things. My view has always been, "Christ will return and if you are a Christian it's going to be really really good." What really matters is how I live my life now - moment to moment before God.

As far as tribulation and all that, I don't think that the end times holds a monopoly on trials. Hard things happen all the time. I know that if I am walking with God and staying close to Him, He will give me the wisdom and strength to get through anything.

My mom always says that in heaven we aren't going to be saying "Ha ha! I was right and you were wrong." We will all be too busy rejoicing in His presence!

because I am out of school now and working...

though your riches increase,

do not set your heart on them.

Psalm 62:10

On attention to detail

It hit me while I was washing dishes this evening that my kitchen sink is draining normally again.
Last week I prayed for provision. I am in-between jobs at the moment and July was looking to be tight and several things needed fixing. The drain was one and my car the other.
The car first. A couple of friends from church came to look at my car. They thought it was the starter that needed to be replaced, so they brought over a new part and took out the old one only to discover that the new one was the wrong size. They took both parts back to the shop where they bought the new one and when someone suggested testing the old part it turned out that it was actually working fine. So they put it back. However, in the process of taking the part out and replacing it something was jiggled enough that my car now starts again! Even if it is only a temporary fix, I really couldn't ask for more.
The drain was not really on my priority list, but it would have demanded attention at some point. It has been very slow for a couple weeks and although I knew it should be fixed before I move out, I figured I could live with it. So the drain is just gravy, really.
Also, I visited HR on Friday and we got enough paperwork finished that I will be getting a paycheck next week.
So here is an answered prayer. I know all these things must sound so trivial but somehow that just makes me more excited! How amazing it is that my God and Father cares enough to provide not only big things but small things as well!
I am continually blown away by His love in the details of life.

Promised deliverance

Thinking of this in the context of temptation. I found it very comforting.

Psalm 91
1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."

3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

5 You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,

6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.

7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.

8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.

9 If you make the Most High your dwelling-
even the LORD, who is my refuge-

10 then no harm will befall you,
no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.

15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.

16 With long life will I satisfy him
and show him my salvation."

I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it but because, by it, I see everything else.
~CS Lewis

prayer

Proverbs 22:3
A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge,
but the simple keep going and suffer for it.

Dear Father God, please grant me the wisdom to see trials and temptations before they are upon me that I may take refuge in you. Give me your strength to overcome, for my own is not adequate. Amen.

Ebenezer

1 Samuel 4-10
the temptation the Israelites fell to is the same one that still plagues us today - to put trust in a physical thing, whether it was the ark (ch4) or a king of their own (ch8).
The words they used struck me as ironic, "a king to lead us and go out before us in battle." (8:20) They are the same words used again and again to describe what the LORD had been doing for them all along! (Deut. 1:30, 3:22; Jos. 10:14, 23:10; and many other places)
Had they forgotten? They must have. I was reminded of Psalm 118:8-9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
It is the same with me sometimes; it seems so easy to focus on my physical needs and I have to "work" to get my mind back on God, back on the unseen and eternal. Remembering and trusting seem hard to do.
I really like the idea of an Ebenezer. The people of the OT were always setting up a stone or an altar, renaming a well or planting a tree as a reminder of something great God had done for them. It was something physical - something that they could see and touch and walk past everyday - that made it easier for them to remember the spiritual. It would throw their minds back to God's power and goodness.
Ebenezer means 'stone of help' (7:12, "Thus far has the LORD helped us"). It is said well in the hymn:
Here I raise mine Ebenezer-
hither by Thy help I'm come;
and I hope, by Thy good pleasure,
safely to arrive at home.
What can I use to serve as an Ebenezer in my life?

first post

Well, I did it. I wasn't going to start a blog yet, but the temptation has proved to strong. I can't say how often I will actually post here. I am - at the moment - completely at the mercy of the school and public libraries for internet access. I also cannot say whether what I post will be worth reading. You will have to judge that for yourselves.