Change

It's inevitable, and it's everywhere.  Nothing stays the same.

Most obviously you see change in nature.  In my neck of the woods - northern New England - we're already seeing the ushering out of summer and and the soon-to-be-very-grand entrance of autumn.  Leaves are changing and it's still August!

(This was taken last week - it's my office building!)

Sometimes change is less obvious... perhaps less welcome.  Life happens and we're not always pleased with path on which we're led, so we pray for grace; mercy, perhaps.

My earnest prayer of late is for Him to change me.  Mold me.  Create in me the person He has purposed.

 

 

 

And there you have first ever FiveMinuteFriday post... I may have gone over by a minute, two?

Practice makes perfect. There's always next week.
 

 Seems I'm a little scant on words. May I insert a picture after the 5 minutes of writing is up,
or does the entire post need to be completed in 5 minutes?


 

 



How about giving it a shot?  The prompt this week is change.  Go ahead, see what you can say about it in 5 minutes.  It's kinda fun!

  Follow this link to see how you can participate.

Light and Momentary

It looks like it's shaping up to be one of those weeks.

This was yesterday morning.  Hmpf.  I groan and pull over.  Looks like I'm going to be late to work... 

I knew instantly why he stopped me,  a minor infraction, one I've known about and been putting off for too long...  an expired inspection sticker.  It glares red right beneath my rearview mirror.  {sigh}  Minor or not, it didn't deter the nice officer from issuing a $99 ticket.

It took him 15 minutes to do whatever he needs to do back there in his vehicle, with the lights still flashing and one front tire sticking out into the lane enough so that every car passing had to swerve to miss him... I took a picture and wonder if he would mind it, if he knew.  Sorry dude, but I was starting to get a little antsy... what on earth is taking so long?

Finally, he returned and gave me his dissertation about why he's issuing the citation...  yes, yes, yes... I know... okay, thank you... feigning cheerfulness, I plaster a smile on my face and bid him good day.

Pulling away, I grumble and mutter to myself something about stupid jerk, vacillating between reference to the graceless man in the uniform and to me for putting off the necessary and inevitable.

Half an hour late to work, and the entire Class of 2014 and the morning's guest lecturer, Dr. W., were all gathered in the hall waiting for the one with the key to show up.  Oh geez. {Big Sigh!}  Thankfully, that's where I found grace; they were understanding.

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 

~2 Corinthians 4:17

 

And by His grace, I recognize that this somehow, miraculously, achieves a weightier eternal glory.  I find thankfulness (also miraculously?) even for the trouble.  Comparatively speaking, this is light... and momentary.  Then I find I'm thankful for the grace, and it's this cycle - the grace and the thankfulness - it pushes out everything else, all the feelings of frustration and angst, and I'm not mired by unkindness (reference to the stupid jerk remarks even if not spoken).



In context:

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

~2 Corinthians 4:16-18

This morning before work, I went to start my daily load of wash, and discovered the washing machine won't turn on. 
Oh, maaaaan. Ugh.  It will do a spin cycle, but none of the wash cycles are working. 

With all the furry residents at my house, I NEED my washing machine to work. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I hear, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds" ~James 1:2


Pure joy?  Really?  Nevertheless, in my mind's eye, I take on a posture of perseverance; pressing on.


In context:
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,  because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.    Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."  ~ James 1:2-4


Yes, Lord, to be mature and complete, not lacking anything; that's what I desire.



It makes me wonder what tomorrow will bring.

     ...as long as grace comes with it...

 

Three Saturdays-Three Orchards

Well, actually, it was an orchard, a patch, an orchard; peaches, blueberries, apples.  Such an assorted abundance!

You've already read all about the day of the peach-picking... and the day of the blueberry-picking.  Let me share with you our day at the apple orchard.

First stop, the petting zoo. 

Then, apple time!  Aria was awake for this one.  Yay!  This was her first taste of apple.  Really, this post could have been titled "How many pictures can a gramma take of her babe trying apple for the first time?"  And the answer would have been, "Just about 300."  Here's approximately one tenth of those...

Good thing she has 5 little front teeth.  The skin was no problem, and once she realized there was tasty juice in there...

... Mmmm, she loved it.  Isn't that a darling profile?

She just ate and ate and ate. (And Kingston was in the wagon, and out of the wagon, and in the wagon, and out of the wagon...)

"Hi, Gramma.  I love this apple."

Kingston was a big help picking.  Thankfully, he didn't eat everyone one of them like he did the blueberries! {grin}

It was a gorgeous day.

Haha... "Are you coming?  Where's my apple?  Another picture?!"

So good.

Aria was helping herself.  She emptied the bag as quickly as we filled it (they didn't all go in her tummy, just the bottom of the cart!)

"Look Gramma, I can stand and eat it, too!"

My sweet babes!!

"Bleh... I think I've finally had enough."

Kingston is going to pull his sister, but first he has to check the tires!

"Here we go, Aria."

Such a beautiful bounty.

And the view from the orchard is stunning.

Mommy and Kingston found a blueberry bush!

Meanwhile, this precious girl played in the grass.

"Oh, look!  There's an airplane!"

Well, that was a fun morning... but it got hot, so two little ones went home shirtless.  And we took home LOTS of apples.

What's Your Life Verse?

I'm with Wess.  Mine is this:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;

in all your ways submit to Him and he will make your paths straight.

 

Proverbs 3:5 and 6

My Favorite Finds

Following is a compilation of a few my favorite reads from the past week.

Consider grabbing your favorite beverage and carving out a bit of quiet time to sit and read for a while.  These are some goodies.  Or, at the very least, bookmark the ones you think will resonate and come back when you can.


Seth Haines: "Modern preacher, don’t talk to me about victorious living. I’m done with that pipe-dream. Speak of contentment in plenty and want, pain and suffering. Preach Christ-esteem, conformity, sanctification. Show me mercy, grace in action. Bring me a cup of cold water. Share your journal with me. Send me an encouraging email."

Joy, Grace Full Mama: "Sure I am willing to sacrifice, to serve my family, to go mostly without recognition. But, there is that little part that wants to be known, to be recognized, to be called by my name.
She smiles and I see Jesus all over her. His is the name that she is known by….it is her identity. He sees her. And it is enough."

Traci Michele: "I must confess that I forget to pray for my husband (more often than not). Oh yes, I think about him, text him throughout the day, and anticipate his return in the evening... but pray? I forget.
What does praying for your husband do for you {the wife}?"

Lore Ferguson: "I think to myself: Thank you Father, that you do not always save the best things for the best behaved, thank you that sometimes you choose us on the merit of the miracle alone."

Priscilla Shirer: "What if God has chosen to give you and I a certain measure of obscurity in our circumstances because it is the best gymansium in which our faith can be strengthened. According to Paul, knowing it all is not always best for you. . .or for me."

Lisa-Jo Baker: "But you? You have your own spot in the Kingdom garden. You have your own soil waiting for seeds and seasons and harvest."

A Pinterest Find-Photography: "One of the things that makes photography frustrating, is softness and blur in pictures. Sharp photos are much more appealing than soft images. It is very disappointing when you take a picture at a special moment and images come out soft/blurry or out of focus. In this article, I will go through the techniques that I use to make sure that my images always come out tack sharp."




Enjoy your weekend.  We're headed to orchard.  This week... apples!

Vying for Spoon Space

I have dogs. A lot of dogs.  Hubby and I are crazy happy dog-lovers.  Our furry kids include:

     Dexter
     Zeila
     BooBoo
     Riley
     Emma
     Blaze
     Sara
     Ada (eight'a... {wink}), and eight truly is enough!  We've contentedly reached our maximum with these eight rompin' stompin' happy-go-lucky rescue dogs.

Really, though, you might think we're nuts (and we probably are a little bit), but they're allowed to live with us; on the furniture, in the beds.  They hang out with me when I'm in the kitchen cooking (sometimes all at once), and occasionally they creep up to the dinner table hoping we'll forget the rules and share a morsel.  (Yes, we've been known to offer a bite or two after a meal, but never from the table.  Well, almost never.)

Sure, it creates extra laundry and housework, but our point in having dogs is to love and be loved.  We like to have them curl up on the couch, their heads in our laps, so we can pet those silky soft ears.  It makes us happy and it makes them happy.

Bedtime can get kind of hairy, though (ha! no pun intended - bada booom.  I don't get wigged-out by dog hair, but I bet my bed linens get laundered more often than yours do. {grin})

My poor hubby has to go to work stupid-early in the morning, while it's still dark outside and the rest of the world sleeps, and  I end up sleeping with a pile of dogs. 

Is it illegal to go searching the internet for the photo of ET hiding in the closet with all the stuffed animals so I can post it here?  Because, I thought about doing that so you could get an idea of what it must look like.

I'm spooning one while my outstretched hand is resting on the back of another; I have one behind my shoulders, her head resting over my neck; I have one curled up at the small of my back and another behind my knees; while yet another has his head resting on my feet.  Whatever ones are not able to touch me in some fashion are scattered to the corners of the bed (king size, thank goodness). Some like to be on the covers, some like to be under the covers.

Yesterday morning, Zeila was curled up snugly in the much sought after spoon-space between my chin and my knees, while Emma eyed the spot from her vantage point (she's the one with her head resting over my neck).  She decided to make her move but, Zeila wasn't budging.  So, biding her time, Emma simply straddled me... just like this.

"Aw, c'mon, Emma, you're heavy. It's only 4:30; I still have an hour to sleep."


Emma waited for the right moment, then slithered down the front of me to wedge that pretty blond girl out of the way.  What a character!

Thankfully, I was able to fall back asleep - still pinned between them like ET in the closet of fuzzy fur balls.

I'm sure it's a sight!

What are your thoughts on dogs on the furniture and in the beds?

While She's In My Arms

Every now and then I have the pleasure of lulling her to sleep; our littlest one, child of my child.  Her bottom rests on my arm, her tiny bare toes dangling at my hips.  My other hand tenderly cradles her head laying on my shoulder and we sway. 

My cheek finds the warmth of her head, the silkiness of her fine hair, and I breathe her in.  Sometimes I softly hum the songs of Sunday School.  Other times I'm purposeful in singing the words of Jesus' love and amazing grace, wanting her, even at her young age, to hear those words spoken; that somehow she'll find security in them as certainly as she knows safety in my embrace.

It doesn't take long before her breathing is deep and audible, taking on the rythmic pattern of one who has found sleep.  The grip she had on my arm loosens and her hand gently falls.  Still I hold her, not ready to let go of these precious moments that pass too quickly.

Outwardly, I'm the picture of peace, of perfect serenity. Inwardly, I've begun to pray fervently. "Oh God, this dear little one, make her your own.  Give her eyes to see and ears to hear; and as she grows, guide her steps, keep her safe.  Chase her relentlessly until she surrenders her will to yours.  Don't let her be counted among those who are perishing, who view holy intimacy as foolishness. Give her boldness... righteous audacity and wreckless abandon for your glory.  And, please... be generous in giving me wisdom with how to be a vessel in accomplishing your purpose in her life; in her brother's too." 

I pray and I plead and I thank because, well, "just look how precious she is, Lord."  And often I run out of words, I just let him feel my heart - and I wonder if she knows she is cherished. 

I stay that way for sometime, cradling - swaying, and I make it a point to remember what it feels like while she's in my arms.

A garden of love grows in a grandmother's heart.

~ Unknown

God has given us these times of joy.

Psalm 81:4 TLB

On Weeding and Pruning

So, here's an update on my little garden.

I'm in zone 4, but at my elevation, I seem to have a bit of a micro climate, and things are slower to flourish than in other areas of zone 4... such as at Kristiina's house. 

Over Memorial Weekend, I dutifully sowed my seeds and transplanted my little tomato plants (which I started in the house from seed in February).  That's the earliest recommended planting time due to our potential for late frost.

So far I have one little, very peculiar looking, cucumber.  It's about 4 inches long.

I have green tomatoes...

...and more green tomatoes...

...and MORE green tomatoes...

I have lovely squash plants and flowers, which apparently will never fruit because it seems I have "all male plants" or so I'm told is the reason why the flowers just wither and die.  Too bad, they're such healthy vines.  I think I could have had some real beauties (butternut and acorn).  Please forgive the ridiculous looking chicken wire "fence."  It was placed there, straight and not bowing, when the seeds were sown so that the dogs would not trample them.  It worked.

And the carrots.  The poor, neglected carrots.  The tops are a good foot tall, but beneath the soil, the roots are pencil thin and, I would assume, not very long.  Is it any wonder?  Look at the weeds they're having to compete with for space.  Not only that, I didn't thin them enough.  The weeding and the pruning... takes discipline and faith.   ...and that sounds like a parable. 

It's true, I can make myself appear to be healthy and thriving, just like those carrot tops, but if I don't remove the weeds in my life; the busyness, the distractions, the time-wasters, then what grows within (or beneath)  -my spiritual character and maturity-  will be thin and frail, just like those carrots I'm shamefully neglecting.

And as for pruning.  I knew I didn't thin those babies enough - I didn't know it would be so hard.  Oh, not in the literal sense.  The tiny seedlings came out of the ground almost too easily; but I mean in the having to decide which of them would be allowed to stay and which of them would be plucked and tossed... that was challenging.  It's easy to lop off a dead branch, but to remove something to the compost heap that is healthy and thriving just to make greater growth potential for what remains... that was hard to do! 

So it is with life.  You can participate in a multitude of noble endeavors, but sometimes the wiser thing to do is say no to the greater number of them.  But how do you decide what you'll do and what you won't.  Only through prayer in faith and abandon to grace.


And don't forget your garden needs food, water and sunshine.  Let the word of God be what you chew on and marinate in and the Living Water quench your dry, weary self.   Cover it all in prayer and let His grace fall on you like warm sun rays. You'll flourish. 


It's good that I know that, now I should listen to me; the one who is always tempted to read the [usually awesome] twitter-link article and that [typically great] blog-post link on Facebook, allowing others to interpret what He really wants to tell me Himself.  Community is good, and encouraging one another admirable, but not in lieu of devouring the love letters that have been written to me personally.  I need to remember that... remember to close the laptop cover and settle in between the leather covers of what was divinely inspired.  To be completely fed and lavishly nurtured by the One who knows me and loves me best.


Well, my little carrot bed is going to get some weeding and pruning attention this weekend, with the hope of reaping a healthy harvest after all.

A Morning at the Berry Patch

Ah, on Saturday I finally made my way to Kuzma Drive to visit dear Charlotte at the berry patch.  Kristiina had been a couple of times already this season, but this was my first.

Charlotte is the lady that owns the land with her son, lives on the property, and runs the stand. She's a very kind and endearing old lady.  After exchanging pleasantries with her, we each took a 4-quart bucket, even Kingston, and she pointed us in the direction of the shady spots which, already, were too few.

Not many blueberries landed in Kingston's bucket.

He and Mommy had fun together.  He acted like he was going to share his berries with her then would teasingly gobble them up.  They giggled a lot.

They have one full acre, row after row, of assorted varieties of beautiful blueberries.

Whoops, dropped one on the ground.

Aria slept through another fruit-picking adventure, right there on mommy's back, like she did in the peach orchard.

With all those berries still to ripen, Charlotte expects there will still be a few more weeks of good berry-picking.

Kingston planted himself right on his knees intending to fill his bucket, too.

That looks like a real good one.

"Can I eat this one, too?"  Oh, Kingston {grin}.  We had been there about an hour at this point and he had six berries in his bucket, with about 36 in his tummy.

He never did fill that bucket, but after he tired of picking and tasting, he went to play in the dirt till Mommy and Gramma were done.  Such a sweet and silly boy!

I came home with 4.25 pounds of fresh blueberries.


I'm going to try this recipe again:

Polly's Perfect Blueberry Pie

Ingredients

Crust:
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 to 2/3 cup salad oil
3 to 4 tablespoons milk

Pie Filling:
1 quart fresh blueberries, washed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
3/4 cup sugar
Dash ground cinnamon
Dash freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 teaspoons butter

Directions

Crust:
Into a 9-inch pie plate, sift together the flour, sugar, and the salt. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together 1/2 cup salad oil and 3 tablespoons milk with a fork. Pour that over the flour mixture in pie plate and mix with a fork until all flour is evenly dampened. If it is still too dry to work with your hands, mix a little more oil with a little milk and add to flour mixture. With your hands press the dough evenly against the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan, allowing the excess to fall on the counter. (This will be the top crumble crust and is about 1/3 of the total crust mixture.) Sweep it into your hand and reserve in a small bowl. Crimp the edges of the bottom crust or use a fork dipped in milk to flatten the crust along the rim.

Berry pie filling:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
To the washed berries add cornstarch, sugar, cinnamon, and freshly grated nutmeg. Stir gently.
Place the berry mixture in the bottom crust and sprinkle lemon juice over it. Then with an ordinary teaspoon, place little 1/2 teaspoons soft butter evenly over the top of the berry filling.
Crumble the reserved crust on top of the pie.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes. Check it after 30 minutes. If crust is getting golden but pie filling is not quite congealed, tent the pie with aluminum foil to keep crust from getting too brown.

- - - - - - - -

That's how the recipe went... but here's what really happened - By the time I pressed the crust into the pie plate, I didn't have enough for the crumble. You can't have a skimpy crust, afterall. So, I made half of the recipe again and set it aside solely for the crumble. I recommend doing it that way... the crust and crumble is really delicious.

I also added more berries and accompanying ingredients accordingly. Just thought it needed a boost. Whoa. I was in berry pie heaven.



It was from this post 2 years ago in which I was swooning over our North Carolina blueberries.

We'll see how it goes and whether it's still as good as I thought it was back then.

---------

On Sunday, we were at Nic and Kristiina's while she was processing her berries... half of her harvest became blueberry syrup.

We asked Kingston if he'd like to lick the bowl.

"Yes, please!"

Haha!  We had in mind finger-licking.

He had a different idea.

Oh, for heaven's sake!

Hmmm.  What?

Oh goodness, that kid!  He is so much fun and keeps me in stiches!