"Vocation is all about how God works through human beings."
This article by Gene Edward Veith is in the June issue of Tabletalk. While other things are discussed, I thought his insights into our vocation and God's calling in our lives was very well written.
"We are not all called to be farmers. But whatever our vocations, we can all be sowers who go out to sow."
Monday, June 29, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Successful Replanting
In my daily tour of the garden, I was pleased to see that the green beans that I replanted are up! Thanks to a wee bit of rain, a noisy aluminum pie pan and, mostly, The Master Gardener.
It is a relief to see them up. As long as nothing else happens to them, we should be up to our eye balls in beans. I'll need to keep an eye out for critters since the beans are in the new part of the garden and a bit closer to the woods. I've seen a rabbit out in the field, but not near the garden, yet.
While we did not get as much rain as other folks, it certainly seemed to perk things up. The broccoli is looking wonderful. Everything seemed to benefit from the rain we received (imagine that)...even the weeds.
O LORD,
I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried....
O Lord, there is much ill about me - crucify it,
much flesh within me - mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern....
Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
May it rule me,
May I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence.
--an excerpt from Crucifixion and Resurrection from The Valley of Vision
It is a relief to see them up. As long as nothing else happens to them, we should be up to our eye balls in beans. I'll need to keep an eye out for critters since the beans are in the new part of the garden and a bit closer to the woods. I've seen a rabbit out in the field, but not near the garden, yet.
While we did not get as much rain as other folks, it certainly seemed to perk things up. The broccoli is looking wonderful. Everything seemed to benefit from the rain we received (imagine that)...even the weeds.
O LORD,
I marvel that thou shouldst become incarnate, be crucified, dead, and buried....
O Lord, there is much ill about me - crucify it,
much flesh within me - mortify it.
Purge me from selfishness, the fear of man, the love of approbation,
the shame of being thought old-fashioned,
the desire to be cultivated or modern....
Give me courage for all the trials, and grace for all the joys.
Help me to be a holy, happy person,
free from every wrong desire,
from everything contrary to thy mind.
Grant me more and more of the resurrection life:
May it rule me,
May I walk in its power, and be strengthened through its influence.
--an excerpt from Crucifixion and Resurrection from The Valley of Vision
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Crop Failure
On the 25th of May, I planted my green beans.
Green beans are the main veggie in our household. They are easy enough to can, which our family seems to prefer over frozen. This is OK with me, since we eat to many, it leaves more room in the freezer. Green beans eaten freshly picked with melted butter...oh yeah. My hubby likes them with olive oil; he likes everything with olive oil.
There is only one other time that I have had trouble with my beans. One year about half the seeds never came up! One whole row. This year, none of them came up. Day after day I would go to check to see if they were beginning to peak through the ground...nothing. On Friday, I dug around a bit to see what was going on underground...nothing. So, Saturday, I got out our little Mantis tiller and worked up the area where the beans had been planted. I found the remains of only two bean seeds. Neither were even sprouted. Thankfully, there remained enough seeds to replant the two long rows of beans. I put some old CDs on string and hung them from stakes to, hopefully, help keep the birds away with the movement and flashing sunlight. I also hung up an old aluminum pie pan out to make some noise.
Our garden gives us the bulk of our vegetables for the year. Since we are no longer such an agrarian society, I think that it becomes so easy to forget how much we are dependant on God for our food. Even with all the technology that the huge farms use, they still are dependant on the Creator for the growth of their crops.
All this helps me remember that I can plant the seeds, but I am not in charge of their growing. I am totally dependant on the Creator for rain and other favorable conditions to grow the plant that gives us food. I plant and pick and preserve (there is sweat in there, too...remember that whole "...by the sweat of your brow" thing?).
Of course this goes hand in hand with sharing the gospel. We are to used by God to plant seeds. God gives the increase. We are not in charge of what God does with the seeds.
R. C. Sproul said in this month's Tabletalk, that " I can take no credit for the response that I made for Christ. God not only initiated my salvation, He not only sowed the seed, but He made sure that the seed germinated in my heart by regenerating me by the power of the Holy Ghost. That regeneration is a necessary condition for the seed to take root and to flourish." God does all the work from beginning to end.
May I continue to grow in Christ as his seedling, working my salvation out with fear and trembling. I am praying, too, for my little garden and its increase.
Green beans are the main veggie in our household. They are easy enough to can, which our family seems to prefer over frozen. This is OK with me, since we eat to many, it leaves more room in the freezer. Green beans eaten freshly picked with melted butter...oh yeah. My hubby likes them with olive oil; he likes everything with olive oil.
There is only one other time that I have had trouble with my beans. One year about half the seeds never came up! One whole row. This year, none of them came up. Day after day I would go to check to see if they were beginning to peak through the ground...nothing. On Friday, I dug around a bit to see what was going on underground...nothing. So, Saturday, I got out our little Mantis tiller and worked up the area where the beans had been planted. I found the remains of only two bean seeds. Neither were even sprouted. Thankfully, there remained enough seeds to replant the two long rows of beans. I put some old CDs on string and hung them from stakes to, hopefully, help keep the birds away with the movement and flashing sunlight. I also hung up an old aluminum pie pan out to make some noise.
Our garden gives us the bulk of our vegetables for the year. Since we are no longer such an agrarian society, I think that it becomes so easy to forget how much we are dependant on God for our food. Even with all the technology that the huge farms use, they still are dependant on the Creator for the growth of their crops.
All this helps me remember that I can plant the seeds, but I am not in charge of their growing. I am totally dependant on the Creator for rain and other favorable conditions to grow the plant that gives us food. I plant and pick and preserve (there is sweat in there, too...remember that whole "...by the sweat of your brow" thing?).
Of course this goes hand in hand with sharing the gospel. We are to used by God to plant seeds. God gives the increase. We are not in charge of what God does with the seeds.
R. C. Sproul said in this month's Tabletalk, that " I can take no credit for the response that I made for Christ. God not only initiated my salvation, He not only sowed the seed, but He made sure that the seed germinated in my heart by regenerating me by the power of the Holy Ghost. That regeneration is a necessary condition for the seed to take root and to flourish." God does all the work from beginning to end.
May I continue to grow in Christ as his seedling, working my salvation out with fear and trembling. I am praying, too, for my little garden and its increase.
Heavenly Scent
In my weed-infested perennial gardens are one of my favorite flowers...Dianthus Bath's Pink. These dainty pink flowers have the most amazing scent. It is almost reminiscent of fresh cotton candy. These flowers have been in full bloom for a little over a week filling the air all around the back patio with the most refreshing aroma. It seems that my Bath's Pink smell especially wonderful this year. The pure joy of enjoying these flowers is so very relaxing.
After enjoying some time outside the other day, I began to wonder if Heaven would have the scent of my Bath's Pinks. How amazing to have a heavenly garden full of fresh fragrances filling the air...with no weeds. It would be most "Heavenly".
O DIVINE REDEEMER,
Great was thy goodness in undertaking my redemption, in consenting to be made sin for me, in conquering all my foes;
Great was thy strength in enduring the extremities of divine wrath, in taking away the load of my iniquities...
Great was thy wisdom in devising this means of salvation; Bathe my soul in rich consolations of thy resurrection life;
Great was thy grace in commanding me to come hand in hand with thee to the Father,
to be knit to him eternally,
to discover in him my rest,
to find in him my peace,
to behold his glory,
to honour him who is alone worthy;
in giving me the Spirit as teacher, guide, power, that I may live repenting of sin,
conquer Satan, find victory in life.
When thou art absent all sorrows are here,
When thou art present all blessings are mine.
--Excerpts from Victory from the book, The Valley of Vision
After enjoying some time outside the other day, I began to wonder if Heaven would have the scent of my Bath's Pinks. How amazing to have a heavenly garden full of fresh fragrances filling the air...with no weeds. It would be most "Heavenly".
O DIVINE REDEEMER,
Great was thy goodness in undertaking my redemption, in consenting to be made sin for me, in conquering all my foes;
Great was thy strength in enduring the extremities of divine wrath, in taking away the load of my iniquities...
Great was thy wisdom in devising this means of salvation; Bathe my soul in rich consolations of thy resurrection life;
Great was thy grace in commanding me to come hand in hand with thee to the Father,
to be knit to him eternally,
to discover in him my rest,
to find in him my peace,
to behold his glory,
to honour him who is alone worthy;
in giving me the Spirit as teacher, guide, power, that I may live repenting of sin,
conquer Satan, find victory in life.
When thou art absent all sorrows are here,
When thou art present all blessings are mine.
--Excerpts from Victory from the book, The Valley of Vision
Monday, May 25, 2009
Who's Bright Idea Was This Anyway??
All winter I was anxious to expand our garden. We have not had room to plant things that have big vines such as cantaloupe or watermelon. We have not planted corn since we moved here either.
My dear husband has spent over a week trying to get the sod off so we could plant so new and exciting plants. Since he has a backhoe, he thought that it would make it easier to tear the sod off and try and bury it...however, it looked better on paper than it really worked. We spent several days trying to dig up the sod and break the soil off the bottom. Along with all that, there is a healthy crop of rocks and glass. We know that the previous owners had a garden on this spot in the past. It seems that it was also used as a garbage dump. We have found all sorts of broken glass and pottery. And did I say that we have rocks?? So that meant that the garden needed raked and the rocks--at least some of them--needed removed. Today, the bulk of the new garden was done. We have actually doubled the size of the garden area. One neighbor asked if I didn't have enough to do.
Friday I was able to plant the carrots, a few beets, some extra onions, red potatoes and radishes in the old part. Today, we were able to plant two rows of green beans in the new garden. We put in a dozen tomatoes and one grape tomato. It's a start. We want to plant corn, cucumbers, cantaloupe, green and red peppers and we are waiting for the arrival of our sweet potatoes from Johnny's. We'll see what ends up where.
I was very tempted a few of our warm days to get some things planted, but I am thankful that I did not. We had frost three mornings in a row last week. One morning it was below 28 degrees, which nipped our grapes badly. We may have just a few grapes this year. It seems that our blueberries got nipped a bit, too, even though we did cover them. We'll have to wait to see what the damage is later.
Our asparagus has been doing well. I've been freezing some...when we are not eating it each day. The rhubard is going crazy, as usual. I could eat rhubard crisp or rhubarb pie every day! The onions are up and the peas are thinking about blossoming. It won't be long before I'm picking peas.
If the rain holds off (even though we really need some), I'll try and get corn in tomorrow and perhaps the peppers. We were both worn out and very red by the end of the day today.
Soon, the garden will be all planted then it will be in the hands of the Creator. It has been a long week working hard in the sun and getting very dirty. I'm so thankful that we have the acreage to plant more food, not only for ourselves, but our family and friends. I'm also thankful for a husband who is willing to help with his wife's crazy idea of garden expansion.
Thou hast been mindful of me and visited me,
taken charge of me from birth,
cared in all conditions for me,
fed me at thy table,
drawn the curtains of love around me,
given me new mercies every morning....
May thy goodness always lead me to repentance,
and thy longsuffering prove my salvation.
--an excerpt from Caring Love from The Valley of Vision
My dear husband has spent over a week trying to get the sod off so we could plant so new and exciting plants. Since he has a backhoe, he thought that it would make it easier to tear the sod off and try and bury it...however, it looked better on paper than it really worked. We spent several days trying to dig up the sod and break the soil off the bottom. Along with all that, there is a healthy crop of rocks and glass. We know that the previous owners had a garden on this spot in the past. It seems that it was also used as a garbage dump. We have found all sorts of broken glass and pottery. And did I say that we have rocks?? So that meant that the garden needed raked and the rocks--at least some of them--needed removed. Today, the bulk of the new garden was done. We have actually doubled the size of the garden area. One neighbor asked if I didn't have enough to do.
Friday I was able to plant the carrots, a few beets, some extra onions, red potatoes and radishes in the old part. Today, we were able to plant two rows of green beans in the new garden. We put in a dozen tomatoes and one grape tomato. It's a start. We want to plant corn, cucumbers, cantaloupe, green and red peppers and we are waiting for the arrival of our sweet potatoes from Johnny's. We'll see what ends up where.
I was very tempted a few of our warm days to get some things planted, but I am thankful that I did not. We had frost three mornings in a row last week. One morning it was below 28 degrees, which nipped our grapes badly. We may have just a few grapes this year. It seems that our blueberries got nipped a bit, too, even though we did cover them. We'll have to wait to see what the damage is later.
Our asparagus has been doing well. I've been freezing some...when we are not eating it each day. The rhubard is going crazy, as usual. I could eat rhubard crisp or rhubarb pie every day! The onions are up and the peas are thinking about blossoming. It won't be long before I'm picking peas.
If the rain holds off (even though we really need some), I'll try and get corn in tomorrow and perhaps the peppers. We were both worn out and very red by the end of the day today.
Soon, the garden will be all planted then it will be in the hands of the Creator. It has been a long week working hard in the sun and getting very dirty. I'm so thankful that we have the acreage to plant more food, not only for ourselves, but our family and friends. I'm also thankful for a husband who is willing to help with his wife's crazy idea of garden expansion.
Thou hast been mindful of me and visited me,
taken charge of me from birth,
cared in all conditions for me,
fed me at thy table,
drawn the curtains of love around me,
given me new mercies every morning....
May thy goodness always lead me to repentance,
and thy longsuffering prove my salvation.
--an excerpt from Caring Love from The Valley of Vision
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
First Fruits
We have experienced some beautiful and rather warm lately and that has brought on the rhubarb and asparagus!
These 'first fruits' of the spring are so welcomed. Rhubarb can be wonderful, it just needs a bit of sweetener. We have had some stewed, which just means that I cooked it in a pan with some sugar and a bit of water until it was runny. So good, warm or cold. I make Rhubarb Crisp this evening for dessert. This is one of my favorites. It is easy to put together and has some nutmeg in it, which I am becoming convinced has addictive properties, especially when it's warm. Put some ice cream on top and you have a wonderful dessert, or snack.
The asparagus is just chock full of vitamins. It has been called a perfect food. We like it steamed, or baked covered with olive oil. I like mine covered in butter. I'm looking forward to filling the freezer with this yummy stuff soon. It is a delight to have this in the winter. It just screams "Spring"!!
It won't be long until I get some other goodies planted in the garden. I need to get my broccoli and spinich in soon.
The old, large apple trees that my husband pruned, are in blossom! I guess that means we didn't kill them! Apple blossoms are just beautiful! (All the blooming trees seem just spectacular this year.) I was able to find a Cortland apple tree to add to our little orchard! Our two smaller apple trees appear to be doing well. I am anxious to see if we get any apples this year from our newbies. We've decided that each of the little apple trees will be in honor of the grandkids. I hope to plant a tree, preferably a fruit tree of some kind, for each of them. We want them to grow and bear fruit for the Kingdom, just like their trees.
The grass has been cut. With the rainfall, no doubt I'll be back at it again this weekend. I'm already sporting my farmer tan.
I am so thankful for the warmer days and nights. The sunshine is so welcomed after this winter. The warmth of the sun feels good all the way to my bones.
I trust that you, too, are enjoying the wonderful spring weather and the changes that it brings.
These 'first fruits' of the spring are so welcomed. Rhubarb can be wonderful, it just needs a bit of sweetener. We have had some stewed, which just means that I cooked it in a pan with some sugar and a bit of water until it was runny. So good, warm or cold. I make Rhubarb Crisp this evening for dessert. This is one of my favorites. It is easy to put together and has some nutmeg in it, which I am becoming convinced has addictive properties, especially when it's warm. Put some ice cream on top and you have a wonderful dessert, or snack.
The asparagus is just chock full of vitamins. It has been called a perfect food. We like it steamed, or baked covered with olive oil. I like mine covered in butter. I'm looking forward to filling the freezer with this yummy stuff soon. It is a delight to have this in the winter. It just screams "Spring"!!
It won't be long until I get some other goodies planted in the garden. I need to get my broccoli and spinich in soon.
The old, large apple trees that my husband pruned, are in blossom! I guess that means we didn't kill them! Apple blossoms are just beautiful! (All the blooming trees seem just spectacular this year.) I was able to find a Cortland apple tree to add to our little orchard! Our two smaller apple trees appear to be doing well. I am anxious to see if we get any apples this year from our newbies. We've decided that each of the little apple trees will be in honor of the grandkids. I hope to plant a tree, preferably a fruit tree of some kind, for each of them. We want them to grow and bear fruit for the Kingdom, just like their trees.
The grass has been cut. With the rainfall, no doubt I'll be back at it again this weekend. I'm already sporting my farmer tan.
I am so thankful for the warmer days and nights. The sunshine is so welcomed after this winter. The warmth of the sun feels good all the way to my bones.
I trust that you, too, are enjoying the wonderful spring weather and the changes that it brings.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Pop? Coke? Soda?
How often have you had the "pop vs. soda" argument??
This is a fun map and a great look at our country in a different way.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Sodavspopvscoke.png
This was posted on a friend's site...I just thought it was very interesting!--thanks, Dan.
This is a fun map and a great look at our country in a different way.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/7/74/Sodavspopvscoke.png
This was posted on a friend's site...I just thought it was very interesting!--thanks, Dan.
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