potatoes in the herb garden (when god wrecks your plans)

jack and i labored long over

from left to right: potato, basil, sage
all over: rye

the raised bed,
just the right perimeter stones
in just the right places
i carefully selected soil
from the fresh-tilled vegetable garden
and collected organic fertilizer
from the chickens
(thank you, girls)
a gentle watering
and then the waiting for
thyme
sage
basil
oregano
cilantro
parsley
to create their pinterest-worthy tangles of yum
but what's this?
rye? corn? (thank you, girls)
and....
a potato?
sigh.
i pulled the rye and corn
(i continue to pull rye and corn)
but i am leaving that potato plant
because
new potatoes with sage and parsley?
it's what we do when life hands us
potatoes
i am so thankful that our lord sees fit to
wreck
our
plans
or i wouldn't have this blog
or i wouldn't this testimony
or i wouldn't have my girl, the one i mentor
or i wouldn't have this stronger marriage
so these potatoes?
i will savor
every
bite
amen.

what about you? what do you have because god wrecked your plans?

linking with jennifer and emily today.

on tomatoes and their deeper meaning

these tomatoes -
hundreds have passed under my faucet
and now
the jars line the shelves in my basement
salsa
whole tomatoes
soup
sicillian gravy (aka spaghetti sauce)
these vines,
planted
cultivated
pruned
teach me life
and john fifteen,
where abide appears eleven times,
comes to mind
abide in me, and i in you
as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself,
unless it abides in the vine,
neither can you,
unless you abide in me
and this abiding
this staying here
is not as easy as it looks
but the fruit?
amazing

how do you abide? what does that look like, practically?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

713. a surprise text message from half a world away to let me know that my husband is well
714. a first date for a young guy i love a lot
715. tree house plans
716. my girl, the one i mentor, doing so well and looking so gorgeous
717. olympics
718. chocolate frosting
719. french roast coffee
720. two more days off work
linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

he doesn't want my habaneros or cantaloupe

the pastor said  first fruits
yesterday
and the gardener in me
fine-tuned her listening ears
the israelites sacrificed the
first of their gardens and fields
as a thank offering
every year
me? i'm checking my cantaloupe
every few minutes
anticipating that first juicy bite
no way am i going to offer
that to someone else
this resistance to sacrifice
illuminates my greedy heart....
now i know that since i'm not following
the festival calendar laid out in leviticus
i'm not compelled to lay my tomatoes or cantaloupe
on an altar
but what are my first fruits?
what does god desire of me?
the psalmist writes in number 51,
for you will not delight in sacrifice,
or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering
(or a cantaloupe)
the sacrifices of God are
a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
o God, you will not despise
he doesn't want my habaneros or cantaloupe
he wants me

how about you? what are you holding back?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000-

706. canning tomatoes
707. watching cantaloupe grow
708. a week with my sisters and brothers and parents and nieces and nephews
709. my girl, the one i mentor, she gets a week at the beach now!
710. my husband, the one i love to the moon and back 1 million times
711. the sons, their laughter
712. lizard poop on my floor (it isn't snake poop)

linking with -

michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god, elaine for miss elaine-ous monday, jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

21 words on a country-life morning

kitty swinging
on line-drying laundry
husband chasing chickens
out of the strawberry patch
sun filtering through trees,
ripening the tomatoes
contentment

in what do you find contentment these days? challenge - try a 21-word comment!

linking with -

daniele for 21 words
jen for god bumps
joy for life:unmasked

tracing circles

i slouched and pouted
when i looked at my pile of circles
they were various sizes and a little warped
because i hadn't known to use only
the first circle as the template
i had traced look-alikes
and ended up with a mess
how often
this is how i live life
looking away from the first
tracing the wrong circles -
other wives
other moms
other teachers
other words
but this drifting
leaves me
in
a
mess
so i strive to trace the first,
the one who is
before all things,
and in whom
all things hold together

what about you? do you find yourself following others first?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

684. a found earring (in the dishwasher?!?!?!)
685. food, in abundance, from the garden
686. blackberry and rhubarb pie (pictured)
687. work for my son, hank
688. mom's courage
689. dad's wit
690. my girl's, the one i mentor, prayers
691. my husband's tender care
692. a house full of little privettes

linking with -
michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

what the weeds told me

sweat pools behind my knees
dirt accumulates under my nails
as the weed pile grows
between corn stalks
and
this weeding is
always
and
dirty
and
tedious
and
ugly
but

this weeding
bestows life and beauty
and
doesn't my heart need it, too?
weeding?
so even though it will be
always and dirty and tedious and ugly
i ask the life-bestower
to
search me...and know my heart
try me and know my thoughts
and
see if there be any grievous way
in me
and lead me in the
way everlasting
because i
want
that
beauty


have you ever prayed this - psalm 139:23-24 - for yourself?

continuing to count his gifts to 1000 -

669. summer break
670. baseball
671. chickens, out of the coop and killing snakes
672. tiny little kitty
673. boys weeding the garden
674. dad working hard at physical therapy
675. clothes on a line
676. time alone with husband


linking with -
michelle for hear it monday, use it on sunday, ann for 1000 gifts, l.l. for on, in, and around mondays

joan for sharing his beauty, laura for playdates with god jen for soli deo gloria shanda for on your heart tuesdays and kat for titus 2 tuesdays

in which i wax poetic on garden and pigs

why is this
amazing?
this garden growth
this porcine growth
this bluebird growth
this boys in my house growth
why is this
amazing?
in this summer
this busy, drive-people-everywhere-summer
in this summer
this i-thought-i-would-write-a-book-summer

in this summer

god is growing me
because growth is
on
his
heart
we ask God to give you
complete knowledge of
his will
and to give you
spiritual wisdom and understanding
then the way you live will always
honor and please
the Lord

and your lives will

produce every kind of

good fruit
all the while, you will grow
as you learn to
know God
better
and
better

the thursday-friday links:

emily at in the hush of the moon for imperfect prose

casey at the wiegand's

beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday

michelle for caffeinated randomness

studio jru for sneak peek friday

upon summer's start

riding with windows down
i smell honeysuckle and kudzu and fresh cut grass
and
the baby bluebirds left their nest
but i see them perching
on the fence chris erected yesterday
to protect the garden
from deer
and
i bought a bell for my shoe
because it's bear season
and they roam this mountain
but i run anyway

the world is humming
and
i know it's a god thing
and
i'm singing along

and thankful for these:

171. my husband who builds fences of protection
172. our bible study class
173. my girl, the one i mentor, who is brave
174. fresh salad
175. cha ca (click here for recipe)
176. scrabble on the kindle
177. my students who are awesome

linking up with:

michelle for hear it on sunday, use it on monday
ann for 1000 gifts
jen for soli deo gloria

it's not pretty yet...

gardening this week
and i find
a verse
in the digging
sow righteousness
for yourselves,
reap the fruit of
unfailing love,
and break up your unplowed ground;
for it is time to
seek the LORD,
until he comes

and showers his

righteousness

on you. (hosea 10:12)

gardening this week

and i search

for my unplowed ground

that i may sow...

gardening this week

and i've got

blisters

dirty nails

aching muscles
water in my shoes...
gardening this week
that i may reap...
for
it

is

time

the wednesday-friday links:

tiffani for word women wednesday
emily for imperfect prose
bonnie at the faith barista for faith barista jam
christy for as of late
beki at the rusted chain for fingerprint friday
michelle for caffeinated randomness
studio jru for sneak peek friday
jennifer v. davis