My Class History

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This summer I am planning a remodel for my Sunday School room at church.  The third and fourth graders that have traveled in and out of that room over the years have helped with the necessity of a remodeling.

The door won’t shut and is covered with graffiti.

And I love it!  Well, not the no-shutting part.

The door to my Sunday School class is covered with the names of many of the children that have come through that door on Sunday mornings for the past years.  One of them made me a happy sign for our door.  A happy sign because we have a happy class.

Quite a few years ago I started measuring them up against that door and then putting the date of the measure.  For the two years that they are with me they get measured and marked.  And as the door below shows, the kids come back and continue to measure and mark.

Some of the names of "my" kids over the years.

Some of the names of “my” kids over the years.

The door tells the story of their growth… or their art work… or just the fact that “Nick was here.”

Brock and Ansley

Brock and Ansley

Some of my Third-Fourth Grade Class wannabes come up and leave their names with hearts or in circles or just written across the door.

notes

notes

It’s always a treat to have my “old” class alumni come back for a visit.  Some of the alumni are getting married this year.  That’s how long it’s been.  I think I have been teaching for a long, long time.  And my room is in dire need of an update.

Date and Height

Look how much Emily grew in the two years she was in my class!

Emily and Others

My heart swells with love and appreciation when I look at that door.  For each child.  For their excitement in putting their mark on our door.  For the fact they come back and visit me.  For the salvation of many of them.  For the stand some of them take for their Savior.

For the privilege God gave me to teach these treasures.

 

Soothing the Soul with Seeds

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THE FINISHED PROJECT

The Greenhouse

The Greenhouse

It’s not too big; just right.  It’s not fancy; a hodgepodge of containers and lids-with-no-Soothing the Soulhome to catch water.  I’m not a seasoned greenhouser, horticulturist, grower-of-good-stuff.  But, it’s already sprouting something.  I’m not sure if it’s a tomato plant or a sunflower seed from the dirt I used to sprout the tomato plants.  All I know is the little plant is coming up in the tomato lid.

I  dragged out all my seeds; it didn’t matter how old they were.  Some were in packages from the store; others were in containers; the seeds I had saved from plants in my yard… or someone else’s yard.  I guess I’ll know what they are when they turn into mature plants.  It’s the growing I care about.  Watching the seeds turn into something to nurture.

seeds are all planted… some I have no clue what they are.

seeds are all planted… some I have no clue what they are.

As you can see, my little greenhouse is as haphazard as I am.  The seeds that were in marked packages, got marked as that.  The others are just those surprise plants.  I’m so excited to find out what they are!

Soothing the SoulSince the greenhouse sits on the site of the sunflower house, there are already sunflowers poking their little heads up through the lime and rock, asking “What’s going on here?”

Soothing the SoulThere are other plants coming back to life after their winter siesta: peonies, sunflowers, sage, coreopsis, lilac, honeysuckle, ivy, bulbs of many varieties, lamb’s ear, baby’s breath, butterfly bush, roses.  Just to name a few.  The summer plants that have been waiting patiently in the garage for the spring rains are partying it up in the sunlight and April showers.  Or downpours as is the case right now.  Over six inches in 24 hours.

The rest of the oasis — my backyard — is a mess.  A big pond of muddy water sits where we had to dig up the sewer line, still waiting for the extra dirt it needs after settling.  The fence is down for the backhoe.  The deck is a mess of “stuff” for summer fun that needs cleaned and set to rights.  The pool is covered with the plastic that is covered with rain water, awaiting the right temperature for the uncovering.  Right now it’s just getting rain water pumped off.

But I know in a month, after a lot of hard work, our backyard will once again be that beautiful place of peace and tranquility.  Better (almost) than going to the beach.

Why I Would Never Force my Kids to go to Church

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This is just so great I had to repost it. There are some awesome bloggers out there!

Ruth Meyer's avatarTruthNotes

My parents forced me to eat three times a day growing up.  No joke.  Three times.  Every.  Single.  Day.  And it wasn’t always stuff I liked, either.  Matter of fact, I complained a lot about what my mom made.  “Ewww, gross!  Sauteed zucchini?  Seriously?  Mom, you know we hate this stuff!”  So as I approached adulthood I made an important decision.  Since my parents forced me to eat while I was growing up, I decided I was done with meals.  Oh, here and there I’ll eat out of obligation.  I mean, family traditions like Thanksgiving and Christmas, yeah, I’m there.  But daily eating?  No way.  I’m done.

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Greenhouse Going Up

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Fresh veggies!!  Robust and beautiful flowers! Aching back and dirt-filled nails!  Oh, yes!  Yes!!  Bring it on!

veggies

veggies

My sweet husband is once again laboring away on something that I have wanted for a long time.  The gift he gave me for Christmas.  My coveted greenhouse.  Which went along with the round, tumble compost maker.  Good rich dirt is one of my favorite things.

the making of a greenhouse

the making of a greenhouse

The weather was gorgeous, so the flower beds got cleaned, and all the new buds coming up were exclaimed over with lots of oohing and excited squealing.  I love spring.

a peony coming up

a peony coming up

baby's breath getting ready to breath!!

baby’s breath getting ready to breath!!

 

The greenhouse has our gardening juices flowing.  Not only will we have things growing in that, we will also have things for the small orchard we are planning.  We went through Stark Brothers catalog and ordered fruit trees and asparagus and strawberries and blueberries and blackberries and… I am just so excited.

Did I mention I love spring?

spring

spring

We have sat here and watched youtube videos on gardening in  raised beds, growing  in the garden plot, making compost, how to plant certain plants, all sorts of things.  Here are a few of them just in case you find a plant catalog lying around somewhere.  I’ll warn you now.  If you look through the catalog and watch the videos, it will change your life.

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

My Momma, the Amazing Foodie

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My mom was a great cook. She cooked for a hungry husband, an even hungrier boy, a pudgy very healthy girl, and another skinny little unhealthy girl.  They were good, stick-to-your-ribs and thighs and butt meals.  Meals like this one I made tonight.

goulash

goulash

She never made things like this salad I made the other night.IMG_7957And she never would have used the “china” that I used for the salad.  She had two dishwashers:  Darla and me.  She could get all kinds of dishes dirty.

dirty dishes

dirty dishes

If it was my turn to wash, I diligently washed all those dirty dishes — just like you see above — and after rinsing a couple of plates, Darla had to go to the “bathroom.”  She would use the “bathroom” until the dishes were all clean and piled in her sink to rinse.  Only they never got rinsed — because Darla was in the “bathroom” — until Mom came in the kitchen and got all over me for not rinsing them since Darla had to go to the “bathroom.”  Of course, Dar only was finished using the “bathroom” after I got all the dishes washed and rinsed.

That’s probably why I use paper china quite often now.

But I digress.  The reason for this blog tonight is not to tell you how good a cook Mom was or how many dishes Dar bathroomed out of doing, but the fact that Mom could cook without leftovers.  She didn’t like leftovers, so she could cook for all these starving stomachs and have nothing left over and fill us full to bursting.

But even that wasn’t the greatest feat.  If we did on the rare occasion have food left over, she would get out the just-right container for them.  Never too big.  Never too small.

And now I have accomplished what I have heretofore been unable to do:  Get the just right container for the leftovers.

Here is the proof!

perfect fit

perfect fit

Ah, the leftover food fantasy has become remaining food reality!

Goat Girl

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As a youngster growing up on the hill — well, in my case halfway up the hill — I was the youngest of the group.

 Of course, I’m not counting the non-people:  my little sister and her friend, Nancy.

Nancy and Darla with their babies

Nancy and Darla with their babies

 At the time I thought they were ridiculous: everywhere they went carrying their baby dolls with their diaper bags thrown over their shoulders; spending hours on end playing with Barbie dolls; pretending to be the Beatles.  Actually, that’s one of my best memories now.  One of them would stand on the bed and sing and play the guitar, eyes closed, head shaking.  The other one would stand at the end of the bed screaming like a fool, grabbing their hair, then eventually passing out in the floor.  I used to stand in the hallway and watch them.

I was, of course, so superior to those goofballs.

On the other hand, my friends were cool and exotic.  They rode horses and had goats .  Well, Gail had  goats.

Gail and her goat

Gail and her goat

This picture was taken back in 1960 when our little town was having a celebration for our sesquicentennial year.  There were parades and all sorts of activities.  Gail and her goat won first place.

Her love of goats began with the Goat Man who came to town about once a year back then.  Today he can be found on the internet.  I googled “goat man” and got all sorts of interesting information.

the goat man

the goat man

I’m hoping Gail doesn’t decide to get herself a passel of goats in her later years.

Lake Superior

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As I stand at the shore of this huge lake, I see no end.  Where is the shore on the other side?  Where is the end?  Or maybe this is the end.  Maybe I am standing at the end and the beginning is somewhere… over there.

The shore is rough and bumpy and hurts my toes.  The waves are choppy and keep me from enjoying what could be a fun day.  And, too, the depth of the lake is unknown.  How deep is it?  And what kind of undercurrents are there?

No.  I am not standing on the shores of Lake Superior.  But I do stand at the shore of Lake Superiority.

The arrogance of man will be brought low and human pride humbled…   Isaiah 2:17

superior 1The other day I had this thought… about someone… that made me instantly feel like a jerk.  And God placed on my heart all these thoughts of the way people sometimes feel superior to others.  So that started me thinking along those lines.

Our thoughts of superiority are like that big, cold lake up north of me.  They ruin how I can relate to someone because I have already decided I’m better in some form or fashion.  They have ruined what could have been a fun relationship, an enjoyable friendship.  superiority 2

The problem with standing on the shores of Lake Superiority is anybody could come along that makes us think some superior thought: family, friends, co-workers, older-than-us people, younger-than-us people, those-who-look-different…  the list is as long and wide as the view from shore.  Then, when anybody comes along, anything can happen:  Some kind of remark; some sort of utterance or look.

And what were my thoughts that caused all this thinking?  They were about someone older than myself.  I can remember back when I was in my 30s thinking thoughts about an older lady… and now that older lady is me: the exact same replica of the one I had felt superior to so many years previous.

And sooner than I like to think, I will be sitting in the shoes of the person I felt a smidge superior to just the other day.

Luke 1:51  New International Version (NIV)

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

The shore has a beginning and an ending.  Right here.  In me.

It’s a New Dawn! It’s a New Day!

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Happy-New-Year

Happy-New-Year

It’s 2014!!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

I can’t express my attitude toward the new year any better than Nina Simone!  A great great song.

Click on  It’s a New Day! if you want to start the New Year off great!

“Feeling Good”

Birds flyin’ high, you know how I feel
Sun in the sky, you know how I feel
Breeze driftin’ on by, you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me.
Yeah, it’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me, ooooooooh…
And I’m feelin’ good.

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River runnin’ free, you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree, you know how I feel
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me,
And I’m feelin’ good

Dragonfly out in the sun, you know what I mean, don’t you know,
Butterflies all havin’ fun, you know what I mean.
Sleep in peace when day is done: that’s what I mean,
And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me…

Stars when you shine, you know how I feel
Scent of the pine, you know how I feel
Yeah, freedom is mine, and I know how I feel..
It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new life for me
[scat]
And I’m feelin’… good.