Whatever Your Doing

So life has been kind of crazy lately. Actually if I am totally honest it has been overwhelming. I've kind of been in a blogging slump because let's face it there is some stuff you just don't publish on your blog. And while I desire to be real some lessons you have to share about once you've been through them and you have some God perspective. That is where our life is at right now. And surprisingly I'm trying to be okay with that. 

Jeremy and I feel like God is cementing us together through the challenges. One of the things we have really tried to work at but never been super consistent with is praying together. Now maybe that shocks you. (sorry, to disappoint) Or maybe you are totally with me on this one. Its not that we don't pray. We do. We just haven't ever consistently been able to do it together. But, lately our new motto is, "Prayer is our strategy." (Okay, we kind of stole it from Pioneer Bible Translators) And it isn't a last resort type of strategy- it is the only plan we've got. 

Jeremy and I were taking a walk and discussing the challenges we have been facing in our life. And I told him that I think maybe the outcome is worth the cost. If what we've been through the last 3 months is what it took to transform us into a praying couple. Then I think it is worth it.  There is a quote in Remember the Titans, "Sometimes life is hard for no reason at all." I'm not sure why that stuck in my head, but it did. But, the Bible speaks truth in this area.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. ⁴Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.       James 1:2-4

The hard things we experience in this life aren't for nothing. They produce perseverance and grow us in our faith. So my prayer is that I won't miss the lessons God is teaching right now. Jeremy and I both LOVE Sanctus Real's new song, "Whatever Your Doing." It is like putting our life to music. So while I don't feel like sharing all the specifics of our struggles the words of this song are an insider look at the cry of my heart.

Whatever Your Doing

My Attempt at Gardening

Just because you've only got houseplants doesn't mean you don't have the gardening spirit - I look upon myself as an indoor gardener.  ~Sara Moss-Wolfe

The above quote pretty much summed up my gardening experience in life thus far. Many of you know I LOVE house plants. While my indoor plants have taken lots of abuse (constantly moving, toddlers, etc.) I do usually manage to keep them alive! And thus far I was perfectly content with that.  But, I had been talking about trying to grow some vegetables the last year or two.  

And it probably wouldn't have progressed past the talking point had my grandmother not given me a Topsy Turvey  for Christmas. I was at first very excited. But, as Spring grew closer I thought, "What am I going to do with that thing! I have no idea how to grow stuff." And in the process I discovered something about myself. I am not good at attempting a task I don't know exactly how to do. I'm not very good at just making it up as I go along. I like to stick to stuff I am good at like decorating, or baking. New stuff makes me nervous. (Now that sounds like me doesn't it!)

But despite myself I somehow managed to get caught up in the idea of making my own salsa and sharing the joy of Grace watching the plants grow and here is the result. Oh, and I might have done some educational reading on the internet as well.

The plant in the middle is a tomato. It has been planted for two weeks & has a bloom! The other two are peppers. I just planted them so I am hopeful they will do well also. These Topsy Turvey things aren't exactly aesthetically pleasing but they are supposed to be easy.

These two pots have herbs. I'm not exactly sure which herbs they all are because it was on sale and labeled "salsa mix." But I think I have sweet leaf basil, chives, oregano, and cilantro. Still working on figuring that all out.

The big pot is a squash plant. The two pots that are dirt I planted spinach & mixed greens. I am most doubtful about these. I just can't believe I can grow something from a seed, but who knows!

So there you have it, my first attempt at container gardening. If I am successful I plan to expand next year. I am hoping to track my progress occasionally on my blog to keep myself motivated.

While checking out quotes on gardening I found the following:

The best place to seek God is in a garden.  You can dig for him there.  ~George Bernard Shaw, The Adventures of the Black Girl in Her Search for God, 1932

I think that if ever a mortal heard the voice of God it would be in a garden at the cool of the day.  ~F. Frankfort Moore, A Garden of Peace

I'm not sure how much truth there are in these quotes, but they seemed to fit my life so perfectly I had to include them. This Spring God has been challenging me big time! And the circumstances of my life have left me praying like never before, seeking God's direction. So wether its in my garden or not I'm praying he will speak some clear direction for our family. Please feel free to join me in praying for that! Is there something I could pray for you about? 

Don't forget to pray!

Today my girls both reminded me to pray. 

At breakfast this morning I was eating a banana. Faith LOVES bananas. Although she had already eaten hers she was trying to beg me to share some of mine. I said, "No, this is mommy's banana." She then folded her hands and began to say, "Nana Nana!" I asked her if she was praying and she replied, "Yes!" (with much enthusiasm) I couldn't resist I shared my banana with her. How simplistic and yet awesome a child's view of prayer. If you need something , or event if you really want something, you can simply ask.

Then we had a little situation at Walmart today. An embarrassing situation if you are a mommy! We had finished our shopping and I took my debit card out and swipe, swipe. But there was no magical reply asking if I would like cash back. After entering my pin twice I realized something was up. I looked down to see a shiny new debit card. 

Let me back up a little. A few weeks ago we received a letter saying our information had been compromised and we would need to get a new debit card. What a pain. Well the cards arrived and I had the new ones, my old ones, and my wallet all sitting on my desk. I had been hoping to sort everything out, activate the new ones, cut up the old ones, etc. Well, we got ready to leave for WalMart and I found my debit card had once again been compromised but this time by the little people who live in my house and like to play grocery store. I located my wallet, stuck my card in, and decided I would go ahead and use the old card one last time so we could leave for the grocery store.

Back to me in the check out line. I looked down to see a shiny new debit card sporting Jeremy's name. Oh, no I had stuck the wrong card in my wallet! Our pin number had also been changed to a random number so I couldn't activate the new card. I now had absolutely no available resources to pay for my full cart of groceries. Have mercy!! So with my very concerned toddler (she had got to pick out chocolate ice cream and she was afraid it might melt at the suggestion of the cashier) I threw the kids in the van and quickly headed to the church to get Jeremy's card. Now this is when the story gets spiritual. I was very flustered and on a time crunch. And then Grace piped up from the backseat. I had to ask her to repeat herself. She said, "Maybe we should pray and ask God for help." Oh, how I love when God uses my children to teach me something! Especially when its something I've been trying to teach them. And so we prayed. And we picked up our slightly melted ice cream. And I'm so thankful God reminded me today that prayer is always available through the vessel of my precious children.