So Excited!!! :-)

I just had to share my discovery this morning!But first let me back up a little.A couple of weeks ago we went to the annual Keizer,Oregon Iris Festival's parade.We had great weather and great fun this day.One of the things that we enjoy about it is the free gifts and such that local businesses toss to the eager crowd.That day we received a coupon to get a free packet of lettuce seeds and a CocoLite Brick from a local plant nursery.Apparently the brick is a growing medium made from coconut husks.We took these items home and soaked the brick in water overnight.This made it expand to about 3 times it's normal size or more and made it pliable so we could break it up into"soil."We then planted the Romaine Lettuce seeds.I am so happy to report that we have little green slivers of new life peeking up through the"soil"this morning!!This excites me for so many reasons.I have always loved plants and flowers and gardening.But due to the turn our life took in the last few years I have had to give up one of the things I loved due to loss of funds/income,health and space to garden.There was not even funds to container garden which often happens when one has to live on disability.One often has to merely provide the necessities of life and often those things that bring us joy and excitement have to go.Or so I thought.:-)We now have loads of tiny lettuce plants growing inside a white dish pan on our impossibly small apartment patio!I love to see new life and green things growing in a formerly barren place.If all goes well we will have loads of lovely Romaine Lettuce in a few weeks time.:-)Well,loads of it by our standards anyhow.Fresh produce is often in short supply here due to the financial issue.Praise God for summer time and it's abundance of produce and you- pick places.This all has inspired me to maybe try more container gardening as God provides the"stuff."My husband Steve has said he wants to try and get some plants and flowers for the patio come this next week when he gets his disability check.Yippee!:-)I love color and have missed having it right in my own"backyard."I am grateful to be able to see it in others yards but there is nothing like being able to see it right where you dwell.Amen?It's been hard on me being in this place of lack by American standards.Not having some things of beauty to lift one's heart and spirit is sheer drudgery to me as I love beauty and always have.It is food,sustenance for this oft weary soul.:-)So,I praise God for this little ray of light in the form of little green shoots.
Blessings~Sharon

Voice of Truth

Content?

Clouds of Contentment
by
Katherina Schotter

Christian contentment is that sweet,inward,quiet,gracious frame of spirit,which freely submits to and delights in God's wise and fatherly disposal in every condition.
~Jeremiah Burroughs~

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I don't know about you,but if you are at all like me,you still need work in this area.A lack of contentment can creep in so quietly.Under cover.And before we know it's ugly talons have a strangle hold on our hearts.For me it's an issue of trust.Will I trust Him and be content in the little annoyances that cross my path.Will I trust Him and be content with the big things?The huge crises that He allows in my life?His word says that godliness with contentment is great gain.I think that we all gain.God is glorified when we are content in Him.We gain by having a deep peace that comes from an unruffled spirit.And those around us gain as they observe and learn from watching us what He can do in and with a life lived in full trust and contentment in God.Often it draws them to the only One who offers true contentment.Father God.may we all,as Your children,be content with where we are and what we have at this time in our lives.And may we honor and bless you as we live this out in our daily lives.
Amen.

Blessings~Sharon

Welcoming Summer's Unofficial Arrival

To see the summer sky is poetry;
Though never in a book it lie;
True poems flee.
~Emily Dickinson~

Image:Blue Sky in Summer with Clouds over Wheat Field.
Momatiuk&Eastcott
allposters

Blessings all~Sharon

The Price of Freedom

Freedom has never really been free,has it?It has always cost somebody,somewhere,something.To those of you who have paid the price I want to say thank you.You may have lost family,friends or even limbs.Thank you for sacrificing what you did so that we may enjoy what we do.It is my prayer that each of you have a most blessed Memorial Day.
Love~Sharon
Image from allposters

Worth a Thousand Words

I am sure we've all heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words.If that is truly the case(and I think it is)then the image above speaks volumes about what I have been doing much of this week.I have been resting and sleeping for much of the week.My husband loves to share and he shared his awful cold with me.And it's truly awful.Which is why I have been MIA.Again.Though I am hopeful to be on the mend soon I am not yet there.Just now as I typed a fit of coughing seized me by the throat begging for release.Sadly I had to oblige.Colds at 47 seem so much worse than they did say at 7 or even 27.And we've had all the symptoms.Sneezing,coughing,runny nose,etc.I have not even felt like writing in my journal or leaving the apartment in spite of the absolutely gorgeous weather we have been having.Today I did get out a bit with Steve to grab some dinner(we had coupons for Aiberto's, a local Mexican Restaurant that has to go or dine in food.)We opted for to go.But oh did I enjoy the drive.It was sunny.It was warm.And it was breezy.And after nearly a week spent mostly indoors feeling as if a fleet of trucks had run me over,I loved the outing.I needed the outing.I needed just a little time spent in the land of the living.I needed to feel the sun on my face and the wind in my hair.I needed to see the colorful flowers and shrubs in bloom.And this outing did not disappoint.His grace was there today as it has been all week.And it will be again tomorrow as we have to watch Granddaughter Hope for about 10 hours while her mother works!Yikes!That all being said I will close for now dear readers.It's rapidly heading toward 9:00 PM and I know that 6:30 AM will arrive quickly and on time as it always does each day.That's when we begin to babysit as I recall.Have a lovely weekend wherever you are and whatever you do.And don't forget to take some time and ponder the meaning of what this Memorial Day weekend is truly all about.It's time well spent I think.
Blessings and Love~Sharon
Image courtesy of allposters.

It Started Early

This is yours truly in about the 3rd grade I think.I am in the school library doing what I still love to do.Don't you just love the poncho and knee socks??? LOL Gotta love the late 1960's!So, as you can see,my love of books started early.And it continues to this day.Now if I could just find the time.:-)
Blessings~Sharon

Closed Door

Our daughter recently found out that she was not to be chosen to work at T-Mobile.For reasons known only to God at this time.Oddly enough I seem more disappointed than she is.But I must remember God sees the big picture and to be honest my"sight"can be so very limited at times.It can be too earth bound.Too much like a horse wearing blinders.I can focus with so much longing at the closed door.I can get trapped in all the questions related to why something so desired did not happen.It can blast the faith right out of a person.So I'm thankful that God reminds me that He is sovereign.That He can see the beginning from the end.And that we,as His children,do have a delightful inheritance(see Psalm 16:5-6).That He has good plans for us,plans to prosper and not to harm us(see Jeremiah 29:11).Our part is simply to trust Him.Trust Him when we don't get that desired job.Or when our life is at stake due to a bad diagnosis from the doctor.Simply trust Him for all things.
Blessings~Sharon

To Moms(and all who nurture or train)

Happy Mother's Day!
Wishing all of you women out there a most blessed day tomorrow.This includes those of you whose mothers have passed on,those of you whose mothers would never win an award,and those of you who may have never had children or children of your own anyhow.I have walked all those roads myself.And,that being said,I know from experience how difficult Mother's day can be.It can be lonely when you are physically barren.It can be painful when your own mother has passed on.And it can be tragic when your own mother has been, in many ways,taken from you by mental illness at a young age.But,whatever your situation,know that,as a woman,you may be responsible for training and nurturing others in so many ways.And that makes you a mother in a sense.A positive influence in the life of another.Maybe not a mother in the traditional sense of the word but that's alright.You too are worthy of some pampering and blessing tomorrow even if you have to do it yourself.So,to all who read this,I pray you are blessed this weekend,no matter where you are,what you do or what your situation in life is.
Have a blessed weekend.
Love~Sharon

A Note and A Quote

Yesterday we left for church late which left me more than a little stressed out.I have a thing about being on time generally but especially for church.I want to arrive early and spend a few moments in quiet reflection or at least not rushing to find a seat.When I knew that was not to be my mood sunk some.But a kind word from our granddaughter Hope written out in the backseat of the van on the way to church cheered my heart immensely.It read:"Dear Grandma,Don't you just love flowers?Flowers are so beautiful,just like you.You and flowers are in common because you are both beautiful."How could I remain in a funk about our late arrival when I had just been compared to a flower?Smile.She might as well have compared me to a summer's day my mood brightened that much.Even bigger smile here.Thank you Jesus for the gift of godly 8 year old girls.And in keeping with the theme of beauty I read the following oh-so-beautiful quote from Ann here:

It says:
"Measure your health by your sympathy with morning and spring.If there is no response in you to the awakening of nature-if the prospect of an early morning walk does not banish sleep,if the warble of the first bluebird does not thrill you-know that the morning and the spring of your life are past.Thus may you feel your pulse."
~Thoreau~

This quote tells me I have the pulse of a child!Smile.At 47 I still feel a thrill when I see the first daffodils of spring or see the first robin after a long gray winter.I marvel at the breakneck pace that folks drive while we slowly meander through lush green countryside and wonder when it all ceased to amaze these other drivers.When did the glorious become commonplace for them?Even non existent as they barrel through the landscape outside their windows.Perhaps they need to slow down and check their pulse.

Blessings~Sharon